A/N: I got a very kind review requesting more content. I had to respond.

Chapter 5

Fall term flew by. Nyota was nearly done with her math certificate. Commander Spock had taken over her tutoring. Although her classes had been remote, they were still quite rigorous. When Commander Spock took over, her assignments doubled. He met with her once a week online, and he was exacting. Nyota was exhausted. She spent most days pouring over his corrections and revising her weekly assignments.

Although Nyota got a 4.0 in her course of study, she never worked so tirelessly. She was beginning to understand why her degree was the butt of many jokes in the past. Still, Nyota was proud of what she accomplished. With Xeno-anthropology, it was not the coursework that was challenging. It was the practical application of the content. Multilingualism was about more than words. Some cultural mores and restrictions could trip up a mission in a nano-second.

She was so pleased when she had submitted her last exam. Relieved was a better term for how she felt. It had been five days, and she was awaiting her results. Nyota moved swiftly around the room. She was packing her things for the move to the Academy. Charlotte's niece Charlene had offered Nyota space in her graduate suite. It was Charlene's last year at the Academy. As a third year student, she had earned the privilege of living in the doctoral student housing. Nyota hadn't even started her master's degree, but she accepted the offer. The alternative was to live on the top floor of the undergrad building, where the seniors lived.

Nyota's PADD vibrated. She froze and walked over. Whether she passed or not, Nyota was headed to the Academy, but the thought of repeating the course made her a bit nauseous. Nyota grabbed the PADD and walked softly down the stairs to avoid disturbing Ms. Masters. She was surprised when she got to the bottom of the stairs and smelled food cooking. Nyota entered the kitchen and sat her PADD on the counter. She closed her eyes and inhaled.

"Umm, that smells so good," she said with a wide grin.

Ms. Masters chuckles, "Just an old family recipe. I wanted to do something special to celebrate your achievement."

The grin faded from Nyota's face.

Ms. Masters stopped spreading the glaze on the cinnamon buns she had prepared.

"What happened?" Charlotte was afraid to say the words. Nyota had worked hard, but she hadn't had the science and math foundation that Scotty and Charlene had.

"I haven't looked," Nyota whispered.

The tea kettle whistled. Charlotte poured a mug full of water and added a tea ball. Then, she placed it on a tray. She poured another tea for herself and then she placed the buns on plates and carried the tray onto the patio.

She looked over her shoulder and said, "What are you waiting for? Bring your PADD. It is time for a celebration!"

Nyota sighed heavily and grabbed the PADD. She plopped down on her favorite chair. It was early, and the morning sun was tolerable. Nyota took a sip of the tea allowing the warm spices to calm her spirit. Then she typed in her credentials, and the screen flashed. She took another deep breath and navigated to the grade section of SAG, the academy learning management system. Nyota's fingers trembled as she clicked the link that opened the grade page.

"Well?' Charlotte said with a smile.

"I don't understand," Nyota said. She held out her PADD, and Charlotte took it.

"Wow, I thought you said you weren't good at math?" Charlotte said. Scotty had commented about Nyota's struggles as well.

"I don't understand." She scrolled through all of her grades. They had all been revised. Previously, she had a 3.5. Now, she had a 4.1 on a 4.0 scale.

"I have never seen anything like this." She shrugged. She grabbed a cinnamon bun and took a bite. At least she hadn't failed, but there must have been a mistake.

Nyota's hand was still shaking as she took another sip of the tea. She recalled how hard Commander Spock had made her work. Sometimes, she had to redo content she had completed last summer.

"I think he made me repeat all of my coursework." She said.

"You did four courses in twenty weeks?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't know." Nyota's voice cracked when she responded.

The door chimed. Charlotte got up to answer the door. She patted Nyota on the shoulder as she walked by.

"What am I doing? I can't go to Starfleet Academy." She sobbed.

"You can and you will. The hover-van will be here in a few minutes." Charlene said with a grin. She stood there with her hands on her hips. Scotty was by her side. He was beaming.

"Hey, why are you guys here?" Nyota asked.

"Commander Spock asked us to help transfer your things. He is sending transportation." Scotty said.

"Apparently, you impressed a lot of people with your skills. I didn't know you had it in you. You definitely have both sides of the brain working." Charlene said with a giggle.

Nyota handed Scotty the PADD. He looked at it and whistled.

"Damn, I have heard of honors GPAs, but I have never seen one," Scotty said, handing the PADD to Charlene. She whooped and did a little shimmy. Charlotte scowled.

"Sorry, auntie.," she said sheepishly. She turned to Nyota, "Go get dressed. Commander Spock expects you to start work tomorrow."

Nyota got up to dress. The movers arrived and grabbed her things. She grabbed her overnight bag with toiletries and a change of clothes. Then she hugged Charlotte and loaded into the hover taxi. Nyota was starting to understand why she had been working so hard. Her grades from the summer had been insufficient. Commander Spock started from scratch. He had been building on that foundation to teach her the equivalent of two years of college math. Nyota's PADD chimed again. She saw her schedule for the winter term. She felt a chill go down her spine. She had more math, engineering and physics classes. Plus, she TA for two of Commander's Spock's classes.

She wondered what her father would say. He had wanted her to pursue engineering in Kenya, but Nyota had a passion for languages and cultures. Nyota sat her bag on a transporter once again and stood beside it. This was her second transport this year. She looked down at her fingers as she felt the tingle of the transporter.

Nyota stepped off the transporter and looked at her hands again. Outwardly, everything was the same, but inwardly, she would never be the same again.