Hoshi rested her chin on her palm and met Trip's gaze. "Why'd you join Starfleet?"

Despite the fact the question came out of nowhere, the Southerner had an immediate answer. "My Great-Great-Grandma was an astronaut with NASA."

"Really?" Her eyebrows rose briefly in interest and she leaned forward, a silent cue to continue.

"Yeah," Trip smiled easily. "Commander Lauren Tanner. When I was a kid, my Grandpa gave me some of her journals. Ones she kept on missions." He briefly dropped his gaze. "Started with the first time she went up...The way she described seeing Earth for the first time..." Unable to find the words, he shook his head.

Hoshi understood the sensation. She remembered the first time she'd seen Earth that way. In all the languages, all the words, she'd never found the ones that could truly describe the sensation.

"Growin' up, she was my hero." He grinned sheepishly. "I remember reading those books and imaginin' I was there with her...all the stuff they did...They laid the groundwork for this," He gestured around them, indicating the ship and - by extension - their mission. "They started this. Gettin' in those shuttles, riskin' their necks, racin' up through the atmosphere..."

She laughed a little. "You sound like you're envious of her."

"I am." Trip brought his coffee cup to his lips and took a slow swallow before putting it down again. "Y'gotta admit, Hoshi, compared to them, we're flyin' in the lap of luxury. Artificial gravity, real beds, real *food*..." He grinned at that. "Space exploration was just a fantasy then, y'know? The whole idea of this..." He looked out at the stars for a moment. "The whole idea of exploring deep space..this mission...would have been science fiction instead of fact."

"I wonder about that sometimes." Hoshi admitted. "Do you think they had any idea what they were laying the groundwork for? I mean, if it wasn't for NASA...we might not be here."

"They dreamed." He responded. "They dreamed about it. We owe them everything, y'know, Hoshi? We really do. If they weren't willin' to risk their necks every time they went up...even after the tragedies, the accidents, they kept goin'. No matter what, they pulled it together, hunkered down, and kept on dreaming. Weren't for that, the sheer strength of their will..." Trip reclined back in his chair. "I remember, I read one entry, Lauren wrote it the first mission up after they lost a shuttle...She talked about the Challenger explosion almost twenty years before...It was partially that disaster that made her go after the NASA job."

Enthralled by his story, his friend's eyes shone with eagerness. "Why? What did she say?"

"She said she'd grown up dreamin' of the space program and when that happened, it galvanized her. Said she couldn't walk away from her dream because of that tragedy. It would be the worst disrespect she could show them. Like spittin' on their graves. If they died for their dream...she couldn't let fear kill hers." Trip's eyes echoed the shine of Hoshi's. "When I read that I was about thirteen. Decided if she loved it that much, I wanted to see it for myself...After that...the 'Fleet was the only way to go." He grinned lopsidedly. "Lucky for me, they agreed."

Hoshi laughed. "Lucky for us, you mean." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Do you think, maybe, in a century or two, people will say the same thing about us? 'Did they have any idea what they were laying the groundwork for?' That is the question, isn't it? What are we laying the groundwork for? If NASA's missions led to us...What will this mission lead to?"

Trip's expression turned contemplative and, after a moment's thought, he smiled. "I kinda like the idea of bein' somebody's hero."

She grinned. "Don't get too full of yourself, Commander, I doubt the Captain's willing to take us back to Jupiter Station."

He looked puzzled. "Why would we go back to Jupiter Station?"

Hoshi's eyes danced with merriment. "We'll need to expand the hull to fit that inflated ego of yours." Patting his hand, she rose from her chair. "Speaking of the Captain, I need to talk to him about something. Meet you for coffee after our shift?"

"It's a date." Trip promised with a smile.

When she'd left, he looked back out at the stars then he lifted his coffee cup in a silent tribute to astronauts long dead. "Thanks guys."

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