Chapter 03: Graduation Day

Hearing an increasingly loud knock at her door, Capitaine shot up in bed, not sure why somebody would be finding her this early in the morning. Glancing at her clock, displaying it was 1140, obviously not as early as she had thought. "How did that happen?" speaking under her breath in a confused murmur. Looking over to Elisa's bed, she saw it was empty,

"Elisa! Why *now* of all days."

Elisa had occasionally kept her up almost to sunrise, then topped it off by disabling her morning alarm clock. Remembering the night before, Elisa had been out partying with the rest of the cadets, and she had to be the one who took Elisa home afterwards. Now very alert and awake, Capitaine jumped to the door. Answering, she found Frankie with a wide smile and beckoning for a big hug.

"Just waking up, Capi?"

"Sort of, what are you doing here?" This was the first time Frankie had ever come to her room, invited or otherwise. However, Elisa had always insisted never telling Frankie their room number.

"I didn't see you out getting your assignment and wanted to make sure you were okay. That, and El sent me to get you."

"*Elisa* sent you?" Knowing Elisa and Frankie still weren't on good terms, Capitaine now knew why she had woken up so late. "C'mon Frankie, we'll say 'good morning' to Elisa together!"

"Yay! ... But actually I gotta go talk to one of my professors."

"Again?"

"See'ya, Capi!"

Watching Frankie run back down the halls, Capitaine washed up and changed into her uniform as fast as she could, hearing small rips several times as she scrambled everything on. Wanting to find Elisa and find some answers, she ran out towards the courtyard. Passing through the hallways, Capitaine noticed is was rather quiet for being almost noon, everybody must be outside lining up for their assignment handouts. Walking out into the courtyard, the sun was in Capitaine's face and she squinted to see. The courtyard was bustling with activity, cadets of all years were walking about, all excited to be finishing and to seeing off their friends.

Walking out several steps, she first saw Elisa and Scott, but not before Elisa saw her first, abruptly turned and motioned for her to join them. "Finally! I was beginning to think you forgot what today was."

Seeing that Elisa had no concern and showed only in her usual cheerfulness, Capitaine knew she was the culprit, but with Scott here too, now was not the time for anger. "How could I? You've reminded me everyday for the past month. Have you gotten your assignment?"

"Of course! I was first in line! Oh, before I forget, I think Razkii wanted to thank you for helping him cram for the astrometrics final. He's over there."

Motioning forward towards the center of the courtyard, Capitaine saw Razkii standing in to a conversation with Zarva, Asher, and T'Vrell. Silently walking up, Capitaine didn't want to intrude but that didn't seem to matter to the others. Razkii quietly stepped back and turned towards Capitaine, thankfulness practically written on his face.

"There you are! I wanted to thank you for helping me pass that final ... and for all the other times you've helped me. I've always admired you, Capitaine. I hope Starfleet recognizes all you've done to lead our class. What ship did you get?"

Nervously looking around, Capitaine had already gotten the attention of Asher and T'Vrell who had already stopped to listen.

"I-I ummm ... haven't received my assignment yet."

A little suprised, Razkii covered it up with a gracious smile.

"Well, ... good luck! You better see Lieutenant Ferra for that."

Nodding in aggreement, T'Vrell spoke up before Asher had a chance to say anything. "Greetings, Capitaine, it seems your morning was uncomfortable. As Razkii stated, I am, *we*, are thankful for your help. Your encouragement for me to retake my linguistics final was most advantageous. I was willing to accept my results, but you saw I was not at my best that day. I thank you for that as well, I am now able to serve as a communications officer as well as a science officer. ..."

Finally butting in, Asher moved forward, ending T'Vrell's speech.

"Let the lady continue, T'Vrell! Capitaine, go get your assignment. Just know that we all owe you one!"

Smiling Capitaine quickly turned and was eager to leave, not comfortable or accustomed to being praised or complemented. Nodding a quick good bye to the group, T'Vrell said her personal good bye as well, holding up her hand and posture "Live long and prosper".

