Chapter 8 – Routine and Revision
As the weeks passed, Zia settled into a routine. In the mornings she had breakfast with Tara and some of the other women, and then she would attend classes. At night, she completed her homework and three nights' a week she went to Spock's room for their lessons: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Every other night she was doing homework and when Tara went out partying, she stayed at the Academy.
Zia learnt more about her roommate. Tara was born in New Jersey and grew up in the city of Sussex. She had three kid-siblings, all of which were in their primary schooling and her parents worked for Starfleet as medical staff in the Sussex hospital. For her whole life, Tara had loved mathematics and computers and dreamed of wearing a yellow shirt. Yellow looked good on her compared with the bland maroon of the cadet uniforms. Her parents had been reluctant to let their eldest child to go to Starfleet and pursue a career in space. Tara had had a happy childhood, filled with play-dates, crushes and cheerful days. Growing up, she'd had a few boyfriends, but they'd never felt right, resulting in their break-up. She'd never had her heart broken, and for that Zia was thankful.
As for Blair, he had grown up around technology on Bolarus IX, the Bolian homeworld, leading to his desire to serve at Starfleet. Unlike Tara, his parents had died when he was young, and he had grown up in an orphanage. However, he had been happy there, but excited to expand his horizons and go to Earth for Starfleet training. He knew a bit about bullying, as he was the only Bolian at the Academy, but it had mainly been verbal teasing that had eased off during the past few weeks. Blair sympathised with Zia, and it allowed them to grow closer.
The three of them often studied together, and Tara and Blair conspired to get Zia away from the Academy on numerous occasions but were never successful. The Vulcan spent all of her time studying hard to prepare for the exams at the end of term.
She knocked three times on Spock's door and entered. The first thing she noticed was the wonderful aroma permeating the air.
"What's cooking this time?" she asked, sitting down at his table. In the kitchen, Spock opened his oven.
"M'lu for the main meal, and saffir for dessert," he replied, closing the oven again. "A few more minutes remain. How are you coping with your study?"
"Well, it's less than a week before the end-of-term exams, and I hope that I'm ready."
"I have no doubt that you will perform to the best of your abilities," he assured her, pouring the m'lu into two bowls and setting them down at the table. "The assessment schedules will all be given this week, providing you with ample time to prepare for the first examinations on Monday."
"Then there's the two-week break before classes start again," Zia sighed, chewing on some m'lu. "I'm certainly not going home and there's nothing to do at the Academy. Maybe I should get a job. What will you do for the whole two weeks?"
"I will mark the assessment pieces from my six classes and participate in cross-marking with the other professors. Then I will travel to the ship-yards to oversee the computer programming on the newest ships in production. It is my belief that I am to be labelled First Officer aboard Captain Pike's vessel."
"That's really cool."
"It is, is it not?"
Once they finished eating Spock cleared their bowls, but instead of setting down the cushions he pushed the couch to one side of the room, leaving a large space in the centre.
"Aren't we meditating?" Zia asked in confusion.
"We will, but I wish to teach you something important for self-protection. For the past eight weeks we have focused on meditation and the regulating of emotions, but I believe that you do not know your Vulcan strength."
"Uhh…"
"Due to our dense skeletal frame, a result of living on a world with higher gravity and a thinner atmosphere, the average Vulcan tends to be stronger than a human."
"I know that." As Zia spoke, Spock gave her a strange look. "Oh, I borrowed a book on Vulcans from the library to read up on my race, but I'm not finished just yet."
"Allow me to continue. Since you have grown up on Earth, I am not fully certain if you have the strength, but I believe it is hereditary and that you are quite strong. So, I will teach you the basics of Ponn-ifla. It is a form of martial art that is known to only the Vulcan species. The disciplines tenant involves resistance as well as moderation with a master being able to'transform a fight into a poem, and a poem into meditation. It focuses on the use of minimum force and movement by turning an attackers own force back at them rather than initiate combat. Practitioners are required to be an eye of peacefulness in the storm of violence."
"Will you teach me a few basic moves?"
Spock nodded and launched into an explanation, demonstrating as he went along. "There is Kroika, deflecting an opponent's fist downwards in order to put him off-balance. Taroon, using the opponent's own attack as a means of getting an opening for a nerve pinch. Ponn-K'sin, a leg sweep. Narlik, a joint lock and counter pressure move with many different techniques existing. Now, I will teach you each move one at a time. Please, strike me."
"Professor?"
"Strike me. I can assure you, you will not hit me."
"Um, okay, Professor."
She lunged forward with a punch, aiming for Spock's chest, but he flicked his wrist and forced the energy downwards. It took her a second to regain her footing and she tried for a roundhouse punch this time, but Spock side-stepped, grasped her arm and twisted it into a lock. Tears sprung to her eyes from the pressure and she forced them down.
They continued for the next hour, Spock basically pummelling her with her own techniques, until he decided it was time to sit down in meditation.
"I've been getting better," she told him. "It's been three weeks since my last episode. I'm glad Tara could finally get some decent sleep."
"I am glad to hear that," he nodded, with a faint trace of a smile. "You are making remarkable progress. I believe that in a year you will be completely recovered and able to sleep without worry, but you will have to work hard for that to happen."
"Oh, I can't wait," she grinned.
