Red5
Sam stared at the empty spot kirk had just occupied and blinked in shock. He had just kissed her. Jim Kirk had called her a genius and kissed her.
Her mind refused to function for a few seconds. She blinked and someone opened the door.
They gave Sam a perplexed look and she finally snapped out of it.
She gathered her things and retired to her room. She stowed the player and DVD case and retrieved her violin.
She rosined up the bow and set it to string. Soon she was coaxing a haunting melody out of the strings.
Her thoughts were still firmly on her past but some uplifting notes crept into the session.
The notes finally died and someone clapped. She turned to find Lela and another girl in the room.
"Wow that was beautiful and sad. How do you dance and play at the same time?" said the newcomer
Sam just shrugged
"It was how I learned" said Sam
She stowed the violin and walked into the bathroom. It was obvious why the other girl was here and Sam didn't want to see it.
She heard the outer door swish open and then shut again.
"you can come out now she's gone" said Lela
She appeared in the bathroom.
"So what was with the sonata?" said Lela
"He kissed me" said Sam
It was more like blurted actually Lela froze
"Who?" said Lela
"Kirk, he called me a genius and kissed me" said Sam
"Whoa wait, the Jim kirk kissed you?' said Lela
Sam nodded yes
"So are you two like dating now, cause I thought you two were just friends?" said Lela
Sam frowned
"So did I but I'm not so sure anymore" said Sam
"Just make him work for it if you decide to go for it" said Lela
She grabbed one of her small purses and walked out. Lela paused at the door.
"Hey some of us are going off campus, we found this nightclub, do you want to come with us?" said Lela
Sam shook her head no.
"Naw I'm gonna take a shower, read something fun for once and catch a cat snooze have fun" said Sam Lela shook her head
"Suit yourself" said Lela
She ducked out the door and Sam padded towards the bathroom. She stripped and took a shower.
After she was done she put on some sleep shorts and a tank top.
Grabbed one of her books and curled up on her bed to reread one of her favorite books.
She fell asleep midway through.
She found herself in a hallway she didn't recognize but it looked like this time period.
It had the feeling of all the others she could even feel the cold of the floor on her bare feet.
She warily approached a door at the end of the hall. It slid open into what looked suspiciously like a brig.
It had one occupant and his back was turned to her. He swore and flung what he was working on to the floor.
She would recognize that familiar shock of black hair anywhere. She gasped and he turned.
He spotted her standing there and stared in shock. She leaned down and picked up the paper he had so violently shoved away
"Samantha?" he said
Her name rolling off his tongue in a smooth baritone that made her knees weak. Oh how she missed his voice.
Tears welled in her eyes. She nodded yes and moved forward.
"But how?" he said softly.
She wrapped her arms around him and he hesitated at first before responding.
"Does it matter?" said Sam
He buried his face in her hair and inhaled sharply.
She had a sudden absurd worry about the perfume before she shrugged it off, this was a dream.
He kissed the side of her neck pulling her closer and into a grip that was so strong it hurt.
"Easy love I'm not going anywhere, now what's got you so upset?" said Sam
He loosened his grip but still maintained the contact on her arm. He swore again and said a name under his breath.
"Nothing you can help with sweetheart" he said
She lifted the drawing and looked at it closely. It looked like half a ship but the lines were all wrong. It looked like he was trying to design one.
"See what I mean?' he said
She set it down on the table.
"May I?" said Sam
He snorted
"Go ahead I was about to throw that copy out anyway" he said
She chuckled and picked up the pencil he had been using.
She calmly erased a few lines and rounded the design to give it a more organic look that flowed.
Drawing on stuff she learned in her mechanical drawing class, she filled in sections and gave him something to build on, that was better than the original look. He closed his hand over hers.
"Where did you learn this?' he said
Sam shrugged and answered him.
"the academy why?" said Sam
He looked up from the page with a worried look that was almost horrified.
