Chapter One

She woke up to beeping. She rolled over and looked at the clock. 5:04 am. Who in their right minds would be calling at this hour? she thought. Then she checked the caller. Starfleet Headquarters. She groaned and thought, Great, my leave has finally come to an end. She grabbed a hairbrush and brushed her hair, then answered. "Yes?" she asked the caller.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize me. I'm Admiral Zackirya. And yes, I'm calling about your next assignment."

She stared at him. He must be able to read minds, she thought."You're… you're Admiral Zackirya? The head of the museum on Mars?"

"Yes, I am," he said, smiling.

"What is my next assignment, sir?" she asked.

"Lieutenant, your next assignment is at the Starfleet Ships of the Line Museum on Mars. You are required to report there by the end of next week," he said, and started to end the call, then paused. "Oh, and one more thing, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir?" she asked, slightly curious.

"The people who also work there might seem a bit secretive, but don't be suspicious. That's the way people there are when new people arrive. Once they get to know you, they will be less secretive."

"Yes, sir. I'll see you when I arrive." She cut the link, and decided that since she was up, she might as well get dressed.

Once she got dressed, she decided to get passage on a ship to Mars before she was due. It was surprisingly easy, once she showed the travel agent her Starfleet identichip.

So, three days before she was due at the Starfleet Museum on Mars, she took her hour long shuttle ride there. Fortunately, for her anyway, the shuttle was fairly empty.

When Juanita Paris Worf arrived at the Mars colony, she was amazed. She had seen pictures of the colony, but had never been there herself. She made her way to the museum with her belongings, which were very few. She had only two luggage bags.

Juanita entered the building, and headed over to the receptionist, planning on checking in with Admiral Zackirya.

The receptionist looked up. "How may I help you?" he asked.

"I just arrived and I told Admiral Zackirya that I would check in with him when I arrived." Juanita said.

The receptionist looked at her, with a serious face. "He's kind of busy right now. What's your name? Are you in Starfleet?"

"I am in Starfleet. My name is Juanita Paris Worf. My rank is Lieutenant," she answered proudly.

"You must be the new officer he was talking about. I'll call him to tell him that you're here." The receptionist then hit his combadge, connecting to the Admiral, and told him that Juanita was there. The Admiral's voice is heard, saying that he'll be down from his office in a few moments. "Would you like me to watch your bags until you leave, Lieutenant?"

Juanita smiled, and said, "Yes, thank you." She handed her bags over to him, just as Admiral Zackirya was going out through his door. He headed over to her when he saw that she was standing by the receptionist.

When he drew near, she went to attention. "As you were, Lieutenant." He gave the receptionist and Juanita a smile. "It's good to see that you've arrived safely, and early. In any case, would you like the grand tour of the museum?"

Juanita nodded. "Yes sir. It's a good idea."

"Alright, then. Let's get going, Lieutenant." He took her around the museum, showing her everything on display, where she would be working, showed her what she would be doing, and introduced her to everyone she would be working with. When they were done, Admiral Zackirya asked, "Any questions?"

Juanita said, "Yes, who do I report to?"

"Oh, you'll be reporting to Commander Sam Stevenson. Anything else?"

"No sir. That was everything I needed to know, sir."

"Alright then. I'll let you go to your new quarters and familiarize yourself with your new surroundings. Dismissed."

She headed back to the reception booth, where the receptionist gave her her luggage. "I'll see you when you start working here," he said, as she thanked him and they said good bye.

When Juanita arrived at her new quarters, it didn't take her all that long to unpack. She was quite comfortable in her new quarters, with nothing to bother her. She started to think about the receptionist. I might be able to really like that guy, she thought. He seemed friendly enough. She gazed out the window, and saw the sunset. She smiled, and headed out the door, so she could try one of the local restaurants.

As she was walking down the street to the nearest restaurant, after she realized just how hungry she was, she remembered how everyone there seemed to be very secretive. Juanita wondered what they were secretive about.

Before long, she was at the restaurant, which was an Italian restaurant. Hopefully they make good pizza, she thought. As she was going in, she ran into the receptionist from the museum, who was also going in.

"Oh! Hi! You're the new person, who came into the museum today aren't you?" he said.

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry, but I never found out your name," Juanita responded.

"It's Max, Max Fenbly. Would you like to join me for dinner?" he said.

"Okay," Juanita said. He sure is nice, she thought, as they headed inside together to find a place to sit down and eat.