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The Nightlands
“By This Time Tomorrow,” Part I
by Jonathan Crosby-Bromley

The flight control centre was the hub of activity, people moved around the centre with a sense of purpose. Something was wrong.
A lieutenant, manning a computer station that overlooked the Relva VII mountains and The Institute, looked up from his console and turned to his superior -the look on both of their faces was that of concern.
A shuttlecraft had passed through the Relva VII outer markers at a high velocity and was making a dangerous attempt to enter the atmosphere. The angle of the shuttlecraft’s entry was too steep and it was clear from the look on both of the officers faces that the shuttle would undoubtedly burn up in the atmosphere.
The lieutenant’s superior immediately tried to signal the shuttlecraft, but there was no response. The shuttlecraft’s com-system was down. Why? That was unclear. It was either due to the fact that the shuttle’s entry into the atmosphere was blocking comms or that the ageing shuttlecraft’s systems were offline due to…well, old age.
Whatever the reason, both the lieutenant and his senior officer continued to hail the shuttlecraft’s pilot, they needed to warn them, to tell them, that if they were to continue on this course, they would more than likely not survive…

*_*_*_*

The shuttlecraft streaked through the red skies of Relva VII like a comet. The aft sections of the shuttlecraft flaked away, producing a comet-like tail to streak behind the falling vessel. It had no shields and had only minutes, seconds before it would disintegrate completely.
At the helm, Harry Green frantically tried to regain control of the shuttlecraft. He had tried everything to stabilise the shuttlecraft Sojourner, but all of his attempts had failed. He recalled the story told to him by his father, of a young man that almost died aboard a shuttlecraft trying to kill himself over Relva VII. His father, Thompson, who served aboard the Enterprise-D, told Harry this story as a reminder of how not to enter the atmosphere. Right now, that story was racing through his mind as the shuttle ploughed into the atmosphere at ever increasing speeds. All he cared about was getting Joseph, Llowra, Billy and Dahal to safety.

In the aft compartment of the shuttle, Joseph and Billy tried to stabilise Dahal’s condition. But like Harry, were unable to do so. They were simply to unfamiliar with her anatomy. Her species, the J’naii wasn’t exactly considered required reading by the Starfleet Medical Academy and they had absolutely no first hand experience in dealing with radiation poisoning, let alone with a species that neither of them had encountered before.
It was terrifying. Joseph was acutely aware that he literally had Dahal’s life in his hands right now, that it hung in the balance and he was starting to become overwhelmed. Thankfully, Billy’s boyish nature kept him steady, but even Billy, who was usually mild mannered and calm was struggling.

Llowra watched on in horror and was overwhelmed by the feelings and emotions of the others. She could hear Harry’s frantic thoughts, him trying to make a decision on whether or not to break off their attempt at landing or to persevere. She could hear Joe and Billy’s thoughts over how best to treat Dahal. But most of all, she could hear Dahal, she could hear his mind racing, he was terrified. Frightened. And felt so alone, despite being surrounded by those who were trying to save him. What was worse, was the fact that he had slipped out of the ability to communicate with the others. He couldn’t open his eyes, speak or move his limbs —Lowra likened it to the effects of what was once known as a stroke. Llowra tried to reach into Dahal’s mind, she tried to calm him, but her own fears were getting in the way and she was unable to do much good —in fact, she felt as though she was making the situation worse.

Moments later, the shuttlecraft’s communication panel, located next to Harry’s flight controls lit up like a proverbial Christmas tree. He almost smiled as he saw the screen light up, indicating that the shuttlecraft was receiving an incoming transmission from the surface.
He immediately tapped the comm panel and opened the hailing frequency.
A young, handsome officer appeared on the screen, informing Harry that he was calling from the surface, from the Relva VII Flight Control Centre. He explained that he was here to help, that he was going to guide them down. Relieved, Harry let out an awkward laugh, and thanked the officer, telling him that he didn’t know how much longer he could hold things together up here.
Thankfully, the officer was experienced enough in this particular type of crisis to maintain his calm and reassured Harry and the others that things were going to be okay. He tells Harry that he’s detected an imbalance in the shuttle’s dilithium reactor and that he can see that the shuttle’s engines have stalled.
“Tell me something I don’t know!” —Quick to make a sarcastic remark, mainly to hide his feelings of sheer terror, Harry looks down at the monitor and tells the officer, that he needs guidance here, not facts that he’s already aware of pointed out to him.
“Keep the nose of the shuttle pointed down towards the planet.” The officer calls.  Harry takes his eyes off the forward viewport for a second to look down at the officer, “We’ll burn up if I go all in, we can’t do that!”
“What’s your name, kid?” the officer asked.
“Harry, sir…Harry Green.”
“And where you headed?”
“To The Institute.” he replied, with a puzzled look on his face.
“Well, Harry, my name’s James, and if you want to live long enough to actually go to The Institute, then you’ll follow my orders, no questions asked.”
“But…” Harry started. Yet, he realised he knew of no way to finish that sentence. He was out of options. All he had now was to trust this guy, to trust James.
“Point the nose down. When you reach 5,000kph, restart the engines.”
“Understood.”
With that, the shuttlecraft banked and then dropped it’s nose. Flames engulfed the forward section of the shuttle, stripping away the hull plating. A crack started to form on the outer layer of the forward viewport. Harry clung on to the helm controls as the shuttle began to shake harder and harder. He nervously watched the display that showed the shuttlecraft’s velocity. They were picking up speed and he knew that they didn’t have long. This would only work once. That if he didn’t engage the engines at the right time, they’d be done for.
3,500…4,900…4,950…5,000kph. He took a quick deep breath and then punched the controls to reinitialise the impulse engines. Thankfully they came online and just in time, a second more and the shuttle would have hit the atmosphere to hard and to fast and would have broken apart. Quickly reconfiguring the shuttle’s descent, Harry brings the shuttle about, pulling the Sojourner out of it’s downward trajectory and back up into the atmosphere.
The inside cabin of the Sojourner continued to shake as they climbed back into the atmosphere. Llowra let out a cheer, whilst both Joe and Billy looked at each other and smiled as they let out a deep sigh of relief.
“What did we just do?!” Llowra asked.
“We built up enough speed to bounce the shuttle off of the atmosphere.” Harry said, exhilarated, reaffirming his beliefs that one day, he’d become a real shuttlecraft pilot.
“You did indeed my friend, you did indeed.” James spoke, reminding Harry that he was still online and on an active comm channel. “We’re sending two shuttlecraft to rendezvous with you, they’ll be with you in three minutes…do you have any injuries?” James asked, concerned about the wellbeing of those he had just helped rescue.
“Yes, we do, one an alien named Dahal, we rescued them from a shuttlecraft several light years away from here. We were travelling here at maximum warp when the engines failed and I overshot our entry into the atmosphere.”
“Understood. There’s a medical team onboard the shuttle, they’ll be with you shortly. You’re all going to be alright now. When you reach a safe distance from the atmosphere, disengage the engines and hold position.”
“Acknowledged…I mean, thank you. Thank you…”
And with that, Harry programmed the shuttle’s helm controls to take the Sojourner to a safe distance and then initiated the auto-pilot to carry out his flight plan. He slumped back in his chair, before looking at Llowra and showed her those beautiful, big, brown eyes of his —to which, she had no option, no self control to reciprocate and smile a reassuring smile back at him…

