STAR TREK: PHOENIX
S01E04
“Ensign Shimmer”
“Personal log, stardate 46001.0
I am on my way to the U.S.S. Enterprise to report for my first assignment. I’m going to be honest: I’m pretty nervous. No, scratch that: I’m downright terrified. A posting to the Enterprise at the personal request of the Commander LaForge? Both absolute legends in their own right? I'm not even onboard yet and I can feel the pressure bearing down on me. Anyway, since I am going to the Enterprise I promised Wesley I would pass along a message to his mother, who is the ship's Chief Medical Officer. He told me that the senior staff of the ship are all nice people, easy to get along with. I hope he’s right.”
Tapping a single button on the shuttlecraft panel to end the log, I sat back in my chair and sighed, glaring at the slow moving stars outside the shuttlecraft main viewer. “Would’ve been nice if the Enterprise had waited until after we were aboard to leave.”
Of course I wasn’t privy to why they left. All I was told was that the Enterprise was recalled due to some priority situation, and abruptly left for Devidia II, a planet on the far side of the Federation. Meanwhile, I was stuck in this dinky warp five shuttle crawling my way to a starbase to meet up with them. And I wasn’t alone.
“Ah, come on, Shimmer, it ain’t so bad,” said Alma Smith. She must’ve turned a few heads after our first year, because she was assigned to the Enterprise too. Roommates once again. Evidently her specialty of xeno agriculture required a lot of starship-based laboratory testing. On the one hoof, it’d be great to have a roommate I knew, and for that matter, liked. On the other hoof, sometimes… Smith could be a little too friendly.
“Look all Ah’m sayin’ is, this gives us some more time to catch up. Ah haven’t seen you ‘cept in passin’ in three years.”
I reached out with a hoof and patted her on one tanned hand. “I hear you, Smith.” Sighing, I laid back in my chair, then shrugged. “Well, Twilight's starting at the Academy in a month or so. Parents are both doing fine. Otherwise, pretty much the same daily grind as you for the last few years. Just different classes is all.”
A curious, doubtful look crossed her face for a moment, then she shrugged. “Well, mah brother Max has been doin’ real well in the Ivor Prime colony. Helped ‘em reap a really good harvest this year. They’re one of them smaller colonies that don’t have enough spare energy for replicators all the time, but he's keepin' them goin'.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I remember doing a project on a colony like that for one of my second-year classes. Most Federation colonies prefer to start with agriculture and basic industry first and work their way back up to replicators afterwards. Easier that way. Less chance of suddenly starving.”
“Eeyup,” Smith said. “‘Specially since they’re far enough away Ah gotta wait a good couple of weeks just to hear a subspace message. Ain’t no easy thing sometimes.”
“What about Floryn?”
She started. “Mah little sister? She’s alright. She’s still at home with our Granny. Ah think she said she’d prefer to stay on Earth rather than leave the planet like Max and Ah did. But Ah keep hearin’ her say somethin’ different every time Ah talk to her, so who knows?”
I chuckled at that. I remembered meeting Floryn once. Little thing was barely taller than I was at the time, with her shock of red hair streaming down around her shoulders and a big giant red bow hanging off the back, like she was a walking holiday present. She ran all over the place too, never sitting still, always too much energy. And like her sister, she was far smarter than she looked. I watched her take one look at a warp field calculation I was struggling with and solve it in moments. Might’ve been a fluke, but she always struck me as sharp.
“Oh, and if you’re wonderin’ about Granny, don’t worry,” Smith continued with a grin on her face. “Mah Granny may be a hundred, but she’s a spry old thing. She’s gonna be one of those who’ve got another fifty years in her.”
“Haha, I’ll bet,” I replied, grinning back.
Several loud beeps emanated from the helm, drawing my attention. I moved forward in a hurry. “Hmm. Looks like we’re being hailed.”
A deep and booming voice filtered through the comms, “Shuttlecraft Sagan, this is the Enterprise. Please acknowledge.”
I pressed down on a key. “Sagan here, Enterprise. Go ahead.”
“Due to new orders, we will be rendezvousing with you within two hours. Adjust your heading to the following coordinates.”
I read out the coordinates and punched them into the ship’s autopilot. "Acknowledged, Enterprise." The shuttle shuddered as it momentarily switched out of warp to modify its heading. “Adjusted course laid in.”
“Understood, Sagan. Enterprise, out.”
“Well that’s a mite strange,” Smith commented as the comms fell silent. “That’s a whole day ahead of schedule. Ah figured we wouldn’t see ‘em till we were at the starbase.”
“Well, it’s the flagship, they’re bound to be all over the place,” I replied, though why was the Enterprise zipping back and forth across the breadth of Federation space this much? Even for the flagship it seemed unusual. Then again, it wasn’t really in my purview to worry about it. As curious as I was, I’d learned a long time ago the importance of chain of command. I’d be told what I needed to know, and what I didn’t need to know, they wouldn’t say.
Smith stood from her seat, stretched out all four limbs with a loud moan, then traipsed her way over to the small food replicator. “Well, Ah don’t know about you, but Ah’m hungry for somethin’.” She turned to the replicator. “Steak and potatoes. Medium.”
“Uuuh… sure, maybe like a sandwich or something,” I said, rolling my eyes. When aren’t you hungry, Smith? I swear, you eat more than a grizzly bear about to hibernate.
She set her steaming plate on the deployable eating table between our chairs, then muttered, “Grilled havarti cheese sandwich on sourdough, and two glasses of water.” Once the replicator finished, she brought out the remaining items and set them down. “Hope that’ll work for you.”
I took a deep whiff, allowing the fresh scent of melted cheese and baked bread to fill my nostrils. Since it was a shuttlecraft replicator, this struck me as more of an imitation, like the equivalent of cheap fast food versus a home cooked meal. But it still hit the spot even so. “It’s good, thanks. I’m surprised you remembered my favorite kind.”
“Ah only watched you eat it, what, a good hundred times or so?” She dove into her steak, frowning at the taste. “Ah wish they’d put decent resolution replicators in these shuttles.”
“It’s energy efficient,” I replied, injecting just enough smarm into my tone to get Smith’s eye twitching. “These shuttles aren’t exactly luxury liners.”
“Ah know that, Shimmer,” she grunted, letting out another wordless growl when she heard me laugh. “Ah’m just sayin’, it don’t taste that good. ‘Least the Enterprise oughtta have better ones.”
“If they bother giving us lowly Ensigns decent ones, that is,” I quipped.
She dropped her fork and stared at me. “Ah hope you’re jokin’. Ah dunno if Ah could put up with this kind of food for however long it takes to make JG.”
I stared right back, deliberately taking long, slow bites out of poor quality sandwich, swallowed, then said, “Actually, I already checked the specs. They use one with ten times higher resolution than these for the enlisted personnel, let alone the officers. We’ll be fine.”
“Phew!” She slumped in her chair, took a long drink of water, then went back to eating. “Thank goodness. You had me worried there for a second, Shimmer.”
“It’s because you’re too easy,” I said, finishing off my sandwich. I gulped down my water, then tossed my plate and glass back into the replicator and watched them dissolve into nothing. “I remember that much.”
We kept up a comfortable chat after that, whittling away the time. Two hours passed like nothing, and soon the autopilot signaled for my attention. “Bringing us out of warp,” I said as I entered the commands.
The stars before us shrank into dots, a white flash, and then we were in open space. “Looks like the Enterprise is hailin’ us again,” Smith said.
“Enterprise to Sagan. We will be there momentarily. As soon as we arrive, you are cleared to dock in Main Shuttlebay.”
“Acknowledged, Enterprise,” I said.
