Lunch TBD

Posted on Fri Oct 13th, 2023 @ 12:44am by Cadet Freshman Grade Milashynn "Mila" & Cadet Senior Grade Ki'ana

1,422 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: 1 - Cruising through the galaxy
Location: Academy Mess Hall

She didn't quite have the option of changing into something casual considering her last lecture for the day was in three hours - so Ki'ana had come to the mess hall in uniform, ordered her food and sat in the corner of the mess hall as agreed. She couldn't help but feel a tiny bit self-conscious considering who she was about to be joined by - every other girl around her seemed so much more appealing than her, any time, all the time, and Mila was ni exception. She craned her neck, searching the crowd of cadets for her new friend.

Mila balanced her tray on her left arm. She finally found Ki'ana practically hiding in the corner of the mess hall. When Mila spotted her she raised her right hand high in the air waving at her excitedly, and shuffled her way through the tables to get to where Ki'ana was seated. "Why are you all the way back here?" Mila asked. "I almost thought something had come up and you were skipping out. It took me forever to spot you," she commented. Her tone was lighthearted and happy. "How's your day going so far?" Mila asked, taking a long drink of her very large glass of water.

"Sorry, sorry. It's kind of a habit of mine. I'm not super popular." Yet again Ki'ana found her energy infectious. She wouldn't hsve been surprised at all if Mila was one of the most popular girls in their cohort - with looks like hers and her personality she would've drawn people in like moths to a brightly lit lamp. And she had to admit - she felt a tiny bit smaller next to her. "It's been going quite well. You? I'm sure the security officer's course has its own ups and downs." Ki'ana said with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, you know it's been fun. Things have kind of shifted this week. They have started putting us to work, getting stuff ready before launch, more drill, less course work. An interesting change of pace, but it's allowed me to get out more and try to meet a lot of the other cadets that are assigned as well." Mila shrugged as she dug into her salad. "Some interesting personalities. You probably know a lot more people than I do. I feel a little behind, being only a freshman."

"I know... well, way too many. Of all different kinds. I don't have anyone particularly interesting noted down in mind just yet, but I'm sure I could point you to some people if need be. It depends on the need, of course." Ki'ana replied. "Did you meet anyone noteworthy over the course of this week?"

"I talked to Naltar the other day?" Mila said. "Know anything about him? And they just assigned Taoreth to my dorm until it's time to board. I guess she wasn't here last semester or something."

"I've met Naltar. He's quite nice. And Taoreth I met a while back, actually. We hit it off just fine." Ki'ana smiled. "Anyone else?"

"Not yet really," she shrugged. "I've been looking at the manifest. I figure I'll just introduce myself like a crazy person when I run into them on the street. It worked well enough for when I met Naltar anyway," she said laughing.

"Did it! Huh. Alright. And how did he take it?" Ki'ana asked with a smile. "Well, I hope. For a Cardassian he seems remarkably well-adjusted, I must say. Not that I think that's a bad thing, of course. I saw you two hitting it off. I think half the party must've kissed that night," She joked with a sheepish giggle.

"Not me!" Mila said holding hands up. "I wasn't really paying attention to all of that much either. Just dancing and have a good time. It was a fun party."

"It was, it was. I enjoyed it. And I'm the one who organized it." Ki'ana laughed. "I don't think I can dance, though - thank you for making me try nonetheless. It was fun, but I think I'll stick to normal shuffling." She joked. "Was Starfleet always your first choice when it comes to your career?"

"Yeah," Mila said, her tone growing a bit more somber. "I needed to get off Orion. Out of the Orion system entirely, really. Starfleet really was the one place I felt like I could go and feel safe. I knew it was a long shot, but I gave it everything I had."

"I hope things have only gotten better for you since then." Ki'ana replied softly. "Because you've come so far already, and you're quite clearly doing quite well for yourself. Has anyone at all tried to do... well, bad things... to you? For any reason?"

"No, not at all," Mila said, brushing off the suggestion. "A few people were a little standoffish, but I get that. No one has been mean."

"What about you? How has your experience been?" Mila asked.

"Alright, if a little weird." Ki'ana mused. "People sort of look at me funny but don't actually try anything. I guess I'm not like other girls, with a nice chest and a humanoid face and... hair. Or maybe it's the hooves." She joked. "But I've been alright so far. People respect me. One person challenged me to a race. He lost," Ki'ana giggled. "He was so upset. Something about being the fastest runner in his town?"

"Where was he from? Earth or somewhere else?" Mila asked. "A lot of people here are from different places which is cool. We have a Caitian coming with us. At least one Andorian. A Cardassian, and a Bajoran/Cadassian hybrid is our first officer. Starfleet crews are about to be more diverse than they've ever been," said Mila as she took a big bite of her salad.

"Earth. Funny how he thought a human could beat a Kelpien in a foot race." Ki'ana giggled. "And yes, I've heard about the diversity. I sent out the invites to everyone, remember? I saw everyone's names and species and whatnot that's public. Starfleet's really pushing hard on the diversity." She puffed. "Which is a good thing, I suppose. As a primer for when we commission. What do you think?"

"Hmmm," Mila said, taking a drink of her water. "Do you think you could outrun Felix - on all fours?" she asked.

"Felix? The Caitian? Um..." Kiana gave the matter some thought. "I'm going to say... maybe? He can probably take larger strides than me on all fours, but I don't know if he can last as long as me. You know how Earth cheetahs can't run for extended periods? I'm not saying he's anything like them, I'm just suggesting that he might be... similar?"

"Just a thought," Mila said shrugging. "So from a practical standpoint, you could tire the enemy out, but we could place somewhere for Felix to pounce. If we needed to," Mila said, half-jokingly. Though security was always looking to recruit.

"He's not a lap cat!" Ki'ana retorted. "I feel like that'd make him sad. Or upset. I'd rather just race him. It might even be fun for us both, you know?"

"I'm not thinking of him as a lap cat," Mila said. "I'm wondering if he's ever thought about Security is all. The Dominion war is going to happen, like it or not. And I have a feeling it's going to get ugly. It will be all hands on deck." MIla was coming from a place of everyone did what they could to survive. "Sure, a race may be fun for now. But it's not always going to be a game."

"No, it's not." Ki'ana sighed. "If only it were. Felix as a security officer? I don't know. Maybe we should ask him." She remarked. "Besides, I'm sure he could hold his own if he had to. I wouldn't mess with him."

Mila shrugged. "Just a thought. Don't take me too seriously. You'll hurt your head over it," she laughed.

Ki'ana laughed too while glancing at the chronometer on the wall. "I've got class in twenty minutes. See you again on the Stardancer?" She asked. She would've loved to get to know this spunky Orion girl even better - something told her that if there was to be some source of inexhaustible energy on board, it would be her. It just had to be.

"Ugh, you still have class?!" Mila groaned. "Mine have all been converted to field training. Have fun. And yeah, catch you later!"

 

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