Got You Covered: Part 2/2

Posted on Wed Jun 3rd, 2026 @ 5:05pm by Sergeant Jace Morven & Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Moriarty

2,411 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: Gym, USS Guinevere
Timeline: Early 2389 - Before 'First Contact'

Continued from part 1

Jace followed without realising he was doing it, falling in line just a little behind him. "Mint tea," he finally said, his voice quiet. "I like mint tea. With sugar."

"Nice choice..." Jesse let out a soft whistle, nodding gently. Mint tea had gotten him through some long, cold days. "So we know you like mint...have you had it in chocolate? Or Ice cream?"

Jace gave a small shake of his head, glancing at him. "No. I know I prefer real mint over replicated..." he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small silver case. It was worn, a little battered, but it was polished. Leaves and waves had been engraved in the lid, but years had worn the lines. "I was given this, first December during the Dominion War. First thing I ever got that didn't come with strings. Someone just noticed I drank mint tea and decided to introduce me to fresh."

Jesse stopped so he could look at it properly, letting out a soft breath. It was a nice thing. Real. Made by human hands. He could see why it was precious to him. "Maybe you can make me some?"

"I got two plants," Jace said and gave a nod, his body relaxing a little. Perhaps it was because there wasn't any pressure on it. And he had a resource he did not mind sharing. "I'll cut you some."

"Thanks," Jesse chuckled as he led him towards his quarters again. "I've only had the replicated kind. An old friend got me on to it."

Jace glanced at him with curiosity at the words, the tin going back into his pocket. "Did they try and give you the real ones too?" he asked, a hint of something warmth-adjacent in his voice.

"Maybe...I don't know...they'd always just give me the tea," Jesse laughed softly, looking to him with a small smile. "Just sort of press the cup in my hand, it was the sign to take a break."

Jace swallowed at that, a stab of something he didn't understand or name somewhere deep inside of him. He pushed it aside, not looking at it. "Sometimes, the cup would just be there. Never announced...but I always knew who had made it. Martinez had a way of looking at me and not flinching from what they saw," he said as he looked ahead.

Jesse looked to him with surprise, coming to a halt. He studied him, holding his breath. "Of course...I should have realised....your record lines up with theirs..."

Jace looked at him with confusion, stopping as well. And then the words registered, made him blink. Like a ghost from the past had stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder, leant close and kissed his cheek. "You know Angel Martinez."

Jesse nodded with a small smile, letting out a long, shaking breath. "We trained together. Frankly, they're the reason I graduated."

A muscle in Jace's jaw tightened as he looked at him. And then he gave a nod, letting out a soft breath. "Good," he finally said. Because it meant that Martinez had become an officer. That they had gotten through it all. That they were alive.

Jesse searched his eyes, going through the motions quite literally. "You....haven't kept in touch?"

Jace shook his head, looking away from Moriarty, at the way he was looking at him. "We were disbanded," he said, and there was another truth there too. He had never been good at goodbye. Or figuring out what came next.

"You could still catch up and talk to them," he walked alongside him to get them going again. "They always talked fondly of their old team..."

Jace moved, but it felt more like his body was doing something his mind hadn't committed to. He rolled the words in his mind. "Too much time has passed. One thing is the team you had during a war...they might not want to see a reminder of that time."

"Or maybe they will, you don't know until you ask," Jesse pointed out bluntly, arching an eyebrow. "The way they talked about you lot? I think they would."

Jace swallowed at that, frowning slightly as he considered it. Would...Martinez be happy? Sad? Worried? Reminded of what they had done in the war. "I'll think about it," he said instead, because no felt too sharp and yes felt too dangerous.

Jesse nodded, leaving it at that. It was his decision. He'd planted the seed, it was up to him whether to let it grow or not. He led him into his quarters, moving to get hot water for the tea before anything else, figuring it would make sense to start with something he already liked. "So no spicy food?"

"Martinez gave me hot sauce once," he said and looked around for a moment before he saw what he was doing. He took the tin and placed it on the table, for him to use. "Burned my mouth. Did finish the food though."

"You have to build it up, that's what I found anyway. Either way, we'll leave it for today. I think you should have pie..." he said firmly, pouring water on some of the leaves.

Jace moved as if he was doing a perimeter check of the quarters before he stopped a few feet away from Jesse. He considered the word for a moment, his expression narrowing slightly as if he was weighing up whether he had heard pie or pi. Then he looked at him. "I am choosing to believe you mean food."

Jesse laughed at how he put it, shaking his head as he offered a cup to him. "What else would I feed you?" he teased and half challenged him.

"Mathematical constants?" He took the cup, and there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. He exhaled, then breathed in the scent of the mint. "Or MREs. I'd eat those without complaint."

"Yeah, they say there's no accounting for taste," Jesse grinned, shaking his head as he sipped his tea and moved for the replicator. He brought up the lists of foods he replicated often, gravitating towards the pies. "Are you okay with replicated meat? Or should I keep it to vegetables?"

"I eat anything," Jace said, because he had never stopped and thought about whether or not he was okay with replicated meat. It was something he ate a lot of, as a protein, unless the default meal for him rotated based on his latest medical, or training.

Jesse turned slightly to him, sensing the pause. He watched him at the expression, giving him a moment to think on it. "Sure?" he asked softly.

Jace tilted his head a little as he considered the question. Was he sure? No. He supposed he wasn't, or else he would have said anything. He looked over at him, lips parting. "Vegetables," he finally said. Because there was an option.

"I've got you," Jesse assured, starting to press buttons on the screen, hming and hahing before the light started to swirl. He caught hold of the plates, knives and forks, setting them on the small table before taking the large pie dish, the pastry on top golden. "Cheese, onion and potato pie..." he announced. And that was it. No sides. No vegetables. Just a good slab of steaming hot pie that he dished up for him.

