She'd caught the young man with his arms still clasped in his lap, so he couldn't hug her in return. She wasn't sure if his discipline would even let him, to be honest, but she didn't care; he thought of her as his friend. To have someone, anyone, actually care about her . . .
It meant everything in that moment.
After a minute or so she finally pulled back, laughing slightly in embarrassment and blinking away a few tears. “Sorry.”
Dax showed no more expression than at any other time, but his voice was gentle as he almost hesitantly reached up to brush a tear from her cheek. “Never apologize for being able to show what you feel, Lana. It's beautiful.”
That almost made her burst into tears again, but she'd embarrassed herself enough for now. So she took a few deep breaths and looked up at the wondrous sight hanging in front of them. “I'm glad Homeworld is still around, even if only in full immersion. The Deeks couldn't take it completely away from humanity.”
“Me too,” he agreed quietly. “They've taken enough from us.” He abruptly changed the subject. “You've seen a tropical beach, but would you like to learn how to swim?” He hesitated. “Or maybe you already know, you just don't know it?”
Lana shook her head sadly. “I don't seem to have any other skills from before I lost my memories. Even if I once knew I'd probably have to relearn it now.”
“Well being in the water is fun anyway, so-” Dax abruptly paused, cocking his head slightly to one side as if listening to a voice only he could hear. Then he turned to her. “Ah. Good news and bad news.”
Lana frowned at him. Had he just spoken to someone on the ship somehow? “What?”
“Well, the bad news is that we have to leave full immersion.”
She felt a moment of alarm. “Did the Captain catch us in here?”
The young man shook his head, although she thought he might be amused. “No, because the good news is that we're on our final approach to Callis 1, fifteen minutes out.”
Lana stared in shock. Already? It couldn't have been three hours yet, could it?
He seemed to sense her clear disbelief, because the hint of amusement in his stoic features increased slightly. “Time flies when you're having fun. At least unless your mind is trained to keep exact track of the time like mine.” He hesitated, then quickly added. “Not that I didn't have fun. I did. A lot of fun.”
“I did too,” she said absently. “So we're almost to the planet? Close enough to see it?”
“Easily.” He gave her a solemn look. “And just in time for you to have some idea of what to expect when we set foot on it, now that you've experienced being on one.”
Lana laughed, realization dawning. “So not only was this a way to relax, but you were preparing me for my first visit to a real live world, so I wouldn't get barraged by all those new sensations without warning.” She couldn't help but throw her arms around the young man again for a moment. Then she leaned back, a bit embarrassed at the spontaneous gesture. “You're always looking out for me, aren't you?”
“As best I can,” he replied, and she thought his cheeks might be slightly flushed. “I'm leaving full immersion now. Go ahead and relax . . . you'll be back on the ship soon and I'll be waiting for you there.”
He winked out of existence almost immediately, and Lana settled down for a last look at Homeworld while she waited for the young man to bring her out off this place. She had no doubt he'd do just what he'd told her he would.
Somehow, she felt like she could trust he'd always be there for her.
Chapter Twelve
Colony
Lana had expected the ship to seem drab and dismal after the breathtaking beauty of Homeworld. But to her surprise, while it was as bleak as ever the details seemed sharper to all her senses.
Dax was waiting by her bedside to help her stand. “Many people experience feelings of disorientation when entering or leaving full immersion, especially the first few times. Move around a bit, get your bearings.”
She let him hold her elbow as she slipped off the table, legs feeling wobbly as if she'd just woken up from a long sleep full of intense dreams. Not that she'd had many of those. But after only a few steps she was okay to join him as they made their way to the bridge.
The display showed an image of the brown and gray planet they were approaching, which at this distance was close to the same size as Homeworld had been from the moon. Although that was pretty much the only thing the same about the two views.
Lana had researched Callis 1 after hearing they were going there, and had learned that the terraforming process was still underway. Which was easy to see, since even from this distance the planet looked bleak and barren, with only a single patch of green where she assumed the colony had been built, and a greenish tinge to the ocean from the algae that had been used to tweak the atmosphere to the proper levels of oxygen and other elements vital for life.
Dax immediately made his way to his station in case there was some emergency on their approach. Aiden, Ali, and Barix were at their stations as well, although they were mostly just watching the main display as they neared the planet. The only one out of her seat was Belix, standing with a hand on her hip in front of the huge, incredibly detailed projection of the colony world, watching it slowly grow larger on the display with a derisive expression on her sculpted features.
Lana came over to stand beside her and
