Author note: Characters, events, and other elements of this story which are found in the "Star Trek" continuum are the property of the writers for the television and motion picture episodes, or of the company that owns them; as concerns additional characters and planets and non-human races: while they are my own creation, I am taking no profit, monetary or otherwise, from their association with established Star Trek elements. This is purely for fun.
Ch.2: Launching
Carinne Ramsey liked this time of the day on Akadem. The planet's sun in this season was already high by 1000 hours, and this view was the best, from Jenner House's outside stairwell. She rarely used the lift, and on this last day of the intersession Carinne had climbed past the top floor and was perched on the rim of the skylight with a few energy bars and a mostly ripe Mukhtar peach. Neither books nor laptop nor other study paraphernalia accompanied her today. The few days' respite from classes had been welcome but things would be back to normal craziness tomorrow. Most of Carinne's courses would be familiar, merely continuing from Alpha Quarter.
A letter had come from Dad that morning: all was well on Castillus; Mom had opened her long-planned-for pottery shop, and he himself had received a two-year extension of his appointment there. Carinne was able to read family news without becoming sentimental or homesick. Her "home" had been so many places over the years, between her father's and her mother's diplomatic assignments, and since coming to Akadem at age 12 (four years ago), she had been to visit her family only three times. Other students, to be sure, never left the planet at all, by choice or necessity. Certainly there was no point in going anywhere during the shorter intersessions. It suited Carinne to stay here; there was always something happening. She could count on her acquaintances who were full-time Akadem residents in the towns to let her stay with them for a change of scenery from the dorms.
A diplomats' brat, Carinne was able to live peacefully with almost anyone, but she admitted that a short vacation from her quad was a boon on occasion. Her most recent roommate had left for a hospital planet dental training course in lieu of her last Upper Division year, only a week ago. With only Neill living in the other room, it had been unusually tranquil. And between Neill and her there were as few conversations as possible. Carinne made sure of that. It seemed as if the other girl could hardly utter more than a few words without sarcasm or insult.
She was secretly amazed that someone hadn't sent Neill to counseling, or suggested she go back to Earth, or punched her lights out… Neill seemed so out of place, especially since one of the main non-academic purposes of Akadem was to xenosocialize its students. From her parents' carefully diplomatic conversations Carinne had learned just how difficult even the more mature members of the Galaxy's many races could be to work with, and how rampant bigotry still was. For many peoples, this was their first generation of membership in the Federation, and old habits of xenophobia and clannishness died hard.
They were expecting two new quadmates this Quarter. After two Quarters' solo living on her advisors' recommendation, Neill was finally going to have a try at a roommate. Since they were both to be Uppers soon, the new girls would be either Lower Division transfers from other quads, or rank newcomers. Carinne sighed as she finished her breakfast. She stood up and stretched, enjoying the prospect from the roof. Of course no one was allowed up here, but no one ever bothered to secure the skylight. Below her, the Science Complex I buildings formed four sides of a hexagon, ringing the Main, where groups of students lazed in the sunshine. Beyond that lay the odd buildings of the gym and the boat house and the Grub, and past them the long, narrow basin used for swimming and boating. No one was brave enough to swim yet: most of the races of people she knew found the water still too cold.
The moving sidewalk hardly seemed in motion, still empty of students. There was a string of speedwalkers winding with the curves of the stationary part of the walk between the buildings.
Starting down the stairs, Carinne half hoped that Neill would already have gone to the library or the lab building where she had spent nearly every day of the break. She trotted down the hall and touched the ID plate to open her quad door.
Someone was there, but it wasn't Neill. The two people sitting in the common room were perched awkwardly on the padded chairs. Obviously, they were accustomed to straighter furniture. They were Vulcans: a tall, shadow-eyed adult male in some kind of undress uniform, and a young female in tan coveralls. They had been talking quietly and looked up immediately as Carinne entered.
"Apologies," Carinne said, nodding to them. She addressed herself first to the man with a slight bow, and then turned to the girl. "I hope that your journey was pleasant. My name is Carinne Ramsay."
