"Think like me," Bones said as they lay in bed. She thought hard about what he just said. The only thing she had left before break was the A.T.T. science mission final; Tanika Station. Jamie had been trying to figure out how to succeed at the mission, and Bones' advice was to think like him. "I'm a scientist, Jim. You tactical guys swoop in, take over and ask questions later but my job is to observe and ask questions first. When you go in there, think about what I would do, not what your instincts tell you to do." Jamie could understand that. She was still upset at the other team for what they did to Bones but decided that beating their score was a million times better then kicking their asses. Maybe not a million but it was holding her attention.

The morning of the exam, Bones went to the shuttle bay to do the pre-mission exam, per Jamie's request. He checked the team over and slipped his girl a note. He was also there as a huge 'fuck you' to team Alpha. He knew that Pike would be among the observers for the test but he was shocked to learn that Spock and Telemark would be also. They were all tense, Raynor more than the others. Bones gave them the ok just before they were called to load up on the shuttle Gilliam. Glorak was excited to go, so was Braxim. Raynor didn't show any emotions either way and Simmons looked a little scared. Bones gave her a quick kiss.

"Nice suit. Good luck, darlin'. I should be home when you get back." Jamie couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips as she made her way to the shuttle.

"What does it say?" Brax saw the note that Bones passed her and asked as soon as they were outta earshot.

"It says that 'Nothing is ever all that it seems, be careful not to jump without a parachute. You are sexy as hell when you're about to kick ass. Good luck. I love you.'"

Brax smirked, "He's not as grumpy as he likes us to think." Jamie tucked it into a pocket on her holster and kept walking.

On their way to the station, Commander Tomlin gave them their simulated briefing over vid-comm. "Three days ago, fleet intel intercepted a signal from a deep-space object of considerable mass. Patrol tracked the signal to an active platform of advanced design. Communication attempts have been met with no response. A security recon team discovered a simple airlock, entered and established an outpost. Based on preliminary visual and sensor data there appears to be an advanced alien eco-system. Like a greenhouse in space." The Commander paused to let it sink in, "We've named it Tanika. Captain Kirk, your team is being deployed for observation and sampling. Any questions?"

"Sentient life?" Jamie asked.

"Negative," was Tomlin's reply. She asked about the air, any mechanical equipment and the gravity. The timing was perfect because she wrapped up with Tomlin and arrived at the station. When they docked into Tanika Station, Jamie took a look outside and it took her breath away.

"Alright, gentlemen. Helmets on, it's time for EVA," she ordered. Extravehicular activities were just a fancy way to say spacewalk; the team had to go outside to get into the station. Because they got a lot of training with the skintight bio-suits, they were ready in less than a minute. The EVA was quick and simple. They got inside and everyone stopped.

Simmons stood next to Jamie, "Holy mother of God." The place was massive and beautiful, plants like she'd never seen before and streams that led to a huge lake.

It took her breath away, "This is…"

"Is that water?" Glorak asked from behind her.

Braxim confirmed, "No surprise, water is the most abundant thing in the universe."

Jamie ordered Raynor to take air readings so that they could take their helmets off, which she did with his assessment reading that the air was okay. They spent three hours –two longer then they planned- making observations, taking notes and imaging the area. Raynor and Glorak were about to take samples when Jamie stopped them.

"They're just plants, Kirk," Raynor said to her but she shook her head.

"I don't think so," she thought to what Bones told her about science, "If we take samples, what are we killing in the process. Not everything is as it appears and I think these life forms are intelligent. We're all having that feeling like we're being watched, I think we are."

Raynor shook his head, "Look Kirk, I know your story. We all do. Most of your life, this was the last thing you wanted to do, join Starfleet. I've wanted to be a bridge officer since I was six." He glanced at everyone else, "What if she's wrong? What if it's just plants and we fail because of her theory?" Jamie looked at him, she knew that he was meticulous with science.

"What do you mean, Raynor?" she asked.

"I don't mean anything, Captain," his reply was a cop out and they all knew it.

Jamie took a breath, "I get what you're saying. For starters, you're wrong about me, everyone thinks that they know my story but the only people who know the sad truth are my brother, Pike and McCoy. Now, if we run through here clipping off pieces of these beings, we could do some real damage. It's bad science, you and I both know that the last thing we want to do is bad science. It won't kill us to take our time. We have to stop thinking of this as a test and we have to stop assuming that this place was built by beings like us." Jamie knew that they were either with her or they weren't, "That lake down there has some kind of properties that I've never seen before, I think that it's sustaining the station. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that we might not want to cut up out hosts in their own home."

Raynor thought about it, "I didn't think about it like that. You might be right. Orders?" Jamie smiled and they got back to work.

They were busy when the siren went off and her communicator came to life, "Delta, we have a situation, you need to evac. I repeat, evacuate the station. Hull breach."

They all put their helmets on and grabbed their gear before sprinting to the airlock. Jamie wasn't sure if it was a real breach or a simulated one, she waited until they were on the shuttle to wonder. "Incoming comm. for your team ma'am." The pilot called from the cockpit.

They all sat at attention as Tomlin came on screen, "I'm going to turn you over to Admiral Miller." Miller was the man in charge of the Academy's testing systems.

"At ease, cadets," the admiral ordered. They all let out a breath and listened to Miller. "Team Captain Kirk, I assume that you will speak for your team." When she confirmed his assumption, he continued, "I have your final assessment. I've been in charge of this test for seventeen years and I've never seen it come together so fast. Like the other simulations, it isn't black or white but I've never seen a team take your course of action. Ever." Jamie was scared that she fucked up and he was just holding her over the fire before he dropped her in it.

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have any questions before I get to this?" the admiral asked.

She had one, "Was the breach real, sir?"

He shook his head, "No cadet, simulated. We like to see what happens when we drop an emergency on a team. Your team was calm and paid attention to detail, one of the best exits I've ever seen. Now, we have a new chief programmer for the test simulations, I'm going to share with you his thoughts on your exam because the entire assessment team was of the same mindset. 'Tanika Station is a dormant world with its own ecological system and prevents a challenge to cadets as it is full of familiar things functioning in unfamiliar ways. Team Delta acknowledged this meta-reality and their decision to refrain from standard specimen collection was the most correct and logical course of action. Sampling would have harmed, and likely killed, the highly intelligent species occupying Tanika Station. Team Delta should be commended for their outstanding attention to detail.' I must say, you did an amazing job, cadets. Miller out." Jamie looked over at her team, who gave her smiles, except Glorak but he doesn't smile.

"Man, I'm glad you didn't listen to me," Raynor said from next to her.

She chuckled, "Wait 'til I tell Bones."