JP (BACKSIM) Cadets Tahna Meru and Ico Ena - Shezara Pt. III
Meru Tahna
((Starfleet Academy, Presidio Campus, Earth, 2395))
Ena remained silent for much of the way until, finally, her footsteps slowed and her hurried escape from the classroom became a leisurely jog, almost a stroll.
Ico: Meru, wasn't it? You know, you're... you're really intrepid.
Meru let out a clipped laugh.
Tahna: I wouldn’t go that far. My parents didn’t join the Resistance for me to end up sitting in a classroom learning Cardassian. You would have done the same.
Meru smiled at the younger woman. They’d found many things to unite them so far -- a love of stellar cartography, their shared heritage, their failure to register for the right classes. Meru was sure that Ena could just as easily be the cadet taking matters into her own hands in a year or two.
Ico: No, I don't know, I would never have dared... I would have been paralysed by the thought that we might get caught.
Tahna: We still might. ::A glance at the other woman told Meru that that was not the right answer, and she hastily continued.:: But you had no idea what I was doing, you were planning to wait until after class ended to change your registration. You were surprised the Commander got called away.
Ico: Oh? I’m not….::Then she understood what Meru was talking about and realisation dawned on her face as she let out a small chuckle.:: Yeah, yeah, you're right, totally surprised, I would never have predicted it.
Another chuckle and Ena shook her head, though somehow she seemed more relaxed, with colour creeping back into her features.
As they made their way through the Academy grounds, they passed through one of the many perfectly-manicured campus quadrangles, with its vibrant green grass and carefully benches. Meru preferred the more organic green spaces on campus where there were more trees and plenty of flowers, but those were near the dormitories, not the class buildings. Across the large quad was the building with the registrar’s office, but unless you were doing drills it was poor form to walk on the grass (and possibly draw unwanted attention from the overzealous gardeners who maintained the garden), so they took the long way around on the pavement.
As they rounded the first curve, walking under a round rhododendron that cast a gentle shadow over the paths, Meru broke the comfortable silence into which they had fallen.
Tahna: What part of Bajor are you from?
Ico: I come from the Ni'ratal Valley, near the Sanctuary. :: The young woman fell silent for a brief moment until she suddenly grasped that the small upland valley was probably not well known outside of the surrounding area, so she hastened to add.:: In the mountains of eastern Rakantha Province
At The Rhododendron a bird let out a loud note, which was answered by a similar note, on the other side of the grassy area.
Ico: What about you? Let me guess, Tempasa? :: a tiny smile crept into her face:: You look like you're a city girl
Tahna: Kendra Province. My yani1 grows kava there, and marnah2 was in the Militia growing up so she traveled a lot. Fa3 is an artist. He and marnah were in the same Resistance cell, that’s how they met. But he got caught and…. Well, he never fully recovered. So when everything was over and they reunited, she joined the militia and he took up painting. She’d take me with her when she could, but I spent most of my childhood on the farm with my cousins.
Ico: I had never left the farm until I came here. My parents are farmers too, a bit of everything up there in the Valley. However, they were never in the militia, although they also suffered their share of the Occupation.
They spoke little about it, but it was more than obvious, when Ena's father had lost an arm and her mother, well, her mother had always had a temper, so who knew what she had gone through to survive those times.
Ico: They were not from Rakantha, but moved there when the land began to recover with the soil declamators. You know, living off the land, the whole thing.
Another turn and their footsteps crossed those of other cadets, others who also seemed to be enjoying the afternoon sun and warm weather, while eating some kind of local confectionery. The mere smell made Ena's mouth water.
The young woman stared at them for a second, not long enough to seem indiscreet, before turning back towards Meru, who had a broad smile on her face.
Tahna: ::Grinning.:: Isn’t it funny that we grew up on farms on opposite sides of the continent and now we’re here, studying the same thing? Maybe the Prophets meant for us to be friends. If I don’t get kicked out of the Academy for that stunt in class. ::She looked at the other cadet.:: Relax, I won’t get kicked out. Probably.