Soon coming upon Anne and Morek, Capitaine felt that they might give her some more thanks as well, thus she tried to speed up and walk past them.

It didn't work.

Catching Morek's attention, "There you are! Are you getting excited?! Once we finish our training cruise, we'll all be full-fledged Ensigns!"

"Both of us say 'thank you' too, Capitaine! The buzz is Captain Taggart hasn't named all of his senior staff yet. From what I heard, the advanced phaser training simulation is tripping people up! Morek here, didn't do so hot. I just didn't do it, hope you did alright."

Capitaine knew she even hadn't done that, but she didn't need to, she was an engineer not a tactical or security officer. Smiling nervously, she said her thanks as Anne and Morek started continuing their conversation, walking towards the shuttle bays.

Coming to Lieutenant Ferra, he was a dark furred Caitian, standing behind a large circular desk. Capitaine had seen him occasionally, but otherwise had no reason to interact with him.

"Good afternoon, cadet. What can I do for you?"

The expression on his face showed she was not the first and likely wasn't the last to be this late. Timidly, Capitaine answered, afraid that her tardiness might be some sort of penalty too.

"Is this where I get my training cruise assignment?"

"Yes. I have the complete assignment list here. Name?"

"Capitaine"

" *Full* name."

" *It is*, its just 'Capitaine'."

" 'Capitaine'? ... Oh, yes, I've heard that before! Now, let's see ... Interesting. ... Report to Captain Taggart. Right now he should be in the office behind the uniform requisitions desk."

Her eyes now open with anxiety, she stammered out. "I-Is there a p-pr-problem?"

A blank expression of Ferra's face answered none of her concerns, "You're going to have to ask him."

Making her way across the courtyard, Capitaine did all she could to avoid her classmates yet still avoiding looking suspicious. She had learned a lot about social methodologies over the past several years, but generally she didn't like them. There were too many and too many things to consider, Capitaine still liked to avoid them altogether. Soon arriving at Captain Taggart's office, Capitaine looked at herself to make sure she was presentable, rarely had she ever needed to talk to a non-academy officer. Ringing the door chime, she soon her his voice from inside "Come! Cadet."

Captain Taggart was a Denobulan with dark brown hair and a tall posture. Capitaine was obviously worried, but still tried to keep herself calm. Her efforts caused her voice to come out toneless "You asked to see me, sir?"

"I did."

Pausing to look down at his PADD, Capitaine felt her anxiety building to a point where she had to actively control herself from trembling. She was afraid, but she knew very well she had no reason to be, the worst he could say was she had to spend another semester or year at the academy. That might be something interesting, but she was worried her friends might think less of her; Capitaine had no family or other friendships to keep up, so her friends were all she ever had. What seemed like several minutes was actually only several seconds. Taggart had only glanced down before looking up again, "There have been some recommendations against you, but I've been following your progress here at the academy, and despite other aspects, I must say I'm inpressed."

"Thank you, Captain." Instinctively Capitaine responded, but felt she should have let him continue uninterrupted instead.

"I'm just looking at your final test scores, but I don't see your results for the advanced phaser training program."

Blinking a bit before responding, "I know, that program is advised for tactical officers, sir, but I'm not a tactical officer."

"I want everyone on my senior staff to run that program, and I want to see good results. No exceptions."

Listing to him thoroughly, Capitaine was confused at his response. "Did you say 'senior staff'?"

"I did. Like I said, I've been following your career here at the academy. If you complete that program, I can put you on my bridge. I'll ask my tactical officer to set it up."

Excited at being given the opportunity at a bridge position, Capitaine's attention instead focused on another detail "Your *tactical* officer, sir? Who is that?"

Smiling at her question, Taggart responded in a more joyful tone, "Another fine *cadet* like yourself. Her scores are curiously almost as good as yours, but her record has noticably more *blemishes*. Still, I'm sure Cadet Flores will settle down and become a fine officer someday. I'll tell her to meet you out in the quad. Talk to her to start the phaser training, and I'll meet you when you're finished. Dismissed, Cadet."

