Pass or Fail

Posted on 07 Dec 2015 @ 4:30am by Captain Emma Lindstrom

2,288 words; about a 11 minute read

Location
Starfleet Academy: Archer Hall, Room 3005-B
Timeline: April 5th, 2380 - 1605 hrs

Content
[ON]

With a stack of three PADDs tucked under her arm and her Starfleet-issue student book bag slung over her shoulder, Cadet Saalm made her way hastily down the corridor of Archer Hall towards her professor's office. As had seemed to be the case recently, she found herself running late for her appointment which made her feel even more flustered for the pending conversation that she knew would be uncomfortable.

Three years into her Academy training and Lirha had been an excellent student by her standards. Well...most of the time. Her grades has been strong and she was consistently pulling A's and B-pluses within the courses of her concentration. But like most things in life, there was inevitably that one area in which she struggled, and she couldn't seem to come to grasps with some of the advanced concepts being taught in her current tactical course. Combat Theory and Strategy (CBMT 301) didn't seem to be her strong suit, and one of the PADDs she carried with her also contained her most recent C-minus score in the class.

Being the emotionally driven young Orion that she was, anything less than a good grade frustrated her greatly. Obviously she wasn't learning enough in class to do well on the exams, and so she had scheduled to meet her instructor during her officer hours. Lieutenant Lindstrom was her name, and she was a young officer on a strong career path. Dark hair, striking eyes, tough lectures...she was a bit intimidating to Lirha, and the cadet hoped a personal meeting could help her with her troubles. Or at least get herself in her professor's good graces.

Lirha stopped in front of the door and pressed the chime, then quickly reached up with her free hand to push her stray locks of hair from her face and back behind her ear in an effort to make herself look more presentable.

Sitting back on her chair and staring at the door, Lieutenant Lindstrom sighed deeply when she heard the chime. She didn’t need to look at the clock to know the cadet was late. This cadet was perplexing to say the least. She showed such lack of interest in class, it was a miracle she’d gotten a C. And when she did participate, it was to critique or disrupt the flow of the class. She did not respond to the class like the others did. It wasn’t just a question of mindsets, there was something else at work here she needed to figure out.

Looking at her nails for a moment, she decided to let her stew for a moment more. She had hoped that C minus would get the cadet’s attention. Considering the swiftness of her demands for a meeting, she figured it had. But this tardiness had her wondering. Letting her thoughts wander to the young woman’s physical qualities, she had to force herself back into the proper mindset. Straightening herself on her chair and adjusting her uniform she called out “Come in” and hoped she could get her message through in a proper fashion.

The Orion stepped forward and entered the office as the doors swished open. She took a brief glance around the room and noted nothing out of the ordinary, at least as far as drab Starfleet administrative rooms went. Her attention then focused on the familiar face sitting at the table in front of her, and she quickly moved into the nearest seat across from the table. "Professor," she said with a polite greeting before getting into her complaints.

"May I talk to you about the last exam? Because...I don't feel you were fair with some of your questions. And, one of the questions I actually answered correctly but you still took points off...?" Lirha's tone wasn't particularly defiant or abrasive, but rather questioning and perplexed. At least, for now.

Looking the cadet in the eyes, Emma took a moment to gather her thoughts. “I took those points off for the same reason a math professor would if you gave her an answer, but an incorrect explanation as to how you got to the answer.” She leaned back a little, as if that could offer an impression of distance. “ While your answer was textually correct, it is obvious you did not arrive at that conclusion by making your way to it. It is not enough to know an answer. One must also know why that is the correct answer.” As if that answered that, she cocked her head to the right and proceeded with the cadet’s accusations. “Would you like to point out the other questions you believe I was unfair with?”

Lirha fumed inside and did her best to not let it show, but to little avail. She fidgeted in her chair uncomfortable as she began to speak. "So you reduced my grade even though I answered the question correctly but did not explain it?!" she scoffed, rolling her eyes at the outrageousness of the idea.

"I am studying to be an operations officer...I am a linguist," young Saalm protested. "I speak different languages so that we do not have to engage in battle."

“And out there are a thousand enemies lying in wait, with no care to your linguistic prowess, cadet.” The Lieutenant winced at the harshness of her own response. But she was also right. She had experienced it first hand. She forced her voice to loose some of the bitterness it held before she continued. “Things seldom go the way we expect them to, out there. My job is to prepare you for the times they don’t.”

Pressing a button on her terminal, she brought up the latest exams for another class, and forced her eyes on them and not on the young woman before her. “If there is nothing else..”

Lirha rose from her seat when it became clear she was trying to be dismissed. So far the only consul she'd been given was to essentially suck it up and try harder, but that didn't help her nor her class grade.

"Professor!" she protested again, this time walking towards the Human and standing close. "Can I...retake the exam? I need to pass this class to be able to graduate," she admitted with a huff, then began to think of a stronger negotiation technique. She needed leverage and currently she had none.

Instinctively, she looked over the lieutenant in more detail and was surprised that she was very attractive...at least, when she wasn't reprimanding her. Lirha gave her a weak smile and stepped closer to her desk, this time with soft eyes. "...Please...? Perhaps I can...help you relax and feel better?" she offered, while reaching out with her hand to touch the woman's shoulder. Lirha was out of options and didn't know what else to do.

