Course Correction Studio

Category: Graduation

  • Graduation – Chapter 4. Encounter

    Dani stood in one of the Academy’s many shuttlebays, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Will’s transport. He was taking shore leave and was going to spend the entire week with Dani. They had planned it that way. Will would take his shore leave the same week as the Academy’s spring break.

    “Incoming transport,” a technician said. Dani looked at him and then at the portion of the sky visible through through the shuttlebay’s large doors. A shuttle transport was coming in for a landing.. She hoped this was Will’s. She looked around at the others waiting at the station. Obviously, they were thinking the same things, only about their own loved ones.

    The shuttle entered the bay and hovered above the ground for a few moments before finally settling. After a few more seconds, the doors rose and people began filing out of the transport. Immediately, people began to greet their loved ones. After about five minutes, Will stepped out. As soon as he was clear of the vehicle, Dani ran up to him jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. The act attracted stares, but she didn’t care. She kissed him.

    “Hi,” she said.

    Will blinked a few times, surprised by her jumping him. He smiled. “Hello,” he said.

    xxx

    “So, where are we going?” Dani asked. She and Will were on their way to their spring break destination, but Dani didn’t know where they were going. Will had wanted to keep it a surprise.

    “You’ll see,” Will said.

    “Why can’t you just tell me now?” Dani begged. They’d only left the Academy’s shuttle bay 15 minutes before, but Dani just couldn’t wait. She just had to know where they were going. “I can act surprised when we get there.” She smiled at him hopefully. He looked at her. He wasn’t going to tell her where they were going. “Well, you could at least tell me how long it will take to get there,” Dani pried.

    “Not long at all,” Will said. “In fact, we’re there now.”

    “Already? But we just left the station.” Dani sat up and looked out the shuttle’s viewports. “We’re still on Earth.” She looked at Will. “Aren’t we?”

    “Yep.”

    Dani was thoroughly confused.

    “Dani – welcome to Alaska.”

    xxx

    Dani and Will entered the modest two-story ranch-style house in Valdez, Alaska.

    “I wish you had told me we were coming here,” Dani said as Will closed the door behind them. “I thought we were going to Risa.”

    “Whatever gave you that idea?” Will asked.

    “Well, you like Risa. It’s one of your favorite vacation spots.”

    “I also like Alaska. It’s my home.”

    “I didn’t even bring any warm clothes.”

    “That’s alright,” Will said. “There are replicators here.”

    “That’s okay.” Dani let go of her bag and wrapped her arms around Will’s neck. “We probably won’t be going out that much, anyway.”

    Will looked as if she’d told him they were having grass for dinner.

    “What’s the matter?” Dani asked him.

    “I wanted to show you the area, do a little exploring,” Will told her. The last thing he wanted to do was sit around the house for the week. It’d been a while since he’d last been here. He wanted to get out and do things. Then he realized that Dani might have been having a rough semester, so he reconsidered. “But I understand if you just want to lay low for the week and relax.”

    “Relax?” Dani asked. She almost laughed aloud. “Of course I do. And I wanted to have fun, too. Just a different kind of fun than you’re talking about.”

    Will was confused. He looked into Dani’s eyes and saw a familiar gleam. But it wasn’t a look that he had ever seen in Dani’s dark eyes before. Realization dawned.

    “Are-” Will swallowed. “Are you sure? I mean, are you ready? Are you sure you’re ready?”

    Dani noted that he seemed a bit flustered. “Are you?” she asked him coolly. She’d caught him off-guard, a feat few could brag about. Good, she thought.

    “Um,” Will chuckled. “You know, once you do this, you won’t be able to take it back.”

    “Why are you stalling?”

    “I’m not stalling-“

    “Then kiss me.” And he did.

    Dani was a wild woman. Eager seemed to be an understatement. If it’d been left up to her, she would have had him right there by the front door.

    “The bedroom’s upstairs,” Will said between kisses.

    “Oh?” Dani said, also between kisses. “Really. And?”

    “Well, you don’t want to do this here, do you?” Will asked.

    “Any reason why I shouldn’t?” Dani asked looking up at him.

    Will couldn’t believe she was serious. Dani was ready and willing to lose her virginity on the floor in front of the front door. But Will wouldn’t have it. He wanted this to be special for Dani – not some passing encounter on a floor.

