Star Trek: Starfleet Cadets 1x04

Episode 1x04 – Ex Astris Scientia

‘As you all know, the third year of Starfleet Academy entails observation duty on a Federation vessel. But before we can send you to a real starbase or ship, we have to make sure you have what it wakes. We can’t have incompetent cadets causing more problems than they can solve.’

Admiral Andrews paused while a couple of the students sitting before him nudged each other and laughed.

‘You will therefore be required to take a special exam on top of all your course finals that will determine whether you are ready to go out into the real world or not. This exam will include many of the things you have already studied in your other courses, but will also test your logical reasoning, decision making and physical ability. It will be somewhat similar to the general aptitude tests and Kobayashi Maru Final that await you at the end of your forth and final year at the academy.’

Many students started muttering, the Kobayashi Maru was almost as famous as Starfleet Academy itself.

‘Some of you will be glad to hear,’ he gave Matthew a meaningful look and a few students looked around, ‘that it will mostly be a practical exam.’

‘Now, since the whole point of the third year is ‘learning through experience’, we do not expect stellar performance. However, the level of your performance will determine the type of assignment you can expect.’

More students started muttering.

‘This doesn’t mean that if you score perfectly you’ll spend your third year on a Galaxy Class starship, but it can mean the difference between being able to chose between a couple of small science vessels monitoring particularly interesting parts of Federation space or being stuck on an uneventful station in the Sol system.’

‘Your field of study will of course determine the positions available, but we think that the choice is particularly broad this year. You may not land the assignment you hoped for, but as members of Starfleet, we don’t always have the luxury of serving where we’d please.’

Matthew and several other cadets suppressed a laugh. Anyone who knew Admiral Andrews also knew that he regretted giving up command of his fleet to oversee the academy.

‘You will undoubtedly be faced with this dilemma many more times in your career in Starfleet, so you might as well start getting used to it.’

‘Talk about pessimism,’ Matthew winked at Alex, who was sitting next to him, looking confused.

‘What did he mean by that?’ she whispered.

‘I’ll tell you later,’ Matthew smirked.

‘A list of available postings will be sent to you via your dormitory consoles. Hopefully, this will motivate you for the upcoming exams, if pride itself won’t do it.’

***************************************************************

Starfleet academy, the largest non-commercial complex on Earth and only the second man-made object that can be seen from orbit, is considered by many to be the greatest achievement of mankind. It produces countless talents each year to join the best of the best in the United Federation of Planets: Starfleet.

With the recent threats of the Borg and Dominion, and the weakened state of the Federation, that need for excellence has become ever more dire. It will be up to the next generation to protect Earth, to protect the paradise that humanity has had over five millennia to perfect.

***************************************************************

Steven looked down the list with slight disappointment. He understood why all of the possibilities were considered low-risk. They couldn’t send cadets into combat, but how was he supposed to learn real-hand combat tactics in the heart of the Federation? He supposed he would be cleaning the brig or something. Out of all the choices he supposed a Starbase would be the best. Even with the peaceful nature of the central core of the Federation, there were bound to be much more security issues. Besides, a trade dispute or a bit of Ferengi scheming would at least give him something to do. Something he really couldn’t say about all those freighter assignments. Well, unless they were attacked by a pirate ship, but what were the chances of that? And even if they were attacked, with almost no weapons to speak of, they’d probably just raise shields and send out a distress signal.

***************************************************************

Alex sat quietly on her bed, looking more at Matt than the list in front of her.

‘I wonder what he’s going to chose,’ she thought. She hoped that it wouldn’t be a Starbase, since that would rule out any chance of them spending the third year together. Her list was restricted to freighters and small ships, seeing as Starbases would have little need for a Flight Controller. She ruled out the science vessels, since she doubted Matt would ever set foot on one of those, but that still left her with a very wide choice.

Even though he’d completely deny it, Matt was a very good student. He’d often get the top results in their year, but then attribute it to good weather or a good night’s sleep. She supposed it was a trait of a good commanding officer, to weasel out of taking any credit. What that meant, though, was that he’d probably score high enough to choose any assignment he pleased. The question was: ‘could she?’ She noticed one of the civilian transport ships would be going to the outer edge of the Federation core. A very likely candidate, but could she really make the ninety-fifth percentile? Her hopes fell slightly as she pictured Matt going off into the unknown with a flock of girls around him while she sat next to the Conn officer on some garbage hauler.