A bright flash lit up the viewscreen just seconds later and the Enterprise seemed to burst into existence before us, as if it had just completed the largest teleportation spell in existence. Its vast size dominated our shuttlecraft, like a blue whale next to a guppy. Every part of the ship screamed top of the line engineering. “Look at that,” I breathed, a happy giggle tickling my throat. “Beautiful as ever, isn’t she?”
“I'll say,” Smith said, staring in awe. Unlike me she hadn’t had the opportunity to see the Enterprise up close a couple of years ago during its repairs at McKinley Station. “She sure is.”
“Tell you what,” I said, taking over control from the autopilot, "we'll take the long way around to the shuttlebay."
We inched along on thruster power, passing over the forward edge of the massive saucer section, then following the thin 'neck' of the ship to the stardrive section before slowly looping up and over the enormous twin nacelles. All the while Alma's focus never left the viewscreen, her eyes glazed over like a foal in a candy store.
A sudden beep from the comms unit startled us both. "Enterprise to Sagan."
I fumbled for the open channel button for a moment. "Sagan here."
"Do you need directions?"
Alma and I looked at each other, both our faces as red as beets.
"No, sir! Switching to RCS thrusters for final approach now."
"Good. Enterprise out." The deep voice betrayed no emotion, but that didn't calm my blood pressure one bit.
The massive bay door slid open, revealing a two-level room large enough to give Starfleet Academy’s auditorium a run for its money. I counted at least two dozen shuttles of various types parked in bays throughout, with people and smaller maintenance drones buzzing around in every direction .
As soon as we passed through the blue tinted forcefield holding in the bay’s atmosphere, a tractor beam took hold and guided us down into an open landing bay. We waited patiently for the ship to come to a halt, then I turned over control, allowing the engine core to shut down. “Well, here we go, Smith,” I said as I grabbed my duffel bag and slipped it on.
We stepped out of the hatch together, met by a dour-faced Klingon wearing lieutenant’s pips. I recognized him instantly; the first Klingon in Starfleet, and the one who’d spoken to us over comms. “Sir!” I said, coming to attention. “Ensigns Shimmer and Smith, reporting as ordered.”
He grimaced. “At ease, Ensigns. I am Lieutenant Worf. I was asked to… personally escort you, by your department heads. Follow me.”
Glancing at Smith, who shrugged, I proceeded to follow Worf across the massive deck of the Main Shuttlebay for a good few minutes before we reached the corridor and a turbolift. “Deck 31,” he barked, and the turbolift whisked us off. “I also have for you here your duty rosters.” He handed over two PADDs. “Your shifts will start at 0800 tomorrow, ship’s time.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said, tucking mine into my duffel bag. “Computer, current time?”
“1645.”
“Guess that means we’ll have a bit of time to ourselves, then,” Smith commented.
Worf’s expression didn’t change as the turbolift came to a halt, the doors opening. We followed him out through the corridor, till we passed into a particular section. He stopped at a set of doors seemingly at random, though I saw it already featured our names etched onto the door. “These are your quarters. There is the living area with its replicator, and two bedrooms with attached washrooms. Your duty rosters will also contain information necessary to contact the quartermaster, should you need anything.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said with a nod.
“Of course. Is there anything else you need from me?” he inquired, his tone more sour than ever.
I glanced at Smith, who shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
He nodded at that. “Very well. Good day.” He turned to leave.
“Don’t gotta tell me twice,” Smith murmured as she shuffled off into one of the bedrooms, presumably to use the head.
As soon as she disappeared, Worf paused at the threshold to the corridor. “Ensign, a word, please.”
My blood pressure shot through the roof again, my heart hammering. “Sir, about the shuttlecraft--”
He shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. “No, no, that is not what I wish to speak about.” He eyed me for a moment, then his expression softened. “I understand you are the only Equestrian in Starfleet, Ensign.”
My heartbeat slowed from a pell-mell gallop to a hurried canter. “Yes, sir,” I replied, uncertain where he was going with this.
He didn’t respond for a few moments, then he leaned in and said. “Should you find yourself facing too many difficulties due to this, come speak to me. I will do what I can to… assist.”
Huh. Wasn’t expecting an offer like that. All I’d ever heard of this Worf guy was he was, at best, irascible, unlikely to get along with others. Maybe that was wrong. “Yes sir,” I said, nodding. “Understood, sir.”
His mouth contorted in a vague approximation of a smile, then he pulled away and left the room swift as the wind, just in time for Smith to return from the head. “Well, he sure was charmin’,” Smith groused. “Which bedroom you want?”
“Don’t think it matters,” I said with a shrug, choosing the left one at random. I dumped my duffle bag on the bed, emptied it out, and put away my things. I didn’t bring much. Just a few sets of off-duty clothes, a couple of books, and a picture of me with Twi and our moms that I placed next to my bed. It was a moving holo-image of the four of us happily posing, even T'Lona, in front of Niagara Falls that was taken before I'd left. Twilight had her foreleg wrapped around my barrel while I had one hoof atop her head, both of us grinning and laughing. Amina winked while T’Lona stood at ease, staring impassively with a slight smile accompanying the occasional glance towards us.
I knew I’d treasure it. I needed that connection. And already I missed them… I’d been away on a ship before, yes, but that had always been temporary. Now, I probably wouldn’t see them again for at least a good solid year or longer. Though the situation wasn’t that different from being at the Academy… the distance gnawed at me all the same.
“Feelin’ blue ‘cause you miss ‘em, huh?”
I turned and saw Smith standing in my bedroom doorway, a sympathetic smile on her face. “Yeah… yeah I do. Just a little.”
“Ah hear ya on that one, sugarcube,” Smith replied, her smile replaced with a frown. “Listen, Ah think Ah’m gonna stretch my legs, maybe check out this Ten-Forward Ah’ve heard about. You wanna come along?”
“Mmm…” I shook my head. “No. I want to study my duty roster, familiarize myself better.
Smith raised an eyebrow. “Fine, fine. Ah’ll see you later then.” She disappeared out the door.
I examined my duty roster. Nothing too terribly surprising. I was assigned to Bravo Shift, so my usual shift would involve 1200-2000, roughly speaking, plus whatever extra duties I get assigned. Tomorrow would start at 0800 though, thanks to an additional four hours of orientation, meetings, and mandatory safety and operational training. It’d suck to have a twelve hour shift, but that’s part and parcel of Starfleet.
I moved on to studying some maps of the ship, learning the corridor layouts and memorizing where everything important was. Then I found other ways to utilize my time, until I’d been sitting there for so long, my muscles so stiff and tight I needed to get moving.
Hopping off my bed, I stretched out my limbs, savoring the pops and crackles. “Maybe I should visit the gym,” I muttered. “Computer, time?”
“2037.”
“Okay, no, too late for the gym. Guess Ten-Forward’s as good a choice as any.” I left my quarters and popped into the nearest turbolift. “Ten-Forward.”
After a few moments, the turbolift came to a halt and slid open, dumping me out into a corridor that, if not for the number plaque on the wall across from the turbolift doors, would look identical to every other corridor on the ship. I turned a corner and let the faint sound of music and laughter guide meto the lounge. Two large wooden doors, each featuring a Starfleet logo etched into the integrated round windows, swished open upon my approach. Inside I found a large lounge with a smattering of patrons.
Naturally as soon as one of the civilians spotted me, she pointed at me and whispered to her table mates. The whispers took barely a moment or two before everyone in the room was looking my way out of curiosity, a few with stars in their eyes and hands raised as if ready to pet or stroke. As often as I received this reaction whenever I entered a new place that was unfamiliar with my existence, it never ceased to be annoying. I’m not a freaking cat, damn it.