"Yes, sir!" Saluting and quickly marching out, Capitaine paused a moment to reposture herself and recompile what Captain Taggart had just told her.

She was going to be his bridge officer! Her anxiety now replaced with an equal feeling of excitement, Capitaine almost couldn't contain herself, now thinking what she thought Frankie feels on a regular basis. Walking out to the quad with a confident smile, she looked for Elisa, who was usually a little late. Appearing behind her, Elisa placed a hand on her should, startling her. "Capitaine! I got the Tactical Officer spot! Just what I wanted, too! Where'd you end up?"

Confident but nervous, Capitaine responded in her usual quiet demeanor, "Captain Taggart says he wants me on the senior staff, but I have to pass advanced phaser training first."

"You never did that? I thought you were *Ms. Extra Credit*! Everyone knows that Captain Taggart expects all his top people to pass that program."

"Now you tell me ... "

"Don't worry. You'll do fine. C'mon, I'll take you to the holodeck and set it up."

The walk was brief but Capitaine had never handled a weapon before, the thought of it was a little unsettling.

"Looks like we might still be roommates, the ole' crew still together as always! And it seems most of our class ended up on Captain Taggart's ship."

Looking out over the bay and courtyard, Elisa started looking wishful allofasudden, Capitaine couldn't tell if she wanted to leave sooner or later. "Have you seen the whales in San Francisco Bay? I never seem to spot them. I sometimes forget that Boothby is a hologram. He seems like such a fixture here at Starfleet Academy."

As Capitaine thought of how much the Academy had in terms of scenery, Elisa's attitude suddenly changed, taking off towards the main building. "Last one to the console buys the first round tonight!"

Realizing Elisa's distraction, Capitaine lunged into a sprint. Stilling thinking elsewhere, Capitaine still knew she had to come to a tie with Elisa. Running through the crowds and to the holodecks, Capitaine made sure to stop ahead of Elisa at the doors. Turning to see Elisa focusing on setting up the holodeck, she seemed to have dropped the notion of buying drinks.

"I hope Holodeck 2 is your lucky holodeck, roomie!"

"I'll need a phaser."

"Phasers are in the lockers by the holodecks. You can grab one there. Let's go."

Looking over the rifles and heavy equipment, Capitaine was handed a standard hand phaser. It was light-weight, well-balanced, and had a touchpad on the top for different settings. Making the final adjustments to the simulation, Elisa opened the doors and pointed Capitaine inwards, "Good luck, roomie."

The holodeck room quickly changed to a darkly lit hallway.

Capitaine took stock of where she was, she could feel she was on board a damaged ship and there were dead Klingons and Starfleet security crewmen about her. Being overwhelmed by the situation as a whole, Capitaine realized she hadn't asked what she was supposed to be doing. Guessing she was on a Klingon ship, the hallway wasn't like any Federation ship she had seen or studied.

A Starfleet crewman started groaning, catching her attention. Helping him up, he was a lieutenant, but had suffered a bad disruptor wound to the leg and chest. Still knowing he was only a hologram, Capitaine felt scared and frightened that he wouldn't survive much longer without medical attention. Hitting her commbadge and calling for a medical officer, the Lieutenant perked up, his voice raspy and himself gasping for breath.

"Did anyone else survive the blast?"

"No, Lieutenant, we're the only ones it seems ... "

"We had to do this, we've got to stop this ship! Its ... its ... "

Gasping at his last words, his body shuddered as he relaxed to the side of the wall, dead.

Calming herself at having witnessed her first death, Capitaine looked at his rifle, which was out of energy. The simulation was rather straight forward, looking through a damaged wall panel there were only several doors that could be opened. At first expecting to go to engineering, she realized she was supposed to go to the bridge.

