8/15/2258
Nlia
The Western Continent
The City of Aaupa
Torash Residence
"So now that you're graduates, when will you and Tuskaro be assigned somewhere?"
"Not all graduates are assigned right away, Aunt Brimyl," Shylea L'Naym answered. "Sometimes they need
to wait for weeks or even months. Part of it is the placement itself. They want to put new graduates in just
the right position and sometimes one doesn't become available until later."
After their graduation from the Starfleet Training Program for Enlisted Personnel, L'Naym and her lifemate
had returned to Nlia to visit their families. They'd spent most of their time either in Khasha, L'Naym's
birthplace and home of her father, or in Skadi, the home of Alyen's parents. Right now they were visiting
Aaupa, the home of L'Naym's favorite aunt, Brimyl Grileth, sister of her mother.
"Another thing to consider is that Tuskaro and I are Bonded lifemates," L'Naym went on. "If either of us
were single we'd no doubt each be placed somewhere a lot sooner. The same would probably be the case
if we were lifemated but members of a different species; in Starfleet couples are frequently given separate
assignments.
"But we're Nlian and we know what happens to Nlian lifemates if separated for too long. So Starfleet needs
to try to keep us together and that can cause delays with placement. A planetary outpost in one place may
need a botanist, but have no need for a medic. Or another station may need a medic but have no need for
a botanist. They need to find a place that needs both a botanist and a medic and that may take time.
"Also, ever since the Nero Engagement, the entire Fleet is being reorganized. Several ships were destroyed
and people who they had originally planned to transfer to them are now being transferred to other areas.
New enlisted crewmen are usually sent to stations, but because of the upheaval, an excess of more seasoned
personnel are being sent to stations and they're filling positions that newer crewmembers might have taken.
In short, things are very chaotic right now."
L'Naym took a sip from the tea she was drinking. "Tuskaro and I don't plan to be idle while we're waiting.
When we go back to Earth he's planning to take an extra course in Emergency Medical Training. And I'll
take an extra course as well."
She smiled. "It will be nice to see the Academy Gardens again. I often talked to the groundskeeper. Earlier this
year I helped him plant an elm tree sapling. He let me pick the spot. I chose my favorite spot by the parade
grounds. Tuskaro and I would often go there to watch the cadets drill and march."
She chuckled. "Elm trees take up to a hundred years to reach full growth and can live for three hundred.
Maybe someday, over a hundred years from now, Starfleet cadets will sit under it while they watch the parades
and dream of their futures."
