Re-adjustments Of the Quiet Part 1

Posted on Wed Aug 5th, 2026 @ 6:06pm by Sergeant Jace Morven & Lieutenant JG Electra Drake

1,904 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Pilot - "The Gate"
Location: USS Guinevere
Timeline: Few days after the First Contact battle

Jace Morven wasn't quite frowning as he sat in the counsellor's office. But there was a tension in him today as he sat there, his hands resting on his thighs. The friendship bracelet poked just out from under his sleeve and when he spotted it he reached to push it back up. He realised after a moment that he had been silent. He didn't recall last time he had spoken, or what he had said, so he looked over at Drake, trying to judge how long it had been.

"What is it, Jace?" Electra finally asked, watching him intently as she tilted her head, tracing her pen back and forward against her pad. "There's something....there. Just under the surface."

He watched her for a moment before he tilted his head a little. "I don't remember what we were talking about," he said, because honesty was...well, it was just what he gave. Unless he couldn't, in which case he was silent.

Lex's eyes softened as she watched him, having seen him literally get lost in his thoughts. "That's alright. What came to mind instead?"

He looked down at his wrist again before he looked at her. "I was thinking about...what defines friends," he finally admitted, and it was with a reluctant look. "What it means. I know...how to be loyal, how to...stay. I see how people interact when they are friends."

"What do you see?" Lex asked, curious as to how he had interpreted and processed friendship.

His eyes fixed on a point just over her shoulder, lips parting for a moment as he considered it. And then he said it, almost as if giving an observational after action report. "Physical closeness. Inside jokes shared. Occasional nicknames. Time spent together. Ability to recognise behaviours and patterns to...best assist when the other person is in need."

Lex nodded along with a a small smile, because he'd nailed it, despite earlier protestations of being outside of relationships. "I think...friendship can be different for different people, but I think all of those are good examples of the bonds of friendship. Have you ever recognised that? Between you and other people?"

"Not...that way," Jace admitted as he tilted his head a little to the side. "I know there's people I'd...do things, extreme things, to protect. And I have spent time with others, to the point I could tell how they'd react, or move...or if there was something different."

"I don't know, that's two of the things on your list," Lex pointed out with a small smile. "Time spent together....and ability to recognise behaviours. And the protective feeling is something I would put on my list."

He gave a nod of acceptance, frowning as he pressed his hand a little firmer against his leg. "Then why does it not make sense to use that word? Friend?"

"You're the one not using it, there must be a reason why...why doesn't it feel right to you?" she asked softly, but knew she was pushing him a little harder than before. "Is it...a feeling? Sensation? Or maybe...a logical block, or just, it seeming so unfamiliar and alien?" she offered a way to get him started.

He let out a breath, tensing at the words as he considered it, thinking over it. "Logic block," he finally said. "You did not have friends on Turkana. You had...your faction. And you lived and died with them, but at any time they could hurt you. And if you were abandoned, or alone...you were dead."

Lex nodded gently to him, just silent for a moment, letting the words breathe. "Then...perhaps it is a matter of trust?"

He looked at her before he frowned. "Perhaps," he said and then tilted his head, clearly running it in his head. "Or maybe, it's...tribe. One you build yourself."

"You think that...if you get to build your own tribe, with people you choose, you could trust them?" she asked with a small smile at the way he had put it. "Trust is important in friendship. Both ways."

"It...worked in the war," he said as he looked down, frowning as he thought about it. "I trusted my squad. Martinez. Raimi. Terrow. Banik. Kerren. But most of them Martinez."

"Would you call any of them a friend?" she asked with interest, searching his features intently.

His eyes met hers, briefly, before he looked away. "I don't know. Word seems...hollow for what we went through. What they were. What they made me."

"Even for Martinez?" she asked lightly as she tilted her head, wanting to push him just a little more.

Jace looked down at his hands, considering it as he moved his hand, rubbing his knee for a moment. "For a time, they were...like a part of me."

"So...if you trusted them, and they felt like a part of you...what stops you calling them friend?" Lex led him a little, wanting him to try and fix on the block.

"Because they...weren't," he whispered and shook his head, slowly, trying to explain it. "They were... My translator. They were...someone who looked at me and saw more than just instinct."

"And...someone who cared?" she tried, carefully, seeing how the idea landed with him.

His eyes went to hers and for a moment there was something there, briefly, that looked more vulnerable than the usual icy stare he gave. He gave a nod, looking away. "Martinez cared. And they weren't afraid of me. Back then...I didn't have as much control as I do now. I wasn't..." he searched for a word, struggling, annoyance making his jaw tighten briefly. And then he exhaled, slowly. "Safe. I wasn't as safe."

