Star Trek is property of its respective owners. I only own Mallory.
They were busted.
Mal knew it the second her PADD woke her up with an alert from the administration. Morning classes were canceled and all cadets were to report to the academic advisory hall at 1100 hours.
"Computer, place transmission to Cadet James T. Kirk," she ordered with a groan. Mal had to admit, she was impressed. She knew that Spock would locate the subroutine and trace it back to her, but she did think they would have a bit more time. Spock must have been very good at paperwork to get the Academic Board to convene so quickly and over something as insignificant as cheating. True, cadets were supposed to be above reproach and ethically sound, but their stunt was more about defeating the giant than actually cheating…
But it was unlikely that the board would differentiate.
"I guess it's time to face the firing squad." Jim's face appeared on the screen and he looked perfectly at ease in his crumpled undershirt and pajama bottoms. "We knew this was coming, Mal, but holy shit they moved fast."
"Yeah, Jim, I noticed. I hope you're ready."
She could see Leo tearing across the background, trying to stay off screen while he got into his uniform. "Are you two insane?" he demanded when he was decent. He practically shoved Jim out of the way so he could yell at Mal unimpeded. "What would possess you to jigger with the goddamn Kobyashi Maru? If you two get expelled and I'm stuck here by myself…" His southern accent was exacerbated from the stress. "You're idiots, the two of you." He threw his hands up and went off screen.
Jim came back into view, smiling. "I think we upset his delicate internal balance." Mal laughed and shook her head.
"Always on the dark side looking at the bright side, huh?"
Jim nodded. "See you soon, Mal. I'll be the one with the blindfold and cigarette."
She only smiled in return. "In a blaze of glory, Jim. It's the only way to go down."
Mal was intercepted on the way to the administration building.
Honestly, she had forgotten that her father would have something to say about her being brought up on cheating charges. She really would have to start remembering that somehow Captain Pike knew all, even if he was human.
"Cadet? A word?" Before she could avoid him, Captain Pike lightly caught Mal's arm and steered her back toward the dorms. He didn't look angry, but she could sense his displeasure. "Really, Mallory? You tangled with the Vulcan?"
"Not directly," Mal said, hoping to defuse his frustration with humor. She could hear the session bells tolling. "Pop, I've got to—"
Pike shook his head and held up a hand to silence her. "All you've got to do stand right here until the hearing is over. Those are the conditions."
"Conditions?"
Mal did not like the sound of that.
At all.
"What do you mean conditions?"
Pike snickered. "I don't think even you realize how well you read people sometimes," he said lightly. "You always seem to know exactly what to say and do to infuriate people. Explain to me why you reprogrammed that exam."
Mal hesitated. "Are you my dad right now or a Starfleet captain?"
"We'll keep it couched, Mallory."
"Jim," she said simply. "We were bored. We thought it would be funny. But then Spock came into the lab, and…" she hesitated.
Pike shook his head. "And you thought you'd go head to head with the Academy's resident genius. You hurt his pride, I think. Probably the worst thing you can do to a Vulcan is shame them and you went and embarrassed Spock in front of a room full of his superiors. What would possess you to target the Commander?"
"He got into my proper file, Pop."
"That's no excuse. It isn't like he…" Pike's eyes cooled considerably as he realized exactly what Mal was insinuating. "And he brought up Thom?"
Mal scuffed the sidewalk with her boot. "He brought up the dangers of projection. Same thing, really."
"That explains his other demands," Pike said slowly, watching for Mal's reaction. "He said he wouldn't file a grievance against you so long as you agreed to start meditating with him and learning control." Pike tapped his temple, indicating her mental abilities. "I told him that was acceptable but he seemed to think you would be opposed to the idea."
Mal just stared at her father for a long, silent moment. "Are you kidding me? You want me to let Spock poke around in my head? No. No way. I'll take the hit with Jim."
"Sit." Pike pointed to a bench and, miserable, Mal obeyed. "I know you are resistant to your mother's heritage, Mallory, but Spock told me about the subroutine he found, and I know that you didn't reprogram the Kobyashi Maru. You were talking to your sister, weren't you? Emulating?"
Emulating. It was a nice way of saying telepathic possession. All it meant was Kadence had taken the reins and written the program. Mal had essentially been a passenger in her own body while Kadence had control. It was something the two of them did back and forth often, but it was frowned open for obvious reasons. Most Betazoids couldn't manage it. It was such a strong projection, it was usually not even attempted. But, as Kadence pointed out, it was a good way to be in two places at once.
Mal looked up at her father. The look on his face was enough to make her flinch. Disappointment. She'd rather he be angry. "She's my sister."
"Yes, but she's also SI. What if she had been in the middle of a mission? What if she had gotten hurt because you wanted to play some vindictive game with Spock? You should know better." Pike watched Mal stare at her boots. "You are going to accept Spock's offer. You are going to learn to control your empathy and you are going to stop emulating Kadence. Honestly, the two of you... thank God Darby never picked up on any of this…"
"This what?" Mal snapped suddenly defensive. "If you didn't want half-Betazoid kids, maybe you shouldn't have married a Betazoid."
Pike frowned. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
There was a flood of Reds coming out of the administration building and Mal stood up, angry. "She's fine by the way."
"Excuse me, Cadet?"
"Kay." Mal did her best impression of Leo's scowl. "She's fine. She misses us. She's in the Alpha system. She pierced her nose. And she's fine." With that she turned on her heel and disappeared into crush of red uniforms, looking for Jim and Leo.
Pike watched her go and, not for the first time, wondered how she always knew exactly what to say to make him feel like he was the child.
