"Mom, I understand your position on this ship full well. What I do not understand is why I have to be here, too," Kayla sulked. She knew it was childish, but she really couldn't give less of a shit in that moment.

"Kayla, sweetie, you can learn to love being on a starship. I know I've uprooted you and you'll really miss your friends back on Tarnera VI but I couldn't just leave you there all by yourself," her mother countered. She was right, and objectively Kayla knew that, but it was really hard to accept. She loved space. She really did, and if she had the brain capacity to do so, she would apply to Starfleet Academy. But the fact of the matter was, she didn't, and this just wasn't the right time for her. Her life had just started to pick up back home, which, she might add, was about time for a seventeen year old.

"I understand, Mom. Besides, you know how much I would love being here at any other time in my life. I'm just pissed, that's all," she conceded as she sat on her new bed. At least it was soft. "Plus, living in a cabin—quarters, sorry—is gonna be a big change from a house."

"I get it, honey. I do, and I'm sorry that the timing isn't… ideal," she sat down next to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around Kayla's shoulders.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault. I'm just really gonna miss the people back home, you know?" She rested her head on her mother's shoulder.

She rubbed her arm and pressed a kiss on Kayla's hair. "I know, sweetheart. I know."

xXx

Finding no sense in spending her first day aboard the Enterprise moping around, she decided to take a stroll around the ship and familiarize herself with her new home for the next half a decade. She stopped short. Half a decade. Kayla was never good at long-term commitments, and this was going to be no different. Oh God, she thought. I'm going to spend the rest of my teenage years—and probably some of my early 20s—on a fucking starship. Suddenly she wondered about her prospects in the… romantic area. Though she wouldn't admit it, Kayla was a sort of a romantic sap. And, though she would never measure her worth by whether or not she was in a romantic relationship with someone, she knew that finding that one person she truly clicked with would be a priority in her life. She didn't want some knight in shining armor or some bullshit like that, but rather a companion who made her laugh, and a companion with whom she could go through life with. And also fuck. A lot.

She started down the corridor once more. Would it kill someone to up some sort of map of this place? She had no idea where she was going and at this rate, it wouldn't take long for her to get completely and utterly lost.

"A turbolift! God almighty, bless you, you glorious metal tube," she said to herself as she approached it.

"…Are you alright?" came a voice from somewhere behind her.

Whirling around, she caught the eyes of the owner of the voice. It was a boy, maybe a year or two younger than her. She estimated him to be around sixteen years old. She noticed that he wasn't wearing civilian clothes, but was wearing a grey jumpsuit with a ridiculous rainbow-esque strip of cloth wrapped around his upper chest and shoulder area.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just trying to orient myself a bit. I'm new and this is a humongous ship."

He laughed lightly, "I don't think that's a word, but yes it is a big ship. It's also the best one in the fleet," he said, voice filled with pride. He looked at her with kind eyes, which seemed to flicker with faint recognition. "Are you Lieutenant Peyton's daughter?"

"Yes, I am. You know, it's strange hearing someone refer to my mom like that. Liuetenant," she tasted the word. "I'm Kayla," she stuck out a hand. He took it and introduced himself.

"I'm Wesley, Wesley Crusher, and I know exactly what you mean. My mom is the ship's CMO and when I'm on duty I have to called her by her rank." He dropped my hand.

"Yeah I see how that could get a bit weir—did you just say, 'when you're on duty'? How old are you?" She had to admit, she was a bit surprised. She could've sworn he was younger than her. And even then, to become an ensign on a starship, not to mention the fleet's flagship, one would have to graduate Starfleet Academy. Even assuming that he's some sort of child prodigy who graduated at like fifteen or sixteen, becoming an ensign at that age seemed like a bit of a stretch.

He laughed again. "I get that a lot. I'm sixteen, but was designated acting ensign by Captain Picard a few months back."

She was impressed.

"I am impressed. What are you, some kind of genius?" Kayla felt like it was all right to tease him. He seemed like a nice kid.

"Well… kind of, yes," he answered. Usually she would take that as an obnoxious thing to say, but she could tell that he didn't mean it that way. He really was just smart, apparently.

"Anyway," he started, "is there anywhere I could show you to?"

"Well I don't really know where anything is, so surprise me I guess."

He smiled and they started walking towards the turbolift.

"Well, I'd show you the bridge, but technically I'm not a 'real' officer so I don't get to invite people up there. How about Ten Forward?"

"I'm gonna pretend to know what you're talking about. Let's go."

xXx

"So basically this is where everybody hangs out. Food, drinks, that sort of thing?" she asked him, taking it all in. It had a nice atmosphere. There was a sense of relaxation and fun lingering around the room, despite its dark appearance. The windows that stretched across far left wall of it were what really did it for her, though. From those she could see an audience of beautiful constellations, and even the occasional nebula dart past.

"How fast are we going?" she whispered, not taking her eyes off the sight.

"Last time I was on the bridge it was around Warp 4. We're not really in a rush anywhere since our destination is only one star system away. The only reason we're at warp 4 and not 2 right now is because we had to go a little out of our way to pick up some supplies, and I guess you and your mom."

"The view is amazing, Wes. I could get used to this." She tore her eyes away finally and surveyed the bar. "Let's see what they have around here." She walked over to the bar, where a kind-looking woman was leaning against the counter, a light smile playing on her lips as she gazed around the crowded room.

"Hi! Excuse me, could I get a menu please?" she asked as Wesley walked up behind her and slid into the nearest stool.

The woman smiled as she turned towards Kayla. "I am your menu. Tell me what you're in the mood for and I'll get it for you."