So I took my usual tack of waving to everyone once, then promptly ignoring them and walking up to sit at the bar. The stools were a bit high for me, but after eleven years of coping I’d learned how to self-levitate just enough to get me up and seated. “Bartender, can I have an ale, please?”
“Certainly,” spoke the bartender, a dark-skinned human woman in a deep royal purple dress wearing the largest, most excessive hat I’d ever seen. Seriously, the thing was like a good two meters in diameter! And yet somehow, it fit her perfectly, complementing her warm demeanor and rich velvety voice.
Then she focused her eyes on me, and my heart stopped.
It was like looking at Princess Celestia. She bore the same mixture of kindness and care, seemingly young, but behind it all lay ancient wisdom. Whoever this woman was, she wasn’t human like I thought. No human could ever live long enough to gain that level of wisdom in their eyes. “Who are you?” I whispered.
She smiled, a few wrinkles crinkling her otherwise youthful face. “I’m Guinan. I’m the bartender here. Well, one of them. And you must be Sunset Shimmer, right?” Her smile grew, showing her pearly white teeth. “I’ve heard about you from a few folks. You’re pretty unique.”
“I’m not the only one,” I replied, finding myself relaxing despite my initial unease. She was no threat. She meant no harm, in any fashion. Quite the opposite, in fact.
She chuckled as she brought out my ale and set it on the bar. “Very true. Not a lot of people can tell that about me from just a single look.”
I muttered a quick thanks, took a pull of the ale, then said, “You’re not the first person I’ve met who’s a lot older than they look.”
Guinan laughed at that, rich and hearty, but with a tang of bitterness, like dark chocolate. Not a lot. Just a bit bitter. Just enough to be tainted by centuries of experiences, some more negative than others. Something I only noticed because I was paying attention. “Well. Been a while since someone said that to my face. I like your candor.” She ducked under the bar just long enough to fetch a cleaning cloth, then went about wiping the bar down. “So, I’ve heard about you, but not a lot of details. What’s your story?”
I found myself opening up to Guinan, telling her all about my past. When I got to the subject of Princess Celestia, Guinan nodded in complete understanding. “Ah, so that’s how you knew. She sounds like a pony I’d like to get to know sometime.”
“She’s certainly... interesting,” I admitted. A bitter taste filled my mouth, like it always did whenever this subject came up. “We didn’t part on good terms.”
“And I’ll bet you regret that,” Guinan said, leaning over the bar. She’d long since put her cloth away, and only occasionally bustled away to assist another customer before returning to our conversation.
A dry chuckle escaped my lips. I was on my third mug of ale now, but I could still focus clearly. Thank you synthehol. “I don’t like to admit it, but… yeah. I do. I’m hoping one day I’ll get the chance to make up for it.”
Guinan nodded at that, and held up a hand to gesture with. “You know, I'm pretty good at reading people too. And I see an ensign who knows what she wants and won't let anything stand in the way of her accomplishing her goals. So yeah, I think you'll get the chance to make up for it--" her pause made me stop mid-sip, "but not as soon as you might want."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Guinan shrugged. "Just a sense, is all. Kind of a thing with my people."
I drained the rest of my ale and set the glass down. “Thank you, Guinan. I think… I think I’m going to head back to my quarters. I’ve got some thinking to do. See you later.”
I trotted out the door and made my way back to my quarters in a hurry. Not out of any sort of distress. Guinan… she’d been wonderful to talk to. A lot like Belle, though not in the same way, not really. She was no therapist. She just listened well.
And she never did answer the question of what she was. Briefly, I considered looking her up in the ship’s computer since she’d be part of the manifest. But after considering it, I rejected the notion. I’d be invading her privacy for no good reason.
So, to clear my head, I decided to record a message to my family. “Hey Twilight, Mother, Mom. I made it safely aboard the Enterprise. First shift is tomorrow. I’m excited! And a little scared. But mostly excited. Also met someone interesting aboard. Her name is Guinan. She’s the bartender in Ten-Forward, and she’s… a really good listener. I think you’d like her. Well, gotta go. Talk to you soon.” I made sure to submit that to be sent off with the morning’s comm traffic.
Then I went straight back into familiarizing myself with the Enterprise. I didn’t want to disappoint La Forge and I hadn’t had a chance to meet him yet. So when I did, I wanted to make sure I proved his faith in me.
The next morning saw me standing at the master systems display, waiting patiently while staring across the deck at the pulsating warp core. The blue light streamed up and down the main housing, coalescing in the center, the intermix chamber, calling to me. I tried to resist but the siren song of it lured me in. I approached the warp core and laid a hoof upon it, allowing the vibrations to flow through me. It tingled, just a bit, as I passed my hoof down over towards the dilithium chamber.
“Everyone does that their first time in here,” spoke a pleasant, charming masculine voice from my right.
“Huh?!” I turned to be met by the smiling face of Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, a face I’d recognize anywhere, especially with his signature VISOR. He was accompanied by a taller human man with pale skin, somewhat balding, with a perpetual twitch to his movements and a constant edge of fear underlying his gaze. La Forge let out a chuckle at my panicked response. “Relax, Ensign. You’re fine.”
I flashed him a strained smile back and tried to fight off the blush on my cheeks. “Y-yes, sir.”
La Forge gestured to the other officer. “This is Lieutenant Barclay. He’ll be helping you with most of your orientation.”
“I-it’s a pleasure to m-meet you,” Barclay said, roughly sticking out a hand in my general direction.
Trying not to laugh, or roll my eyes, I took it and shook it. “Likewise, sir.” Turning to La Forge, I gave him a soft smile and offered my hoof to shake. “And sir, if I may, I want to thank you for offering me this post. I wasn’t expecting to work on the flagship of all places right out of the Academy!”
Grinning, La Forge shook my hoof once then let it drop. "It was an easy call. Your Academy record speaks for itself. Just remember, out here is the real deal. The only do-overs we get are on the holodeck."
“Yes, sir,” I said, grinning back.
La Forge beckoned with a hand towards the warp core. “So, I’m sure you’ve familiarized yourself with the blueprints, but there’s nothing like getting a first hand look.” He proceeded to point out various consoles and positions, having me ID them, nodding favorably to each of my answers. Then we returned to the core itself. “Go ahead,” he said, gesturing to it. “Place your hoof on it again.”
I did as requested, feeling that same tingle I felt before. “Like touching a beating heart, only a lot less creepy,” I murmured.
La Forge chuckled at that. “Not exactly poetry, but I hear you. The Enterprise is the best ship I’ve ever worked on.” Then he looked at me, adopting a more business like expression. “I understand you specialized in antimatter power and dilithium regulators, right?”
“Yes sir,” I answered.
“Good, so that’s where Barclay’s going to begin with you. I need to get back to my own work.” He started to step away, then halted. “Oh, and Ensign? Welcome aboard.” Giving me one last grin, he walked off towards an office-like area separated by a tall glass wall.
“He’s a g-great man, don’t you think?” Barclay said, drawing my attention back to him. He tried to lean against the closest wall, but missed with his arm and nearly fell over, saved only by my quick reflexes with my horn.
“He seems like it,” I said, a note of irritation crossing my voice. What did this guy do to deserve being here? He’s barely qualified to be in Starfleet! “What’s next, sir?”
“Ah, w-well,” Barclay stammered, pulling at his collar. He brought up a PADD in his hands, then pointed towards a nearby tool cabinet.
What proceeded was a painful two or three hours stuck with a bumbling buffoon who didn’t deserve to wear the uniform, far as I was concerned. Oh he was a nice guy. He meant well. But how did he pass psychological exams? I had Twilight Sparkle for a little sister, so I understood anxiety. But this guy made Twilight look like the most level-headed mare in the entire Federation! Still, like I said, he wasn’t a bad person. I just didn’t like having to take orders from him.