*_*_*_*

‘The Relva VII Institute for Gifted Academy Hopefuls,’ was a grand facility and was the temporary home for many that had intentions of joining the Starfleet Academy, with the hope, the dream, of one day becoming a Starfleet Officer. It was one of several facilities within the Alpha-Quadrant and was renowned for selecting the best and the brightest, the elite, the cream of the crop to join the Starfleet Academy. The Institute was adept in separating the wheat from the chaff and often would send their candidates onto the Academy with a distinct advantage that would help them during their time there. Many, if not all of The Institute’s candidates, or ‘cadets,’ as they were referred to during their time at The Institute, went on to have exceptional careers within Starfleet.
The six moth course that they offered was not for the feint of heart. The Institute would provide advanced classes on various subjects that would stand their cadets in good stead for their time at The Academy. The physical and mental training was second to none. Their psych-tests were renowned throughout the sector and their weapons training facility was rated excellent by Starfleet Tactical —providing young Academy hopefuls with prior knowledge of how to handle themselves in a fire fight. Not only that, but The Institute’s flight control centre, provided their cadets with first hand experience with not only flying a shuttlecraft in a holo-simulator, but also their instructors would take cadets up into space to fly the real thing.
For Llowra, this place was everything she could dream of and more —the same for Joseph and Billy, but for Harry, he knew all too well that he was only here on his father’s say-so, that his father had managed to pull some strings to get him a place this semester. But having just saved all of his friends lives and the life of Dahal from crashing into the atmosphere, he knew that he would one day become a pilot, that he would one day fly a grand starship and see the universe for himself. Today, arriving at Relva VII would change him forever…

As the two emergency shuttlecraft docked with the Sojourner, Harry finally stepped away from the helm controls and watched alongside Llowra, Joe and Billy as the medical team arrived to treat Dahal. Joe was impressed with how the medical team quickly and effortlessly diagnosed and began to treat Dahal. They moved as one unit, anticipating each other’s needs, passing each other medical instruments and devices without the need to ask one and other first. They knew exactly what they were doing. Joe was convinced that the medical team were telepathic, or empathic —he was blown away by their professionalism and, unlike him only moments ago, their ability to keep calm under pressure. It like Harry, reinforced his beliefs in what he wanted to do in the future.  The same could be said for Billy, as he stood next to Joe, unaware that he had taken Joe’s hand and watched in awe as the men and women, who proudly wore their blue Starfleet uniforms brought Dahal back from the brink. It was an impressive sight and one that he hoped he was capable of replicating when he had earned his stripes.
As Dahal regained consciousness, one of the team stood up and surveyed the latest arrivals to Relva VII. She looked at them all, scrutinising their appearance, trying to work out which one of them had attempted to treat Dahal before her arrival. A second or so later, her gaze was drawn towards Joey, who instinctively let out a smile —of which, the woman matched.
“So which one of you kids decided to attach a deep tissue assimilator to our patient?” she asked, her smile now gone.
Joe nervously stepped forward and rather shyly, rather awkwardly raised his hand. “I did m’am.”
The woman also stepped forward. Joe noticed that her eyebrows had come together and she was now looking at him as though he had done something wrong. But he was to afraid to say anything further, he simply waited for her to continue.
“And what’s your name?” she asked, after what felt like an eternity.
“Joseph Green, m’am.”
“Well, Mr. Green. I’m glad that you did. It bought your friend a few extra minutes and if you hand’t, then we’d have been having a different conversation.” she spoke, before smiling and offering out her hand to shake with Joe.
“Oh thank god!” Joe exclaimed, frantically pumping the officer’s hand, “I thought you were going to tell me that I’d done something wrong, that I’d made the situation worse!”
“Not at all, you did a good job, you all did a good job.”
Before continuing much further, the woman introduced herself, “Apologies, I asked your name, but I didn’t tell you mine. I’m Lieutenant Commander Natasha Taggert, and I will be teaching at The Institute this semester.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you…doctor?” Llowra spoke, shaking Natasha’s hand.
“Yes, that’s right. Chief medical officer of Starbase Chimera, I’m here for the next six months to whip our medical candidates…” she paused, then shook her head before correcting herself, “…I mean, cadets, into shape.”
“Well, it looks like we’ll be spending a lot more time together.” Billy spoke, shaking Doctor Taggert’s hand, “Joe and I are both on the medical track, and may I say we’re really looking forward to it!”
Natasha smiled at how polite Billy was being, it was refreshing. “Glad to hear it. And like I said, you’ve all done an excellent job here, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, it must have been terrifying, so if you need anything whilst your here, please do reach out, my door is always open.”
With that, Natasha turned on her heal and tapped her combadge, “Taggert to The Institute, one to beam directly to the med-bay.”
And then she was gone, just as quickly as her team had arrived, her words leaving the young Green’s, Billy and Llowra relived, and hopeful for the future. It was as though all of their differences had been forgotten about. The arguing, the fighting, all of it felt as though it were in the past. To Llowra it felt as though none of it mattered. That her issues with Harry…and Joe were insignificant, that it had taken a brush with death to remind her of what really mattered. But she was not that naive, she was not that forgiving. Harry had hurt her, as had Joe. But right now, in the here and now, she knew that she would have to put those feelings to one side, to get on with those she still tenuously called her friends and live in the moment. Bigger things were coming. Harder challenges were on the horizon and she wanted to be ready for them, now more than ever…

