It's a hell of a thing watching an alien planet come up on a spaceship, growing by quick inches through the windows in Ten Forward. Steve watches from a table, alone, thinking about Apollo 11, the moon landing, the Space Race, Sputnik and famous space walks -- all of which he missed, because he was buried in the arctic while the Earth moved on.
This planet could be Earth, vast oceans surrounding a grey and white supercontinent, cloud covering swirling and thick. For a kid who missed out on fifty years of space exploration, he's now watching something few people back on Earth ever have. To say that it's humbling would be the biggest understatement he's ever made.
The announcement surprises him. He didn't expect that the officers in charge would give them such a long leash. It seems like an awfully big leap of faith letting people go down to a planet where they could easily scatter, or refuse to re-board the Enterprise. Still, he's not the one in charge here, and when faced with an opportunity to leave the ship, even for a little while, he's not going to kick a gift horse in the mouth.
He briefly contemplates changing into the uniform. After all, he doesn't know what he'll run into on the planet's surface. Eventually, he decides against it, opting to look more like the other tourists going up to the main shuttlebay except for one small detail: the brown leather satchel he carries over one shoulder, concealing something large and circular that lays flat against his back.
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This planet could be Earth, vast oceans surrounding a grey and white supercontinent, cloud covering swirling and thick. For a kid who missed out on fifty years of space exploration, he's now watching something few people back on Earth ever have. To say that it's humbling would be the biggest understatement he's ever made.
The announcement surprises him. He didn't expect that the officers in charge would give them such a long leash. It seems like an awfully big leap of faith letting people go down to a planet where they could easily scatter, or refuse to re-board the Enterprise. Still, he's not the one in charge here, and when faced with an opportunity to leave the ship, even for a little while, he's not going to kick a gift horse in the mouth.
He briefly contemplates changing into the uniform. After all, he doesn't know what he'll run into on the planet's surface. Eventually, he decides against it, opting to look more like the other tourists going up to the main shuttlebay except for one small detail: the brown leather satchel he carries over one shoulder, concealing something large and circular that lays flat against his back.