Crystal

Posted on 17 Dec 2017 @ 6:51am by Lieutenant JG Crystal West

702 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Errand of Mercy
Location: Star Fleet Academy, Earth
Timeline: ED5: 1630

ON:

Crystal had been working diligently to get through the Academy, it was amazing what a little pull from the higher ups could do. Her grades had been more than enough to get in, it helped that she had spent most of her life in a Star Fleet outpost and from the ages of eight to seventeen she had been at Star Fleet Headquarters no more than a hop skip and a jump away from the Academy. She had spent her summers sitting in on “Warp Theory 101” classes and “Ethics and Morals of Command, Applied Philosophy 401”. By the time she was seventeen she had sat in on every core class and most of the elective classes to boot. So it was no surprise to Fleet Admiral Thor when she came to him for his recommendation to the Academy.

She smirked at the memory of his face when she asked him to be his sponsor. Stony and stoic but for the slight tightening around his eyes that she knew meant he approved. The only problem was her father, Vice Admiral Nathan West, Chief of Star Fleet Intelligence. He wanted her to be anything other than an officer in the fleet. She understood his trepidation, she more than most, but the fleet was a calling to her as much as it had been for him. She knew that if he found out he would stop at nothing to get her removed. Which was why she had gone to Uncle Thor. He had paved the way and smoothed the road for her to complete four years of study in just under two years. Granted she had to go through and test out of all of the classes she would have had to take, and Thor had told her that she had to test out with an A average or else she had to take the classes in person. She was also enrolled in the Academy under a pseudonym, Amanda Regina, so as not to alert her father who kept an eye on the Academy enrollment for good prospects.

She was worried about her father, he had been deteriorating for the past two years, so much so that she had caught several FUBARS in his orders. Luckily she knew how to get into and out of his office, and was able to correct them before they had gone out. This was another reason why she had joined the Fleet, or was at least attempting to, she had to keep an eye on her dad. She shook her head remembering the erratic behavior that she had witnessed on many occasions and it seemed as if it was only getting worse. She had covered for him so no one would notice in the hopes that what ever was bothering him would, in time, repair it's self. He had been one of the longest sitting Intelligence Directors in Star Fleet history, having held the post for over eighteen years. Most were lucky to make it two to three years due to the stress of it all. Star Fleet hadn't tried to replace him because under his directorship Section 31 was dissolved and "The Company" was created to take it's place, SFI had run smoother with fewer incidents and the intelligence he had gained had helped countless times over. The brass simply hadn't wanted to replace him, and they also didn't have anyone to replace him with. For all the good West had done for the department, both covert and overt, he had failed to train anyone sufficiently to take over his spot when he had to leave. That is except his daughter who had been shadowing him all of her life.

She paused as she looked out over the Academy's grounds, the light was bright as the sun began it's path towards the horizon and it's warmth kissed what exposed skin she had in her cadet's uniform. She headed to her last class of the day, resolved to get her commission and help her father maintain his record of excellence. She would go to his office this evening and make sure all was squared away before changing and heading home.

OFF

Crystal West
Cadet Fourth Class
Star Fleet Academy, Earth

 

RSS Feed