*_*_*_*

Llowra’s dorm room was modest, but functional. Opposite the doorway into her room, was a large window that looked out onto an ageing domed Starfleet facility —something that did not match the more recent additions to The Institute’s campus. Beyond the domed facility and the campus lay lush green mountains, topped with snow. As she unpacked her belongings, Llowra took a moment to take in the view, one that looked very similar to her home on Betazed.
Due to her mother’s high status, Llowra was afforded a dorm room of her own. Her mother had insisted that Llowra would not share a room with another —something that Llowra was unimpressed by, after all, that was why she was out here, to meet new people and experience different cultures. And to piss off her parents. Her mother’s insistence on Llowra having her own dorm room was clearly a way of her getting back at Llowra.
Stepping away from the window, Llowra looked over at the empty bed opposite hers and sat down. She was tired. The last few days had really took its toll and she was quite looking forward to pulling back the covers on her own bed and getting some rest.
Alas, that was not to be.
The doorbell chimed. She did not need to ask who it was, she could hear their thoughts already, she knew it was Harry.
Llowra straightened her hair in front of the mirror before asking him to come in. She did not like who was staring back at her, her reflected image was one of someone who was tired, cried out and ready for a new challenge. She just wanted today to be over.
Harry entered wearing his Institute uniform. Llowra noticed how snug the grey/black uniform looked on him. She wasn’t sure if he’d chosen a size to small or if the quartermaster had simply measured him wrong —either way, it looked good on him.
He made his way in wearing not only his new uniform but a hangdog expression, which puzzled her. When they had left the shuttle, he was so alive with passion about what being here would bring, now he looked melancholy at best.
Asking what’s wrong, even though she already knew the answer, Llowra gestured for Harry to take a seat on what should have been her roommate’s bed.
“They’ve put me in a room on the other side of the complex…” he started, almost letting out a brief sigh at the sight of Llowra. He wished he could hold her now, but he kept those feelings to himself. Well, he tried. She already knew that. “…I was kinda hoping I’d be near you and the others.” he said.
“‘The others’ -what a strange turn of phrase, I assume you mean your step-brother and Billy.” she said, having picked up a book from her bag and pretended to thumb through it.
“You know what I mean. I just feel so alone over there.”
“We’ve only been here a couple of hours Harry, you’ll make friends, you always do.” she tried to reassure him, but she knew that nothing she could say would change his mood -she’d seen it many times before. “There’s a sign up in the quad for soccer trials. I’m thinking of applying, you should too.”
“We’re only here for six months, what’s the point?”
That was it. She’d had enough. Like Llowra had said to Harry, they had only been on Relva for several hours. Llowra couldn’t understand why he wasn’t more excited. She must have passed tens of cadets on her way to her quarters, all of which were glad to be here, all talking about the experiences that they intended to have, the extra-curricular activities they were all going to take part in. They were all excited and it was hard for Llowra to ignore their feelings -she could sense them so completely, so vividly and it was really quite exhilarating at first for her to get swept up in the other cadets feelings. But Harry was like an anchor, she kept being drawn to him. Ever since they slept together on Risa, ever since they bonded, she had this empathic link with him that she couldn’t break. Llowra knew exactly how he was feeling and it pained her to have to try and ignore his feelings.
Llowra was tired. And she couldn’t ignore his feelings much longer. She couldn’t hide her own. So for one last time, one last night, she thought to herself, Llowra made her way over to the other bed and sat down next to Harry. Placing a reassuring hand on his and resting her head on his shoulder, she smiled inwardly before speaking, “You know I’ll always love you, right?” she said, squeezing his hand a little tighter. “It’ll never go away, irrespective as to what happened on Risa and we’ll always be linked in one way or another.”
Harry managed half a smile, before placing his other hand over hers. “I know you do. I’m sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused you.” he said softly.
“Don’t ever apologise for your feelings, Imzadi. We’ll make this work…”
“Make what work…us?” he said.
Llowra pulled her hand free from his and sat more formally on the bed next to him, before shaking her head. “Well, sort of. I meant, we’ll make being here together work.” Llowra replied, hoping that he wouldn’t fly off the handle or react badly.
“I’ll take that. If it means having you nearby and in my life, then I’ll take that.” Harry replied somewhat more maturely than Llowra had expected, as a sense of realisation slowly dawned on him. They were moving past being a young couple in love, to a young couple that had been in love and were now trying to figure out who they were, who they are now to each other.
It was the first step in their healing process. They had barely talked in the shuttlecraft until their encounter with Dahal’s damaged shuttle. After that, it was trying to rescue him and then their subsequent arrival on Relva. This really was the first time that they had really talked to each other and talked they did. Harry and Llowra talked for several hours before Harry made his way back to his dorm room.
And as Harry left, Llowra looked out of her dorm room window once again, out into the night and was grateful of what she had achieved on her, Harry and Joe’s little road trip through the stars. It might have been a bumpy, somewhat difficult time, but in the quiet and peace of the night, she was able to reflect on it and pick out many good memories. Llowra was determined not to let what happened on Risa define her —or her friendships with Harry, Billy and Joe. What happened was in the past and whether she felt like it now, she knew that in time…she could see herself being good friends, if not best of friends with the three boys that had made the last few weeks truly unforgettable.

*_*_*_*

Joe fell from atop of Billy and landed right besides him, having, only seconds ago, christened the double bed that was in Joseph’s dorm room. His hair wet, Joe wiped the sweat from his brow and tried to collect his thoughts as he also tried to slow his breathing. It had been quite a love-making session and Joe was on a perpetual endorphin high. Billy’s stamina could not be faulted. He had been completely selfless and had made sure that Joe had been completely fulfilled.
As Joe’s head touched down on the only Starfleet issue pillow to remain on the bed, Billy looked into his eyes and smiled. He leaned over to him and pulled Joseph’s sweaty body closer —he couldn’t get enough of Joe. Passionately kissing once again.
The pair of them were over the moon that they had been assigned the same dorm room and they both hoped that this would help their blossoming relationship. The room was far away from Harry’s —which both Joe and Billy were grateful of. Billy had described it as their ‘honeymoon suite,’ which Joey found hilarious. Joe felt more and more at ease with Bill, that what happened on Risa was a distant memory, one to never be revisited again. He was content. They both were and as they held each other, explored each other’s bodies even more, they knew that they were in love. Billy for the first time with another man…and Joey, for the first time in love with someone that wasn’t Harry…it was a feeling like no other and one Joe hoped would last forever…

*_*_*_*

The heat was unbearable. The sun beat shone though a cloudless sky and beat down on the assembled Institute cadets without mercy. Four lines of cadets all stood to attention as the dean, addressed them from inside a shaded area near the secondary entrance to The Institute.
Joe fidgeted uncomfortably in his uniform, that was just as form fitting as Harry’s and Billy’s —at least Llowra had the sense to request a larger, more baggier uniform. Joe’s fidgeting caught the attention of the dean, to which he proceeded to make his way over to Joe and give him a dressing down. The way he spoke to Joe reminded him of an old holo-novel, he couldn’t have been more cliched if he tried, which further aggravated him as Joe began to laugh.
Doctor Taggert, who was also in attendance smiled at Joe’s reaction -she could see something in Joe that she liked and was somewhat drawn to. He had impressed her with how he and Billy had tended to Dahal, —of whom was still recovering in the med-bay. But as the dean turned, he noticed Natasha smiling at Joe and gave her a look that could melt latinum. Natasha immediately adjusted her facial expression and gave the dean a nod as an apology of sorts.
“You are here because you are the best and the brightest. You will go on from here as proficient candidates for the Starfleet Academy. Only a handful of my cadets have failed this course and I can assure you, that this year, I will not let any one of you take a walk down ‘wash out alley.’’ He pointed towards a rather unceremonious looking doorway, that lead to the shuttlebay stowage area.
“Wash out alley?” Joe said under his breath to Billy, causing his boyfriend to break his rigid composure, causing the pair of them to erupt into laughter —which spilled out to the others.
“I see we have a couple of jokers here.” the dean spoke, making his way back down the line of cadets. Upon reaching Joe and Billy he paused and got as close as possible to the pair of them. “Did I say something that amuses you?” he asked, but neither of them responded. “Do think that all of this is a big joke?” Again, neither Joe or Billy replied. “Do you find me funny, cadets?”
“No…” Joe rather softly and pitifully replied, “…I’m sorry sir.”
“Speak up, cadet.” the dean spoke, now millimetres away from Joe’s face.
“I…I said I was sorry, sir.”
“Better. But louder. An officer must be heard.” he said, his dark green eyes burning their way into Joseph’s soul.
“I SAID I’M SORRY SIR!” Joe shouted, as tears formed in his eyes.
“That’s what I thought you said. Now drop and give me twenty.”
Joe looked at the dean puzzled, he had no idea what he meant. “Twenty of what sir?”
The dean smiled. “Still think you’re funny, hu?” he said, before stepping back from Joe and Billy and returning to a spot in front of all of the cadets. “Okay. You will all give me twenty press-ups…” he barked, before looking at Joe and saying, “With the exception of you. Your fellow classmates will show you how to do a press-up cadet. You will watch them as they carryout my orders and you will do well to ensure that you always do as I ask, that you will obey mine and my fellow officers orders, otherwise, your classmates will be forced to carryout what I have asked of you.”
“But, sir, that’s not fair!” Joe replied.
“Stop picking on him.” A voice from the back row spoke out.
“Well this appears to be escalating quickly…” the dean said, looking at Natasha and the other assembled officers. “I do not think that I have ever encountered such a disobedient group of cadets. Especially on their first day in the uniform.”
“Who do you think you are anyway!”
Joe recognised the voice instantly.
“Talking to him like something you’d wipe off your boot. Is this how you try and curry our respect for you? Is this how you expect us to behave when we’re officers?” Harry broke forward and made his way to the front of the group, before finally standing in-between Joe and the dean.
“This isn’t what Starfleet is about. How dare you speak to my brother like that.”
The dean appeared to be somewhat taken a back by the way he was now being spoken to by Harry. Joe was actually quite impressed, but equally concerned about the consequences. There were kids here from all over the quadrant, not one of them had the balls to speak up, to speak out, they had all spent the last few months studying, preparing to join the renowned Institute and here he and his brother were messing things up —or so he thought.
“I’m impressed.” The dean responded. His tone now softer, more akin to that of a Starfleet officer and not that of a bully. “What’s your name, cadet?”
“Harry Green, sir.” Harry replied, his fists clenched, hoping for a fight. But he wasn’t going to get one.
“Ah, Thompson’s son.”
“Step-son, sir.”
“Well, what you lack in your proficiencies, you certainly do make up with your mouth and your piloting skills.”
Harry took a step back, almost stepping on Joe’s boot. He didn’t quite know what to make of the dean. He couldn’t have been anymore than twenty five, maybe twenty six, yet he spoke to the rest of the cadets like a seasoned Starfleet officer twice his age. The dean looked Harry up and down before returning to a small podium that bore The Institute’s insignia.
“What you all saw there was a test…” He pointed towards Harry, Joe and Billy. “And you will continue to be tested throughout your time here. You will all have to undergo various different proficiencies. We teach science, medical, tactical, engineering and command skills here. By the end of this, you WILL be able to walk into any Starfleet Academy recruitment centre and will be immediately accepted into the enrolment programme. I and my fellow officers will make sure of that. What we here is a promise to you and your future. We will not let you down…”
As he finished his somewhat rousing speech, the dean looked squarely at Harry and smiled. “You did good, kid.” he spoke, so only Harry could hear.