"What academy?" he asked
She started to answer him then that familiar tugging sensation pulled her from the dream.
She blinked her eyes open with a groan. That had felt so real her arms were sore. She rubbed them and looked around where was her roommate.
She must have found a guy or girl to spend the night with. Her alarm went off and she turned it off and rolled out of bed.
She was just about to head for the shower when someone banged on her door rather hard. Frowning she crossed the room to answer it.
"What?'" said Sam after she flung open the door
Standing outside her door was three security guards and her residential adviser.
"Cadet please step into the hall" said her R A
"Huh, yeah sure, just give me a second to get dressed" said Sam
"No cadet right now that was an order not a request" said one of the guards.
He sounded angry so Sam stepped into the hall.
She gave her R.A a puzzled look as the guards entered her dorm room and started searching it. Sam turned to her adviser.
"Ma'am what is going on?" said Sam
The guards were tossing the room pretty thoroughly and were not sticking to only Lela's side.
"Cadet Morningstar, where were you at 2100 hours last night?" said the head security guard
Sam mentally did the math to figure out military time.
"Ah let's see I was just finishing our movie by then, I came up here to take a shower and lay down, why?' said Sam
The R. A. nodded in understanding.
"So you did not go into town with your roommate at all?" said the R.A
"No ma'am, I usually do not, you know this" said Sam
The woman gave Sam a look that was pure irritation. Sam had an inkling about what this was about.
It had to be the damn perfume she must have gotten busted.
Sam mentally went through her room and tried to recall where she kept her bottle of the stuff.
A few minutes later the guards came out carrying two large bags of vials, and both Lela's and Sam's bottles of cologne.
"Cadet come with us please" said the lead guard
"But" said Sam
She protested because she was still in her pajamas and it was early morning. Which were quite chilly this close to the ocean.
They ignored her protest and guided her out of the door.
One of them grabbed her arm and she bit back the cry that rose to her lips because it was really sore.
They guided her down to the first level and across the quad. Several cadets stopped to watch.
They took her straight to the commandant's office. Her stomach sank she had been to this man's office more times than she cared to admit.
Her teeth chattered and it wasn't all from the cold. Each and every time he hadn't listened to her not once, so she doubted he would this time.
They ushered her into the office. Someone from medical was there and he ran a tricorder over her. The doc frowned when he reached her arms.
"Well?' said the commandant
"Only trace amounts sir that she could have gotten in transfer" said the doctor.
She was grateful it wasn't McCoy. The commandant frowned and moved into his office.
"Sit cadet Morningstar" said the commandant
She reluctantly did so. He tapped some keys on his Padd and frowned at the screen.
He nodded towards campus security and the officer set the pile of contraband on his desk.
The man stepped back and eyed Sam like he wanted to arrest her. The commandant glared at her
"Do you know what that is cadet?" said the commandant
Sam debated if she should play it safe and protect her own skin or just own up to knowing. She shook her head no.
He narrowed his eyes at her
"Really? You would have me believe that you don't know what the substance is, hazard a guess then" said the commandant
Sam swallowed nervously and looked at the bottles. The liquid inside looked like crack or cocaine.
"crack?' said Sam
The commandant's eyebrow twitched. A clear sign he was seriously irritated.
"Close cadet it is more dangerous, that is why it is contraband and I think you do know exactly what it is" said the commandant
He was staring her down as if he could break her with one look. She bit her bottom lip nervously.
"What remains to be seen is how much of it is yours" said the commandant
Sam sighed she had no control over what Lela chose to do, but there was no way they were pinning that on her.
"Just the blue bottle is mine sir, it was a gift" said Sam
That much was true Lela had given it to her on her last birthday right in front of most of the dorm. He frowned and picked up the blue bottle.
He shook it in his hand and she could guess he was gauging just how much of it she had used.
She was lucky she wore it so rarely that the bottle was almost full.
He set it down in front of him. He crossed his fingers and rested his hands on the desk.