    Dani recognized Will’s look of hesitation and responded by hopping onto him, wrapping herself around his body and taking him, yet again, by surprise. She kissed him again. “I’m yours,” she whispered into his ear. He kissed her and proceeded up the stairs with her wrapped about him.

    xxx

    Later that night, Dani and Will cuddled with hot chocolate on the bedroom floor in front of the fireplace. Wrapped in blankets, she donned one of his pajama shirts, and he sported the pants.

    “How are classes this semester?” Will asked.

    Dani took a sip of the hot, dark liquid before answering. “They’re okay. Good.”

    “Good. Is Nimembeh still on your case?”

    “Yes.” Dani made a face of pure contempt. “And the thing is I don’t know why. I work my ass off, and it’s not good enough. I’m convinced he’s made it his personal goal to stay on my case.”

    “You should consider it an honor,” Will said before bringing his mug to his lips to blow small, cooling jets of air on the hot liquid. He honestly couldn’t figure out how Dani was managing to drink the stuff right away. It was still steaming hot.

    “An honor? Doing push-ups in the pouring rain?”

    “Nimembeh turns out some of the best officers the fleet has ever seen. He’s not doing it because he hates you; he’s doing it because he wants you to make it.”

    “Well he sure does have a funny way of showing it,” Dani said, instantly resenting the tough-love treatment she’d been receiving from Nimembeh.

    “It’s his way, and it seems to work. You’ll thank him later. Talk to your father, or to Harry Kim. Besides that, though, everything’s fine?”

    Dani nodded. “Pretty much.”

    “Is that Emma girl still giving you problems?” Will asked.

    “Yes. I’ve just learned to look at that as an annoyance, rather than a problem, though.”

    Will nodded and sipped on the hot chocolate for the first time. He winced internally as the liquid touched his tongue. It was still just a bit hot for his taste. “So, any boyfriends on the side?” he asked.

    “Too many,” Dani joked. “Enough talk about me, though. What’s been up with you?”

    “Nothing much. Nothing quite as exciting as what you’ve experienced at Starfleet Academy.”

    “That’s impossible,” Dani said. He was trying to make his time away seem uninteresting when she knew that wasn’t the case. “There’s never a boring moment on the Enterprise.”

    “That’s a lie.”

    “No, I don’t think so. It’s just that you all have become so used to emergency that it’s become routine, and therefore, boring.”

    “Oh, is that it?”

    “Yes.”

    Will nodded. He looked into Dani’s brown eyes and realized once again how immensely he had missed her. “Dani, how would you feel about coming back to the Enterprise with me for the summer?” he asked.

    “I’d love to,” Dani said. “You know that, but it’s not very likely.”

    “Why not? It’s never been any less likely to happen than any other thing before.” Will recalled the times when Dani was younger and had spent a few summers onboard the Enterprise.

    “Will, I’m a cadet,” Dani said, as if that would explain everything.

    “We’ve had cadets on the Enterprise before,” Will said. “They’re there all the time.”

    “This would be different. Those cadets are usually there getting their field training. They’re assigned there.”

    “I could pull a few strings-“

    “No – no favors,” Dani objected. “If that’s one thing I’ve learned from Nimembeh, it’s that. I shouldn’t get special privileges just because of my familial connections. I don’t want to be treated any differently than any other cadet.” People already thought she was at the Academy on a free ride. She didn’t need any more fuel for that fire.

    Will nodded. He completely understood that sentiment. “Fine, then-you can come as my guest,” he said.

    “Will, Captain Picard doesn’t like for his ship to be used as a hotel,” Dani reminded him.

    “Since when did housing families become a crime?”

    “I’m not family, remember? I’m not related to anyone onboard the Enterprise.”

    Will was silent. “Maybe we should do something to change that.” Dani looked at Will. A slow, bitter-sweet smile broke out across her face. She knew a marriage proposal when she heard one. She pulled a strand of brown hair behind her ear as she collected her thoughts.

    “I’m not ready, Will,” she said. “I just don’t want to jump into anything. Marriage is a big, huge thing. I don’t want to get married until after I graduate from the Academy, at the earliest.” Dani stroked Will’s face and kissed him. “We will get married, though, if you’ll still have me.”

    “You know I’ll wait for you,” Will said. Dani smiled as she moved in to kiss him again.

