AN: I have no idea where this came from, but the plot bunny refused to relent... I know it's a strange one. Bear with me?

Disclaimer: Horatio Hornblower and his friends belong to C.S. Forester and A&E. Though none of them actually appear in this story, I suppose the wink is obvious...

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Indelible

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The alarm clock went off, its suddenly intensifying light hurtful even through tightly clenched eyelids.

With a heartfelt groan, he rolled out of bed, quietly cursing the society which had managed to invent travel exceeding the speed of light, yet had not found a satisfactory cure for such a common thing as jetlag.

"And a good morning to you, too…" Said an unexpected voice dryly.

The ensuing rush of adrenaline woke him up properly, and he sought out the voice's owner.

A young fair-haired man of his own age, barely out of boyhood, was perched atop the bunk that had been empty yesterday evening. His blue eyes twinkling with good-natured mirth.

"Shall I mount a search party to unearth some coffee, or assist you in any other way to shed that zombie-like appearance?"

He had never been one to socialize easily, or make friends by virtue of an outgoing winning personality. Social interactions often appeared strange to him, as foreign as witnessing dawn on the moon. He did know the rules, though, so he played as best as he could.

"I'm sorry, sir, I thought myself alone." He replied stiffly, pretending not to notice the raised eyebrows at such formal demeanour as he stood up straight. "I'm Hornblower, Edward Hornblower, midshipman…"

In afterthought, he remembered to extend his hand, though his companion hardly noticed the delay, seeing he was having some difficulty processing the situation himself.

"William Kennedy, nice to meet you …" The blond youth finally responded, looking faintly bemused as they shook hands.

In his clear blue eyes Hornblower see the merriment Kennedy kept in check. No doubt the other saw him as an oddball, a peculiarity to be laughed at, as had so many had done before him…

"Please, feel free to call me William or Wills, but if you ever dare to use 'Bill' I'm afraid I shall have to restore my honour by means of a duel!"

Hornblower blinked a few times, completely overtaken by Kennedy's gregarious personality and his apparent disregard for etiquette.

Kennedy, however, did not seem deterred by the lack of responsiveness in his roommate. He went over to Hornblower's opened suitcase and pulled out a clear shirt, which a surprised Hornblower barely managed to catch before it slammed into his face.

"Shall we go and find that cup of coffee, then? I could surely use one, after spending 52 hours in a tin can! Especially since the briefing is only minutes away now, and I would rather not fall asleep in front of the Captain on my very first day…"

Hornblower had been somewhat slow to respond, partly because his head was killing him and partly because of his reluctance to change in front of a stranger. But when the terms 'briefing' and 'few minutes' reached his foggy mind, he finished dressing in record time.

He briefly combed his fingers through his mass of tumbling dark curls, trying to smooth them down into some semblance of order. A cursory glance in the mirror told him he looked fairly presentable, apart from the heavy bags under his dark eyes that stood out in an otherwise very pale face.

Determined to ignore the pulsing pain behind his temples, he followed Kennedy out of the door, unsuccesfully trying to pay attention to his companion's constant stream of chattering as well as his new surroundings at the same time. The memories of his arrival yesterday were hazy at best, as he had been suffering from a full-blown case of jet-leg, and he marvelled at the fact that he had, apparently, found the correct cabin in a ship counting at least a 100, not including the many technical rooms that laid interspersed between them according to a ground plan that would make sense only to a class 1 engineer of his Majesty's fleet.

And to Kennedy, apparently, for the young man managed to find the officer cadets' mess room after hitting only 2 dead ends.

Suitably impressed, Hornblower remarked neutrally. "It seems you have superb navigational skills, Mr. Kennedy."

He had meant it to be a mere statement of fact, but for some reason, Kennedy found it quite funny.

"It's all in the nose, Edward!" He said as he tapped his own, a wide grin on his face. "I can smell fresh coffee from half a mile away, easily…"

Kennedy darted into the mess, apparently even more exuberant now that his goal was so close. Hornblower was slower to follow, as his mind was still trying to gouge his new roommate. Unless he was very much mistaken, Kennedy's smiles had held no malice or ever mere condescendence… But surely, the young man did not mean to actually befriend him, Edward Hornblower, the quiet child that had always preferred books over people?

There were 2 others, midshipman too based on their uniform, sitting at the only table in the small room. They looked up as Kennedy brightly introduced himself and Hornblower. One of them, a burly little fellow, mumbled a barely audible reply, revealing their names to be Bunting (a gangly redhead in his late teens) and Foster (the burly fellow who was at least twice their age).