Meru was joking, but she wasn’t nearly as confident as she tried to appear. It was like the Prophets granted her the strength to ignore all her anxieties as long as she wasn’t the most anxious person in the room -- put her in a room full of people and she’d be constantly worrying about how she sounded and whether she was doing the right thing but with Ena, none of that happened. Meru wore a thick veneer of confidence she was sure would crack the instant they parted and she encountered someone who seemed far more capable than her.
Ico: :: laughing:: I don't think the Prophets care too much about two Academy students :: assuming a more thoughtful expression:: But the truth is, it would be a comforting idea.
The building they were heading for was nearer and, without being aware of it, Ena slackened her steps, so that their lively pace turned into a lazy stroll. Somehow it seemed fitting for the beautiful autumn afternoon, as the last rays of summer warmed the campus, while further out the bay was lined with small recreational vehicles, from slender sailboats cruising the waters to lazy hovercars giving the tour overlooking the city just a bit over them.
Ico: Hey, what year are you in? I've never seen you in class before. Neither in the dorms.
Tahna: Cadet Third Class Tahna Meru, ma’am.
Meru paused and raised her hand in a salute as if called to attention, but her grin said it was all in good fun.
Ena allowed herself a small chuckle that the hand over her lips barely managed to hide. When she spoke again, an easy smile had settled on her lips, one that she rarely gave to people she had known for such a short time.
Ico: ::with a point of mirth:: Ah! That might have been the reason.
Meru smiled back, feeling of comradeship was shared. And so, barely a moment later, their footsteps reached the entrance to the building. Meru was the first that stopped, just far enough away that the doors didn’t slide open in greeting. Inside, their fate awaited. Had Meru been caught? And would they still be able to transfer into Stellar Cartography, or would they (Prophets forbid) find themselves stuck in Cardassian 101 all semester?
This and other questions also haunted Ena's thoughts too, as she momentarily bit her lower lip, peered all around, clenched her fists in her sides and, finally, managed to muster enough courage to ask a question she had not expected to pose but which she felt she had to ask as soon as possible.
Ico: Well, if you don't mind mingling with cadets from junior classes, well, I think one of my classmates is preparing something for the next non-school term, so, ... ::the blush suddenly rose to the woman's cheeks, turning her as red as a strawberry::: well, maybe I've overstepped… so- sorry-I-I'm sure you have plans or something or ....
Ena's babble was cut off mid-sentence.
Tahna: Yes! I mean, no- I don’t have plans. And if all the cadets in your year are as friendly as you, I would love to mingle with them.
The younger cadet's face glowed and she took both of her new friend's hands, overcome with sudden eagerness.
Ico: I'm sure you'll love them! Maite, Ryan, Sol and T'Vai are great and you will laugh your head off with Jack. Just... be careful with Sol, he has a reputation... well, of being a serial dater, you know what I mean.
A pair of birds swooped down and landed on a nearby tree, trilling their happy songs. They were lovely shades of blue, but they paused there only a moment before taking off again into the clear sky. Meru faced Ena and smiled once more.
Tahna: And, after we get this whole mess sorted out, you’re welcome to join me for dinner? If you don’t have other plans, I mean.
The other woman raised a hand to her forehead and shook her head, half seriously and half jokingly.
Ico: My plans for the evening were to elbow my way through Advanced Temporal Mechanics, which has proven to be a bitter pill to swallow so far…
Putting aside for a moment her faux and real skit about her struggles with the physics' course, Ena glanced back at Meru and folded her hands behind her back.
Ico: So dinner would be a great way to save my day.... for the second time today!
Meru nodded and waved an arm toward the doors.
Tahna: Well, shall we?
Ico: Let's go!
And so a few seconds later, the door closed behind them, bringing to an end the first chapter of a friendship that would only grow in length and strength in the months to come.
End.
OOC:
1 Yani→ Bajoran: “uncle”
2 Marnah→ Bajoran: “mother”
3 Fa→ Bajoran: “father”
As simmed by:
Cadet Tahna Meru
3rd year Science Cadet
Starfleet Academy
G239801TM4
&
Cadet Ico Ena
2nd Year Cadet
Starfleet Academy
E239702A10