Preface

Adea woke to the rustling of blinds against the open window. She turned towards the wall, frowning as the blue numbers projected onto the wall came into focus. 5:48.

"Fucking hell."

Would it kill her to remain asleep twelve precious minutes? She exhaled slowly through her teeth, the sheets beside her rustling as a tanned arm trailed its way around her waist. The brief desire to fall back asleep faded as Adea's attention snapped to warm pressure against her thigh as he pulled himself closer to her. She arched her back slowly pressing her hips closer his. The grip around her waist tightened as he groaned, his lips brushing the skin beneath her ear. Adea smirked at display on the wall. Maybe mornings weren't the worse.

"What time is it?" he mumbled, planting small kisses along her neck.

"Almost six," she replied, groaning as he trailed his tongue along her jaw,"I have a lecture at eight."

"Skip it."

She laughed softly as she trailed her fingers along his hip towards the sheets separating them, brushing her knuckles against the bulge through the sheets, the move soliciting a low growl.

"I can't," she sighed, "Guest lecturer today."

"Is that so?" he whispered, kissing her shoulder.

"Mm," she replied, "Some big shot from the Starship Enterprise."

"Really?" He drawled, rolling her to face him as a mischievous glint flickered in his dark green eyes, "Do I know him?"

Adea ran a hand through his uncharacteristically messy hair, her thumb stroking the dark stubble across his jaw. Worries of her impending alarm slipped away as he leaned in slowly, his lips meeting hers. He cupped her face gently, deepening the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His tongue traced her bottom lip, his hands wandering down her back as he pulled her hips towards his. A moan escaped her lips as he began trailing kisses down her neck, her hand nearly untangling the sheets between them when the shrill tone of the alarm clock burst through the room.

"I hate that damn thing," he muttered, pressing the snooze button as he turned back to Adea, brushing him thumb across her cheek as he kissed her again.

"I have to get up," she groaned, pulling away slowly, "I'm going to be late."

"You've been late before," he whispered again her collarbone, planting kisses along her neck.

"I was late to class once," she corrected, "And it was your fault."

"I don't recall," he mused innocently, his fingers trailing along the inside of her thigh.

"Don't even start," she warned.

"Start what?" he drawled, pausing his hand as his fingers continued to draw circles against her skin.

"You're a bad influence," she admonished, kissing him quickly before rolling to sit on the edge of the bed.

She reached for her phone on the nightstand, waving her hand across the screen to read through her notifications. Two alerts for a deadline she'd already met last week. Class today from 0800 to 1300. Training session at the gym at 1600. To-do: create the outline for next month's Planetary Surveying course. Adea made her way towards the bathroom, collecting the stray garments she'd left strewn across the floor the night before. She paused in front of the sink, dampening a towel before wiping at the mascara rings beneath her eyes

"What time do you need to leave?" he called out.

"I still need to review for the lecture," she replied, "I brought my book with me, so I should have an hour or so to read. Lee, could you-"

"Coffee, one sugar, no cream," he smirked, sitting white mug on the bathroom counter.

"Thank you," she smiled, welcoming the much needed caffeine into her system.

He took a sip from his own mug, contemplating if the sight of his shirt barely covering her was more distracting than the knowledge there was nothing under it. He exhaled slowly, ignoring growing strain in the front of his pants as he glanced down at his watch. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Anymore of these thoughts, and he'd find a creative way to make them both late.

"The last bus to be at campus before 8 leaves at 7:21, Adi," he announced, walking back to kitchen.

Adea smirked in the response taking a last sip of her coffee before stepping into the shower, a buzz racing down her spine as the water hit her shoulders.

Adea pulled on her red cadet jacket, adjusting the silver Starfleet pennant as she inspected her final appearance. Mascara, applied. Under eyes circles, covered. Neck marks...Adea turned her head to the light for a final check….like they were never there.

As she left the apartment, Adea looked every bit the woman she'd been groomed to be. No hair out of place, uniform pressed, textbooks packed safely in her bag, decorated with yellow reading notes. From the day she had been born, she had been raised to be a future leader in the Federation. Her parents had insisted on militaristic precision and perfection in everything she did, all to render her the consummate Starfleet candidate. Fencing lessons. Judo lessons. Language Tutors. Physics extra-credit. Competing and compared in in nearly every subject to her despotic perfectionist sister. All of this, so at the end of the day, Adea could be the perfect person everyone else expected her to be.

There was nothing Adea hated more than behind called perfect. Nonetheless, she endured it, portraying the same unfaltering facade she always had. All the while, she counted down the days until the she would be free to make her own name for herself. She'd already distanced herself as much as she could from her family's name and legacy. At the Academy, she had registered herself with family's lesser known second name. She never mentioned her family, and as far as anyone was concerned, she was the only child of some unimportant family they'd never heard of.

For the most part, it had worked. Few if any knew she was related to her sister and even fewer knew who her parents were. It wasn't foolproof though. Every now and then she got a sideways glance. A double take, when recognition flickered. It was a miracle he hadn't noticed, even after she'd lied about her lack of siblings. She hated to draw a comparison between herself and her sister, but even she couldn't deny the resemblance at times. She had her father's hazel eyes, but like her sister, she took strongly after their mother. Same hair, same almond eyes, same stature, though she stood a few inches shorter than her sister.

Adea exhaled slowly as she closed the door to his apartment, checking her watch quickly as she made her way to the bus. Resemblance or not, it didn't matter. She planned to be long gone before word got out that the littlest Uhura had joined Starfleet.

The quarter til chimes sounded over the campus as she entered the lecture hall, making her way the front. It surprisingly full for fifteen minutes before class, no doubt due to today's lecture. Adea had barely sat her books down when Commander Willis, the course's usual lecturer, began hobbling towards her. On any given day, she would have rather faced torture at the hands of the Klingons than hear him drone on. But he was well connected and a good reference, so she suppressed the urge to frown as he greeted her exuberantly, instead smiling brightly.

"Adea, perfect timing," he croaked, gesturing for her to join him, "I wanted to introduce you to our guest lecturer before the talk begins."

She followed him slowly towards the edge of the stage, her eyes falling on the blue uniformed shoulders of their guest as he sat, reviewing his notes.

"Excuse me, Doctor-This is the student I was telling you about," the professor buzzed, "Cadet Adea Ele. Top of her class, and already on track for her first assignment in deep space. I thought I simply must introduce you two."

He turned now to Adea, placing his hand on her shoulder as he nudged her forward "Adea, this is-"

"Dr. Leonard McCoy," the man drawled, extending his hand as he stood to face her.

She glanced down at his outstretched hand, smiling slowly as she met his eyes.

"Cadet Adea Ele," she replied curtly, shaking his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Well, Adi" he drawled, a playful glint in his handsome eyes, "The pleasure's all mine."

This is the first of the rewritten chapters to be published, from the original chapter one. Let me know what you think so far. More edits to come very soon. Always yours, Case.