  • Graduation – Chapter 3. A Night In the Woods

    One semester down. Things were looking up for Dani. She’d made one enemy, but had more friends than she could count. Both her mother and Will had been right about the guy situation. She practically had to beat them away with sticks. She had Will, though, and he was all she wanted. She had the feeling she had aced (or at least come away with a B) in all her classes. So did her friends, which is why they all decided to take a celebratory camping trip the night of the final final.

    “You guys have got to be kidding me,” Dani said. Sitting on a rock, she watched as her four companions passed around a bottle of Romulan ale. “Where’d you get that?”

    “Hey,” said Kyle Hicks, “I’ve got my resources.” Dani had met Kyle through Emery. Emery and Kyle had grown up together and were close friends.

    Dani watched Kyle’s blonde hair reflect the light of the fire. “That’s the real stuff?” Dani asked.

    Kyle looked at her with green eyes. “None other.”

    “Do you know how much trouble you could get into if you got caught with that?” Dani wasn’t scolding. Not this time. She’d developed a reputation as a mother hen, the one always warning others of hidden dangers and scolding others for wrong-doing. This time it was more of a warning.

    “That’s why we’re not going to get caught,” Kyle said removing the bottle’s top and taking a large swig.

    “We?” Dani said.

    “We,” Kyle said. He passed the ale to Svetlana Bidkana, who was sitting beside him. Svetlana was from the Ukraine. She was a classic East European beauty, at 5′ 9″ with short dark hair and dark eyes to match. “Don’t be shy with it, girls,” Kyle was saying. “There’s plenty more where that came from.” Kyle placed the bag he’d brought with him into plain view so that the contents were visible. Inside the bag were four more large bottles of Romulan ale, a bottle of kanaar, a bottle of Saurian brandy, and smaller bottles of whiskey.

    “Damn, Kyle,” Rane Skara said. “You think you brought enough?” Rane was Bajoran. She was part of the wave that had started joining Starfleet after Bajor had become a Federation member.

    Lura Lopez smiled. “It’s plenty.” Lura had grown up in Mexico. She and Rane were roommates. Like Kyle, she had a taste for alcohol.

    Kyle started to pass out the various liquors. He looked at Dani. “What’s your pleasure?”

    “Got any water?” Dani asked.

    “Water? How are you going to get drunk with that?”

    “Well, I know this may come as a total shock to some of you, but I’m not out here to get drunk.” The other four cadets looked at Dani as if she were crazy. “I just came out here to relax.”

    Kyle nodded. “Well,” he said. “In that case, I suggest you have the kanaar.” He handed the bottle of green liquid to Dani.”

    Dani looked at it for a few seconds. “Anybody got any glasses?”

    “Oh, come on Dani!” Kyle exclaimed.

    “Okay…what about cups?”

    “Just swig it, for Pete’s sake!”

    Dani looked down at the bottle of kanaar in her hands. She uncapped it and apprehensively placed the bottle’s opening to her lips, as her companions began to chant ‘Dani, Dani, Dani.’ Without another thought, she tilted the bottle and let a significant amount of the liquid flow into her mouth. She instantly regretted it. It was horrid.

    As soon as the stuff was down her throat, she said, “Oh my God, that’s horrible!”

    Kyle smiled. “It’s an acquired taste.”

    “Ugh, who would want to learn to like that?” Dani asked, trying her best to forget the taste of the kanaar.

    “Cardassians,” Kyle dead panned, as he received the bottle of kanaar from Dani. He took a drink from it and reached into the bag again. As he pulled out another bottle, he said, “Try this one.” He handed it to Dani and told her it was Saurian brandy. “You’ll probably find it more to your liking.”

    Dani uncapped it and took a sip. She found that it was remarkably better than the kanaar. “Thanks,” she said.

    “So, what’s in store for you for the winter break?” Kyle asked.

    “Nothing spectacular,” Dani revealed. “Going back to Indiana to spend Christmas and New Year’s with my parents.”

    “Are you going to see Will?” Svetlana inquired.

    “No. The Enterprise won’t be anywhere near this system.”

    “You can’t go see him?” Rane asked.

    “I don’t think so.”

    “You two seem really serious,” Lura said.

    “I guess we are,” Dani said. “So many people said it would never get this far.”

    “Are you getting married?” Svetlana asked.

    “No, we’re not that serious, yet.”

    “How long have you been dating?” Lura asked.

    “Five and a half months.”

