In The Still Of The Night: Part 2/2

Posted on Sat Jul 11th, 2026 @ 7:28pm by Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Moriarty & Sergeant Jace Morven
Edited on on Wed Aug 5th, 2026 @ 5:21pm

1,821 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Pilot - "The Gate"
Location: Ground Forces Barracks
Timeline: The night of 'First Contact'

Continued...


Jace looked at him for a moment before he shook his head, slowly. "You can be infuriating. Sir," he said, before he sipped his tea.

Jesse's eyebrows lifted at the words, but his lips almost quirked into a smile too. He'd never heard him so expressive. "How?"

"You say you won't swap one life for another...but truth is, we signed up to be soldiers. Part of that is protecting those who can't protect themselves," Jace said bluntly as he looked at him. He knew Moriarty well enough by now to know he would not punish him in this setting for being forward. It had taken a while for him to...realise that about the other man, but they were alone. He could be honest. "Both things can't be true."

"And yet...that's what I have to figure out every mission," Jesse replied honestly, searching his eyes in the dim light. "My job is to protect them, but also look out for my troops. No life can be expendable, Jace. You and me, we saw how the world turns out when lives can just be expendable. There's a difference between the last option and the easier option."

Jace frowned as he considered it, looking down into his cup. "I don't always see the difference between those," he finally admitted.

"I trust your skills, Jace," Jesse watched him with a small, tired smile. "I trust for you to figure it out and find a way. If all else fails...well, I know you'll always put the people around you first, but until that point...until there are no other options...I trust you to make it work."

Jace gave a small nod, before he glanced down. Unsure for a moment if he should say it. So he hesitated, lips moving with trying the words out in his head before he finally said it. "It was easier when I went to a point where I didn't risk stunning them. I know...we had a stun order. But it was easier when I didn't follow it." He wasn't sure what it made him. He wasn't sure that even mattered.

"Oh, things went way beyond a no stun order," Jesse assured quickly, shaking his head with a frown. "And you knew that, that's why you did it."

"Couldn't risk not getting it away from the door," Jace admitted as he looked at him, holding his eyes. "Had to be sure it was down for good."

"I know," Jesse reached across, gripping his arm firmly as he watched him, so he could see he meant it.

Jace swallowed and looked at him, tense for a moment before he nodded. "I don't like disobeying orders. 'Specially not good ones."

"Sometimes you have to not follow good orders for good reasons," Jesse replied quietly but bluntly. "If you didn't have a good enough reason, then we'd have a problem."

"I always have a good reason. To me, anyway," Jace said and there was a small smile, for a second, that showed on his lips. "Not all officers agree."

"Well that's why we have to work with sergeants until we're confident that they know when it's time to cross that line," Jesse chuckled softly, shaking his head as he remembered an officer he'd trained with who had been pretty much terrified of sergeants.

"Maybe we'll find an agreement then," Jace said as he met his eyes, watching the chuckle. There might be a story there. He could...almost see it. But he didn't pry, his hand going to scratch his wrist, close to the crochet link of the friendship bracelet. "Alpha squad did well. No casualties. The...two new ones are settling in."

"Good work," Jesse nodded with a frown, wishing he could report the same from his side of events. "Give them some time to recover, then role them into an extra training session with Alpha only."

He nodded, taking in the order with the same face he usually received them...already filed into his memory as a task. His eyes went to Jesse for a moment before he frowned. "Ragen...the trooper who took the shot to the arm. He going to recover?"

"They think so," Jesse replied, but the tone made it clear he wouldn't count on it until he saw him up and about again. "Problem is, those weapons mess with more than just tissue and bone. Nerve damage...neuro disruption...internal radiation burns...paralysis..."

"Medical discharge," Jace said quietly before he sat back, frowning. "Back in the war, did you...ever encounter those weapons that...almost made your veins black? Never knew what they were, seemed...random. Modified Dominion rifles, or some sort of dirty beam...not like meson, it would singe your armour...knock a hole through it...but if you got hit and those veins showed black?" he met his eyes before he shook his head. "You knew they weren't coming back."

Jesse looked down into his cup, nodding as his mouth went dry with the memory. "There was no coming back from that," his voice was hushed. "You just had to keep going, they were already gone."

Jace nodded at that, watching him for a long moment. And then he looked down, frowning. "This reminds me of that."

"We should liaise with Dr. Vale, update our field medkits to give us the best chance possible," Jesse replied quietly, eager not to linger on the memory.