Moments later, Natasha Taggert stepped forward along with another officer, also wearing blue. Unlike the three pips she wore on her collar, he only wore the one. Tasha and the male officer took to the podium and introduced themselves, explaining that she and Ensign Tanner Hudson, to the right of her, would be guest lecturers this semester. Tasha goes on to explain that she is delighted to be here, “And like the dean, I do not intend to let you down. We have traveled from the Rigel System, from Starbase Chimera to be here with you for the next six months to teach you about life in the trenches, to give you the skills that you will need to depend upon in the real world.”  “We will not let you down. And we do not make that promise lightly…” Ensign Hudson started, “I too attended The Institute prior to my time at The Academy and I can truly say, that it helped me become the man I am today, the officer I am today. I grew up on the border moons, on the edge of the Klingon Empire, wishing for better, hoping that someone would come take me away and help me see the stars. And if it wasn’t for the likes of places like this, recognising the talent inside me, I can assure you, I would still be breaking dilithium on Chalkon-III.”
“Essentially, the message Mr. Hudson is trying to share with you is, learn as much as you possibly can during your time here, take it all in, absorb everything. Because, if like Tanner, you dream of seeing the stars, and making the stars your workplace, aboard a grand starship or serving on one of Starfleet’s outposts, then do all that you can to make every second here count.” The dean concluded.
With that, the assembled cadets broke out into a rapturous applause. Invigorated and energised by Taggert, Hudson and the dean’s words, they cheered and whistled as the three officers stood down from the lectern and began introducing themselves personally and individually to the cadets. As they did, the dean made his way over to Harry and offered out his hand. Harry was naturally reluctant to take it at first, but after a second pondering his next move, he decided to shake the dean’s hand. “Dean James Kurland, pleasure to meet you, Cadet Green.”
And as he took Kurland’s hand, he felt what could only be described as electricity wash over him. Harry for some reason, despite what had just happened, felt incredibly safe as he gripped the dean’s hand and began conversing with him on a more civil level.

And there it was. Llowra watched on as Harry’s emotions washed over her, as his thoughts overwhelmed her. And just as she thought this saga with Harry was coming to a close, that things were starting to return to a sense of normality, she could feel Harry flush with emotions, with endorphins and pleasure as he shook the strong hand of Dean Kurland. Llowra could practically hear his hormones serge, course through his body. Oh this wasn’t going to be easy.
But as she felt Harry’s instant, ‘love at first sight’ feelings for the dean wash over her, she had neglected her own feelings. And neglected the pain that she felt coming from her abdomen. From her stomach. From inside.
Suddenly, Llowra clenched her fists as she felt a pang of pain wash over her. It caused her to double over and she fell to the floor, scattering several other cadets instantly. Seconds later, Natasha Taggert and another medical officer was by her side, asking her if she was okay.
“Cadet…cadet! Can you hear me?!” Natasha called out, trying to assess Llowra, who was now on the floor, practically in a foetal position, writhing in pain, clutching her stomach. As Taggert called out for a medkit, for a medical tricorder, Harry, Joe and Billy pushed through the crowd of cadets, trying to make their way to their friend.
“Llowra! Llowra!” Harry called.
“Move out of the way!” Joey shouted, pushing his way to the front of the crowd.
“What’s wrong, is she okay!?!” Billy cried as the three of them arrived to see first hand, Llowra passing out from the pain.
“We’ve got to get her to the med-bay!” Tasha called over to Tanner —to which he instinctively tapped his combadge and called out to the transporter control room. “Hudson to T.C.R. three to beam directly to the med-bay!”
Moments later, seconds later, Taggert, Hudson and Llowra were gone, vanished in the warm blue and white of the transporter beam leaving Harry, Billy and Joe completely and utterly in total shock as the dean attempted to calm the situation by dismissing the cadets back to their quarters.
“Okay, okay, nothing more to see here. You’re all dismissed until 13:00 hours…” Kurland continued but neither Harry, Joe or Billy hear what he had to say. They just stood there, all hand in hand, staring at the concrete where Llowra only moments before, lay in agony. They didn’t know what to do. They certainly did not know what to say. But they knew that they had to be strong now, strong for Llowra and for each other. Whether they liked it or not, they were all inextricably linked now and they had to stand together, to be there for one and other…and hope…hope that Llowra would be okay…that by this time tomorrow, all would be okay, that life would make sense again…

To be continued…

THE NIGHTLANDS

“By This Time Tomorrow,” - Part I
by Jonathan Crosby-Bromley

Starring: Brenton Thwaites as Harry Green and Jonny Green as Joseph Green

Also Starring:
Theo Germaine as Dahal
Kiernan Shipka as Llowra Sait
& Dacre Montgomery as Billy Scott

Special Guest Stars:
Danielle Brooks as Doctor Natasha Taggert
and Dave Franco as Ensign Tanner Hudson

Image Credits:
Shuttlecraft by Robert Bonchune
Photo Manipulations by Jonbromle1

Image by Jonbromle1

Description
The Nightlands
“By This Time Tomorrow,” Part I
by Jonathan Crosby-Bromley

