"Respectfully, admiral, sir, it's never gonna happen."

Wesley frowned at her. "You're the special case civilian child?"

Elle gave him a thin smile. "That's me, the basket case. With knowledge of your future. Which includes the fact that you're this isn't gonna work. M-5's gonna blow up the other ships in the war games. And Daystrom is totally nuts, by the way. So's his computer."

Wesley scowled. "Can you corroborate this slander?"

Elle squinted into the distance, trying to think of something they could check without actually plugging M-5 the Murderbot into the Enterprise. "...Daystrom copied his mind into the computer," she remembered. "Yeah."

"What? That's not possible."

Elle just gave him a small smile.

Kirk frowned. "If there's a chance the computer, or its designer, is unstable, then I won't have it on my ship, Bob."

The commodore just frowned. "Have your science officer analyze the computer before you install it, and let me know, then."

Kirk nodded acknowledgment and the commodore stalked out. He turned to Elle. "Could you be a little less belligerent next time, maybe?" he asked dryly.

"I could, if Commodore Wesley wasn't so happy about the whole concept of you being out of a job," Elle muttered, scuffing her toe in the carpet as her cheeks turned red.

Kirk laughed and hugged her to his side. "Thanks, kiddo. Now let's go see what Daystrom has to say about his special project."

He denied it vehemently until Spock threatened to psychically scan the computer. Daystrom broke. So did the computer. Elle hustled from the room, hands clamped over her ears. Who knew you could curse in binary? Okay, technically R2, but still...

-/\-

"The Vulcans are taking the M-5, thank the Great Bird," Kirk said, scrubbing his face with both hands.

"So we're going to Vulcan?" Elle asked, nearly vibrating out of her seat with glee.

"We're going to Vulcan," Kirk confirmed, eyes crinkling. "You think you'll be up for some sightseeing?"

"Absolutely yes, sir, captain sir."

He snorted.

The next day (T-Minus 3 days to Vulcan!), Spock did not start the science lesson with, "Today we will cover..." Instead he started with, "While the Enterprise is docked at Vulcan, I have three days of leave to visit my parents."

"Cool!" Her heart sank a bit. She could still play tourist with Uhura, though, or the captain.

"My mother has extended the invitation to you as well," Spock continued.

Elle almost dropped her PADD. "Really?"

He merely raised an eyebrow in that 'I-know-you-heard-me' look.

Elle bit her lip. "Do you want me to come?" she asked, desperately trying not to fidget.

"Elle."

"Is that a 'yes Elle, please come because my dad's gonna be there and it's gonna be super awkward', or a 'no, Elle, please stay away because my father's going to be there and it's gonna be super awkward'?"

He permitted himself a tiny not-smile. "The first one."

"Oh. Cool. Yeah. I love your parents."

"I will inform my mother of your acceptance," he said. "Today we will cover..."

Elle totally did not victory-dance all the way back to her quarters later. Any and all subsequent evidence off the security cameras was totally edited and not her at all.