The Arrival Of The Cadets...part 2

Mission: My Place In This Universe
Location: ZuluBase Docking Area/Space
Timeline: 2388/08/25 0630 (August 25 2388 6:30am)

It would be the first of many transports filled with cadets to leave the starbase. The S.S. Santa Maria made it's final preparations as the last of the cadets and staff found their seats.

After sorting out the students who tried to push their way to the front of others, Devin waited on the others to continue boarding.

James entered the shuttle and took his seat quietly. He was not a pushy sort, so he had waited his turn, also glad he had not caught the attention of the officer enforcing the order of the line. There was something about that guy -- maybe it was just the Intelligence uniform, or maybe it was his eyes? -- that made James want to stay under his radar. Sitting, he put his bag under his seat and waited for the rest to board and the shuttle to take off.

Gwen sat in a corner alertly watching everything that went on around her.

"It's starrrting to get crrrowded in herrre." R'Maia observed as she looked around and added glumly "I don't see any otherrr Caitians herrre." She sighed and flopped back in her seat, crossing her arms, "So I guess we might have something in common." she added as she looked at Adonai her tail flicking slightly with annoyance.

"We do?" Adonai asked. If they did have something in common, he had no idea what it could be. I mean.. he was a growing young man.. but he wasn't that hairy.

"I'm the only one of my kind and you'rrre the only one of yourrrs." R'Maia commented, "Which means we have something in common and beforrre you ask no you didn't sprrrout earrrs and a tail if that's what you'rrre thinking." she sighed and wondered if Adonai would ever get past his seemingly initial revulsion of her.

Adonai felt a little... slow that he hadn't thought of that specific observation. Still, he tried to turn it around into a positive light. "That just means that we're more unique and we'll have more to offer to the others and to Starfleet. Well, if I manage to get in," he said.

"You'rrre not officially a cadet?" R'Maia raised an eyebrow before asking "How did you manage to get on boarrrd?"

"I'm not a cadet yet," Adonai corrected. "I convinced Commander Bannerman to allow me passage to the planet where the Academy is located. Once I'm there I need to speak to one of the high ranking officers about allowing me into the program." The meeting itself didn't really worry the Nygean too much. He just hoped that he could prove to that person that he was dedicated enough to be a Starfleet Officer.

"Well I hope they let you in." R'Maia smiled at Adonai warmly. He was definitely growing on her.

"Thank you," the Nygean simply replied. He then leaned back in his seat and looked out of the viewport window, wondering just when this shuttle was going to head off to some place he'd never been before.

Sadie passed the Caitian and the Nygean. As she passed, she chuckled. A scaredy cat. How precious!

James watched the others entering and offered kind smiles to each as they entered and took seats. He'd seen the Caitian glance around, therefore, and had offered that same kind smile. But she seemed not to notice. Oh, well. That wasn't new. He shrugged and looked back at the door.

Walking past the others while barely noticing them, Katie found Kinsey and lead Ben to their seats. She looked around. "Anything from Claudia?" She asked.

Kinsey gave a weak smile and shook her head.

"Bummer," Katie said softly. "Mind if Ben takes Claudia's seat?"

Kinsey shook her head. "No, be my guest." She smiled at the young man again. It was something about his eyes.

Although sincere, Ben smiled weakly back, "Thanks", and took the seat offered. His eyes darting around them and the same feeling of discomfort, of feeling out of place, came to him.

Cadet Freshman Grade Jace Kaldarren walked down the aisle of seats, and feeling very self-assured. He sat down next to James and situated his bag before extended a hand for him to shake. "Hi. I'm Jace Kaldarren. You would be...?"

James took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake before releasing it. "James Corrigan." he answered. "Nice to meet you. What's your field?" he asked by way of starting up a conversation and not appearing to be a recluse, stuck up or otherwise an ass.

"Command, specifically Starfleet Operations. So what's yours?" Jace asked as he relaxed back in his seat.

"Engineering and Flight Control, though I do intend to go through Command training." he answered with a shrug. So their classes weren't aligned; that didn't mean they couldn't be friends, right? "What made you decide to join Starfleet?"

Jace smiled a wry smile as he listened to James. "Space exploration. The idea of it fascinates me. I'm going to be part of the planning, the decision making."

The idea of having a semblance of power appealed to him, but not in a megalomaniacal sort of way. He just was so tired of the way his dad rode him and beat him down that the idea of not being at the bottom of the food chain sounded really good. He nodded. "Makes sense to me." he said with a grin.

Cadet Freshman Grade Rachel Gallagher made her way down the aisle of seats as well, still disappointed that her start to her Academy training was having the start that it was, not that it wasn't at least partly her fault. She knew she should have known better and was still somewhat kicking herself for that one, not that she'd be trusting anything Liam had to say any time soon. She stopped at an empty seat and glanced to the person sitting in the seat next to the empty one. "Pardon me...is this seat taken?" she asked, giving a small smile.

The person, who appeared to be a Human female hybrid with exo-cranial ridges on her forehead, looked up from a civilian padd she had been reading, "It is now." she said, returning Rachel's smile.

Rachel nodded, smiling again. "Thank you." she replied, taking a seat in the empty seat, placing the padd she carried on her lap. She looked around at the others in the transport. "It be lookin like a full house." she commented quietly.

