“
Actually’, said Tommy, who'd made a surprise appearance in the hallway outside Storm and Beck's cabin door, ‘as you know better than any-body, Storm, because you totally memorized the whole nautical-terminology entry on Wikipedia, ballast is something placed on a vessel to, um... what was it again?’
Storm couldn't help but fill in the blank for Tommy: ‘Provide desired stability.’
‘Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. Ballast on, like, a balloon, can, um..’
Storm smiled a little. ‘Control the center of gravity.’
‘Exactly,’ said Tommy. ‘You're our rock, Storm.
In a good way. Not like, you know, gravel. Or a rock in your shoe.
”
”