Six months passed, and you soon discovered that you had somehow gained an impressive reputation throughout the Federation. Captain Kirk assigned you to more and more away missions, and much to your surprise, he eventually gave you command of a particular geological survey. The whole ordeal went smoothly, without homicidal natives, terrible weather, or radiation, and you had never been prouder to present your report to the chief of staff. From then on, you found yourself in command of many more away missions, some not as peaceful as you would have preferred, but none disastrous.
Other places in the Federation had begun to recognize your achievements as well. You were commissioned for an honour medal and received three separate commendations from those among of Starfleet's highest elite. Additionally, you obtained an invitation to lecture on the Hijackers Incident, as the whole situation had come to be called, from several starbases and even Starfleet Academy itself. Although you harbored more than a little trepidation at the thought of lecturing a bunch of other people on something you weren't particularly sure how you had managed to survive yourself, you agreed to give the lecture at the Academy. Captain Kirk gave you charge of one of the ship's shuttlecraft, and you rendezvoused with the Enterprise after a full two weeks of lecturing.
Your visit to the Academy served several purposes. Firstly, there were the lectures. Shockingly, the lecture hall had every seat filled for each of your discussions. Secondly, you discovered that you were good at answering any sort of question that happened to come your way. It seemed that every day threw a new listener with a wayward question into your audience, but you managed to supply satisfactory answers to all of them.
Lastly, you completed the required exams for starship command qualification in your extensive free time between lectures. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but you had decided that command was truly the only concrete thing you could ever recall wanting because you actually wanted it. Entering Starfleet, you had wanted out of your old life. Promotion to ensign? True, you hadn't been ready for it, but upon reflection, you had, in fact, wanted it in an unrecognized way. It had been a relief to escape a default role as everyone's errand runner.
You entered your shuttlecraft for the return trip as an officially qualified command officer. It gave you a sense of ridiculous excitement; after all, whether qualified or not, you still weren't in the line of command on the Enterprise. However, it was a step forward. You were done with trying to retrace your steps, to return to a point in your life where there had been stability. The past was done, and it was time to let it die. You couldn't build a new foundation while trying to keep the old, crumbling one standing at the same time. You had been (Y/N), but now you were Lieutenant (Y/N). The two might share the same name, but they were two different people. And you liked Lieutenant (Y/N) better.
Only one thing happened that made you think deeply about your future, and it happened the morning before your return. A representative from Starfleet Command approached you with a PADD and a startling offer, and suddenly, your arrival on the Enterprise seemed far more complicated than it should have been.