The flight control centre was the hub of activity, people moved around the centre with a sense of purpose. Something was wrong.
A lieutenant, manning a computer station that overlooked the Relva VII mountains and The Institute, looked up from his console and turned to his superior -the look on both of their faces was that of concern.
A shuttlecraft had passed through the Relva VII outer markers at a high velocity and was making a dangerous attempt to enter the atmosphere. The angle of the shuttlecraft’s entry was too steep and it was clear from the look on both of the officers faces that the shuttle would undoubtedly burn up in the atmosphere.
The lieutenant’s superior immediately tried to signal the shuttlecraft, but there was no response. The shuttlecraft’s com-system was down. Why? That was unclear. It was either due to the fact that the shuttle’s entry into the atmosphere was blocking comms or that the ageing shuttlecraft’s systems were offline due to…well, old age.
Whatever the reason, both the lieutenant and his senior officer continued to hail the shuttlecraft’s pilot, they needed to warn them, to tell them, that if they were to continue on this course, they would more than likely not survive…

*_*_*_*

The shuttlecraft streaked through the red skies of Relva VII like a comet. The aft sections of the shuttlecraft flaked away, producing a comet-like tail to streak behind the falling vessel. It had no shields and had only minutes, seconds before it would disintegrate completely.
At the helm, Harry Green frantically tried to regain control of the shuttlecraft. He had tried everything to stabilise the shuttlecraft Sojourner, but all of his attempts had failed. He recalled the story told to him by his father, of a young man that almost died aboard a shuttlecraft trying to kill himself over Relva VII. His father, Thompson, who served aboard the Enterprise-D, told Harry this story as a reminder of how not to enter the atmosphere. Right now, that story was racing through his mind as the shuttle ploughed into the atmosphere at ever increasing speeds. All he cared about was getting Joseph, Llowra, Billy and Dahal to safety.

In the aft compartment of the shuttle, Joseph and Billy tried to stabilise Dahal’s condition. But like Harry, were unable to do so. They were simply to unfamiliar with her anatomy. Her species, the J’naii wasn’t exactly considered required reading by the Starfleet Medical Academy and they had absolutely no first hand experience in dealing with radiation poisoning, let alone with a species that neither of them had encountered before.
It was terrifying. Joseph was acutely aware that he literally had Dahal’s life in his hands right now, that it hung in the balance and he was starting to become overwhelmed. Thankfully, Billy’s boyish nature kept him steady, but even Billy, who was usually mild mannered and calm was struggling.

Llowra watched on in horror and was overwhelmed by the feelings and emotions of the others. She could hear Harry’s frantic thoughts, him trying to make a decision on whether or not to break off their attempt at landing or to persevere. She could hear Joe and Billy’s thoughts over how best to treat Dahal. But most of all, she could hear Dahal, she could hear his mind racing, he was terrified. Frightened. And felt so alone, despite being surrounded by those who were trying to save him. What was worse, was the fact that he had slipped out of the ability to communicate with the others. He couldn’t open his eyes, speak or move his limbs —Lowra likened it to the effects of what was once known as a stroke. Llowra tried to reach into Dahal’s mind, she tried to calm him, but her own fears were getting in the way and she was unable to do much good —in fact, she felt as though she was making the situation worse.

Moments later, the shuttlecraft’s communication panel, located next to Harry’s flight controls lit up like a proverbial Christmas tree. He almost smiled as he saw the screen light up, indicating that the shuttlecraft was receiving an incoming transmission from the surface.
He immediately tapped the comm panel and opened the hailing frequency.
A young, handsome officer appeared on the screen, informing Harry that he was calling from the surface, from the Relva VII Flight Control Centre. He explained that he was here to help, that he was going to guide them down. Relieved, Harry let out an awkward laugh, and thanked the officer, telling him that he didn’t know how much longer he could hold things together up here.
Thankfully, the officer was experienced enough in this particular type of crisis to maintain his calm and reassured Harry and the others that things were going to be okay. He tells Harry that he’s detected an imbalance in the shuttle’s dilithium reactor and that he can see that the shuttle’s engines have stalled.
“Tell me something I don’t know!” —Quick to make a sarcastic remark, mainly to hide his feelings of sheer terror, Harry looks down at the monitor and tells the officer, that he needs guidance here, not facts that he’s already aware of pointed out to him.
“Keep the nose of the shuttle pointed down towards the planet.” The officer calls.  Harry takes his eyes off the forward viewport for a second to look down at the officer, “We’ll burn up if I go all in, we can’t do that!”
“What’s your name, kid?” the officer asked.
“Harry, sir…Harry Green.”
“And where you headed?”
“To The Institute.” he replied, with a puzzled look on his face.
“Well, Harry, my name’s James, and if you want to live long enough to actually go to The Institute, then you’ll follow my orders, no questions asked.”
“But…” Harry started. Yet, he realised he knew of no way to finish that sentence. He was out of options. All he had now was to trust this guy, to trust James.
“Point the nose down. When you reach 5,000kph, restart the engines.”
“Understood.”
With that, the shuttlecraft banked and then dropped it’s nose. Flames engulfed the forward section of the shuttle, stripping away the hull plating. A crack started to form on the outer layer of the forward viewport. Harry clung on to the helm controls as the shuttle began to shake harder and harder. He nervously watched the display that showed the shuttlecraft’s velocity. They were picking up speed and he knew that they didn’t have long. This would only work once. That if he didn’t engage the engines at the right time, they’d be done for.
3,500…4,900…4,950…5,000kph. He took a quick deep breath and then punched the controls to reinitialise the impulse engines. Thankfully they came online and just in time, a second more and the shuttle would have hit the atmosphere to hard and to fast and would have broken apart. Quickly reconfiguring the shuttle’s descent, Harry brings the shuttle about, pulling the Sojourner out of it’s downward trajectory and back up into the atmosphere.
The inside cabin of the Sojourner continued to shake as they climbed back into the atmosphere. Llowra let out a cheer, whilst both Joe and Billy looked at each other and smiled as they let out a deep sigh of relief.
“What did we just do?!” Llowra asked.
“We built up enough speed to bounce the shuttle off of the atmosphere.” Harry said, exhilarated, reaffirming his beliefs that one day, he’d become a real shuttlecraft pilot.
“You did indeed my friend, you did indeed.” James spoke, reminding Harry that he was still online and on an active comm channel. “We’re sending two shuttlecraft to rendezvous with you, they’ll be with you in three minutes…do you have any injuries?” James asked, concerned about the wellbeing of those he had just helped rescue.
“Yes, we do, one an alien named Dahal, we rescued them from a shuttlecraft several light years away from here. We were travelling here at maximum warp when the engines failed and I overshot our entry into the atmosphere.”
“Understood. There’s a medical team onboard the shuttle, they’ll be with you shortly. You’re all going to be alright now. When you reach a safe distance from the atmosphere, disengage the engines and hold position.”
“Acknowledged…I mean, thank you. Thank you…”
And with that, Harry programmed the shuttle’s helm controls to take the Sojourner to a safe distance and then initiated the auto-pilot to carry out his flight plan. He slumped back in his chair, before looking at Llowra and showed her those beautiful, big, brown eyes of his —to which, she had no option, no self control to reciprocate and smile a reassuring smile back at him…

