Half an hour later – and ten minutes later than she had planned – the sound of Vivienne’s hurried footsteps reverberated through the desolate corridor of Starfleet Academy’s science campus.  

Despite being only one out of four main disciplines taught here, this building alone was probably twice the size of the Highschool Vivienne had visited. Just a lot tidier. The computer had, upon her query as to where to go, detailed her route to the room in question. But despite that, Vivienne wasn’t quite sure if she was right here… and to her dismay, there was no one to ask  – Lessons had already begun according to the strict schedule and virtue of punctuality, and even the most notorious stragglers had managed to find their way to their respective classrooms. 

When Vivienne finally reached “her door,” she paused briefly, taking a moment to collect herself. She inhaled deeply, trying to will her racing heart into gradually finding its steady beat  – unsuccessfully so. Come on, you can do this. It’s ten minutes. Vivienne tried to calm herself down, but she was painfully aware that she was the two things Cheyenne had told her not to be. Late, and “unpresentable.” No matter the effort Vivienne had previously put into assembling an outfit and doing her hair, she could guess that running halfway across the Starbase hadn’t exactly improved the chosen look. Part of her wanted to turn away, and give up. Which, in this case, wasn’t a fifty-fifty thing, but rather a 99,9 to 0,1 thing. She was absolutely not looking forward to the thought of her family receiving news of her tardiness. Whether it was their telepathic gift or their connections, they always seemed to be far too well-informed about what was going on in Vivienne’s life. 

Then again, “Your sister was late”  was probably still better to hear than “Your sister didn’t show up at all.” 

Vivienne’s fingers gently pressed the button to activate the door, which seemed to open in slow motion rather than its usual speed, eventually revealing the room beyond.  

The room, to her surprise, resembled more of a conference room than the traditional classroom she had expected, and was used to from her earlier impressions of Starfleet Academy. But Instead of the usual holographic group tables there was a large oval table in the centre, surrounded by comfortable-looking chairs. Seated on these chairs were … a lot less people than Vivienne had anticipated. Faces turned toward her with expressions of curiosity and perhaps a hint of confusion, but not the disdain she had expected.  

Vivienne took a deep breath. First, she would apologise for being late. She would then introduce herself, take a seat at the table, and remain quiet until she had caught up with what was being discussed. Then, she would contribute, make friends, succeed in the entry exam, become a cadet, finish top of her class and get a prestigious posting somewhere, well, prestigious. She opened her mouth, in that instant forgetting what she had wanted to say.  

Glances were once more exchanged, this time more amused than anything else. A woman with dark hair was the first one who spoke. “Hi?”  

“Hi,” Vivienne replied hoarsely. 

“Come on in, we won’t bite.” said the woman with a gamely grin. The man beside her, a middle-aged human with a sun-kissed complexion, rolled his eyes before turning his attention to Vivienne. “Don’t trust her. She absolutely does bite.”

“Lies,” the woman responded with a chuckle, motioning for Vivienne to take a seat. Vivienne accepted the invitation, choosing an empty chair next to a dark-skinned Trill with meticulously styled and adorned dreadlocks. Across from her sat a human–ish woman with delicate features, silver hair and striking red eyes. Vivienne wondered if that was a generic quirk or a cosmetic choice, but decided that this was neither the time nor the place to ask.  

“I think this is the part where you introduce yourself,” whispered the Trill, and Vivienne’s cheeks flushed crimson.  Her skin prickled with embarrassment as she tore her gaze away from the woman she had been staring at rather impolitely. 

“I’m Vivienne. Claybrook. Vivienne Claybrook. I have an interest in science, and that’s why I’m here. And I am sorry for being late.”

“Science is generally a good thing,” the first woman nodded, her voice tinged with amusement. “I’m Aisling, but you can call me Doctor Brennan. These are Bruno Pereira, Naya, Ricarda Keller.” She jutted her chin first at the human male, then the trill, then the silver-haired woman. “And no worries about being too late. The Captain isn’t here yet, and we won’t tell.”

The woman called Ricarda Keller offered a kind smile and inquired: “ It looks like I am out of the loop, what is it you do, Vivienne?”

“Right now, I’m working as a journalist,” Vivienne replied, then quickly added. “Although not very successfully. You probably never read anything I wrote. Sometimes, I doubt anyone reads what I publish.”

“You are, likely, not doing yourself justice,” Keller interjected calmly, raising a reassuring hand as Vivienne’s expression fell. “Don’t sell yourself short – So you are a journalist. If you have an interest in science, do you write in that area?” 

“Uh…”, Vivienne started, then shook her head. “I currently work for a tabloid called ‘Star-Crossed.’ It’s not really what I want to do. I mean, who really cares about who’s cheating on who or the latest fashion trends on Betazed?”

“Well, I want to know who’s cheating on who.”, grinned Doctor Brennan, which earned her a soft jab from Pereira. 

“And that’s what brings you here? Scientific discovery instead of gossip?”, the man inquired, and Vivienne nodded in confirmation. “Just looking to do something more meaningful, I guess.” 

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with her response.

Doctor Brennan appeared ready to ask another question, possibly a follow-up, when the door swished open once more. For a moment, Vivienne wondered if another latecomer had arrived, but it quickly became evident that this wasn’t the case. The man who stepped inside had an aura around him that projected a calm authority that reminded her of her father, and was in complete contrast to the chaotic energy that Vivienne exuded. 

His blue skin, white hair and antenna on the top of his head clearly indicated him to be Andorian, and he was dressed in something that looked like a uniform trying to pass as civilian clothing, which stood out to Vivienne. 

“Captain on the bridge,” the Trill quipped, and Brennan affected a smile. “I kept your seat warm.”

