Linha had been sitting in one of the local coffee shops just sitting there staring out the window lost in thought. She thought about everything she had witnessed on Frontier Day, the terror that was taking place on Earth and elsewhere. She had taken a few days off to clear her mind and wrap her brain around everything, she was grateful that Starbase Bravo was shielded by the Paulson Nebula. She couldn’t even begin to wonder what would have happened if they weren’t.

This caused her to shudder at the thought of her becoming a Borg drone and hurting the people she was learning to protect and help. This alone took the largest toll on her mental health; taking a drink of her coffee, she saw something come across her PADD. Raising an eyebrow as she was being summoned to the office of the Deputy Director of General Medicine. She wondered what it could be about; she got up from the table she was sitting at and began to make her way to her office.

Cass sipped at her fourth cup of coffee for the day as the chrono clicked over to 0900 hours.  She was still marinating over her meeting with Director Anya.  The task ahead of them loomed large with ease and challenge.  Ease because, for some, it would be a simple process.  They’d have a lot of first early adopters of the process.  The part that would get tough was the ones who didn’t want to, were afraid of it, or just the stubborn asteroids that refused to move.  She chuckled to herself at the last one.  Professional as she was, her humor ran the gamut from dark to sarcastic.

“Deputy Chief?”  The furrowed brows of her assistant peeked through the door, and she waved her in.

“Ensign Parker.”  She wondered what the young officer needed.  The assistant nervously played with her hands as she seemed to wait for her commanding officer to prompt her.  Cass caught herself before she sighed dramatically and instead led with, “What can I do for you?”

Geraldine played with her hands a bit longer before confessing, “You yelled at me, sir.”  Her eyes were a bit shiny, and her face flushed with emotion.

Montgomery stared at the ensign for a moment before she sighed deeply.  It wasn’t a dramatic sigh.  It was a sigh of annoyance.  “Yes, I did.”  She waited, but the woman remained silent.  “Why did I yell at you?”

Parker pursed her lips and answered, “I let someone in your office.”  She went to explain and stopped as Cass put her hand up.

“Ensign, this office is my sanctuary.  It’s my castle.  My kingdom rests on this place being protected.  The hospital wings, sickbays, and everywhere else on Bravo is where I have to walk with my armor up and my focus always on.  I can take a breath here.  Ready myself for whatever’s waiting outside that door.”

“You let me in here.”  She was processing what the Deputy Director had just said about her office.  It was starting to make sense.

Cass gave a respectful nod, “I did.  And I will continue to do so.  You’re the only person I would accept being in here before me.  I trust you, Ensign.  You endangered that trust this morning.”

There was a silent discussion as they both stared at each other. Parker understood.  “I…I get it, sir.  We’re a team.  And you need your team to always be on the same PADD.”

Another nod from Cass, this time one of acknowledgment, “I’ve been on teams that were not just on different PADDs but on spanners, tricorders, and phasers.   I don’t want to go back to those days. I’ve come too far to get stuck in a repeated timestream.”

Geraldine stood at attention, “I can do that, Deputy Director.”  She accepted the third nod from her CO and reported, “Cadet Linha Varen is here for her appointment with you, sir.”

It was Montgomery’s turn to purse her lips, “Thank you, Ensign.  Show her in.”  She tapped at her PADD and waited for the cadet to enter.

Linha nodded to the Ensign, thanking her before she walked into the office and stood at attention. “Cadet Varen reporting as ordered, sir,” the young Trill said.

Cass gestured to the seats before her desk, “Good morning, Cadet Varen.  Doc Montgomery, Deputy Director…well, you know the rest.”  She sipped at her coffee as the young woman sat in the chair.  “How are you faring with…everything?”  Cass spoke with a tone of concern – officers of a certain age were all getting second and third looks across all stations and ships.  The images of Frontier Fade and the calamity would not fade for quite some time.

“I am doing fine,” Linha responded as she was more level-headed during situations. Though this was the worst situation that could have happened, she felt she did not need to dwell and stress on it. “Though I know others are well worse in that area than I am,” Linha added, looking at her.

Montgomery tapped at her PADD and spoke quietly, the names of the dead and dying a part of her daily reading, “Indeed, there are others in worse times.  Have you used a transporter recently, Cadet?”  She saw a flash of concern on the young woman’s face.

“Yes, sir,” Linha replied.

Another tap at her PADD, “Transporter records show you were onboard a ship you were not assigned to.”  Cass was probing partially due to her curiosity but also because the cadet’s file was scant on information when it came to family.  Unusually so.  That bothered her as a doctor first and a deputy director second.

Raising an eyebrow, “You are correct. I was on a ship that I am not assigned to. Fleet Captain Azras Dex, the Commanding Officer of the USS Saratoga, is my mother.” Linha said, “I was enjoying some time with my parents while they were docked for repairs after the Lost Fleet ordeal.” Linha replied with a smile.

Cass made a note on her PADD and commented, “Everyone’s throwing around titles and ranks these days.”  She waved off the look from the cadet, “I’ve had my share of people dropping connections on me since I started.  My apologies – taking it out on you isn’t particularly professional.”  She frowned, “The connection to your mother is missing from my file.”

Raising an eyebrow confused by her statement, “I am sorry sir?” Linha said.

The Deputy Director chuckled, “I laugh because there are times I wish I couldn’t claim my mother…although your relationship with yours is probably a lot better than mine.” She tapped at the PADD, “Now, why you’re here…”  She handed the young woman the device, moving to stand by the large holoscreen display, “As you’re aware, there is a significant portion of Starfleet officers and cadets of a certain age that the Borg impacted.”  She explained why Bravo had been spared the fate that most of Starfleet’s ships had faced and related information and updates that were more recent.  Some of her details were old news to the cadet, while some were helpful context.  She continued, “The point is…we’re going to need to start inoculating crew…and you were referred to me by the Director of Promenade Security.”

Taking the device she began to read the contents, she figured that she be one of them which unsettled her as it probably did others. “Why was I referred to you by Commander Peri?” She asked but probably already knew the answer due to her age and the likely hood of her having these Borg nanites.

A shrug, “You now know as much as I do, Cadet.  There’s a meeting scheduled…I’ve sent you the details.  You’ll probably be with me for a good part of this adventure.  I also think you’ll probably be a part of getting people to sign up for this.”  She asked the cadet, “You comfortable with that, Cadet Linha?”

“Yes,” Linha replied. “Though I will probably be one of the ones to go through as well,” she added.

Montgomery made another note, “Well, we’ll cross that turboshaft when we get to it.  I’ll see you at the meeting Cadet.  Welcome to the team.”

Nodding she got up to leave, “thank you sir.” she replied.

Cass watched the young woman leave.  This was going to be an adventure.

Walking out of the room she stopped at the door for a moment before heading to where she needed to be. She thought that was a strange meeting but things have been weird since Frontier Day.