There was another option. She could simply ask him to choose something else. She looked over to the other side of the room and watched Matt run a hand through his long hair as he peered intently on the datapad in front of him. No. She just couldn’t do it.

Suddenly, Matt turned and looked at her. She quickly turned away, but not before their eyes met. She felt as though his gaze had pierced right through her, pierced through her veil of strength and revealed the fear within. But there was also something else in his gaze, was that fear she saw in his eyes? What could he possibly be afraid of? But when she looked back he was back to his usual cheery expression. Maybe she had imagined it. Maybe she wanted him to feel insecure… so he’d need her more.

‘So, what have you got?’ Matthew said cheerily. He had jumped off his bunk and was now looking over her shoulder at her list.

‘Well, I thought…’ but her voice trailed away.

‘That freighter looks interesting, doesn’t it?’

Alex stared at him, ‘B-But… you could…I mean…’

He raised an eyebrow, ‘What? You really want to split up the great ‘trio’ so badly?’ he wiggled his finger mockingly, ‘Shame on you.’

Alex blushed slightly, but something inside her was telling her ‘this is all too easy.’ And with that, her resolve returned.

‘I won’t let you,’ she said stubbornly.

Matthew laughed.

‘H-Hey, that’s not fair…’ she pouted her bottom lip.

‘I appreciate the effort Al, I really do, but that’s the one I want. So unless you’re not going to let me take the best assignment, I might as well ask Admiral Andrews to let me repeat my second year.’

Alex blushed slightly, suddenly very interested in the keys on her datapad.

‘Hey, I’ve got that one too,’ Steven said, joining in.

‘You guys…’ Alex was turning crimson now.

‘I was considering a Starbase assignment,’ he said in his usual honest manner, but added an overly serious look that suggested the other aspect of his personality would be kicking in very soon. ‘I figured I could do without the constant whining of you two. It’s really getting on my nerves you know…’

‘But that’s going to be really boring,’ Alex tried to protest.

‘Not unless Matt tries to do something crazy and lands himself in the brig,’ Steve said with a meaningful look, ‘you know how long I’ve waited for an opportunity like that?’

Alex opened her mouth to speak, but Matt interrupted her. ‘Will you stop worrying about us and think about yourself for a change?’

‘I…’ she began.

‘Alright, it’s settled,’ Matthew said and threw his pad back on his bed.

‘Now all we have to do is make the top quartile of our class,’ Steven said, but they all knew that was well within their abilities.

‘Well,’ Matt said, getting up. ‘It’s time for my holosuite appointment.’

***************************************************************

Alex sat on her bunk with a wide smile plastered over her face. She was looking over some of the requirements that had come with the assignment lists. The first part of the exam was pretty general, many separate tasks from the fields of engineering and science to test their general starship knowledge. Then there was close and ranged combat, zero gravity training, a physical evaluation and field medicine. Obviously meant to test their survival skills. Finally, the field-specific part, in her case: Flight Control. She’d have no problem scoring high in the Conn Part, but if she was going to land the top quartile, she’d have to look over all of those introductory courses she took in her first year.

She walked over to Matt’s bunk and picked up his datapad. It appeared that the first two parts really were identical for all of the cadets, but she noticed that on top of his ‘Command’ section, he’d also be taking something called a ‘bridge officer’ test. She frowned slightly. Wasn’t that something only Starfleet officers ranked Commander and above took? What did that mean? She supposed it could be the fact that if something happened he’d be required to take command, commission or no commission, but that didn’t really make sense. There would be plenty of other Starfleet officers aboard much more qualified than he was.

But before she could ponder the thought more, her gaze fell on the list of assignments Matthew had on his pad. Her jaw dropped.

USS Lexington

USS Titan

USS Endeavour

USS Odyssey

The list went on… and on… and on. Nebula Class, Galaxy Class, Akira Class starships. What did this mean? She scrolled all the way down to find the choices that she had been given. Something was seriously wrong. Suddenly the door opened and Alex threw the pad back on Matt’s bunk. Steve had returned from the gym.

