Security Chief Giotto was just what Elle had expected him to be. Calm, confident, strong, and, on the wall in his office, there was a giant chart labeled, "How to Keep Captain Kirk Alive". It had like fifty little flowcharts on it. One of the flowcharts was crossed out and had "Does not account for Mr. Spock's pigheadedness - do not use this plan!" in big red letters.

Elle giggled at that.

"All right, Miss Wilcott," Giotto said, gesturing her to a seat. "The Enterprise is a Constitution-class starship with 430 crew..."

-/\-

"Red alert?"

"Stay put until I get further instructions," Elle replied.

"Intruder alert?"

"Head to the nearest secured section, either Sickbay or Maintenance or my quarters, and hold position."

"And in case of a medical emergency?"

"Nearest comm, comm Medical, stabilize the injured using the first aid skills you haven't taught me yet, and pray," Elle said.

"And Code Gold?"

"Yell for Spock or McCoy and keep the captain alive at all costs," Elle said, grinning impishly.

Giotto laughed. "Good enough."

They recorded her voice print and retina scan. Basically the only places she couldn't go was Impulse control, the main warp regulation area in Engineering, and the armories. Elle had bargained for the bridge-she was allowed as long as she stayed out of the way and did not touch anything. Access could be revoked if she didn't behave. Chief Giotto was very clear on that.

Elle was determined to behave-in a way that kept everone alive and mostly uninjured. She had a feeling her name was gonna go up on the flowchart of shame...

-/\-

The next three days, Elle alternated between Yeoman Barrows and Lieutenant Matheson as 'minders' while she learned the layout of the ship. Turns out, there were lots of different recreation rooms besides the common rec area on Deck 7. There was a bowling alley, two swimming pools, an arcade room with replicas of old-fashioned game stations, a simpler version of a holodeck with virtual elements, an actual auditorium with a stage/screen set up for movie nights, and a handful of different gyms. There was no way to be bored on this ship, which Elle supposed was the whole point.

Once she proved she knew how to navigate the corridors without getting lost, Giotto cleared her to walk the decks alone. "We know where you are, anyway, now you've been entered into the system," he said.

Elle paused in the doorway. "Wait, it's tracking me?"

"It's tracking all of us," Giotto said. "How do you think the comm system works when a specific page goes out?"

"Ohhhh... cool."

The next three days after that, Dr. McCoy gave her an intense crash course in First Aid not only for humans but Vulcans, Caitians, and a couple other species that were onboard the Enterprise. "Of course, we'll be covering all this later in your Biology and Health lessions, but just in case," he said.

"Just in case," Elle agreed. You never knew what was going to happen on the Enterprise. "Is it true that the rhythm for CPR is the same as 'Stayin' Alive'?" she asked.

Bones blinked. "Where'd you hear that?"

"I read it somewhere," Elle said, mentally answering, Tumblr.

"Don't believe everything you read," Bones replied.

Elle snorted. "You have no idea, Abraham Lincoln."

"What?"

"It's a meme," Elle said.

"What's a meme?"

Elle cleared her throat. "Never mind."

He squinted at her suspiciously, but moved on to how to check a Vulcan's pulse.

-/\-

Once she was certified, Elle had nothing pressing to do. They were still figuring out her school schedule, so Elle decided to turn back into a burrito and watch MacGyver. The one she found in the video library was set in the 22nd century, and MacGyver was a girl from Polynesia, and it was awesome.

Halfway through an episode where MacGyver was using an "ancient" hot glue gun to save the world, the chime rang. "Come!" Elle called reluctantly, and paused the episode.

Lady Amanda entered. Her eyes crinkled in amusement. "You look like you're having fun," she said.

Elle glanced around at the empty bowls of popcorn and grapes (pseudo-grapes, not the best, but still), the small stack of tea and hot cocoa mugs on the floor, and her own nest of blankets. "Yup," she said, after deciding not to be embarrassed by normal teenager hibernation. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

"I spoke to Spock today," Amanda said. "He told me that you won't be starting your classes for another week or so, until the Enterprise drops the delegates at Babel. I feel partially responsible, since I am one of the people the crew has to keep an eye on. I'd like to help you. Anything you want to learn about this century or its customs, the language, anything."

"Really?" Elle asked.

"Really," Amanda reassured her. "I used to be a teacher before I met Sarek and I rather miss it sometimes."

Elle didn't even have to think about it. "Can you teach me Vulcan?" she asked, and then blushed from the vehemence of her plea.

Amanda looked surprised. "Vulcan? Why?"

Elle felt her ears start to turn red. "I really like Vulcan," she said. "The history, the Reformation, the culture. IDIC. It's cool. And, I totally want to surprise Spock at some point. Maybe distract him when I don't want to do science."

"Sounds logical," Amanda said, eyes twinkling. "Vulcan it is, then."