Calyx - Chapter 2: Interlude I, Dirt
The starship didn't seem that big to Acasja. She had expected a huge behemoth that filled the sky. Instead it was no longer than the sailboats that she had taken out on the lake. She was sure it would be very uncomfortable for a long trip through space. Even one of the boxier ships on the ground at the spaceport would have been more to her liking. While they didn't have windows, they at least looked large enough to be comfortable on the inside. "It's a shuttlecraft," said Captain Acton, who was standing beside her looking out at the landing area. "The ship you'll be travelling on can't land on a planet."
"Is it too large?" she asked hopefully.
"No, not that," he said with a laugh. "It's not made to go through a planet's atmosphere and land. If it did, it would never come back up. Don't despair though; it will be more than large enough to enjoy the journey."
He was right. Rising Star was more than large enough. It took Acasja more than a week to walk every deck from one end to the other. Plenty of stops in between had made the journey longer. There was the crew galley that she was allowed to visit. There was the casino that she was not. Both surprised her. She had thought the crew would eat as well as the passengers. If I ever get my own ship, she thought, my crew will eat well. Nor could she imagine that a spaceship would have its own casino. Then she found out Rising Star was a luxury liner. It travelled from the core of Federation space to the rim and back. Acasja was one of the few passengers that was not from Earth, or Rigel, or one of the other central systems.
She got her first glimpse also of alien species. She met Rigellians and Andorians, whom she liked; and Tellarites and Orions, whom she did not. Most of the passengers were human like her, but, she was pleased to discover, none seemed all that strange in manner.
It did not occur to Acasja to become homesick. She was walking forward to her future and that was the way she faced. Her favorite thing to do was to look at the stars as they streaked by. Ahead they gleamed like blue diamonds. The best ones were the ones she could see to either side. Those weren't gems or even lights. They were streaks of color that raced along beside the ship for a few seconds and then were gone; outdistanced like an older train in NNY. She would look back and the stars they had just raced were scattered like a handful of playing cards dropped to the table after the game was over.
It surprised her that they did not see other spaceships until someone showed her just how vast space was. If they met another ship out here it would be intentional on someone's part. When the alarm sounded, the one they had practiced once on her first day on the Rising Star, Acasja returned to her own quarters to wait until another signal came that the drill was over.
Her room in the apartment was nowhere near as nicely appointed as the stateroom on the Rising Star. That all this space, gleaming with luxury, was hers amazed her. Later she was told that hers was one of the smallest cabins on the ship. Whatever strings Captain Acton had pulled to get her on it, she decided, must have been pretty long.
The alarm didn't come immediately. For the first time on her trip, excepting when she was given a tour of the engineering section, she could feel the deck tremble slightly as the ship increased speed. The stars must be interesting at a different speed. It was disappointing. As far as Acasja could tell, there was no difference in the way the stars went by. Ahead they looked no different. Behind, behind was a silver block that filled the starfield. It loomed larger until it was alongside Rising Star and Acasja could see its profile. Rising Star was vodka and satin to look at. This ship was chocolate milk, poorly mixed. "All passengers are advised to stay in their cabins," said the speaker in her room. It was the first time she had heard it speak; she recognized the voice of the captain: she had sat at his table for dinner as her second meal on Rising Star.
The most surprising thing of all then followed. Rising Star dropped out of warp alongside the other ship. "Please remain calm," the speaker said again, still the captain. "A crewmember will be visiting each passenger shortly. Please comply with his requests. We have been boarded by pirates. Again, I remind you to please stay in your cabins."
A second voice followed his. It reminded her of the Tellarite she had met. "Anyone who fails to obey these commands will be shot. There will be no exceptions." Acasja evaluated her physical condition versus that of unknown pirates armed with unknown weapons. She factored in the needs of the crew and other passengers and sat perfectly still facing the door to her stateroom that she now noted was being called a cabin.
It felt like a long time, but later she checked to find it had been less than fifteen minutes. There were three of them in addition to the crewman, one of the pursers, she thought. One was Orion, one human, and she did not recognize the third species. The purser read from a padd. "Acasja Tilfe from Anetu. Trip paid for by Captain Acton of Starfleet. Middle class background. Destination: San Francisco, Earth."
"Valuable to Starfleet, eh?" mused the human. He held a weapon in his hand, as did the unknown alien. "What do you think? Do we take her?"