    “That’s a long freakin’ time to be with one person,” Kyle said. “Especially for a guy like Commander Riker.”

    “I think you’ve had enough to drink, Kyle,” Rane said warningly.

    “He’s not like that,” Dani said in response to Kyle’s remark.

    “How do you know?” Kyle pressed.

    “I know.”

    “Are you with him 24/7?”

    “Kyle,” Rane said in a warning tone. She sounded like a teacher talking to a student.

    Kyle continued despite Rane’s tone. “You’re not even with him every week.”

    “Kyle!” Rane boomed. She looked at Dani apologetically. “Don’t pay any attention to him Dani. He’s obviously drunk already.”

    Dani acknowledged Rane, but took her statement to be untrue. Dani knew that Kyle wasn’t drunk, yet. He knew what he was saying.

    Xxx

    “You know, Kyle didn’t mean what he said tonight about Will,” Rane said quietly to Dani, who lay next to her in the tent they shared. Rane was worried that Dani’s feelings had been hurt, or that her ego had been bruised, by Kyle’s words. She fluffed her pillow a few times as she prepared for bed.

    “Yes he did,” Dani said, facing the wall of the tent with her back to Rane.

    “Dani, he was drunk.”

    “No. He wasn’t drunk. He wasn’t completely sober, but he knew what he was saying.”

    “Dani-“

    “He was just saying what everyone else was thinking.”

    Rane sat up on her elbow, and Dani continued. She finally rolled over to face Rane. “It isn’t as if I don’t trust him. I already know his history, and I’m well aware of his reputation,” Dani said.

    “Aren’t you afraid that he will cheat?”

    Dani sat all the way up and leaned back on the palms of her hands. “When we first got together, Will told me that he would never intentionally hurt me. I believed him. I still do.” She looked at Rane. “If we don’t have trust, Rane, it won’t work, regardless of how strongly we may feel for each other.”

    Rane laid back down in her sleeping bag. “Well, long-distance relationships are difficult, no matter who the couple is. No matter how much you trust or love each other, it’s a strain.”

    Dani laid back down, as well, taking in what Rane had just said. It was true. Long distance relationships were difficult to maintain. Though she had communicated with him via subspace, she hadn’t seen him in person in a little over four months. Despite the communications, she sensed a gap forming between her and Will that couldn’t be bridged by a subspace channel, and suddenly, she was the one who was having doubts about their relationship.

    xxx

    The next morning, the campers woke up with headaches all around. Even Dani’s head was humming just a little, even though she’d only had half a bottle of Saurian brandy. If that stuff did it for her, she could only imagine what her companions’ heads must feel like. The early morning sunlight must hurt, even.

    As Dani and Rane packed away their tent and other belongings, Dani thought about the conversation she’d had with the Bajoran woman the night before, as they were drifting off to sleep. She watched as Kyle picked up the numerous empty liquor bottles that littered the campsite. They had done some serious drinking last night. The bottles were all empty. Someone had even finished up the Saurian brandy that Dani had been unable to finish off.

    Kyle approached Dani with an armful of empty bottles. “Dani? I just wanted to apologize for what I said last night,” he said. “I just-“

    Dani waved his apology off. “No. Don’t worry about it. You were well within your rights to say what you said, and the questions weren’t exactly unwarranted. You’re a good friend, Kyle. I know what you were trying to say.”

    Kyle nodded, glad that things hadn’t gone sour between him and Dani, and the group continued to pack.

    xxx

    Dani looked up into the bleachers. Will was looking right at her, it seemed, although there was no way she could see his face clearly from where she was standing. But she didn’t have to see him looking at her to know that he was. She could feel it. Dani’s heart ached, because she still loved him. She remembered that even though she hadn’t been able to see Will during the winter break, she had been able to see him during the spring break. And what a spring break it had been…

  • Graduation – Chapter 2. Prep

    As Dani stood on the Academy athletic field during the graduation ceremony, she was reminded that Emma Shale hadn’t been the only one who had given her a difficult time during her tenure at the Academy. There’d been a certain instructor that had given her hell…

    xxx

    “Way too slow, Cadet. Ten laps around the track.”

    That’s impossible, Dani thought. She had shaved seconds off the time it’d taken her to assemble her rifle.

    Dani looked up at her prep squad instructor, Commander Nimembeh.

    “When I give an order, you follow it immediately. That’s fifteen laps,” Nimembeh ordered.

