L'appel du Vide

Chapter 5

"You must be the new cadets; I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and this is my First Officer William Riker," announced the man standing across from the transporter pad.

He wasn't as tall as she had thought he would be, but the bald head was on-brand for her imagination. He was neither delicate nor hardy, but the way he held himself spoke of a solid self-assurance that she would never achieve. The First Officer, however, was exactly what she thought a Starfleet First Officer would look like – tall, broad, handsome, and unquestionably a trust-fund child born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Distaste left a weird squirm in her stomach.

"Hello, Captain; I am Cadet Spock. This is Cadet Evelyn Kirk," Spock said politely.

"We are very pleased to meet you, Captain Picard, and are eager to spend time aboard your ship, sir," Evelyn finished. The smile on her face was fake again, but that was okay. Despite that, despite her inability to be sincere in the face of authority, she was genuinely excited to be back in space. Artificial gravity was more familiar on the bottom of her feet than real gravity was. It pulled her organs in a familiar way, leaving her with the urge to bounce on the balls of her feet.

"Right, well, it's wonderful to meet you both. Commander Riker will show you to your quarters, and then we can give you some time to settle in." Picard's stride carried him through the door, leaving them all behind.

"Is he always so brief?" Evelyn asked curiously, staring at the now closed door.

Riker smiled slightly, nodding his head. "Yes, he doesn't tend to waste time on the niceties unless necessary."

Pursing her lips, she shared a glance with Spock before smiling up at Riker. "I like him already."

Evelyn heard his chuckle before he waved at them to follow. "Right this way, cadets. I'll give you a quick tour of the ship on the way."

Spock paid more than enough attention to Riker's directions, leaving Evelyn free to stare at the ship around her. Despite how advanced it seemed on both the inside and the outside, for her first time back in a spaceship in nearly four years, it felt underwhelming. There were no windows in the numerous hallways nor the turbolift, and the tech was quite outdated compared to some other civilizations. You knew this already, she reminded herself, Earth hasn't come far enough in space travel, yet. It wasn't until they arrived at the Officer's Quarters that she realized she had zoned out for the entire walk.

"And this is where you'll both be staying," Riker informed them, pointing at two doors next to one another. "They have you in the Officer's Quarters since you're doing Officer and Bridge Crew training for the duration of your stay. Being closer to those that you'll be training with is essential."

Evelyn watched Spock nod in acknowledgement. She peered around the hallway blankly, wondering how she even got there. "Thank you, Commander," Spock's voice rang in her ears.

"What time do we report to the bridge, sir?" Evelyn asked curiously, looking down at the touchscreen watch at her wrist for the time.

"Oh-six-hundred hours," Riker answered immediately.

Huffing lightly, Evelyn shook her head. That was barely an hour. There would be no time for a nap, nor any food, one of which she desperately needed. "They cut our departure time close, huh, Spock?"

"It would seem as though they did," he responded. Turning to Riker, Spock adjusted the strap of his duffle bag against his shoulder. "Where might we acquire uniforms?"

"They should be at the kitchenette in each of your rooms, cadets. I'll leave you both to freshen up." Riker put a hand on one hip before his eyes dragged over to Evelyn. "And I am only two doors that way should you need anything at all."