New Year, Same Problems
Posted on January 10th, 2015 by T'Lira

It was the middle of the Dominion War and most of her Academy class was rather… sad. The war was taking a toll on all of them. So, it happened that sixteen cadets were sitting in a room only meant for four people. The stars streaked past the viewport as their training cruise took them on a patrol route near Dominion-controlled territory.

“Hey, we should do something,” Cadet Eddie Harrel suggested.

“And what would you recommend?” Elena replied, rolling her eyes and holding up her PADD so T’Lira could see it. The device read ‘Is he the dullest crayon in the box or what?’

T’Lira lifted an eyebrow and sent her a message that reminded her that six other people had seen that, one of which was Eddie.

Kryembril “Bril” Lyrsin laughed, “Well, it is December 31st. So let’s celebrate!”

Various people agreed with the Betazoid and one left the room for a brief time.

T’Lira shuffled amongst the people, pushing through so that she could sit next to Elena.

“What is the purpose of celebrating the end of a year and the beginning of another?” she asked quietly.

Elena sighed theatrically, “You ask the same question every year! It’s not just the date, it’s the meaning. We’re throwing off the old and embracing the new.”

After a few moments of thought, T’Lira nodded, “Logical.”

The cadet who had left returned with a box full of questionable bottles.

“Hey, the engineering staff sends their compliments. Don’t let this go to waste, ‘cos I have to clean plasma conduits for the next three weeks to make up for stealing their jungle juice!”

The other cadets grabbed bottles from the box and cracked them open. Someone pulled up the broadcast from New York City on Earth and turned the volume to max. The noise level stayed at a relative constant until the countdown began.

“Why are they counting?” T’Lira asked softly. Elena shushed her and counted with the others.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

The noise level was high enough that the only two Vulcan in the room winced slightly. Sorak recieved nudges from a few others nearby and Elena grinned at T’Lira.

As they all ended up falling asleep in the small room, T’Lira couldn’t help but to think about the troubles of war to be faced in the morning.