Sanchez: Destiny Revealed

Scene: Mars orbit

Being jarred from sleep by a platoon of exiting Marines is never a pleasant thing. This is especially true for someone who, during a long, cramped trip, made several jokes with the word "jarhead" and poked fun at their haircuts. Once they were all off the shuttle and safely out of earshot, Ario hollered several insults their way and brushed the remains of his comic book off his tunic. He shouldered his duffel and looked around.

So this was Utopia Planetia!

How many times he'd lain in his grandfather's coffee fields and gazed up at it on clear nights he could not remember. He once did a paper on the station and shipyards at the Academy, but the 100 credits he paid for the essay didn't help him any now. He glanced at the people and the docked shuttles, noting how everyone seemed to be moving with a purpose. He thought of his own two feet, stationary on the deck plate, and wondered where they'd take him. Finally his eye caught sight of the windows looking out at the staging carriage.

She was beautiful.

She lay in the carriage like a dark-skinned Cuban beauty upon his bed. The nacelles lay stretched out long and shapely behind her, like a woman's calves and feet, and the pylons like her thighs. Soft curves on the ship's dorsal and ventral sections were like a smooth, strong belly and muscular back. The saucer section rounded like a deep, full bosom and soft strong shoulders. Each intricacy and detail of her hull fascinated Ario like so many pores of the skin. But this beauty was no feeble creature. Even from such a distance, Ario could feel the menacing purr from her core. Her low profile was a testament to her hidden strength, like a jaguar ready to leap upon its prey. Each torpedo tube and phaser array spoke of a Purpose like Ario had never before experienced.

Without thinking, Ario began walking towards her.

He looked up at the ship, admiring her like a lover. The deflector shield looked like an electric blue eye, and the plasma vents along the outside of each nacelle glowed a fiery red. The hull was lit from below, enabling all to see the proud registry: USS Poseidon. Unconsciously, Ario dropped his duffle to the floor, and knew now his purpose was found. This was an untouched beauty, this marvelous ship, and as CEO, she was his to become intimately familiar with. Slowly, his fingertips touched the glass before him, and he smiled.