As Naomi re-materialised, her first thought was to glance around the room. She was the only Cadet in the room, and her eyes flickered to the operator.
Her eyes widened and she smiled.
"Permission to step down, Captain?" She said lightly.
"Permission granted, provided you'll give an Admiral a hug." Janeway joked warmly, reaching out her arms.
"I'll go look for Admiral Paris, then." Both of them chuckled at the small joke as Naomi was folded into Janeway's arms.
The hug only lasted a moment before Janeway reluctantly pulled away.
"Off you go, Cadet. Wouldn't want you to be late on your first day." The warmth did not leave her eyes, though there was sadness there too. Naomi gave her a quick second hug before racing from the room, slowing and straightening as soon as she exited the room.
Thankfully, she already knew her way around the Academy from visits to Icheb. She walked to the hall where the cadets were meeting, nodding to a few other nervous looking cadets heading in the same direction. She spotted Commander Chakotay (Captain, she corrected herself) on her way. He was casually standing by a replicator. She walked down the long corridor towards him, and noted that he stood there motionless, looking for someone in the crowd of cadets. He stood there for an awfully long time before the small crease in his forehead vanished as he spotted Naomi.
"Good luck, cadets." He commented just as she and a few others passed, his eyes meeting hers. Those around her went red or stared in awe at the legendary Captain, but Naomi only smiled back and mouthed a thank you.
She had a feeling that she'd be running into a lot of "The Voyagers" (as they were known) throughout the day. She was not mistaken.
Tom Paris was standing at the edge of the stage as Admiral Nechayev addressed the new cadets, waving in what she imagined he thought was a subtle manner from the wings. Of course, the fact that the famous face appeared every few minutes, looked for Naomi, and then extended an arm out on stage to wave energetically was not something she could miss. She was only glad that no one seemed to realise that he was waving at her.
Strangely, none of the cadets seemed to hear much of Nechayev's speech.
"Is that Tom Paris?" The girl next to Naomi risked whispering.
"I think so." She ventured back, ignoring the stab of fear that always came when someone her age spoke to her now.
"Wow." She whispered. Naomi groaned inwardly. If the girl carried on talking and they were caught..."There are a lot of the Voyagers around today, aren't there? Do you know if one of their kids is starting as a cadet?"
Naomi shrugged, trying to keep her focus on the admiral. Tom's arm appeared again, only to be joined by another arm which whacked the energetic pilot. A yelp of "Ouch, B'Elanna, what was that for?" cut through the Admiral's speech and he turned to give Tom Paris a look of pure frustration and irritation. His eyes met Naomi's in the crowd and she sucked in her breath. It was clear he blamed her for the esteemed pilot's idiocy.
A giggle rippled through the crowd of cadets, and the Admiral struggled to regain his audience. Finally giving them up as a lost cause, he dismissed them to find their quarters.
On her way to A block, Naomi met no less than five of the Voyagers. First it was Tuvok, who passed her by in the corridor with a nod that seemed to pass on much more warmth than Tuvok normally indicated. Then it was Michael Ayala, who grinned at her unabashedly as he passed.
Just as she was entering the building, she saw Chell, loudly arguing with somebody in a catering uniform. She sighed and he turned around, then winked at her and smiled.
She passed on without being drawn into conversation. The next person who ran into her was Miral Paris, who was racing through the corridors with a toy in hand.
She looked up, saw Naomi, and deliberately barrelled right into her.
"Oops." She said loudly, in what Naomi knew was Miral's "acting" tone. "Sorry, Cadet. I'm Miral Paris. That was an accident. Did I hurt you?"
Naomi shook her head, a rueful smile on her lips.
Miral loudly proclaimed to the hall that her father wanted to wish good luck to all the new cadets, before hugging Naomi, and stage-whispering "Bye, Naymi" before racing off.
Thankfully, none of the other cadets seemed to notice that Miral definitely knew her. She gave a little laugh and tried to join in with the general awed was that Miral Paris? Whispers.
The final member was the most surprising, as she looked for the cadets and graduates meant to be directing them to their rooms. She was looking around wildly when a cough from behind her alerted her to a familiar presence.
"Cadet." The voice was smooth and unruffled. "What is you designation?"
She couldn't stop the smile that spread over her face when she recognised that it was Icheb. Stating at a normal volume her father's name, she whispered "I thought you were on Bajor!" In a tone of glee. A Vulcan student nearby shot her a frown and she blushed. Oops. She'd forgotten that Vulcans had superior hearing. She hoped she could trust to the student's discretion.
Icheb inclined his head. "Ah, you are the same "Naomi Greskrendtregk" who is the president of the-ah- Icheb Fan Club Organisation?"
Naomi blushed a deep red. On the one hand, she was grateful to Icheb for covering her mistake. On the other...she could see that twinkle in his eye. She was going to kill him.
The Vulcan left quickly after that.
"Welcome to the academy, Cadet." Icheb finished, shaking her hand as he must have shook hands with many others that day and nudging her on her way. She shot him a quick glare as she walked away.
She couldn't keep a smile from taking over her face, though. How many of her old family had shown up to try and welcome her today?
It meant a lot more to her than her father's good luck vidcall that morning. These people had left their missions and work, travelling across the quadrant in some cases to wish her luck.
Yes, she was grateful for Voyager. She always would be.