Hope you enjoy this first chapter. I have a "different" sense of humor, so please bear with me. Also bear with me the fact that Lieutenant Marshall is only fifteen years old, so she's going to act a bit like a teenager.
If you need convincing that there are crewmembers Lieutenant Marshall's age, watch the episode Charlie X. The girl Yeoman Rand introduces to him is seventeen. So there.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Celebration
Lieutenant Linea Marshall sighed heavily and leaned back in her chair. Her shift was over, and she was officially on lunch break. So was half the bridge crew. They had been gone for over a half hour, and Jim Kirk had kept her and Chekov late to finish up some extra reports. She relaxed for a moment and unclipped her hair, so it fell free around her shoulders.
Behind her, she heard the Captain clear his throat. "Uh, Lieutenant Marshall…"
Linea immediately jumped to her feet. "Yes sir!"
"Your, uh, hair."
"Sir?" Suddenly she realized what he was getting at and pulled her brown hair back into a bun. Drat! Not regulation.
Jim Kirk nodded and smiled. "Thanks."
"No problem, sir."
She spotted Chekov just as he was getting into the turbolift and dashed inside just as the doors whisked shut.
"Join me for lunch, Ensign?" she asked.
He grinned. "I tought you vould newer ask!"
Linea smiled back. Chekov was one of her best friends. "Computer, deck 7." The turbolift whizzed down the shaft.
Ensign Chekov had been the first to befriend Lieutenant Marshall when she was transferred from the Farragut a year ago. Young and on her own, Linea had been thought of as cold when she would avoid all other crewmembers because she was finding it hard to adjust to life on a new ship. It was Chekov who had always been the friendliest to her, and she soon came to enjoy the company of her logical commanding officer, Commander Spock, and the rest of the crew.
Linea let Chekov off first and stepped out. "Well, here we are – the Mess Hall." They walked in and found their replication cards. "Pizza for me today, Chekov. How 'bout you?" Chekov got in line for the nearest replicator. She joined him.
"Borscht – nice and hot. Classic Russian dish."
"Oh, you mean vegetable stew." The lieutenant joked, her brown eyes sparkling in amusement.
"Nyet, I mean borscht. Vas inwented in Russia!"
Linea rolled her eyes as Chekov turned to get his lunch. "All right, you win."
They found two empty seats by a window and sat down to eat. Lieutenant Marshall glanced at the clock above the door as she took her first bite and bit down on her tongue. She cringed in pain. Oh man, it's ten past thirteen hundred! I'm due back at thirteen fifteen! "I wonder if Spock would mind if I took a few minutes extra…" She said aloud.
"Huh?" Chekov questioned. Suddenly his eyes widened and he quickly said, "Nyet, I dun't tink he vould."
Linea narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What is it, Chekov?"
"Nuting – it is nuting!" He stood up and walked hurriedly toward the door. Lieutenant Marshall went after him.
"Come on, Chekov, spill!"
"Spill vhat?" He went out the door and ran down the hall, toward the turbolift.
Linea ran after him. "You know what I mean!"
Ensign Chekov managed to get into the turbolift and close the doors just as she was about to get in. She skidded to a halt just in time. "Chekov!" she shouted. What's going on around here? Suddenly things began to click. The Captain had been edgy all morning, and Spock had seemed eager for her to take lunch break – but, why had the time gone so fast? Unless… they dismissed the rest of the bridge crew for lunch earlier than the real lunch break time? That didn't make sense. Captain Kirk had kept her and Chekov late after lunch dismissal.
The doors opened to the turbolift and she stepped in. "Bridge."
A moment later the doors whisked open and the bridge filled with "Surprise! Happy Anniversary!"
Lieutenant Marshall's face went blank. "Huh? I'm not married!"
"It's your anniversary on the Enterprise, Lieutenant!" Sulu said from the crowd. Her face lit up with excitement.
"Aye, you've been 'ere for a year now." It was Scotty's turn to speak up.
Uhura smiled at her. "Happy anniversary, Linea."
Even Doctor McCoy seemed [somewhat] happy. He elbowed Spock. "Well, you pointy–eared Vulcan, say 'Happy anniversary'. It's the human thing to do."
Spock dipped his head to Lieutenant Marshall. "I am pleased that you have remained with the ship, Lieutenant. You are an excellent assistant."
"Thanks, Commander." Linea replied.
"Well, are we going to cut the cake or not?" Captain Kirk voiced, standing by the navigation/helm console. He was holding a cake cutter in one hand and a plate in the other.
