Academy Path

Posted on Wed Apr 23rd, 2025 @ 9:52am by Cadet Freshman Grade Miran Lalor [Lalor] HRH & Cadet Freshman Grade Raye Crosby-Triannth & Captain David Tonelly [Reece]

Mission: Season 6 - 5.5 - Day to Day
Location: USS Elysium, Starfleet Academy Annex
Timeline: MD 1, 0956 hours
4134 words - 8.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Aftersending a notification to both young women, that the inspection of their transcripts had passed , and they were to report to him this morning at ten hundred hours, he stood outside the testing compartment, using the time to go over a few reports, on a PADD, of how the other cadets are doing.

Raye was the first to arrive, a good ten minutes early, dressed in jeans and a teeshirt, looking all relaxed, her red hair in a ponytail.

Miran arrived five minutes early, dressed similarly but yet, she still was not 100% on board with this whole idea.

Seeing both young women approaching, David grinned softly. "Good morning, ladies." He gave them both a slight head nod and polite grin as he spoke. "As I stated over our last communication, you both passed the initial personal investigation. So now, it is time for you to take your entrance exam for the Academy. The test will take all day and will be broken up into four two hour sections. At the end, your overall scores will determine, not only if you have earned the right to attend the Academy, but I will have a better idea aa to which field you are best qualified for." He paused for a beat, then asked, "Are you ready to begin?"

Raye nodded. "Yes Sir" She said brightly.

Miran nodded her fingers opening and closing as she considered the exams ahead of her. Like her sister she had learned to read and write after her arrival in the Federation, but at least she had a few more years than Phoenix had, had when she sat the exams. "Yes Sir"

David nodded again in reply. "Then follow me." He turned and started toward one of the anterooms. Inside were a row of consoles, each with the logo of the Starfleet Academy seal on the screens. "Take a seat, and we shall begin."

Raye nodded and towed Miran into the room and took a seat.

Miran sat down a desk away so there could not be any claim of cheating.

Once they were settled, David moved to the front of the room and said, "This first exam will test your general knowledge, giving me a better idea as to which field would be better suited for you. You will have two hours to complete as many questions as possible. Take your time to answer them as fully as possible." He nodded to both young women. "Begin."

Both had nodded and now they both lowered their heads and began to work.

Raye had been doing studying at night so she felt prepared. She worked her way through the questions easily. She was confident in her answers.

Miran on the other hand was slower in her responses, She worked through the questions but not as easily. She knew the majority but was not that confident.

***TWO HOURS LATER***

"And that it's time, ladies," David stated, as the computer terminals shut down. "Go ahead and head to the lounge, get something to drink, while I grade your exams. I'll come get you for the next part of the entrance exam in a little bit."

Raye nodded as she stood. She looked at Miran who was blinking at the now blank screen. "Hey you ok?"

"Yeah just really noticing the 13 years in a backwards planet's education system" Miran muttered. She was actually very good in school, her grades were always good but she was not 100% on this. She stood. "When my sister took her exam, she had no Federation Standard or education. She passed easily."

Raye nodded and the two of them headed out. "Doesnt she always say it took her 6 months to learn Federation Standard and her four years at the academy was hard?"

"Yeah and look at her now." Miran said as they entered the lounge. "A Commodore. A captain at 25."

Raye sighed and sat down. She stretched. "So? You are not her."

"I know that. But this feels like being her."

"She was in Flight Control." Raye reminded her. "Some think its the easy path but its not."

"Yeah." Miran sighed. "You were not on the Elysium when we met our future selves were you?"

Raye shook her head. "No." She stood and went to the replicator and grabbed them both drinks. "But that does not define you either Miran."

Miran took the drink. "Can you imagine what Carly will say when I flunk this?"

"Who says you are going to flunk?"

"Me. Because I didn't answer the questions well."

"Meh we shall see." Ray sipped her drink and the two lapsed into silence as they sat there waiting.

A short while later, David stepped into the lounge and saw the two teens. "Well done so far, ladies. While Raye, your scores were a bit higher on this first exam, you both passed with high marks."

