"Today you will be learning the science behind supernovas, by practical experience," Spock said.

Elle raised her hand. "We're not doing another dive-bomb to the past, are we?"

"No," Spock said. "We will be doing a real world study of the Minarian star system, which is close to going nova. The Enterprise is en route to retrieve the survey team located on one of the planets."

"Cool. Are we staying for the big bang?"

"We are not. It still has several months left, if not years. That is partly why we study dying stars, to be able to more accurately predict other stars life cycles."

"Well as long as you catch Romulus in time it should be fine," Elle replied.

Spock's eyebrow hit his bangs. "Clarify."

"You know? Romulus goes nova in like a hundred fifty years or something."

Spock looked alarmed. "I did not know that."

"Whoops. Now you do?" she offered. "I always thoguht since the reboot movies came out that that's why you were so set on reunification, to get them to accept Federation help... no? Okay. I'll be quiet." She affected nonchalance as Spock stared at her.

"We will come back to this topic," he finally said, "If and when I choose to pursue reunification. I shall inform the VSA however."

"Yeah."

"The supernova we are concerned with today, however..."

After studying life cycle of stars and analyzing the readings that heralded the beginning of the nova process, they moved to one of the sensor labs.

"Astrometrics," Elle said, pleased.

"Astro-telemetry," Spock corrected.

"Give it a few years."

Spock sighed in that Vulcan way of his where he lowered his eyebrows a fraction.

Elle stifled a giggle.

She got hands-on training on how to read the incoming data from the long-range and short-range sensors regarding the star. "There's so much information..."

"Indeed. The computer collates and summarizes the data for the most part, but we still have trained crew to read the incoming raw data, as computers lack the intuition living minds can use."

"Cool."

Spock pointed to a set of signal readouts. "What does this tell you?"

"Uhhhhhh, big solar flare?"

"Correct. Which means?"

Elle chewed on her lip. "Sunburn?"

Spock quirked an eyebrow. "In what situation did we recently use solar flares?"

Elle groaned. "To create ion storms. Oh no, I just got done being nauseous."

"Dr. McCoy can give you the appropriate treatment," Spock assured her.

"But space Dramamine makes me sleepy though."

"Then sleep," he said logically.

Elle sighed. "I guess."

"We will be arriving at Minara soon," Spock said.

"Cool."

That evening they made planetfall. Elle played virtual Minecraft all evening and went to bed armed with ginger ale and space Dramamine on her bedside table.

The ion storm hit around 0200. Elle woke up long enough to take the pills, sip some soda, and go back to sleep.

The storm lasted for another seventeen hours, after which time the away team beamed back up. Elle never heard the whole story, but the original survey team had died.

The Enterprise left the next day.

-/\-

At their next literature night, the captain handed Elle a datapadd. "Read this," he said.

She pointed at the hardbound novel in his other hand. "I want that one."

"Not yet." He pointed at the PADD. "Read."

Elle scrolled down the list of warnings. 'Classified-level 2-senior officers only-highest secrecy-blah, blah blah...' "Report to Tellun system, retrieve Ambassador Petri of Troyius, thenceforth to the inner planet Elas."

Troyius. The name pinged familiar in Elle's brain.

Kirk sank into the opposite chair glumly. "You recognize this, don't you?" he asked.

She handed the PADD back. "I do, yes. Where's the rest of the orders?"

"That's all we got. Some sort of cloak-and-dagger scheme, no planetary briefing, no governmental briefing, nothing." He set the PADD away. "We arrive at Troyius tomorrow, so anything you can remember..."

"Yes, sir. I'll try and remember it tonight," Elle promised.

"Thank you." He gave her a tired grin. "But never mind that." He handed her the novel. "Here's our next story."

"An Old-Fashioned Girl," Elle read. "This is the same person who wrote Little Women."

"Yes it is. I figured we needed something light after these last few missions."

Elle smiled. "Have you read it already?"

"No I haven't. I did read Little Women though, and Little Men."

Elle's smile widened. "You're such a romantic, captain."

-/\-

That night, Elle sat cross-legged on her floor, Simba in her lap, and she sank into Vulcan-style meditation. She was searching for the memory of the planet Troyius. Episodes, books, and headcanons were examined, discarded, and categorized. She paused briefly, distracted by thoughts of Deanna Troi, but she put those thoughts aside.

Troyius, Troyius... Elaan of Troyius. The spoiled, royal, brat whose tears were like hormone love potion. And there were Klingons in there, somewhere.

Elle groaned, startling herself out of meditation and Simba out of its nap. "Oh no, the captain's not gonna like this."

He did not. "I have had it up to here-" he gestured wildly at his eyebrows, "-with stuffy heads of state and politicians and queens that try and brainwash you-" He chugged his coffee angrily.

Spock replaced the captain's empty mug with his own cup of tea.

Kirk chugged that too and made a face at the lack of caffeine.

"Your blood pressure, sir," Spock said serenely.

