It was my very first day in space. I was nervous, excited, breathless. I was also extremely worried.

Of the 16 newly graduated cadets from the Academy, I knew only 12 would actually be chosen and assigned to a starship. And being the youngest, only 17, I knew my chances among the older, more mature cadets was slim.

The other scientists on board the shuttle were just as nervous as me, I could tell. They were pretending they had it all together, that they were cool and collected; but they seemed stiff. I knew that I wasn't the only one who had reason to worry. In fact, age aside, I would probably one of the first choices. At the academy, I studied archaeology and how it could be applied to alien civilizations, and could be used to further Starfleet's knowledge of alien planets. "To discover" was the motto of my area of study, and I was excited to do just that. I was not the first to take the class and apply it in the field, but I was one of the youngest. I was hoping to be assigned to the USS Reacher; if so, I would be under the command of Dr. Logan, one of the most renowned extraterrestrial anthropologists.

The shuttle arrived at the space station, and all the cadets seemed to tense up a little. The shuttle doors slowly opened with a loud hiss, and I jumped.

"First time in space?" the cadet next to me asked.

I nodded. I wasn't nervous about being in space; no, that's why I was excited. I was nervous about what was going to happen. What if I didn't get a spot on the Reacher? What would I do, being so young on a strange starship that I knew nothing about? What if nobody liked me? What if I didn't even get selected at all?

The other cadets were already filing out of the shuttle while I was still sitting there, lost in my worries. I quickly unbuckled my harness and jumped up. I bumped into another cadet. "Sorry," I mumbled.

"Watch what you're doing!" she snapped at me. Oh, this is going swell, I thought to myself. I stepped off of the shuttle, blinking in the harsh light of the massive room. There were shuttles lined up along each side, and everyone was running around, shouting orders, carrying boxes of supplies. It was busy; not frantic, but busy. We lined up, waiting for our orders. As the commander began reading out names, everything began to blur. I felt faint, like I was going to fall down and never wake up again. I closed my eyes tight, shook my head, and opened my eyes. I heard more names being called out. Come on, come on! I was agitated. Why don't you call my name? All of a sudden I heard it.

"Angela Wolf. USS Enterprise."

"What?" I said it a little louder than I meant to. The commander stared at me.

"Angela Wolf. USS Enterprise." He said, a bit slower. I stood there, dumbfounded. I wasn't sure how to feel. On the one hand, I was sort of disappointed. I was really hoping to be assigned to the Reacher. On the other hand, the Enterprise was one of the most incredible ships, and crew, in Starfleet history. And the fact that I was selected at all was a miracle. I stood there for a minute, not sure what to do.

"Miss Wolf?" I heard someone say behind me. I turned to see a young man standing there, a medical insignia on his chest. I recognized him, he was one of the cadets that had graduated last year. I was in his bio-research class. So, he made it to the enterprise, eh? Good for him. I smiled as he spoke, "I'm nurse McArthur. If you'll come with me, we'll board the Enterprise shortly."

The next few minutes were a haze. We sat in the shuttle, waiting for all the other crew members to board. I closed my eyes for a minute, trying to make the situation sink in. The Enterprise. Youngest in your class and you're assigned to the damn Enterprise. Good on you. I heard a loud thud and someone yelled "Dammit!" I opened my eyes, looking around to see what the commotion was. A man in medical uniform had apparently tripped over a young cadet's foot. "Sorry sir, really sorry," The cadet was apologizing.

"Yeah, don't mention it," The man replied. He sat down beside me, buckling up.

"Haven't got your space legs yet, huh?" I smiled at him. If you wanna make friends, better start trying now, I thought.

"Never have, never will," He replied. He extended his hand. "McCoy. Leonard McCoy. Chief medical officer."

"Holy shit," I said aloud. He smiled. "You're Doctor McCoy? I've heard a lot about you."

He frowned slightly and his eyes narrowed, "What have you heard?"

I laughed, "You don't want to know." He raised an eyebrow. I smiled to let him know I was joking. He looked at me for a second, and I knew he was trying to read me. He smiled, then turned away.

The shuttle had already filled up, and I was feeling more excited with each passing second. A blonde woman sat down beside me. "Hello." She smiled. "I'm Carol Marcus."

I smiled back. "Angela Wolf."

She gestured at the people sitting around us. "Well, cadet, you've certainly got a nice seat."

"Pardon?" I asked.

She laughed, "Well, you've sort of got the essence of the Enterprise here, right around you." She began introducing me to everyone.

"That's Commander Spock, first officer." I smiled at the Vulcan; he didn't smile back, but he nodded at me. "Lieutenant Uhura, communications officer. Commander Scott, chief engineer. Helmsman Sulu. Ensign Chekov. Dr McCoy you've already met." She smiled. "So. What are you? What's your job?"

"Extraterrestrial anthropology." I replied quickly.

"Vat's zat?" Ensign Chekov asked, arms folded as he knelt on his seat, leaning over the back of it to look at me.

"Archaeology, if you want to be specific. I study ancient alien civilizations." I answered. "But I also studied paleontology in school. So I'm qualified to study ancient alien life that doesn't have structured civilizations. The earth equivalent would be…dinosaurs. I study the ancient people of other planets, and I study the dinosaurs of space."

McCoy shook his head. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen." I answered.

"How many 17 year olds are we gonna let aboard this ship?" He said, "My God, it's gonna become an annual thing, isn't it?"

I hadn't even noticed the shuttle's engines turn on, but now it began to move. Sulu swatted Chekov in the arm, and Chekov turned around and slid into his seat. Scotty turned to face me.

"You ever seen a real life starship, lass?" He asked. I shook my head, and he smiled, "Well, brace yourself." Before I knew it the shuttle had left the station, and then I saw her. The Enterprise. She was massive, a city in space. There she was, big as life, and I was headed straight for her. My new home.

"Damn." I whispered. It was really all I could say. I might have thought of something poetic, something grand to say, if I wasn't so dumbstruck.

"Well, what do you think?" Scotty grinned at me.

"Better than the frickin Reacher, that's for sure." I said. I couldn't believe I had wanted to be on any starship besides this one.

"If you could describe her, in one word, what word would you use?" Scotty asked. I could tell he loved this, seeing how cadets reacted to the ship. To his ship.

I spoke quickly, saying the only word that came to mind.

"Magnificent."