"Cadet Morningstar what am I going to do with you?" said the commandant
She gave him a confused look but was secretly hoping it would be just to let her go.
"You knew of this didn't you?" said the commandant
Sam sighed and nodded yes. She took a deep breath, oddly she felt relieved that this was all over. She could back up her stuff and head to Vegas, maybe even convince Lela to come with her. She had the body to be a dancer. Sam was certain she could teach her.
He was staring at her and she was waiting. Why wasn't he yelling, like he always did?
"Cadet you know for a violation this severe I have to convene a judiciary committee and they will decide what is to be done with you" said the commandant
"Until then you are suspended from classes and confined to your room" said the commandant
Sam was curious. She could already guess what Lela's fate would be, but she had to ask.
"What of my roommate sir?" said Sam
He gave her a glare
"Cadet Robere has been remanded to the stockade following an altercation last night at a drinking establishment that left three of your fellow cadets severely injured" said the commandant
Sam opened her mouth to ask if Lela was harmed but he cut her off.
"Cadet Robere is bruised but otherwise unharmed, you are dismissed cadet" said the commandant
Sam was escorted back across campus by two guards and one remained at her door. Sam got dressed and picked up the room.
Packing her things as she went. She was almost in tears by the time she was done. Everything she had worked for was going down the tubes.
The guard knocked and she called out it was unlocked. He looked inside
"Cadet I am to escort you to the hall they have convened an emergency session" said the guard.
He glanced at her packed stuff and her civilian clothes.
"I'll give you a few minutes to change into your uniform" he said and stepped back outside.
Sam closed her eyes and reluctantly changed back into the cadet uniform for one last time. She keyed her code into the lock and turned towards her escort.
He was staring at her sadly but she really didn't care. She was finally getting out of here. They had finally seen her for what she was and were kicking her to the curb. It was almost a relief.
The guard escorted her into the hall and pointed to a spot for her to sit. She could hear her fellow cadets whispering behind her.
She looked up into the grim faces of four admirals. She noticed ironically one was the guy who had ridden in her shuttle.
The door to the side opened and Lela was led in by security. The guards stepped back and left her standing there all alone.
She didn't turn around and search for allies with her eyes because she knew she had none.
"Cadet Robere under section 15 of Starfleet regulations you are hereby charged with thirty seven counts of possession of a controlled substance, distribution and the intent to distribute said substance, known as lover's tears. It has come to my attention that you admitted freely to these charges and have plead no contest, is this correct?" said the admiral acting as lead judge.
"Yes sir" said Lela
Her voice sounded broken and like she wanted to cry. The judge sighed and looked at the Padd in front of him.
"I also have here a request to be dismissed and a resignation of your commission" said the judge.
Lela was looking at the floor but she nodded yes. The man sighed again and looked to his fellow judges. There were nods and grudging acceptance of that solution.
"Very well Miss Robere we grudgingly accept your resignation and we remand you to the local authorities for prosecution" said the judge
Lela looked up and Sam got a good look at her face. She was sporting multiple bruises and looked like she had gotten into a fight and lost badly. Sam briefly met her eyes and Lela mouthed she was sorry.
"Your dismissed cadet" said the judge
The guards moved forward to escort her out of the hall.
"Cadet Morningstar" said the judge
Sam swallowed and stood on shaky legs she was praying they wouldn't arrest her too.
One of her friends back home had been busted with barely an ounce of bud and did two years in county because of it. She slowly made her way down the stairs and stood in front of the judges. Her stomach was doing flip flops so bad she was worried she would blow chunks on the judges.
The judges were silent for a few minutes and Sam guessed her less than stellar record was being reviewed. She took a deep breath and waited for the harsh words.
"Cadet Morningstar you are being charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance and ethical misconduct how do you plead?" said the judge
There was no use denying it, they had her dead to rights.
"Guilty sir" said Samantha
The man steepled his fingers and regarded Sam intently.