Raye grinned. "So next one?" She asked eagerly.

"Next one is a physical fitness exam," David replied as he led the two young women to a medium-sized holodeck. Inside was a workout room, filled with various exercise equipment. There were also a group of instructors waiting inside. After David introduced his instructors to Miran and Raye, he told the girls that over the next two hours, his instructors would be putting them through the entire qualification exam, set up to verify their physical abilities.

Miran visibly winced. She had sword fighting skills, her sister had trained her in Erisian techniques but she had very little hand to hand and such.

Raye nodded. She had her own personal training and being a ballet dancer meant she was fit and agile.

They both went into the trails each with their own thoughts.

First up, was the warm up stretches, followed by some general calisthenics. Once that was out of the way, the two young women were split up, to begin the hand to hand section.

Both girls threw themselves into the task, each drawing on their strengths. Raye moved with a dancer’s grace, her strikes and dodges fluid and precise. She wasn’t the strongest, but her agility and control impressed the instructors. Miran, on the other hand, fought with a raw, scrappy determination. Her technique was rough, but there was power and grit behind her movements. She surprised more than one instructor with a sudden burst of speed or a well-timed block. She may not have had formal training, but it was clear she had been taught by someone who knew how to survive.

The physical exam was grueling, but neither girl gave up. By the time they hit the final fitness benchmarks, both were drenched in sweat, muscles burning, but still standing.

Raye collapsed onto a nearby bench with a bright smile, “That was intense!”

Miran joined her, panting but managing a grin. “I’m not even sure how I got through that…”

As the girls sat together, sipping water and catching their breath, Raye nudged Miran gently with her shoulder. “Hey. We didn’t die. That’s gotta count for something.”

Miran chuckled softly. “Yeah... I guess we’re doing okay after all.”

Raye nodded. “More than okay.”

Miran looked around the training room and then back to Raye, her expression thoughtful but hopeful. “Yeah. Maybe we are.”

As they sat and caught their collective breath, David approached the two young women. He was reading a PADD aa he walked closer. "Not bad, ladies," he began when he reached them. "While there are definitely areas that could be improved upon, for both of you...this is a good starting point." He put the PADD behind his back as he looked at the both of them and continued speaking. "As Starfleet officers, you would be expected to keep improving both your bodies and your minds." He took a breath, then said, "Miss Lalor, if you would please follow me, we will continue on to the next part of the entrance exam." He glanced at Raye. "If you would wait here, one of my instructors will come for you presently."

Miran stood and wiped her hands on her pants. "Yes Sir." She said.

Raye nodded and sat back and took a breath.

David led Miran back past several different offices and classrooms. They then entered a small room, which held a single table and two chairs. "Please have a seat," he said with a polite grin, as he indicated that she could choose whichever seat she wanted.

Miran had grown up for the first 13 years of her life in a dangerous court where women were looked down on and ignored. But they still had to watch their steps and the faces of those around them. She watched his face carefully as she took her seat.

David could sense that she was feeling apprehensive. "Before we begin this next exam, would you care for any..." His commbadge suddenly beeped. "Oh, excuse me." Hr turned away and answered the call. Over the device, a woman's voice was saying something to him about how his attention was required for a personal issue immediately. He turned back to Miran, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, Miss Lalor, I have to step out for a few moments. Please, have a drink or something to eat while you wait." He indicated to replicator on the far wall. He then turned and hurried out of the room."

Miran frowned but she didn't move. Something was up and she was on alert as she sat there waiting in silence.

A few moments after David left, there was the sound of a struggle outside the door. After a few moments, a portal suddenly appeared in front of her, and the Royal Erisian Guard hurried through. "Princess Miran! We found you!" They hurried over and took hold of both of her arms, before dragging her through the portal.

Only the other side, they stepped out into the courtyard of her old home. The castle of her father's throne, King Morian Lalor, High Lord of Hiram, Ruler of the Erisian People.

