“Personal Log, Stardate...oh hell, forget it,” a sultry, yet cheerful voice muttered from a dark corner of the shuttle, “This is my third log in the same day. It’s ridiculous!” Sera Kell thumped her small head on the bulkhead she was leaning against with a sigh. “Anyone who listens to this log is going to think ‘how the heck did this whackadoo get into starfleet in the first place?’” The Trill laughed wryly to herself and ruffled her bobbed, mousy brown hair with a strong, slender hand. “I am approaching StarBase 118, and for the first time since my bonding, I have a case of the butterflies.” Her green eyes glanced around at the fairly empty cabin and she crossed her long, shapely legs. She had studied for two decades to get to this point in her life - first on Trill, where she had undergone the rigorous training required for Trill bonding, and then at the Academy, where her mind was put to the test in the fields of Xeno-Archaeology and Linguistics. “Finally, after all this time, I am beginning the next chapter in my life - as a Starfleet officer.” However much she hated to admit it, Kell was nervous. While Starfleet Academy had been challenging, Being out on her first formal assignment was trippy. She hoped that now people would treat her as an equal, not someone to be intimidated by, or to expect pure excellence from. Model Minority Pressure was very much a problem at the Academy. Species such as Trill, Vulcan and Aaamazzarite were seen as ‘above par’ academically, and were expected to perform at a consistently higher level than that of other, ‘normal’ species. Sera managed to meet her instructors’ steep expectations, but her relationships with her classmates had suffered. Sera had learned quickly that in order to avoid bullying, tutoring (aka: doing their homework for them) was the easiest way out of a confrontation with people like James Polaris or Shushni Kurka. She shivered at the memory of the Human/Hekaran duo that had plagued her endlessly the first year of her Academy training. Aisha Karli Had been the one saving grace at the Academy. A seemingly blind woman, the Doosodarian had yanked Sera from the vicious bullying cycle she found herself in. The two women had become fast friends, and were inseparable until Karli’s graduation last year. They still met over the comm when they could for tea and to trade poetry. The Shuttle docking with the spaceport jerked Ensign Kell from her reverie. She closed down her log, smoothed her immaculate uniform with one hand, picked up her suitcase and prepared to step out into the world of StarBase 118. Kiki, her tan and white Denobulan Ferret, skittered up her back and curled around her neck chittering nervously as they exited the spaceport. It was so colorful! Species from every quadrant of the Federation were mulling about through the corridors, tending to their daily lives. Sera’s eyes grew wide as she took in everything - the colorful tapestries in the Bajoran novelty shop, the lively Dabo girls in their vibrant dresses and raucous laughter, the varying clusters of blinking lights on signs and notice boards flashing the latest sales and hottest deals. In one corner of a shop, a commercial for ‘Fruity Oaty Bars’ whined it’s catchy tune. Two Ferengi children dashed past the Trill, bumping her suitcase and causing her to spin wildly in place. She laughed, and it’s sound rang out and blended with the great symphony of a busy station - this place was perfect.
