OK, so this is a new venture of mine... I'm using some prompts, which will form the title of each new chapter. This, I hope, will help me keep chapters flowing with new ideas while following a basic plotline. I'm using Star Trek once again (yay) as I have to admit it is one of my favourite fandoms to write in and after spending over 18 months writing Harry Potter, I need a change! I've not abandoned the other stories I have, I just need a change from time to time.

Let me know what you think - I'm also trying to write longer chapters as well, though we shall see how that goes.

Thanks

Lu

The urge to throw the alarm clock across the floor was almost too much to resist. Curling an arm from beneath the covers, Marla hit the snooze button and willed herself back into the comforting space between consciousness and dreaming. Just five more minutes, five more and she'd haul herself out of bed and into the shower. She pulled her hand back under the blanket and let out a sigh, comfortable in her haze of slumber.

Minutes later, the damned thing went off again and she sat up with a moan. Pressing the button on the top of it, the high pitched beep ceased. She ran a hand over her face, pushed fine red strands from her face and swung her feet from the bed. Rising, it was a short trip to the bathroom and into the shower. The moment the cool water hit her warm skin, Marla began to feel more awake. After another ten minutes, she knew she was ready to face the day. Standing in front of the mirror, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and looked herself in the eyes, "You are good enough and you can do this." The same words she spoke to herself every day. She'd have thought that lecturing history to top Starfleet graduates would have gotten easier over time but she found that it wasn't the case. Maybe it was more habit than anything else these days, still, sometimes the nerves gripped her just before a lecture and left her throat dry and her heart pounding.

As soon as she was ready, she stepped into her comfortable lecturer's uniform – red and pulled on her boots. She never understood why teachers had to wear the same uniform as the rest of Starfleet but at least she didn't have to pay for it herself. Descending the stairs, she nodded to her housemate, Rowyn as she passed the kitchen, "There's coffee," he said. That pulled her back and she stuck her head around the door. Checking the clock on the wall, she let out a sigh.

"Have to take it to go," she said. He opened a cupboard and pulled out one of her many portable cups. Crossing the room, she poured some of the freshly ground liquid into it and gave his arm a pat, "Thanks."

He shrugged off her compliment and she returned her journey to the outside world. As soon as she opened the door, bright sunshine flooded in, making her recoil slightly. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a pair of sunglasses and slipped them on. There was no way she would be able to see where she was driving with this bright light. She even considered taking the shuttle for a moment but dismissed the idea as ridiculous. Unlocking her vehicle, she was on her way to the lecture theatre in moments.

Despite the fact it was rush hour on a Monday morning, the roads were surprisingly clear. She managed to arrive at the hall and be in her office at least fifteen minutes earlier than she had hoped. The large stack of papers on her desk told her that taking the weekend off really hadn't been such a great idea and she shook her head. Removing her jacket, she placed it on the hook and settled into her comfortable chair. No sooner had she pulled the first of the papers in front of her, there was a tap at the door. Resisting the temptation to roll her eyes, she called for whoever it was to enter.

The door opened and in the opening stood her partner in crime, Abbi. Her blonde bob nodded as she sauntered into the room and she sank into the chair on the opposite side of the desk, "You still have your sunglasses on you know," Abbi said. Marla hastily yanked them from her face and shook her head.

"It's not what it looks like," she replied with a smirk. Taking a sip of her coffee made he realise that the gesture would make it look exactly like it. Abbi raised both slender eyebrows and shook her head.

"So, how did it go?"

"What?"

"The big date dummy!" Of course, how did she expect to get away with not telling her about that? Marla let out a sigh and placed her cup back onto her desk. She hardly wanted to recall the events of Friday night. Letting out a small sigh, she ran a hand over her face and shook her head.

"Disastrous." A look of confusion crossed Abbi's face and the blond tilted her head a little.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, he was nice enough but…" she gave a shrug. She could hardly tell her best friend that her friend had the manners of an animal and was only interested in talking about how many matches he had won in his youth. She'd been bored to tears within minutes and had to endure watching him chew his food with an open mouth. She supressed a shudder and gave a weak smile.

