Ashlyn was tired and for the first time in a long time would likely be falling asleep without the sleep aid she usually had to go in for. A full night shift followed up with a long and hard workout session was just what she needed, the only thing that could make it better would be a date. Though she was in the mess hall with her best friend, it wasn’t a date, not that Trenton would complain. She enjoyed the Betazoid’s company and loved seeing the expressions she had when trying to navigate through the voices in her head, especially when they’re all running through the few thousand pickup lines and flirtatious comments Trenton has in backlog. “Mmm, Lunch. I’m going to have the best food coma ever.” Ashlyn’s smile stretched genuinely on her face, a natural look when around Sharah, one of the few people she liked being around.

At least the Lieutenant wasn’t around, he has a strong habit of negative reinforcement that sounds more like personal judgement than any type of encouragement. It always made her feel like she was wasting her time with all the effort she was putting in, like there was some key thing she kept missing and there was no sign of what it might be. In the end she knew she could ask the Counselor and maybe the XO or CO for a Letter of Recommendation to join Starfleet Intelligence depending on her graduation results, but Rainns wouldn’t. No, Trenton was quite sure the only recommendation Rainns would ever make was to remove her from Starfleet so she couldn’t be a threat or liability.

Ashlyn quickly shook herself out of the negative thoughts so she could focus more on her lovely friend and their lunch. “So what are you having?”

• Cadet Ashlyn Trenton, Security