All right, if I'm interrupting your posting, I apologize. ;-) But since I'm off here in a few, I figured I'd comment before I go while it's all fresh in my head (been reading as you've posted these).

The appearance of Q was unexpected, but not a bad thing; I like that he's become common enough that he no longer gets much more than a 'Huh' from Beth. Makes me curious about the Academy backstory. Her trials in the academy, as you told them, were very telling -- it further removes her from being too perfect and makes her more real yet. She had little choice but to go well above and beyond what was expected just to buck off the family name and stand on her own.

The flashbacks to the battle are powerful, to say the least. This last chapter here I'm posting after especially.

Nice work!