Sitting on the corner of her room Ella was all but alone now that her roommates had already vacated the room earlier this morning to say their goodbyes and be at the shuttle departures early. She had called the now dormant room home for the past four years, it was peaceful now and quiet. Having packed the night before not from excitement but for efficiency allowed her to take these last few precious moments to reflect on what had been and what had to come.

Four years ago Ella had been transported away from her home planet by a Federation starship the name of which she took no notice off. She had been a typical Elasian woman then at risk of being thrown into the brig if she was lucky not to have been stunned, her usual entourage saying their farewells on Elas meant she was extra wicked, she felt sorry for the crewmembers who had to deal with her back then. Her first few weeks after that was particularly difficult, aboard the ship she could shut herself away where she first started isolating herself from others and keeping contact to a minimum. The academy, however, had different plans for her in the form of shared dorms, ice-breakers, and open floor talks, Ella almost demanded to be taken home more times than she could count with two hands in those first few months. She was glad she didnt.

Now, she had graduated and was soon to be on her way to her first ship the USS Saracen, a Pendragon class ship of all things. She was lucky, the ship was considered highly which was either dumb luck or someone had decided there was somebody on that ship who could keep her in check. The young Elasian was much, much better than when she first arrived but she knew she could still be arrogant at times. This time however she was docile and almost sad, she would have been happy to stay at the Academy with the small group of friends she had managed to make but they too were leaving for their own futures. Ella thought it was incredibly cruel to have young adults spend four years together and then split them up into literally different parts of the quadrant.

Sighing she reached down to her bag and pulled out the polaroid camera she had purchased during her second year, (at quiet the expense to herself.) She didn’t have much time between lessons and studying to paint and found photography equally rewarding and less time-consuming. Ella turned the camera around in her hands before having the lense face her and reached it out at arm’s length grasping it with both hands. Clicking down the button it snapped a shot and a small picture ejected from its base, taking the picture carefully in one hand she placed the camera next to her on the bed and began fanning the image as it materialised into view.

Ella looked and saw herself smiling back up, all loose black hair falling past her shoulders and out of view of the camera shot, bright green eyes, with smiling puffy lips all set upon her rose gold skin. Ella always did like how she looked, she knew she was beautiful but she would never call herself was vain, she just appreciated the luck of the draw her species got in the gene pool. Placing her hand again into her bag she pulled out a small booklet and began to flick through the pages quickly each showing a different aspect of her life at the academy, the late-night studying, the botanical gardens, and even one or two late-night parties she had been coerced to attend by her friends but each a rich reminder of how far she had grown as an individual.

Placing the picture in its spot at the very end of the booklet she traced her face with her thumb before zipping it back up and placing both it and her camera carefully into her bag again. Using both her hands she pushed up off the clean and stripped bed with a soft exhale. The young woman turned around and took one last long look as if to burn the image forever into her mind. “Its been fun,” She said quietly and picking up her bag by the straps before pulling them onto her shoulders and moving to the large door which led out onto the campus. Stopping short at its threshold she said in a soft sad voice “Computer dim lights and lock the door” The computer acknowledged and she soon found herself moving gracefully through the academy campus.

It wasn’t a particularly nice day, the fog had rolled in from the bay and the sky was filled with blinking lights as shuttles went too and throw from their respective docks. Ella already knew where hers was waiting and wasn’t wasting any time to get to her departure bay. She knew she was the only graduate traveling to the Saracen on this particular day so she had brought along some reading material in the form of the ships manifest and schematics. She had already been over both more times she could remember but any last revision would only do her well, it would also take her mind off the anxiety welling up inside her gut.

All of the thoughts she had were quickly washed away when she finally reached her shuttle. It was an Armadillo-Class shuttlecraft. It was different from every other shuttle around her and stuck out like a sore thumb, in some cases cadets were trying to get a look at the specially designed shuttle. She couldn’t help but smile as she showed the operations crewman her assignment orders and stepped into the crew apartment. It was small for sure with a transporter pad and one small replicator dispenser she was glad she wouldn’t have to spend too long here.

“Strap up, were going to launch early since you’re already here. I’ll let you know when we’re coming into the view I’m sure you’re eager to see your new home” Spoke the ops officer who in turn got the cold brush of Ellas Elasian heritage “Not really, I’ve seen pictures.” The officer grunted clearly irritated but not wanting to make a scene and closed the cockpit doors, which was fine by her. Taking out the PaDD she had downloaded her assignment, manifest and schematics she began to read just as the shuttlecraft lifted off from its docked position. Peeling her eyes from her PaDD she just caught the last glimpse of the Academy before the were engulfed in the fog.

~ Ensign. Ella Lokaa