This story is rated M. Main character is an OC, but has ties to TOS. To say any more would be spoilers...

Thump, thump, thwack! Thump, thump, thwack!

Another day at the office. Jane stared at the wall, her head resting in one hand, bored silly, as she amused herself by throwing her stress ball at her desk so that it bounced off the wall and returned to her hand.

Thump, thump, thwack!

It had been several weeks since she had been sent on a mission, and she was getting frustrated with the seemingly endless virtual paperwork that had found its way to her terminal. She had several hours' worth of tedious work to sift through, various reports on alien activity in far-off sectors, looking for anything that might merit a more thorough investigation.

Thump, thump, thwack!

She pretended not to hear the quiet murmuring from her fellow officers in the office, and ignored the feelings of irritation she was sensing from them. Not that she would admit to the latter, however. That particular gift was one she kept very much under wraps, and that decision had more than once proven useful and even life-saving.

Thump, thump, thwack!

"Oh God, not that bouncing ball again!"

It was a light, carefree, feminine voice, the accent identifying her as having been raised in the area that was once the United Kingdom of Earth, more specifically the city of London. The voice alone would have given her away as one of Jane's best friends, even if Jane had not sensed her coming. Jane sighed. "Well, I have to stay occupied somehow, don't I?"

"Oh, and I suppose it never occurred to you to sort through your files, did it?"

Jane glared at the blonde. She of all people knew how Jane loathed "secretary work", as she called it.

Thump, thump, thwack!

The blond girl sighed, knowing a lost cause when she saw one. She decided to switch tactics.

"Bored, are we?" she asked.

"Infinitely," replied Jane.

"Well, this should cheer you up," Jane's friend began shuffling the files she was carrying. "You've got a new assignment starting tomorrow."

Jane started, dropping her ball and nearly falling out of her chair. "What?! How? There hasn't been anything on the comms! Where am I going?"

The blonde stifled a grin as she continued searching for the right file. "You're not going anywhere," she said, finally finding the file she was digging for and handing it to Jane. "You get to train a new recruit!"

"WHAT?!" Jane shrieked, not bothering to keep her voice down. "You have got to be kidding me!" She snatched the file away from her friend, though she was now secretly wondering whether she ought to rethink that relationship.

"Those are your orders," said the blonde apologetically, though she was in fact thoroughly enjoying her friend's agitation.

"I never get noob duty!" complained Jane, glancing through the file nonetheless. "I fucking hate noob duty!"

The blonde bit her lip, trying to keep from laughing. She had a feeling Jane might just change her mind about this particular assignment. Still, she did her best to play innocent. "I'm sorry, Jane. But these orders were authorized directly by Admiral Marcus."

"Oh for fuck's sake, Carol!" wailed Jane. "Can't you talk him out of it?!"

Carol Marcus chuckled. "Now, Jane, you know that I can't use my personal relationship with the admiral to influence his orders."

"But you're his daughter! Can't you help your friend out of this?"

Carol gave Jane a mock-glare. "You know I can't!"

Jane sighed in defeat, looking more closely at the file Carol had given her. "I hate training noobs!"

"Well," said Carol, forcing a straight face, "you never know. There's a first time for everything, isn't there? Maybe you'll enjoy this assignment."

Jane glared at her again. Carol smiled innocently. "Anyway," said Carol, "you're scheduled to start at 0800 tomorrow morning. And your trainee's name is John Harrison. Do try to be nice to him."

Jane scoffed, rolling her eyes as she turned back to her computer terminal. Carol bit her lip once again, determining that she would be sure to be in the office at 0800 the next morning, just to see her friend's reaction to her new recruit...