Maia O'Brian stood on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise: she had made it; she had passed through the academy and scored herself a job as the new Ensign onboard Starfleet's greatest ship, and she was only just about to turn eighteen.

She had only just arrived onboard the ship, and had been brought up to the Bridge by the captain to be introduced to the rest of the crew, who had all been assembled on the Bridge for the occasion.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Kirk. "I'd like to welcome onboard our new ensign, Miss O'Brian."

"Hello," said O'Brian somewhat shyly.

"Montgomery Scott," said Scotty as he stepped forwards, hand outstretched.

O'Brian shook his hand, replying with, "Good to meet you, Mr Scott."

"Everyone calls me Scotty," he responded. "So feel free to follow the crowd."

"Okay," laughed O'Brian. She decided that she liked Scotty. He seemed kind.

"I am Mr Spock," said Spock. He stepped forwards as he spoke, but didn't offer his hand as Scotty had done.

The Captain had already told O'Brian about Spock, so she simply nodded her head in acknowledgement, saying, "Pleased to meet you."

"I'm McCoy," said the doctor. "Call me Bones."

"Bones," said O'Brian. "Mr Bones."

"Just Bones," said McCoy. "I'm just Bones around here."

Bones had created an awkward pause in the conversation, and after a moment the Captian broke it, saying, "Ah, O'Brian," as he pointed towards a young man standing almost behind the rest of the crew and said, "This is Chekov, he's also an Ensign."

The young man stepped forwards from his position of obscurity as O'Brian greeted him.

"Hello, Mees O'Brian," he said. "It's nice to meet you."

O'Brian was taken off guard by the strong accent with which the man spoke. "Oh, Mr Chekov, are you Russian?" she asked.

"Yes, Mees," he replied, smiling broadly.

"Do you speak Russian?" she asked.

" Da, miss, ya govoryu na russkom" he said, grinning even more.

"Translation?" laughed O'Brian.

"I said `Yes, Miss, I do speak Russian`," he replied, laughing a little himself.

"You'll have to teach me a few phrases," smiled O'Brian.

"If you weesh," said Chekov cheerily.

O'Brian nodded, and Chekov stepped back into his original position, creating a contented pause in the conversation.

"I'm Nyota Uhura," said a woman to the right of O'Brian.

"Oh," said O'Brian. She hadn't even noticed the woman. "Nice to meet you, Miss Uhura."

"And you," said the woman, smiling.

Captain Kirk then began to pull more people forwards until O'Brian had officially been introduced to the whole crew. She took a moment to appreciate the diversity of the crew: there were humans from various different countries - Scotty and Chekov, for example - alongside people like Spock, of completely different races.

After the introductions were complete, the Captain suggested that Scotty should show O'Brian to her new quarters. He took her bag from her and began to show her down corridors.

"The ship's huge," O'Brian commented, almost absentmindedly.

"You get used to it," laughed Scotty. "I suppose you're feeling like the new kid at school right now, eh?"

"Pretty much!" laughed O'Brian. "It's crazy."

"How old are you, anyway?" asked Scotty.

"I'll be eighteen in a month," replied O'Brian.

"You're like Chekov," he said. "Chekov joined the Enterprise crew just after he turned seventeen. Youngest ensign we've ever had... A genius, that boy is."

"Wow," said O'Brian. "I... I hear Spock's a bit of a genius too."

"Spock's a Vulcan," began Scotty. "He's a creature of logic. Logic this, logic that... That's how it is with Spock. Nobody quite understands how he's got a girlfriend."

"He's got a girlfriend?" asked O'Brian.

"Aye!" exclaimed Scotty. "Uhura, no less!"

"Well, I wouldn't have expected that," said O'Brian, shaking her head a little incredulously.

"Aye, well, that's life on the Enterprise... Full of surprises," said Scotty. "We're nearly at your room now."

"Thanks for helping out, Mr Scott," said O'Brian.

"Please, 'Mr Scott' is fine when we're on the job, but you don't have to bother with 'Mister' when we're off shift," he said. "I'd tell you to call me Montgomery but, Hell, there's not a soul on this ship who does!"

"So, Scotty then?" asked O'Brian.

"Aye," said Scotty.

"You can call me Maia, I have a feeling that I'm going to get sick of my surname after a while." said O'Brian, smiling.

"Ye get used to that too!" laughed Scotty. "Oh, here we are."

"Ah!" exclaimed O'Brian as she pushed open the unlocked door. Inside, the room contained a large bed, a desk and chair, a tall chest of drawers and a set of shelves on the wall. Everything was a clean, bright white.

"Everyone's room's pretty much the same, except Kirk's," said Scotty. "He's got special quarters, what with being the captain and all."

"Makes sense," she commented, looking around her new room.

"Anyway, there's spare uniforms and bed sheets in the drawers, as well as standard-issue blankets and pyjamas and such," said Scotty. "The rest of the space is yours to fill with whatever personal bits and pieces you've brought along."

"Thanks, Scotty," smiled O'Brian.

"Not a problem, Maia," he replied. "If you need anything, come looking for me and I'll do what I can for you."

"Alright," she smiled.

"Everyone gets up at six thirty, on a regular morning," said Scotty. "Tomorrow, you'll get up as usual, but you're not getting stuck into work until the day after."

"Why don't I have to work tomorrow?" she asked.

"You get the day to explore the ship. Get your bearings and such," he said. "If you find me while I'm on my break, I'll show you some interesting places onboard."

"Thanks," smiled O'Brian. "Should I go back to the bridge now?"

"Don't bother, it's almost quitting time," said Scotty, after looking at the digital clock. "You could always unpack your stuff."

"Alright," she said.

"Need a hand?" he offered.

"I'm alright," she smiled. "But thanks for everything."

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "Enjoy your first night on the ship."

"Will do," O'Brian smiled.

Scotty made for the door of the room. He turned around, just before he left.

"Welcome to the Enterprise, Miss O'Brian," he grinned, and with that, he closed the door behind him.

Maia laughed to herself for a moment before opening her standard-issue suitcase that she had been given to fill with personal belongings and began rummaging through her possessions. She looked around her room and realised that it was now her home... That this huge spaceship was her home. It was an intimidating prospect, but she was excited.

She began to busy herself with unpacking, before climbing into her new bed and waiting for sleep to come.

Well, that's the first chapter. I hope it wasn't completely horrific... That's all I have to say about it at the moment, but I'm working on the second chapter. Stay tuned!