The next day, Nurse Flyer let herself fall on the chair next to Hermione with a huff.

"I tell you, the last twelve hours were hell."

Hermione looked up from her PADD. She had found out how to get a cup of delicious English breakfast tea from the replicator, and was nibbling off a biscuit which she occasionally dipped into the liquid.

"What's happened?" She asked.

"Captain Kirk, Commander Spock and Doctor McCoy got hurt on the mission yesterday. The only ones unscathed were the security officers." She sighed and added sarcastically. "Absolutely no pressure there, when you're responsible for three of the most important people on the ship. Doctor O'Tasser and Doctor Veninde are on the verge of a nervous breakdown."

The biscuit fell out of Hermione's hand.

"Will they be alright?"

The nurse laid her head on her hands. "Yes, they will. According to the report, it really was a chain of unfortunate accidents. But what else do you except from our captain? I'm so tired. I worked the whole night through."

Hermione's heart rate normalized. They didn't die and would get up again.

"Can I get you something?" Hermione asked. She burned to find out what had hurt them.

"I can't eat now. I just want to sleep, and a drink."

Hermione nodded and brought Nurse Flyer a cup of herbal tea.

"Thanks," the woman smiled. "Do you want to hear the story?"

"If you're not too exhausted, yes, please."

"Well, it seems that Captain Kirk found the only species of grass on this planet he is allergic to. He had an allergic shock. There is intelligent life on this planet, but they're small, about the size of cats. They noticed that someone needed help and came up to the surface. In the process of running to the captain, Doctor McCoy pushed one of those little things over. But they have powers of mind, not unlike the Vulcans have. So the creature put him in a coma. Spock tried to prevent it, but was caught himself, since their minds don't seem to be compatible. The security officers informed Acting Captain Sulu and arranged for everyone to be beamed up. And then Sulu went down himself to look for one of these creatures to undo the damage. Commander Spock already woke up, and Captain Kirk is alright except for an ugly rash on his skin. But they refused to treat Doctor McCoy since he hurt one of them, and it will take one or two days for him to wake up. There should be no lasting effects, however."

It took a moment for Hermione to digest Flyer's words. Cat-sized creatures with mind powers? Since the other woman didn't rate this as unusual, Hermione decided to hold back a comment.

"Is it reasonable to send all three of them together on a mission?" Hermione asked.

"The captain thinks it's fun. Commander Spock wants to analyze the vegetation himself, and of course, he never leaves the captain's side. And our doctor was forced to come."

Hermione took a sip.

"It doesn't sound wise to me. What if one day, Captain Kirk gets killed? Or the others? I mean I am new here so I might not understand, but it doesn't seem logical to me."

Flyer sighed.

"You will get used to it. It's just another day on the Enterprise. Did you think the doctor was joking when he said he had to patch up the captain all the time?"

To tell the truth, yes. Hermione had already seen the captain in an injured state twice, but she hadn't thought that it was a normal thing to happen.

"I don't know how they do it, but they always get out alive. And based on my experience with the captain, I am convinced that it will stay that way."

Hermione envied the nurse for her positive attitude. Where she came from, recklessness more than likely led to death.

"I hope so, too," she simply said.

Flyer regarded her for a moment.

"They know what they are doing, Hermione. Most of the time, at least."

She stared at her tea.

"I am sorry to leave you, but I think I will take this with me. I'm dead on my feet. Goodnight, Hermione."

"Sleep well," Hermione said.

Alone again, Hermione faced her two PADDs. "Introduction to engineering physics and warp technology" contained arithmetical problems. Their aim was to train the mathematical skills needed for creating and calculating warp and impulse engines. Although it was different from arithmancy, numbers were numbers.

Hermione read the instructions and drew the equations on the second PADD. Solving the problems required Hermione's full attention. However, she liked being challenged. And there was nothing else for her to do, anyway.

oOoOoOo

The evening came, and Hermione went to her quarters to shower and change. As one could read on the screen on the living room wall, both of her roommates were assigned Gamma shift today. The two women, one of them with green skin, were busy preparing themselves for work. Hermione kept to herself. She indecisively stood in front of her bed. It was way too early to go to sleep, and she knew she would only be lying awake and worrying.

So she grabbed her blanket again. Hermione hesitated for a moment before she took a PADD. She wished her roommates a good night and headed back to the mess hall. The booth from last time was free, so she sat down and began to read. This PADD was about chemical engineering. Engineering physicals and warp technology were surprisingly fascinating, but after more than five hours of solving mathematical problems, she needed a change. People came and went, and the conversations and the clattering of crockery and cutlery provided a steady background noise. As time went by, more and more people left. When the lights dimmed, Hermione switched on the reading lamp in her booth.

Finally, she laid the PADD aside. Hermione loved to learn, but it was tiring without having a purpose. She got up, switched off the lamp and strolled through the empty hallways. When she passed the gym, the screen on the wall caught her eye.

Hermione had never been a sporty girl. There had always been other pressing matters occupying her mind: In her youth, surviving a year at Hogwarts had somewhat filled her free time. Also, they hadn't offered any sports classes except for Quidditch, and Hermione had always hated flying on a broom. It was the first time she saw the irony. Now, she was stuck on a starship, and she felt unexpectedly safe. Maybe it was because she trusted muggle logics and technology more than magic with all its uncertainties. Also, there was no need to cling on a broomstick to keep flying.

And then there had been the war, and being on the run for almost a year while constantly starving. In hindsight, it seemed even worse. They had been kids then, but they hadn't had a choice. Like she did now, they just had kept going.

It hadn't been a good idea to rush into a relationship. Everyone who had been involved in the fight carried their own demons, and Ron and Hermione hadn't taken the time to work on their issues. On the contrary; the side of the light had won, and it had seemed inappropriate to stick to the bad things that had happened. That was one of the reasons why things hadn't worked out for her and Ron: While he had been happy to move on, Hermione had needed more time to cope with their experiences. Ron had never understood that.

And after that episode, Hermione had busied herself with work. It was kind of sad, really. The only relationships that had lasted in her life were the ones with Harry, and Crookshanks. And now, even they were gone.

Hermione took a deep breath. Did Harry worry about her? It was a few days since the incident had happened. What had Kilian reported? She didn't know of anyone who would be able to continue her work. It was weird, but that hurt. Did Ron care, or was he concentrating on his career, and had banished her from his thoughts?

Hermione hand slightly shook when she lifted it to go through the course offers. Her short-time goals were to finish, and completely understand, the PADDs on warp technology and chemical engineering. But there were still a few days left until her stay on the Enterprise came to an end, and she needed something else to distract her. Acrobatic dance? No, thanks. Indoor climbing? Swimming? Fencing? Yoga? None of these activities sounded appealing to her. Hermione closed the option window and just reserved one hour on the treadmill for 1000. Tomorrow, she would probably regret it.

With a sigh, Hermione turned around. It was late, maybe she was already exhausted enough to be able to sleep.

oOoOoOo

AN: Thank you so much Mythic Hue (McCoy flustered is completely adorable), Gin-Sensu, whrr . trudy, booksfoodmusic-minion, peachx89, myownphilosophy101a (that means so much to me), anja . quickert . 9 and Fire Dolphin (they will talk, eventually. Concerning wizards... just wait.)

I've come to a stage where I don't exactly remember every word from the first couple of chapters. I'd love to hear what you think about the characterization of the protagonists - because I know where I want them to go, but I fear that I forget to write one or two steps on the way to get there.

Anyway, this story turned out to be suprisingly long: So far I've written more than fifty pages, and that relatively fast. That's an achievement I'm proud of.

Lots of love, and Merry Christmas!