The first several rooms were simple, but Capitaine wasn't very well versed with a phaser. She missed some shots and caused some of the Klingon officers to sound an alarm. Knowing her phaser couldn't take them all out without overloading or overheating, she was forced to come up with more creative methods.

At this point however, her methods were limited by her surroundings, the environment was simple. Capitaine knew if it wasn't for her strength, she would have *died* and failed the test. Tearing out some wall panels and console displays, Capitaine managed to throw them at several reinforcing officers, giving her time to engage them in hand-to-hand combat. They were better fighters, but she had more strength and better reflexes. Being knocked around quite a bit, Capitaine still managed to fight her way to the bridge:

A large open room, it would be difficult without prior knowledge of the room's layout. Hiding behind the doorway, Capitaine glanced how many were in the bridge. Thankfully there weren't many.

Quickly dispatching them, the Klingon Captain destroyed her phaser but not before she knocked his disruptor to the far side of the room. Now being challenged with a mek'leth, Capitaine readied herself, seeing nothing she could easily use to counter the Klingon's blade. He was not as skilled as Capitaine had prepared herself to expect; quickly kicking his shins out, Capitaine lifted him by his shoulders and flung him across the room. He slumped to the ground and stayed there. Capitaine assumed he was dead. Looking over her hands and arms; the safety protocols were still on, although she felt a slight tingling. Looking up, expecting the simulations to end, she noticed everything had froze, even the smoke and fires.

However, No arch or doorway appeared and she couldn't communicate to anyone. First wondering if she had forgotten something or done something wrong, Capitaine was about to retrace her steps back to dead lieutenant. As she walked out to leave, she heard a familiar voice from behind her. Jumped around and ready to fight, Capitaine saw the Captain's Chair turn to her with a Starfleet officer sitting calmly in it.

The officer was wearing an admiral's rank and an overly-elegant floor-length dress that seemed to be part of the her uniform. Walking closer through the smoke and haze, Capitaine saw the admiral was, herself. Not sure what to do or say, the admiral spoke first,

"Hello there, Capitaine! I know this is going to sound crazy, but I'm you, ... I've come back to the past to tell you information you're going to need in the future. I don't quite understand everything myself, but I remember talking to *me*when I was standing in *your* shoes, so I knew I had to do this."

Listening but not quite understanding, Capitaine couldn't take her eyes off the admiral who claimed-to-be-her. After another moment of silently staring at eachother, Capitaine spoke up, "Alright, ... okay ... Let's assume I believe you ... me? ... you."

Now smiling, the admiral continued, "Great! Just as accepting and easy as I remember being. ... which is good. ... But, I do remember have to prove to myself, so anyways, sophomore year, first day of classes, you a snuck a set Elisa's clothes. And I mean a *full* set of clothes, pants, shirt, socks, underwear, and ... "

"Yes, ... yes, I remember that, but it was only because ... "

" ... because Elisa shrunk every piece of our clothing down by three sizes ... "

"Well, yes... yet, Elisa ... "

"... But you never told anyone *this*: you felt more at home in her clothes than in yours."

Awestruck with terror and embarrassment that someone else knew that, and trying to shrink away into the smoke and darkness of the Klingon Bridge, Capitaine stared fearfully and in awe of the woman in the Captain's Chair. There was an awkward silence, but with *Admiral Capitaine* there, Capitaine didn't feel anxious or uncomfortable. Capitaine had practically hid that memory from herself, it reminded her of how alone she felt, how much she hated Elisa's practical jokes, but also she loved Elisa as the only family she had.

"Sorry to bring that up again, but you should remember that anybody should have a chance to surprise you. You'll even meet Romulans, Klingons, *and Terrans* who want to do the right thing."

" 'Terrans'? ... "

"Yes, *remember that*. Anyways, if you still have any nagging doubts, you can always check with temporal Investigations after you talk to Admiral Quinn when you receive your first command ... w-ww-which I should probably shouldn't have ... Capitaine! ... mm-e, you ... you, Capitaine, are you ready to hear what I have to say?"

