Water

S'chn T'gai Spokh stood at the water's edge. He did not believe there was this much water on the entire planet of Vulcan. And this was only a small 'bay'. The water curled up in a wave and sucked the sand from beneath his feet. Startled, he backed up several steps. The force of the wave was unexpected. So much power from something so fluid. A breeze passed over the water, coming inland, cool and filled with damp. He shivered slightly. Concentrating, he adjusted his internal thermostat a few degrees higher. As he was still wearing the light clothing he had worn aboard the ship from Vulcan, his attire was not appropriate for his current position, but he had found it impossible not to go straight to the waterfront on his arrival in San Francisco. Water - so much water. The light shimmered on the suface, glittering and sparkling. Little blobs of air bubbles, congregated into white clusters, bobbed on the edges of the waves, racing in lines toward the shore. Everything about it was fascinating. He could have stood there for hours observing, but he had an appointment at StarFleet Academy that he would not be late for.

***

Cadet Spock stood in front of the sink in the small bathroom of the room in the cadet barracks that he shared with another cadet. The other young man had been there first and water droplets glimmered on the sink, the counter top and the walls and floor of the shower. The room was full of warm steam. Spock was fascinated. He waved the fingers of one hand under the faucet, causing the stream of water to start, wetting his fingers. Very cold. He snatched his hand out of the water stream and looked at the controls. Blue on the right side, red on the left. The indicator was firmly into the blue. Blue was cold, then, and red must be hot. Experimenting, he moved the indicator into the neutral position and waved his fingers under the faucet again. Still cool. He moved the indicator slowly to the left, further and further into the red. The water temperature slowly increased until, at the furtherest point, it was more than hot against his skin. Interesting.

He turned towards the shower. This would be another new experience. On Vulcan there was never enough water to waste in such a manner. He stepped into the shower stall, closing the door behind him and set the temperature indicator to the same spot as the one on the sink. Then he waved his hands beneath the shower head and waited for the water to come out. In an instant his whole body was engulfed in hot water and steam. Fascinating.

***

The physical conditioning instructor looked at the name on the PADD he held in his hand. Why did they always have to be so damn difficult to pronounce? He tried to twist his tongue around the strange syllables. "Cadet shaan tiggy?"

Spock did his best not to wince. "I fear you cannot pronounce it correctly, sir. It is extremely difficult for human tongues. Cadet Spock will suffice."

The instructor was visibly relieved. "Cadet Spock, I see that you have tested out of all but one of the requirements for first year Physical Conditioning - as well as most of the remaining requirements as well. But there is no score here for swimming. Is there some reason for that?"

"I have no experience in swimming, sir. My home world is a desert planet."

"Well, then, your assignment for this year is to learn to swim. An acceptable performance on the swimming test is required for all Academy graduates. Please report to the pool at 1400 every Tuesday." Recalling comments made by other instructors on the literal interpretation of orders by this particular student, he amended his instructions. "Every Tuesday afternoon, go to the locker room, change into swim briefs, and fall in with the other students at the lesson pool by 1400. Understood?"

The cadet acknowledged his understanding of the order and was dismissed. As he walked off, the instructor mused to himself. Walks and runs with the grace of a cheetah - and the speed, is the most deadly martial arts master I have ever seen - and he can't swim. But I'd bet my last pair of boots that by the end of this year he'll have busted every record of every gold medal winner in the history of water sports.

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Author's note: The seed idea for this story came from kendrat199. Thanks so much :-) If anyone else has any drabble challenges, I'd love to hear them :-)