Chapter Text
In 2151, the USS Enterprise (NX-01) set out on its maiden voyage; by 2200, Star Fleet had expanded dramatically as technology improved and as more planets and species continued to join the Federation. Not only did Star Fleet and the Federation gain new members, but so did the families of the crews.
On September 1st 2200, Star Fleet opened its own High School in the far west corner of the San Francisco Academy grounds. It was given the rather unimaginative name of Star Fleet Preparatory, for the simple reason that (at the time) the vast majority of its students were following in their parents’ footsteps and also heading into Star Fleet Academy and then onwards into stars. It was a combination of boarding and day school, mostly providing the students who had parents off-planet a stable home and education where it wasn’t too hard to keep in touch with their Fleet family.
The only requirement for entry was to have a parent or guardian actively serving, or having died in service of Star Fleet – the Fleet received criticism for being exclusive, but they certainly couldn’t be faulted for looking after their own.
In 2219, there was a protest.
Uptake from Star Fleet Prep. into the Academy was at an all-time low, somewhere around forty-percent. The sixty-percent of students that didn’t want to go to the Academy (and several political busy-bodies who stuck their noses in because they apparently didn’t have more pressing issues to deal with) demanded that the name of the school be amended to be more inclusive; and that a non-Fleet principal be brought in to run it. They necessitated that the school uniform be dropped and that students be free to express themselves through their wardrobe choices. It was petitioned that any child of a suitable age should have the opportunity to apply and attend the school if they lived within a ten kilometre radius, not just the ‘Fleet Brats’.
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Captain William McKinley had been honourably discharged on medical grounds at the same time as the unrest at Star Fleet Prep. began. The once strong human male had become the host to a species of previously un-encountered microscopic parasites on an away mission; they burrowed into his flesh and caused his muscles to atrophy suddenly. Star Fleet Medical and the Science Teams had worked tirelessly to find a cure; but it didn’t come soon enough to prevent severe damage that couldn’t be regenerated. Due to the surgical debridement that had been required to clean away the dead tissue, the Captain had to rely on splints and other prosthetics for him to stand and function independently; he required constant pain medication.
McKinley didn’t have any close family, he’d been married to his work; his ship was his baby; his crew had been a substitute for siblings and cousins; the Admirals were almost parental figures. With nowhere left to go (and honestly with no real desire to actually leave the environment he loved), he’d taken up a small retirement apartment on the Academy grounds, his fifth-floor kitchen window overlooking the Star Fleet Preparatory playing fields and providing him a perfect view of the various sporting events.
In 2220, the retired Captain relapsed after a dormant form of the parasite burrowed deep in his tissue reanimated. Despite the very best efforts of Star Fleet’s medics and scientists, he died due to an opportunistic secondary infection that attacked his weakened state; he slipped away as peacefully as could be hoped for.
McKinley had been a frugal man; Star Fleet had provided everything he could ask for since he was in his twenties: a roof over his head (be it an Academy dorm room, Star Base, Starship, his retirement apartment or the hospital); food in his belly; clothing; fellowship, excitement and mental stimulation. His wages had mounted up and been invested for a rainy day that came-and-went much sooner than anyone ever expected. Each-and-every credit had been left to the school that had provided hours of entertainment as he sat by his kitchen window watching various sports and activities – though, the football team had been lacking a decent coach, in his opinion.
In honour of the man who’d left them his entire estate (and to shut up the various protestors), Star Fleet Preparatory was re-named as the Captain William McKinley High School. The uniform regulations were relaxed slowly and then dropped entirely over the next two years (the dark blue blazer and white shirt, combined with grey pants or skirt and the required striped tie hadn’t been popular to begin with, and nobody was all that sad to see it go).
Other students that weren’t ‘Fleet Brats’ were permitted to attend within three years of the name change; but with the strict stipulation that they intended to advance into Star Fleet Academy – it was after all Star Fleet that were funding most of the educational facilities, and many former officers and Academy Instructors were teachers. Non-Fleet principals were brought in and the board of governors was split equally between Fleet personnel and civilians.
Others would later follow Captain William McKinley’s lead and leave a donation or even their whole estates to the school; noticeably there had been the Commander Irvine Dalton Memorial Library and the Lieutenant Valarie Carmel Memorial Auditorium.
However, in 2257, a year before the crisis of Vulcan and the Nerada Incident; Principal Figgins, whom had held the role for nineteen years, failed to protect the welfare of several students. He was replaced by one of the governors: Commodore Sue Sylvester, formerly of the Academy – who decided that it was about time that the kids who wanted to progress into the Fleet had the opportunity to see what it was really like.