Then he introduced me to the officers and enlisted I’d be working with on a day to day basis. For the most part, they were what I expected, professionals ready to perform their duties. Then he got to the last one, and I had to take a step back in shock. “Savil?”
The grumpy-faced Vulcan hadn’t changed a bit as he glared at me, one eyebrow arched in mute surprise. “Sunset Shimmer. Seeing you aboard the Enterprise is… unexpected.”
“Good to see you too,” I growled. Hearing his snide tone filled me with irritation. He’d never forgiven me for that science fair victory, and despite my attempt at an apology he only grew more insufferable in his last days at school. Then my eyes caught sight of the second pip on his collar, and I unclenched my jaw enough to say the final word in a kinder manner: “sir.”
“Oh, you two a-already know each other?” Barclay asked, an unwarranted smile coming to his face. “Good, good. Well, that’s good because you’ll be working together with him on your first duty detail, Ensign Shimmer. Here are your assignments. Get to it.”
“Aye, sir,” I said, glaring at Savil the whole while. He stared back impassively, the only sign of emotion that I could read being the way he sniffed as he inhaled with his nostrils.
Savil stared at me for a moment longer, then indicated an arm in the direction of the nearest jefferies tube. “We will be performing repairs on several maintenance junctions. You will precede me.” He handed over a container of tools.
Like the professional I’d been trained to be, I took the tools, muttered an affirmation, then proceeded to climb the ladder into the jefferies tube. At least I could stand up in them without scraping my horn on the ceiling. Sometimes.
This was going to be a long first week.
My first day at Starfleet Academy? The school I’d wanted to attend for eight years?
It sucked.
Sunset warned me about the screaming the shouting, the far too early wake-up call after being kept up half the night just to be purposely exhausted the next day. All part of standard military training. Shining… I don’t remember a lot about him anymore, but I do remember he once told me the Royal Guard's training was the same way. Or even worse, since they made him sleep at a desk. They didn’t do that to us, at least they haven't yet.
But I expected all that. I could cope with all of that. What I hadn’t expected was the way everyone looked at me. Like I was some pretender, a carbon copy of my sister. Especially the older cadets, the ones who’d been around while she was. They’d ask me questions or act a certain way around me and expect I'd react as she did as if I was a discolored version of her.
Then I finally met my roommate later that evening. I had hoped I could build some sort of rapport with someone and find at least one friend among my peers.
Of course I was wrong. Completely, totally wrong.
When I met her, staring up at her stoic, unmoving face, skin the color of darkened bronze, eyes of chocolate brown with short strung hair to match, fear raked its icy claws down my back. The look in her eyes. Cold didn’t cut it. Arctic didn’t match. They were dead. Like she didn’t care at all.
“H-hi,” I said, attempting a smile while I put my best hoof forward for a shake. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. It’s good to meet you.”
She stared at my hoof and frowned. “Maia. Kelia Maia." She spoke in an icy tone as she shrugged past my hoof, "and don’t touch me,” she added.
The harsh rejection stung, threatening to break through the last of the barriers I’d thrown up and cause me to break into tears. But I managed to choke back my sad response, “of course,” and retreated to my side of the room.
The next few days grew more difficult each day, and so I buried myself into my work. I focused on things like Starfleet's rules and regulations, early Starfleet history, or even elementary temporal mechanics. And I lost myself in the numbers of fractal calculus. I tried, more than once, to convince Maia to study with me, since we had the same classes our first term. But she refused.
Then came our first day of dedicated physical training. We were all required to log at least an hour of physical activity every day, but every week, one day was set aside during the first term for proper physical fitness. This took many forms; varying based on the cadet, their species, and their preferences. For my part, I elected to focus on an expansion of my magical abilities, mixing it in with martial arts. In my dim memories of my former life in Equestria, I once read a book on unicorn fighting tactics in the Royal Guard, and since some form of CQC training was required, I thought it’d be a good way to reach back into my past. To try and find some sort of connection.
Any kind of connection, even to a past I could hardly remember anymore, would’ve been helpful at that point. I hadn’t seen Mother or Mom once, despite them working at the Academy. If it was for a few moments, if only long enough for them to say, “Cadet,” and nod at me, I needed it.
So color me surprised when Maia joined me and a few others practicing exotic martial arts. Exotic in the sense that we each had our own unique requirements, such as the trio of Edosian cadets whose six limbed forms meant they needed to practice with each other, and the Phylosian and Vendorian cadets who used tentacles in a way that reminded me of some of Sunset’s or Cadeneza's favorite off-color jokes.
“Sparkle,” Maia greeted me, halting me in the middle of a rearward force-charged buck. “What are you doing?”
I allowed the magic on my hooves to dissipate and scowled at her. “Martial arts with magic. What does it look like I’m doing?”
Maia frowned at me. “Magic. You mean your... abilities.”
Ah, yes, the disdain for the word magic. I’d grown used to hearing people express doubt every time the word was used. Mother and Mom had long since adjusted. They recognized that, whatever science was behind it, the term magic was perfectly fine. It was descriptive. It made sense. My abilities are magic. Not mystical, ephemeral, unknowable whatever crap that humans and a lot of other species seemed to have in their cultural mythologies. But real, clearly defined, mathematically based expressions of energy manipulated to perform various tasks that follow experimentally validated rules, just like any other scientific phenomena.
It’d become far worse at the Academy. I’d mentioned it a few times in classes already, and every time my fellow Cadets would snicker, or outright laugh while the drill instructors used it as an excuse to dismiss every one of my successes. Sunset hadn’t mentioned people acting like that when it came to her own magic, but then… Sunset and I looked at magic a little differently. For her, it was a tool she used when needed, But for me… for me it is a part of who I am. Just like reading and learning.
Maybe it was a selfish part of me who refused to let go of what little remained from my old life in Equestria. But even if that was true… I don’t care. It matters to me, and I'll be damned if I let anyone else take that away from me.
So, Maia's words enraged me. They lit a fire I never even knew I had. “No,” I hissed, taking a few steps back and drawing myself up as if I was prepared to strike at her. “It’s magic. M-A-G-I-C. Magic. That’s what it’s called.”
Maia snorted while her eyes studied me like a book. She narrowed her eyes and brought her hands up. “You really wanna challenge me?”
“You know what?” I shot back, my frustration of the past week churning and boiling over inside.“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” A flare of magic built up in my horn, encasing all four hooves in charged energy.
A savage grin split her face, the first one I’d seen her sport. “Sounds like fun,” she said with a malicious chuckle. “Bring it.”
Somehow, that eagerness only stirred my anger even more. I exploded with rage, screaming at the top of my lungs as I charged at her, ducking under her initial swooping kick, pivoting on my forelegs to fire off a rearward buck right to her ribs. The added force from the magic sent her sprawling onto the mat.
To my surprise, however, she barely gasped, turned her fall into a roll and sprung back up onto her feet in an instant. That savage grin of hers only grew. She widened her stance, squatting down on her knees so she could meet me at my height better. “I hope that’s not all you’ve got, Sparkle,” she said.
“Not even close,” I snarled and charged again. I watched her, expecting her to dodge, or attempt to redirect my strike. But she didn’t. She took another rearward buck straight to the chin this time, and collapsed to the mat in a boneless heap.
Worried I’d actually injured her, and severely at that, I paused, bent down to poke at her with one forehoof.
Then she snaked a hand out, gripped me about the belly, and in one quick motion had me pinned into the mat with a free hand ready to strike my throat.“You actually fell for that? Pathetic.”
