If you look back in my fics, you'll see I wrote a couple Labyrinth ones. So like any Bowie fan, I am torn up right now.

RIP Starman.

~000~

Minutia.

It had become Iris's first true lesson aboard the T'Kumbra – Vulcans thrived on minutia.

Schedules were sent to all ensigns prior to the start of the quarter, and she could hardly believe what they'd laid out. Everything was down to the minute - 30 for breakfast and 45 for calisthenics at 0715 hours.

She knew coming in that the days aboard an all-Vulcan ship would be longer because their kind didn't require as much rest. But this was 12 hours meticulously planned, even including activities before and after duty! No break time. No leisure. Personal time began after 1845, so roughly 3 hours before she'd have to be in bed.

Her first reaction to the schedule had been to cry, but she tried to stay positive. Perhaps it wouldn't take long to acclimate.

Or maybe she'd go insane after the first week.

As she stood amid the gentle sonic pulses, she wondered what type of person could live their entire life meted out like this.

~000~

Solok awoke precisely at 0600 hours. He'd reset his internal alarm from the usual 0545 on account of the introductory meeting last night.

On the way to the bathroom he instructed the replicator to run first meal program #3 at 0615:10.

It took him 5 minutes to shower and 4 minutes to shave; during which he ran several quantum calculations in his head and made note to send the proofs along to Tuval once he was on the bridge.

Another 6 minutes was spent changing into his uniform, and in that time he decided what to do about the personnel issue regarding ops. There were 13 possible candidates to fill the temporarily vacant post. He weighed each of their accomplishments and came to the conclusion that T'Nal would be best suited to the role. He'd schedule a meeting with her during his empty time slot at 1345 to inform her of the promotion.

It then took him 10 seconds to walk from the closet to the console upon where his breakfast had just finished replicating.

So far the morning was acceptably efficient, despite the late start.

Before he could grab the plate, his communicator dinged.

"Yes?"

"Captain, your presence is required," said V'Lido.

"I will be in my ready room at 0645 hours," he said.

"I know, sir. But a passenger has just arrived. We will need you in the shuttle bay."

Solok raised a brow, irked by the unexpected visitor.

"Very well."

~000~

Iris had spent 30 minutes eating breakfast, but she should've spent 20.

She hadn't expected the dining hall replicators to carry only Vulcan dishes, and she hastily decided on something so as not to hold up the line. Choking down what appeared to be a mossy Tribble was a little harder than eggs and toast might've been. And unfortunately the closest-looking thing they had to coffee or Raktajino tasted like spicy liquorish.

After spending the full time allotted for breakfast, she was running late for her next session. Not for the first time, she was glad to have memorized the ship's layout.

All security officers were required to attend extra calisthenics classes, due to the nature of their jobs. But after working up a sweat, Iris couldn't just slip back into uniform (unlike her new Vulcan peers) – she needed a shower.

Everything seemed to snowball, but somehow she'd managed to sneak in to the tactical room just as the doors closed.

She took the last place in a row of board-straight ensigns. Embarrassingly, her labored breathing was the only sound in the room.

At the head of a long conference table stood two females. One was curiously short with eyes bluer than the ocean at South Beach on Earth. The other was a more standard Vulcan height, with legs that took up most of it. She had the perfectly proportioned, perfectly symmetrical face that Iris had come to expect from their kind. Hers was a beauty that demanded attention, no matter the viewer, but Iris soon regretted her unconscious staring when the Vulcan raised a brow at her.

The shorter female began,

"I am T'Sala – chief of security aboard T'Kumbra. Currently there are 80 security specialists onboard. Those of you in this group will form squadron 3. To my left is your immediate superior, Lieutenant T'Ri. She will instruct you further when I am gone," she nodded an acknowledgement to T'Ri and continued,

"Before coming aboard this ship you took an oath to the Federation – one of the most important tenets of that oath is to protect life. As security officers, an unfortunate reality of our job is that this is not always possible. As such, I require an extra provision from all my staff. Together we will take a new vow to protect the life aboard this ship, even at the cost of our own. If there are any here who do not wish to do this, you may leave now."

Iris glanced down the aisle of her peers. All remained stationary, and for the first time she felt a connection to them.

"Very well," T'Sala continued, "raise your right hand and repeat after me."

Iris stood tall, her body firm, and her spirits lifted. She'd waited a long time for this.

So it wasn't the Enterprise. But she could apply later. For the time being she was here. And as she repeated after T'Sala, she felt the words sink into her bones. She knew she was showing emotion – beaming, proud, ecstatic emotion. But for the next two minutes she allowed it.