Elle hid a giggle in her waffles.

-/\-

"Shall we, gentlemen?" Kirk asked, gesturing to the turbolift. "Elle, are you coming?"

"Not a chance in heckin'," Elle replied.

Kirk snorted. "All right, then, mind the bridge, Consultant Wilcott." He, Spock, and Scotty left.

Elle plopped into the center chair and did a full spin.

Uhura answered a comm. "Bridge to Captain Kirk, we're receiving a transmission from the planet Elas. They're demanding to know why we delay."

"Demand? Delay- what? Have them beamed aboard then," the captain replied, irritation plain in his voice.

"Aye, captain. Bridge to Transporter Room 2, beam the Ambassador aboard."

"Acknowledged."

A yeoman came onto the bridge and stopped in front of Elle. "You're not the captain," he said.

"I am your Evil Overlord," Elle said grandly.

The yeoman bowed. "All hail the magnaminous Evil Overlord."

Sulu rolled his eyes. "You carry on like that Dr. McCoy's gonna have you head-shrinked."

"Head-shrunk," Uhura, Queen of Linguistics, corrected.

"Head-shrinky-dinked," Elle added. "I can forge his signatu-"

"NO," chorused all the adults on the bridge.

Elle giggled and spun around in her chair.

-/\-

Elle finished her classes for the day, had an excellent replicated mac'n'cheese, and went to her quarters. She showered, changed into pajamas, and cudled up with Simba to watch a 22nd century remake of Cinderella.

There was a thunderous crash against her wall and someone started shouting.

Elle sprang upright, alarmed. Had someone gone crazy-

"Remove this creature from my sight!" a woman's voice shrieked.

Elle sank back onto the couch with a groan. Her quarters were directly next to those assigned to heads of state, ambassadors, and apparently, high-strung Dohlmans.

There was another crash of pottery against the shared wall.

Simba whimpered.

Elle got up, ventured from her quarters. Three guards in bright red and orange body armor stood outside the next door. They stepped forward, keeping her from approaching the door. Elle gave them a look. "Can you tell the Dohlman to stop throwing things at the wall? These quarters are not soundproofed."

They didn't even acknowledge her.

A moment later the door opened and another vase flew out, narrowly missing Elle's head, followed by Ambassador Petri from Troyius. Dohlman Elaan shrieked after him, "and take your gifts!"

Elle dodged a hastily thrown bundle of fabric. "Hey! Stop throwing things! Other people share these walls!"

The princess stopped, glared. "And what is this?" she hissed. "A child? Sent to mock me?"

Elle lifted her chin defiantly. "I am a member of this crew."

"You wear no uniform. Kneel before Us," the Dohlman demanded.

"I will not," Elle said. "You are a guest on this ship, under Federation sovreignty."

The captain and Mr. Spock came around the corner. His eyebrows went up at seeing the cluster of people in the hallway. "What's all this?" he asked.

Elle unashamedly went and hid behind Spock.

They watched Captain Kirk try and reason with both ambassador and princess.

"Perhaps," Spock started sotto voce, "you might wish to spend the night in another location, ax'nav. I am aware of the human concept called a 'sleepover'?"

Elle sighed. "I think you're right." She slipped away before anyone could start throwing stuff again.

She and Simba spent the night with Lt. Uhura, and they did manicures and talked about Bantu folktales.

-/\-

"Then make her listen, Ambassador. Use a different approach. Stop being so diplomatic. She respects strength. Go in strong."

Elle walked around the bend in the corridor just in time to see Kirk pat Petri on the shoulder and send him on his way. Kirk walked towards Elle, grabbed her arm, turned her around, and continued with her down the corridor. "You might want to give it a minute, sweetheart. Her Glory is throwing a fit. Again."

Elle sighed. "Why'd you have to put her right next to me?" she asked, only whining a little bit.

"Because those are the largest guest quarters," Kirk said, "which apparently aren't large enough."

"She needs a time out," Elle said. "Several time outs. When am I supposed to go back to my quarters?"

"Later," the captain said, unhelpfully.

"Should make her read An Old-Fashioned Girl," Elle said. "Maybe she'd learn something."

"Maybe," Kirk said thoughtfully.

Later turned out to be too late; it sounded like Elaan and Petri were shouting at each other again.

Elle stuffed her essentials into her backpack, added Simba to her hoodie pocket, and left her quarters by way of the vent. She made it to her bolt-hole and flopped flat on her back. "Peace and quiet," she said blissfully, and Simba cooed in agreement.

They spent the rest of the day and the whole night in the Jefferies Tube junction, curled up in a nest of blankets and pillows, watching old shows and eating snacks. Okay, Elle ate snacks, Simba got half a dried blackberry.

-/\-

"Literally, the Klingons were less annoying this time around than the Dohlman," Elle said, moving back into her quarters two days later. "Literally."

Uhura laughed and helped Elle put back her pillows and her books. "It does happen," she agreed.