“Get off me!” I roared, and wrapped her in my telekinetic field, tossing her off. That caught her by surprise, but to her credit she landed back on her feet. I used the chance to stand and observe. We circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move until finally, she struck first, with several sharp kicks intended to sweep me off my hooves. I blocked each one with a single, quarter second shield spell, a derivation of the Aegis spell Sunset and I developed when we first practiced some martial arts techniques Mother helped us adapt from ones made for humanoids. It acted as an equivalent to blocking with an arm, except without the risk of injury.
Maia twitched her eyebrows at this and backed off, saving her from my retaliating forward kick. Not for the first time I wished I had the dexterity of some of the guards I’d seen practicing with Shiny, who were able to rear up on their rear legs and temporarily take on a minotaur. But being low set had distinct advantages of its own. Moves and counters raced through my head as I sought a new line of attack; something to really throw Maia off her game.
"Thinking of how best to quit, egghead?" she snarled, spitting the last word out of her mouth.
'Egghead'. I hadn't heard that insult since magic kindergarten. Nothing anyone could say to me will ever infuriate me as much as that word. If my blood ran hot before, now it boiled hotter than a plasma conduit.
A plan coalesced in my head. I shot her a predatory grin as I prepared to charge again. "No, just thinking of new ways to kick your ass!"
As I expected she leapt to the side, lashing out with a sweep of her leg intended to knock me off my hooves when I bucked. She grunted when my feint allowed me to duck under her sweeping leg and push off the ground, using my back like a lever to send her down face first into the mat.
It was only while waiting for her to get up that I realized we’d garnered some attention. More than a few people had stopped in their own exercises to watch us fight, while one of the drill instructors kept his eyes locked on us, seemingly ready to intervene at any time.
For some reason that just infuriated me more. It gnawed at me, reminded me far too much of the gaping, pointing, shouting crowds from when I first arrived on Earth. So once Maia was back on her feet, I took several steps away, and charged up my horn, this time prepared to use proper combat spells.
She wiped a small trickle of blood off her lips and eyed me curiously, her sadistic grin still firmly in place. “What’re you about to do there, Sparkle?” she asked, her tone full of anticipatory glee.
I sent another surge of magic into my horn and a circle of ten arcane bolts materialized in a glowing circle above my head, each one flickering like candles in an unseen wind. Several gasps rang out from the crowd, all of whom stepped back to give us more space. "I'm going to show you what my abilities can really do."
Then I fired the first force bolt.
It careened towards Maia, who made no effort to move away, instead raising up both her arms to cross in front of her face. The blast of magical energy splattered against her arms, eliciting a grunt as she skidded backwards by about a meter. Then she lowered her arms and examined them, arching an eyebrow when she saw they’d been burned, the equivalent of a mild sunburn. “That hurt a bit,” she admitted, her grin dropping momentarily before returning stronger than ever. “Don’t hold back, Sparkle.”
“Fine.” I fired my second one, and this time she bounced to the side, letting it splash against the mat instead, dangerously close to one of our onlookers. I fired two more bolts at her as she ran around the edge of the mat, each one just missing her in her wake.
Frustrated, I switched tactics, and fired two ahead of her and two behind her. As I expected she stopped still, just long enough for me to fire the remaining four right into her. She shrieked as they battered her across the side and into her stomach, sending her hurtling several meters onto the far side of the mat.
Unwilling to let up now, I ran forward, charging up for a fresh magical assault, a derivation of a sleep spell that Sunset liked to describe as “a phaser analogue.” She didn’t move, grunting and moaning from the pain I’d inflicted on her, and I found myself smirking in satisfaction.
I never registered the kick that struck the base of my horn, which flooded my vision in white, dissolved my magic, and filled the room with my screams. I tried to focus through the pain, to summon fresh magic to raise a shield, to push her away, to do something, anything. But the only thing it'd do was fizzle and bring even more pain than the two kicks to the side of my head that was followed by a chop to my neck.
My legs buckled yet she still didn’t stop. She struck my both forelegs with a kick while driving her elbow into my spine as I collapsed onto the mat. I could barely register her flipping me onto my back, but I definitely felt her knee drive into my throat as she gripped my jaw with one hand while grabbing my horn in the other. “This was a lot of fun, Sparkle." She laughed while my vision swam and greyed. She leaned down and whispered, “but you had no idea what you were messing--”
“That is enough!” barked the drill instructor.“Break it up before I land both your asses in the brig!”
Maia let go and stepped back, her grin vanishing at once, replaced by the impassive, stoney face that was her norm. “Yes, sir,” she said.
I groaned, tears running down my face from the excruciating headache ringing in my skull. A coppery tang filled my mouth, causing me to spit out a huge glob of blood onto the mat. My whole body ached, and when I tried to get up onto my left foreleg I shrieked, only then realizing she’d broken the ankle. A quick test proved she’d done the same to the other one, and judging from the numbing tingles working their way down the lower half of my body, she’d done some hefty damage to my spine, too.
For once, I saw a look of concern and sympathy on the drill instructor’s face. He frowned and tapped his communicator. “Medical emergency, gymnasium.”
“On our way, sir.”
He bent down and patted my shoulder. “Sit tight, Sparkle. Help’s on the way.” Then he shot up, whirled on his heels and screamed in Maia’s face. “What the hell is wrong with you, cadet?! You came this close to killing Sparkle!”
Maia remained unmoving, like a statue. “I defended myself, sir,” she said.
“Defended yourself, bullshit!” he roared, jabbing a finger at her face. “I know what Cadet Sparkle is capable of. I’ve seen the reports. She never even came close to causing you lethal harm and you know that! If she really wanted to hurt you, you’d be burnt to a crisp right now and not even Leonard McCoy’s cryin’ ghost could save your ass!”
Maia's stoney face cracked as a dark scowl like blackest midnight filled her eyes. “Then she should have done so while she had the chance.”
The instructor reeled back and made a fist with his hand, as if about to punch Maia in the face. But he held back, and leaned in to growl at her instead. “The only reason I’m not about to drum you out of this Academy right now is the same reason as to why you got into it in the first place. But, if you keep pulling this kind of shit, I don’t care what Ishihara says about you, you won’t have a place in my Academy, is that clear, cadet?!”
“Sir, I--”
“Is. That. Clear?!”
Maia took a step back, then bowed her head. “Yes, sir.”
The instructor snorted. “Good. Now you’re going to accompany Sparkle to the infirmary, and you will watch over her while they treat her, and you will not budge from her side until she is safely ensconced in her quarters, is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Maia murmured.
The sounds of several pairs of boots clomping on the floor preceded the whirring, humming noise of an anti-gravity stretcher and several nurses in Starfleet blue rushing in. The warbling trill of a medical tricorder washed over me as a pale human face with green eyes and rich red hair came into view. “Don’t you worry there, lassie,” she said in a kind, rich voice laden with an accent even my hobbled mind could tell was Scottish. “I’ll have you taken care of in a jiffy. Get her on the cart.”
“W-who?” I murmured as the other two nurses carefully placed a sheet under me then used that to lift me onto the cart.
“Doctor Sarah May,” she responded as she stood up and directed the other nurses out the door. “And you’d be Twilight Sparkle, is that right? I’ve heard a lot about you from your sister. I treated Shimmer more than a few times while she was here at the Academy.”
I glanced around my surroundings as we made our way through the corridors, and stiffened when I realized Maia was right by my side, as ordered, staring down at me with an unreadable expression. “Y-yeah,” I murmured. “Yeah, that’s me.”
She smiled down at me and patted the cart. “Now then, let’s get you into the infirmary. Get some proper scans goin’.”
