Re-adjustments Of the Quiet Part 2

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

1,945 words; about a 10 minute read

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

Continued from part 1

"So you learnt that the only person you could truly rely on was yourself," Lex said softly, showing the same calm as she watched him. But the story made her ache for his hurt.

"Factions protected. Usefulness," he said and looked at her for a moment before he looked out, to the stars. "Usefulness protected you more. No one throws away a useful tool. So I made myself...useful. I learned to repair things...make things work."

"Do...you think that perhaps you might struggle with friendship because you don't trust something that's not so....outwardly transactional?" she asked, a genuine question rather than a statement disguised as one.

"Yes," he said, his voice flat. Not dismissive, not warm...but factual. "I know that the Federation...doesn't operate like that. Except it does." He looked at her, holding her eyes. "While I am useful and do as I am told, I have a place. If I don't...there is consequences. And one of them is the dismissal from Starfleet."

"That would be...quite far down the line of options, you know that, yes?" she checked, not wanting him to feel like that was a sword hanging over his head.

He looked at her, held her eyes at that. "Depends entirely on just how...far one goes," he said, bluntly. "Don't worry...I might not understand the rules, but I can still follow them."

"I know," she assured calmly, shaking her head as she shifted on the sofa. "Friendships...relationships...they are....still transactional, in a way. It's just different. Less obvious to many people. But all relationships involve...give and take."

He nodded, looking down for a moment before he glanced at her. "Like this?" he asked, quietly. "Our sessions are...transactional, in a way. I go to them to stay operational...you ask me questions, I answer...you see progression..." he spoke slowly, clearly thinking it through with each word.

"For now, yes. Although, I hope one day you will come because you feel the benefit for yourself," Lex admitted lightly with a small, half smile. "You turned up to help Lucy when she needed it most. Now, she knows she can trust you."

"Lucy's..." he stopped, because something in him made him stop as he looked at her. Reminding himself she was her mother. "She doesn't expect anything more than I have."

"And...what would it cost you to trust a couple of adults not to expect anything more than you have?" Electra asked, wanting to take him to the next step.

He considered it, tilting his head a little to the side as he considered it. It would cost. He knew that and he swallowed, his throat dry with it. "I won't know until...it's done."

"So...the question is....is what you would gain worth taking that risk?" she asked softly, smiling gently with warmth.

"What would I gain?" he asked her, watching her...the smile, the way she sat. His eyes went to her hair, the way it always did. "I...don't know what I would gain from it." He didn't sound bitter...more confused, as if he was trying to pinpoint exactly what it was.

"Friendship...relationships," Lex paused, considering what he had said earlier. "And maybe...you won't feel as different anymore. Maybe you'll 'get it'."

He thought about it, sitting still, a slow breath finally escaping him. "Maybe I will," he said, meeting her eyes. "And if I don't, I've tried." And Jace knew Vel would have appreciated it, him trying. Even him pretending. He looked down as he thought of Vel, lips parting. "Some people don't go away anyway."

Lex smiled softly at the way he said it, the distant look on his features. "Has anyone in particular come to mind when you say that?"

"Some. Sergeant Vel," he said and glanced at her. Something inside of him twisted and he shifted. "He tried to teach me how to...be better." He looked down, at his hands. He let out a breath and shifted, leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees. "To become a Sergeant."

"And he...hasn't gone away?" she asked lightly, trying to understand the phrase he'd used.

"He died," Jace said, the words falling out awkwardly and he grimaced. "The...lessons haven't gone away. So maybe he hasn't...either?"

"It...depends if you want him to," she asked quietly, shaking her head with a slight frown, noting the man's name down on the pad.