Both of them now clearly seeing the anxiety and nervousness in each other, Capitaine closed her eyes as she responded to the admiral, still not very believing, but her curiosity getting the better of herself, "I'll do that. What is it that you want me to know?"

Her smile returning, the admiral pulled out a small circular device, imbued on the top with a small holographic projector. "Let's get down to business, then ... There is a war coming, Capitaine. An ancient race known as the Iconians once ruled huge areas of space, including this one. In their time, they were considered gods, with technology far beyond any other's. It took all of the Iconian's enemies, the entire galaxy, rising up as one to defeat them. We thought they were extinct, but we now know we were wrong. And they've returned to take back everything that was once theirs. ... That's where you come in."

Hanging on every word the admiral was saying, Capitaine suddenly snapped back as the Admiral stopped and smiled at her. "Why me? What makes me special?"

Chuckling at her counterpart's surprise, the Admiral handed Capitaine the circular device. "Let's just say that Elisa's antics will start becoming a respite, rather than an menace. ... So, someone had once described my, *your*, life as an outlier in the normal flow of things. You'll have opportunities that most of Starfleet's officers will never have thought of to gather intelligence on this race until it was too late, but I, *you*, did. Throughout my, your, *our* career, Starfleet and the galaxy will benefit from the knowledge I'll give you today. So that when the war with the Iconians comes, we will have a fighting chance. ..."

Now focused on the small circular Device, Capitaine played with it in her fingers a moment, still listening, but not entirely focused on what the Admiral was saying. " ... That's why I've come back ... so that we'll be prepared and that you will know what to do."

"Tell me what I need to know." Capitaine repeated, wanting to hear more about ... herself from ... herself. Knowing the paradox, Capitaine was deeply interested, wanting to know, curious to know, *needing* to know; feeling unexplainable connection to this suddenly-appearing-admiral, Capitaine felt herself desperate, seeing that perhaps her future had some worth and perhaps she would learn of herself and her personal history.

Seeing the intent and hopeful expression on Capitaine face, the admiral simply smiled and placed her hands Capitaine's shoulders, calming her. "I think you know, I can't just drop everything on you at once. *That could cause a paradox.* You'll still need to locate all this information yourself. Bbbuuutt ... I can help guide you. And you'll make friends that can help guide you as well!"

Feeling the physical force on her shoulder, Capitaine felt a little more convinced this admiral was who she claimed to be, " Friends? Guide me? How?"

Pointing to the circular device, she continued, "That is a Tesseract Communication Device. It allows me one-way communication from the future to you. There will be updates through that device as you progress through your career. Check it often. ... You are not alone this either, there are others who can help you, but we both know well enough that this needs to be kept a secret."

"What others? Who?!"

Suddenly changing her expression, the admiral took her hand off if Capitaine's shoulder and stepped back, now seeing a hopeful but disappointed look on her face. "I think I've taken up as much of your time as I can. Elisa and Captain Taggart are waiting for you."

Looking down at the circular *thing*, "Ummm ... thank you? ... but I ... "

Looking back up, Capitaine saw the admiral was gone and the program was now back in motion. Feeling confused, lonely, but inspired, she quickly shoved the device into her pocket, and walked over to retrieve her phaser. The handle and the barrel had been smashed apart, and the energy cell had discharged. Soon seeing Elisa and Captain Taggart waiting through the open holodeck doors, Capitaine walked up to them, knowing she shouldn't immediately bring up *the admiral* who had appeared.

"Well done, Cadet. You're creativity was impressive; you're not going to break any academy records, but your score was more than satisfactory."

Walking out of the holodeck and still feeling the device in her pocket, Capitaine noticed Elisa and Captain Taggart didn't seem to notice the extra minutes she spent talking to *her future self*. Not quite sure how to keep Elisa from seeing something was *off*, Capitaine plainly responded, trying to get the three of them to move along. "Thank you. captain. Do you have an assignment for me now?"

