Yesterday, 10:02 PM
(This post was last modified: Yesterday, 10:04 PM by Rowan Richards.)
Sunlight streamed through the immense wall of windows to the south, pooling warmly across the floor and catching on the edges of polished boots and starched uniforms. Beyond the glass, San Francisco Bay shimmered, the Golden Gate Bridge rising like a quiet promise; solid, steadfast, and impossibly distant all at once. Rowan felt it settle something inside him, the way it always did.
He smoothed a hand over the front of his uniform, more out of habit than necessity. Tall, broad-shouldered, and unmistakably Angosian despite his strikingly human appearance, Rowan bore the calm strength of someone who made others feel safer simply by standing nearby. His dark hair was neatly kept, his expression open and kind, though his eyes carried the unmistakable weight of reflection earned over four long years.
As he moved further inside, his gaze drifted to the portraits lining the walls. Archer, Pike, Kirk, Picard and Janeway - faces that seemed almost alive in the light, watching the cadets below with approval, challenge, and expectation all at once. Rowan offered them a small, respectful nod without quite realizing he’d done it.
Around him, clusters of cadets chatted in hushed excitement or stared silently at the view, savoring what might be their last quiet moment as students. Rowan smiled easily at a nervous Andorian passing by, offering a gentle word of reassurance before taking his place in the queue at the admissions desk. Even now, on the cusp of evaluation, his instinct was to steady others before himself.
When he reached the front, he straightened with natural confidence, and met the officer’s gaze with warmth and sincerity.
“Cadet Rowan Richards,” he said clearly, voice calm and resonant, “reporting for final examination assignment.”
Whatever awaited him in the holodeck, Rowan did not fear it. He trusted in preparation, in people, and in the quiet belief that compassion and courage were not opposing forces, but partners.
== I have read, understand, and agree to abide by the Federation Space Constitution and the Cadet Code of Conduct. ==
He smoothed a hand over the front of his uniform, more out of habit than necessity. Tall, broad-shouldered, and unmistakably Angosian despite his strikingly human appearance, Rowan bore the calm strength of someone who made others feel safer simply by standing nearby. His dark hair was neatly kept, his expression open and kind, though his eyes carried the unmistakable weight of reflection earned over four long years.
As he moved further inside, his gaze drifted to the portraits lining the walls. Archer, Pike, Kirk, Picard and Janeway - faces that seemed almost alive in the light, watching the cadets below with approval, challenge, and expectation all at once. Rowan offered them a small, respectful nod without quite realizing he’d done it.
Around him, clusters of cadets chatted in hushed excitement or stared silently at the view, savoring what might be their last quiet moment as students. Rowan smiled easily at a nervous Andorian passing by, offering a gentle word of reassurance before taking his place in the queue at the admissions desk. Even now, on the cusp of evaluation, his instinct was to steady others before himself.
When he reached the front, he straightened with natural confidence, and met the officer’s gaze with warmth and sincerity.
“Cadet Rowan Richards,” he said clearly, voice calm and resonant, “reporting for final examination assignment.”
Whatever awaited him in the holodeck, Rowan did not fear it. He trusted in preparation, in people, and in the quiet belief that compassion and courage were not opposing forces, but partners.
== I have read, understand, and agree to abide by the Federation Space Constitution and the Cadet Code of Conduct. ==