Posted by Ensign Kastarak (Doctor) in Birthday wishes
As he woke up this morning, he noticed he had two new video messages recorded.

The first one was from Shravyk, his roommate for three years at Star Fleet Academy in San Francisco, Earth. Shravyk was Andorian, and despite the historical tensions between Shravyk’s and Kastarak’s species, the two roomates got on famously – so famous that they were a regular staple around campus. If you saw one of them, you were likely to see the other. Like Star Fleet, the Academy is very much human-centred. Humans form the plurality of the crew on Chernov, among the intakes to the Academy, and among the officers and crew across Star Fleet. Shravyk was happy to have been assigned a non-human roommate. He had been worried to become the “token alien” in various social situations, and thus, found relief in a roommate who’s typical species is considered “even more odd” than his – as he would confess to Kastarak towards the end of their cohabitation.

Kastarak opened the message from Shravyk, and saw a familar blue and smiling face.

“Happy birthday Kastarak!” Shravyk almost shouted. Kastarak thought for a second, was today his birthday? Had Shravyk miss-remembered his birthday?

Kastarak quickly calculated his date of birth in the Vulcan calendar – and in star date – but he still could not get a hang of what months and days (he always knew the year though) in Earth’s standard calendar (which humans liked calling “Gregorian” after a religious leader a thousand years earlier).

“Computer, pause message.” he said. The video paused.

“Computer, what is today’s date in Earth’s Gregorian calendar?”

“It is now the fifth of April, twenty-two sixty-six”

“When is my date of birth, according to Earth’s Gregorian calendar?”

“Under the Earth’s Gregorian calendar, you were born on the fifth of April 2240 according to Greenwich mean time.”

Ah, so it was his birthday. Twenty-six Earth years today. He had been twenty-five since he graduated. Two more months, and it would be a year since he last saw Shravyk. It was just two days after graduation.

“Computer, resume message.”

The rest of the message showed Shravyk’s happy and quirky side. He retold some memories that he and Kastarak had shared together, and also updated Kastarak on the events in his life. Shravyk had met a girlfriend on his posting, on the USS Endeavour (yet another instance of how human-dominated Star Fleet was – which Shravyk was quick to joke about), a woman three years his senior, also Andorian. They were working in different departments, and had different ranks (the girlfriend, whose name was never mentioned in the message, was a lieutenant) in but they had to keep the relationship secret until their captain had found out they were in a relationship. There were some difficult things occurring for the love-struck couple – who, as Shravyk would relate, let their inner Andorians get the better of them, and become deeply suspicious and upset with the captain’s “investigation”.

Shravyk now lamented that his girlfriend had been reassigned to another ship, and he felt very lonely, and nostalgic about their time together.

“I know it’s not your birthday according to either the Andorian or Vulcan or New Vulcan calendars, but I was reminded of your birthday yesterday, and I wanted to find an excuse to write to you.”

Kastarak found it curious that Shravyk used the verb “write” when posting a video message to him. He decided he would have to set aside some time after his shift (he had the morning shift today) to reply to this message.

He checked the next message, which was a short “happy birthday” from his supervisor in medicine, while specializing in cross-species emergency care, while in Academy. His supervisor, a human woman by the name of Sanna Valke (from a region of Earth not too far from the Federation capital Paris, in Europe, called “Finland”). Judging from the video, she was standing by her cottage in her homeland, with snow all around her. It looked as if it was a metre, if not more, thick. It was interesting to see the surroundings. When he was living on Earth, he never once experienced snow. And neither did he experience that back on Vulcan. He wondered, what does snow feel like?

It looked serene. He listened to Dr Valkeapää’s wishes of happy birthday. She had been a valuable instructor and supervisor for him. It had also been interesting working with a non-Vulcan medical professional – it was his first time. He remembered their first time together.

He had knocked on her office door at the hospital – it had no chime and it was a wooden door. He had practised pronouncing her name to, in his view, near perfection, as he did not want to offend her, her language or culture of origin. The computer had been much helpful there in aiding him.

“Dr Valkeapää, I presume?” he said as she opened the door. “I am Kastarak.”

“Ah Dr Kastarak,” she said, putting the stress on the wrong syllable of his name. “I was not told you were Vulcan,” she said. Later it would transpire that due to Kastarak’s unique name (most Vulcan names are one or two syllables long, and his was three, Dr Valkeapää had assumed he was Andorian.)

“And I was not told you were human,” Kastarak retorted.

And then Dr Valkeapää laughed heartily.

From then, their relationship developed.

Like Shryvak, Valkeapää related the latest news in her life, asked about Kastarak’s well-being and how he found working on a starship. They had not really spoken since his leaving from San Francisco, though he did send flowers when he had heard of the passing of Valkeapää’s father, which apparently had been appreciated.

Finishing the message while gettign dressed, Kastarak now went to the mess hall to have breakfast.

He chose some toast with margarine and added some sliced cucumber on top, with a side dish of two carrots. He chose to drink tea, Earl grey.

He thought something Earth-y for breakfast would be suitable now that today was his Earth birthday.

– Dr Kastarak

While eating his breakfast, Kastarak was checking the science news on his PaDD. Apparently today was also First Contact Day on Earth – a public holiday. This commemoration was nothing Vulcans would celebrate (do Vulcans ever celebrate anything…?), and somehow, Kastarak had lived through three birthdays on Earth without realizing that his Earth birthday coincided with First Contact Day. Perhaps that’s why Shavryk and Valkeapää remembered his birthday so well? He had no idea when their birthdays were… Should he know? Is he supposed to know? He decided to ask an Andorian colleague for Andorian customs, and a human one for human ones, or perhaps Umbri next time he’d see them.

He saw others coming into the mess hall, wishing each other a happy First Contact Day. As usual, people avoided Kastarak – Vulcans are avoided. No one knows how to be around them except in a professional setting. But surely, Vulcans were the central part of First Contact Day? Without Vulcans, no First Contact… But then, they wouldn’t wish him that. Humans are too careful, they wouldn’t wish to trigger any unfortunate feelings or memories from the loss of his people’s planet, the death of billions…

And Kastarak suddenly saw, in his mind, the destruction of his planet. His mind was as if a million voiced roared with screams. He could hear them still. He had never before that nor after that experienced telepathy, but this was it. He heard them still. A sharp pain hit his gut.

Indigestion?

He continued reading the science news. A study from the University of Betazed into the use of Betazoid–Vulcan cross telepathy in therapy for Vulcans with post -traumatic stress disorder piqued his interest. Perhaps he would read the article at some point so that he might be able to recommend this treatment, should he ever encounter any Vulcans exhibiting a form of PTSD where conventional treatments had failed to relieve symptoms.

He took another bite. The pain in his gut was gone.

A sip from the tea, and he was ready to begin his day. He checked the time. Another 45 minutes until his shift started. Perhaps he could make himself a second cup?

– Ensign Kastarak (physician)