"I know what you mean, Dan can be… well, Dan." Abbi said as though this explained everything. She gave her another weak smile and shook her head.

"I'll not be seeing him again anyway," she said, "How about you?" she asked turning the conversation to her friend's weekend rather than hers. Abbi waved her hand before picking up one of the model ships on her desk and turning it over.

"Nothing exciting," Abbi said as she replaced the ship. "Roll on the next one, at least we all get an extra day off." Marla nodded as her friend spoke and found herself wishing she'd leave her to mark the papers that were still on her desk gathering dust. A pang of guilt shot through her at the thought, Abbi was her friend and she was only trying to be helpful. She didn't offer any other part of the conversation however and her friend took the hint. She kicked the chair back and rose, "I've got to get to the lecture hall over the other side, I should probably leave you to it."

"I've got these to grade and my first class is in about an hour." Marla looked up and pulled a bit of a face, "Perhaps I'll see you at lunch?"

"If I can get through the morning," Marla replied with a smile that was almost genuine.

"Oh, I actually came to give you this," Abbi said as she stood up. "The top brass are here today. I don't know all the details but it's something about a new research project that's come up." She dropped an envelope onto her desk with a shrug, "I'll see you later." With that, she turned and left the office. The moment she was gone Marla picked up the cream coloured letter and tore into it. The officials at headquarters rarely visited the academy so this was something of note. The letter however, gave no further details of what they were looking for so she placed it to one side and continued marking the papers.

When the old fashioned wind-up clock on the wall struck the half hour, she pushed the stack away and got to her feet. At some point over the last hour, she'd drained her coffee and found she missed it. Letting out a sigh, she picked up her PADD and headed to the lecture theatre that would be hers right up until lunchtime. It was a short walk to the theatre and as soon as she was there, she began connecting up her PADD to the projectors. She was going to show her students some stills of early 1900's England and ask them to see how it related to the modern world. The images showed the first cars and she hoped they would be able to make some connections.

The first of her students entered the hall and sauntered to the front of the theatre, "Morning Ms. McGivers," she said as she settled into one of the seats. She filled a glass of water ready for the lecture before she answered.

"Hello Angela," she nodded. As soon as everything was connected up, she rested on the lectern and waited for the rest of her students to arrive. Slowly, they began filtering into the hall and taking their seats. Most of them looked half asleep and she sighed inwardly, hopefully this lecture wouldn't be as painful as pulling teeth, especially if the officials dropped in to observe her. She pushed that particularly nerve wracking thought to the back of her mind and clapped her hands together. It was time to begin.

When the lecture theatre had quietened and the students were all ready to start, she flicked on the overhead and indicated the picture there. She had them discussing the key points in the image with each other first before wanting to take opinions. Leaving it a few more minutes, she sipped her water and eavesdropped on some of the discussions. One was focused around the lines running over one of the street, wondering what they were for. Another had picked up on the elaborate and totally impractical design of some of the buildings, typical Vulcan observation. The door at the back of the hall slid open and a couple of official looking personnel slipped into the back of the room.

"Alright class, let's bring this together for some discussion then," she said after clearing her throat. Everyone listened for a change and she let herself relax, "What does this image tell you? T'Kir's group, start us off please," she added indicating the Vulcan.

"We mainly discussed the concept of early modern buildings. The ornate details seem superfluous and illogical. Surely a simple building would have been easier to construct." His argument was sound and she turned to the rest of the group to see if they had a rebuttal.

"The British Empire was at its height in the very early 1900's" she said, "What does that tell you about these buildings?"

"It was a show of strength," It was Talli who spoke, "They wanted everyone to know who had the most wealth, the most power so they designed buildings to remind everyone who was in charge." Marla nodded as the young woman explained herself.

"This was typical of the time period; the twentieth century was littered with such primitive shows of dominance." Angela said, "Right through from the Great War all the way to the Eugenics War in the late 1990's."

"Why do you think that is?" Marla heard herself asking. Her student's had a way of derailing what it was they were supposed to be discussing but when an idea caught them, she found it difficult to steer them back onto the right path.

