Beverly arrived for her first class of the morning way ahead of schedule. She had been a good student her whole life, and had rarely ever been tardy, but coming to class this early was a concept that seemed very foreign to her. She supposed that she had better get used to the idea. Admiral Parsons had seen to it that her social life was all but over.

Professor Apprecel stood at the front of the room, her back to the small group of students who had already found their seats as well as the small stream of those who were still entering. Beverly looked at the incoming trickle with envy. How she longed just to be one of them again, happy and carefree, hoping to make it from one place to another, but not in fear of dire consequences if their plans were unexpectedly waylaid. She felt the tears stinging her eyes, and fought to push them back. She was a Howard. Howard women did not cry because they had to follow the rules.

She stopped and mulled over her last thought. it wasn't the fact that she had to follow the rules that troubled her. She felt that she would be able to digest her punishment if the incriminating action had been one that she had truly undertaken. It was the knowledge that she was an innocent that made her want to break down, screaming and crying with frustration and rage. She didn't hate her punishment so much as she hated the way in which it had changed her, the way in which it had made her view herself as the victim of some gross injustice. She had never wanted to be the victim. Even with all the horror and atrocity that had come before in her life, she had never wanted pity.

Thankfully, the bell sounded from above, tearing Beverly away from her self serving thoughts. Things would be different here, she thought. Professor Apprecel was a kind woman, smart enough not to judge on the sayings of others. Beverly knew that she would decide for herself whether or not her student was guilty.

"Cadet Howard," the woman inquired from the front of the room, her dark Betazoid eyes staring piercingly at Beverly as the girl rose from her seat. She gulped down a wave of fear. "Ah, there you are," she said, not smiling. "I have assigned you a new seat for the remainder of the term. Please move yourself and your belongings."

the woman's finger quivered ever so slightly as she pointed to an empty chair that sat in solitude, close enough to Apprecel's desk that Beverly would be able to hear the professor breathing. So much for justice she thought grimly to herself. Wishing that, for just this one instance, Apprecel would bend her own morals and read what was going on inside Beverly's troubled mind. She wished that someone, anyone with the power to change the way her life was turning out would know of her innocence.

* * *

"Jack…"

The voice seemed to be coming from somewhere far away, floating on the light breeze that was whipping its way around the campus. It was as vague and distant as the light smell of Martian Lilacs to Jack Crusher, who was holding an Advanced Command Strategies data chip in his left hand and a data PADD in his right, trying to cut through the cloudy haze of a daydream and remember how to use the devices.

"Jack…"

There was that voice again, louder and more insistent this time. Somewhere in his subconscious, he wondered if he should pay it any heed, or if he should simply continue to sit here, soaking up the unseasonably warm sun and studying. that was what he was doing, after all. Now, if only he could clear his mind enough to remember how to switch the chips in this device..

"Jack! Hello. Is anyone home?"

"Ow!" Crusher yelped as Walker's fist slammed into his arm, jolting him from the dreamy haze in which he had been sitting. The two cadets were enjoying a free period, and had been using it to catch up on some studying, and to do some investigating. "What did you do that for," he asked, irritated.

"I was trying to tell you about how my investigation has been going, and you were just sitting there staring into space like a lovesick tribble. As soon as I mentioned Beverly's name, you were practically drooling on yourself." Walked raised an eyebrow at him but said no more.

"I was not," Jack said indignantly. "Beverly is my friend."

"Uh huh," said Walker, rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, what were you saying before. I have so much on my mind lately. It's hard to keep all of these classes straight."

Walker grinned like a child catching another raiding the cookie jar, but said no more about Jack's latest "friendship". "I've been looking through the databases for instances in which scenarios like this have previously occurred. Two years ago, another cadet played a similar trick on his roommate, and was caught by time-based DNA fingerprinting."