    “In my uniform and boots?” Dani asked.

    “Make that twenty.”

    Dani stood. Nimembeh had been on her back since prep squad training had begun almost two weeks ago, and she wasn’t going to stand for it any longer. “No, sir,” she said defiantly.

    “What did you say, Cadet?”

    “I said no sir,” Dani repeated. “I will not comply.”

    “30,” Nimembeh said, increasing the number of laps Dani was supposed to run. But Dani didn’t move, so he increased them again. “40.”

    “Are you just going to stand there adding laps? If you are, then you’re wasting your breath.”

    Nimembeh stepped up to Dani and nearly placed his eyeballs on hers. But Dani didn’t even blink. The other cadets in the room watched on nervously. They all knew that their classmate was walking a thin line, openly defying an order, and it looked to them like she was about to fall off that line.

    “Is that so, Cadet?” Nimembeh asked Dani. “Meet me at the track at 2400 hours, Cadet.” Nimembeh stepped back and started to walk away. “If you value your prospective career in Starfleet, you’ll be there.”

    xxx

    At midnight, it was pouring down rain in San Francisco. Commander Nimembeh circled Dani like a hawk.

    “I’ve seen plenty of your kind in my time as a prep squad instructor, Cadet,” he began. “Starfleet brats flanked by the brass.”

    Dani stared straight ahead while Nimembeh continued. “Your mother may be a captain. Your father may be a commander. Your boyfriend may be a commander. But you know what? I don’t care. I don’t care who your parents are. To me, you’re just another cadet.” He stopped walking. He was boring a hole into the side of Dani’s face. She wanted to look at him. She wanted to push him away. But she just kept staring at the nothingness in front of her. Dani was going to have to give this up. She wasn’t going to win this one.

    “On the ground, on my mark,” Nimembeh ordered. “Since you don’t want to run laps, let’s see how pushups suit you. Mark!”

    Without hesitation, Dani fell to the ground. Nimembeh began counting as Dani began pushing herself up. “One, two, three…”

    xxx

    Dani trudged into her room, wet, tired, and sore. After she’d regained feeling in her upper body, her arms had taken on the characteristics of dead weights. She looked across the dark room and her roommate, sleeping soundly in her bed, and envied her. Dani pulled the soaked jacket she’d donned in a feeble attempt to deflect the rain. She realized just how feeble the attempt had been when she found that she was wet through and through despite the jacket. She tossed the jacket to the floor, pulled of her soggy boots and socks and fell into bed, soaked and all.

    xxx

    The next day at lunch, Dani could hardly keep her eyes open. She may have fallen into bed soaked, but she knew she couldn’t sleep in that state. She’d had to get up and change. By the time she’d actually fallen asleep, it had to have been well after 2:00 in the morning.

    Emery sat down across from Dani. They were seeing each other for the first time since the night before.

    “What time did you finally get in last night?” Emery asked.

    “This morning,” Dani corrected groggily. “I got in at about 1:30. I couldn’t get to sleep until after two.”

    “You didn’t get in until 1:30?” Emery asked. “What did he have you doing?”

    “Push-ups.”

    “The whole time?”

    Dani nodded. “Yep.”

    “Ouch.”

    “Yeah. Right now, my shoulders feel like they’re about to fall off.”

    As if the fact that Dani was sleepy and sore weren’t enough, Emma Shale and her little clique surrounded her and Emery at their table. “Damn it,” Dani muttered.

    Emma and Dani had had a short but colorful history during their prep squad training at the Academy. Almost from the very first day of training, Emma had found it her duty to make Dani’s life a living hell. It was now the last day of training, and apparently, Emma wasn’t showing any signs that she was going to let up any.

    “Hello, Dani,” Emma said, sweetly. As an afterthought, she added, “Emery.”

    Dani didn’t give Emma the satisfaction of an answer. She didn’t even want to look at her, but she did glance at her for a few moments before continuing her meal. Emma continued just the same.

    “I, uh, I heard that Commander Nimembeh worked you pretty hard last night,” Emma said. Dani continued to eat. Emery looked at Dani and then at Emma. She looked back down at her lunch and continued to eat also.

    “You just love those commanders, don’t you?” Emma continued. “Aren’t you the naughty one? And greedy, too. You’ve already got one all to yourself. Do you really need another?”

    At that last comment, Dani dropped her fork and looked at Emma. “Are you implying something, Cadet?” Dani asked with an air of authority.

