Star Trek: Discovery: The Way to the Stars by Una McCormack

Author:Una McCormack
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3
Tags: Military, Fiction, Media Tie-In, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781982104764
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2019-01-08T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

Tilly’s success with the drip emboldened her. The next morning, she decided to go out earlier, during the day cycle, and wander around the ship, seeing what was out there. She had checked the manifest and decided that with sixty-odd passengers, it was probably busy enough for her to be able to blend into the crowd. The passengers were a diverse bunch, traveling from Federation and non-Federation worlds alike. She sat in a little public area, where two corridors met, where there were a few couches and chairs dotted around so people could sit and chat or do the same as Tilly and simply sit and watch. Everything was so interesting. Sure, Tilly was used to Federation diplomatic functions, and they were nothing if not diverse. But some of these people—she had never seen these species before, never heard of them (and Tilly had recently made very close study of all the minor member species of the United Federation of Planets). Some of these—nope, she didn’t have a clue. And the conversations—bartering, quarreling, off-color jokes, things you would never hear at a soiree, where all anyone ever seemed to do was ask polite questions about each other, and talk about the ambassador’s amazing clothes, and remark about the unusual weather we were having right now . . . Urgh. Tilly shuddered at the thought. She would never put herself through that again, not if she could help it. The most interesting thing was turning off her universal translator, to see how much she could follow. Not much, and of the languages of the unfamiliar species nothing at all, beyond what she could guess from gesture and context. But every so often, she caught bits and pieces of a language she had studied, and she smiled to herself and thought: There. I knew I wasn’t as bad at languages as everyone made out. I knew I’d be able to get by.

The nicest thing about being there was just to sit and do nothing. No early alarm to send her off to a rowing practice. No bell to tell you it was time for breakfast. No attendance, reminding you that security was rigid and everyone was anxious about what might happen if you were out of sight for two minutes. No classes, no tests, no papers, and absolutely no presentations. And, best of all, no relatives talking all the time about your grades and your emerging issues. For a moment, Tilly felt light-headed. And then she realized that this feeling was . . . happiness. She hugged herself. So this is what it feels like! They should bottle this! It feels great! All she needed was a holiday. Here, on this grubby little cargo ship, out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by ordinary people. All by herself, free to do what she wanted when she wanted, without a relentless school timetable or the stress of parental interaction.

After a couple of hours, she realized that she felt hungry, so she went in search of a food slot.

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