Spock and Alex finally get to their new assignment, the USS Essex. Trouble ensues, but not enough to waylay our stalwart cadets. In this chapter, I try to envision what the state-of-the-art ship would be like, before the new Enterprise is completed. I'm drawing from several sources on ships in the Star Trek universe.

I don't own anything Star Trek, just having some pay-free fun. Enjoy!

Different, yet so similar part 10

The shuttle entered the USS Essex through the open shuttle bay doors, landing on the deck with a jarring thud. The cadets stayed in their seats as they had been ordered, but they were impatient to disembark.

Soon, the door opened, and an officer in Services red called from outside the shuttle. "Cadets, please exit the shuttle" She waited, databoard in hand, ready to begin checking off the cadets. She called names by twos, and gave each pair their cabin assignments. When she reached Alex's name, she looked confused. "There must be a mistake here, cadet. You have a male roommate?"

"Yes, ma'am, this is Spock," Alex answered, indicating the tall Vulcan next to her.

The officer looked at them both. Spock spoke up, "This has been our assignment at the academy from the beginning. It has already been approved by the Quartermaster."

"Very well. Your cabin assignment is Deck 6, cabin E-418." She turned to the next pair, indicating she was through with Spock and Alex. Now they just had to wait until someone showed them where their cabin was.

Everyone was talking excitedly and looking around the shuttle bay, wishing things would hurry along. Several members of Red Squad sauntered over, leading Alex to believe that they were not going to be overly friendly. She was right.

One stood ahead of the rest. The head bully boy, Alex thought. Spock saw a potential confrontation brewing and moved to stand next to Alex. Several others in Blue Squad did likewise.

"So, you like shacking up with aliens, eh, Trainor?" He smirked at her while saying it, then looked back at his team, all of whom were smiling or snickering.

"Room assignments are no secret, Harrison. Why bring it up now?" Alex's hackles were up. They'd just better not push her too far. Her brothers had taught her defensive moves that she had updated to become offensive, and painful.

"I suppose he knows all kinds of ways to...help you out. But I heard they only do it once every seven years. Must make for a frustrating time, hm?" He looked around for support from his group, who gave it willingly with sneers and more snickers.

Alex would have liked to make it impossible for this jackass to "do it" anytime soon, but she maintained a calm facade. "What are you even doing in Star Fleet, Harrison? There's no room for prejudice here, or anywhere else in the Federation. Spock is my friend, and if you have a problem with that, maybe you should go find a job somewhere else, where they aren't quite so particular about the IQ level of their employees."

Harrison had fire in his eyes now, but was prevented from acting on his anger by the loud voice of the Duty Officer. "That will be all, cadets! Follow me, now!"

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Everyone followed the officer, who delivered each pair to their cabins, until Alex and Spock had reached theirs. "You will report to Briefing Room 4 at 1200 hours. Until then, unpack and get some rest. You'll need it." She then continued on with those left in her care.

Alex looked around the small room, marveling at how much it looked like the one at the academy. Maybe it was even a bit smaller. And there was no window. "Oh, well. It's home for the next two weeks." She tossed her duffel onto a bed and sat down.

Spock walked over to stand in front of her. "Thank you for your most eloquent defense of my honour," she said, looking down at her.

"Spock, I don't think your honour was being impugned. He was trying to rattle my cage and chose the one thing he knew would work. My acceptance of alien life forms is no secret to anyone. In fact, I enjoy meeting new species, and reading about their cultures." Alex stood. "Besides, you're more than my roommate, and if anyone attacks you, they attack me. Alex's code of friendship." She smiled and stood, giving Spock a hug. She then pulled away, grousing, "I hope they feed us soon. I'm starving."

If Spock could laugh aloud, he would have. His time with Alex was proving less surprising every day. She was a special person, and for a human, not so difficult to be in close quarters with. Despite his initial misgivings, he was content to have her for a roommate. Her desire to go to Vulcan wasn't one he would fight against. He had decided that he would like to have her visit his home world. He knew that her innate curiosity would be more satisfied by being there, rather than just reading about it. And oddly, he felt an eagerness to share his people and their society with her.