    “No,” Emma said. “Not at all.”

    Dani picked up her fork again and was about to continue her lunch when Emma added, “Just stating the facts.”

    Dani stood, picked up her tray, and started to walk away from the table all in a single movement. Emery rose and followed. So did Emma. Dani slung her tray into the recycler in the wall. Emery followed suit. They turned around and found Emma.

    “Look, what do you want?” Dani asked. She was getting pretty fed up with this, and she didn’t exactly want to spend the next four years putting up with any of it.

    “You’re not going to make it, Dani,” Emma said. “People who get in on the merits of their families and…friends never do.”

    “I took the tests the same as everyone else here,” Dani said.

    “That doesn’t mean jack,” Emma insisted. “You’re going to fail, Dani, and I’m going to be here to watch when you do.”

    “If anyone here got in because of their family and is going to fail, it’s you. I think you’re the one who should be called into question here, Miss I-Should-Get-Special-Treatment-Because-My-Father’s -Brass. Now when you earn something on your own merit, then you step to me with a case. Until then…”

    Dani watched Emma and friends walk away from her and Emery.

    xxx

    The remainder of Dani’s first semester had gone by somewhat uneventfully. She had still suffered her occasional bouts with Emma, but nothing too serious had transpired.

    Thinking back, Dani realized that not everything that happened at the Academy had been bad. She remembered that at the end of the first semester, she and a group of friends had celebrated by going camping…

  • Graduation – Chapter 1. Leaving Indiana

    It should’ve been one of the happiest days of her life. Instead, it ended up being one of the worst.

    “At ease, cadets,” Rear Admiral Camden instructed. The multitude of graduating cadets on the large athletic field simultaneously shifted to the ‘at-ease’ position. It was graduation day at Starfleet Academy. 24-year-old Danielle Janeway, along with three hundred of her classmates were about to become Starfleet ensigns. But Dani was miserable. She was about to leave her closest friends for a science post on Deep Space Nine. That wasn’t the cause of her melancholy demeanor, though.

    As Adm. Camden spoke, Dani searched the audience for her parents. Chakotay and Kathryn Janeway were seated in the alumni section along with the other Starfleet parents. Dani allowed herself a little smile. Her parents were the picture of pride, both of them beaming.

    Dani’s eyes wondered over the crowd, and she realized that he was here, as well. She hadn’t expected him to be there. Her eyes fell to the grass as she remembered times when they’d been happier, like when she’d moved into her residence hall. He’d been there, then. She remembered that day very well…

    xxx

    Dani slipped her last data PADD into her suitcase and shut it. “I guess that’s everything,” she said. “I hope that’s everything.”

    “Dani, the transport will be here any minute, now,” her mother called from somewhere in the house. “Are you almost ready?”

    “Just about,” the 20-year-old called in reply. As she stood going over the imaginary list in her head, she didn’t notice her father approach the bedroom doorway.

    “Don’t worry; you’ve got everything,” Chakotay said.

    Dani turned to the doorway to face Chakotay. “I know,” she said.

    “Besides, if you arrive and you realize that you are missing something, we can always send it to you,” Chakotay reminded his only daughter.

    “Yeah.” Dani brought her suitcase to an upright position.

    Chakotay stepped into the room. “Are you nervous?”

    “No, not really,” Dani replied. “I’m excited, though.”

    “That’s good. There’s a lot to be excited about. Academy life is…unique. I suspect it’s unlike anything else you’ll ever experience.”

    “I know,” Dani said.

    “Dani, I just want you to know that your mother and I are very proud of you. We’ve always been proud of you, but especially now.”

    “Because I’m going to the Academy?”

    “Partially. But that’s not the only reason. Dani, we’re proud of you for everything you’ve done in your life. You didn’t have an ordinary childhood. You know that. You’ve had to mature very quickly, more so than your peers. We’re just proud of you for handling it so well.” He and Dani hugged each other.

    “I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without you or Mom,” Dani said.

    “I know that there’s a lot of Starfleet in our family,” Chakotay began, “and that you’ve been around it all your life, but I don’t want you to feel as if you’re at all obligated to go to the Academy. Your mother and I only want you to go if it’s what you want to do.”

    “It is, Dad,” Dani said earnestly. “This is the life that I want.”