The Orion looked at Acasja. "Answer truthfully girl. Why did Starfleet pay for your trip?"
"I've been accepted into Starfleet Academy," she said and stopped. It was all she knew and it answered his question.
The human scoffed. "They don't do that for just anyone." He leaned toward her so that she could see the individual pores on his face. He smelled of grease and sweat. "Do you know how many people I have killed?"
She kept her attention on the Orion. He was the leader. "It does not matter to me." Again, it was the truth.
"Given a few years you could be a fine pirate," the Orion said to her. "Let's go."
The human raised his weapon until the end of it was just in front of her nose. Despite her best efforts, Acasja could not make herself back down from it. "Let's go," the Orion repeated more firmly. "If I have to call you by name, we'll have to kill her and that would make me mad. Now come." They left her. Within a minute the other ship pulled away from Rising Star and disappeared into warp with a flash. Acasja had been one of the last to be visited.
She tried to keep in control of herself. It had been a long time since a situation had been totally beyond her control. It started as a slight shudder and then descended rapidly into silent heaving sobs that left her choking for air and lying face down on the floor of the stateroom with the heat from her cheek warming the cool carpet. This close, it smelled faintly of dust. It was an unexpected revelation and it became the rope by which she pulled herself back. Her newfound critical eye scanned the stateroom. Some of the gold and crystal were newer than most of the rest. The later additions were of a similar quality and artificially made. The older, yes older was the word for the remaining trappings, decor was hand done. Rising Star was a tarnished gem, not as lustrous as she seemed. Acasja wondered if it had been worth it for the pirates to stop her. She suspected not.
Later she discovered they had removed ten passengers and most of the cargo.
The one incident of excitement was enough for Acasja and she was grateful to make the rest of the trip to Earth without another. They were forced to make an extra stop and undergo interviews with Federation Police officers. Acasja told her story and was complimented on being 'such a brave girl'. It had rankled to be dismissed like that, but she had managed to smile and nod in the appearance of gratitude.
When they reached Earth, Acasja prepared to board a shuttle down to her destination. Instead, she was lead to a small room with no other exit. From her tour she knew it as the transporter room. The question is it safe? had already been answered for her with the assurance that it was. She gathered her small bag; the rest had been transported ahead of her and would rejoin her at the academy, and stepped onto one of the pads. At the command 'energize' she could not help but look up and found herself taking in a blue sky.
It was somewhat cloudy and there was a smell of the sea. Not all that strange and quite welcome after a month in space. Her gaze lowered and the city filled itself in around Acasja. It was tall and colorful and clean and fresh. Acasja imagined that it always smelled like it was just about to rain and that the zephyr that blew a strand of hair in front of her eyes was always gently blowing.
When her vision finally reached eye level, Acasja found she was not alone. Two people, both in uniforms, stood nearby, waiting for her notice. The one she noticed first was a girl in a silver open-collared dress. On her left breast was a patch shaped like a ten-rayed star. She wore high-legged boots and dark mesh covered her leg between the bottom of the skirt and the top of the boot. Her hair was brown and only slightly shorter than Acasja's. The second was a man, also in a uniform. His resembled Captain Acton's. He seemed cut from a similar cloth as the captain. There was less fire in his eyes.
The girl spoke first. "Hi. I'm Midshipman Lieutenant Tyler. I'm commander of Echo Company at the academy. Should you make it through the summer program; you will be joining my company. This is Starfleet Lieutenant O'Hara, the company officer. Welcome aboard."
Acasja wasn't sure how to respond to that greeting. "Thank you," she settled on. "Sir," she added to the officer. He reached out his hand and took hers. "It'll be years before you get to do that again," he told her as he continued to hold her hand in his grip. "Enjoy it while you can." She relaxed her hand and he allowed it to slide away.
"Would you prefer to walk to the Academy from here or transport?" Lieutenant Tyler asked.
"This is my first time on your planet," Acasja said and smiled. "Let's walk so I can get a picture of it. As they walked, her fellow cadet gave Acasja a verbal tour of the campus. Acasja only partially listened, committing to memory what interested her and allowing her other senses to run free across this new world.
The building they led her to was shaped like a large rectangle with an open field in the center. "This was at one time a fortress that traded hands between three nations of Earth," explained Lieutenant Tyler. "It was called The Presidio back then, but now it is the home of plebe summer at Starfleet Academy. It will be your home for the next seven weeks. If you pass that experience, you'll join the Academy proper.