The Lieutenant stiffened at the cadet’s touch. Her conscience alerted her to the inappropriateness of the situation, yet the woman in her seemed to scream for more. Troubled by her own body’s betrayal she quickly rose and turned to the young woman, flushed with embarrassment and anger. “You will step out of my office now Cadet!”

Lirha visibly shrunk backwards when she was reprimanded, but she didn't lose her footing. Being the ignorant, curious, and ambitious young Orion that she was, she'd learned over the past years on Earth that Humans often times were more vocally belligerent than her own people. And many times it seemed to be a defense mechanism for something they might not want -- or most importantly, be something they want but might deny.

She had noticed the most subtle of subtle cues from her instructor prior to the yelling, and Lirha herself had nothing to loose at this point. She would either fail the course and not graduate from the Academy if she simply left, and if she stayed, the same result would probably come more quickly. So, her instincts kicked in and she took the initiative.

One of her hands reached out to touch the side of her teacher's neck, and she quickly moved her head forward to press her lips firmly against hers. Her tongue lapped out gently and stroked the other woman's, and Lirha prayed that she would return the affection.

A fire ignited. All consuming, destroyer of moral thought or conscious questions. The very first emotion had been confusion, quickly followed by anger. And then something had clicked. Or perhaps it had broken. Like a steam pipe who’s leak has turned to a full blown catastrophe.

Her eyes glazed over for a moment as her demeanor changed from instructor to conqueror. Taking control, she pressed on the cadet, taking to her full height and returned the kiss with a fervor she had not known she possessed. Somewhere at the back of her head bells rang in heightened alarm, but they were quickly silence with the burning waves of desire.

She pushed the cadet, firmly to the wall, neither rough or gentle, giving only the slightest opportunity for the cadet to back away and run. Perhaps it was a shred of self control attempting to give them an out to this highly inappropriate, and frankly wrong situation. But whatever it was, it was fading very quickly.

Young Lirha now found herself standing against the wall, both stunned and timid from recent kiss as well as the commanding nature of her instructor. Despite being a couple inches shorter than her, the lieutenant was a very imposing lady, and the Orion looked shyly into her gray-green eyes while her heart fluttered. The moment seemed to have taken a life of its own and Lirha now knew she was at Lindstrom's mercy. The idea both excited and frightened her, and she visibly trembled a bit as she stood her ground.

It took every ounce of courage to muster up the will to reach out to the woman again. The kiss they had just shared reran over and over in her head, and now the only thing she could think of was to continue and loose herself in the moment. Lirha closed her eyes then leaned in again for another kiss.

But that second kiss never came. Looking down at the young cadet, Emma shook with desire, fear and shame. Closing her eyes for an instant she forced enough composure to herself, and stepped back. Opening her eyes again she looked down at the shivering cadet and sighed. All emotion drained out of her as her mind took control of the situation once more. "I believe it would be best if you left Cadet Saalm." There was no trace of anger in her voice, only the slow sadness of realization.

The awkwardness of the situation now hit Lirha with full force, and painfully she looked back down towards the carpet but didn't move. "...Why...?" she asked, not sure if she had done something to offend the woman or if she simply wasn't seen as attractive enough to warrant more attention.

Why? Why indeed! Every part of her told her to give in. She had considered the young woman's pheromones for a moment, but she knew they did not act in this way on their gender. So it was all her. Which was worse. But also great. Struggling for words, the lieutenant found herself at a loss. How does one explain the battle raging? The fear, excitement and confusion?

Looking down at this fragile creature, she could not move or speak. Until she did. Taking herself by surprise, she simply hugged the cadet
tightly. An apology would not do. Nor would a confused attempt at an explanation. Instead, she kept the other woman in a hug for a moment, lovingly placing a gentle kiss on her head. Not daring to do more, she let go of her, and walked herself to the door.

Lirha followed her instructor to the exit. It was the longest twelve steps she'd ever taken in her life, and she struggled with the pain in her heart which longed for intimacy and comfort. Casting a submissive final glance towards Lindstrom, the Orion cadet searched her features for any sign of continuance -- anything that might make her feel more loved and worthy of her instructor's further attention.

The two of them came to the door which swished open most ungracefully. Lirha looked back at her one last time with sadness and desire in her eyes, but knew that she was not welcome anymore in her current environment.

"...I..." she began to say, then shut her mouth, for fear of making the encounter even worse or possibly more complicated than it already had been. The young cadet clutched her bag of PADDs close to her chest and lowered her head as she departed on a most lonely walk towards her quarters.

As she watched the cadet walk away, Emma's heart sank lower than it ever had. She looked inside herself, trying to find anything to explain, to verbalize, or perhaps simply express what she felt. But she found only pain. For a long moment, she stared at the Orion girl leaving. Longer yet, she stared at the wall once she had gone. In the end, she found a single word. Duty.

Straightening her uniform, she nodded to the walls and stepped back into her office. She sat behind her desk, closed the work she had been doing and started writing her transfer request. Someone else would have to grade the cadet's papers.

[OFF]

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CDT(JR) Lirha Saalm
Operations Cadet
Starfleet Academy

Lieutenant Emma Lindstrom
Starship Tactics and Strategy Instructor
Starfleet Academy

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