    Chakotay nodded. “Let’s go then.”

    xxx

    Move-in day at the Academy-probably one of the busiest days on campus. Besides move out day.

    Dani walked down the hallway, looking for her assigned room number, 419.

    “409, 410…” Dani said, searching the walls. Her mother and father, and Will Riker were a few paces behind her. “418, 419,” Dani said. She peered through the open door. Someone, her roommate, she assumed, had obviously started moving in. Suitcases already occupied one of the two beds in the room. Dani walked over to the unclaimed one and put her suitcase on it. Her three followers did the same.

    “Well, what do you think?” Kathryn asked Dani.

    “It’s not bad,” Dani replied. “It’ll just take some getting used to.”

    “It’s nicer that what I had my freshman year,” Will input.

    A girl carrying a box entered and froze the instant she saw the room’s new occupants. She immediately placed the box on the bed and stood at attention.

    “At ease, cadet,” Kathryn gently said, as the highest-ranking officer in the room. The young woman relaxed noticeably.

    Dani stepped forward, offering her hand. “Hi. I’m Dani Janeway,” she said.

    The girl just stood there, unmoving. Dani didn’t quite know what to do. The girl seemed petrified. “Um..” Dani managed.

    “You’re my roommate?” the girl blurted.

    “Yes; Dani Janeway,” Dani said, emphasizing her outstretched hand. The girl hesitantly took Dani’s hand and weakly shook it. “And your name is…”

    The girl realized that she had neglected to mention her name. “Oh, sorry. Emery Bell.”

    “Pleased to meet you, Emery,” Dani said.

    Emery let go of Dani’s hand and just stared in amazement at the people standing before her. Legends, practically.

    “Emery, this is my mother, Captain Kathryn Janeway, my father, Commander Chakotay, and Commander William Riker,” Dani introduced. Emery shook hands with each of them in turn. She stepped back, awed.

    “Wow…” she said. Will, Dani, Chakotay, and Kathryn all looked at each other.

    “Well, it seems that you two have a lot to talk about,” Chakotay said. “So, we’ll let you get settled.”

    “Oh…”Dani trailed off, following her parents and Will out of the room and into the hallway, where she hugged her father. It was time for them to leave.

    “Remember to keep your focus,” Chakotay said, offering some final words of advice. “But have fun, too.”

    “I will,” Dani said.

    “And remember that we’ll be there if you need anything,” Kathryn reminded her. “Don’t hesitate to call or send us a message.”

    “I will.” Dani hugged and kissed her parents for what must’ve been the hundredth time. Chakotay and Kathryn looked at their daughter one last time before their eyes fell on Will. They then left him and Dani alone.

    Will took Dani’s hands into his own.

    “Well, this is it,” he said.

    “I know,” Dani said. For the past three months, Will Riker had been a staple in her life. After Voyager had returned to the Alpha Quadrant, they’d embarked on a relationship that’d had a bumpy start due to some initial objections from Dani’s father. But eventually, things had smoothed over and Dani and Will had been able to proceed with their relationship as any other couple would. Except Dani and Will were not any other couple. Voyager’s return from the Delta Quadrant had riveted the crew of the ship to celebrity status with the press. They were constantly being dogged by the media. The public had been especially fascinated by Dani. After Voyager had left, Dani had been reported as missing by her family on Earth. They hadn’t known that she was on Voyager, and a massive search had been organized in an effort to find her. Everyone had been surprised and relieved when Voyager had first been contacted, and it’d been discovered that Dani had been there the whole time.

    So Dani’s relationship with Will had developed under the eye of the Federation News Service and other news organizations.

    “These past few months have been heaven for me,” Will continued. He’d been on leave for the past few months while the Enterprise had undergone refits and maintenance on her systems. Now, his leave was coming to the end, as the Enterprise would be embarking on its next mission in a matter of days. Boy was he ever glad he’d decided to stay on Earth instead of spending his leave somewhere else.

    “Me, too,” Dani said mirroring Will’s statement.

    “Part of me doesn’t want to let you go, you know,” Will admitted.

    “I know. But you’ve got the Enterprise, and I’ve got this.”

    “What if I told you that I didn’t want the Enterprise, and that all I want is you?”

    Dani smiled and shook her head. “What if you told me that?”

    Will nodded. “Yeah.”

    “I’d tell you that you were lying. The Enterprise means the world to you. You’ve spent the bulk of your career there.”