"I am Saavik," the Vulcan girl answered, rising. "I am to be your roommate." She turned to her companion, who had also come to his feet, and who now faced the human with his hands clasped behind his back. "This is Spock, my teacher." She emphasized the last word.
"You are welcome, Spock", Carinne said, remembering the correct way to converse with Vulcans. She had heard of this Vulcan since she was a young child; but the diplomat in her refrained from the impoliteness of gushing a welcome. Instead, Carinne noted with some amusement that both Vulcans kept their hands behind their backs, as if to forestall any handshaking. Carinne knew better than to try that. "Will you need any help in getting settled in here, Saavik?"
"No – thank you," replied Saavik. The "thank you" was an afterthought. She was taking a good, long look at her new roommate, this human with whom she would have to live. She was glad Spock was there for the moment…but he would be gone soon…
--
The original plan had been to leave her on planet Rubicon 8 when the Stanek passed by there nine days ago, and to have her catch a short-transport to Akadem. It was illogical to plan anything more elaborate: she was only a student, a young and insignificant one, commanding no extraordinary efforts on anyone's part. But then Spock had come to have a formal talk with her, and had suggested afterward that he travel with her.
"It will not take so much time out of my schedule," he had insisted against her protests. He pointed out that this way he could have a chance to speak with her instructors and ensure that all was in order. Saavik knew very well that Spock had already had ample communication with them, and that her first Quarter's curriculum was set, but realized that her teacher must have his own, logical reasons. She had assented to his wishes.
Even when much younger, more savage and uncontrolled, even when she had not understood very well what the Vulcan Way entailed, Saavik had never been afraid of Spock. The scientists on board Stanek had all been peaceful and non-threatening, but none had taken the patience and individual time with her as Spock had. Even when still struggling with Vulcan language and with elementary control over her fierce, survival-oriented Romulan side, Saavik had known that this Star Fleet officer saw a value in her, that she herself could not yet see. From Spock she accepted any correction, suggestion, or reprimand, because she had not a moment's doubt that he meant well for her. And for three years he had overseen her education and the development of her sense of self. Through his calm and objective eyes she had learned much about reason, curiosity, and intellectual integrity.
So, she had not been frightened at the prospect of spending a number of years on a school planet among other races of beings. Having accepted the wisdom of doing this, Saavik was willing to go and meet it on her own. Still, any time spent in Spock's company was time well spent.
Spock's gift to her – one that an outsider might indeed not see in its full value – was to create a mind-link of sorts with her. She had permitted him to see into the confusion of her mind and to help her in sorting out the memories and exorcising the old Romulan demons of hate and instinctual violence. That had been nothing, however, to the brilliance of thought-sharing, when Spock had opened his mind to her. It had no doubt caused him distress, but Saavik marveled at the sanity and order of that mind; she perceived the dilemma of his own mixed heritage, and the discipline needed to subdue his human, emotional side. There she also saw the intense burning to understand the universe and its people. She had come out of the mind-link with an even greater wish to be like Spock.
The experience also left in her a certain peace from an appreciation of the harmony and balance of Spock's thoughts. Contemplating them, she could believe such harmony and balance possible for her as well. There were moments of tremendous struggle when she was among humans, when her every instinct was to scream, to destroy. During her first ten years, that had been the only way to claim even the tiniest bit of control over her own life. If she was not scrapping for food with the wild bengats at the dump, she was trying keep from being beaten up by any of the numerous Hellguard outcasts. It was a wonder that Spock had seen anything worth salvaging in the undernourished, feral little creature that had crept up to his camp that night three years ago. But he had. Although she was changed after those three years, it would be much, much longer before Saavik could rely on her own physical and mental control. She had asked Spock whether he had ever felt like striking back in the face of cruelty and prejudice.
"Yes," he had stated simply. "But it was a feeling and I knew it had to be, and could be, controlled – not repressed, but suppressed. To have yielded to it would have been to negate our philosophy and to call into question my command of logic."
Spock's mind-link with Saavik left her with the feeling (illogical, probably) that he was present with her, if only she would concentrate on him. She suspected that this had been her teacher's intention all along. At times she despaired of ever understanding the full complexity of Spock's mind, the Vulcan and also, more incomprehensibly, the human.
