Star Trek: Starbase 777

Multiple circular tables were set up across the events hall for cadets and officers alike, with little bouquets in the center that had flowers in the colors of Starfleet divisions. Again.

P'lerratex, wearing his newly ironed dress uniform, was sitting at a table decorated with yellow flowers, a barely controlled grin plastered on his face. His green eyes were bright as he scanned the room, wondering with every flash of yellow on a uniform which of the cadets he saw milling about were destined for operations. The beginning of a school year was quite an exciting event, especially for Tex, who genuinely loved his job.

Moska hadn’t quite expected a celebration, though then again, the guest lecturer had never really been a part of school celebrations outside of those at SFA. She’d gotten her share of Cardassian foods on her plate, and was currently trying to find a place to sit. “You seem excited,” She said to Tex softly as she noticed his grin from where she was stood, offering a small smile, “Moska Khodor. Are you lecturing here as well?”

Wonderful! A fellow lecturer! Tex's megawatt grin was now focused on Moska. "First day of classes. It's always my favorite day of the year," the Caitian explained unabashedly. "P'lerratex Haywood. I'm teaching classes on transporter physics, mostly," he informed her.

“Ah, transporter physics, very interesting,” She replied. Her voice was very smooth, very motherly, “I myself am going to be teaching some medical classes for the year,” She gave a nod, “Perhaps we’ll collaborate if any of your students have questions about the buffer, hm?” She said with a little laugh, before taking a small bite of her food.

There were... too many people by the buffet. And by the other tables. Minji was already feeling somewhat out of place, having surmised that they were far older than most of the other Cadets. But she was also noticing that she was rather subdued compared to these... well, these teenagers. She felt like she had been a far calmer teenager, too, although from what memories of Asha's she had access to, that might not have been the case for all of them. In the end, she'd grabbed a glass of something orange, and now she was hiding in the quietest corner she could find, looming awkwardly, their face kept carefully blank.

Moving with a plate full of… something, that she wasn’t too keen on eating, Jita found a quieter space at table 2, and glanced over at the other cadet. Are you another cadet?” She asked, voice sounding a little sharper than she’d intended. (edited)

Oh, they were being addressed. Minji looked over and down at Aparajita, cringing a little at her tone of voice but trying to avoid physically ducking into a hunch. That simply wouldn't do on their first day, as their first impression. "Yes," she said, before realising that this was a conversation, and they would need to add something to it to keep the interaction from growing (even more) awkward. "We have been in the groupchat before, I think. We are Solar." She wasn't sure whether or not to hold out their hand for the part-Andorian to shake.

“It’s good to meet you, Solar.” She replied, not minding the pronouns. After all, things were so varied in the federation that she was sure it didn’t matter. Did it? Would it be an issue? Whatever. No. She would only judge on apparent skill and academic ability. “What division are you?” She raised a brow.

Mission accomplished: interaction sustained. "Can I know your name, too?" Minji asked first, not actually sure who she was talking to. A cadet, surely, if "another cadet" was anything to go off of. "We entered into Security preliminarily, but we are not very attached to the choice yet. We might change our mind, at some point. And you?" Based on the girl not even offering her name before, Minji guessed she'd need to ask for information directly if she didn't want to get stuck being grilled for information this whole interaction. She frowned a little, the semi-paralysed half of her face sluggish and weak in its expressiveness, before trying to return to a neutral expression.

“Oh. I’m Aparajita. Jita is fine.” She replied, not even realizing she hadn’t shared her name. It wasn’t really important, was it? “And I’m in tactical. I believe we may share some classes, if that’s the case.” She continued.

Minji nodded. It made sense that Tactical cadets and Security cadets had some classes in common, even if they'd end up in extremely different roles. Both of them would get extensive ground combat training, ethics courses, and similar subjects. "We will have a lot of general subjects the first two years," she said instead, "those are shared among all divisions except Medical." Why she went for the obvious factoid that was clearly not what Jita had been intending, she didn't know. "You're excited to start, then?" she pivoted, hoping to get a less pointy answer. In truth, Minji had been quite anxious to start, feeling rather drifty and untethered when they had nothing to do. Even Beastie felt it, and Beastie was usually rather unaffected by things like excessive boredom or insecurity.

“We will. I hope that the classes we share will be challenging enough for us all.” Jita replied, adjusting her hijab slightly. “And I’m not excited, I’m eager.” She corrected, as if it was a specific definition that everyone should know, “But… yes. Thank you. Are you the same?”

