Okay, my fics seem to have been amassing some attention, so I though I'd try something...different. This is an AU scifi fic, and yes, I do use the character's real names, although I also use their TT names. If you don't like Star Trek, then you may not understand the connections, but you will still understand the storyline, so no worries there.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the storyline.

Chapter 1

The lights blared and bodies rushed everyone around Richard, but he managed not to get knocked down. Pushing his way through, he was able to finally reach the getaway pod and felt immediately at ease the moment he cleared the planet's atmosphere. That latest mission had supposedly been successful, but he didn't want to stick around to see what the repurcussions of blowing up an enemy base would be.

Richard had jet black hair and bangs that came down just over his blue eyes. He was the youngest security officer on board his starship (sixteen years old and already he was amassing quite the reputation, in fact), but he didn't mind as much as long as he got that respect he deserved. And he did, for the most part, seeing as he was in the running to be head of security now that the previous head was taking an early retirement.

The only other person on board that came anywhere close to his age was his friend Victor, who was eighteen. Although Victor was, in fact, only part human (the other half of him was metal due to an engine explosion in previous years) he was still the best friend Richard had. He didn't mind that his nickname was 'Cyborg'. In fact, he rather embraced the name and often used it more than his real name.

As Richard stumbled into the boarding room out of the small pod, the sound of slight applause echoed in his ears, and he turned to see the rest of his team. So they had made it undamaged so far, that was good. He shook his head to clear his vision, then accepted with broad smiles the warm embraces of his friends.

Then the captain himself walked in, smiling. This caught everyone off guard, mostly because none had ever seen Captain Wayne smile before. "Good job, Lieut. Grayson," he said calmly, though his eyes twinkled with admiration, "It seems you have led your team quite masterfully."

He grinned cockily. "Thank you sir," he breathed happily.

As the rest of the team celebrated, Richard watched the captain leave. What he had to do to earn some respect...

"Yo! Robin! Get over here!" Victor called from across the room. "Can't you ever just have fun for once?"

He smiled slightly when Victor used his nickname. His teammates had dubbed him 'Robin' for the red-crested bird on Earth when, during a mission, he had taken such a bad hit that his normally yellow security uniform became bright red, and yet he was still moving with the agility of such a bird. Months later, after many weeks in the hospital and a few celebratory parties, the team had watched the security footage so many times that they began to call it the 'robin tape'. The name stuck.

But he didn't want to take part in the celebrations. As much as he may have enjoyed his time as a security officer, there were some things that he had seen in his time, and some that no other officer had ever seen, that he wished he could forget. He would not be able to celebrate when he knew that their victory could have cost thousands of people their lives. No, Richard was not the type to do much partying at all.

As the doors to the elevator opened, he was surprised to see that there was a new crew member aboard. This girl must have been just about his age, perhaps even a little younger, although she carried herself as if she were a distinguished gentlewoman. Though she appeared to be human, she wore the long blue cloak of an Azirian monk over her uniform, and her forehead sported the gemstone singular to the planet of Aziria. And had she dyed her hair, or was it always purple?

The Azirians were a peculiar people; many of them appeared to be comletely human except for their four eyes, and some were rumored to be born with immense powers. They were also empaths, able to comprehend the feelings of several people at once, which made them great counselors for a ship.

So he was not surprised when she turned to him and said softly, "You've got to stop berating yourself about all the violence you've seen. It's going to affect you in the worst way possible."

He sighed, yes, she was Azirian. Those people had a way of just coming out and saying what needed to be said. In fact, it was rumored that no Azirian could tell a lie, although he had met a few that could sure come close...

"So..." he ventured, "if you're an Azirian, how come you don't look like one?"

She stiffened up a bit. "That's none of your business."

"If you're on this ship, I make it my business to know everything about you," he shot back.

"This is why I hate security officers. They have too much faith in their own abilities," she sighed.

He grinned cockily. "Well, that's for you to be the judge of, I guess, but you still haven't told me anything about yourself or even why you're on the ship," he prodded.

"I wasn't aware that it was neccessary to spill my guts to everyone I meet," she replied coldly.

Chuckling, he replied, "It's not. But are you here to replace our previous counselor?" When she looked as if she were about to shout at him, he raised his arms in defense. "Yeah, yeah, I know I'm not supposed to ask questions, but I've got to know if you're going to be a member of our crew here or not. Don't I have the right to know who I'm going to be obliged to protect?"

