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Alexis McFarland

Out of the Blue

“Out of the Blue”

 

Bridgeport, Connecticut – 6 months ago

 

Andoria?! Seriously?” Alexis moaned. Over the short 9 years of her life, Alexis McFarland genuinely lost count over how many times she and her family had moved around in her lifetime. It was awfully hard settling in and making friends when she and her family hadn’t stayed in one place for more than two or three years. In addition to Bridgeport, her family spent time in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, London, Paris, Geneva, Alpha Centauri, Betazed and now Andoria.

 

Her father Robert sighed but fully understood his daughter’s frustrations. “I know, sweetie. It’s really tough on you to have to move so many times. Believe me, your mother and I aren’t happy about it too. But that’s just where the Federation wants us to be. It’s our job to persue the Federation’s interests and that job requires us to move around a lot”.

Alexis pouted. “Yeah, I know. You keep telling me this every time we have to move. But Andoria? Ugh, it’s so cold there.” Robert nodded and patted her head. “I know, but Andoria is a beautiful planet and we can do a lot of good there. Your mother and I have a lot of friends in Andoria. We’ve built up quite a network and a good solid relationship with the government there, which was why the Federation assigned me this role”

 

He hugged his daughter closer to him. “I know it’s cold, and I know you don’t know anyone there and will have to make new friends again. But you’ve always learned to readjust to your surroundings and make a ton of new friends. I have no doubts Andoria will be any different” said Robert reassuringly. Alexis’ mother Mariah also sat down and reassured her daughter. “But what if I don’t like it there and can’t adjust?” Alexis wondered.

 

Andoria – 1 month ago

 

Back home from another day of school, Alexis began shrugging off the many layers of her thermal bio-suit. Though it was the ‘summer’ season in Andoria, it was still a frosty -28 degrees Celsius. The bio suit was heavy and cumbersome and always took so long to put it on and take it off. It didn’t help that her Andorian class mates liked to make fun of her about it.

 

“Aww, come on pink skin. It’s such a nice day. Do you humans really need to wear those all the time?” her classmates would often say giggling. Sighing, Alexis put away her bio-suit and slinked to her quarters, nodding sadly at her mother on the day before closing the door. Four months after her father was named as the Federation Ambassador to Andoria, Alexis felt that she hadn’t settled in. Sure, she was scoring well in class, but she wasn’t making any friends, and every day was eating her lunch by herself.

 

In her quarters, which overlooked a group of mountains and the icy capital city, she sighed and curled up in her bed. Normally, she would’ve made at least a few friends by now, but Andoria was different; there weren’t any other human children in her school, and her adolescent Andorian classmates weren’t all too friendly with their new ‘pink skin’ classmate. A moment later, Alexis’ mother entered her room. “Hey sweetie, you feeling okay?” she asked, though she already knew the answer. “I guess so” replied Alexis. Mariah exhaled and sat next to her daughter. “Look, I might as well be honest. We realize that things aren’t working out for you here in Andoria. We thought you’d eventually adjust to life here, but a place like this isn’t exactly appropriate for someone like you. That’s why none of the staff in the Federation Consulate brought their children here”

 

Alexis raised a brow. “Yeah, so I’ve noticed” Mariah chuckled. She appreciated her daughter’s sense of humour, a trait she inherited from her father. “So, your father and I have been talking. Unfortunately, we’re going to be here in Andoria for at least five years. It’s quite likely, your father will serve as ambassador for quite some time.”

 

 

Alexis slumped. Her mother continued. “We’ve been trying to arrange to have you stay with another member of the family. But your grandparents are too old to take care of you properly and live in Sun City, Arizona. A town full of old people and nothing else. None of your aunts and uncles have room to take you either. Except… my cousin Dacia”

 

“Dacia?” Alexis repeated. “That’s right” Mariah said. “She’s recently been assigned to the Aegis. And from what I’ve read about it, I think it will be a fine place for you to stay. It has a school, shops and other amenities, including a little part. Plus, the station does seem to have a pretty sizeable amount of children there”

 

Alexis was intrigued. Dacia was one of her favourite cousins. They both had similar interests and there were both young enough to get along quite well with each other. Plus, her dog Chester was the absolute cutest. “Would she be okay with that?” asked Alexis. “Oh yes. We’ve been in constant communications for about a month now. I didn’t tell you before; because I wanted to be sure it was possible you can stay with her”

 

“But, everything has been set up. Her command staff on Aegis just approved your stay there. And your school board will transfer your files to the school there. “I’ll miss you and dad so much though if I have to leave you. I wish dad didn’t have to accept this assignment” Alexis said sadly, tears starting to form in her eyes. Mariah wrapped an arm around Alexis and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. “It’ll be hard for us too, and we’ll miss you every day.

 

“We’ll talk with you every day via subspace transmission, but most of all, we’ll always be with you in your heart, no matter where you go. It’s tough, but I think it’s for the best for you. We now know that you’ll never be able to fully settle in here. We will miss you, but we’ll always be in touch with you and we’ll always love you very much, no matter how far you are away from us.”

Alexis looked up at her mother and smiled. “I love you too. But I’ll still miss you both like crazy” she said and hugged her mother. “I know. We’ll miss you too” Mariah said as she hugged her daughter back.

 

“So what do you think? Are you interested in moving in with Dacia?” she asked. Alexis thought about it. Though she will miss her parents terribly, she knew this would be for the best. Alexis wasn’t happy in school, and it is unlikely she will ever be truly happy here. “Yes, that would be great”. Her mother smiled “Okay, I’ll tell your father and we’ll make the necessary arrangements”.

 

JOHN F. KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL SPACEPORT – NEW YORK CITY, NY - 1 WEEK AGO

 

Everything happened so quickly over the last month. Federation Child Services was notified and granted custody of Alexis to her cousin Dacia. Meanwhile, on the Aegis, Dacia made arrangements for Alexis’ accommodation into her quarters, which thankfully was big enough to house them both. Two weeks after her initial talk with her mother, a Federation ship transported Alexis back to Earth, where she underwent her physical and mental exams for her move to the Aegis.

 

It was a long and tedious affair, but she understood it was a necessity due to the large number of people there and the fact that it housed some kind of orphanage or something. At least she got to stay at a nice hotel in Manhattan while she underwent her exams. The room service there was pretty cool though and the staff there was very nice to her. Still, she was glad the long boring exams were over. After a short taxi ride, the cabbie helped offload her luggage.

 

 

Tipping the driver, she wheeled her luggage to the check in counter. She had never flown by herself before and it was a nervous, yet exhilarating experience. The United flight would take her directly to Sky Harbour Aegis which served as a stopover hub for the airline. Alexis missed her parents already but at the same time, was looking forward to staying with Dacia and Chester. Once her flight was called, she carried her bag to the plane and boarded.

 

 

From Earth, it would apparently take about a week to get to Aegis. She settled into her window seat in the space liner. For a nine year old, it was plenty big enough and the flight attendant was kind enough to help her stow her luggage and buckle Alexis into her seat. She half paid attention to the safety demonstration, before the United space liner took off and looked out of the large window as the liner took off into space.

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