Chapter 1

"Lieutenant Aria Swenson, reporting as ordered, sir," the young Lieutenant, junior grade stated as she stood in front of Captain Zolercan who remained seated at his desk. Aria was unsure of why she had been summoned to his office on her day off.

He looked up from his work on his desk. "Lieutenant, it seems we have a bit of a problem."

"Sir, I am not exactly sure what you mean," she said bewildered. Aria was unaware of anything out of the ordinary.

"It seems that Starfleet wants to take away your position here."

"Captain, I do not understand…" She could feel her face flush and her knees weakening with the thought that she was in trouble, possibly career threatening.

"Do not interrupt me, Lieutenant," he said sternly then softened just a tiny bit. "Starfleet, in their wisdom and much to my dismay, have transfered you to the Enterprise as their interpreter and filling the newly created protocol officer position. Oh and in addition they are promoting you to Lieutenant. Congratulations, Lieutenant. Here is a copy of your transfer orders. The Enterprise will be docking here in three days to re-supply and to pick up new crew members, which now includes you." He handed the file with the transfer orders to the bewildered Lieutenant.

"Thank you, sir. I really don't know what to say. I really thought I was in serious trouble."

"You will be missed, good luck." Captain Zolercan shook her hand, still amazed with the news.

"Thank you, sir. I will not let Starfleet down."

"You better not. This is an amazing opportunity for you. If your performance on here on Starbase 12 is any indication of how well you will serve Starfleet, I think the Enterprise will be well taken care of. That will be all, Lieutenant."

Aria saluted him and left his office. She was completely amazed with the transfer she held in her hands. Everyone knew about the new position and that she had applied for it months ago on a long shot. Never in a million years did she think that Starfleet would give her the position because she was only a Lieutenant, Junior Grade. Their must had been other, more qualified applicants for the position.

The whole way back to her quarters, it felt like her feet never touched the deck beneath her. She kept looking at her transfer papers, checking to make sure the Captain had been correct and that she really was going to be on board Starfleet's flagship in a few days time. Inside her quarters, her roommate, Celeste, was waiting to hear why she had been called to see the Captain.

"So, what did old Zoly want?" Celeste asked impatiently.

"You will never believe it. Do you remember the position I applied for several months ago?"

"The one on the Enterprise?" she replied, eyes widening and sitting up straight on her bunk.

"See for yourself," Aria said as she handed over the file the Captain had given her.

"I can't believe it. The Enterprise. Oh, Aria, no one deserves it more than you."

"Thanks. I leave in three days."

"That soon?"

"Yeah, you'll have to visit me."

"That sounds good. Things won't be the same without you around here. We've had our share of fun."

"Yes, we have," Aria, said, thinking back to some of their adventures over the past three years.

"We have to celebrate tonight. Let's go to the canteen for a drink."

"Sure, I just want to send a message to my mother and let her know the good news." Aria sent off a quick message to her mother, who was on her way to the planet Brill. The two women quickly changed their clothes and headed out to the station's bar.

Two hours later, the canteen was full of station staff. The loud impromptu party was in full swing, celebrating Aria's promotion and transfer. All of her friends were very happy for her, but were sad to see her go. Eventually, they insisted, that Aria say a few words.

Two crew members helped her on top of a table so that she could address the group. "I just want to say to everyone, that I will miss all of you when I leave Starbase 12 in a few days. It has been a great three years and I wish the best for every single one of you in the future. The memories made here will stay with me always. Tonight reminds me how much I will cherish the time I spent here. Thank you for your friendship. I hope to see you all again." She raised her glass to the crowd below her and drank to them. Everyone cheered very loudly.

Later that evening, Lieutenant Carl Tompson from engineering, came up to her.

"Aria, I can't believe that you are leaving us so soon," he said standing very close to her, looking very confident with a drink in hand.

"I am still in shock." She felt that he was getting too close to her and was feeling uncomfortable with the situation. He had the reputation on the station to be quite a player. Aria had found him physically attractive and initially though a relationship with him would be nice, but now she knew his reputation she had no intention in becoming another 'notch in his belt'. He had not made so much as a pass at her during the three years she had been stationed there, until that night.

"Yeah, listen Aria, since you are leaving in a few days, would you like to go out to dinner or something before you ship out?"

Laughing, she had been waiting for this moment since she figured out his true motive for her companionship. "So, Carl, it takes me getting transferred to the Enterprise for you to even thing of asking me out."

"It's not what you think," he said in his defense.

"Really, than what is it? Was so it unattractive of me to always have my nose to the grindstone, working on those translations? Or was it because I didn't worship the ground that you walked on?"

"Where do you get off telling me this?" he said defensively.

A small crowd was forming around them, but she did not notice. "I don't, I just find it insulting that now that I have something that everyone thinks is exciting that you finally think it is okay to be associated with me. I love what I do and I do it well. It seems that even Starfleet noticed me before you did. Now, in a few days I am going to leave on the Enterprise, the flagship of the Federation, when you are going to be stuck here. And from what I have heard, you should be here for a very long while, unless some garbage scow needs a two bit engineer."

"You're just mad that I never asked you out before tonight."

"No, I'm not. But what I am mad at is how you treat the female cremates not as people, but as conquests. Someday, you'll realize that I am right, and that day will be a very sad and lonely one for you. Now, if you will excuse me, I would like to get back to my friends. I hope for your sake that, at least by your sad standards, you have a happy life. Good bye Carl," she said and then brushed by him to join her friends at the other end of the bar. It felt so liberating to tell him how she really thought of him. She had been waiting to tell him all of that for so long.