The tone in his voice changing to a be more formal, Captain Taggart smiled as he spoke proudly. He continued walking, leading the two cadets out to the main foyer. "Absolutely. I have a new first officer. Congratulations."

Nibling her lip in disbelief, Capitaine calmly repeated his last words, "'First officer,' sir"?

Chuckling at her plain response, Captain Taggart repeated himself. "Yes. You should be proud of your accomplishments here, Cadet. You have a promising career ahead of you in Starfleet."

"Thank you, sir. It will be an honor serving with you."

"Indeed, Cadet Capitaine. I'll see you onboard."

Captain Taggart entered his office to finish his last paperwork, Elisa and Capitaine were left outside; they too had some last minute activities to finish. Elisa was more excited then Capitaine, or at least on the outside; she couldn't seem to keep herself quiet. "First Officer! Way to go! Just a little jealous, I'll admit. I think I know you've been angsty about bossing us around, but now you can without backlash."

"Its a lot of pressure, I hope I'm up to it."

"Just don't over do it, roomie ... you look *flushed*. We should head up to the shuttlebay. Everyone else is waiting there for the ceremonial send-off toast."

Feeling the device was still in her pocket, Capitaine resisted the urge to take a second look at it; it wasn't some holodeck malfunction or elaborate prank. Elisa saw Capitaine was fingering something in her pockets, she was about to ask, but the pair stopped as an announcement came over the intercomm.

"Academy wide announcement: All cadets report to Shuttle Bay to prepare for departure."

Taking the turbolifts, Elisa saw Capitaine's nervous behavior and wanted to calm her, telling her what to expect. "OK, all of the senior staff is waiting by the bar. I'm sure everyone's a bit nervous too, this being our first real assignment and all. So ... I'm expecting an inspiring speech out of you. Something heartwarming t'make T'Vrell cry!"

Not feeling much relief, Capitaine repostured herself as the doors opened to the hangar bay. It was a large room, practically a building with walls that extended only halfway to the ceiling. Although she tried to be discreet, Capitaine saw that Elisa had mouthed "First Officer" to the group. The group being just Elisa and her friends: Morek, Asher, Zarva, Anne, Razkii, T'Vrell, and Elisa taking her spot in the circle. Seeing everybody holding thier drink, she was handed a cup of hot chocolate as Elisa nudged her to speak.

Building something as she was speaking it, Capitaine knew she was stuttering but couldn't tell where and on what word, she just spoke something as soon or as much as it came to her mind.

"May I have everyone's attention?

We are the senior staff of the U.S.S. Miranda. Each and every one of us has trained for the task at hand. And we are ready! I have the utmost faith in each of you. You're the best the Academy has, and together, we can do anything. All I ask is that we support one another. If we can work as a team, we can accomplish our goals. To Starfleet Academy! To the U.S.S. Miranda! To her crew!"

Rasing her glass, the rest quickly followed suit with a eager and interested smile on their face. Together they toasted "To the Class of 2409!"

Drinking their glasses, the moment was interrupted as the comm system blared out another announcement.

"Academy wide announcement: All cadets please board your shuttles."

The group walking over, Elisa and Zarva led the group while Capitaine and T'Vrell followed the end. All speaking as they waited in line, they stated their position to Capitaine; she was thinking Elisa might have encouraged them to do so.

T'Vrell, was next to her and had the first opportunity while they were walking over. "My assignment on the ship is that of Communications Officer. The captain expects succinct yet informative communication on the bridge, and that is what I intend to provide."

Zarva was alittle louder as usual, shouting over some of the others, "My assignment is acting Chief of Engineering. All those months of studying the Miranda's technical manuals is about to pay off!"

Razkii, on hearing Zarva, slowed to Capitaine side before speaking. "I'm slotted as Security Chief. Not that I expect anything to actually do anything exciting on a training cruise."

