Good morning and happy Friday, my lovely readers! You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to today. This was one of my favorite chapters to write (well, vaguely introductory chapters, anyway). I was giggling maniacally the entire time. Hope you enjoy this particular bit of plot development.
Now, I'm not usually one to reply to reviews in my author's notes, but for the person (you know who you are) who hazarded a guess at a potential future plot line: I ain't saying nothing! :) Mwahahahahahahahahahaha!
Disclaimer: Once again, I only own my OCs. Jim, Bones, and anyone else are not mine.
"Kari!" Camille called. "Where is my chocolate?"
Karina sat directly up in bed. "Okay, I know my track record is not the best here, but I swear, I did nothing. I don't know where your chocolate stash is, I swear."
Camille's eyes narrowed. "Forgive me if I don't quite believe you."
And she rushed at Karina.
Karina, fully prepared for this, tucked and rolled off the bed. Cam's flying leap resulted in nothing but her flopping down on the mattress, her arms empty of her intended target. Letting out an enraged roar, she clawed her way up and took off after Karina, who had raced for the bathroom.
"If you want to successfully capture me, Cam, don't teach me how to defend myself!" Karina taunted before slamming the door and locking it.
Camille threw herself against the door. Anyone who didn't know the two girls might think she was overreacting over a few sweets, but in all actuality, the pair of them were just messing around with each other. Had Camille been able to catch her, the most harm that would have come to Karina would maybe have been some tickling.
However, the older girl was seriously starting to regret the self-defense lessons she'd given her friend. This was the fourth time in the past month she'd tried to grab Karina, and the slippery little sneak had always managed to escape her clutches. Every. Single. Time.
"Dammit, Kari, let me in!"
"Sure, Bones. Of course I will. Just as soon as Jim returns your chocolate stash." A pause came from the other side of the door. "Wait. Isn't that supposed to only be for emergencies?"
"Don't change the subject here, Kari. Now, what do you know about Jim?"
Karina made the mistake of assuming she was safe. Opening the door, she was met with a tackle to the floor. Camille knelt on top of her, her knee caps touching Karina's shoulders. Staring directly into Karina's eyes, Camille said without blinking, "Where has he hidden it?"
Karina looked genuinely terrified. "You have the crazy eyes, did you know?"
"That's the goal. Now spill." Camille found herself even more irked when it became clear Karina was trying not to smile through her terror.
"I will not betray him," she said, affecting a melodramatic air. "I'm no snitch!"
"I know where you hide your language addict kit," Cam threatened.
Karina's eyes widened. The one true sign of her geekiness, the box under her bed filled with anything and everything having to do with the different languages and cultures of both Earth and the galaxy. Her instant solution to boredom. And if there was one major phobia Karina had nowadays, it was a fear of boredom.
"You wouldn't."
"I might."
"He has it under his bed. He snuck in here last night and stole it. On my honor."
Camille let her up, fake glaring at her and shaking her head in mock disgust. "What honor? To betray me like this? You have none."
Karina stood and walked back into the room, bowing as she went through the door. "I have the honor of a thief, my lady. Come on, I'll show you where he's got it. He should be out at this point. I heard him complaining about having class at eight yesterday."
Both girls stopped short, however, when they saw that there was a memo on the message board. These were a new installment of Starfleet, sort of like what had once been called e-mail, but faster. If an officer wanted to get ahold of a cadet, they had only to type in a message on their personal messenger and it would pop up on the cadet's board. If the cadet was in, they couldn't miss it. Camille and Karina hadn't received a message yet. They both crowded around the board.
"Wonder which of us it's for?" Camille asked before opening it.
"One way to find out," Karina said, nodding. Cam clicked on the message and it pulled up on screen.
"It's for you," she said, turning to Karina, who swallowed. While the feature was cool, it was still a little disconcerting to be contacted by an officer before she knew what it was about. Breathing in deeply, she read the text.
Bartowski,
I need to see you in my office tomorrow at 10. A matter has arisen that we need to discuss as soon as possible.
Karina was even more uncomfortable to see that it was Pike's name at the bottom of the note. Feeling a little unsteady on her feet, she sat down on her desk, which happened to be right next to the board. Camille read the message and turned back to her friend.
"Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing, you know," Camille said, attempting to ease Karina's nerves. "Just because an officer calls you in, it's not a reprimand. And you haven't done anything to be reprimanded for…besides assisting Jim in thievery."
Karina ran her fingers through her hair, a sure sign that Camille's efforts were fruitless. Her lips were pursed, indicative that she was deep in thought.
"I know I haven't done anything, so I don't think it's a reprimand," Karina said. "But what could it be?" A terrifying thought occurred to her. "Cam…what if he's changed his mind? What if he doesn't want me on his crew anymore? What if I'm off the Enterprise?"
The panic slowly rose in her voice. All she wanted was the security of knowing that she was on the same crew as Jim, Camille, and Bones. Being separated from the people she'd come to think of as family scared her far more than boredom ever had. It hadn't even crossed her mind until then that it might be a possibility.
Camille was already shaking her head, though, halfway through Karina's expression of her fears.
"I highly doubt it," she said. "You kind of saved Starfleet."