Minji did not know what the difference between eager and excited was supposed to be in this case. Did it not ultimately mean that she was happy classes were starting imminently? She didn't verbalise this. "We have been bored recently," she admitted instead, "and we cope poorly with boredom. So I hope class is challenging enough to keep us busy." There, that was a personal admission that was relatable enough to establish a rapport with a classmate. Nevermind that Minji wasn't convinced it would be very challenging at all on the whole, because of the whole augmentation deal, because really, whose business was that but her own?

“Ah. I’ve been bored as well, so I feel the same.” She nodded, straight-faced as always (although that was a bit of a lie, her feature always managed to furrow in a way that made her look displeased). Everything in her screamed to say something snarky, to piss off this perfectly normal classmate in front of everyone, but she knew that would sacrifice everything she’d worked for. Politeness it was. “What are you most excited for on your roster?”

It's alright, Jita, Solar's resting face was always distorted into something dubiously melancholy that had little to do with Minji fronting and a lot to do with their right facial nerve being impacted and having less control over the facial muscles. "I don't know," she responded honestly, not really knowing what to expect from the Academy yet. "Maybe just the trial and error in figuring out what division suits us best? We took a lot of classes from different disciplines." After all, they'd picked Security for Lieutenant Vallance, but they'd all agreed to switch if that was what was best.

“Trial and error is a strong option. It’s difficult to not find something you enjoy there, when you try everything.” She stated, “I’ve had my division chosen for… ten years, now, so I have no need for trial and error when I’ve got it fully mapped out.” That’s kinda rude, Jita, the little conscience in her head that she decided to ignore most days chimed in. Too bad today was one of those days. “Do you know any of the professors yet?”

Minji nodded along. She found it difficult to estimate how old Jita was supposed to be, but if she was over twenty she'd be very surprised. So the idea that Jita had managed to pick what she wanted to be before the age of ten and stick with it until now baffled her. Minji hadn't even managed to maintain an integrated personality in that time. "I only decided a year ago to sign up. Before that we worked in construction for a long time." Eleven years, actually, though Minji had been around for approximately none of it. "Do you know any of the professors yet?" she asked back, a little incredulous and a little curious. They'd just arrived here a little while ago, and if they'd met any of their professors, Minji didn't remember it. Which wasn't uncommon for them.

1

Hi what the fuck. “Oh.” She stated simply, unable to really say anything else. Not only were they far older than her, which usually wouldn’t be an issue, but they had also done this on a whim. Starfleet was not a whim, it was a lifelong commitment to the betterment of the federation. “I’ve researched their grading styles extensively.” She informed them, grateful for the topic change, “I believe I know which are the harshest graders, which will do me well.”

Minji was suddenly reminded of the fact that she hadn't been to school in over fifteen years. For most of her headmates, it had been at least twelve. She didn't remember what it was like, though she was fairly sure things were mostly standardised when she'd gone. And, crucially, if you hardly got things wrong because they greatly enhanced your cognitive function as a young child, you were bound to not run into many issues. "I don't believe strict grading will pose a large issue for us," she just said. "If the material is taught well, we will pass our classes." And if it wasn't taught well, they'd probably still pass their classes. It wasn't like they were out to become valedictorian anyway, that would just require them to give a speech upon graduation.

“I hope that strict grading will, in fact, pose a challenge. If it’s harder work to pass, it means that we’ll retain the information better.” She replied, “I would much rather rise to the occasion than coast along.” Tryhard.

Minji didn't think she agreed. "I prefer fair grading," she said somewhat meekly, their voice noticeably getting softer the longer she spoke, "I think the grading should reflect the difficulty of the material taught. Deliberately making classes harder to pass benefits nobody." Not that she'd had much personal experience with this, but shouldn't a lecturer want all of their students to pass a class? In an ideal situation, any student experiencing difficulties would be noticed before the end of the class, their issues would be resolved, and 100% of students would pass the first time around.

And in came Tarsek, making his way between the many tables. The Commander would eventually stop to either talk to an officer or offer his greetings to a cadet, always in that serious manner of his. Two of said cadets seemed to be talking among themselves of teaching methods and grades. Were they already past their first year? Usually those worried more about such. “Live long and prosper, cadets.” He said. “Welcome to Starbase 777.”

"Hello, sir," Minji replied almost automatically, making an effort to stand up a little straighter immediately upon the appearance of — she glanced at his collar to find the rank pips — the Commander. "Thank you for the welcome." She didn't recognise him, but she had Asha's muscle memory, or at least part of it. She knew how to present herself professionally.