She hummed in thought for a moment or two, then finally settled for something sweet. "Do you have something sweet to drink that's sort of watery and light?"

"Something sweet and light, coming right up," she said brightly.

"She's really nice," said Kayla. "Where is she from?"

"Yeah, she is. And she's really good at advice, too, if you ever need that sort of thing. Her name's Guinan, and she's an El-Aurian."

"I've never heard of that race."

"Not many people have. All I know is that they're a race of listeners. Hence the good advice," he smiled.

"Why thank you, Wesley," Guinan said as she appeared with a light green translucent drink in her hand. "It's Rudavian fruit juice," she said, setting down the cup in front of her. She accepted it graciously, as she had just noticed how thirsty she actually was. Kayla took an experimental sip of the sweet-smelling drink and was pleasantly surprised.

"This is so good! I've never heard of it, but it's like Hawaii in a cup. I swear I can taste the sunshine, Guinan. Thanks!" She then proceeded to knock down the whole thing in four gulps and bringing the cup down slightly harder than she intended when she finished.

"That," Kayla awed, "was amazing."

"I'm glad you liked it," she smiled as she took away the glass and moved on to her next patron.

"Kay, I'm on duty in," Wesley checked his watch, "five minutes. I still can't invite you up to see the bridge, but would you like to walk with me to the turbolift? I get off in about three hours. I'll introduce you to the rest of the kids onboard."

Kayla wasn't too happy at the prospect of being left to her own devices, but she followed him out anyway. He started telling her about the other kids he studies with on our way out.

"—And there's Rekku, he's really nice too I think you'll like him—"

Then they promptly bumped into a kind-yet-intense looking red-haired woman.

"I'm sorry ma'am! We weren't watching where we were going and just hereletmehelpyouwiththat," she forced out, a bit panicky. She didn't want to be yelled at on her first day here, especially not by someone important-looking. She felt her face go red as she bent down to pick up the woman's PADD.

"Kayla, Kayla, stop it it's okay," Wesley laughed, "It's just my mom."

As she handed her back the PADD, she noticed that the woman was smiling at me too.

"I'm Doctor Beverly Crusher, but you can call me Beverly."

"Is it okay if I don't do that? Not out of rudeness or anything but I feel weird when I address adults I don't know well yet by their first names. I think I'm just gonna stick with Dr. Crusher if that's all right with you," she said, gathering confidence. Honesty was an important thing in Kayla's life because if she did not convey (politely of course) how she truly felt in a situation, then she would feel… fake, she mused would be the right word.

"That's fine. Kayla was it?" She nodded her head.

"Her mother is Lieutenant Peyton, they're the new arrivals."

"I guessed as much, Wes," she turned to her, "Would you like to see the bridge?"

She may have nodded her head with a bit more enthusiasm as she probably should have, but in her defense, she really was excited to see it for herself.

"If it's okay, of course… I don't want to impose or anything."

"It'll have to be a short visit, and you have to understand that if anything potentially dangerous occurs you will have to leave immediately. Other than that, it should be fine."

As soon as the doors of the turbolift opened, she knew that she had found the place she wanted to be in in the future. She could see the captain's chair, and in it Captain Picard himself. He had an almost completely bald, egg-shaped head, but she could definitely see why he attracted so many people. Hey, she's heard things back at the starbase. There were quite a few people milling about, most of them sticking to their posts. There was a Klingon male in command gold just a few meters away from her. She had never seen a Klingon from so close before, and he intrigued her. Near Captain Picard sat a gorgeous woman with neatly pinned up dark curls cascading down her back. As she stood up, Kayla could see that her uniform was different from the others' and was definitely more form fitting than what she was used to seeing on an officer. Not that she was complaining. At all.

To the right of the captain, she saw an exceptionally tall man (for a human at least) sporting a lush, dark brown beard. He stood with his arms crossed, watching the viewscreen. As he turned around-oh no. Dear god, this guy is tall, has dark hair, and light blue eyes. My greatest weakness! If I don't stop looking right now, the secret to my destruction could be revealed. Does everybody on this bridge need to be so damn attractive? It's like they handpicked these people from a holo-mag and plopped them in here. She sighed. Well then.

"Is everything okay?" asked Wesley, eyeing her strangely. Damn.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Just enjoying the view," she answered, nodding at the screen. Technically it wasn't a lie, as she was, in fact, enjoying the view very much.

"Is this the usual crew?" she asked, diverting the attention away from her over-active libido.

"Pretty much… except," he squinted, looking around the room. "Where's Data?"

"Oh, I think he said something about heading down to engineering to work on something with Geordi," answered Dr. Crusher.

"That's a shame," Wesley said, "I was looking forward to asking him about one of my projects." He looked downcast at the news. "Anyway, my shift is starting now so I guess I'll see you later, Kayla," he bid goodbye as he headed towards his station.

Data? What an odd name. Kayla was going to ask him about that.

"Well, I hope you enjoyed your visit," said the doctor. "It's really something, isn't it?" she nodded towards the view screen. "Sorry it had to be so short, but civilians shouldn't be here in the first place, you understand."

"Yeah, no problem! It was really nice seeing this. It gave me some perspective." She grinned and turned to leave. "Oh, but before I forget: how do I get back to my quarters?"

The doctor laughed and pushed a button on the wall behind Kayla's head, and a map of the decks popped up on the small viewscreen.

"When you see a screen like this, just press that green button and this'll pop up. Other than that, you could just ask the computer to show you the way to any location." She thanked her and stepped into the lift.

"Deck 4, please."