Across the final frontier

Deep Space Nine

Deep space nine was buzzing with noise. People were hastily walking to and fro, like bees in a beehive. As Athena observed their purposefulness, she could only wish to be one of them. Instead, she sat on the ground, a floor above the promenade, watching the people passing beneath her feet. Voyager had made a pitch stop at the station and Athena had taken the opportunity to escape the grey walls of the spaceship and find some solace in the sight of normal, non-Starfleet people. However, the civilians on Deep Space Nine gave her no such rest. They too seemed full of purpose, direction. She felt alienated and alone. Like she was between unknown species without a universal translator to understand what they were saying. Unlike them, she had no idea what she was doing, where she was going.

Soon, she grew bored of sitting around, doing nothing, so she started walking the corridors. It was nice to walk. The sound of her feet formed a distraction for the loudness of her whirling thoughts. Soon, she had no idea where she was. She was lost, finally. The feeling of being lost was a relief. On voyager, all days had been the same. From nine to five she helped in the medical bay, where she could do next to nothing except giving the right equipment for the doctor to use. It was a tedious task and the girl felt as if she was wasting time. She had expected to find excitement, problems she would need to find solutions to. New experiences, in which she would be needed, in which she could be challenged and be of use. Instead, all days stretched long, following the same routine. Outside of her working hours she wandered the ship, until she knew it inside-out. Even in the Jeffries tubes she couldn't get lost. She didn't really connect with any of the crew, for she felt the age difference was too wide to cross. She was only seventeen, while the whole crew had had a full Starfleet training. She felt she didn't belong and, starting to think her father had been right all along, Athena started to long to return home.

When she found her way to the ship, they were already loading the last supplies. Hastily Athena boarded and retreated to her quarters. Her shift in the medical bay started as soon as the ship came free from the docks. However, Athena didn't feel like working. She felt more like retreating to her quarters and reading a book, fleeing in the world of fiction. She wasn't a part of Starfleet. The doctor couldn't make her do anything. What could he do? Threaten to end her training? Seeing the current situation, she didn't fancy staying anyways. So, Athena did exactly that. Filled with anger, self-pity, but above all, fear of what would become of her, she stomped off to the safety of her own room. Unaware that this action of rebellion would save her life.