‘What’s up?’ he asked, seeing the look on her face.

***************************************************************

The next week passed in a flurry of activity, panic and intensive cramming. Several students had been to the academy’s counselor and even more to the sickbay. All of their classes were now over, yet the amount of studying was going through the roof. The library was full at all times and it was almost impossible to spot a second year cadet walking around without a datapad or tricorder.

Alex hadn’t mentioned what she had seen to anyone. She tried to bring it up several times, but something always stopped her. She didn’t know if it was the fact that she’d have to tell Matt that she had invaded his privacy, or the fear of what he might say.

‘Why would he choose the freighter over all those famous starships?’ she thought as she looked over the master systems displays of several starships on her pad.

‘It doesn’t make sense.’

‘What does?’ Matthew asked from beside her. She had spoken it out loud.

‘Ummm…’ she tried to stall to give herself thinking time, ‘these MSDs.’

She relaxed when he started explaining some of the schematics to her.

‘He could have spent an entire year on one of these ships,’ she couldn’t get the thought out of her mind and didn’t take in anything Matt was saying.

‘You alright?’ he suddenly asked. The concern was evident on his face. ‘You should get some rest before the test,’ he suggested. ‘You still have a couple of hours.’

Alex nodded and got up. She didn’t feel tired at all, but it was an opportunity to leave these dangerous waters.

***************************************************************

‘That wasn’t so bad,’ Steven said optimistically. They had just left the examination room, where they had taken the written part of their exam.

‘I guess that was to be expected,’ Matthew smiled, ‘with all that Starfleet protocol Alex has been throwing our way.’

Steven and Matthew laughed, but stopped when Alex didn’t join in.
‘C’mon, what’s the matter?’ he asked. ‘I saw you finish half an hour early.’

‘I know but…’ Alex muttered.

‘I’m sure you did fine,’ Matthew said assertively and gave Steve a meaningful look.

‘Of course you did,’ Steve added. ‘Like Matt said, you were the one spurting all that Starfleet knowledge at us all week. Relax.’

‘Exactly,’ Matthew said conclusively, ‘Now let’s get something to eat before the practical.’

‘But I…’

‘You’ve done enough studying to last a lifetime Alex. And did I mention this wasn’t a question?’

***************************************************************

Alex couldn’t concentrate on her food at all and was actually quite relieved when the announcement to assemble in the main transport room came.

The practical would take place on Starbase 001 in orbit of Earth because of the zero gravity training and piloting sections. Alex groaned when they were told all the cadets would be called in by ID number, meaning she would be one of the last to be called.

Almost the entire cargo bay had cleared up by the time Alex’s turn came. Steven and Matthew had been one of the first to go in and must have finished by now. She wondered whether they had achieved the results they aimed for when she entered the first room. There was a schematic of a Type 9 shuttle with several malfunctions in the center, and a datapad lying on a table nearby.

‘Here we go…’ she thought.

***************************************************************

Alex felt she had done really well on the first section of the practical. She had remembered everything Ryan had explained to her about EPS conduits and felt her analysis of the tachyon particle had sufficient depth, but when she entered the last room she knew something was wrong the moment she saw the medical tricorder on the table. A particularly gruesome sight met her when a hologram materialized before her.

***************************************************************

‘Tell him what you did,’ Steven said, laughing hard several hours later.

‘What?’ Matthew said confusedly, ‘What did she do?’

‘And to think that I was worried whether I applied the correct amount of sedative and treated my guy’s wound correctly,’ Steve said, still laughing.

‘Will somebody please tell me what’s so funny?’ Matt said, looking from an almost suffocating Steven to a particularly glum Alex.

‘I called up the EMH, ok?’ Alex buried her face in her lap.

‘You what?’ Matthew said, suppressing a laugh in the spirit of friendship.

***************************************************************

Alex looked away from the girl lying on the floor of the room. She had severe plasma burns all over her hands and was shaking in shock.