*_*_*_*

‘The Relva VII Institute for Gifted Academy Hopefuls,’ was a grand facility and was the temporary home for many that had intentions of joining the Starfleet Academy, with the hope, the dream, of one day becoming a Starfleet Officer. It was one of several facilities within the Alpha-Quadrant and was renowned for selecting the best and the brightest, the elite, the cream of the crop to join the Starfleet Academy. The Institute was adept in separating the wheat from the chaff and often would send their candidates onto the Academy with a distinct advantage that would help them during their time there. Many, if not all of The Institute’s candidates, or ‘cadets,’ as they were referred to during their time at The Institute, went on to have exceptional careers within Starfleet.
The six moth course that they offered was not for the feint of heart. The Institute would provide advanced classes on various subjects that would stand their cadets in good stead for their time at The Academy. The physical and mental training was second to none. Their psych-tests were renowned throughout the sector and their weapons training facility was rated excellent by Starfleet Tactical —providing young Academy hopefuls with prior knowledge of how to handle themselves in a fire fight. Not only that, but The Institute’s flight control centre, provided their cadets with first hand experience with not only flying a shuttlecraft in a holo-simulator, but also their instructors would take cadets up into space to fly the real thing.
For Llowra, this place was everything she could dream of and more —the same for Joseph and Billy, but for Harry, he knew all too well that he was only here on his father’s say-so, that his father had managed to pull some strings to get him a place this semester. But having just saved all of his friends lives and the life of Dahal from crashing into the atmosphere, he knew that he would one day become a pilot, that he would one day fly a grand starship and see the universe for himself. Today, arriving at Relva VII would change him forever…

As the two emergency shuttlecraft docked with the Sojourner, Harry finally stepped away from the helm controls and watched alongside Llowra, Joe and Billy as the medical team arrived to treat Dahal. Joe was impressed with how the medical team quickly and effortlessly diagnosed and began to treat Dahal. They moved as one unit, anticipating each other’s needs, passing each other medical instruments and devices without the need to ask one and other first. They knew exactly what they were doing. Joe was convinced that the medical team were telepathic, or empathic —he was blown away by their professionalism and, unlike him only moments ago, their ability to keep calm under pressure. It like Harry, reinforced his beliefs in what he wanted to do in the future.  The same could be said for Billy, as he stood next to Joe, unaware that he had taken Joe’s hand and watched in awe as the men and women, who proudly wore their blue Starfleet uniforms brought Dahal back from the brink. It was an impressive sight and one that he hoped he was capable of replicating when he had earned his stripes.
As Dahal regained consciousness, one of the team stood up and surveyed the latest arrivals to Relva VII. She looked at them all, scrutinising their appearance, trying to work out which one of them had attempted to treat Dahal before her arrival. A second or so later, her gaze was drawn towards Joey, who instinctively let out a smile —of which, the woman matched.
“So which one of you kids decided to attach a deep tissue assimilator to our patient?” she asked, her smile now gone.
Joe nervously stepped forward and rather shyly, rather awkwardly raised his hand. “I did m’am.”
The woman also stepped forward. Joe noticed that her eyebrows had come together and she was now looking at him as though he had done something wrong. But he was to afraid to say anything further, he simply waited for her to continue.
“And what’s your name?” she asked, after what felt like an eternity.
“Joseph Green, m’am.”
“Well, Mr. Green. I’m glad that you did. It bought your friend a few extra minutes and if you hand’t, then we’d have been having a different conversation.” she spoke, before smiling and offering out her hand to shake with Joe.
“Oh thank god!” Joe exclaimed, frantically pumping the officer’s hand, “I thought you were going to tell me that I’d done something wrong, that I’d made the situation worse!”
“Not at all, you did a good job, you all did a good job.”
Before continuing much further, the woman introduced herself, “Apologies, I asked your name, but I didn’t tell you mine. I’m Lieutenant Commander Natasha Taggert, and I will be teaching at The Institute this semester.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you…doctor?” Llowra spoke, shaking Natasha’s hand.
“Yes, that’s right. Chief medical officer of Starbase Chimera, I’m here for the next six months to whip our medical candidates…” she paused, then shook her head before correcting herself, “…I mean, cadets, into shape.”
“Well, it looks like we’ll be spending a lot more time together.” Billy spoke, shaking Doctor Taggert’s hand, “Joe and I are both on the medical track, and may I say we’re really looking forward to it!”
Natasha smiled at how polite Billy was being, it was refreshing. “Glad to hear it. And like I said, you’ve all done an excellent job here, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, it must have been terrifying, so if you need anything whilst your here, please do reach out, my door is always open.”
With that, Natasha turned on her heal and tapped her combadge, “Taggert to The Institute, one to beam directly to the med-bay.”
And then she was gone, just as quickly as her team had arrived, her words leaving the young Green’s, Billy and Llowra relived, and hopeful for the future. It was as though all of their differences had been forgotten about. The arguing, the fighting, all of it felt as though it were in the past. To Llowra it felt as though none of it mattered. That her issues with Harry…and Joe were insignificant, that it had taken a brush with death to remind her of what really mattered. But she was not that naive, she was not that forgiving. Harry had hurt her, as had Joe. But right now, in the here and now, she knew that she would have to put those feelings to one side, to get on with those she still tenuously called her friends and live in the moment. Bigger things were coming. Harder challenges were on the horizon and she wanted to be ready for them, now more than ever…