Arrayed off to her left, she saw Phoenix and Mattias, chained to separate columns and their backs already shredded by the King's whip. She was forced towards another column and her wrists were secured with iron shackles. Once she was secured, the guards stepped away. It was then that she heard the voice of her father. Did you think you would escape me, child?" There was no love in his voice, though there was some restraint, albeit strained.

Her blood ran cold. She lifted her head slowly, meeting the steely gaze of King Morian Lalor, her father. He stood at the top of the courtyard stairs, clad in royal crimson and black, the crest of Erisia blazing on his chest. His once-warm eyes were now hardened obsidian, his mouth a firm, unyielding line.

There was no affection in his voice. No flicker of fatherly love. Only fury barely held in check.

Miran’s lips curled in defiance, her voice shaking with anger and heartbreak as she hissed, “Amin delotha lle!”

The words cut through the courtyard like a whip crack.

I hate you.

Her native tongue made the declaration all the more visceral.

For the briefest of moments, something flickered in her father’s eyes—pain, perhaps—but it was gone just as quickly as it came. His jaw clenched.

“So be it,” he replied quietly, but his tone promised nothing short of retribution.

King Morian descended the stairs slowly, his long cloak whispering across the stones with each step. The courtyard, once a place of summer laughter and garden banquets, now felt like a stage for torment and reckoning. His eyes swept across Phoenix and Mattias, then settled on Miran.

“You brought shame to this house,” he said, stopping a few feet away from her. “You turned your back on your bloodline. On me.”

Miran lifted her chin, despite the weight of the shackles pulling at her arms. “No. You turned your back on your people. I saved lives—you slaughtered them.” She had when on Earth worked with the resistance to free women and children from Erisia.

A sharp crack echoed across the courtyard as Morian’s hand shot out and struck her across the face. Her head snapped to the side, a metallic taste blooming in her mouth. She spat blood on the ground near his boots, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.

“You are no savior,” he hissed. “You are a traitor. And like all traitors, you will be judged.”

He turned his back on her and gestured to a robed figure standing just beyond the columned portico. A priest of the old order. Hooded. Pale. Silent. The priest approached with slow, deliberate steps, carrying an ornate ceremonial dagger on a velvet pillow.

Miran’s eyes widened. She recognized the blade—the ceremonial blade of absolution. A cruel tool of Erisian justice used not for swift execution, but for ritualized punishment.

“No…” she whispered. “You can’t—”

“You abandoned your station. Forsook the Rite of Ascension. Aligned yourself with enemies of the realm,” Morian declared, raising his voice for all present to hear. “By blood, you are royalty. By action, you are nothing.”

He turned to Phoenix and Mattias. “And you,” he snarled, “you dared to hide her. To defy my command. You have been dealt with once… but not completely.”

He raised a hand.

Two guards stepped forward, holding long rods tipped with glowing energy—a forbidden weapon in the royal courts, designed for pain, not death. Phoenix, bloodied and barely conscious, flinched weakly. Mattias tried to twist in his chains, his voice hoarse as he shouted, “Leave her alone! She’s just a child!”

But the guards advanced on Miran.

“No!” Phoenix screamed, the sound ragged and broken.

One of the rods touched Miran’s side and seared her flesh with a sizzle and a jolt. Her back arched involuntarily as pain lanced through her, a cry escaping her lips before she could stop it. The crowd of watching guards remained silent, trained to be unmoved.

She gasped, fighting for control, sweat breaking out along her brow.

“I will never kneel,” she rasped.

“Then you will suffer,” Morian said coldly.

The priest stepped closer, raising the dagger.

Miran locked eyes with Phoenix, whose tear-filled gaze met hers with a desperate strength. There was still hope in her expression—faint, but burning. They just needed time.

Suddenly, one of the guards turned and struck the other, killing him instantly. He then turns and, aiming his energy staff, he fired, destroying Miran's chains. "Run!" He shouted as he blocked the priest from advancing on the princess.

Miran rolled to the ground and snap out "no." She scooped up the daggers from the ground. It was not a sword but it would do. She stepped up to the guards side.

The king roared in anger. "Kill them!" He shouted as he backed away. A dozen guards rushed in and the fight began in earnest.

