What's Past_ Many Splendors (Book 6) - Keith R.A. DeCandido [3]
Lian and Sonya had shared a plasma physics class a year earlier. Though the former was a year ahead of the latter, they’d become fast friends, and Lian had continued to write to Sonya from her posting to the Enterprise. Reading of Lian’s adventures and her descriptions of the amazing new Galaxy-class ship, Sonya realized that this ship was where she simply had to be assigned. She’d been driven from the moment she’d first applied to the Academy, but the letters from Lian made her realize that this was the only place she could possibly go.
She realized that catching up on sleep wasn’t really an option. While she’d made a thorough study of the ship’s specs, she still needed to compare that to how the engines were now with the specs it had at Utopia Planitia a year and a half ago.
The doors parted with a swish, and Lian entered. She was rubbing her round face with her hands, her dark curls poorly held in by an attempt at a ponytail.
“Lian!”
Taking her hands away from her face to reveal her large, expressive eyes, Lian T’su burst into a grin. “Sonya! You’re here!”
The two friends ran to each other and embraced in a tight hug. Though they’d stayed in touch, they hadn’t seen each other since Lian’s graduation a year earlier. “It’s so great to see you,” Sonya said to Lian’s shoulder. “I’m so glad we got assigned together.”
“We were lucky,” Lian said. “Phylo was just promoted to junior-grade lieutenant, and she transferred to the starbase. She couldn’t handle the pace here all that well. So I had the space, and quartermaster was kind enough to say yes.”
They broke the embrace. Lian reached behind her head and yanked the hair-tie out, letting her curls spill loose about her shoulders. “Much better. Sorry, I was doing a double shift, and on alpha, I try to keep my hair up.” She smirked. “Something about the captain being around makes you want to remain tidy.”
“I bet. Why were you doing a double?”
“Commander Data resigned. I couldn’t believe it when I heard.” Lian walked over to the replicator. “Green tea, hot.” The replicator hummed, and a ceramic mug with steam rising from its mouth coalesced into being. She took a quick sip of it, and a transformation came over her: her eyes brightened, her other features softened, and she seemed to slouch a bit. “Much better.”
“Why did Commander Data resign? Isn’t he the android?”
“Well, even if he hadn’t, I still would’ve pulled a double.” Lian slowly walked over to the couch. Sonya did likewise. “He was being transferred to the starbase so they can experiment on him.”
Sonya frowned. “Experiment? Can they do that to an officer?”
Shrugging, Lian said, “Apparently. Anyhow, Commander Riker didn’t have a chance to redo the shift rotation, so he asked me to stay on for alpha, and I did. We’re just orbiting the starbase, so it didn’t require a lot of concentration.” She took another sip of the tea, then set it down on the table. “But enough about me, how’re you?”
“Excited.” Sonya leaned forward on the couch. “I haven’t met Ensign Clancy yet—Lieutenant La Forge said I’d be working for her—and I just can’t wait to get started when gamma starts.”
“Good.” Lian stood up. “I can take you to Ten-Forward, then.”
“That’s the lounge, isn’t it?” Sonya asked.
Lian nodded.
“I can’t. I’ve got way too much to do.”
“Sonya—”
Also standing, Sonya said, “No, I’ve got to unpack and get ready for the first shift.”
“There’s nothing to get ready for, Sonya.”
“I have to make a good impression with Clancy. I don’t want her to think I’m just some dumb ensign right out of the Academy. I want to show her what I can do.”
Lian shook her head. “Sonya, you don’t have to prove yourself.”
“Yes, I do. You just said your last roommate couldn’t handle it. I have to.”
“Look, La Forge is going to be very easy to work for. He’s a good officer, and a great supervisor. Engineering was a disaster area before he got his hands on it.”
“Wasn’t he the one in command when you got battle bridge duty that time?”
“Yes. He was excellent under pressure, kept us all focused.” She smirked. “Well, me and Solis. I think Worf was