"Send R'mes and Kade to her," Jace said as he briefly met his eyes, giving a nod. The two medics would do well to get some...more hands on experience anyway. He looked away, taking in the darkness and silence of the room, his bare feet against the cold deck. "If you listen, you can just hear the warp core."

Jesse tilted his head with surprise, not having noticed. He fell silent, just listening, feeling the slow rhythm of his own chest rising and falling. "Just..." he said softly.

Jace nodded, his own breathing silent as he looked at him, studying how his breathing had slowed. "Elen says as long as we hear that, we know the ship is alive. As long as the ship is alive, we're alive. A constant."

"The heart of the ship," Jesse understood. It wasn't something he stopped to listen to often though. He'd tuned it out over the years.

Jace nodded, at Jesse's hands rather than anything else. "Before Guinevere, I was based on solid ground. Ships were...transports to a dropzone. So I always noticed it. Here...I do, but it's different. More...reassuring than disturbing."

"I've been on and off ships for years," Jesse admitted, his hand feeling over the table for a long moment. "Equal parts technical triumph and death trap," he chuckled softly.

"Do you...miss planets?" Jace asked awkwardly, looking into his drink. "A skyline, a...breathable atmosphere?"

"Sometimes," Jesse admitted softly, looking to him with a weak, half smile. "That moment when the rain finally breaks the heat of summer. Or watching the ocean. The smell on a warm breeze. Exploring caves or buildings."

Jace gave a nod, thinking about it. Trying to figure out what he saw as...something to miss. "I grew up in caves and tunnels," he finally said and then raised an eyebrow a little. "If it wasn't for all the bad stuff, you'd have liked it."

Jesse chuckled softly at the words, meeting his eyes at the claim. "We should go somewhere sometime. During shoreleave. Head down planetside. I used to take Martinez to all these abandoned places to explore. Don't think they were thrilled, but it was nice."

Jace held his eyes for a moment before he nodded. Accepting it. "They always said they'd take me to Mars," he finally said, quietly. "But then we disbanded and we all went our separate ways."

"Let's meet up with them," Jesse replied firmly, meaning it as he set his cup down. "Life's too short to let it drift."

Jace frowned as he looked down, thinking about it. He swallowed, taking a slow breath at the spike he felt at the concept. "Maybe," he finally said, still feeling...unsure about seeing Martinez again. Because of the memories.

"I'm nervous too," Jesse offered quietly, leaning to him with a weak smile. "It's been too long. But if you let it drift longer, it never happens."

"I've never...re-met anyone," Jace said as he met his eyes, holding them for a long moment...as long as he could stand before he had to look away, feeling cold with it.

"Some people are worth it," Jesse shrugged with a small smile as he looked into his cup, to give him a break. "Guess you have to figure out if they are or not."

Jace considered it for a moment, frowning. Because he had never realised that was an option. Those who had touched his life...when he moved on, he...never knew what to do. They faded from his life. Or he from theirs.

"Think about it," Jesse shrugged lightly. He had enough to process for the moment. He'd mentioned it as something they could look ahead to, not to confuse him. "For now, we just need to worry about what to do when those bastards come back."

Jace blinked at the words, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind before he looked at him. "I'll up the training," he finally said. "Make it reflect them."

"We'll get the surveillance in, break down their tactics," he agreed with a firm nod, frowning as he sipped his tea carefully. "They should never have gotten as far in as they did."

Jace let out a breath, tipping his head back a little. He still felt tense. Felt it in his bones. He glanced over at him. "Find out a pattern in their movements. If they prefer hunting alone or in a pack."

"Exactly," Jesse nodded as he watched him. It would give them all something to focus on in the aftermath. Something constructive. He knew that a man like Jace would respond better to that than being told to rest up.

Jace nodded and met his eyes, considering something. Something he remembered that Jesse had told him once, about what he...needed. "We could go to the gym and spar," he said, meaning it.

"You must be shattered," Jesse shook his head with a frown, watching him with concern.

"I'm good," Jace finished the tea and stood, reaching out for Jesse's mug and taking it to the recycler. "Can't sleep, still feel it in me. Sparring will get it out. Same as you."

"So long as you're sure," but Jesse was already pushing himself up, rolling his shoulder ready to move. Sparring would help cut that tension inside of him.

-----

Lt. Colonel Jesse Moriarty
CO Federation Ground Forces
USS Guinevere

Sergeant Jace Morven
Federation Ground Forces
USS Guinevere

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