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pre-sim - Research is never Easy - SF Academy

Posted Sept. 1, 2020, 9:48 a.m. by Ensign Sharah Fayth (Doctor) (Jennifer Ward)

Sharah arrived late to the Academy. She was ushered through to the medical bay. That was quick and then she was shown to quarters. She was staffed with the staff and officers. It was strange to be back here and not be in the dorms or her isolated flat on the edge of campus. As she unpacked she sent a message to Joseph to let him know she’d arrived. First out of her bag was the roses he had given her. The last days in the shuttle from Challenger to Earth had been hard on them. But it gave her something to concentrate on. She trimmed the stems and put them into a vase and added a little plant food to the water. Next out was her bonsai tree. It had been in stasis the whole trip from Europa. She emptied the water and refilled the water bowl adding a few drops of food to it as well. She placed both by her bed. Next out of her bag was her surprise gift from Joseph. An exquisitely hand made chess board. She flipped it over, her fingers running lightly over the inscription: I may always get your king, but you will always be my queen. She set it on her desk, and placed the pieces in place, and then moved her queen’s pawn as she had done on Joseph’s board before she had left Challenger.

She sat down as she finished her message. She was exhausted and emotional. “I love you, Imzadi,” she ended the message and then sent 3 typed messages. The first to Andrew, her brother, the second to Oliver, and the last to Ashlyn. “Hey Ashlyn. I finally made it to the Academy. It’s late here, but I wanted you to know the trip went fine. I know it’s been just over a week so probably nothing much has happened back on Europa. I made it into Joseph’s quarters without him finding out. I’ll tell you about it later. I have early meetings. Stay safe my friend. -Sharah.”

The next morning was a blur. She had an 0800 appointment with Cmdr. Ballaris, her psychologist when she was a cadet. They talked for the entire morning and through lunch. He had a lot of questions and it was a nice morning. The afternoon was spent requesting materials, lab spaces, and holodeck time. She was assigned two 3rd year botanist cadets, Jessie and Yanni. Shara spent the evening organizing the materials in the greenhouse space that was assigned for the research. She didn’t get to bed until after midnight.

The next several months seemed endless and at the same time was over before she realized it. After planting all the seeds and transplanting already grown flowers. Then she had to make samples of the medications to be tested. 4 weeks into the project, some well meaning cadet who couldn’t read a layout plan, pulled all the seedlings up out of their beds and destroyed all the plants they were growing for the project. Sharah spent 5 days in a near panic trying to square replacements. Then, because some of the plants were not the same as the originals, she had to create new medications to ensure that the new plants worked just as well. The following weeks were spent teaching the research team how the holodeck program worked. Once the program was refined and expanded the actual test runs began. In between she was teaching other members of the research team how to make the medications. The different groups rotated through both parts. Then the review of the instructions on the tricorder file had to be reviewed and refined.

When she had free time, Sharah practiced parkour, read books in the illusion of quiet in her quarters, and played chess with Joseph over subspace. She also spent a lot of time in the gardens. Half way through the work, Cmdr Ballaris prescribed her four days of alpha wave treatments because she wasn’t sleeping. The sheer number of people at the Academy made it difficult to rest properly. And the delta waves Dr. Zarath had given her to use, weren’t working.

By the time the blind study of the program began, right at the 4 month mark, Sharah’s mental health was suffering. Since she wasn’t allowed to be near the study at this point, and the research team was collecting the actual data, Cmdr. Ballaris sent her off Academy grounds for her mental health. What she had no idea of, was Joseph was there, waiting to surprise her. It was an incredible week of leave time, and one that, for her health, she had needed. On her own, with an exciting research project in front of her, she lost track of important things. Like sleeping and eating regularly.

At the end of the week, Sharah returned to the Academy. The research had gone quickly and the data was actually completely collected. Before she knew it she was standing in front of the review board presenting her findings. At the end of 3 hours of questions and answers her research was accepted and was submitted to be published. Her program would be sent out as additional training across the fleet, optional of course. And she had a year to write a curriculum to be reviewed and submitted for a course to be included for optional certification at the Academy. Sharah celebrated that night with Ballaris. She made a brief appearance at a dinner for the whole research team, but the noise was too much to stay long. The next morning she was on a shuttle heading for her first transport back to Europa.

En. Fayth, Doctor


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