Welcome to the fold (BackPost)

Posted on Mon Jan 9th, 2023 @ 3:18pm by Cadet Senior Grade Eismill O'Donnaghue & Cadet Freshman Grade Isabella Doe

1,969 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Getting started
Location: Dan and Nidria's lounge
Timeline: Academy opening

The transport stopped in front of a nice big restaurant. And it was much more breath taking than the smaller on on the starbase. Dan and Nidria's lounge is said on the front.

"If we're lucky, Dan is in today. Two times a week he spends on the starbase to check on his place their." Eismil said as they walked through the glass doors. It was past lunchtime so most of the guest had already left. There were just a few around enjoying a dessert and two people sitting at the bar.

Hearing guests had coming in with the swishing of his glass doors, Dan walked out of the kitchen. The Vulcan smiled. "Eismil, good to see you. Were you busy, I missed you earlier?"

Eismil shook his head. "I was called in by my mother, and then I picked up this young lady here, I have some business to discuss with her. How about you show her some of your hospitality."

Dan eyed Izzy up and down. "Oh you poor girl, what have they been feeding you? You need some good fats and proteins. Let me get you something from the kitchen."

Eismil stopped him. "Oh, Dan, sir, She has already eaten at the academy cafeteria, we don't need to stuff her, but you could maybe give her some dessert ?" He looked to Izzy.

"Dessert would be nice", Izzy told Dan with a smile. "I appreciate your kindness". Deciding to introduce herself, she added, "I'm Isabella Doe. Most call me Izzy". She turned to Eismil. "Where do we sit? It's my first time here, despite your aunt urging me to go here for a meal. She told me to up my weight a bit"

"I can tell," Said Dan, the two of you have some things to discuss." He pointed to a booth seat on the other side of the room. "That is the most privately place in this establishment. You go ahead and sit there, and I will get you two some ice cream and some tea." He then put a hand on Izzy's shoulder. "Don't you worry, Izzy, I shall set up a menu specially for you. And if you can come here because of classes or assignments, I will make sure the food is brought to the cafeteria. I have a special arrangement with the cafeteria in the academy." He then walked away to get the dessert and drinks.

Eismill walked over to the booth. "I love Dan, he always knows what you need at the right time." He sat down and waited for Izzy to sit down too before he spoke again. "My mother told me about your situation. And she believes you need help. Real help, not the kind of help mister Icheka wants to give you. So my mother spoke to me and the academy director and we all agree that you should be placed in my care. I have just been named the leader of the House of T'Pol and you will be assigned to it. As you have not yet decided your field of study, you are for now assigned as medical cadet, but you will be doing counseling duties as well in the house. I will explain when the time comes what that means."

"Sounds good to me", Izzy said. "I know James wants to protect me, but I don't need to be protected. I've been on my own from I was born up until now" she shrugged "He seems to want the best for me, but he also seem to forget that I'm not an ornament. I will make my own choices". She looked toward the kitchen of this place. "Dan seems like a genuinely nice guy", she said, thinking of the male's first reaction to her being underweight. "So, where do I start?", she asked Eismil.

"If you like, I can show you around our house's dorm. Maybe help you get you settled in to your room. You will share a room with another cadet. Per rules of the academy it's another female cadet." Eismil explained.

Just then Dan walked out with two bowls of ice cream. He placed them on a table. One of the servers brought in a pot and two cups. "your ice cream and tea. The ice cream is Italian pistachio and chocolate. The tea is Chinese Jasmin tea. Enjoy!" He then walked away with the server.

Eismil sniffed the smell of the tea. He smiled. "I love this tea." He picked up the spoon. "Also I will be your mental coach, when you have no sessions with my aunt. Basically what that means, if you need anything you can always ask me. As commander of the house of T'Pol I am also responsible for the well being of the cadets."

Izzy smiled gratefully at Eismil. "I appreciate it. And I agree with you on the tea. It's great. She took a spoonful of the ice cream. "I did share room with another foster child at some point growing up. It's wasn't as pleasant as I hope my life here will be. Her names was Isabella Mary. Our foster parents doted on her and ended up adopting her. That's why I go by Izzy. "My foster "sister" didn't want to be associated with me, merely because we shared the same name. She outright told me to find a nickname or she would make sure I would be on minimum food rations for a month. At that time, I couldn't afford going with less food; I had hit a growth spurt and needed all the food and nutrients I could get", she told Eismil after having swallowed the spoonful of ice cream. "Thank goodness for the local bakery owner who noticed I needed more food. He helped me at that time, so I wouldn't lack the nutrients I needed and he also taught me how to bake. It was a low-tech area I grew up in. Not friendly to outsiders and definitely not friendly to other species. I think they saw my bright blue eyes and decided I was "an outsider". They always treated me like I was worth less than trash", she went on. She felt wistful for a moment, remembering the time where she hadn't been appreciated. Where she had been all alone, even when surrounded by people. Then she shoved it back to the past. She couldn't change the past. But she could work in the present and forge her future.