"Earth, and the human race, was totally different to what it is now. Instead of the unified alliance we currently have, it was divided up into countries, each with their own governments. It was like having a lot of tribes all fighting against each other for their piece of land. Until we learned to get along, nothing great was going to be achieved," David said. Marla frowned at that, she wasn't sure she agreed with the statement entirely, sure, Earth had been torn by war but that didn't mean the time didn't have its merits either.

"A little harsh in my opinion however, it's a tough question to answer, I think we'll have your thoughts to that in the form of a paper, to be delivered by next session, however, I'd like us to move on to another point the photograph raises. If you want to look at the politics of the twentieth century, I do run a course in the second semester." There were a couple of laughs at the shameless self-plugging of her course and she only smiled. "This one is entitled The History of Transportation for a reason."

After that, the conversation steered in a more appropriate direction and the discussion of the early car flowed freely. She also explained that a lot of early twentieth century cities made use of trams, thus explaining the wires seen in the image. The conversation flowed to the ever adapting design of the car and before she knew it, the bell was sounding and the class was at an end. "Before you go, I want you to write a report on what you think is the biggest upgrade the car has seen and why. On my desk for next Monday morning please," she said as her students began to pack their things away.

"What about the paper on the merits of the twentieth century politics?" T'Kir asked.

"It's not really what this course covers but if you want to submit something, I will happily read it." Marla said. Some of the students sighed with relief but some of them exchanged eager glances as they filed out the room. Marla took another sip of water, draining the glass and placed it in the washer. She hadn't noticed the Starfleet Officials leave and was unsure whether this was a good thing or not. Hopefully, they would leave her alone from now on.

Gathering her things, Marla began making her way back to her office. The sun had settled behind some clouds and a chill had picked up in the air. It made her feel a little daft for wearing sunglasses but her hands were too full to remove them. As soon as she pushed into her office, she set her things down and relaxed into her chair again. She was due to hold office hours that afternoon and although she couldn't leave the room, it meant that she would be able to finally get those papers marked.

Lunch came and went. Abbi sent her a message on her PADD but she was more focused on getting caught up than meeting with her friend. The first of her students came for a quick meeting regarding one of the assignments that would be due at the end of the semester and she gave her as many tips as she could. Perhaps too many but she wanted all her students to do well.

At about three, there was another tap at the door and she looked up from the last of the papers, "Come in," she called, looking down again. The sound of multiple feet entering the room had her looking up and she frowned. It would seem that her wish to be left alone was going to go unheeded for the moment. In her room were three of the officials who had observed her teaching earlier. "Can I help you?" she asked. The frown deepened as the three shuffled in and settled on the other side of her desk. Two men and a woman quickly made themselves at home and she forced her breathing to settle down.

"I hope so," said the first one. He was a man in what appeared to be his mid-fifties. The last shreds of youth had not quite left him but it was clear they were on their way out. His once flat stomach was beginning to run to fat and his hair was clearly thinning, "My name is David Carter." She'd heard the name, "I'm the head of the Historical Research Division."

"Pleased to meet you," she said extending her hand across the table. He smiled and shook it gently.

"Your lecture this morning was most interesting," he said.

"Thank you. I try to push the boundaries of my students understanding but it doesn't always work. Sometimes, we get derailed, as you saw earlier," she replied as she sat back. She wondered where this was going and she flicked her eyes from David to the other two silent partners in the room.

"We're rather glad you did in fact." This time, it was the woman who spoke. Her blond hair was pulled into a rather severe bun and her blue eyes were cold.

"A rather unique opportunity had arisen within Starfleet and we're looking for a historian with a flair for the twentieth century." David said. Marla's frown began to evaporate; now she was interested.

"Oh?" she asked as she pushed back stray bits of red hair.

"It is a unique opportunity to examine some new found first hand evidence surrounding the events of the Eugenic Wars. You'll work in close partnership with other members of Star Fleet on cataloguing the findings." David said. The woman behind him snorted a little and wrinkled her nose. A strange reaction but she dismissed it out of hand, more interested in the details of this assignment.

"New evidence? In the shape of what?" she asked. David motioned for the third person to step forward.

"My colleague, Roland, has a few more details about it."