--
Spock would leave by shuttle or planet-based transporter in the early afternoon. Saavik had stored her few possessions quickly and efficiently in her new room. Even before bringing her here to Jenner House, Spock had taken her by the Faculty House and found Hakat of Ledayn, who was an old acquaintance. Hakat introduced her to several other professors and to Gale Kyllie, the head of the Faculty-Student Relations for the Science I complex. This had provided her with some names to call upon, should she need any help before the Quarter's work began in earnest. Kyllie had apparently heard about her already, and greeted Saavik with a correct blend of welcome and reserve. Saavik noted that many of the professors knew Spock by sight and greeted him with the honorific "Doctor", a title to which he was entitled four times over, but which he never used outside the academic world.
The faculty members had spent a short time on basic questions, had welcomed her sincerely; Ms. Kyllie had explained briefly that after a week or two Saavik would get an appointment with her Triad, or advisory committee, who would guide her in her studies throughout her years on Akadem. At different times, other faculty members would counsel her as well, depending on her curriculum from Quarter to Quarter. They told her that she would enter at the third-year level in the Lower Division. By the human-year standard generally used, this was the proper entry level for a thirteen-year-old.
Kyllie had explained, "It will be up to your advisors to recommend level changes, and it may be possible for you to go to fourth-year status – that's the same as first-year Middle Division – after less than a year." Pleased as she would have been to have a higher ranking, Saavik was inwardly satisfied that she was at least equal to other students of her age, despite having had no formal schooling.
Now, as Spock stood in the common room of her new quarters, about to leave, she was calm. They had talked only about practical matters before the human girl Carinne had entered. It was as good a time as any to part. Carinne excused herself quietly and disappeared into the bedroom they would share. In the ensuing quiet, Saavik looked straight at Spock. "I will try to remember all that you have taught me."
"Not what I have taught…what you have learned. And never think that you have learned all there is. If you have no more questions now, I shall leave."
Saavik stood perfectly straight. "Peace and long life, my Teacher."
"Live long and prosper, Saavik." This was spoken in Vulcan. "And when you are in difficulties – always take the second breath." With this good advice, he saluted her in the Vulcan manner and walked from the quad with only a short backward look from the open doorway. Saavik watched him and caught his eye at the last moment.
"Thank you, Mr. Spock." And then he was gone. His regular steps were still audible down the hallway when she turned back to see Carinne Ramsay framed in the bedroom entrance.
"If there's anything I can answer for you, I'll be glad to help. I'm going to meet some friends for lunch at the Grub – that's a student eating place nearby – and you're welcome to come along."
"I do not eat at midday," Saavik explained, realizing that the best way to start relationships with humans was probably to be honest and give information about her way of doing things. "I believe it would be better if I acquainted myself with the plan of the Science complex."
"Sounds reasonable," Carinne said amiably, not put off at all. "I'll see you later this afternoon, I guess. Have you got enough space for your stuff in the bathroom? With just two people in here for so long, we've tended to let ours expand…like slime molds."
"Everything is fine." Saavik did want to know one more thing before Carinne left. "Who else lives here with us?"
"In the other room? So far, there's only Neill Gallaghan; she's my age, 16, and she's in physics and computers. Yeah, by the way, I'm studying history and galactic exosociology. But you probably won't see Neill till this evening. Her new roommate hasn't come yet; she could even be here a few days late, it happens."
Once Carinne had gone, Saavik sat for a moment on the common room sofa, in a temporary hiatus. Then she embarked firmly on her plan to explore the Science complex. Going to the compu/desk on her side of the bedroom, she tinkered with it until she had all the setting she preferred, then punched up the sector map and had a hard copy printed out. With the weather so mild, she needed no coat or jacket. Once outside Jenner House, Saavik began to walk among the buildings. She was very much a stranger here at the moment; how it would be later on, she did not know. But she was determined that she would learn; there were so many lost years to catch up.
