Stardate 53244.4
Where the ship was, an instant ago, there was just an empty room: every surface was black with yellow stripes drawing squares on it. All the members of the Oakland, not just the bridge cadets, were either standing or sitting on the floor while door appeared and opened on a woman. All the cadets' uniforms had returned to the grey jumpsuit with red or yellow shoulders. The woman was wearing a dark jumpsuit with grey shoulders and a red collar. Four gold pipes were on her collar.
“You survived 2 minutes longer than any other crew this year. Congratulations cadets. Fourth year, you’ll go to debrief your actions with me in a minute. Three years cadet, you’ll go to debrief with your respective teachers in room 2.”
All the cadets moved to their feet.
“Captain Amber, we really did better than Red Squadron despite Caulfield missing torpedoes?”
Vtoria seemed visibly surprised, and she got a murderous glance from Steph.
“Cadet Shase, Red Squadron was killed three minutes sooner than yours. Vortex Squadron got the best score of the year. But you could have done better. That’s what the debrief will be about.”
Rose Amber moved her hand toward the holodeck’s arch to show the direction to the younger cadets. Still curious, Victoria had questions:
“Is there a way to win such situation? There were so many adversaries, and our ship isn’t a warship.”
Captain Amber nodded.
“Yes, never heard of cadet Kirk?”
All the cadets looked at each other. If Rose Amber wanted to humble them by making them understand they were not as good as the legendary James T. Kirk, it was a success.
“Time to debrief cadets. Third year, please leave the room and check with your instructors.”
Leaving Steph, Gabe and Ryan with Captain Amber, the other cadets left the room and joined a debrief room. For the weirdest two hours spent at the academy the instructors made them talk about their emotions, their feelings and their stress, pointing their behaviors more than their strategies.
“That was weird.”
Said Victoria when exiting the room after everyone but Max. The trill nodded to her.
“Usually, they want us to think how we can do better… Not how we can face it with serenity.”
The antennas looking around her, Victoria concluded:
“They were not testing our knowledge but our psychology.”
Nodding, Max looked at her andorian roommate.
“Yeah. Do we…”
At that moment a door opened, and Victoria turned her back, moving away. Max froze and an arm came around her shoulders. A smiling Steph was looking at her:
“Hey, what Cruella was telling you?
“If she would look better wearing you as a long coat or a catsuit.”
Gabe and Ryan, who had followed Steph, laughed at Max’s retort. Steph faked giving thoughts to her answer.
“Well, a few months ago, I would be willing to show her how comfy I would be, but I’m a new girl since I started dating Izzie.”
The four cadets were walking outside of the simulation building, enjoying the Californian weather.
“So, what do we do tonight? Going to Guinan’s or free booze at Black Lantern?”
As usual, Ryan proposed to go to his father’s bar, but Guinan’s was popular among Starfleet’s brass and cadets since the owner returned on Earth after the loss of the Enterprise D. Maybe too popular, but they knew Max liked the owner and there would not be Jedediah Lucan to look over them.
“I can’t come with you, Izzie gonna be on stage tonight. Did you forget it?”
“Hey, you should be happy that we forgot you couldn’t get tickets for us.”
Gabe’s banter came immediately, and the band laughed, which allowed them to miss the arrival of two younger cadets. A first-year girl and a second-year guy.
“Max will not come with you, despite loving being part of your band.”
Said the girl who was even smaller than Max, looking at her with her dark eyes.
“Alex, that’s not kind of you to spy people’s thought.”
Remarked Steph, making the young betazoid cadet blush.
“Sorry Max, I try to focus on body language, but it’s sometime hard to not hear everyone’s screaming their thoughts. As I’m betazoid, it would be like trying to stop breathing….”
Then she looked at Gabe.
“…. Stop being a dumbass….”
As he and Ryan laughed, she looked at Steph, her cheeks becoming crimson.
“…or becoming unable to notice beauty.”
Biting her lips, blushing, Steph briefly closed her eyes.
“Thanks. Speaking of beauty… I should go check what kind of clothing I could put on tonight. I’ve apparently got a reputation to defend even if I was unaware of it.”
Alex briefly closed her eyes, realizing how unsubtle she had been, flustered by her brother’s laugh as he put an arm around her shoulder.
“Ok, we’re going to take you to Guinan’s, you really need counselling if you want to become a counsellor in a few years. See you later, Max!”
The second cadet then spoke, as Gabe and Ryan were moving away with Alex.
“Look like there’s just the two of us, Max.”
“Yeah, how are you doing Warren?”
The young cadet was covering the trill with puppy eyes, and she was feeling uncomfortable.
“Fine, I just wanted to know if you would like to go ape with me.”
“Go what?”
“The Hollywood Museum is doing a screening of centuries old movies around the Planet of the Apes thematic. Maybe you would like to come with me?”
Biting her lips and crossing her arms, visibly annoyed to have that talk, Max looked at the guy.
“You do remember that I am a lesbian, right?”
“Yes, yes. This is just a friendly offering.”
Warren was rubbing his neck, making Max doubt the sincerity of his words.
“Really, you totally should ask Brooke.”
“You think?”
“Of course, why would I tell you that otherwise?”
