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| - My eyelids slowly slid open, and I sat up, banging my head against the bunk above me. I let out a stifled groan and rubbed the top of my head as I got out of my bed. I tiptoed over to the door and grabbed my skant uniform that was folded up next to the bunk. I moved down the hallway and saw another female cadet wearing a command red uniform stepping out of the shower room, her bright orange hair glistening. We nodded to each other as we passed, and I stepped into the shower room. After I finished taking a sonic shower, I tied my hair up in a bun and fastened my three cadet pins to my uniform, and headed towards the turbolift. When I stepped out onto the bridge, I saw the orange-haired girl I had seen earlier, as well as four guys who were standing in front of the commander. They all wore command red, and all of them stood up straight and tall. One in particular stood out though. He stood at the back, and had four pins to show that he was in his senior year at Starfleet Academy. His eyes were focused attentively on the commander; it was the eyes that caught my notice. They were a deep brown that seemed to show wisdom beyond their years, and yet, they were also sharp and focused. Aside from the eyes, his face was rather plain, and his hair was a light brown that rested an inch or two above his eyes--those striking eyes. As I walked over and took my place alongside the rest of the group, another officer--Lt. Tabora--walked up and stood next to the commander. Chekov turned to us. “Alright cadets, we’re going to begin with some various exercises as separate groups. Command cadets, you’ll be with me. Piloting cadets, you’ll be with Lt. Tabora.” He nodded towards the woman. Although I had met her yesterday, now I had a change to get a closer look at her. She had shoulder-length dark blue hair and dark spots running down the sides of her face and her chin. “After we’ve finished our exercises, we’ll try some practice in landing shuttles when a starship is moving at impulse.” Lt. Tabora moved towards the turbolift and motioned for the piloting cadets to follow. I was surprised when the boy I had noticed earlier followed. In fact, it looked like he and I were the only piloting majors in the group. As we stood in the turbolift, I was able to get a closer look at his striking eyes. They were locked on the doors, so determined, so focused, and yet, understanding as well. Suddenly, they flicked to the left and looked at me. I quickly looked away and felt my ears get hot with embarrassment, but out of the corner of my eye I saw a smile forming at the edge of his mouth. The turbolift doors opened again, and the three of us stepped out, heading in the direction of the shuttlebay. As we walked down the hall, I saw the entrance to the science lab and I thought to myself, ‘That’s where Nicky will be in a couple of hours.’ We stepped through the shuttlebay doors and the lights slowly brightened as we walked in. “We’ll be using that one.” Tabora pointed towards the shuttlecraft on the left with the number ‘02’ painted on the side. It was coated with the same reflective blue color as the Infinity, and while they were dark now, I knew that when powered up, the nacelles would glow the same neon color as the Infinity's. We stepped up onto the ramp at the back, and I gazed one last time at the shiny blue color before we entered. The lieutenant sat down in the pilot’s seat and the other student and I took the seats directly behind her’s. She had us quickly run through the list of take-off protocols, and then began the ignition sequence. She began pressing buttons. “Hangar’s clear, let’s go.” I turned to look out my port side window and watched as the engine was flooded with antimatter energy. The shuttlecraft lifted up into the air, and slowly moved towards the shuttlebay entrance. We glided out into the starlit realm of space, and I smiled as we looped our way around the Infinity. The lieutenant looked over her shoulder. “Alright Christopher, I’m going to have you take the helm. Destiny, you’ll handle navigation.” The fourth year cadet and Tabora switched places, and I turned to the nav board. ‘Christopher…It had a nice ring to it; a very chivalrous-sounding name.’ I plotted a course for a short-distance hop to a planet close by, and read off the coordinates. Christopher grabbed the throttle. “Preparing to go to warp…engage.” I smiled; he was certainly a dramatic guy. The shuttle shot to warp, and the stars blurred and twisted around us. I had always loved how the stars looked as we went to warp; it almost felt like I was watching them form for the first time. Once Christopher and I had both finished practicing several more warp jumps, Lt. Tabora said, “Alright, time to head back to the Infinity and see how good you two are at landing while your landing pad is moving.” The stars twisted one last time, and then the Infinity came into view. Tabora tapped her combadge and it chirped. “Captain, we’re finished with our warp training. Are you ready over there?” There was a short pause, and then Commander Chekov’s voice replied, “We will be in just a moment.” Tabora turned to me. “Cadet Carver, you’ll be the first to fly; then you Cadet Arch.” I nodded, and the commander’s voice came back over the combadge, “Alright, we’re ready.” The Infinity began to glide forward, and the impulse engines glowed brighter as the ship picked up speed. I moved the throttle forward, and tried my best to match the starship’s exact speed. Usually, landing on a moving target wasn’t difficult. However, since the Infinity had no rear shuttlebay, I had to land in front. This meant that I would have to go nose-to-nose with it. The tricky part was making up for the sudden drop in speed as the shuttle switched from forward impulse to reverse. If done correctly, the deceleration would carry us directly into the hangar. If done wrong however, we would bounce off the top of the ship. If we were actually in any real danger and not doing a training exercise, we’d probably be blown to bits by an enemy vessel before we could get another chance to land. I began to turn towards it, and distanced the shuttle about 300 meters from the hangar. I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on the throttle. I waited a moment, and then yanked it back into reverse. The engines hummed as they switched over, and the Infinity zoomed forward. I heard the scratching of metal as the shuttle’s roof scraped the top of the hangar, but we still made it inside. I let out my breath and turned to the lieutenant. “How was that?” The lieutenant replied, “That was…ok, but I think we could still use a bit more practice. I’m going to let Christopher have a shot at it, and then you can give it another try.” The two of us traded places, and Christopher repeated the maneuver. This time, we managed to fly into the hangar without a single scratch, he had nailed it. “Well done cadet,” Tabora said, “Alright Destiny, your turn again.” I twirled my way through the doors to my room, and noticed Nicole lying on her bed with a datapad in her hand. She glanced up as I came in. “Hey!” “Hey.” I replied. Nicole sat up. “So, I have something to tell you, you’ve gotta hear this.” She patted the bed and I sat down next to her, and she continued, “So, I met this guy while I was at my lessons today. He’s super cute! He’s kinda logical, serious…” I cut in, “Sounds like a Vulcan to me.” She looked awkwardly up at the ceiling and replied, “He is, but he’s so cute! He’s got these deep brown eyes, and thick jet-black hair. Oh, and his name is Vach.” I cut in once more, “First of all, you forgot the pointy ears. Second, most Vulcans have brown eyes and black hair. He sounds like a pretty normal Vulcan to me.” Nicole grinned. “I know, but he did something not-so-Vulcan-y today.” I frowned. “What?” She stifled a laugh and replied, “He ran around screaming like a little girl.” I burst out laughing and replied, “You’re joking, right? Why would he do that?” She continued laughing, but managed to reply, “Because…we…kinda…sorta…set him on fire.” My eyes widened and Nicole quickly added, “It was an accident. We were in the lab, testing a compound that burns without the need for oxygen. I had the compound, and I sorta tripped…yeah.” I laughed again and replied, “I thought Vulcan’s weren’t supposed to show any emotions?” She replied, “Clearly Vach hasn’t honed his skills at remaining calm while his hair’s on fire.” We laughed for a while longer; then Nicole turned to me and asked, “So, did you meet anyone interesting on your first day?” I looked away and ran my fingers through my hair evasively. Nicole said, “Ooh, what’s his name. Come on, tell me.” I rolled my eyes downwards and blushed slightly. “Christopher. He’s the only other student in my group.” Nicole raised an eyebrow. “So, what won you over? The hair? The chin? The eyes?” I looked at her, and she paused, and then finished, “The eyes. Were they bright blue, or maybe green?” I answered, “They were brown, but…it wasn’t the color. They were just so…wise…and…understanding.” Nicole smiled. “Sounds like a Vulcan to me.” I laughed a little, and then replied, “Not like that, he was…kind.” Before Nicole could ask any more questions, I said, “I am exhausted. I think I’m gonna wash up now and then hit the sack.” I left the room and headed down the hallway, turning my mind to other things as I unfastened my three cadet pins, but no matter how hard I tried, every time my thoughts ended up wandering back to those eyes…
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