K'Lara stared at the large building before her. The sun shown brightly down upon it, and it reflected in her eyes. She held up her hand to protect her eyes as she searched for the person that was going to show her around.
"Hello, there," a voice from behind made her jump.
She spun around to see a tall man in a red and black Starfleet uniform. One look at it and she began to wonder why her father had chosen to drop her off at Starfleet. She only knew that they used to be the Klingon Empire's worse enemies. Now they were somehow allies.
"I am K'Lara, daughter of Q'Tar," she said proudly, her eyes sparkling with an inner fire.
The man smiled, not at all intimidated, "I am Admiral Williams and I have the pleasure of showing you around, my dear."
K'Lara blinked. An Admiral? She didn't think they did anything, except sit on their duffs and give others orders. She shook her head then nodded. "What's first on the tour?"
Williams smiled, "Why where you will be staying, of course."
The half-Klingon returned his smile and followed him to the women's dorms.
K'Lara, like the few Klingons before her to join Starfleet, had trouble fitting in, but she didn't care. She was there to learn to fly and whatever else that went with it. Those that decided to take their frustrations out on her soon learned of her extra abilities.
"You! Klingon!"
K'Lara turned around and stared at an angry cadet running toward her. She sighed and rolled her eyes.
Here we go again, she thought with disdain. Won't they ever learn?
"You did better than me on that flight test," he growled. "No one does better than me. Nobody!"
"Well, say hello to nobody," K'Lara growled back. "And I'll continue to beat you, because you're too arrogant to see past showing off. That's why you didn't get a better score, fly boy."
"You can't talk to me like that!"
"I just did. Now go home before I really get angry."
She almost didn't see the fist flying toward her head. She caught it before it made contact. She glared at him, her eyes letting him know that he had made a terrible mistake. She twisted the hand around, making it hurt, but not break.
"Say you're sorry or I will break it off," K'Lara hissed.
"Sorry! I'm sorry," the cadet nearly screamed.
K'Lara let him go and watched as he ran quickly in the other direction. Any on-lookers took his advice and turned the other way. She only sighed and shook her head. After two years at being in the Academy, some people still thought that she was another savage Klingon.
Her third year proved to be tougher than her last. Her temper was starting to get out of control, and not because poor losers wanted to get even with her. She would have outbursts of anger whenever she messed up on her flight test. She nearly destroyed a holodeck when she failed a difficult maneuvering test. The instructor tried to tell her that no one could pass it on their first try, but she wasn't just anyone. She had out-scored most every pilot in the Academy. She wasn't about to let a silly holoprogram out-do her.
"I want to do it again!" K'Lara screamed.
"You will, K'Lara. After you re-do test number thirteen."
"I already did that test and passed. I don't want to do it again."
"You have to, K'Lara. For practice if nothing else."
That didn't sit well with her. She roared, and a small fireball shot out of her hand without her even trying. The instructor ducked in time, and the fire hit the back wall of the holodeck. K'Lara stared in shock. She hadn't meant to do that.
"K'Lara, I think it's time you seen a counselor about your temper," the instructor said before he called Security.
K'Lara didn't like the idea of seeing a counselor. She liked it even less to know that he was Vulcan. She protested right up until she was pushed through his door. She stared at him, her eyes blazing red, but he looked at her as calm as a clear spring day. She hated that.
"K'Lara, I believe," the Vulcan said with centuries of practiced calm behind his voice. "I am Counselor Telek. I will be helping you with your temper."
"And how are you going to do that?" K'Lara snarled. "Meditation? Relaxation? What Vulcan technique are you going to use?"
Telek just looked at her. He knew that doing so would anger her more, but maybe she would realize that being calm in a situation was better than using one's temper."
"Sit down, K'Lara, and let's begin."
K'Lara sat down, not taking her eyes off the Vulcan.
"Now, K'Lara, we will begin with deep breathing exercises." Telek began to breathe in deep and exhale slowly. K'Lara just stared at him.
"K'Lara, breathe deep."
She growled low in her throat. The idea of taking lessons to calm her temper was ridiculous to her. It wasn't her fault that people made her angry.
Telek continued to breathe in deep as if K'Lara was not there at all. After awhile, K'Lara began to follow his lead and breathe in and slowly out. The Vulcan watched her and nodded his approval.
"Good, K'Lara. Feel the anger leave your body. Push it out with each exhalation."
K'Lara began to feel the anger subside as she continued the breathing. Soon, she was out of anger, and she opened her eyes.
"Excellent, K'Lara," Telek said unemotionally."To answer you're first question, you will be doing meditation and learning to relax like you just did with the breathing exercises. I will expect you here everyday at 1400 hours. You are dismissed until tomorrow."
K'Lara stared opened-mouthed at the Vulcan. That was it?! All she did was breathe and she got to go home?
"The lessons will get longer, K'Lara. You will be doing more than just breathing."
K'Lara blinked and shook her head. Now he was reading her mind. She turned away and left before he could read any more.
The lessons were long indeed. The following day, she meditated for an hour after which she was to do more deep breathing exercises. She was always sent home exhausted, but she felt better for it. The next day, she learned how to channel her anger into something more productive. She used this technique when she was flying. Anytime someone made her angry, she channeled it into flying. She had never flown so wonderfully in all her life. She was beginning to enjoy her lessons, for each day she learned to do something new with her temper.
K'Lara was beginning to control her temper after three weeks of training with Telek. She learned to take deep breaths when she was being threatened or provoked. She would take it out later on her flying. She could meditate if flying didn't help and if that didn't work there was deep breathing.
She learned though that not everything worked when it came to calming her temper. Such as when she thought her mate, Jon Lataro, had died.