Without looking at then girl she picked up the tricorder, but she simply couldn’t do it. She couldn’t take the sight of all that blood. She sunk to her knees as images of failure started flashing through her mind.

But then a thought came. A crazy thought. ‘Computer, activate the EMH program,’ she said suddenly.

‘State the nature of the medical emergency,’ the holographic doctor approached Alex.

***************************************************************

‘… and he simply took the tricorder and treated her,’ Alex repeated what she had told Steven earlier, hoping Matt’s reaction would be a little bit more sensitive.

Matthew stared at her for a few seconds, not sure how he should react.

‘Well, it did work,’ he said finally, ‘if it wasn’t one of the options the EMH wouldn’t have appeared at all.’

‘Will you stop worrying, Alex?’ Steven said, no longer laughing. ‘From what I heard, you did great. We ALL did great. It’s over, we’ve done it…’

Alex looked at Matthew, wondering if he was going to mention that he had another test later that day, but he just gave her an encouraging smile.

‘Well, I must admit it was pretty funny,’ she resigned.

‘Pretty funny?’ Steven smirked. ‘It was hilarious…’ and soon after they were all laughing together.

***************************************************************

A couple of hours later, the joyous mood had dissipated as they awaited their results back in their dormitory. Even though they all felt they had definitely made their mark, it was impossible to completely dismiss that small hint of doubt.

Suddenly they heard an announcement and their dormitory console lit up. Alex rushed to it immediately while the two guys remained on their bunks. It was their usual routine. After Alex had raced them to the console and screamed out their results the first few times during their first year, they got used to it and stopped trying.

But this time she didn’t shout out in triumph. She just stood there and didn’t say a word.

‘What is it?’ Steven said, his expression falling.

‘Alex?’ Matthew said as she turned back, no hint of this being some kind of joke.

‘You made it Steve,’ she said in a painfully calm voice. ‘And so did I.’

Steve turned to Matthew in shock. ‘Matt?’

‘His result isn’t here…’ Alex said slowly.

‘What does that mean?’ Steven said confusedly.

‘Look I’m sure it’s nothing,’ Matt said with a weak smile. ‘I was told that might happen.’

Alex gave him a piercing look. He wasn’t going to tell them. But why?

‘I’m sure it’s just a technical problem,’ Steven said optimistically.

‘Ok, that’s enough,’ Alex thought to herself. She took a deep breath and was about to ask Matthew what all those starships on his list and that bridge officer test meant when someone burst into their dorm.

‘I can’t believe it,’ Ryan was positively bouncing up and down with joy, ‘I got it, the USS Chicago. The only starship on the list!’

Alex looked at Matthew again, but he didn’t react in any way to that either.

‘It’s a small Norway Class vessel,’ he continued beaming.

‘Nice one,’ Steven and Matt said in unison. ‘Congratulations!’

‘How come none of us didn’t have it on our lists?’ Alex said, looking at Matthew rather than Ryan yet again.

‘Only one frigate was chosen by random for this year, and seeing as it’s a science vessel…’

‘It was only available to Science candidates,’ Matthew finished for him.

‘But you’re…’ Steve began.

‘In Engineering, I know. That’s why I’m so happy. My results were so high Admiral Andrews made an exception.’

‘You came top of the class?’ Matthew said appraisingly. ‘I told you…’

‘Not exactly,’ Ryan turned to Steven and the joy seemed to leave him slightly. ‘Second…’

‘After Kajsa,’ Steven said in comprehension.

‘Sorry,’ Ryan said, reverting back to his usual shy self.

‘What for?’ Steven muttered. ‘I knew there wasn’t much of a chance we’d end up on the same ship.’

‘You’ll see her in fourth year,’ Alex said encouragingly, momentarily forgetting her troubles. She had been afraid of being separated from Matthew herself and knew what it must have been like for Steven.

The mood fell slightly after that and everyone seemed to forget about the incident with Matthew’s score. Everybody except Alex, that is. Ryan went back to his dorm at around ten and when they all decided to call it a night, Alex joined the others in climbing onto her bunk, but she didn’t go to sleep.

After waiting for over an hour, she began thinking that all of this was foolish, but it was at that moment that Matthew quietly got up from his bunk, looked around, and left the dormitory.