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At 1155 hours, every cadet, the duty officer buzzed each cabin and gathered the cadets, taking them to the Briefing Room. Tables had been set up on the side of the room, where a lunch buffet sat. The cadets lined up and filled their plates, before sitting down at a table. Again, Alex noticed the natural division between Red and Blue Squads. It made her sigh and shake her head. "This really is ridiculous, Spock," she whispered. "I don't understand why such attitudes are tolerated by Command. They're divisive and parochial." Most of her squad agreed with her, nodding.

"Perhaps, it is not their true opinions, but rather an attempt to achieve a stance of power. I feel that in time, they will find that having power over others does not lead to leadership positions in Star Fleet. It will get harder once we're past first year."

D'Jian disagreed. "Do you think they're really just a bunch of good-hearted jokers, Spock?"

Spock glanced at her, both eyebrows raised.

Both squads ate their meals, while the Duty Officer spoke about the ship and support groups. Each table had a viewscreen which activated so that the cadets could watch the detailed presentation. She explained the deck plans, what areas would be available for touring, and so on. There was so much information given, that no one thought they'd remember it all.

Well, maybe Spock would, thought Alex. Nothing mental was ever difficult for him. She envied his ability to take a piece of information, draw from it everything he needed and be able to store it away for later. As the officer continued talking, Alex noticed she had something in her hand.

"Each of you will find a personal datapad in your cabins. In them will be your schedules for the time that you're here, plus any information you may require. We expect you to know how to get around any area of the ship you will have access to, by the end of this tour. Familiarize yourself with your schedules. You're adults now, and we won't have time to hold your hands. Be where and when you're supposed to be, do what you're assigned, don't interfere with the work of the officers and crew, and you'll do fine. You may even enjoy the work. When you're done eating, you're dismissed." She then left the cadets in the briefing room to finish eating. Most wolfed down what was left so that they could return to their rooms and check out the datapads to see their schedules.

Alex was no exception. She and Spock headed back to the room, where they found the mentioned datapads on their beds. Alex flopped on her bed, kicked off her boots and began to read her assignments. "Spock, I get to tour Engineering first thing! Then an hour of study time with the assistant engineer." She sat next to Spock on his bed, peering over his arm to read his assignment schedule. "Where are you going first?"

Spock quickly scanned his schedule. "The Science Lab first, then I will be touring Engineering as well. However, not at the same time as you."

"That's too bad. I hope we get to see the warp engines up close. Hm, says here I will be shown Auxiliary Control. 'The ship may be controlled from this area should there be some reason Engineering is inaccessible.' she read. Do you have the transporter control room?"

"Yes, and at the same time as you." Spock seemed to be looking for something. Alex thought she knew what it was. She pointed to a spot on the screen. "Right here, Spock. The bridge." She smiled at his incredulous look. "You don't fool me, mister. But hey, I want to see it too." She lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "My dream is to someday be assigned the new starship Phillip was talking about. I'll wager their bridge will be..." She couldn't even think of a word majestic enough to describe what she hoped the control center of this ship of the future would be like.

Alex jumped up. "I'm going to clean up so that I'll look presentable. Gotta make a good impression."

Spock took up his datapad again. He hoped that he did not have to confront anyone in Red Squad, as he hoped to avoid any conflict. It was not that he feared anyone. He just preferred to do his work unimpeded. He also hoped that Alex would be able to avoid them, since he knew that she would not have quite the same self-control that he had. She was more or less on probation, since the phaser training incident, and he didn't want to see her ejected from the academy because of the idiocy of a few troublesome cadets. He continued reading his schedule, committing each appointment to memory. He wondered if his people did any service to him by disallowing the exhibition of excitement. Inside, he was just like Alex, while outside his composure would fool everyone, except his roommate. He decided to prepare for his first assignment as well. He searched for the section on the Science Lab and quickly scanned it.