*_*_*_*

Llowra’s dorm room was modest, but functional. Opposite the doorway into her room, was a large window that looked out onto an ageing domed Starfleet facility —something that did not match the more recent additions to The Institute’s campus. Beyond the domed facility and the campus lay lush green mountains, topped with snow. As she unpacked her belongings, Llowra took a moment to take in the view, one that looked very similar to her home on Betazed.
Due to her mother’s high status, Llowra was afforded a dorm room of her own. Her mother had insisted that Llowra would not share a room with another —something that Llowra was unimpressed by, after all, that was why she was out here, to meet new people and experience different cultures. And to piss off her parents. Her mother’s insistence on Llowra having her own dorm room was clearly a way of her getting back at Llowra.
Stepping away from the window, Llowra looked over at the empty bed opposite hers and sat down. She was tired. The last few days had really took its toll and she was quite looking forward to pulling back the covers on her own bed and getting some rest.
Alas, that was not to be.
The doorbell chimed. She did not need to ask who it was, she could hear their thoughts already, she knew it was Harry.
Llowra straightened her hair in front of the mirror before asking him to come in. She did not like who was staring back at her, her reflected image was one of someone who was tired, cried out and ready for a new challenge. She just wanted today to be over.
Harry entered wearing his Institute uniform. Llowra noticed how snug the grey/black uniform looked on him. She wasn’t sure if he’d chosen a size to small or if the quartermaster had simply measured him wrong —either way, it looked good on him.
He made his way in wearing not only his new uniform but a hangdog expression, which puzzled her. When they had left the shuttle, he was so alive with passion about what being here would bring, now he looked melancholy at best.
Asking what’s wrong, even though she already knew the answer, Llowra gestured for Harry to take a seat on what should have been her roommate’s bed.
“They’ve put me in a room on the other side of the complex…” he started, almost letting out a brief sigh at the sight of Llowra. He wished he could hold her now, but he kept those feelings to himself. Well, he tried. She already knew that. “…I was kinda hoping I’d be near you and the others.” he said.
“‘The others’ -what a strange turn of phrase, I assume you mean your step-brother and Billy.” she said, having picked up a book from her bag and pretended to thumb through it.
“You know what I mean. I just feel so alone over there.”
“We’ve only been here a couple of hours Harry, you’ll make friends, you always do.” she tried to reassure him, but she knew that nothing she could say would change his mood -she’d seen it many times before. “There’s a sign up in the quad for soccer trials. I’m thinking of applying, you should too.”
“We’re only here for six months, what’s the point?”
That was it. She’d had enough. Like Llowra had said to Harry, they had only been on Relva for several hours. Llowra couldn’t understand why he wasn’t more excited. She must have passed tens of cadets on her way to her quarters, all of which were glad to be here, all talking about the experiences that they intended to have, the extra-curricular activities they were all going to take part in. They were all excited and it was hard for Llowra to ignore their feelings -she could sense them so completely, so vividly and it was really quite exhilarating at first for her to get swept up in the other cadets feelings. But Harry was like an anchor, she kept being drawn to him. Ever since they slept together on Risa, ever since they bonded, she had this empathic link with him that she couldn’t break. Llowra knew exactly how he was feeling and it pained her to have to try and ignore his feelings.
Llowra was tired. And she couldn’t ignore his feelings much longer. She couldn’t hide her own. So for one last time, one last night, she thought to herself, Llowra made her way over to the other bed and sat down next to Harry. Placing a reassuring hand on his and resting her head on his shoulder, she smiled inwardly before speaking, “You know I’ll always love you, right?” she said, squeezing his hand a little tighter. “It’ll never go away, irrespective as to what happened on Risa and we’ll always be linked in one way or another.”
Harry managed half a smile, before placing his other hand over hers. “I know you do. I’m sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused you.” he said softly.
“Don’t ever apologise for your feelings, Imzadi. We’ll make this work…”
“Make what work…us?” he said.
Llowra pulled her hand free from his and sat more formally on the bed next to him, before shaking her head. “Well, sort of. I meant, we’ll make being here together work.” Llowra replied, hoping that he wouldn’t fly off the handle or react badly.
“I’ll take that. If it means having you nearby and in my life, then I’ll take that.” Harry replied somewhat more maturely than Llowra had expected, as a sense of realisation slowly dawned on him. They were moving past being a young couple in love, to a young couple that had been in love and were now trying to figure out who they were, who they are now to each other.
It was the first step in their healing process. They had barely talked in the shuttlecraft until their encounter with Dahal’s damaged shuttle. After that, it was trying to rescue him and then their subsequent arrival on Relva. This really was the first time that they had really talked to each other and talked they did. Harry and Llowra talked for several hours before Harry made his way back to his dorm room.
And as Harry left, Llowra looked out of her dorm room window once again, out into the night and was grateful of what she had achieved on her, Harry and Joe’s little road trip through the stars. It might have been a bumpy, somewhat difficult time, but in the quiet and peace of the night, she was able to reflect on it and pick out many good memories. Llowra was determined not to let what happened on Risa define her —or her friendships with Harry, Billy and Joe. What happened was in the past and whether she felt like it now, she knew that in time…she could see herself being good friends, if not best of friends with the three boys that had made the last few weeks truly unforgettable.

*_*_*_*

Joe fell from atop of Billy and landed right besides him, having, only seconds ago, christened the double bed that was in Joseph’s dorm room. His hair wet, Joe wiped the sweat from his brow and tried to collect his thoughts as he also tried to slow his breathing. It had been quite a love-making session and Joe was on a perpetual endorphin high. Billy’s stamina could not be faulted. He had been completely selfless and had made sure that Joe had been completely fulfilled.
As Joe’s head touched down on the only Starfleet issue pillow to remain on the bed, Billy looked into his eyes and smiled. He leaned over to him and pulled Joseph’s sweaty body closer —he couldn’t get enough of Joe. Passionately kissing once again.
The pair of them were over the moon that they had been assigned the same dorm room and they both hoped that this would help their blossoming relationship. The room was far away from Harry’s —which both Joe and Billy were grateful of. Billy had described it as their ‘honeymoon suite,’ which Joey found hilarious. Joe felt more and more at ease with Bill, that what happened on Risa was a distant memory, one to never be revisited again. He was content. They both were and as they held each other, explored each other’s bodies even more, they knew that they were in love. Billy for the first time with another man…and Joey, for the first time in love with someone that wasn’t Harry…it was a feeling like no other and one Joe hoped would last forever…

*_*_*_*

The heat was unbearable. The sun beat shone though a cloudless sky and beat down on the assembled Institute cadets without mercy. Four lines of cadets all stood to attention as the dean, addressed them from inside a shaded area near the secondary entrance to The Institute.
Joe fidgeted uncomfortably in his uniform, that was just as form fitting as Harry’s and Billy’s —at least Llowra had the sense to request a larger, more baggier uniform. Joe’s fidgeting caught the attention of the dean, to which he proceeded to make his way over to Joe and give him a dressing down. The way he spoke to Joe reminded him of an old holo-novel, he couldn’t have been more cliched if he tried, which further aggravated him as Joe began to laugh.
Doctor Taggert, who was also in attendance smiled at Joe’s reaction -she could see something in Joe that she liked and was somewhat drawn to. He had impressed her with how he and Billy had tended to Dahal, —of whom was still recovering in the med-bay. But as the dean turned, he noticed Natasha smiling at Joe and gave her a look that could melt latinum. Natasha immediately adjusted her facial expression and gave the dean a nod as an apology of sorts.
“You are here because you are the best and the brightest. You will go on from here as proficient candidates for the Starfleet Academy. Only a handful of my cadets have failed this course and I can assure you, that this year, I will not let any one of you take a walk down ‘wash out alley.’’ He pointed towards a rather unceremonious looking doorway, that lead to the shuttlebay stowage area.
“Wash out alley?” Joe said under his breath to Billy, causing his boyfriend to break his rigid composure, causing the pair of them to erupt into laughter —which spilled out to the others.
“I see we have a couple of jokers here.” the dean spoke, making his way back down the line of cadets. Upon reaching Joe and Billy he paused and got as close as possible to the pair of them. “Did I say something that amuses you?” he asked, but neither of them responded. “Do think that all of this is a big joke?” Again, neither Joe or Billy replied. “Do you find me funny, cadets?”
“No…” Joe rather softly and pitifully replied, “…I’m sorry sir.”
“Speak up, cadet.” the dean spoke, now millimetres away from Joe’s face.
“I…I said I was sorry, sir.”
“Better. But louder. An officer must be heard.” he said, his dark green eyes burning their way into Joseph’s soul.
“I SAID I’M SORRY SIR!” Joe shouted, as tears formed in his eyes.
“That’s what I thought you said. Now drop and give me twenty.”
Joe looked at the dean puzzled, he had no idea what he meant. “Twenty of what sir?”
The dean smiled. “Still think you’re funny, hu?” he said, before stepping back from Joe and Billy and returning to a spot in front of all of the cadets. “Okay. You will all give me twenty press-ups…” he barked, before looking at Joe and saying, “With the exception of you. Your fellow classmates will show you how to do a press-up cadet. You will watch them as they carryout my orders and you will do well to ensure that you always do as I ask, that you will obey mine and my fellow officers orders, otherwise, your classmates will be forced to carryout what I have asked of you.”
“But, sir, that’s not fair!” Joe replied.
“Stop picking on him.” A voice from the back row spoke out.
“Well this appears to be escalating quickly…” the dean said, looking at Natasha and the other assembled officers. “I do not think that I have ever encountered such a disobedient group of cadets. Especially on their first day in the uniform.”
“Who do you think you are anyway!”
Joe recognised the voice instantly.
“Talking to him like something you’d wipe off your boot. Is this how you try and curry our respect for you? Is this how you expect us to behave when we’re officers?” Harry broke forward and made his way to the front of the group, before finally standing in-between Joe and the dean.
“This isn’t what Starfleet is about. How dare you speak to my brother like that.”
The dean appeared to be somewhat taken a back by the way he was now being spoken to by Harry. Joe was actually quite impressed, but equally concerned about the consequences. There were kids here from all over the quadrant, not one of them had the balls to speak up, to speak out, they had all spent the last few months studying, preparing to join the renowned Institute and here he and his brother were messing things up —or so he thought.
“I’m impressed.” The dean responded. His tone now softer, more akin to that of a Starfleet officer and not that of a bully. “What’s your name, cadet?”
“Harry Green, sir.” Harry replied, his fists clenched, hoping for a fight. But he wasn’t going to get one.
“Ah, Thompson’s son.”
“Step-son, sir.”
“Well, what you lack in your proficiencies, you certainly do make up with your mouth and your piloting skills.”
Harry took a step back, almost stepping on Joe’s boot. He didn’t quite know what to make of the dean. He couldn’t have been anymore than twenty five, maybe twenty six, yet he spoke to the rest of the cadets like a seasoned Starfleet officer twice his age. The dean looked Harry up and down before returning to a small podium that bore The Institute’s insignia.
“What you all saw there was a test…” He pointed towards Harry, Joe and Billy. “And you will continue to be tested throughout your time here. You will all have to undergo various different proficiencies. We teach science, medical, tactical, engineering and command skills here. By the end of this, you WILL be able to walk into any Starfleet Academy recruitment centre and will be immediately accepted into the enrolment programme. I and my fellow officers will make sure of that. What we here is a promise to you and your future. We will not let you down…”
As he finished his somewhat rousing speech, the dean looked squarely at Harry and smiled. “You did good, kid.” he spoke, so only Harry could hear.