Hornblower had to hide a small smile at their subdued response. Apparently, he was not the only one to be caught unaware by 'hurricane' Kennedy.

"Aaah!" Kennedy, apparently unconcerned with this less than warm welcome on his first morning aboard, moaned as he deeply inhaled the scent of the coffee he had just poured into his cup. "Here, Edward."

To Hornblower's surprise, the cup was trust into his own hands, after which Kennedy proceeded to get a second cup for himself.

As he was hesitantly thanking the other, though, the intercom chirped and a stern voice called all hand to the mid-deck.

"Uh-oh…" Kennedy's eyes widened comically as he quickly gulped down his coffee, only to grimace and desperately suck in some cold air immediately thereafter.

Hornblower elected to forego the caffeine boost in favour of avoiding his own throat being burned by the apparently scalding liquid and quickly got rid of the cup before pulling Kennedy along, scurrying after the two other midshipmen before they disappeared out of sight.

Thus unwittingly guided by their more experienced colleagues, Hornblower and Kennedy made excellent time, arriving mid-decks well before the Captain did, giving them some time to look around in wide-open wonder. And the mid-deck of a class 3 warship such as His Majesty's Ship Indelible was a sight to be sure.

Hornblower sighed, equally in awe and anxious anticipation. How could a man ever hope to know each and every one of those lines, to read every signal and coordinate a response from some 300 crew members?

It had even made him forget his head-ache, though he was now starting to feel decidedly nauseous.

"So…" Kennedy piped up beside him, effectively pulling his thoughts back to the present. "Do you have any other family members in the Navy?"

Hornblower turned dark inscrutable eyes toward his companion. "No, my father's family are all into academics…"

He hesitated for a few seconds, then confided in Kennedy what he had not even told his own father. "But, if I have read it right, many generations ago, there was another Hornblower in the Navy, and apparently he did quite well for himself…"

Hornblower had managed to trace the man back across the centuries, and had even managed to find fragments from one of his ship's logs. It had only taken him 1 page to become completely entranced… and to apply to his Majesty's Navy himself.

Sure, he knew that reality was bound to be less exciting and much more frightening than in those books, but for the first time in his life, something had felt irrefutably right. As if he had found a missing part of his soul…

Even standing here today, his head and stomach rebelling from a combination of jetlag and nerves, he felt wonderfully good, more alive than ever. And the ship, the old 'Indy' as the crew nicknamed her, already felt more like a home than any other place had before.

And as he looked at Kennedy beside him, seeing the wonder and excitement mirrored in those unguarded sparkling blue eyes, he allowed himself for the first time to think he might just have found himself a friend as well.

A great hush fell over the assembled men as the Captain entered and positioned himself on the bridge. His voice was somewhat rough but it was steady and carried easily across the entire mid-deck.

"I am Captain Stephen Aubrey and I will expect to see each and everyone of you at their very best at all times!"

Piercing ice blue eyes swept the crowd, seemingly spotting every rumpled uniform and fidgeting man. They all stood a little straighter.

"There will be no idling aboard this ship! Each of you will put their weight, as we go to war and we will prevail!"

The enthusiastic unified shout from several hundreds of throats caused a shiver to run over Hornblower's back.

"For there is no power on earth or beyond, that can withstand the power of the Allied Kingdom's Navy!"

More shouts and whistles followed that bold statement, and hats flew in the air. Kennedy grinned as he elbowed his new friend enthusiastically. Hornblower refrained from cheering along, although a small smile crept upon his usually impassive face.

Captain Aubrey took off his hat and saluted as he shouted off the top of his lungs:

"God save the King!"

And as those words were echoed by 300 voices, Hornblower felt compelled to chime in whole-heartedly.

He took a deep breath as he drew himself up to his full length. It was as if the men around him somehow had become part of him, part of the ship, part of his new life, all resonating in perfect harmony. At last, he had found his life's purpose…

"The hands think he could walk on water, if he wants to…"

Kennedy' whisper must have been more of a shout to get over the excited talk of the men.

Hornblower glanced sideways and gave his new friend a small but genuine smile.

"Well, William, unfortunately for him, that particular skill wouldn't be very useful, now would it, seeing as we are on a space ship?"

And as Kennedy's laugh slowly thawed the barriers he had long ago erected around his lonely heart, Hornblower gazed through the starboard view port at the stars, who whispered the promise of a bright future to him…