Eismil thought a moment. "Well, then, maybe you would feel more comfortable with a non human roommate. I may have the perfect roommate for you. Her name is Jhyle Sh'rhaalan, you can go by her first name, which is pronounced like the Earth name Jill. She also grew up on Earth with a human couple. She didn't have a childhood like you, but she might understand a bit more about what you have been going through. She is Andorian."

"Sounds good to me", Izzy said. "I don't know what an Andorian is though. Yet". She sighed. "I'll need to read up on everything. The pile of knowledge I need to learn is growing bigger by the second". She smiled. "Good thing I love reading". She smiled wider at the memory of sitting in the school library, learning everything she could find from every book she got her hands on.

"Well, Andorian's aren't that hard to recognize," Eismil explained. "Andorian's are mostly blue skinned. Their hair snow white. And they have two antenna on their head. Though come to think of it Jhyle might be an Andorian Aenar hybrid. Her skin is a teal green kind. Aenar look the same as Andorians, but their skins are white. The Aenar were a subspecies of the Andorians. There aren't many left. Apparently the hybrid off spring are teal green. The Aenar were telepathic, as they were completely blind. I don't know if the telepathic abilities are past on to the hybrid off spring." He thought about that a moment. "But maybe you can talk about that with Jhyle. She is an open and refreshing person to meet."

"I'd like that", Izzy said with a smile. She was looking forward to meet her roommate. And she was really looking forward to get some help with her telepathy or empathy. She had noticed that she picked up on her surroundings' moods often, as well as having a notion about what people were thinking. Nothing specific, no loud thoughts. Just a notion as to what was on their minds. "I'm looking forward to meet Jhyle", she told Eismil.

"Excellent," said Eismil as he had been spooning his ice cream while Izzy was in thoughts. He swallowed some before he spoke, "Now I think you are ready to start this new adventure. You will find that starfleet is an open community. Not at the least what you expect. Now I understand that you may not be used to this, but it is important for officers, which is what we will become after we graduate to work together as a team. And this will result in the team coming so close it maybe hard to loose one of your team or crew mate. Unfortunately that is part of the life in starfleet. Also, I will not lie, you will hear this a lot. We are at war here in the Gamma quadrant. So we will have losses, sometimes heavier than you'd expect. And we probably at some point are called to do our part in the war before we graduate. So prepare yourself for that."

"Okay", Izzy said with a nod. Then she asked something she'd been thinking about for a while. "What did James mean when he said he had heard about your family? Are they important?". She had wondered about that ever since James had basically told Eismil to leave her alone. "I don't know why James acted the way he did. I don't see any reason for him to behave like that", she said with a sigh. "I appreciate that he wants to be there for me, but there's a difference between supportive and controlling. It seemed to me that he was trying to mark me as his "territory". Which I, I might add, do not appreciate at all".

Eismil sighed. "The O'Donnaghue's used to be known, as my father told it, as troublemakers in the fleet, but that changed when they married in to the Meran family. My father is a Meran too, but he took the name of my mother when they got married. The only skirmish they had was the bar fight with the klingons a year ago. But I can assure you, that's it. No O'Donnaghue would harm a lady, I can assure you. And I certainly wouldn't lay a hand on you."

Izzy smiled to Eismil. "I might not know much about the universe beyond the odd community I was raised in, but my gut feeling tells me that you won't hurt me", she told him. "I can't imagine how it must be like, having a family". She sighed, feeling a pang of envy. She instantly pushed it away. The last thing she would want for anyone, was for them to be as alone in the world as she was.

"Fret not, my fair lady, starfleet shall be your new family, and you won't have to imagine when that happens." Eismil smiled.

"I'm looking forward to it", Izzy said honestly. She had a feeling Eismil was right. She wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

"Very good. Now how about we finish this and go meet your roommate." Eismil finished his ice cream and looked over to her.

"Lead the way", Izzy said and stood"

END

Cadet Senior Eismill O'Donnaghue
Academy dorm leader/Science cadet

&

Cadet Freshman Isabella Doe

 

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