Eleven – Firsts & Seconds
“What an absolute beauty,” the handsome young man said with a sigh.
Master Engineer Sarah Fawkes looked over at him. They had been standing side by side for almost fifteen minutes now, but these were the first words out of any of their mouths. She deliberated for a few seconds to find a proper answer but the only thing that came out was a pathetic:
“Yes.”
The massive spaceship was slowly sliding into the docking bay with millimeter precision. Sarah knew this because she had been leading the design team that oversaw the lidar tracking beacons of all Behemoth class ships in the fleet. The Eclipse was one of them. And it was actually the first time Sarah had seen any of her designs in action.
“I was so happy when I got picked for the Eclipse,” the young man continued.
Sarah studied him for a second. He was wearing an Ensign’s uniform and looked like he was fresh out of the academy. Probably not more than nineteen. More than a decade younger than her. She bit her lip.
“Are you meeting someone on the ship?” the boy asked.