The first year on Starbase 12, she had wondered what was wrong with her. She was a very attractive young woman but yet never really dated. During duty hours, she always had her raven black hair neatly tied up, but after hours, she usually let it fall to brush her shoulder blades. Aria was slim and petite, but had all curves that counted. She had been told, on more than one occasion, that she was attractive and most of the time believed them. Unfortunately, she had not met a man that was able to look into her emerald green eyes and with out saying a word, make her feel completely out of control. She had always believed in love at first sight. As the years began to speed up on her, Aria was slowly beginning to give up hope of ever finding that someone who made her feel that way. Her friends told her she was being too picky and that she should date more and enjoy life. She hoped that this new assignment gave her the chance to do just that.

Three days later, hours before the Enterprise was scheduled to ship out, Aria said good-bye to her friends and left them at the air lock. She walked down the corridor to her new assignment. With her duffel bag on her shoulder and suitcase in hand, she approached the ship's airlock. The star base had been a great assignment for her, especially right out of the academy, but Aria had hit the big time with this assignment.

As the air lock got closer and closer, the reality began to set in for her. The letters on the bulkhead grew larger and larger until the letters were too big to ignore and it hit her like a brick. The letters 'USS Enterprise' were now starring her in the face. She had gotten her dream job; interpreter and protocol officer and she knew that there would be amazing adventures in store for her on board the flagship of the Federation. This was the Enterprise. You could not land a better assignment. The doors opened for her and her future lay before her only feet away.

Aria stepped through the air lock and handed over her orders to the administration officer stationed at the door. He looked them over and with out even looking at her, he handed her one back with her assignment to her quarters. It was all so abrupt. Before she knew it, her transfer was complete. Just as she was beginning to feel gypped with the whole experience, over his shoulder, the administrative officer said, "Welcome to the Enterprise, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir," she replied with a smile. All of her dreams had not been dashed.

She walked down the hall to the turbo lift and casually watched her fellow cremates going about their business. Everything seemed routine and reminder her of life on the star base. The sleek halls were dotted with small groups of uniformed personnel talking or the occasional person out of uniform milled around her. There were even children on board, something that she had forgotten until then. Aria felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb with her two huge bags. She made it to the end of the hall and put down her bags, waiting for the turbo lift. The doors opened more quickly than she was accustomed to and scrambled for her bags, making her stumble into the doorway.

"Here, I'll help you," said a voice over her shoulder and the weight from her duffel bag disappeared.

"Thanks, uh…" Aria said as she came face to face with Commander William Riker. Straightening up as quickly as she could to regain some of her composure she quickly said a much more formal "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, Lieutenant," he replied as they entered the lift. "You must be new, I'm Commander Riker." The doors closed and Aria ordered the lift to deck 10.

"I'm Lieutenant Aria Swenson, your new interpreter and protocol officer, sir."

"Welcome aboard," he said as he looked at her for a moment. "Have we met before?"

"Yes, sir. On Soloron 7, three years ago."

"Soloron 7, ah yes. Now I remember, the little casino next to the hotel. The poker table I believe."

"That's right, sir. It was my last night on leave and your first. I was on my way to Starbase 12."

"Yes, that was some night. If I remember correctly, you were quite the poker player."

"Still am sir."

"That sounds like a challenge, Lieutenant."

"If you say so, sir," she replied with a smile. The doors opened on deck ten and they stepped out.

"Can I help you find your quarters?" he asked politely.

"That would be great, sir. Thank you. I've been assigned to…. Deck ten, room 310," Aria replied.

They chatted politely as Riker walked the young Lieutenant to her quarters. They went inside her new quarters and Riker put her bag down on the floor next to the door.

"Thank you very much for all your help, Commander. I think I would still be looking for my quarters if it wasn't for you."

"It was no problem," he said as he turned to leave. "It was nice meeting you again and I will let you know when the next poker game is. Welcome aboard." He turned and left her quarters.

Aria looked around her new home. It wasn't much bigger than her old quarters, but she had to share with a roommate back on Starbase 12. She had a living area, a bedroom and her own bathroom. For the first time in her life it was going to be nice not to have to share a bathroom with anyone else. All the rooms were fully furnished with very neutral tones. She looked forward to personalizing her quarters to make it her home.

Aria set her bags in her bedroom and sat down on the couch for a moment, thinking back to three years ago. Soloron 7 was a resort that many young Starfleet officers went to when they were on leave. Aria was there right after graduation with a few of her friends before they all went off in different directions to their first assignments. They had all been a bit wild on this vacation and on their last night there, Aria found herself at the poker tables. After many hands and many drinks, Aria and Commander Riker were the only ones at the table. They both had a few too many drinks and they did kiss once. When he pulled his lips away from her's, Aria couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't upset and actually found things very amused with her reaction. It had felt so weird to her, like a stage kiss, but as they spent time together and sobered up, they realized that they were not meant to ever be lovers, but maybe friends. When the night or rather early morning came to an end Aria had to take the first transport to Starbase 12. They promised that they would keep in touch, but really knew that would probably never happen.

Aria thought Riker was one hell of an attractive man, but she felt nothing but friendship for him. She enjoyed his company and if the situation had been different, she had hoped that they could be close friends but because of their duty assignments, that was most likely not going to happen. Now they had gotten a second chance at that friendship.

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