Finally, she turned towards him, anger in her eyes. "If you must know, I am here to speak personally to the captain about a member of the crew here. We have a certain..situation on our hands back at the headquarters and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. What's going on back home?" he asked, eyes widening at the revelation as his cocky attitude disappeared.

She pulled her hood up, shielding her violet eyes. "You probably wouldn't know the people I've been asked to involve, as I'm told that they are highly trained operatives and well behaved young men," she shot back.

"So...are you going to tell me or not?"

The door opened, revealing the bridge of the ship. She stepped off, and just as the doors closed she said, "Oh, and would you tell Commander Stone and Lieutenant Grayson to come up here as soon as possible?"

His mouth dropped open a bit, but he caught himself as the doors closed. He reached up to his shoulder to activate the tiny communicator. "Robin to Cyborg...Um...I think we're needed at the bridge," he said, still recovering a bit from the shock.

"What's got you so worked up?" his friend's voice asked through the system.

"Nothing, nothing," he replied quickly, quickly punching in the numbers for the elevator to take him back to the bridge.

He stepped out, and all eyes turned towards him. "Hi...I'm supposed to..." he offered feebly.

"You'll be briefed in the captain's ready room," said a voice behind him. It was Alfred, the elderly first officer.

He nodded his thanks, then strode quickly to the said room. As soon as the door opened, the Azirian rose. "What are you doing here?" she asked curtly.

Grinning cockily, he brought his hand up into a quick salute, saying, "Lieutenant Richard Grayson, ma'am." His tone was mocking and he shot her a look that said: That's right, it's me. Deal with it.

As she fumbled for words, Victor came strolling in. Smiling as he always was, he stuck out his hand in a polite greeting, but she refused the gesture, sitting down in an almost sulking manner.

"Now that the two of you are here, why don't you tell us what is going on, Commander Raven?" Captain Wayne asked pointedly.

She rose gracefully, her eyes blazing with annoyance at discovering that the cocky young officer had indeed been the one she had been assigned to come and get. "Well, I am trying to gather a small team of four to embark on a top secret mission, although apparently I was told the wrong people. The Richard Grayson I was told about was an upstanding-"

"Pardon me, ma'am, but with all due respect, you haven't taken much time to get to know either of us," Victor pointed out.

A vein throbbed in her forehead, and he sat back down, but she did not bring the topic back up again. "The point is, Commander Stone, Lieutenant Grayson and myself will, after finding one more member for our small team, begin a mission that could be absolutely vital in preventing an outbreak of war between our fleets and the Tamaraneans."

"How so?" Captain Wayne asked, his chin in his hand.

A screen flickered to life behind her, and a picture of a young woman, about Richard's age, appeared behind her. The young woman had long red hair and dazzling green eyes.

"You may not be familiar with the royal family of Tamaran, so I'll go ahead and tell you who she is. This is Princess Kori'ander of Tamaran, and five days ago, she was reported missing. Their people blame us, as an ambassador had been staying on the planet at the time of the kidnapping. He was, of course, killed, and the Tamaraneans declared that if they did not get their princess back within two weeks, they would declare war. So, you can see how crucial this mission is," she finished, staring pointedly at Richard.

He grinned back at her, saying, "So, when do we leave?"

"Well, I was told to begin work as soon as possible, so the sooner you can gather your things, the better," she said.

Victor rose. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Commander," he said, shaking her hand.

"You can call me Raven," she said gently, a side of her that Richard hadn't as of yet seen.

"Then you can call me Cyborg, everyone else does," Cyborg grinned.

He also shook her hand. "Yeah, it was nice to meet you, Raven," he smirked.

Her eyes narrowed. "No, no, please call me Commander Raven, Lieutenant."

"Everyone calls me-"

"Meet me in the docking bay, Lieutenant. I hope that you're ready to go before we leave, because I will not be coming back for you," she said abruptly. With that, she walked briskly out of the room.

Victor and Richard glanced at each other, then back at the door. "Well, this is...new," Victor finally said.

"Yeah," was all he could think to say. "It's certainly going to be an interesting day," he shrugged dismissively.

"Then you are both dismissed," Captain Wayne said. "Oh, and Lieutenant!"

Richard spun around. "Yes?"

"Don't get on her bad side. That's the best advice I can give you for this mission."