"What are we waiting for," Jack practically knocked Walker flat, bounding to his feet. "Let's go get Beverly, find Mina, and bring their data PADDS to that old badger Parsons. Then he'll know who the real cheater is."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Walker said, hating to deflate the enthusiasm which had welled up in his friend's eyes. 'In that case, the two were of different species, one reptilian based and one mammalian based. That made things a little easy. also, the decision was made right away, not days later. the student in question had an unblemished record, and the perpetrator had been a part of several similar incidents. I'm afraid Beverly's files aren't exactly sterling.

Jack bit his lip, a long standing habit when confronted with unpleasant and frustrating situations. "Now what," he asked.

"Now we keep up with what we were doing. Keep questioning cadets, and working out plausible explanations for what really happened. Even though we know what went wrong, we have to convince the Admirals that it's the truth. If it is the truth," Walker said.

"What do you mean by that," Jack's eyes were filled with fiery anger.

"Look, Jack," said walker. "I don't think Beverly cheated, she's a smart girl, and she's not the type. But her version of events could be a tad one-sided; most people tend to see themselves in a different light than the rest of the world does. I don't think she's a liar, but the truth could lie somewhere in the middle, and that's where I'm looking for it."

"Look there all you want," said Jack "but you'll never find it. I'll make sure not to tell Beverly you doubted her when we get to the bottom of this. She's the most real person I've met in a long time, and Mina's about the biggest fake there is. I can't try to make you feel the same way, but I think the magic loses its luster when you discover it was done with smoke and mirrors." That said, he stalked off, looking for a little truth of his own.

* * *

Tafton, Beverly and Korbin sat at a corner in the dining room, discussing the latest repercussions of Beverly's supposed crime. "I can't believe she did that to me." Beverly was practically howling, and her two companions exchanged worried glances. Tafton reached across the table for her friend's hand, trying to elicit some degree of damage control before the red head's temper got the better of her and she went on a rampage.

"It's all right Bev. The whole thing will blow over in a few days. Just give it a chance." Tafton's voice was soothing, but Beverly glared icy daggers at her friend.

"Sure it will. As soon as everyone has alienated themselves from me, and I have no one left to turn to but my books and the little voice in my head that keeps pitying itself, then it will blow over." She paused for breath, and the continued in a voice saturated with more pure venom than either of her two companions would have ever thought possible. "I suppose you all have another gala event to attend this evening. One that will prevent you from helping me outs no doubt. Won't it be too bad that Beverly can't be there? You might think that for a moment or too, but then you'll forget. I'm sure Mina will be there, spreading her lies and destroying what little dignity I have left." She scowled deeply, and looked away from the table, her gaze resting on the open doorway as they she were keeping vigil for any sign of her roommate. Korbin found herself giving silent thanks that cadets were not allowed sidearms.

"Oh Beverly, come off it," Tafton snarled, deeply wounded by her friend's accusations. "You can be furious with Mina all you want, and I'll back you up on that, but there's no reason to take it out on us. We're doing what we can to help you, but there only so much that can be done. I'm sorry you got punished, truly I am, but I'm not going to spend the rest of my days here in exile because someone played a nasty prank on you. Now, I'm no counselor, and I won't even pretend to be a philosophy major, that kind of thing was always a little deeper than I liked to reach, but its time for you to quit wallowing in your own self pity. All that does is make you reek with the stench of defeat. Okay, so you got screwed, to use an archaic but once popular earth vernacular, but we all do once in a while. Life goes on, sister. Pick yourself up, swallow your pride, and plan your next steps. No matter what your friends do, they can never make a difference if you don't even try to help yourself."

Beverly opened her mouth to protest, but a chilly look from the brunette silenced her. Howard's lips twitched in rage. How dare she say things like that, she thought. How dare she accuse me of such things? What gives her the right to tell me how to live my life? How dare she…. How dare she…. How dare she…. tell the truth. the last realization hit Beverly like a ton of bricks. She had been behaving like a whining, whimpering nursery school child ever since Mina had played her dirty little trick. But, like Walker had told her the night before the incident, she was an adult now. It was time to start behaving like one.

She opened her mouth to speak again, and Korbin grimaced. Beverly half-smiled. "Don't worry, I won't bite anyone's head off this time. You're right, Tafton. Now, tell me, what can I do for me…"