When a spot opened up, Kelly urged her hover chair in, grumbling under her breath about needing to stay in the blasted thing instead of getting up and walking. Maneuvering the hover chair, she backed into into the area reserved for such accommodations and locked it in place. Looking up at Brady, she smiled. "This is it."

As he smiled knowingly back, Brady took the seat next to her. "It is.." and then leaned in conspiratorially and dropped his voice. "How about, after departure, we go for a walk and let you to stretch your legs?"

"You mean I can walk again?" Kelly said, looking at him in awe. "I'm cured! Doctor D to the rescue!"

"Kelly..." Brady had tilted his head down, and looked at her reassuringly. He understood how much the hover chair was getting to her. "If it helps any, I understand what it's like to be stuck in one of those..." he said, remembering back to the accident he was in as a teen, and then paused as again his thoughts went to Karyn. "You won't have to be in this one for much longer."

"I know," Kelly said. "I have to give my favorite doctor a hard time. You know how that goes. If I didn't, people might think that I liked you." She scrunched up her nose and gave an ewww look, then winked at him.

Brady chuckled. "That's true. Of course, we wouldn't want that."

"Not at all," Kelly replied.

A young woman and young man entered the shuttle, appearing to move in perfect harmony. It was easy to do for a set of twins as tightly bound as Tarik and Talia. Both were breathing slightly heavily from their run from their transport. "Our apologies..." Talia began

"Our transport had technical issues." Tarik finished for his twin as the young man cast a tiny smile at his twin.

Jake had been staring broodily out of the front of the shuttle and turned around to check on how full the shuttle was. Seeing two people still standing he yelled out "Hey Pinky and Perky, get your asses on seats will ya? I'm waiting to take off here...do you have any idea how much trouble I'll be in if we get there late?" He glowered at the twins deciding that he quite enjoyed overlording on the cadets. Maybe being a teacher wasn't going to be so bad after all.

~Delightful man~ Talia sent to her brother as she found the first open seat and placed herself in it with a quiet grace. Her delicately pointed ears were a distinct counterpoint to the flame red tips to her black curls.

Tarik merely muttered "Indeed" as his lips turned upwards into a crooked smile. With a jaunty wave at the pilot, he was slower to take his seat in part enjoying the impatience of the man. It was certainly not their fault their transport had been delayed. The press of excited thoughts touched his shields and he winced inwardly. This might be harder than I thought

"Looks like you've got a friend Sir." Liam sneered in the seat beside Jake having watched the whole exchange.

"Can it scuzzball otherwise I'll tell McKinney and Sanchez that you did more than drink underage in a strip club." Jake shot back without even looking at Liam. Then without waiting for some smart ass come back from the youth he activated the comm and announced "Good day to you ladies and gentleman, I trust you have your chairs in the upright position and tables stowed away in an upright position for take off because I'm going whether you're ready or not." And with that he prepared the transport for take off as the ground crew shut the hatch and contacted Zulu for permission to depart.

What a true gentleman Kelly thought at hearing Bannerman's comment. If he were a Nausicaan. However, she kept her thoughts to herself and nibbled on the candy bar that Doc Brady had given her as she put her hover chair into lock mode.

Sadie walked by everyone, making sure that her sauntering was sultry and provocative. The conversations were exceptionally dull to her but perhaps there was mischief to be made somewhere here. She took the last seat in the shuttle, still thinking about Jondar and Phoebe.

James frowned at the pilot's words but made sure he was ready. Okay, maybe ready wasn't the right term, but he was as ready as he got. His eyes flicked over the other students in the shuttle, and he smiled when he saw the girl he'd been talking to before they'd boarded. He waved with a smile.

Seeing a cadet wave at her, Kelly turned her head and paused in mid-nibble of her candy bar. Licking her lips, she gave him a cheeky, half embarrassed grin and waved back. She would have to speak to him more once she got to the campus and was finally released from medical.

Her smile, no matter that it held a note of embarrassment in it, made his grow. He was glad that she had seen his wave and responded. Maybe they could talk more once they reached the campus and she was free to roam again. He sure hoped so! He grinned back and then looked away before he looked like he was staring or did something stupid as he was most likely to do.

Satisfied that everyone was seated and that the shuttle hatch was sealed, Jake completed the pre launch checks and like the pro he was, gracefully took off after receiving permission from Zulu to depart. "Okay kids, you're about to be the luckiest cadets in Starfleet." he commented thinking about the paradise world that they were headed to. Clearing the station, he took the shuttle to warp, bound for Sapientia and all of the adventures that would befall all of them over the next four or more years.

END

Cadet Freshman Grades:
Phoebe Cavendish
William 'Liam' Pardot
Benjamin Hall
Kaitlyn Shaw
James Corrigan
Jondar Sito
Mackinsey Jericho
Rachel Gallagher
Adonai
R'Maia
Jace Kaldarren
Kelly Khan
Talia Varen
Tarik Varen
Arthur Brydragon
Scolin
Gwen Morgan
Ashley MacGyver (unnamed female hybrid with the exo-cranial ridges)
Sadie Hawkins

Commander Jacob Bannerman
Commander Devin McCall
Captain Brady Dering