Caitlyn Johnson attempted to steady her erratic breathing patterns as she watched the gigantic form of the USS Enterprise dominate her view from the small window she was sitting next to. Her hands gripped the armrests of her seat until her knuckles were white with the effort. The seatbelt strapped across her waist suddenly seemed too loose.

The idea of being sucked out into space didn't worry her. She wasn't afraid of the unknown. On the contrary, it was her curiosity and somewhat uncontrollable desire to explore the reaches of the universe that had literally driven her to join Starfleet. She loved her job. She just wished that she could be more confident in what she was doing. After all, only the top Cadets in her class, including herself, had been assigned to the Enterprise.

As the small shuttlecraft, filled to the brim with red-clad Starfleet Academy Cadets, docked with the imposing space station where the larger starships were also docked, a female voice announced directions over the intercom. Cate barely listened. She'd heard the instructions before they'd left the ground. In any case, her attention was still fixed on her assignment.

She filed out of the shuttle along with the other cadets, but made her way to the Enterprise alone. Cate almost preferred it that way, but even after her four years in the Academy the awestruck stares and dirty looks from across the hallways still made her want to run away and hide. It was hard to be alone.

Frustrated with herself for allowing her mind to drift over her lack of a social life, she returned her focus to her assignment. She kept her eyes forward and her chin held high as she waited in line to be beamed aboard the starship, observing her surroundings with the detached calm attitude she'd perfected while at the Academy and ignoring the whispers of the few other cadets in the area. At last, she allowed herself to relax as she stepped onto the illuminated platform of the teleporter and felt herself being systematically deconstructed and reconstructed at the same time as the machine did its job.

The change in light as she arrived to her assignment was dazzling, and it took Cate a few moments to re-orient herself and remember where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. Calmly asking permission to come aboard, she stepped off the platform and was directed to the engineering deck. As she made her way down the corridor to the elevator, she attempted to remember everything she'd learned about the Enterprise – a difficult task considering how many files and technical manuals she'd read over the years. Yet, nothing relevant seemed to come to her mind now that she was actually there.

With hands shaking in anticipation and nervousness, she pressed the button to close the doors. "Main Engineering," she directed, almost surprised when she began moving. She tried to imagine where she was in the ship, but without luck. Nerves were beginning to get the better of her.

It took the comforting hum of machinery and the lively bustle of the crew to bring her back to herself. She drew herself up to her full height and exited the elevator in time to hear the frustrated voice of James T. Kirk over the intercom.

"Mr. Scott, status report."

"If you're askin' about why you don't have visual on the bridge, sir, we're workin' on it just as fast as we can, Cap'n." A distinctly Scottish voice answered from not far away from where Cate was standing. She started looking for its source as soon as it reached her ears.

"Thank you, Scotty. Just checking." The frustration in the captain's voice had eased slightly, but it was obvious that he was trying overly hard to keep himself under control.

It didn't take Cate long to locate the very busy Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott. It did, however, take a while to get his attention with the way he was running around trying to find out what the problem was.

Irritated with the situation, she moved over to the nearest computer screen when Mr. Scott stopped for a moment to talk to one of his engineers. She pulled up the specs on the electrical connections to the Bridge and diagnosed the problem, then made her way to one of the main control panels closest to where she had been standing and got to work.

--- --- ---

Scotty was racking his brain for a solution to the problem on the Bridge when he noticed one of his cadets messing around with a control panel. He quickly made his way over to where she was working, curiously looking over her shoulder. She didn't respond to his presence, so he assumed she was extremely focused on what she was doing. He could have chuckled to himself over how seriously cadets took themselves these days. Seriously, the Academy should teach them how to laugh in addition to all the discipline. A starship was no place for an ego – at least, not for an ego any bigger than his own.

"Whatcha doin' there, Cadet?" he inquired, half-hoping to surprise her into noticing him.

She remained collected and calm as she answered. "It occurred to me, sir, that I would not be able to report for duty as long as the visual display on the Bridge was not functioning properly. So I decided to fix it, sir."

He paused, eyebrows knitting together in disbelief, attempting to take in what she was telling him. "Ya' decided to 'fix it'? How, exactly?"

"One of the electrical connections to the bridge was miswired. The result is a loss of visual data to the display on the Bridge. I bypassed that particular connection aannnddd…" she paused as she finished the job and, with a pleased expression on her face – one that only came from fixing a problem – turned to face her commanding officer just as the Captain's voice drifted from the comm, "Thank you, Scotty."

--- --- ---

Cate wished she knew what Mr. Scott was thinking at just that moment as a whirlwind of emotions played across his face. One moment he was confused, then angry, then curious, then dismissive, then… She lost track and hoped that she wasn't going to be kicked off the Enterprise after her first fifteen minutes onboard.

"What's your name, Cadet?" he asked, his facial expression settling on something like immense curiosity.

"Caitlyn Johnson, sir." She paused for a moment, then decided to go on. "Reporting for duty."

"You've done a bit more than report, Mister Johnson. Where did you learn to do that?"

"The computer had already located the faulty connection, sir. All I did was respond. Did I do something wrong, sir?" She raised an eyebrow in question, still wondering what he was going to do.

"I have nearly a hundred and fifty engineers down here trying to get ready to go and fix that problem and you're the only one who gets it on her first try?"

"Apparently, sir. I apologize for –"

"No need to apologize, Mister. May I ask if this is your first assignment?"

"It is, sir."

He paused to think. Cate continued to wait. "I'd like to see you in my quarters as soon as everything gets settled," he told her, his tone decisive.

"Of course, sir."

He nodded and started to walk away, then paused. "Oh, Cadet?"

"Yes, sir?"

He smiled. "If any more problems like that crop up, go ahead and fix them, please. Just tell me when you're done."

Cate smiled back and nodded smartly. For once, she had done something right and no one had gotten pissed about it. All in all, she began to feel optimistic that she might be able to fit in at least a little bit on the Enterprise.