"And yet...she still stayed close, and still cared," Lex said softly, watching him with a gentle, appreciative smile.

"They," he whispered, swallowing as he frowned. "Them. They. They told me their pronouns before they told me their name..." he glanced at here and there was, for a moment, a small smile at the memory. "Because it mattered that much."

"And you've remembered, because it matters that much," Lex smiled at that, a touch of warmth in it as she searched his features for a reaction.

"It's...what they were. Are," he looked at her with confusion for a moment. "It's just a fact, it's not about...remembering."

"No, but it's about what's important enough to remember," Lex pointed out, reaching for her glass thoughtfully. "What would change? If they were your friend."

He watched her move, eyes on the glass as he considered it. "They were more than...that to me," he said after a moment, and he was frowning. "They were...my tribe. My faction."

"Family?" she suggested, lightly, testing it out with him.

His lips parted as he tried the word in his mind. He wasn't sure. It did not sit comfortably. He rubbed his knee for a moment before nodding.

"It's alright," Lex added softly, seeing how he was trying to process it. "I'm...seeing how these different ideas feel to you. Just sit with them for a while, there's no rush to...assign labels."

His jaw tightened a little, because of her explanation. He knew there was...something in him that made this harder. Before, he ignored it, pushed it down. But he remembered her instruction. And this time, he could name it. "I don't like that I'm different," the words were quiet, almost soft. "That I don't...get it."

Lex held her breath for a moment at the words. It was the first time he'd shared something he didn't like with her. Usually everything just was what it was to him. "If you don't like it, we can change it," she assured softly. "These things are learnt and practiced when we're young. You had other concerns. But now...you have the space and safety for it."

He gave a nod, not meeting her eyes as he looked around. "What if I don't get it," he said, but it was more so he could get a battleplan together for himself.

"I think you will," she assured softly but honestly, holding the gaze. "You're a fast learner, you adapt well...you can learn this too. But..." she added, knowing he was looking for his plan B. "Worst comes to worse, and you don't get it...you've lost absolutely nothing."

He gave a nod at that, accepting it even if he didn't like the idea of failure. Reminded him too much of when he first had been exposed to the Federation. He pushed it aside. No need to waste energy worrying about something that had not happened yet. "How is Lucy?"

"She's better now, thank you," her smile warmed a little at the mention. "She's recovered from the boarding...although, she talks about it now and then. And about how you rescued her."

"She was brave. They all were," Jace glanced at her and then down, at the floor, thinking. Remembering it. "Should have gone there first. Commodore could have taken sickbay, I should have gone to the classroom first. Didn't consider it."

"You had your orders to follow," Lex said firmly to that, leaning forward to watch him intently. "Securing the rest of the ship meant securing all of us, them too."

He frowned, considering it before he looked at her. "Sometimes, orders can be wrong," he finally said. "The Federation is about protecting those who can't protect themselves. We should have gone to the classroom. Next time, I'll remember it."

Electra offered a small, half smile. She wouldn't argue with him over boarding tactics; it wasn't exactly her forte. "You got to them...they were safe...all's well that ends well."

Jace opened his mouth, then closed it. He was going to argue. Or more...say that if Lucy talked about it, maybe it wasn’t over for her. But he didn't know the girl like her mother did. And it...was unfamiliar ground for him.

"What is it?" Lex asked bluntly, tilting her as she watched him, wanting to encourage him to speak his mind.

He frowned, lips parting for a moment before he took a deeper breath. "You remember," he finally said, shaking his head. "The first time you...get in danger like that."

Lex nodded gently with agreement, setting her glass down carefully. "Yes. She'll remember, and she'll work her way through it. What was yours? That you remember?"

He tilted his head, clearly thinking back. There were memories of feeling unsafe, of things. But his brain tried to find one that could be parallelled to Lucy's experience. "It was night...a Faction crossed over into our territory, fired at anything and anyone who moved. I was small enough to hide in an old sewer pipe."

"Did someone find you there?" she asked quietly, her features calm and focussed, but watching her pad rather than him to offer some privacy.

"No," he shook his head, frowning as he remembered it. "No, I hid well. Two days later it was quiet. I crawled out of it. There was a man, he was dead on the ground. But he had water in a canteen...so I took it."

To Be Continued in Part 2

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

Lieutenant JG Electra 'Lex' Drake
Counsellor
USS Guinevere

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