Barely a moment later we passed through another pair of doors, into the Academy’s infirmary. Due to the size of the Academy, the infirmary was closer to a hospital in its own right than a mere clinic, and I was quickly taken into an examination room and transferred from the cart onto a biobed. A larger full body scanner clipped itself into place above me and beeped to life as high fidelity images of my body appeared on the surrounding screens.
May brought a medical tricorder back over me and ran the hand scanner up and around my head a few times. “Mmm, I was afraid of that. You’ve got a pretty nasty concussion. I’m surprised you aren’t unconscious right now.”
“Kinda… kinda want to sleep,” I answered, my eyes fluttering closed.
She reached over and snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Sorry, not quite yet, lass. You’ve got more than a few injuries elsewise I’m worried about. You’ve got some bruising to your lower spine and, well your horn doesn’t look good.”
I gasped, fear overriding the pain rolling through my body. “My, my horn, it’s not--”
May winced. “No, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean, you might be out of action for a few days. Let me see what I can do. I’m going to keep the scanner on your head while I fix those broken ankles of yours.”
She bustled about, picking up a bone-knitter, then carefully held up my right ankle. “This might sting a bit. I don’t want to give you anything for the pain, not yet, so just hold still.” I hissed as the knitter went to work- a sensation like dozens of tiny bees stinging me on the inside. But after a few moments, the pain faded, and I found I could move my ankle again. It still stung quite a bit, but the excruciating pain had vanished. “Aye, that’s much better. Let’s get the other one now.”
Once she finished with my other ankle, she went back to the scanner checking on my head injury. “Right. So, it’s not as bad as I thought at first. Looks like you’ll just have to rest your horn for the rest of the day. Same with your head and back.” She moved away from me for a moment then returned with three small devices, which she attached to my head, one on each temple, and then the third about halfway down my back. “These’ll help you recover quicker, so by morning you should be right as rain. Don’t mess with them now. And don’t use your horn, for anythin’. Not even basic telekinesis, understand?”
“O-okay,” I said, sighing. Without my horn, there’d be very little I could do at all that didn’t use voice commands with the computer. Too much of the technology required hands, hands I didn’t have.
May then reached for a hypospray, adjusted its settings, then pressed it to my neck. “This should help with the pain, and will help you stay awake for a few hours. I don’t want you sleeping any sooner than 1800, understood?”
The drugs went to work immediately, prying my eyes open better than a cup of raktajino, and soothing away most of the pain too. “Yes, ma’am,” I said, able to nod now.
“All right then. You should be able to stand,” May said, opening up the scanner so I could move. “Careful now. One leg at a time.”
Slowly, cautiously, I moved off the biobed and stood shakily on my hooves. In the process I caught sight of Maia, who continued to stare at me with the same unreadable expression. I avoided her gaze and focused on the Doctor. “Thank you, ma’am,” I said, struggling to stand to an approximation of attention.
“Oh don’t be doing that now,” she chided with a gentle smile. “I’m not one of your instructors. You don’t need to be salutin’ me every time you come into the infirmary.”
I blinked in confusion at that. “But… Starfleet officers don’t salute.”
She chortled at that, a beautiful, bubbling laugh like a fountain of water gurgling in a city square. “Right you are, cadet. Right you are. Well, you’re to head straight back to your quarters and rest for the day. I’ll make a note. But I’d rather you retain an observer. Cadet Maia!”
Maia stiffened and looked to the Doctor. “Yes, ma’am?”
“I’m assignin’ you to watch over Cadet Sparkle for the rest of the day, you understand?” May gave her a disapproving look. “And I don’t want to be hearin’ about you doin’ anythin’ else to her either. You get to be her hands for today.”
Maia nodded once, but to my surprise she showed no sign of frustration or irritation. She simply showed obedience. “Of course, ma’am.”
May arched an eyebrow. “Good. Now, come here, and let me take care of your burns.” A few quick passes of a dermal regenerator later, and Maia’s injuries were healed. “Better. Off you go now, the both of you.”
I turned to leave, still unsteady on my hooves.
“Oh, and Sparkle?” came a call.
Looking back over my shoulder, I replied, “Yes?”
May gave me a warm smile. “When you get a chance, I wouldn’t mind you visitin’ with me. I was a friend of your sister. I’d wouldn't mind being one of yours as well.”
A small smile graced my muzzle. “Sure,” I said. Then I gave her a polite nod and moved off, followed by Maia.
I said nothing as my fellow cadet followed me all the way back to our quarters. Given the instructions not to sleep for at least a good six or more hours, I opted instead to sit at my desk. As I sat down, I saw Maia take a seat at her own desk, though she kept her eyes locked on me.
After a few minutes of trying to ignore her, I finally barked, “What? Trying to figure out how to finish the job after I go to sleep?”
She stared back, though one corner of her mouth pulled downward by a small amount. “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. You wouldn't have stopped me then, and certainly can't now."
That cold assertion made my blood freeze. My mouth dried up as I took in a sharp breath. She was right and she had proved it. “...you were going to, weren’t you?”
“I instinctively considered it,” she answered. Then she smiled, a smile warmer than the savage, predatory, bloodthirsty expression she’d worn before. “But putting up with you and this academy is still far better than the alternative. Plus, it’d be pretty stupid to kill someone who gave me a decent fight.”
“Huh?” I muttered, completely baffled by this response.
She gave me a casual shrug and leaned back in her chair. “You gave me a fun challenge. I respect that. Even if your technique was flawed… I’d like to learn more about what you can do. The instructor said something about burning me alive?”
A sour taste entered my mouth at the thought. “I… technically, yes. I can use magic to light someone on fire. But I’d never do it! It’d be horrific!” I swallowed, wishing I had a cup of water. “It would be so painful. I couldn’t imagine doing that to someone.”
“Oh?” Her smile vanished, replaced by a scowl. “That’s stupid and shortsighted. If you’re in a combat situation, you use the tools you have. You can light someone on fire? Do it.” Then her scowl faded. “But I get it. You have ethics, like most people. That’s fine. I can still respect you.”
My face screwed up, utterly nonplussed. “Respect? What are you talking about?”
Maia smiled again, this time a happy grin. “Exactly that. I respect you. You’ve earned it. You even surprised me couple of times. Your magic isn't something I’ve seen before in combat. And, well, that excites me. I want to fight you again.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. So I remained quiet for a good few moments, picking and choosing my words. Finally, I said, “...you won’t try to kill me next time, will you?”
A flush came to her cheeks. “I really didn’t mean to,” she said. “Instinct is… instinct is hard to fight sometimes.”
“Instinct,” I repeated, the implications worrying me. “You say that like you were born to fight.”
She nodded at that. “Not necessarily born, but it feels like I have. I’ve been fighting almost as long as I've been walking.. I had to, to survive my home.” At my questioning glance, she continued, “Turkana IV. It’s a failed colony. Horrible place. Gangs, trafficking, drugs, and nonstop violence. You don’t want to go there.”
“No. No, I don’t think I do,” I responded, resolving to look up this Turkana IV when I got a chance. “How’d you get out of there?”
“I had help.” Her face returned to a neutral, emotionless expression. “Ajay Ishihara. She rescued me, along with a few others. I don’t remember their names. She helped raise me. Trained me. Helped shape and refine my raw abilities.” She turned to face me directly, locking eyes with me. “I’ve always been a killer, Twilight Sparkle. That is who I am. I'm only here because Ishihara encouraged me to join Starfleet with the hope that Starfleet can change that”
“Well,” I said, after taking that in and considering it, “I can always try to help you. If you want.”
“Fine.” She returned to her still, quiet, statue-like posture. “Let me know if you need something. I will get it for you.”