"You, Jim, and Bones had something to do with it too, you know," Karina put in. "I mean, I just listened to some transmissions and nearly got us all killed. You guys actually successfully fought the Romulans off."
"Whatever," Camille said. "None of that would have been worth anything if they'd gotten their hands on the weapons system, which you prevented by sticking to it. Why would he reward you and then just take that away, after what you did?"
She reached out and pulled Karina off the desk. "Come on. I might let you have some of that chocolate, when we find it. And you can make it through a day before meeting with Pike."
Bones, headed to the clinic, stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the girls leaving Jim's room. What the heck was Camille doing in Jim's room? Wait. Did she have chocolate? Was Jim giving her chocolate?
The fact that it bothered him so much made Bones highly uncomfortable. If he'd been one to squirm, he probably would have. He supposed Jim and Camille were close enough. He shouldn't be shocked if something developed there. Besides, Jim was closer in age to Camille than…wait. Than whom? Him? Ha.
No, he was merely…looking out for Camille's well-being. Jim wasn't known for being the most committed of men in relationships, and he just didn't want to see her get hurt. That was it. That was all.
He had to keep telling himself that as he made his way to the clinic. But he fervently hoped he did not run into Jim, as he might have trouble eking out pleasantries. Well, more trouble than normal.
Karina straightened her red skirt for the fiftieth time since she'd sat down outside Pike's office. He had an appointment before her, as well, apparently. And it was taking forever. Karina checked her watch. 10:15. What in the name of all that was holy could take so utterly long?
Mentally checking herself, she breathed in and out deeply a couple of times. Pike was an important official in Starfleet. The man was head of the Academy, for goodness' sake! He probably had something very important going on right now, something that made her appointment pale in comparison, and she needed to just be patient. It was a Tuesday, so she didn't have a class until noon. She had plenty of time.
But the prospect of what this appointment might be about continued to niggle at her. What ifs ran through her mind at one hundred miles an hour. Other than what she'd contemplated yesterday morning, she could think of no other reason the captain would want to see her.
Instinctively, her hand went up to her hair, and she ran her fingers through it. Before she got to the bottom, however, she hit a snag. Retracting her hands, Karina settled for gritting her teeth. That seemed like a viable alternative.
Her life was kind of like that. She would be sailing along, pushing back the strands of hair, when suddenly her path was blocked by a snag. Wondering how big of a snag this meeting would prove to be, she prepared herself to accept whatever the captain told her graciously.
At long last, the door opened. She recognized the older man who exited as Admiral Marcus, head of Starfleet. Her nerves, compiled with slight intimidation, roiled in her stomach, threatening nausea. She swallowed hard, knowing that it wouldn't do at this point to lose her breakfast all over Marcus' shoes.
Fortunately, the man didn't even look her way. He merely turned down the corridor and walked away, and Karina almost breathed a sigh of relief. It caught in her throat, however, and she wondered if that was how Camille felt when she had her episodes. But Cam hadn't had a problem with her lungs in ages, at least, nothing major. They had Bones to thank for that one.
Karina knocked on the side of Pike's door. The captain, who had been massaging his temples as though he had a headache, stood and motioned her to come in.
"Bartowski," he greeted her. "Have a seat."
Karina blinked, but obeyed. Normally, protocol required that she, as the cadet, remain standing, so whatever Pike had to say, it obviously was either going to take a while or be a shock. She prayed fervently that it was the former, if either.
"You asked to see me, sir?" she said, hoping her voice didn't sound as small as it felt.
"Yes," he said. It sounded as though he was thinking, wondering where he should begin. Karina felt cold sweat start to break out under her uniform and bit back frustration.
"I won't beat around the bush here, Cadet," he said. "You're a bright kid. Only fifteen and already one of the top xenolinguistics recruits we have. You've improved since you came to us last year, and you were already stellar. And on top of that, you stopped an invasion in its tracks."
"I had help, sir," she interjected. He smiled and nodded, and she felt herself begin to breathe again. Humility was always a good policy in these situations.
"That you did," he said. "And you know it's my desire to have you serve under me on the Enterprise. But as I said in my message, a slight complication has arisen."
Karina felt her heart drop to her stomach. So that was it. She'd been right.
"Starfleet protocol mandates that we give the top cadets in their field the right to pick which ship they serve on. And while you are one of our best…you're not quite at the top. Our top xenolinguistics cadet has requested a position on the Enterprise. For confidentiality purposes, I can't disclose their name, only that they are trained for the exact same job as you, Bartowski."
Karina nodded, fighting back the emotion that threatened. "I understand, sir. And I fully accept your decision – "
"I wasn't quite finished, Cadet."
She stopped short, nodded and let him continue. But he didn't continue. He merely looked her up and down, as though deciding whether what he was about to say was a good idea. He was silent for so long she nearly jumped out of her skin when he spoke again.
"How is your Russian, Cadet Bartowski?"
Karina stared at him for a good fifteen seconds before finally replying, "My…Russian, Captain?"
"Yes. The language. It says on your application that it's one of the…twenty you speak?"
Frowning, she said, "It's…satisfactory, I suppose, Captain Pike. May I ask why?"