Jace looked at the table before he moved over and sat down, looking at him for a moment before at the pie. "Rell makes fun out of how I eat," he finally said. Half a warning, half some intel to share. "Says I eat as if the food insulted my ancestors."

Jesse grinned at the description, offering a fork out to him. "Did it?"

"I don't know, don't know my ancestors," he took the fork before he looked at the pie, somewhat confused by it. He leant closer and tapped the pastry lid. "Like you, I was happy just...not being hungry."

Jesse nodded with understanding, smiling gently at the suspicious investigation. "Well, I can promise you it won't bite. Just make sure you get a bit of everything in your forkful."

Jace glanced at him before he reached to drive the fork through. He got a bit of everything, lifting it carefully. He kept it there, not blowing on it, but let it cool before he put it in his mouth. He chewed, a slight frown on his face. Salty, a hint of sweet...potatoes he had eaten before. The pastry was flaky, giving another texture. He made himself think about it, what it actually tasted of.

Jesse took a mouthful of his own so he didn't feel self conscious, moaning softly at the savoury warmth of the strong, creamy cheese sauce, the sweetness of the onions and chives, the give of the potato slices, and the buttery flake of the pastry. "For me, this is comfort food."

Jacke nodded, swallowing as he looked at the pie, thinking about what to say. "It tastes like it'll keep you full for a whole day," he said, glancing at him. "And potentially asleep just as long."

"Now that is true," Jesse chuckled softly, motioning to him with his fork. "What about how it tastes?"

"Salty," Jace spoke the word without thinking, before he looked at it. Did he like it? He took more, eating it slowly. "Warming." And he grimaced, because that wasn't a taste. Which meant it was the wrong answer to the question.

Jesse grinned, nodding as he squeezed his arm firmly. "Yes, and that's exactly why I like it," he assured.

Jace nodded before he looked down at it again, considering it. "Sickbay must have this," he said before something seemed to soften in his eyes, in the way he held himself. Not...completely. Just a hint of ease that came with the observation.

"It would cheer me up while I was recovering," Jesse agreed with a soft chuckle, watching him with a small smile. It was good to see that touch of relaxation in him. Jace was always on high alert, it had to be exhausting. "To be honest, food nearly always makes me feel better."

Jace glanced at him at that, thinking about it. "I'm still figuring out what does that to me. Mint tea, I think...taking care of the mint plant. Or repairing something. Engraving," he took more to eat, but gave a shrug. "Makes me feel steadier."

"It's good to know," Jesse nodded gently, wanting to encourage him on that too. It was important he had things he could turn to in down time, especially with how hard the job could be. "And maybe try different things. If you don't like it, you don't have to bother again."

"What makes you feel steadier?" he asked bluntly, looking at him, the fork being placed down. He watched him as if he was trying to map a battlefield, the answer...would be good to know. He remembered times he had not known in the past, where all he could do was just to be there watching over someone as they broke down.

"Oh don't look at me for that, counsellors roll their eyes at my stress relievers," Jesse rubbed his face with a sigh before looking down. Maybe Jace needed to hear that not everyone had it all figured out. "If I can free climb or go urban exploring, sometimes I'll do that. If I'm calm enough, I draw or design a holoprogram. But honestly....there's plenty of times I go to a music venue or a bar...drink too much....take home a one night stand....run or spar for two hours until I can't stay on my feet."

Jace watched him with a slight frown, considering it. "One night stands can be risky," he said, because that was what his brain latched on. "Free climbing too...but if you fall that's on you." There was no judgement, just...the plain analysis of someone who saw everything as a risk assessment in waiting. The sparring...he could see that. He thought about volunteering, next time he needed it. But then realised he wasn't sure how to offer it.

"That's why the counsellors roll their eyes," Jesse chuckled softly, leaning to him with a weak smile. "Reckless, is the word one of them used. So I try and focus on the other things instead. But sometimes, I just need more to make it quiet. So...I'm still learning too, Jace."

The words helped...not the way Jesse might have intended it, but it made it clear what he could offer. "I'd spar with you," he said firmly, holding his eyes. "When you need it."

Jesse chuckled at the offer, watching him with a small but grateful smile. "We can't be marking up that face of yours now, it would be a crime against humanity."

"It's just a face," Jace said, somewhat confused by the comment as he picked up the fork again. "And that's why I still have the combat issue FGF personal medical kit. With the dermal regenerator."

"You should be going to Sickbay when you're hurt, not patching yourself up," Jesse pointed out with an arched eyebrow, but softened it with a half smile.

"I go to sickbay. Commander Vale made that order clear," he told Jesse, as if it made perfect sense...as if it was a standing order. "But it is good for when sickbay is complicated."

"Complicated?" he arched an eyebrow at the way he put it, but nodded with a soft sigh. "Aye...I suppose life can get complicated at times."

"People complicate it," Jace said, but there was a hint of humour there...he was leaning into the gruffness a little, and it showed in how his eyes had a bit more spark than usual.

Jesse grinned at the comment, laughing as he shook his head, his foot nudging Jace's under the table. "Cheeky git..."

Jace looked at him before he let out a breath, the small smile coming to him. Brief, but there. He shifted, his foot nudging back to Jesse's, mirroring the movement. "I get why Martinez likes you," he finally said and took more to eat.

OFF:

Lt. Colonel Jesse Moriarty
Federation Ground Forces CO
USS Guinevere

Sergeant Jace Morven
Platoon Sergeant, Alpha Squad
Federation Ground Forces Detachment
USS Guinevere

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