--
They were eating the evening meal together in the Jenner House hall, Saavik more than a little uncomfortable among the students who had greeted Carinne enthusiastically and invited them to join them at the long table. She kept her mouth shut after the introductions, and watched and listened. Students served themselves from the hot and cold food dispensers, and carried their meals over on trays. Maintenance staff circulated around the room, refilling beverage pitchers and reminding students to clear up after they were done – and to deal vigorously with the inevitable, sometimes unfortunate malfunctioning of the food-synth machines.
Saavik had already met three of the four young males who occupied the quad to the east of hers. Seeing Carinne, they had galloped over, curious but trying not to be too obvious. One was a violet-skinned, light-haired humanoid who introduced himself as Gaunandantikaili d'Iste, a Paynant. The other two were human – Jaime Rojon y Kresnovich, who wore his abundant black hair in a braid down his back, and Bradley Franks, possibly the youngest and smallest student Saavik had yet seen on this planet. She did not think he could be more than eight or nine years old; still, he might be just naturally small rather than a child prodigy.
The boys sat with them and Saavik listened to a frivolous and laughing conversation mainly involving Jaime's and Gauni's antics during the recent intersession. The Vulcan girl found herself looking across the table at the large, solemn eyes of young Franks. The two of them ate in silence; Saavik guessed that the boy was intimidated; she herself had no more to contribute to the talk than he did.
Glancing up, she noticed that Jaime was now watching her with his deep-set green eyes; non-human though she was, she knew that kind of look. It crossed all races and cultures and reminded her that she must set boundaries early on in her stay here, or there would be trouble that she was not sure she could handle in a civilized manner. She gave the older male a cool look, saw him blink and retreat. Perhaps he was remembering what people knew about Vulcans: don't bother to flirt with them. And apparently he did, for he casually re-entered the conversation of the others. Saavik relaxed.
More students joined them. Several were from the same floor as Carinne and Saavik, and Carinne was obviously friends with all of them. There was a young Deltan female, a red scarf lending an individual accent to her shapely bald head. Saavik wondered how a Deltan coming into physical maturity could live among humans and other humanoid species, and whether AiAnn had a Deltan domestic companion living with her. But at the moment, there was no other Deltan with her. Saavik would have to find out later.
Conversation was now dominated by the old-timers. The newcomers – Saavik, Bradley, and a girl introduced only as Holly – ate in silence. Suddenly, Carinne's hand flew up. "Neill! Over here!"
There was an ill-concealed groan from Jaime, and some of the others rolled their eyes, but Carinne was firm and cheerful. Saavik saw the approaching figure: a pale, slender blonde gripping a meal tray with square, blocky, clenched hands. Reluctantly, she acknowledged Carinne's summons and let herself down into the chair that was farthest removed from the group. Carinne made a point of introducing Neill to the new students, whom the older girl barely looked at.
Is she uncomfortable, like me? Saavik pondered the situation. Neill gave her a brief look that communicated nothing, then turned her attention to her food. Saavik sensed her alienation. She expected to find this feeling in herself, but in a human it seemed out of place. Personally, she did not demand that an intelligent being conform slavishly to all others of its species; in many cases it was better not to do so. And she had no right to expect that people to reveal everything about themselves, just for her personal evaluation and research – though it certainly would help her understand humans better.
She noticed that the others were also ignoring Neill. Whether it was familiarity or contempt, Saavik could not tell. She was not inclined to be prejudiced for or against Neill. To find a cool nature in a human was probably not a bad thing; perhaps it worked for them as it did for Vulcans by insulating an ordered mind from emotional assaults and disturbances.
Saavik stayed in her chair, watching and listening, very much the alien. When everyone had finished eating, several of the students made arrangements to "go out", others to visit in each other's quads. Carinne did not ask Saavik along when she departed with Jaime and some their friends. Maybe she sensed the emotional overload of Saavik's first day on Akadem.
Saavik sought out a meditation space, and quite by chance discovered a nest of small rooms with doors that could be palm-locked, adjacent to the dining hall. She did not see any evidence that they were reserved for anyone; there was no desk or terminal, only a low padded bench and a light-dimmer panel that could be cut down to night-glow. In the ghostly blueness the young Vulcan composed herself in meditation.