STARDATE 2254.203
LOCATION: WESTERN ADDITION, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, EARTH
At 0435, a Vulcan awoke before the sun rose; before life began bustling through the streets of San Francisco; before daily concerns and tasks should begin.
Spock stared at his ceiling: white. He breathing was deep and he rose slowly off his bed, bringing his feet to the carpeted floor. Carpeted flooring was something that he had never experienced until he stayed at his maternal grandparents' home in Sacramento, California. The sensation had been odd on his bare feet and chose for quite some time to wear socks continuously around. Time had passed and he had come to appreciate the texture and comforting feel it presented to the base of his body.
He padded to his bathroom and brushed his teeth, washed his face, and fingered his hair back into accordance. Looking closely at himself in the mirror, he noticed a small patch of green that had grown in the sharp corner of his jaw. He brought a set of fingers up to touch it. It throbbed but he didn't flinch: there was no need. The young woman that had caused this new discoloration to this region of his body may be in need of more thought as to how she could have produced such force…
His internal clock told him it was 0445. He would have grumbled at being off schedule but his training knew better than that.
Slipping into form-fitting athletic attire and running shoes, Spock was out the door by 0450 and was jogging briskly at 9.12 miles per hour through the southeast end of the Presidio.
Running this early had its benefits. There were no pedestrians in the sidewalks, except for the occasional seemingly homeless person. Homelessness was rampant throughout the Bay Area no matter how many programs had been put into effect throughout the 21st and 22nd centuries. It was a concept that was foreign to Spock because on Vulcan no citizen was overlooked or useless. From birth, a Vulcan was raised with the best education; proving oneself whether or not they were worthy to study at the Sciences Academy. If not, jobs and occupations were always available. It wasn't a concern of funding or resources because Pon Farr kept the population in control. There were never too many people that the planet could not handle. That equation had been found out centuries ago: what resources were available versus what resources needed to be used.
That was another tangent Spock's mind went into as he passed along the edges of the Starfleet Academy: there simply were too many people on planet Earth. The Federation had been founded at the most opportune time for humanity…they needed to look beyond the planet for more resources and technologies to survive. He thought it sadistic to believe that the Eugenics War of the late 21st was almost useful for the planet to survive: allow the dominating creature to eradicate itself into submission to the planet's waning outputs.
He came quickly to the steep hills of the coastline of the west side of the peninsula and turned inward to count his heart rate as he continued moving forward. Pulse: 220 beats per minute. Just above resting heart rate.
0520: jogging through the "college" part of town where students from University of California, San Francisco made its home. Students were far from being awake. Delivery trucks to small shops made their way slowly through the dark streets.
Along Lincoln Avenue, Spock glimpsed at a few passing joggers, all singular and going at a much slower pace. One runner caught his eye, though.
Cadet Uhura.
She was going at a pace at about 6.70 miles per hour and was "zoning out" with small ear buds hidden in her ears, intently listening to sort of music.
Keeping his pace, Spock checked the road quickly, crossed, caught up to her, slowed to her pace and ran by her side.
Nyota glanced at him quickly and her eyes widened, hands going to her ear buds, removing them. Without stopping her pace, she said simply, "Good morning, Lieutenant."
"Good morning, Cadet." He didn't bother looking at her.
They continued jogging without speaking for exactly 4 minutes and 46 seconds. Spock began urging her pace to speed up, taking slightly faster steps. She kept up perfectly. Sooner than later, they were back up to his pace.
Her breathing was rhythmically controlled in through her nose, out through her mouth. Spock's breathing was much, much slower due to his larger lung capacity.
Just as he had found comfort in carpet underneath his feet, he now found a feeling of comfort in keeping pace with her.
The cadet finally spoke, struggling for oxygen to create the words, "My turn is coming up soon. Will we be seeing you again for training?"
"Regrettably, you will not. That was my only part in this year's cadet basic training."
"Oh."
A couple more blocks.
"Will you be teaching next semester?"
"Affirmative. I will be teaching Basic Romulan Syntax, Xenolinguistics and Theologies, Xenobiology, and Advanced Vulcan."
"I've always wanted to learn Vulcan. I know that it's similar to Romulan, a language I'm already slightly familiar with…"
"Cadet, you are required to be a third-year student before you are able to secure any advanced linguistics course…"
"Op! Here's my turn."
He stopped as she jogged slowly backwards, away from him. This was the first time he looked at her since he found her on the street. She was flushed and covered in a sheen of sweat, breasts bouncing slightly under her tight sports bra…
He was going to have to meditate…
"Don't worry yourself Lieutenant, I'll prove myself worthy of an advanced course," she said as she turned with a smile and retreated from him. She spun quickly to face him again, feet still bouncing, "And sorry about the bruise!"
As she retreated, he lifted a set of fingers again up to his jaw.