Sighing, I turned back to my terminal and decided to try and work on some of the required reading for my classes. At least I’d made a friend. Even if that friend tried to kill me.
I was right. The first week aboard the Enterprise did suck. But only the first week. I learned a lot of things I hadn’t been expecting during that time. Like how wrong I was about Barclay, when he somehow managed to prove the entire crew of the Yosemite had been trapped as energy inside a plasma streamer.
I also had a chance to meet a hero of mine, someone I’d never thought I’d see: Montgomery Scott, one of the most famous 23rd century engineers. He’d somehow preserved himself for seventy-five years inside a transporter buffer on a ship that crashed on the surface of a Dyson Sphere. Naturally this excited most of the ship, especially those of us on the engineering staff. I kept my eye out for an opportunity to speak to him, especially after the… incident in Engineering.
The day I spoke to him, I’d just ended my shift, and stumbled into Ten-Forward, hoping to chat with Guinan, or maybe catch Smith just after her own shift. Instead I found Scotty sitting at the bar, clutching a bottle of green liquid, having just finished a conversation with the ship’s operations officer, Lieutenant Commander Data. Some combination of exhaustion and exasperation led me to be braver than normal, so I sat down right next to him. “Hello Mr. Scott, sir,” I said.
“Hmm?” Scotty glanced down at me, blinked in surprise, then stared at the bottle in his hand. “Must be some strong stuff in this here bottle, because I’m seein’ a wee little unicorn next to me.”
I tried not to laugh as I replied, “No, sir, I’m real. I’m really here.” I held up a hoof to shake. “Ensign Sunset Shimmer.”
He twitched his eyebrows, shrugged, then extended a hand out to shake. “Well, nice to meet you, lassie. I think you have me at a disadvantage. Last I heard the Federation didn’t have no unicorns in it.” He glanced down at the bottle again. "Or synthetic scotch for that matter."
“Still doesn’t, not really,” I replied, finding myself more at ease than I expected. “My sister and I are the only ones.”
Scotty frowned at me. “Mm, guessin’ you lost your home, then.”
“Sort of,” I answered with a sigh. “But we’re going to find it again, one of these days.”
“I’ll drink to that for ya,” he said. Then he glanced around the bar and found an untouched second glass, scooting it over to me. “Would ya care for some?”
My smile brightened up. “Please.”
He poured me a shot of the green stuff in his bottle, then poured himself some more, sipping at it. “So, what brought you to talk to someone as obsolete and dated as meself?”
I floated my drink up to my muzzle, grinning a bit at his shocked expression, then knocked back the drink in one go. It burned like an oil slick, greasy and globby as it sloshed down my throat and into my belly where it landed like a collapsed building. I coughed for a solid ten seconds or so to clear my throat, then managed to say, “That’s why I’m here, sir. I wanted to let you know… not all of us think that of you.”
He topped off my glass, and arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Is that so?”
I took a small sip of my drink this time, not wanting to repeat the experience. “You’re still one of the best engineers to have ever served in Starfleet. Your work is required reading for every cadet, even today. For what it’s worth… I know what it’s like, feeling lost. Like you don’t belong. You just have a bit of catching up to do, is all.”
He let out a long, low, wry chuckle. “Lassie, I appreciate hearin’ that, but I’m not sure how much I buy it.” He knocked back his own drink, then glared down at his bottle. “Actually… if ya don’t mind, I think… I think I need to go wander somewhere else. But thank ya for the company.”
I held up my glass and saluted him with it. “Sure thing.”
He tossed off a jaunty half salute of his own, laughed, then bounded out the door, clutching the bottle to his chest.
For whatever reason, watching him go left a sinking feeling in my heart. I knocked back my second shot of whatever that green stuff was, then trudged out of Ten-Forward and returned to my quarters. Ended up passing out till the next morning.
I continued my work after that, with crazy event after event occurring. Whether it was subspace aliens abducting crew members to perform wicked medical experiments--myself included, thankfully without any lasting harm--or Commander Data somehow hooking himself into the holodecks, or even the Captain leaving the ship only to be captured by Cardassians and tortured while we came dangerously close to a new war, there was always something going on.
But I kept at my work, a junior officer performing her duties. Savil and I continued to be at odds, no matter how I tried to be friendly with him or make amends for old mistakes; he just didn’t care. But I did make a few friends aboard the ship. One of them was Wesley’s mother, Doctor Crusher. She liked to sit with me at a meal every once in a while and talk about how Wesley was doing at the Academy, especially once my sister joined him there. She’d had a rough first week, if the fight she had with her roommate was anything to judge by, but after that she started making friends, Wesley included.
Thankfully, a good three months after I started on board, Commander La Forge moved me from basic repairs and conduit work to some testing with the dilithium chamber of the warp core. “You’ve been doing plenty of grunt work, Ensign,” he said to me with a chuckle. “I think it’s time you did something more interesting.”
“Yes, sir!” I said with an enthusiastic grin as I broke out my toolbox. This time I’d be working alongside La Forge himself, which thrilled me to no end.
“Hand me that micro resonator, would you?” La Forge asked, holding out a hand in my direction. I passed it over in my magic. “Thank you.” He switched on the resonator and began passing it over the chamber’s reinforced hatch. “So, Ensign, I’ve been hearing a lot about you and Lieutenant Savil.”
My good mood evaporated like it had been shot with a phaser set to disintegrate. “What about it, sir?”
He paused for a moment, setting his tool down, then waved me over to a small workstation on the far side of Engineering, tucked between a ladder and a power transfer conduit. “Listen, Ensign, first off, you’re not in trouble, at least not with me. Savil’s been a part of my engineering staff for about eleven months now, and he’s… abrasive at the best of times.”
“You’re telling me,” I muttered, scowling. Then my eyes widened and I stiffened. “Err, sir.”
He gave me a sympathetic smile. “Like I said, relax Ensign. You can speak freely. I just want to know what the deal is between you two. You’re the only one he seems to go after.”
I relaxed my posture. “Honestly, sir? He’s a complete jerk. He and I went to the same high school on Earth, and I beat him in a science fair with a project based on this.” I ignited my horn and danced a tool around in the air to demonstrate. “We weren’t exactly buddy buddy before that, but ever since he’s just… he never lets it go. I was surprised to see him here; I didn’t even know he was in Starfleet.”
“Technically, he’s not,” La Forge admitted, causing me to squint at him in confusion. He grimaced in turn. “He’s actually on loan from the Vulcan Science Academy. His Lieutenant rank is acting only, but he never bothers to tell people that. And you didn’t hear that from me, either.”
Arching an eyebrow, I said, “Then, why’re you telling me?”
“Because you’re one of the best new officers I’ve ever seen,” La Forge said with total sincerity evident in his voice. “I’ve seen a lot of ensigns fresh out of the Academy who try to impress their boss, go the extra mile just because they think they have to. You don’t do that. You care about your work, and it shows every time I see you on duty. And the last thing I’d want is for a conflict between you and Savil to harm your career.”
“No, I wouldn’t want that either,” I admitted. “I don’t like the guy, but… wait, sir, is there another reason you brought this up now?”
He eyed me for a moment, then chuckled. “Shrewd, Ensign. Yes, there is actually. Commander Riker likes to perform crew evaluations every six months. I know that’s still three months away, but I wanted to get an idea of what’s been going on between you and Savil before I submit my evaluations to the Commander. And I know for sure that he’s going to ask you about it too.”
Wincing, I turned away for a moment. “That obvious, huh?”
“Little bit, yeah.” He clapped me gently on the shoulder. “For what it’s worth, Shimmer, I didn’t ask you about this sooner because I figured it was something like this. I’ve watched how you interact with him. You’ve never gone out of your way to cause any issues; quite the opposite. But not everyone sees that, and you know how fast gossip can spread, even on a ship this big.”