The clang of steel and the hum of energy weapons filled the courtyard as the guards surged forward.

Miran didn't hesitate. The moment her fingers curled around the hilt of the ceremonial daggers, she turned and planted her feet beside the rogue guard—an ally in disguise. His armor bore the crest of her father's elite, but his eyes were alight with rebellion.

She met his gaze. “If we fall, we fall standing.”

The first guard lunged toward them, spear raised. Miran ducked under the blow, driving one dagger up under his breastplate. He crumpled with a grunt, and she whirled, blocking a second attacker with the flat of her blade.

The disguised ally fought with ruthless precision, his energy staff sweeping in wide arcs that threw sparks against metal armor. "I’ll hold the left!" he shouted. "Get to your sister!"

Miran’s eyes flicked to Phoenix and Mattias, still shackled and struggling. Another trio of guards was converging on them.

Not on my watch.

With a fierce cry, she leapt forward, parrying a blow aimed for her chest and slashing low at her attacker’s leg. He fell with a howl, and Miran vaulted over him, heading for her family.

“Hold on!” she yelled, slipping into a slide at Phoenix’s side. “I’ve got you.”

Blood smeared her hands as she fumbled with the locks, using the edge of the dagger to wedge into the old iron mechanism. Phoenix sobbed in relief as the shackle finally snapped open.

A voice roared a warning. Miran turned just in time to raise her dagger, deflecting another blade aimed at her throat. Phoenix, free now, seized the broken chain and swung it like a flail, smashing it into the attacker’s face.

Together, they stood—bloodied, battered, but unbowed.

Across the courtyard, King Morian stood atop the steps, his face a mask of fury and disbelief. “You are nothing without me!” he howled.

Miran stared at him, her chest heaving. “Then you’ve already lost.”

Suddenly, one of the King's Guard, leveled his energy rifle and fired, the blast hitting Mattias in the back, vaporizing him, slowly, as he screamed in abject agony for nearly three seconds. Then he was gone.

The King sneered at his daughters. "The interloper is gone! Now to deal with those bastards that you bore with the other interloper! Then you mother and brother will die!" He turned and hurried inside the castle, the iron gate slamming shut behind him.

Her sister's scream as her husband was disintegrated and then her sobs had Miran staggering. Mattias and her relationship was not as strong as it should have been, but it still affected her. Tears streamed down her cheeks. The words about her nephew and niece echoed and she forced herself to straighten and looked towards the door her father had shut. Everything was swarming in her mind. Many words, how, why, when...but she took a step towards the castle.

And that was when the simulation ended. The scene around Miran faded away, to reveal the familiar grid pattern of a holodeck. Standing in front of her was David, his eyes taking in the emotions playing out on her face. "You are safe, Miss Lalor," he spoke softly as he looked at her.

Miran's gaze was obsidian. Pure black. When her sister got angry, the blue eyes went ice silver. But Miran had brown eyes, inherited from their father, and they went obsidian black when upset. She narrowed those eyes at him as she was clearly keeping or trying to keep her temper in check. "Utinu en lokirim" Her native tongue rolled off easily as she clenched now empty fists.

Though he didn't understand what she said, David thought that he got the general gist of it. Standing there, he didn't seem to be intimidated by her display of anger in the slightest. "As you may have guessed, that was your phycological examination. It's used to see how a Cadet would react to their deepest fears. There is no pass or fail for this exam. It is merely a tool to see how you would react under stress. In that aspect alone, I would give you a passing grade, as you took that step to go after your father, even though he was safely behind the walls of his castle."

"Does my sister know you set this ... scenario up?" Miran got out. It was better than cursing at him over and over again. And trying to find a knife.

"No, she does not," he answered simply. He then continued, "The phycological examination is different for every cadet applicant. It is used to push you to the darkest place in your mind, to force you to face your fears. Every Starfleet officer and crewman goes through this exam, for the simple fact that, at some point in their career, they may very well be faced with something as deeply painful as their own fears." He took a few steps towards her, moving to her left, as he turned his head towards her. "Those individuals who succumb to their fears do not pass. Those that stand up against them, they do." He offered her his right hand. "Congratulations, Cadet Lalor. You have taken the first step towards a bigger future."