So Chekov cut the cake and the bridge crew partied and danced all during the next shift. Scotty surprised everyone with a disco ball he had installed earlier, and after that the party took off for the moon. Everyone had a great time, drank punch, ate cake, and danced until one o'clock in the morning.
Finally the party broke up. Lieutenant Marshall was thoroughly exhausted; she wasn't used to keeping such late hours. It was against Starfleet regulation, but regulations seemed to be optional for the Enterprise.
"I think I'm going to turn in," Linea said and dismissed herself. She went into the turbolift. Spock and Captain Kirk made their way in too. "Decks 2, 3, and 5."
"Did you enjoy the party, Lieutenant?" Spock inquired.
Linea nodded and yawned. "Yes, sir." The doors to the turbolift opened to deck 2. "See ya'll in the morning."
"Good night, Lieutenant."
"Sleep well Linea."
The lieutenant staggered down the empty hall and for a brief moment wondered if Scotty had spiked the punch to add a little "extra jolliness" to the party. A small calico cat greeted her at the door of her quarters, meowing frantically.
"Oh, hi, Princess."
"Mrreow!"
She sleepily scooped some cat food into Princess's dish and changed out of her uniform. And just as she was about to collapse into bed, the lieutenant saw a small white envelope on the desk beside her turned on a light and read the envelope, "Happy Anniversary to the Best Friend Ever". Wonder who this is from…
For a moment she was inclined to logically figure it out, as her commanding officer would have done. But Doctor McCoy's words that occurred during a McCoy vs. Marshall debate still echoed in her mind. "Just like Spock, you think you are. I think that logic of his is rubbing off on you, just like Chekov."
Lieutenant Marshall tore open the letter and read it aloud.
"Your gift from me is a big surprise
I can't wait to see it in your eyes
You haven't seen me in a year
Go to the closet; I'll be waiting here"
Pretty good poetry. Linea thought to herself as she stood and walked to the closet, reading the next stanza at the same time.
"My hair is blonde
My eyes are green
I always have liked tangerines
If you still can't guess who I am
Open the closet; here I stand"
Suddenly she realized who the anonymous person was. She threw open the closet doors and gleefully yelled, "Jamie!"
"Linea!"
The two lieutenants, one in blue and one in gold, hugged each other tightly and then faced each other, smiling joyfully.
"Oh Jamie, how are you? How'd you convince Captain Warren to let you off the Farragut? And a second grade lieutenant at that!" The two friends sat together on Linea's sofa.
Jamie chuckled. "Well, you still outrank me – you're first grade. Anyways, your Captain Kirk had to pull several strings to get me a short leave here."
"But– but Jim doesn't know what close friends we are! How'd he find out?" She snapped her fingers in realization. "I told Spock once about my friends in Starfleet Academy and on the old ship. And he remembered that for me…" She suddenly had a new understanding about her half–Vulcan, half–human commandant.
"Yep." Lieutenant Jamie nodded. "Spock got it from you, Captain Kirk got it from Spock, and I got the whole bit of news from Captain Kirk."
Linea shook her head and laughed. "You know, I should have figured something like this would happen on my first year anniversary. The crew is always surprising somebody with something awesome on their yearly anniversary." For a moment her face sobered. "Of course, there's the time Commander Lawrence got his mother–in–law, but–"
"I'm surely not that awful!" Jamie joked. "So, how's the Enterprise?"
"Awesome. Let me tell you, Jamie, it can be mayhem around here sometimes, but I wouldn't trade it for the galaxy. Everyone is so friendly – except for Doctor McCoy. He's so grouchy! And he's always insulting Spock. Can't stand the man." She was about to go off on a tangent when Jamie interrupted.
"Uh, Linea, it's one forty five in the morning. I'd love to hear all your stories now, but do you mind laying 'em on me after a full night's sleep?" Jamie gave a rather large yawn to emphasize her point.
Linea paused her speech. "Oh, oh sure! I forgot how early it is. Did Captain Kirk assign you a room?"
Jamie nodded. "Yeah, I've got one right down the hall. He told me exactly how to get to it. See you in the morning!"
"Sure thing – bright and early."
The two friends said goodbye at the door of Lieutenant Marshall's quarters. Jamie went to leave, then turned around. "Oh, and the Captain wanted me to tell you that you've got the day off tomorrow."
"All right. See you tomorrow."
The door whisked shut. Linea went to her desk and pulled out a small green card. "Tomorrow is going to be the best day ever."
_
I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1: Celebration. I promise The Lieutenant will get into the usual missions and that sort of thing after Jamie leaves (after the next two chapters). The first three chapters are just sort of introducing Lieutenant Marshall and her background/past adventures.
I try to load another chapter in two days.
~Ecilya