"Why don't you tell me about your own education and how you got into the Academy to this point?"
"Of course," Acasja replied politely. She started with her school experience and then went on to tell the other two about her trip to Earth. More than the pirate attack, they both seem surprised that she had not taken the competitive examination. "What's that?" Acasja asked, stopping in her tracks and looking at the other girl with eyes wide and curious.
"You take the entrance application, which you did," explained Lieutenant Tyler, "and then, if you are accepted, you go to one of the testing sites and take the competitive exam with other candidates. Usually only one candidate from each test is admitted to the academy. After that, they come for a week long orientation. That's when most candidates who are going to drop out discover that military life isn't anything like civilian life and quit. Didn't you have to go through any of this?"
"I have a sponsor," Acasja answered, once she understood the meaning behind the Lieutenant's questions. She took out the ring she had been given and showed it to them.
"I see," said the real Starfleet officer.
Lieutenant Tyler was looking at her with an expression of jealous anger on her face. "I had to take the competitive exam twice before I got in," she said. The rest of the walk was in silence.
Acasja and the other two parted just inside the gates of the academy. It felt somehow ominous as she walked beneath the stone archway that separated Starfleet Academy from the rest of the world. She was directed to the center of the quad where many other people were standing. Half were in uniform and the stood quietly, waiting. Some looked at her with eyes that were predatory. Those she smiled at warmly. The other half were like her: civilians. Some looked openly afraid, others were nervous, but most were chatting gaily. Acasja had a feeling that she would be best served by joining the group of bantering candidates.
What happened next, she wondered how many of them could have predicted besides herself. Apparently everyone who was expected to arrive had come and the gates clanged shut. At that moment, the uniformed side of the field snapped into action.
An amplified voice called the civilians to order and explained that this period was to be used to turn them into professional soldiers. Those of them who made it through were to be admitted into Starfleet Academy as Midshipmen Fourth Class. Each of them was assigned a Midshipman First Class who would be their guide throughout this introduction.
The first order of business was turning them out of civilian dress and into cadet uniforms. This was the one thing she dreaded most. Acasja was used to wearing a uniform. It had been a facet of student life since her first day of school. She hoped the uniform requirements were more flexible than they had been at home. If she had to wear that dress Lieutenant Tyler had on... Her worries were relieved as she received her first uniform. Female Midshipmen had the choice of wearing a uniform either like that she had seen on Lieutenant Tyler or one in the same colors, but of the style Lieutenant O'Hara had worn.
It did not surprise her that she was the first one on the quad when they were assembled later. How bad many of the others looked in uniform did surprise her, though. Acasja had expected everyone to know how to wear a uniform from their own days in school. Based on her initial evaluation of her classmates, she hoped they would make her an officer. She was disappointed to learn that only Midshipmen of the First Class were officers.
What followed was the first day of what she called the most exhausting seven weeks of her life. Her day began at sunrise and ended long after sunset. The outside world might as well not have existed. They called it teaching the intangible and tangible qualities that make an outstanding Starfleet Officer. In many ways Acasja found it to be stimulating. In others, she found herself forced to suppress her own nature to meet the expectations of her indoctrinators. Anger seethed just beneath the surface of her being until she realized she would need to suppress that also.
Self-discipline, organizational ability, critical thinking: these all were qualities she already possessed in measure. She was surprised that she started with a big edge over the others in physical fitness. She made it one of her goals to maintain that edge. The ability to think quickly was another area that they were trained in. Acasja was again surprised at how many of her fellow candidates needed to be taught that. That word, surprise, was her constant companion as she rated her cohorts.
There were things she didn't know. Most of those, however, were tangible skills and she picked them up very quickly. The basics of navigation and shuttle piloting were new to her. She enjoyed the training in phaser use and quickly became the best marksman among the candidates.
When it came to leadership techniques she found her own knowledge lacking. It was the one area of her performance that disappointed her. She made it her goal to leech every bit of that part of her education out of anyone who would stop long enough to teach her some more.
Finally it ended. Acasja was formally welcomed into Starfleet Academy as a Midshipman Fourth Class. The small area of the Academy that had been her home was opened up to the larger campus. For nearly a week it was to belong to her and her fellow classmates. Then the rest of the students were to arrive.
Topic: Calyx: A serial novel of the Federation (Read 34569 times)