She looked at the hand and despite her thoughts of spitting, her years of etiquette and training kicked in. She shook the hand but her eyes were still obsidian black, which showed she was holding back a lot of anger. She dropped the hand shake as soon as was possible. "Sir."

David heard the seething anger behind the single word, nodding to himself. That anger would be excellent fuel for the coming challenges that she would face. "Go on home, Cadet. Tomorrow, you'll be moving into the barracks and your training will begin in earnest."

Miran nodded and headed off. She needed to go scream.

---

Darkness.

Cold, damp, smothering darkness.

Raye jolted upright, gasping. Her hands were chained. The metal collar around her neck was heavy and familiar. Her braid was gone, replaced with the tangles of sweat and grime. The air stank of unwashed bodies, blood, and fear.

No. No, no, no...

The hiss of the cell door broke her spiral. Boots stomped in. A Cardassian guard sneered.

“Well well… the prodigal pit-rat returns. Thought you could escape your roots, huh?”

He laughed as he yanked her to her feet. The collar sparked. Pain lanced through her spine.

This isn’t real. This can’t be real.

But it felt real. Too real.

They dragged her out past cages of other children—filthy, broken, sobbing. In one corner, her own younger self sat curled up, staring at her with wide, tear-streaked eyes.

---

Time bled. Raye lost count of the hours. The guards called her by her old slave designation—no rank, no name. Just ”vermin.”

And then, as if to twist the knife deeper, they showed her Serenity. Her mother. Behind a shimmering forcefield. Dressed in Starfleet red.

Serenity looked down at her, expression cold.

“I thought you were stronger than this, Raye. I thought you wanted to be free.”

Raye’s knees buckled.

“No,” she choked. “That’s not you. This isn’t real…”

But doubt had already begun to fester.

---
Later, they offered her a collar.

The overseer tossed it at her feet.

“Put it on. Go back to your place. Or we kill her.”

The child.

Her younger self, trembling just meters away.

She reached for it. Her hands shook violently.

Her fingers brushed the cold metal—
—and then she froze.

From somewhere, impossibly distant, she heard a voice.

“You are not what they made you.”

Her mother's voice. Her real mother.

And then—

The child looked up at her and whispered, “You saved me once. Don’t forget who you are.”

Raye straightened. The collar dropped to the floor with a clang.

“No,” she said. Steady now. “I am Raye Crosby-Triannth. I am not yours. I will never be yours again.”

The overseer lunged.

He shattered into a billion golden pixels.

---

The cell dissolved. Chains vanished. The scent of rot and metal vanished.

She stood alone in waiting room again.

Then the voice came.

“Simulation complete. Candidate has passed.”

---
Raye didn’t cry.

She couldn’t. Not yet.

The door slid open and David stepped inside. "Congratulations, Cadet Croaby-Triannth," he extended his right hand as he approached. "You've taken the first step towards the goal of becoming a Starfleet officer."

Raye looked at him. "I would hate to be you if you put Miran through something similar." She said but she shook his hand. "I'd sleep with one eye open. "

He grinned good-naturedly as he replied. "Well, as I don't need sleep like the rest of you do, shouldn't be a problem." He handed her two small PADDs. "That being said, Cadet Lalor wasn't in a friendly enough state of mind to accept this from me. Those are both of yours Academy PADDs. They are to remain with you for the duration of your training. Enclosed are the various rules and regulations that, as cadets, the both of you will be expected to observe and obey. There is also the various demerits that one can earn, should those riles not ne followed. Also included are your class schedules and locations, as well as the location of your barracks room. As the two of you are the first cadets to be accepted under my watch, I've decided to keep the two of you together." He arched an eyebrow. "Don't make e regret it." He then paused for a couple beats, before asking, "Do you have any questions for me?"

"No Sir" Raye took the PADD. "Thank you."