Leon McBride did his best to ignore the hubbub as the press conference began. He had read the paperwork that he was given when he was hired by Galactix Rocketry. He wasn't sure if he really fit into the mold of 'brilliant minds and exceptional skills'. If he had his way he wouldn't be trying to hide in the back of the platform and fervently wishing that the cameras and press couldn't see him, he would be on the ship hiding and making sure that everything was sound. But much of his life hadn't gone his way.<br/><br/>Even though much of the crew was wearing the same types of uniforms and his overalls weren't any different from the other pair of engineers, Leon felt out of place. He knew the crew well enough, though he got the sense that some of them thought they were better than him. And he knew that they were probably right, but he was trying. He had been trying and making slow progress for years.<br/><br/>The old mechanic and former druggie had only been vaguely aware of the lottery as it was happening. He had only really looked at the details of it after he had met the eccentric Mr. Weng. For some reason the CEO had been impressed with his tale of destruction, or rather, the way he had pulled himself out of the depths of his own depravity. Victor had talked about bootstraps and intestinal fortitude and within a few weeks, Leon was given the job offer. In the back of the group, in the blinding lights and deafening din of the press, the weathered man silently wished he had turned Victor Weng down. A small part of him, which he mentally fought off, also desired a bit of something to numb his mind. But he had to remind himself that he didn't have much to lose and this expedition would probably be good for him.<br/><br/>Apart from the self doubt and dark impulses of Leon's mind, he was somewhat curious about the girl, Sarah Coalman. He hadn't spoke more than a handful of words to the girl thus far, but he had read her story and heard a bit of what she was coming to mean to the colonies. She seemed nice and even had an appeal that was quite ordinary, as he saw it, and that thought wasn't meant to be rude. He saw the girl as the embodiment of 'The Girl Next Door', which was probably along the lines of what The Director had hoped for. So much so, that the aging mechanic wondered if the lottery was rigged. Now, billions of people watched her logs to hear her thoughts, and likely to see her dreams as their own. Evan Fletcher, the paunchy engineer that was in charge of Leon, had shown him the logs a few weeks before the launch. And though the mechanic didn't watch them regularly (yet), he found that the shy woman's voice and simple personality was soothing when he was having trouble with the memories of his old habits.<br/><br/>Despite himself, Leon jumped a bit when the fireworks and trumpets shattered his concentration and he fervently hoped that nobody noticed it. He didn't think that anybody would, since the real star in the event was Sarah. All eyes would probably be on her or the director and he doubted that anybody would pay attention to the thin old man hiding in the back. He took a steadying breath and spoke in a gentle voice to some of the crew, "It's time to board the ship, right?" Just the simple question, and he hoped that the press wouldn't hear him over everything else, though he couldn't be sure.<br/><br/>