Abel POV

I must have been about 9 on our first field trip to the starship factory. Everyone was excited, a group of miniature people waiting to see where all that fantastic action happened, get a taste of the glory of being a hero.

Then we actually got there and everyone deflated because it was just a huge factory, with a production line of parts being put together. Here's a panel, here's another panel, here's a navigational orb. Put it all together and, ta dah! There's the closest you'll get to having wings, waiting for you to try them on. The others got bored fast, but I thought it was the best thing I'd ever seen. Here's a chance to catch a star, here's a chance to fly.

I suspect that's why this floating around isn't bothering me a whole lot. I guess wanting to feel weightless is hardwired into my DNA. Or maybe I'm just a magpie re-incarnated.

"You're his fighter? You might want to sit down."

"Fuck you."

"...they told me you might say something like that."

They didn't take us again after that until we were 17, a year away from being ready to join. By then, the others had better reasons to be disinterested. Rather live than risk their necks in a war. Not that I blamed them, I wanted to live too, just I couldn't quite see how that would be possible without protecting the people I love.

"We took a scan of his brain, and it all seems to be in working order- except for here. See that shadow? That's bad news. I'm so sorry, but you're going to have to get a new navigator. He's not going to wake up anytime soon. We've sent the request to central already, you'll be back on duty in a couple of weeks."

My parents didn't approve. My father especially. I bet he'd love to see me now, floating without anything to hold on to, bet he'd give me a smug grin and shout "I told you so!"

"I said shut up, just SHUT UP-"

I could be a doctor. A gardener. ANYTHING but join the star fleet. So I told them I was going to go and travel, packed my bags, said goodbye and went straight to training. My parents think I'm in India.

"You need to calm down"

"The FUCK I do-"

Then again, no energy gets created in the universe, and therefore none is destroyed. All of our energy, every vibration, wave of heat, every particle remains in the world. All the photons that ever bounced off our face, got sidetracked by our smile, touched our cheek – all those particles raced back off into the universe into someone else's view, charged their neurons, who charged another group of nuerons, and another, so that energy will continue to live on forever.

"What's going on in here?"

"I dink he broke my node! Ngh..."

And all the energy of our body heat will be flowing through the air with the warmth of another persons warmth, our life force continuing to sustain another in one of the most complex constellations of all.

"Get out. You're banned from the medical bay. This misconduct will be reported to central. Get out of here now"

Technically, we don't die. We just become quite disorderly. So I suppose, really, it wasn't that big of a lie.

Still, though. I would have liked a chance to ride an elephant while I was still all together.

A/N – And there's some science! Because SCIENCE! I've got two summer jobs right now, so this is probably it for a while. A hat tip to the ridiculous amount of support you've all been giving.