Natalie sat in her dorm room, staring at the window.  She’d returned from Starbase Bravo after having served as a member of the honor guard for Katsumi Okada on the Mackenzie.  Usually, she’d sit across from Phil Goldsmith in the café or a coffee shop, talking through the things on their hearts and minds.  But Phil had left Starfleet Academy.

Harris had decided to work through the summer on her courses to graduate sooner.  Her paper on Warp Field Dynamics was staring at her from her PADD.  She’d been pulling statistics and system schematics most of the morning while she wrote about how specific fields could interfere with warp engines.  It wasn’t that it was boring; it was that her mind still rested on the death of her friend, Katsumi.

Her roommate had left for the summer for a party-filled time on some island planet.  They hadn’t gotten off on the right foot when Natalie had moved back in, and things hadn’t improved.  With Phil, she could hang out anywhere before she slid into her bed, earplugs in place, as her roommate had a habit of listening to loud music.

Resolving to keep moving, she jumped up and left, desperate to find something to put her mind to while she wandered.

“You look like you need…something.”  The voice broke her loose from her staring contest with the wall-length windows of the cafeteria.  She looked up, frowning as the young Bajoran woman slid into the seat across from her.  She wasn’t in her cadet duty uniform, but Natalie had seen her around.  “Sophomore Cadet Lisa Munroe, Counseling branch.”  She spoke with a heavy German accent.

Natalie blinked away her surprise, “Sophomore Cadet Natalie Harris, Engineering branch.  You’re right about needing something.”  She took a long drink from her coffee, “It’s been rough…but it’s been rough for everyone.”

Munroe gripped her mug, steaming with what smelled like a heavy chai, “That is the truth.”  She looked around, “I’m here because I don’t want to go home and deal with my…family.  You?”  Harris explained her desire to graduate as early as possible.  Lisa affirmed her decision by nodding, “I’d like to get out there as fast as possible.  Lots of people need help.”

Harris asked, “Ship or station?”  The debate was talked about as the semester ended.  “I’m team ship.”

The counseling cadet shrugged, “I think both have benefits.  Ships, you see the same people all the time.  A station is so much bigger and fuller…lots more to meet and greet.”  She took a contented sip of her chai, “I’ve got plenty of time to decide.  Who knows what new ships they’ll have by the time I graduate?  I’m secretly hoping for an Odyssey class.”

Natalie mimed, gagging, “They’re the new fat ones – so big!  I’d get lost on one of those.”

Munroe rolled her eyes, but her smile was unmistakable, “I sometimes think that getting lost is the point.”

Harris regarded Lisa for a moment, “You want to grab lunch?  Unless your social calendar is full…”

A cackle, “Ma’am, I’m a counseling cadet.  I don’t have friends…I have clients.”

Natalie stood, “Well, then let’s see if we can be friends.  I’ll be grading you on your lunch choices.”

Munroe pushed her chair out, “And I’ll be asking you about your mother.”

Harris felt her smile returning, “That seems fair.  Lead the way.”