They crossed their legs and sunk into deep meditation over the course of another hour. Zia focused on her task of Keethara, a Vulcan meditation technique that translated as 'the structure of harmony'. It involved the development of a small structure formed using smaller building blocks. To build it required precise balance and spatial acuity. The purpose of the exercise was to help focus the thoughts of the Vulcan practicing the technique and to refine their mental control. She had been working on this mental control since her last sleep-walking episode. Tara had locked the door and slept through the entire thing but had been surprised to find that upon waking her roommate had taken all the clothes from the wardrobe and lain on the pile.
Tonight, she was building a communicator. She found it more difficult to focus on building smaller, more complicated objects rather than buildings and whatnot. Each block formed part of the device and she imagined the speakers and coloured buttons being formed with each new development. Slowly, the communicator took shape and before she knew it, it was completed.
"Excellent work, cadet," Spock said, his voice penetrating her consciousness. Blinking, Zia came out of her mediative state and saw him at his computer, finalising his third-year physics papers.
"Thank you, Professor. What classes do you teach?" Zia stood and put the cushions back on his couch, settling down for a few more minutes.
"I teach first-year physics and engineering, third-year xenolinguistics and physics, and fourth-year engineering and computing," he replied.
"That sounds like a lot of work." She checked the time and gasped. "I need to get going. Tara and I have to finish our revision papers."
"Do not let me impede on your progress," he said gallantly. He closed his paper and moved across the room, opening the door for her. Smiling slightly, Zia waved as she strolled up the corridor.
Back at their room, Tara talked with her parents on her communicator. "I know. I've written down all the algorithms I'll need, and Zia will help me memorise them. Yes, all my equations have been written down too. There are just a few more programming sequences… yeah. Are you serious? I didn't know Sadie wanted to be a Starship Captain. Well, she'll have to come to the Academy, won't she? Hi Sadie! How's my favourite second-oldest sister? That's great! I bet your instructor was very impressed."
As Tara continued to talk to her family, Zia sat on her bed, books strewn everywhere, and got to work finishing her biology papers. Her physics, history and math papers were finished, and she'd done her anthropology at the start of the term, so biology was all she had left to do. Once Tara switched off her communicator, they worked in silence for the better part of an hour before they both finished at the same time.
"You want to go first?" Tara asked, holding out her hand.
"Sure," Zia replied. She handed Tara her Introduction to Physics paper and sat back. She answered questions on every topic they'd studied that term: classical physics, atoms, mechanics, heat, light, sound, electricity, magnetism and energy.
"Wow." Tara seemed genuinely impressed and Zia blushed.
"Am I done?"
"Yeah. That's all you needed to learn for that class, based on what you've written here."
Zia accepted her physics paper back and read Tara's questions on algorithms and math. Once those were finished, she handed Tara's paper back and smiled encouragingly.
"You're doing great."
"Thanks, but I know I've got a lot more to learn. Look, it's almost midnight. I better get to bed so I can be awake at eight. You can continue revising if you want."
"I think I'll do that. And I might call my parents too."
"Give them my best," Tara yawned. She brushed all her books from her bed, slipped under the covers and curled up. Smiling, Zia reached for her communicator and stood by the window to wait for her parents to pick up. The weather had improved in recent weeks and it no longer snowed, but the rain was awful. During their sixth week it rained non-stop for days and everyone was tired of having to carry umbrellas or hide their books under their jackets. The rain season was finishing in a week or so and after that the weather would improve as summer approached.
Her mother answered after the second ring. "How are you, honey?"
"I'm good mum. Is dad there?"
"Yes, he is. Patty, it's Zia!"
Her dad said something indecipherable in the background. "Yeah, I love you too dad."
"Why are you speaking so quietly?"
"My roommate is trying to get to sleep. We've been writing study papers for our classes and finished them. Next week is the big week with all the exams, then after that it's the two-week spring break."
"Good luck with your exams! We have our fingers crossed here for you. Will you be coming home for spring break? You weren't sure when I asked last time."
"Oh, I'm staying at the Academy. I hope it's not a bother to you. Tara is going home to her family and I have, uh, things to do."
"What sort of things?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"The nightmares are back, aren't they?"
Zia hesitated. "I didn't want to worry you."
"Honey, of course I worry! Do you need us to do anything? We can be up there in three hours!"
"No, mum, it's perfectly fine. Remember the professor I told you about whose half-Vulcan half-human? He's been teaching be the Vulcan way to help me. I haven't had an episode in three weeks. His lessons are really working. "
"What do you do?"
"He's teaching me Vulcan meditation. I'm quite enjoying the experience." She didn't feel comfortable telling her mother that he cooked dinner for her three times a week. It was too… personal.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to worry you." Even to her, the excuse sounded weak.
"Of course, we'll worry. So, you're staying at the Academy for spring break. What about summer break?"
"I'll be coming home for that. But during spring break I'll probably get a job to earn some money."
She could see Giana's soft smile in mind's eye. "I'm so proud of you honey. You took matters into your own hands, which is the first step to recovery. Now that I know, you need to keep me updated. I love my little girl and I don't want to see her hurting again."
"I love you too, mum. Uh, Tara's glaring at me so I should probably get to bed."
"Okay sweetie. Mum and dad love you!"
"Goodnight."
Zia closed her communicator and shrugged at her roommate. Groaning, Tara rolled over and punched her pillow a few times to make it comfier. Zia quickly cleared off her bed and organised herself for classes tomorrow. Once her satchel was packed she took off her shoes, curled up into bed, and promptly fell asleep.