Roland was a tall, thin fellow with dark sunken eyes and sallow skin, "Most of the details around the assignment are classified and as such we are unable to discuss them until the candidate has been chosen. I can tell you that these accounts that have been found are mostly in the guise of conversations and transcripts," he said.

"And what would my role be in this?" she asked. Her heart had begun to pound at the thought of being able to conduct research. No more teaching students to fund half-baked projects that would get nowhere. Maybe she'd even be able to publish a book on the subject. Literature on the Eugenics Wars was thin on the ground due to most of the accounts of it being destroyed at its conclusion. It had taken years for Earth to recover from the damage done and what little was known was mostly conjecture.

"You'll be working in a top secret facility outside San Francisco, where you will stay during the week, living alongside some of the other researchers within the complex; I can't say more than this until you've decided what to do." Roland said. Marla nodded and turned her gaze back to David.

"I know we're being sparse with the details but we'd really like you to join the team." David said. "Bennett here will be your contact regarding the matter."

"What about my job here?"

"We'll cover it, don't worry, the students will be fine." Bennett said. Marla nodded, her mind struggling to take in all the information.

"It's rather a lot to think about, how long do I have to decide?" she asked.

"As soon as possible would be best, however, I understand it is a big decision to make. We'll leave our contact details with you; take some time to think about it." David said with a warm smile.

"By the end of the week would be best," Bennett said. Her words wiped away all the residual friendliness that David had set up but Marla found that she didn't mind all that much. The opportunity they were offering seemed to be rather a good one and it would mean getting away from teaching too.

"Thank you," she said as her mind began to whirr. The three of them all nodded and rose to leave. David extended his hand once more and she took it in hers, giving it a firm shake.

"I do hope to hear from you soon Ms McGivers, you'd be a real asset to the team," he said. With that, he turned and followed his colleagues out of the room, leaving her to her thoughts.

The proposal floated around her mind for the rest of the day, and was still swimming when she drove home that night. Rowyn was relaxing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and a book when she arrived and threw her bag onto the table with a sigh. She poured herself a brew and lingered in the doorway, unable to leave the room just yet, "What is it?" Rowyn asked looking up from his book.

"I had a rather odd offer for a job today," she said.

"Oh?"

"It all sounds rather good but I'm not sure, perhaps a bit too good to be true really." Marla explained as she sat opposite her friend. He leaned his elbows on the table and flicked sandy hair from his face, waiting for her to continue. She gave a brief outline of what she was told earlier by David as she sipped her coffee. When she repeated it all, it sounded even better than it had earlier. The chance to learn of an almost unknown part of history was tempting and as she voiced her thoughts to Rowyn, she realised her mind was already made up.

"It sounds fantastic Marla," Rowyn said. "What's the problem?"

"I don't know," she sighed and shook her head a little, "It's a huge change, I'll spend nearly all my time in the secure facility and I really have no idea why. They won't tell me until I sign up so I have to make the decision without all the information," she pulled a face at the idea and he laughed.

"Must be a difficult thing for you," he said. She gave a shrug and nodded.

"I don't like to just charge ahead without knowing all the facts but I think I'm going to do this anyway. It's too good an opportunity to miss out on." She rose from the chair and placed her cup in the sink. "I'm going to give them a call. Tell them I accept."

"Do what you need to," Rowyn said with a warm smile. She returned the gesture, thankful that she had someone to talk with about such things. Leaving him where he was, she headed to her room upstairs to make the call. Holding the communicator in her hand, her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for the answer.

As soon as she heard David's voice, she forced herself to relax and explained that she would accept the offer. His enthusiastic response was what she had hoped for. He assured her that she would be the right one for the job, "I just hope you're up for the challenge, we need you to come and sign some papers before we can proceed however."

"I am out of class all afternoon tomorrow, I can meet you then," she said.

"Perfect, come by the faculty of historical records at about two tomorrow and we'll go through the details." David said. The conversation ended and she flipped the communicator shut, a tremor running through her at the thought of her new adventure. It was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome. She placed the communicator on the side of her table and sighed, wondering what she would learn during the meeting tomorrow afternoon.