Looking around, Max noticed that Gabe, Alex and Ryan were beaming toward Guinan’s on the 10 Forward Avenue, Greater Los Angeles. Going to an opposite direction, Steph was walking to the old air tram station, as she would stay in San Francisco for the night with Izzie. And near a tree, Kurtny was talking with Vtoria and Taylor. She would be alone in her room.
“Warren, I’ve got a lot to do before going to bed, so please excuse me.”
Leaving the place, Max reached her dormitory. There she put her PADD on her desk then changed her clothes, leaving the uniform for a black dress and assorted flats, before walking toward the transporter pad.
“Hey Max. Going to town?”
“Hey Skip… Please beam me to Marseilles.”
“No problem.”
The Californian sun, the sounds of students and the smell of flowers from the whole Federation disappeared. And Max’s eyesight had to adapt to the Mediterranean night kept away by public lights. The smell was also different as the salty sea and the local plants reached the half trill nostrils.
Knowing the town, she walked toward a pool hall and went to the bar. The place had, like many bars and pub on Earth, a late 20th century, early 21st century feel. Nonetheless, she enjoyed the place who wasn’t full of cadets, despite the picture of a Starfleet officer above the bar: a shrine in honor of the lieutenant Tom Paris, the best customer, who had been missing for years.
“Bonsoir mon choux, what do you want to drink?”
Smiling to the barmaid, Max answered:
“Hi Sandrine, I’ll take the usual stuff.”
“Here goes the usual stuff.”
A shot glass was put in front of the young trill and a blue liquid was poured into it.
“Hey Max?”
The voice was familiar but the girl in a red dress that left nothing to the imagination had unexpected hair.
“Dana? What’s that on your head?”
Smiling, the tall young woman sat next to Max.
“An andorian ale for me too, please Sandrine.”
She then looked at her classmate:
“Oh, you know, everyone gets worried when they see a bald girl. Deltan girls are intimidating, and I just want to have fun.”
“Didn’t you take an oath of celibacy?”
Giggling, she nodded, while Sandrine poured her a drink:
“Sure, but celibacy ain’t chastity, babe.”
Grinning, Max raised her glass.
“A toast to your wisdom!”
The glasses were shocked against each other and both young women took a sip.
“Dresses look good on you, Max. Did you come to find a one-night stand, I volunteer if it’s the case, or are you waiting for your date?”
Dana’s words turned Max cheeks into a crimson red.
“Thanks for the boost to my ego. You’re gorgeous and I can’t imagine a best one-night stand or friend with benefits proposal, but I’m waiting for someone.”
“Oh, that’s good! Who is she? Because it’s a lady, right?”
Nodding, Max looked anxiously toward the door.
“Yeah, it’s a girl… We only started a few weeks ago so… it would be best if the whole academy isn’t aware before we are comfortable with it.”
“No problem just… how did it start?”
“Oh, you know me, I was mourning my dead childhood friend on her anniversary, and she provided me some needed comfort.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet of her. I… Well, I gonna take my gang to another pool hall before she come.”
“Thanks, and… we’ll gossip later?”
“With pleasure.”
Max realized at that point that she didn’t notice Dana wasn’t alone. But she was not the only Deltan or half Deltan wearing a wig here. A kiss on Max cheek and Dana Ward left the place. Turning her attention to her glass, Max started to wonder when her date would arrive, drinking the blue ale.
Her brief talk with Dana came back in mind, as she was bored and overthinking the offer. Maybe things would have been easier if she had just hooked up with the friendly cadet from Starfleet Medical. Ordering a second drink, she started to sip it, as she was overthinking the fact that, for the first time, she had referenced her date as… a date. Where they girlfriend? Was she entitled to have a girlfriend while her best friend body had been left rotting in a shitty distant planet? Why was she still suffering of survivor’s guilt, and would she be able to graduate from the Academy between that guilt and her averages results?
“Nice to meet you, where you been?”
The voice, the warm hand in the back, Max knew her date has arrived without having to look.
“Oh, my God, look at that face. You look like my next mistake.”
Grinning at Max’s answer, Vtoria took the seat next to her and turned her head toward Sandrine:
“A glass of Château Picard, please.”
As the barmaid and owner went to find a glass of wine and a bottle of the appropriate wine, the andorian looked at her roommate, and date.
“A slip of gold-pressed latinum for your thoughts.”
Giving a glance to Vtoria, Max whispered:
“Just my usual self-deprecating survivor’s guilt.”
Instead of taking her newly served glass, the andorian took Max’s chin between her thumb and her index.
“Pinkie, you’re such a bad girl. Let me take care of you.”
And the blue lips joined the pink ones in a passionate kiss. Shivering, Max put her hands in the white hair of Vtoria and prolonged the kiss. When the kiss ended, both were gasping for hair and the brunette found safety and comfort in the arms of her roommate.
“Feeling better?”
Whispered the andorian to her girlfriend. She suddenly realized that they never talked about what they were for each other.
“Not bad.”
“Someone deserves a spanking.”
“Maybe...”
“Oh! The bratty little girl!”
A smile illuminated Max face as her freckles were now laid on carmine cheek. Vtoria drank from her glass then whispered to her partner:
“And I came here to play pool, I guess I need to take care of your pinky butt first.”
“Seems so, Tori.”
Grabbing her by the neck, Vtoria led the aroused trill to the bathroom.