Alex turned over on her bunk and a tear slid down her cheek…

***************************************************************

The next morning, Matthew had triumphantly declared that he had in fact scored remarkably high and all three of them had celebrated their spending another year together, but Alex’s heart wasn’t in it. She couldn’t stop thinking about what it could be that Matthew was hiding from them. But as before, she couldn’t get herself to challenge him about it.

The days passed and the day of their summer parting was getting closer and closer, yet still she couldn’t get herself to say anything. She considered talking to Steven, but he’d probably dismiss it in a heartbeat. Finally, she decided that if she couldn’t speak to any of her friends, she’d have to look to the source of all the trouble.

***************************************************************

‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you Miss Hudson,’ the Admiral told her in a tone that made it clear that the topic wasn’t up for discussion. ‘Although I must admit that I am surprised that you haven’t gone to your friend first.’

‘I…’ Alex began. ‘I have my reasons.’

‘I’m sure you do,’ Andrews nodded. ‘But I’m afraid he wouldn’t have told you anyways.

‘Hey,’ Alex said angrily. ‘He tells me everything,’ she was getting protective.

‘You misunderstand me,’ he smiled and, putting an arm around her, led her to the door. ‘He’s under orders to keep it secret.’

‘Oh,’ Alex nodded and made her way out of the office. ‘Sorry,’ she mumbled, suddenly ashamed of her outburst.

‘I’d appreciate if you didn’t mention any of this to anyone else.’

‘But why?’ Alex wheeled around, but stopped herself.

‘Mr. Meyers has enough to worry about without being accused of preferential treatment.’

‘Is that what it is?’

‘That’s enough Cadet,’ Andrews said firmly.

‘I need to know sir,’ she said desperately, knowing she was overstepping countless bounds.

The admiral sighed. ‘I’m sure you know that Mr. Meyers is an exceptional student. He has merited the attention of many of our most acclaimed captains ever since he set foot in Starfleet Academy.’

Alex stared at him in shock.

‘They… requested… his services,’ he said, carefully choosing his words.

Yet again, Alex’s jaw dropped.

‘Captain Riker has been here with the Titan only last week, asking how he was doing.’

‘But… why?’ Alex said.

‘I think I’ve said too much already young miss.’

‘Thank you sir,’ Alex said sincerely. ‘I promise I won’t tell anyone.’

‘Promise?’ Andrews laughed slightly. ‘You have been ordered not to.’

‘Oh…’

***************************************************************

That year’s parting for the summer was particularly emotional, since many of the cadets wouldn’t be seeing each other for an entire year.

Matthew and Steven had planned a particularly wet ‘going away’ party for Alex when they asked Ryan to modify the environmental controls in their dorm to make it snow from the fire suppression unit. The only problem was that after a few seconds, the snow on the floor had melted and turned their dorm into a miniature pool.

The four of them had laughed all the way to the tram and even there, heads turned and people muttered, wondering what had happened that was so funny.

That all changed however, when they reached the shuttle bay. They just stood there until Steven broke the silence.

‘Ok, see ya,’ he said quickly and started towards his shuttle.

‘Oh, no you don’t,’ Alex jumped onto his back and grabbed him around the neck.

‘Heeey, gerroff me,’ he said, laughing.

Matthew and Ryan laughed as they watched the two wrestle.

‘Ok, ok, I give up,’ Steven waved his arms around. ‘I’ll stay for the awkward goodbyes.’

‘You’re damn right you will,’ Alex smirked.

‘If you’re done, your shuttles are leaving,’ Matthew pointed out.

‘Your shuttles? You aren’t going?’ Ryan asked confusedly.

‘Where would I go?’ Matt said with a smile, but Alex noticed the slightly sad tone in which he had said it. ‘Besides, I’ll have all those messages from you to keep me occupied,’ and this time he smiled sincerely.

‘Bye Matt,’ Alex said and gave him a large hug.

‘I’m going to miss you,’ she thought and smiled when he gave her a gentle squeeze and patted her back.



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ID: 1202391   (Rated: E) Favourite Starfleet Cadets Character  If you've read my series, which character is you favourite? by Filip Janik

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