"Careful!" Barkley fumbled to keep his PADDs together, but Iris had unexpectedly come around the corner at warp one. The delicate devices all clattered to the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Iris dropped to her knees, helping her favorite professor pick up his belongings. "It's just that I got my first assignment, and I'm on my way to find out where it is."

"That is good news, but no reason to ignore basic training. Never run in the corridors."

Iris nodded profusely, "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." She fidgeted in place while Barclay set himself straight.

"I taught you better than that," he said, a stern look on his face.

"Of course, I'm so sorry," her face had gone bright red from embarrassment.

Barclay leaned in close, and his frown melted into a grin - "now go find your position aboard the Enterprise."

Iris beamed, "Thank you!"

It had been three long months waiting to apply to Enterprise. After the Dominion war, everything had gone on hiatus. The majority of ships had returned home. A few patrolled the borders, but nonessential exploratory and science vessels were docked. Few took on new recruits, which left most newly graduated Starfleet officers in a state of uneasy deferment.

But one by one, ships had begun returning to their pre-war posts.

Starfleet ensigns were allowed to apply to any ship, but only three at a time. The rule was you had to hear back from all before applying again.

Everyone wanted on the Enterprise, but few made it. The trick was to hedge your bets; apply to one high-ranked ship and two lower-ranked ships, so you'd at least get on one.

But Iris only had eyes for the Enterprise.

She could hear the ding of her comm from the corridor, and she upped her pace like a toddler told not to run around the pool.

'There's always time to make it somewhere better,' her friends had said when she revealed her plan. Iris wasn't going to play it safe. She was going to apply to the Enterprise and two other ships she was sure would reject her.

'What if they do accept you? You'll look ungrateful if you reject a position,' and it was true. But she did her research. First was the Excelsior – a ship captained by a man with a grudge against her father that was older than she was. And for the second? The USS T'Kumbra, a notoriously Vulcan-only ship captained by the equally notorious captain Solok.

The metal plaque for 3G was in sight, and she squealed in anticipation as she neared the door.

Worse case scenario – she'd get three rejections. It would hurt, but ultimately it'd be fine. She could study harder, prove herself, and reapply until the Enterprise said yes!

Iris tore into her dorm, startling her roommate who had been studying.

"Holy light!" exclaimed the Bajoran woman. "What's gotten into you?"

But Iris ignored her as she tapped furiously to open the comm and view her message.

She read the first paragraph, and at first the words didn't make any sense. She read them three times.

"Iris?"

But she was gone, stunned. She could taste the bile rising in her throat.

Captain Solok had spent the past week pouring over PADDs, reviewing information from every possible new recruit. He'd had two openings on his senior staff, but those were the easiest to fill. He'd kept a short list on-hand during the duration of the Dominion war, and he'd already sent requests to Vurak and T'Sala of Vulcan.

It was much harder finding junior staff. So many wanted in, and while he would not permit himself to take joy in it, he did note that a higher percentage of students applied to his ship over the Vulcan Science Academy.

Taking a short break, he replicated himself a hot mug of K'Vass and stood looking out the porthole.

'You will try again next cycle,' his father had said. 'There is no logic in quitting.'

Something trickled down his wrist. He sat the overflowing mug down and stared at his trembling hand. K'vass seeped into the cuff of his shirt. He curled his fingers into a fist and steadied himself.

He was captain of the most successful ship in the federation; highly decorated and thrice now awarded the Christopher Pike Medal of Valor. His papers had been published, widely distributed and read over a million times by those within the quadrant. There was no logical reason for him to remember the failings of his youth.

He sat back at his desk, flipping through the profiles of prospective applicants at a rate of 5 per minute. It was the end of the week, and he had several reports to look over. He would need to complete this task by the end of the night.

T'Lal of Vulcan – Medical. No top marks although she did come from a prestigious school. He briefly imagined her, a painfully average doctor with the air of superiority that all who'd come from the capital city had - he rejected her application.

T'Prin of Vulcan – Engineering. She had the same light-colored eyes as he and everyone from their region did. She'd been top of her class, and worked aboard the Explorer for two years. He accepted her application.

Jiavre Trix of Betazed – Medical. An accomplished psychic who'd served on the Borgiesia for five years. He spent an extra thirty seconds considering her. She could be an asset, however, the Betazoids were an emotional species in need of similar companionship. It was a difficult decision, but he rejected her application. He believed she would have an unsatisfactory experience aboard the T'Kumbra, and there was a 96.24% chance she would request a transfer within one year.

Sobek of Vulcan – Engineer. Son of the ambassador to Tellar Prime. He wanted in as a lieutenant despite never having worked on another ship. If rejected, it was likely Solok would receive a call from his own father asking why. After all, Sobek's clan was high status. Still, Solok rejected him.

Jub'ok Cun of Qo'noS – rejected. A Klingon would be a disaster.

Iris Wade of Terra – Solok's eyes tripped over the name. He hadn't had a Terran apply to T'Kumbra in over 12 years. After his fourth post-graduate paper comparing the psychology of their kind to Vulcans, they'd stopped applying altogether. Even before that, he'd never allowed a Terran on ship for a myriad of reasons. He paused while going over her transcript.

She was fresh out of the Academy, applying for a position as a security officer. It was one of the few positions he'd allow someone with no previous work experience.

Iris had studied criminal psychology, earned top marks and published two papers already. She claimed to be an expert in several different fighting techniques, although in such a slow and weak Terran body he doubted her effectiveness.

He paused at her picture. Her face and neck were slim, so he guessed the rest of her would be as well. Weak. She had bright green eyes and thick brown hair that was far too long to be professional. In ID photos everyone was supposed to be without expression, but he didn't miss the slight uptick of her mouth – a smirk. So she was one of those - young, no experience, but overconfident none-the-less.

He'd met enough shy and awkward humans to know it wasn't characteristic of the species, but every now and then he'd meet one who was a cut above the rest in terms of arrogance.

He laid the PADD back down and allowed himself the faintest scowl. It had been one year, three months, six hours and forty-two minutes since he'd been embarrassed in front of his entire senior staff by another cocky human – Benjamin Sisko.

I fail to see why you are celebrating. The Ferengi's bunt was an accident. And you still lost the game.

You're absolutely right – and you know what – I couldn't be happier.

Solok's insides burned as he remembered Sisko's cohorts all piling on.

That sounded positively defensive to me.

With a hint of anger.

Plus a touch of jealousy.

And a lot of bitterness.

Are you always this emotional?

"Ridiculous," Solok said aloud. He had been 98.3% sure that the encounter in the Holosuite would play out like the first time he'd engaged with Sisko, but it had not. He still didn't understand what had come over the once easily compromised human, or why the DS9 crew seemed so happy despite having lost the game. Their baffling reactions made the data collected unusable, and he was left without material for his newest paper.

He stared at Iris Wade's smirk, his finger hovering over the response.

He accepted her application.