“Much appreciated, Doctor,” the Andorian replied. His voice was soft and composed. It also was not devoid of emotion but rather pleasantly neutral, and somehow it still conveyed a certain warmth. 

He took his seat as the Doctor stood and moved to sit next to Vivienne instead, drawing the man’s attention to her. He raised his eyebrow, silently posing an unspoken question.

“Oh, this is Miss Claybrook, our journalist,” Brennan introduced Vivienne as if it was the most normal thing in the world. 

Vivienne found herself uncertain about how to react to being labelled as a journalist, even though the description was undeniably accurate and what she had introduced herself as just moments ago. It still felt somewhat peculiar, as if it didn’t capture the entirety of who she was, and what she was striving to be. 

“I see. Welcome, Miss Claybrook. I’m pleased you could join us,” he greeted her with a nod. Vivienne couldn’t help but notice two things – the meaningful glance he exchanged with the Doctor, a look that seemed to suggest, “We’ll discuss this later”, and the fact that he did not introduce himself to her. 

Which told her one thing. He was expecting her to know. And while this was likely the best opportunity to inform him that she, in fact, did not know who he was, Vivienne didn’t make use of it. Instead, she silently mouthed a polite  “thank you”.

The Andorian shifted his focus away from Vivienne and directed his attention towards the group. “I’m curious to see what you’ve chosen,” he remarked, particularly addressing Pereira, who nodded and rose from his seat, activating the holographic panel embedded in the table.

“Our research subject is the planet Tarasa.” Pereira began, manipulating the controls to display a holographic projection of a planet. “What makes it particularly intriguing is the surrounding chroniton field, which causes time to accelerate in comparison to the surrounding space.”

“How fast?” Vivienne inquired without hesitation, though she couldn’t help feeling a bit foolish for asking. However, no one else appeared to mind.

“Because the chroniton field is in a state of flux, we’re still refining the exact rate. At the moment, it’s approximately 610.3 times faster,” Pereira replied.

Vivienne blinked.  “That’s incredible…  But what does it mean for the planet’s inhabitants? How do they experience time?”

Pereira exchanged a knowing glance with Naya before responding. “That’s the fascinating part. To the inhabitants of Tarasa, their lives seem to pass in what we would perceive as a matter of minutes, while for the rest of the galaxy, centuries pass during their brief existence. It’s like they live in fast-forward.”

“As you can imagine, this provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to observe the species’ development,” added Keller.”Have there been any attempts to establish contact with the Tarasans?”, Vivienne asked. 

Pereira shook his head. “They are not yet warp-capable, but at the rapid pace their society develops, they soon will be.”“Which will be another challenge we will face sooner or later. Will they surpass us in their development? Will it be possible to establish meaningful communication despite the vast differences in time perception? What feels like hours to them is mere seconds for us.”, added Naya.

Vivienne leaned forward. Studying a culture, and the idea of what was essentially a first contact scenario, was incredibly fascinating and something she hadn’t even dared to dream about. That said, it didn’t quite align with what she had expected them to be doing. And now that she thought about it, the nagging feeling in the back of her head could no longer be ignored. 

As the conversation between the other attendees continued, Vivienne quietly placed her personal PADD in front of her and checked the message Cheyenne had forwarded her. Date .. check. Time… check. Vivienne located the room number on the invitation, then looked up from her PADD and subtly glanced at the door to determine the room number on the panel next to it. 

“Something wrong?”, whispered Naya, the trill’s bright green eyes displaying genuine concern and interest. “No, I’m-…” 

“Hey, stop being rude.”, scolded Doctor Brennan, shooting both of the young women a warning glance. “And ask your questions so everyone can hear them.” 

“What the Doctor meant to say is that your question might be interesting for all of us.”, corrected the Andorian diplomatically. 

The faces around the table turned toward Vivienne and Naya. The Trill lowered her gaze, while Vivienne was tempted to do the same. Her voice was quiet as she replied, and she didn’t quite dare to make eye contact with anyone. “I… think I am in the wrong room.”

“Wrong room?”, asked Doctor Brennan incredulously. 

“Where were you intending to go?” Keller inquired gently. 

“I was supposed to attend the preparatory course for the Academy entry exam,” Vivienne explained, trying to keep the panic from rising in her chest. “We’re.. not that course.”, confirmed Keller, reaching over the table for Vivienne’s PADD, briefly assaying the information before handing it back “And this is not room 1024-124. This is 1024-123. So you’re… one door down the corridor.”Vivienne turned very, very pale. While she had been late a few minutes ago when she had arrived, they were now a good long while into the conversation. “Deep breaths.”, said the Doctor calmly. 

“Why didn’t anyone say anything?”, Vivienne asked defeatedly. “Hey, I thought Captain Jurev here had organised us a journalist.” Eyes turned towards the man who was evidently Captain Jurev. He inclined his head. 

“And I assumed Doctor Brennan had invited you and forgotten to inform me.” “You aren’t in uniform.”, added Viv disheartedly. “We were trying something new. Evidently it worked too well.”, shrugged Brennan. “Well, just go next door and … I don’t know?”, asked Neeya. “I can’t just show up twenty minutes later without explanation. I can’t  show up and explain that I have been in the wrong room. I can’t just not show up at all. ““Okay … okay. So it sounds to me like that’s ruined anyway.”, said Doctor Brennan. “Ash.”, scolded Jurev. 

“What, it’s true.”, she shrugged, returning her attention to Vivienne. “So how about you stick around? Since you don’t have anything else planned any more anyway.”

Vivienne gave a weak nod. She was close to breaking into tears, and she figured that doing so in here was better than out in the corridor on her way back to the Belladonna. “So you are…?”, she asked eventually, leaving the question unfinished. “Still the same people we were a few minutes ago. Oh, and this is Captain Jurev.”, Brennan nodded towards the Andorian.