Fog crept into the clearing from the thick woods, passing silently over blades of grass. Twilight began to tint the sky, indigo fading to lavender. A slight one-man vessel darted through the atmosphere, barely visible to the Starfleet officials waiting on the ground. The senior officer among them lifted a small glass square pinched between his thumb and index fingers. Peering through, the space above him drew closer in five kilometer increments until the capsule came into view.
"She's on course. Contact in four."
He lowered the lens and watched as the ship approached, flitting through the clouds like a silver bodied fish through dark waters.
The craft hovered above the clearing, emitting a dim hum as its auto-sensors aligned the hull to the earth. The two junior officials shifted uneasily.
"Ease up, men. She's just a kid."
"Respectfully Commander, she collapsed a man's lung in her first sparring match. Didn't take her five minutes, and he had forty pounds on her."
"Even so, she's one of us."
The ship descended, settling soundlessly onto the grass. The ground trembled slightly when the gravity dampeners disengaged, releasing the ship's full weight. A flash of blue light filled the clearing as the hatch released.
"Will she be conscious, sir?"
"No," the commander moved toward the ship. "We'll need to revive her."
He activated a palm-sized console on the ship's exterior and entered his credentials. A blue flower bloomed on the screen. He touched a finger to it, and it dispersed into specks, fading from the display. The ship's internal medic hissed as it injected moderate doses of cordrazine and netinaline into its unconscious passenger. Her head rolled to the side and her breath, returning to her, deepened.
"Cadet Nidavi?"
Ivise Nidavi opened her eyes, her gaze floating dreamily upward. The capsule administered its final stimulant and released her restraints. Gripping the sides of the hatch, she lifted herself.
"Reporting, sir."
"Commander Reyd. Are you well?"
"I'll be fine, sir. Am I on time?"
"Just about. We'll have you back down to the Academy with plenty of time to settle in before orientation."
"Thank you, Commander," Ivise nodded drowsily.
"We have transport waiting two kilometers into the forest. Let's move out."
The commander led them back into the dark of the brush. Ivise followed, the drag of her sedatives subsiding gradually. She inhaled the scent of wet trees and damp soil, becoming reacquainted with planet Earth.
Nidavi lifted a cup of tea to her lips, letting the steam curl around her nostrils. She tucked her feet under the white blanket she'd wrapped herself in after showering, squeezing her knees against her chest. The dormitory was simple: whites and grays, clean rounded edges, soft lighting. The wall-length window on the west side opened out above the Academy's broad courtyard, and to the San Francisco bay beyond.
Gingerly sipping the pungent floral tea, Ivise thought how nice it was to feel clean again. Skel'im hadn't been dirty so much as rudimentary. None of its structures were permanent, and its people seemed more concerned with staring into shadows than hygiene, with good reason. Ivise had been able to bathe only infrequently using a shallow basin which filled with rainwater on the rare occasion of a storm, but it never felt thorough. When thunder sounded against the planet's barren plains, a part of her always wanted to rush out under the open sky naked, to let the drops scour her. But she knew what dangers waited in Skel'im's wild deserts, its unguarded dark corners.
A tap on her door roused her thoughts to the present. Ivise set her tea down and crossed her new quarters. Gathering the blanket securely in her hand, she cracked the door open. One of the junior officers who'd escorted her to the Academy stood slack-jawed before her with a package in his arms.
"I'm sorry these were late getting to you, cadet," he apologized, looking away politely and offering up the parcel to Ivise.
"Oh! It's fine, sir. Would you like a cup of tea?" Ivise opened the door wider. It was so nice to speak with a human again.
"No, no! The orientation ceremony starts in just under an hour. You'll want to be getting ready. I still have to change myself, so," he urged the parcel into Nidavi's hands. "Thank you, though. It's good to have you. We've all heard a lot about you," he smiled nervously, avoiding Ivise's gaze, then turned and hurried down the corridor.
Ivise dropped the blanket taking hold of the parcel. She looked down at her bare skin and scolded herself for forgetting her manners. It had been so easy to forget she was human on Skel'im, to let her social graces atrophy, her decency wane.
"Good job, cadet," she chided as she closed her door. "Invite an officer in for naked tea, and it's not even really your first day. Charming."
She set the box down on her new bed and lifted the lid. Inside were two fresh crimson cadet uniforms, a communicator, a tablet displaying Nidavi's class schedule, and a handwritten note from the Commandant's secretary.
Please meet with the Commandant in his office following the Orientation Ceremony and dinner. The tablet provided has both your schedule and a map of the Academy so you may acquaint yourself. We have taken care to destroy your grey suits. Do please the same to this note once you've read it. Best regards.
Ivise found a basic supply kit in her closet and extracted a simple book of matches. Standing over the bathroom sink, she struck one and touched its flame to the corner of the letter. The paper caught, and the fire swelled as it ate upward toward Nidavi's fingers. She flicked the last speck of ash into the sink and sighed. What had her time on Skel'im meant for Starfleet? Why make such a steep investment in a single cadet? Had she even learned anything of worth? Nidavi raised her eyes to the mirror and surveyed her face. She stood there for some time, staring at a reflection she hadn't seen in nearly a year.