“Sir.” She nodded, straightening her posture, folding her hands behind her back, “I’m very proud to be here. I’ve heard that this will be the most productive academy year yet.”

A raise of a single brow was all given at that last comment. And what an interesting comment. “Has the person who told you that provided for any reasoning that could support their claim? I would be interested in hearing such an analysis.” One could develop measures to boost productivity and expect for them to bring positive results, but to be able to predict such was impossible in normal circumstances, let alone on a campus that had just been inaugurated and would still find its rhythm. In fact, Tarsek expected their metrics to be slightly bellow those of other locations due to the adaptation period. He knew what that had been, of course. Tarsek might have stayed away from the classroom these last years, but he still remembered how different types of students could behave. “Are you in your first year?”

“I… believe so. I’ll ask.” She glanced downward. Fuck fuck fuck. Last time ever she parroted her dad. She was utterly fucked and wouldn’t graduate and— “And We both are, yes.” She bit her tongue, nodding and adjusting her visor idly.

1

Minji nodded along to Tarsek, then Jita. She knew they especially did not look like most of the first year cadets, or even the fourth years, so the question was warranted. "It is good to be here," she just added to what Jita said, trying to spare her some embarrassment.

Somewhere to the side, a blue-accented uniform popped out of the crowd. It was Saren who was walking by, sending a curious glance towards the small group, before deciding that he might as well just park there by Tarsek's side as well, for one inexplicable reason or another: "Commander," he greeted with a nod, before turning to the two, "Cadets. I hope the station's welcome is going well?"

The fucking CSO too????? “Sir.” She nodded towards Saren, “Cadet Solar and I were just saying how good it is to be here.”

”Do let me known when you do, cadet.” He was not expecting her to actually provide an answer and would not hold it against her. There was almost some humor in the whole situation. A just-started student trying to show that, first, she was excited to be here, and, second, that she was able. To them and in some way to herself. “Lieutenant, thank you for joining us.” He addressed Saren’s arrival. “Are you also lecturing this year? It seems plenty of our senior officers decided to took on the opportunity to do so.”

Oh, the Lieutenant Junior Grade was also important somehow. Minji would probably need to look these people up once she got back to their quarters later. "How many lecturers are on base currently?" she asked quietly, very aware of the fact that with the amount of classes offered by SFA, some would simply have to be outsourced to people from other locations, whether through temporary stations or recorded lectures. Still, she hoped they'd be able to attend most lectures in person.

He was left feeling ancient, all of a sudden. It felt like his own time as a cadet was some mere 1-2 years ago, not... four. Eight actually, if you begin to count from his first year. And now Tarsek was asking him about lecturing. Brrr... "I will be there, mostly for zoology-related classes," he replied. "As for the amount of lecturers, I can't say for sure... some are going to arrive in a few days, some in a week or two." Like a certain old scientist he hoped would arrive soon... "If needed, there is a list available, kept with regular updates - I can provide a link to that."

2

1

It couldn't hurt, anyway. It was good to know who your points of contact were going to be. "I wouldn't mind," Minji replied simply.

“Me neither.” She nodded, “Are there any other educational opportunities featuring senior officers other than lecturers?”

”For a first-year yes. Not all of our seniors will be providing lectures, however, so do not expect to encounter them all in such way.” Not all of them wished to become teachers, which was completely understandable. Being an officer was different from being an instructor and you were not required to occupy both spaces in order to serve. In fact it was surprising the amount of officers already on board who had offered their names for the new campus.

"Understood." She stated, as professionally as she possibly could. "I'm excited to hear what the lecturers here have to offer this year."

Saren hummed contently, "It'll be sent to you after the celebration ends, then. I can add to the Commander's reply a bit - not a promise nor a fact, but lab-like practices as well as simulations are possible, depending on the subject and lecturer."

"That certainly seems like a great benefit to attending here." At least to Minji, who was a doer as well as a thinker. It hadn't even been part of the consideration for picking 777, given their main concern had been staying far away from Earth. At least it was seeming more and more like the decision had been the right one.

”I shall be lecturing in both Anthropology and Conflict Resolution.” And maybe some other, if a pertinent subject found itself in need of a guest lecturer for the occasion. “Lt. Cdr. Zalan, our ACOO, will be lecturing Communications and Ethics. You will have a vast curriculum to choose over, aside from your chosen division path’s mandatory classes.”