"Guilty, so you do not deny the charges" said the judge
Sam shook her head no.
"No sir" said Sam
The ethical part did stump her but she reasoned it had to do with knowing about it and not coming forward. He looked down at the device in his hands and flipped the page. He frowned at the device and looked up at her.
"Cadet you seemed to have quite a bit of difficulty here the first year or so, is there any particular reason you have been sent to the commandants with at least twenty dress code and curfew violations?" said the judge next to the main one
Sam shrugged
"I guess some people conform easier than others?" said Sam
The main judge gave her a level look and she realized that could be taken as an insult.
"Sorry that sounded better in my head" said Sam
She heard a couple of quickly stifled giggles. The four men glaring at her were plainly unamused by her comment. She was so screwed. The main admiral set the Padd in front of him down crossed his arms and leaned forward.
"Cadet, I am going to make myself very plain. What you did is a violation of everything Starfleet stands for and I do hope you learn a lesson from these proceedings today" said the admiral
"Ordinarily we would strip you of any ranks or commissions you have achieved but you have not achieved any as of yet. Even though you show the aptitude to do so" said the admiral
He ended the statement with another glare. She ignored the glare and stared at their name plates. She was tired of hearing how she could do better, she had worked her ass off and was still barely floating.
"I hate to do this to you but you leave me no other options. Cadet Morningstar as of today any grades you have earned this year any work that you have done and any rank that you would have earned as a result are hereby stripped. In short you are starting over from scratch this year as if it were your second year" said the Admiral
That got her attention and Sam was shocked. What did you have to do to get thrown out of this place? Blow up a building? She firmly resisted the urge to cry. Everything she had done, seriously. That was just cruel, why couldn't they just kick her out? They had no idea how much work she had to put into just getting those passing grades
"furthermore you will remain on academic probation while you make up those assignments, which means anything less than a B will not credited for the class and you will redo it, on top of that you will join at least two extracurricular activities. You are on campus lockdown until the terms of your probation are fulfilled, you may however leave campus with approved activities with whatever extracurricular clubs you choose to join and for training exercises, nothing else" said the admiral
Sam rocked back on her heels he wanted a serious introvert to join clubs and still get a B average. Was he serious? She took a deep breath.
"sir may I speak?" said Sam
Four glares almost made her voice squeak
"Go ahead cadet" said the admiral
The audience behind her was making her very nervous so she tuned them out.
"I don't believe it is possible for me to meet those expectations so I respectively tender my resignation" said Sam
The admiral leaned back and looked at the other admirals for just a second, then turned to regard Sam again.
"Request denied, you are dismissed cadet return to you quarters you will receive your updated schedule shortly, I suggest you use the interim for a bit of introspection into your self-esteem issues" said the admiral
Sam's mouth dropped open in shock and she barely restrained the urge to flip him off.
The noises behind her of her fellow cadets getting up to leave shook her out of her daze.
She fled out the side door and all but ran back to her dorm room. Seething and swearing the whole way.
She took the stairs instead of the turbo lift because it gave her more time to stomp and vent.
About halfway up she gave into the nerves and hurled on the stairs, somewhere between the second and third floors.
She opened the door to her floor and retreated to her room.
She ignored the Padd sitting on her desk, when it chimed. She could do without a reminder of just how screwed she was.
She shoved her bags to the floor and flopped down on the bed. The tears came a few minutes later as she closed her eyes and tried to doze.
She was just starting to drift off with her tears drying on her face her door chime sounded. She ignored it and rolled over.
She was facing Lela's now empty side and it made her sad.
She may have had issues with aliens when she first got here but Lela had been her friend in the end.
At least as close to her as Alex was, so it hurt that she would most likely never see her again. The door chimed again. Sam growled in irritation
"Go away!" said Sam
"Sam?" said Alex
Sam groaned she should have known her friends wouldn't let her hide. She sighed, this was perfect just perfect.
"It's unlocked" Sam called out
