Far Horizon (Juggernaut #4)

Ten

Ellie and Jayce were early to the shuttle bay the next morning.

"We'll have to wait ages," said Jayce on the elevator ride down. He yawned, deliberately, to underscore the point that Ellie had made him get up too early.

"I don't want to be late. I have to make a good impression on the rest of the class," Ellie told him. She had no regrets about knocking on his door so early.

"I don't need to make a good impression, you know? I'm not going anywhere."

"I didn't want to wait on my own."

Ellie caught her reflection in the bay window and tugged at her clothes and fussed with her hair again.

"You're going to be wearing a helmet most of the time, right?" said Jayce.

"I suppose so."

"And you'll be in a ship?"

"Yes."

"On your own?"

"Yes."

"Alone, in space, with a helmet on?"

"Yes. Why?"

"So who's going to see your hair?"

"Everyone!"

"Umm, how?"

"I'll be the first one back from every lesson."

"Gotcha. And they will evaluate your performance and your hair?" He grinned at her.

Ellie stopped, mid-rake. He was right. She didn't have anything to worry about. Not really. Flying ships was what she did. It was who she was. And there was no one better at that than her.

She liked to reminded the others of this fact frequently so why had she forgotten it now?

"You're right," she said. "I think I'm just nervous."

"You're not usually nervous about meeting new people."

"Not the people, the ships. I've only flown my racer and my Valkyrie."

"My Valkyrie," Jayce murmured gently.

"Mmm Hmmm," said Ellie, non-committally. "But everyone else in the class must have more experience, that's all. I don't want to look like I don't know what I'm doing."

"In a space ship? I'm not sure that's possible, Ellie." He pivoted her by the shoulders until she faced him and not her reflection. "You're going to do great. You're going to win everything and be the best, because that's what you always do."

"Yes I am," said Ellie.

They hugged, Jayce squeezing her close to underline his support. They parted as they elevator doors slid open. Tila loomed in the space between them.

"Every single time," Jayce muttered. Ellie silenced him with an elbow.

"You're late," said Tila.

"You're early!" said Ellie. "I thought I was going to have to wait for you. Are the others here yet?"

"That depends which others you mean," said Tila. She stepped aside and Ellie and and Jayce stepped out of the elevator.

Behind Tila, and the far side of the glass wall separating the elevators from the airlock entrance, the white waiting area thronged with people in white uniforms. The crowd was at least three deep, sometimes four, and they spread from one end of the bay to the other.

Almost all of them, as far as Ellie could tell, were in uniform.

"Who are they?" she wondered.

"More cadets for your class?" guessed Jayce. "Or more apprentices for Mal and Nina?"