For crying out loud, why had she played it down? Actually, it was one of her favorite languages, one she was better at than most others. So why had she said it was only satisfactory? She didn't know why it was so vital that she speak Russian, but what if he needed better than "satisfactory?" What if he needed fluency?!
She reminded herself that breathing was still necessary no matter how freaked out she was and listened to Captain Pike's next statement.
"I'm going to level with you here. My hands are kind of tied. I don't know if you saw Admiral Marcus on the way out, but he's given me very few options. I can break protocol and tell the other cadet to pick another ship, when they've earned the right to choose, or I can do that to you. And as far as I'm concerned, you've earned the right, too. Marcus thinks you're just a kid who probably couldn't handle the position you would be assigned anyway."
"What position, Captain?" she asked, curiosity making her forget the boundaries of respect. The fact that he wasn't explaining the comment about her Russian abilities was bad enough. But letting her stew about that one was too much.
"You would have had a bridge position," Pike replied. Fortunately, the man didn't seem to mind when she interrupted. Regrettably, Karina realized, she'd done that quite a bit during this conversation. Determining that she would just let Pike explain from thereon out, she sat back and let it sink in. A position on the bridge of the USS Enterprise. That was what she had lost. Or not.
"However, he has agreed to let me experiment with something," Pike continued. "Taking two situations where my hands are tied and seeing if they can work the knots out together."
Why did Karina get the feeling she was now filed in Pike's desk under the title "situation?"
"You remember, Cadet, when I was looking for my crew this last winter, I was struggling to find someone in the navigation field?" he asked.
Karina nodded, not following.
"Well, I think I found my guy here. Real bright kid, something of a prodigy, like yourself. Once again, top of the class. Seems like I have my decision cut out for me, right? Not so much. The problem is, this cadet is fluent in Russian, but not a whole heck of a lot else. Don't ask me how he passed our entrance exams without speaking Standard, but, like I said, bright kid. Now, say we're being fired on by a party of Klingon war birds. I can't have the complication of an interpreter in that situation. I need my crew to be able to speak Standard English.
"However, as in your case, I like giving people what they deserve, and I'd say he's earned this spot. So, once again, I'm between a rock and a hard place," Pike finished. "You ever taught anyone Standard before, Bartowski?"
Karina shook her head. "I haven't, sir, but I understand the basic concept of teaching Standard. I taught myself nineteen other languages." Crap. Was she bragging now? Oh, crap.
"All right, I'll make a deal with you, then. You get this cadet speaking decent enough English by the time the pair of you are ready to join the crew, and the positions – both of which are bridge positions by the way – are yours. This sound reasonable to you, Bartowski?" He rose, signifying that when she rose to give her answer, their meeting would be over.
Karina couldn't stand fast enough. "More than reasonable, sir. I'm willing, if you think it's the best solution."
"Excellent," Pike said. "I'll make any necessary arrangements for the pair of you. Good luck, Cadet. Personally, I hope you can make this work."
Karina wasn't quite finished yet, however.
"Wait just a moment, sir. I have a few questions myself, before I leave."
He nodded, and she was glad her response hadn't seemed out of line. After all, he technically hadn't dismissed her yet, but still, their standing should have signified that the meeting was over. Karina knew that Pike was not one to mess with, from what Jim had told her about the man. But she also had found him to be more laid back than most Starfleet officers once you got past the intimidating exterior, a trait she appreciated.
"What will happen to the other cadet, Captain Pike? The one whose place I will be taking. If I succeed, what does that mean for them?"
Pike hesitated for just a moment before responding.
"I'm not sure at this point in time, Cadet. I'm fairly certain she will still be able to serve on the Enterprise, just start a bit further down the chain of command. Don't worry about her, Bartowski. We won't be entirely unfair. Marcus has agreed that if this works, he'll loosen up on protocol a bit."
Karina nodded, and Pike eyed her, seeing if she was actually going to leave yet.
"Will that be all?" he asked. She didn't get the impression he was eager for her to be gone, so she shook her head.
"Just one more question, sir," she said. "Could I get a name? For the cadet I'll be teaching. I figure that's a good thing for me to know going into this."
Pike opened his mouth to respond, then frowned. Bending down to one of his desk drawers, he riffled through a file while muttering, "Name? Something impossibly Russian that I can never remember…Peter Chomsky or something."
Karina resisted the urge to peek over his desk at the drawer. The man had always struck her as an organized person, but with the amount of time it was taking him to find this file…she was beginning to doubt.
"Ah, here it is," Pike said, bringing up a paper-thin folder. The guy must keep a low profile, Karina thought. She'd personally seen her own folder and it was an inch thick. Apparently stopping a Romulan invasion did that. Cam, Bones, and Jim, were much the same. This folder, however, held a single sheet of paper. Why she found that odd, she couldn't explain. Maybe she thought Pike should know more than a few select facts about his crew.
He scanned the paper, then looked up at her.
"Chekov," he said. "His name's Pavel Chekov. That good enough for you to go on, Bartowski?"
Karina smiled. "That'll be all, Captain."
"Dismissed then, Cadet. And once again, good luck."