The Voyage: New Beginnings
What am I doing? The thought came as natural as breathing for the umpteenth time as Marcus approached the gantry to the Exploration Corps vessel he was about to embark upon. His footsteps rang loudly through the eerie silence of the station's boarding platform, on both sides the view into the depths of space making each step seem to last an eternity.
"Ident card please, sir." Marcus' train of thought was brought up short by the security guard at the entrance. The young lady was dressed in the standard military grays that were often seen aboard ship, or so he was told. As she slipped his card into the reader, her eyes gave him an impersonal once over, as if to say 'why a civilian?'
"Marcus Braeson?" Marcus nodded and swallowed, the feeling of being in too deep starting to crush in upon him once more. "Welcome aboard the Wake of Dawn. As a CivSpec you'll need to stay in the corridors with the blue stripe. Any other color is restricted to Corps personnel."
"B... blue corridors. Right. Uh, what do I do now?" Marcus retrieved his card and looked at the guard beseechingly. Surprisingly, the young guard grinned understandingly at him.
"First star voyage?" At his nod, her grin widened. "Don't worry too much about it. I was nervous too, my first time. It's an awful lot like a cruise you'd take dirtside, just without the water. I will, however, recommend that you have a trashcan handy. First time we translated into hyperspace, I lost every meal I had had that day."
"Is it really that bad? I've heard stories...." Marcus started to sweat slightly. His stomach had never really been that strong, but at least he normally didn't get motion sickness.
"No, I don't think it's that bad. Then again, I had eaten heavily before the translation, and I wasn't expecting it. You look like you've been too nervous to eat, so you should be okay." Settling her expression to something more professional, the guard reached into a box and handed Marcus a dataset.
"You'll find a map, as well as a list of all the shipboard regulations you will need to follow. As an exo-biologist, you'll be assigned to the Life Sciences division. Your leader is SciSpec Chief Wittstien, any messages from him will be on there. When you pull up the map the first time, your room assignment will be the flashing indicator. All of your travel allotment is in your quarters. Do you have any questions?"
Marcus shook his head dumbly, looking down at the device in his hand. A tentative poke and the dataset lit up, showing a map with an arrow and a flashing beacon amongst a maze. "The arrow is me?"
"Yup. Just follow that map and you'll be fine. Again, welcome aboard. We're scheduled to launch in thirty minutes, so please get to your quarters." With a nod, the guard returned to her duties, leaving Marcus to find his way.
Thirty minutes later, the Wake detached from the station with a dull thump that reverberated through the vessel. That low, dull sound caused a knot to form in Marcus' stomach. For the first time in his life, he was leaving the planet of his birth, heading into the unknown. The instinctual part of his mind started gibbering in terror at the thought of leaving the nurturing planet below, while the intellectual part rejoiced in the knowledge that he would have a chance to meet many new and strange races, just as he had always dreamed.
As the ship translated into hyperspace, Marcus did not even notice. The instinctual part of his mind had won, as the tears streamed down his face. Frightened, lost, and alone for the time being, Marcus cried as he faced his uncertain future.