    “Which is why I wouldn’t mind giving it up for you.”

    “You’ve always wanted that command, Will. I find it hard to believe that you would just throw it away.”

    Will laughed. “Me, too. But I would. If you asked me to.”

    “I could never do that to you. I know your career is important to you, no matter what you tell me here and now.”

    “You’re right – it is important. But it’s starting to pale in comparison to you.” With that, Will bent down and kissed Dani’s lips. “I love you, Dani.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his body.

    “I love you,” Dani replied.

    “I think it’s only fair that I warn you beforehand – these first few weeks, I’m probably going to be calling you every hour.”

    Dani laughed. She looked up and Will with tears in her eyes, and he wiped away her them with his fingers. They hugged each other again and kissed one last time before parting ways. Dani didn’t even cast a final glance and Will as she walked into her room because she knew that she wouldn’t be able to let him go if she did. He looked after her as she broke away from him and walked back into her room.

    Dani looked at Emery. It was different, now that her parents and Will were actually gone. She’d never really been away from both of her parents on a long-term basis before. She’d always imagined how Academy life would be and how it would feel when her parents left her, but she didn’t imagine that she’d feel this way, like she didn’t know what to do next.

    “So,” Dani began, “where are you from?”

    “New York,” Emery replied.

    “City?” Dani asked. One of the few things about Academy life that had caused her apprehension was roommate assignments. Protocol prohibited roommate changes unless serious problems arose. The idea was to get the cadets to work out their own problems. That didn’t always work.

    “Yeah,” Emery said in reply to Dani’s question.

    “I’m from-“

    “Indiana,” Emery said, beaming. “I know.”

    Dani almost asked how she knew, but then she remembered who she was. She laughed. “Yeah, I guess just about everybody knows that, don’t they?”

    “Yeah,” Emery said.

    The door chimed. Both young women looked at it. “Come in,” they both said. The doors slid open and two young women walked in.

    “Hi,” one of them said. “My name is Elizabeth Crawley, and this is my roommate, T’Lo. We live across the hall.”

    T’Lo was obviously Vulcan, with the customary closely-cropped Vulcan haircut and Vulcan calm. Elizabeth was tall, taller than either Emery or Dani, with long, blonde hair that was pulled back into a neat ponytail.

    “Hi,” Dani said. “This is my roommate Emery Bell.” Emery shook hands with the new neighbors. “I’m-“

    “Dani Janeway,” Elizabeth said, cutting Dani’s introduction short. “I know. Oh, my gosh – we’ve heard so much about you.”

    “I can imagine so,” Dani said.

    “I can’t believe you’re living across the hall from us,” Elizabeth said. The girls seemed to be somewhat in awe. Dani nodded. “So, where are you from?” she asked Elizabeth.

    “London,” Elizabeth replied. “You’re from Indiana, I know, but it must’ve been amazing spending seven years on a starship.”

    “Yes,” T’Lo agreed. “It must have been quite an experience for you.”

    “Yeah, wel,l it was just like being on board any other starship – only longer,” Dani explained.

    Just then, Emma Shale make her grand entrance into Dani’s life for the first, but certainly not the last, time. She entered the room, her little entourage following at her heels. She entered and approached Dani as if she were granting her the privilege of meeting her.

    “Hi,” Emma said. “Emma Shale.” She held her hand out to Dani in a sort of royal manner. Dani took it and shook it.

    “Hi,” Dani said. “Dani Janeway.”

    “I know,” Emma said. Dani considered skipping her intro from now on. It just seemed pointless, since everyone already know her anyway. “Have you put in your request for a room change, yet?”

    “I was under the impression that changes in room assignments were not permitted,” Dani said.

    “Only in special cases,” Emma informed Dani. “This is a special case.”

    “How so?”

    “You’re Dani Janeway, and I’m Emma Shale,” she said. “It’s only natural that we room together.”

    Dani looked at the others in the room. She was oblivious as to why she and Emma should be so special, but everyone else seemed to know. “Why?” Dani asked Emma.

    Emma laughed a little. “Why not? I’m an admiral’s daughter, and you’re…well, your Dani Janeway.”

    “And that affords us special treatment?”

    “Of course.”

    “I don’t believe in giving or receiving special treatment when it’s not warranted.” Dani watched Emma’s smile fall to the floor. The moment it hit was the moment all trouble between Dani and Emma began.