I faced La Forge again, and gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks for the heads up then, sir. I appreciate it.”
“You bet.” He pointed past me at the dilithium chamber. “We’d better get back to work. Captain Picard wants the warp drive back up and running within four hours.”
Thanks to La Forge’s heads up, I was much better prepared when Riker called me up for my performance evaluation, three months down the line. This was the first chance I’d had to speak with Commander Riker, well, ever, since I’d been a bit too shy to talk to him while off-duty, but he met me with a charming smile and a professional attitude, and we had a long, thorough talk about my work. When he asked me about Savil, I explained the situation honestly and earnestly.
He nodded to me and made a few notes on his PADD. “An impressive start, Ensign, though I'd expect nothing less from anyone Geordi puts on his request list. Keep this up and you'll go far." He put the PADD down and stood from his chair, and I followed suit immediately. "As for Savil, I'll address that with Commander LaForge. Just keep doing what you've been doing for now."” He grinned at me, then gestured to the door. “Dismissed.”
When I returned to my quarters, I found Smith scowling at our shared dining table, an almost empty mug of cider clutched in her hands. Her cheeks were red and rosy, suggesting that was real alcohol she was drinking, not synthehol. “Oh, howdy, Shimmer,” she said, knocking back the last of her mug. “You off duty, right? Want some cider? It’s the good stuff.”
I shrugged. “Sure! I’d love some. I have something to celebrate.”
“Oh yeah?” she said as she got up and went over to the replicator. “Two hard ciders, Smith recipe forty-seven.” She waited for them to materialize then brought them back over. “Whatcha got to celebrate?”
“Uh, well,” I said as I took a sip of my cider, “I just finished my evaluation with Commander Riker. He said I passed with flying colors.”
“Oh, Ah’m glad to hear it went well for you,” she said with an unhappy frown. “He kinda tore some of mah work to pieces.”
“Wait, really?” I frowned. “But you’ve been doing a fantastic job.”
“That’s what Ah thought, but apparently mah own boss don’t agree.” She snorted. “Probably because Ah sound like a country bumpkin or somethin’.”
“No you don’t,” I said, waving a hoof dismissively. “Your accent is fine. I like it. It’s charming.”
Smith eyed me, her mouth quirking up in amusement. The blush on her cheeks intensified dramatically. “Charmin’, huh? You ain’t never said it was charmin’ before.” She smiled mischievously. “Aww, are you startin’ to fall for me?”
“What?!” I spluttered, spilling a bit of cider as my face burned fiercely. “N-n-no! What, where you’d get that--”
She cut me off with a burst of laughter. “Ah’m just teasin’ ya, sweetheart. Ah know Ah ain’t exactly your type.”
“If I even have a type, at least in this galaxy,” I grumbled. “It’s not something I’ve ever really thought about.”
“Really? Huh. Well, in that case...” She extended a hand and patted me on the hoof. “Ah wouldn’t say no if you ever did want to try and figure somethin’ like that out.”
“Um.” I blinked, once, twice, more, rapidly, utterly taken aback. “Uuuh… what?”
Smith paled considerably, but to her credit, she stayed seated, and gave me a sheepish shrug. “Just sayin’. Ah like you, Shimmer. You’re nice. You’re great to talk to. And Ah ain’t like some folk who’d turn their nose up at you just ‘cause you walk on four legs instead of two.”
“Oh.” I continued to blink, utterly nonplussed. “Thanks. I, uh, I appreciate it. I think.”
Her smile vanished, her mouth tightening. “Maybe Ah shouldn’t’ve said anythin’.”
“No, no, it’s fine, it’s… it’s fine,” I said, reaching out a hoof to pat her on the hand in turn. “I’ve just… like I said, I’ve never thought about it. It never seemed important, you know?”
She didn’t respond, merely moving her gaze to stare at the table. As I looked at her, taking in the disappointment clearly written there, it tugged at my heartstrings, in more ways than one. Smith was my friend, a good friend. Despite my initial worries, she’d proven to be a fun roommate, and we hung out a lot together outside of our respective shifts. Maybe there was something worth looking into here. She was rather pretty. For a human. And that definitely wasn’t the cider talking in my head either. At least not entirely.
So, I decided to go with my gut. Lighting up my horn, I gently tugged her hands forward until they rested on my forehooves, then edged her chin up to look her in the eye. “Tell you what. I’m willing to give it a try.”
She let out a quiet gasp. “Really? You mean that?”
I grinned, then decided to push my luck and leaned in. “Yeah. You up for it?”
She took the hint, whispered a quick, “Yes,” then met me across the table, pressing her lips to mine.
I’d never kissed anyone before, unless you count the occasional kiss on the cheek I’d given Amina. I’d certainly not considered kissing a human before, not like this. It was… strange. Wet. Warm. I could taste her last meal on her lips, the sweet flavor of apple mixing with the spicy taste of chicken and sausage gumbo. Our lips didn’t entirely fit together right, being different species. And yet it was… nice. Comforting. It filled my body with a tingling sensation that traveled up and down my body. Not quite full on desire, but… interest.
We soon parted, and she chuckled as she wiped at her lip. “Huh. That was a bit… different.”
“Was that your first kiss too?” I said with a wry grin.
She snickered. “Nah. But it was my first kiss with a horse.”
I glared at her, though inside I was laughing. This was far from the first time she’d jokingly called me a horse. “I’d certainly hope so,” I quipped.
She gave my forehooves a squeeze, then pulled her hands back. “Well, Ah think we should leave it there for now. Let’s take this slow. Ain’t no reason to hop into bed right away or somethin’.” Her whole face turned red like a ripe tomato. “U-unless you want to do that…”
I shook my head. “No. No no no. Slow is just fine with me.”
The blush cleared away from her face. “Good… good.” A sudden yawn split open her mouth as she stretched her limbs out. Then she hopped up out of her chair and made her way over to her bedroom door. “Well, Ah think it’s pretty late anywho. Ah’ll, uh, Ah’ll see you in the mornin… Sunset.”
I waved. “See you then, Alma. Sleep well.”
She grinned, then disappeared through her bedroom doors.
I got up straight away and went into my own bedroom, fetching my PADD. A giddy, happy feeling pervaded me, bubbling up inside till all I wanted to do was giggle like a schoolgirl. So after taking a moment to think about it, I said, “Computer, begin recorded message to Twilight Sparkle, Starfleet Academy, Earth.”
“Working.”
I smiled down at my PADD and waved at it. “Hey, Twi. Hope you’ve been doing okay. Listen, I know I just reached out to you the other day, but, well… something happened I wasn’t expecting. It’s good news.” I paused for a moment. “At least, I’m pretty sure it’s good news. Anyway, you know my roommate, Ensign Smith? Well, one thing led to another, and, uh…” I scratched the back of my head. “We kissed. I know, I know, it felt like it came out of nowhere, but… I think she’s been developing feelings for me for a while, and I just hadn’t noticed. I think.”
I dropped my hoof to my lap, my smile dimming. “Maybe I should talk to Belle about this. Or one of the therapists aboard the Enterprise. Just to be sure I’m not doing something stupid. A-anyway, I just wanted to tell you about it, since we promised to tell each other if/when a first kiss ever happened. Let’s see, what else, what else… oh! I had a good evaluation with Commander Riker. He said I might get promoted next time. I hope things have been going okay with you and Maia. I know you two have been butting heads every now and again. See you. End recorded message.”
I set my PADD aside and laid back on my bed. “Never a dull moment, is it?” I murmured to myself as I slowly drifted off to sleep.