~000~

Solok paced his ready room and tried to suppress the powerful emotion in his gut. Before he'd thought of retreating to his room for some impromptu meditation but decided against it. His schedule was tight with all the new recruits and senior staff meetings, and if he wanted time on the bridge he'd have to get through this.

He stood in front of the porthole, closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. Raw anger surged through him. Other negatives threaded in and out – embarrassment, powerlessness, betrayal.

The door dinged right when he felt he was about to cry out. It sobered him, and he crushed the emotions down. They were not gone, but controlled.

In walked his new chief of security – T'Sala.

"Captain," she addressed him with a slight bow, and he nodded back.

She seated herself only after he did. Perhaps in time she'd adopt some of the familiarity his former chief of security had.

"Have you met with all squadrons?"

"Yes, captain," she said and handed him the PADD in her hand. He set it aside for the moment.

"What is your overall assessment?"

"I believe the dispersion of senior officers is inefficient. There are too many on squadron 1, while 3 and 4 are composed mainly of ensigns. It would be beneficial to redistribute them."

"I will allow it. Previous distributions were the work of my former chief of security, and his algorithms were based on our wartime status," he said, and picked up the PADD to review the current rosters.

"Understood, sir," T'Sala said.

"I do have one request," he said.

"Yes?"

"I see the Terran ensign, Iris Wade, is on squadron 3. That should remain," he said.

T'Sala tilted her head to the side. It was the closest their kind came to indicating confusion.

"What reason is there for this request?"

"Squadron 3 is often tasked with lower risk duties. I'd rather the Terran be in a situation where brute strength is not required."

T'Sala stared at Solok for exactly 6 seconds.

"I do not understand," she said. "If her capabilities are in question, why is she aboard T'Kumbra?"

Solok straightened in his seat. He would not lie, but luckily the answer was two-fold.

"It is simple strategy. If what I've read about Terrans is true, squadron 3 is her best placement."

And it was a good way for him to observe her kinds' supposed virtues, since squadron 3 rarely left ship. There were so many papers on their intuition and creativity, …but few rebuttals.

T'Sala appeared to accept his answer. Omitting information was not a lie in itself, after all.

~000~

Day one was officially over, and Iris felt like her whole body had been broken. And if it was like that now, tomorrow would be even worse.

Her stomach held a veritable Vulcan forest from all the replicated meals. She'd kill for a milkshake and plate of cheese fries. For now, a long hot bath would do. Unfortunately, it would have to wait as she encountered a stranger upon entering her quarters.

He stood with his back to her, laying out clothes on her bed. She noticed right away he'd moved her stuff to the bed farthest away from the bathroom.

"Hello?" she said, and he finally turned to look at her.

He was standard Vulcan height, with dark eyes and a trim body. His face was vaguely familiar, but Iris couldn't place where she'd seen him before.

"Greetings. I am Sobek, but you may address me as lieutenant."

Maybe it was his accent – haughtier than a run of the mill Vulcan – but she suddenly remembered where she'd been him before. A holoreel!

"Aren't you…aren't you Ambassador Stulan's son?"

"I am," he said, and she could have sworn she saw the corner of his mouth tick upwards.

"Wow…so it's like we have royalty on ship."

"I am of noble blood," he said, and her eyes grew even wider.

"Well, welcome," she said. He responded with a curt nod and returned to his unpacking.

Iris walked to the other bed, which was apparently hers now. So she had a roommate; one who was practically famous but also kind of a jerk that didn't ask before moving her stuff. Not that it mattered. She didn't mind which bed she had. And this was a good thing. Perhaps a roommate would help her make friends! Well, whatever passed for friendship between Vulcans.

"I thought lieutenants got their own quarters?" She asked.

Sobek didn't respond, but dropped his suitcase to the floor and kicked it under the bed with what seemed like more force than was necessary.

~000~

I am so sorry about how long it's taken me to update! And sorry for the shortish chapter. The next one is over 3000, so hopefully that'll make up for it. I finished up the other fic I had going (Holosuite Number 3 – if ya like smut go read!), so now I can focus on this one entirely. Also I wanted to write a few chapters ahead to make sure I wasn't writing myself into a corner.

Again, big thanks to Garden Gnomie for the review! Also to Fulmen, the guest reviewer, cataloo456, CeresMaria, and Lyz! I really appreciate it, guys.

*gets back to writing and listening to Space Oddity on repeat*