Alcyone Brennan moved quietly through ‘The Waypoint’, which she had discovered to be the USS Sirona’s main social hub. It was a sleek, modern lounge with holographic windows showing distant planets – a space where the formal atmosphere of the Sirona dissipated, and officers found refuge from the pressure of deep-space assignments.

The crew – aside, perhaps, the Captain whose strict and distant demeanour was very different from Captain Ceix’s warm and almost parental leadership style aboard the Callisto – had been friendly and welcoming. It hadn’t helped – Brennan still felt utterly out of place here. She knew that it had nothing to do with them, but everything with her.

She took a seat at a table meant for two, unsure if she would order anything else than perhaps a glass of water. She hadn’t been hungry for days now, and she wasn’t looking for social interaction either. She would have stayed hidden away in her quarters, but as spacious and nicely decorated as they were, they were also entirely impersonal and empty and isolating.

The Waypoint certainly wasn’t empty, but Brennan discovered quickly that it didn’t do anything to cure the feeling of isolation. It was, after all, self-imposed. And she realized that when, at the table next to her, two women in teal uniform glanced at her, exchanged a few words, and then waved her over.

An offer.

Brennan bit her lip. She wanted to join, wanted to feel part of something again. But, right now, she felt too damaged. Special in the worst sense of the word, and in a way no one could possibly understand.

She hadn’t felt this out of place since….

“Surprise!” Kazir announced with a big smile as the door to Brennan’s dorm room opened and revealed him. He was carrying a small crate that was quickly put to the side as he strode into her quarters without waiting for an invitation, and greeted her with a hug that was almost as big as his smile. 

“You’re here!”  Brennan, back then a very new, very green, very intimidated cadet, exclaimed as she returned the embrace. A pause, and then. “Wait, why are you here?” 

“Mother said you’re homesick. So I brought you these.”, Kazir said and nodded towards the crate. Brennan immediately let go of her brother and instead evaluated its contents, finding it filled to the brim with homemade cookies – not those gross ones the replicator made – mementos that hadn’t fit into her travel crate when she had left for Starfleet Academy, and a few wrapped presents.

“Thank you.” Brennan was trying hard not to tear up. She was a little on the emotional side, sometimes. 

“So, how is the glamorous Academy life treating you?” Kazir asked and took a seat at her desk, glancing over the opened files on the terminal. “Federation Law and Protocols? Sounds sooo interesting.”

“Hey, it’s important. Apparently.”, Brennan retorted. Then, she shrugged.  “I’m … good. My roommate is a jerk.”

“You’ll win them over eventually.”, Kazir grinned. 

“No chance. You can convince yourself, she’ll be back any minute.”

“Thanks, I’ll pass.” Kazir let his gaze wander through the room. “Especially because three really is a crowd here. How about we go have lunch… dinner? What time is it? … somewhere?” 

“Oh, I’d love that.”, Alcyone nodded excitedly. She wasn’t getting out enough. “I know a few nice spots.”

“Well then, lead the way – oh, but maybe get dressed in your fancy bigshot cadet uniform first.” 

“How about no.”, she rolled her eyes. “I am at the bottom of the food chain here, you know that, right?”

Kazir shrugged. “Good thing Starfleet isn’t known for eating people.”

A few moments later, they were walking down the promenade, scouting the different cafes and diners for something enticing. 

“What about this one here?” Kazir asked and jutted his chin in the direction of something called “Grandma’s place”. A very not-fancy name and from the windows they could spot an interior that matched the name – it didn’t look old or vintage, it looked ancient. But it also looked homely, and the cakes that sat on the counter promised to be delicious. 

“Sure.”, Brennan nodded, leading the way as they headed inside, and… regretting her enthusiasm almost immediately. 

“Alcyone.” Someone from a few tables away called out, giving a small wave. There was a group of five – she had recently done a group project with some of them, but others she didn’t know at all. Some had PADDs with them, perhaps discussing some sort of assignment, while others leaned back in their chair, chatting casually about whoever they spotted through the window. One of them, she was sure, had actually fallen asleep. 

“Hey…” Brennan said carefully, and for a moment, she just stood there. 

“Do you want to join us?”, someone else asked, raising a very Vulcan eyebrow at Brennan’s delayed reaction. 

Kazir, charismatic as he was, gave a nod. “Sure. I’m Kazir.”

Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it…

“Alcyone’s brother.”

Great. 

And that was precisely what Brennan had wanted to avoid. She loved Kazir, but they didn’t exactly look alike – or more precisely, his green skin clearly indicated that they weren’t even the same species. 

Questions would come. Just like they had back at home. And then, Brennan would have to tell them that she had grown up in a foster family, and… ugh. Just ugh. 

“Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Andrew,” said the young man who had first greeted them. “Do we shake hands? I still haven’t gotten behind every custom of every culture.”

“That’s because you suck at anything diplomacy-related.”, teased Jalen, who leaned back in his chair with a grin. “I vote you ‘most likely to cause a diplomatic incident.”

“Jerk.”

And that… was it. They took their places, and no questions came.

Instead, they talked about their classes, their lecturers, the fellow Cadet Andrew wanted to ask out, and whether or not the next issue of the tabloid ‘Star Crossed’ would uncover the latest affair of a Betazoid matriarch Brenann had never heard of. 

Kazir nudged her, and she gave a smile.

This wasn’t Colludia. This was Starfleet, where everyone had their own things going on, and where cultures and lifestyles were rich and varied –  and where the chosen family wasn’t less important than the family one was born into. 

Brennan sighed, offering her brother an appreciative smile. She still had a lot to learn. 

And, evidently, she was still learning.

She looked over at the two women who both still looked at her expectantly.

Perhaps they couldn’t entirely relate to experiencing one’s crew kidnapped by a telepathic entity pretending to be a God, one’s girlfriend doing that entity’s bidding and abandoning one on an island, but… they probably had their own things going on.

And so, she got up, and joined them.