Moments later, Natasha Taggert stepped forward along with another officer, also wearing blue. Unlike the three pips she wore on her collar, he only wore the one. Tasha and the male officer took to the podium and introduced themselves, explaining that she and Ensign Tanner Hudson, to the right of her, would be guest lecturers this semester. Tasha goes on to explain that she is delighted to be here, “And like the dean, I do not intend to let you down. We have traveled from the Rigel System, from Starbase Chimera to be here with you for the next six months to teach you about life in the trenches, to give you the skills that you will need to depend upon in the real world.”  “We will not let you down. And we do not make that promise lightly…” Ensign Hudson started, “I too attended The Institute prior to my time at The Academy and I can truly say, that it helped me become the man I am today, the officer I am today. I grew up on the border moons, on the edge of the Klingon Empire, wishing for better, hoping that someone would come take me away and help me see the stars. And if it wasn’t for the likes of places like this, recognising the talent inside me, I can assure you, I would still be breaking dilithium on Chalkon-III.”
“Essentially, the message Mr. Hudson is trying to share with you is, learn as much as you possibly can during your time here, take it all in, absorb everything. Because, if like Tanner, you dream of seeing the stars, and making the stars your workplace, aboard a grand starship or serving on one of Starfleet’s outposts, then do all that you can to make every second here count.” The dean concluded.
With that, the assembled cadets broke out into a rapturous applause. Invigorated and energised by Taggert, Hudson and the dean’s words, they cheered and whistled as the three officers stood down from the lectern and began introducing themselves personally and individually to the cadets. As they did, the dean made his way over to Harry and offered out his hand. Harry was naturally reluctant to take it at first, but after a second pondering his next move, he decided to shake the dean’s hand. “Dean James Kurland, pleasure to meet you, Cadet Green.”
And as he took Kurland’s hand, he felt what could only be described as electricity wash over him. Harry for some reason, despite what had just happened, felt incredibly safe as he gripped the dean’s hand and began conversing with him on a more civil level.

And there it was. Llowra watched on as Harry’s emotions washed over her, as his thoughts overwhelmed her. And just as she thought this saga with Harry was coming to a close, that things were starting to return to a sense of normality, she could feel Harry flush with emotions, with endorphins and pleasure as he shook the strong hand of Dean Kurland. Llowra could practically hear his hormones serge, course through his body. Oh this wasn’t going to be easy.
But as she felt Harry’s instant, ‘love at first sight’ feelings for the dean wash over her, she had neglected her own feelings. And neglected the pain that she felt coming from her abdomen. From her stomach. From inside.
Suddenly, Llowra clenched her fists as she felt a pang of pain wash over her. It caused her to double over and she fell to the floor, scattering several other cadets instantly. Seconds later, Natasha Taggert and another medical officer was by her side, asking her if she was okay.
“Cadet…cadet! Can you hear me?!” Natasha called out, trying to assess Llowra, who was now on the floor, practically in a foetal position, writhing in pain, clutching her stomach. As Taggert called out for a medkit, for a medical tricorder, Harry, Joe and Billy pushed through the crowd of cadets, trying to make their way to their friend.
“Llowra! Llowra!” Harry called.
“Move out of the way!” Joey shouted, pushing his way to the front of the crowd.
“What’s wrong, is she okay!?!” Billy cried as the three of them arrived to see first hand, Llowra passing out from the pain.
“We’ve got to get her to the med-bay!” Tasha called over to Tanner —to which he instinctively tapped his combadge and called out to the transporter control room. “Hudson to T.C.R. three to beam directly to the med-bay!”
Moments later, seconds later, Taggert, Hudson and Llowra were gone, vanished in the warm blue and white of the transporter beam leaving Harry, Billy and Joe completely and utterly in total shock as the dean attempted to calm the situation by dismissing the cadets back to their quarters.
“Okay, okay, nothing more to see here. You’re all dismissed until 13:00 hours…” Kurland continued but neither Harry, Joe or Billy hear what he had to say. They just stood there, all hand in hand, staring at the concrete where Llowra only moments before, lay in agony. They didn’t know what to do. They certainly did not know what to say. But they knew that they had to be strong now, strong for Llowra and for each other. Whether they liked it or not, they were all inextricably linked now and they had to stand together, to be there for one and other…and hope…hope that Llowra would be okay…that by this time tomorrow, all would be okay, that life would make sense again…

To be continued…

THE NIGHTLANDS

“By This Time Tomorrow,” - Part I
by Jonathan Crosby-Bromley

Starring: Brenton Thwaites as Harry Green and Jonny Green as Joseph Green

Also Starring:
Theo Germaine as Dahal
Kiernan Shipka as Llowra Sait
& Dacre Montgomery as Billy Scott

Special Guest Stars:
Danielle Brooks as Doctor Natasha Taggert
and Dave Franco as Ensign Tanner Hudson

Image Credits:
Shuttlecraft by Robert Bonchune
Photo Manipulations by Jonbromle1

Image by Jonbromle1