Asher followed to the other side of Razkii, waiting for him to finish. "So you're the one who got First Officer? Honestly, I'm kind of relieved. I hear Captain Taggart is a stickler for the rules on his bridge."

Having been immediately in front, Morek spun around, nervous but proud, "I'm the acting Medical Officer. If you happen to trip and stub your toe, I'm the Benzite to see!"

Anne stumbled over Morek as he walked backward while speaking, after a brief glare, she turned to Capitaine with a enthusiastic smile. "Acting Helmsman Anne Potter reporting for duty! Course and speed? All walk to the deck officer in front of a line of shuttles."

Everyone laughing at the cheesiness of Anne's line, they walked to one of the deck officers. Now back in the back of the group, T'Vrell cleared her throat, wanting to ask Capitaine a question. "Excuse me, First Officer, may I ask a personal question?"

Still getting to know the positions of her friends, "Of course, Cadet! But T'Vrell, you can always just call me *Capitaine*; we're not even on-duty yet! What is on your mind?"

"Well, *Capitaine*. I wanted to share an idea that we've hypothesized more than once. Have you ever considered that your's is part of a larger plan? Cadet Flores has always started on how your scheduling is unusually convenient. However, this usually reverts back to your hair color, which is always restated to be a natural color."

Feeling an irresistible urge to tassel her hair, Capitaine hadn't ever heard this before, and with her recent encounter in the holodeck there might be some truth to what T'Vrell was saying. Initially wanting to speak again with her to discuss the idea, actually seeing T'vrell's attempt at a giggle and a smile made Capitaine laugh. Quickly stifling her amusement she thanked T'Vrell, brushing aside the idea that T'Vrell might be in with the *admiral*'s involvement.

Coming up to the Deck Officer, he simply pointed everybody to their shuttles, barely glancing at their faces, only needing a ship and a name.

The shuttle fit about twenty to thirty people. T'Vrell sat near Zarva, discussing some engineering theory. Elisa saved a seat for Capitaine, where the two could look out the window.

"I can't believe we're finally doing this, Capitaine!"

The ride from the campus and through the atmosphere was quick and smooth. Capitaine hadn't ridden in a shuttle since the initial ride those many years ago. It wasn't quite how she had remembered, but there were many more people on board and this shuttle was *leaving* the planet the shipyards and Earth Space Dock, Elisa pointed out a large cruiser orbiting the station.

"Look at *that*. The USS Vesta, first of her class. She's got subsystem targeting, a crew of 750, auxillary phaser cannons, and even a quantum field focus controller. I can't wait to captain one someday. ... And then there's our ship. A Miranda-class: 200 crew, two forward weapon mounts, one aft. Average speed, maximum warp: *five point nothing* ... Shes a tough little ship, and I think I'll come to like her!"

Her tone changing after her sales pitch, Capitaine could tell Elisa wasn't amused by the little ship she had been assigned to. But she didn't really have any say in it, Capitaine didn't either, none of them hadn't. Arriving onboard, there wasn't as much bustling as Capitaine expected, but Elisa soon filled her in.

"We're the final shuttle to arrive. We need to get to the bridge!"

"*Really*?"

"Yeah, *First Officer*! I'm going to check in and then head for the bridge. See ya there!"

Seeing Elisa checking in them running to a turbolift, Capitaine approached the same flight deck officer, a female human wearing lieutenant pips.

"Name and position?"

"Cadet Capitaine. Acting First Officer."

"Ah, there you are! I have your record right here, ma'am. I'm Lieutenat Brikkars, welcome to the ship."

"Thank you, where is the captain?"

"Captain Taggart is waiting for you on the bridge."

Hearing a crash, Brikkars was cut short, handing the cadet behind her a PADD with a duty roster. Looking beyond, there were several conversations of panic, confusion, and operations protocols between cadets and crew. Seeing everything was minor and under control, Capitaine entered the turbolifts to the bridge.

- END OF CHAPTER -