He looked at her, with...not surprise. But he was used to counsellors knowing it from his file. She...clearly didn't. Which meant she hadn't read those bits. He weighed the information in his head. "Sergeant Vel took me under his wing. After the war, I...drifted. Too many edges for the 'Fleet to like. Stayed a Corporal. Just...the years sort of drifted. Vel saw something in me, wanted to shape me into a Sergeant. He...made me make decisions. He gave me a team to command." He looked down, at his hands. "We were sent to Dovar IX...a diplomat and his team were held hostage. We were split into three teams...I was backup, Vel went in. It was an ambush. We lost contact." He sat back, his body oddly relaxed as he spoke. He was looking at her, but not really seeing her. "I couldn't risk my team so I went in, through the entry point we had disregarded as unsafe. I took out the hostiles. I rescued the diplomat, the rest of his team had been killed. I carried him out, then went back for Vel." He looked at her and for the first time, there was a small smile on his lips. But it sat like a grimace. "He was still warm when I got to him. And...after that, I was sent to Echo. And the counselling sessions started, the...oversight."

Lex remained silent for a moment, just absorbing what he had said...and, more importantly, how he said it. "I would think that a man like that would stay with you," she nodded thoughtfully. "How did you feel about the counselling?"

"I...recognised patterns. What my counsellor...reacted to, what he did not. I learned the balance," he admitted, taking a deeper breath at offering something like that. The truth that he had figured out what to say to be...accepted.

"Did it help at all?" she asked quietly, leaning forward to him. "Considering what you had just been through?"

"It helped knowing what he expected from me. And it helped focusing on it," he said and glanced to the stars, briefly. "It created distance, until I figured out how to...take Vel's lessons, and use them without him at my shoulder."

"It sounds like you're doing well with that, from what I see of your work record," she assured with a small smile.

"I try," he said as he looked at her, frowning as he studied her face. "It...helps, having a good officer in charge..." the words were quiet but he meant it.

"I'm sure there are many Troopers here who feel the same for having a good Sergeant in charge," she said softly, but honestly, meaning it as she met his eyes.

"I'm...not good at talking to them," he said as he watched her, meeting her eyes briefly before he had to look away from them. "But I know their limits. Won't hurt them."

"And that's what they need...and what they'll feel from you," she assured with a firm nod. It wasn't placating or soothing, just the facts as she saw them.

He nodded before he took a deeper breath. His mouth was dry. "Can I get some water, Drake?" he asked. It was the first time he had asked for anything in a session.

"Of course...." Lex smiled gently at the request, pushing herself up to move to the replicator. "How do you like it?"

"Just...water," he said as he looked at her, but he knew what she meant. About temperature. But he didn't know what he preferred, except...well. Water. Clean, unpoisoned.

Lex nodded lightly, getting him a chilled glass of still water, unlike her own sparkling with lime slice. She set it down for him, retaking her seat with an almost playful smile. "Do you drink anything else?" she asked with curiosity.

He reached for it, hesitating at how cold the glass was before he took it. He drank it down, steadily, not rushed but he drained the glass before he put it down. "Mint tea," he finally said, before he tilted his head. "Sometimes, Rook makes me drinks."

"Oo...dangerous..." Lex teased as she sat back, laughing softly as she shook her head. "Are you still enjoying the bar?"

He considered it, taking a slow breath before he looked down. "It's...noisy. There is an optimal time to go, when it is quieter. Talking to Rook is...different. I like that the rules are clear."

"I...think it shows that you're capable of 'getting it'," she pointed out with a half smile, but an honest one. "I doubt you could have imagined yourself doing that a few years ago."

"You're right," he said as he looked at her, before he shook his head. "I would not have done that a few years ago."

"So you're already learning," she added, motioning towards him, as if to say he was half way there. "You're already starting to understand."

Jace nodded and let out a soft breath, frowning as he considered it. He did not dislike it, adaption was part of survival. He just...there was nowhere it sat comfortably. Knowing he was getting closer to people. So it just had to be. It was, there was no point in worrying about it. "Can I see Lucy?" he suddenly asked. "Not...today. But soon."

"Of course," she blinked with surprise before shaking her head quickly. "You don't have to ask that, you know. She'd like it. And that...means a lot to me."

"I do have to," he said and glanced at her, but there was a seriousness there. "She's your kid. And...it's important, that you know who sees her. And...this is different than when we meet randomly, or she seeks me out. This is...me going to her."

"I've already decided she's safe with you, Jace," Lex assured with a small, half smile. "I think you going to rescue her in the middle of a battle just sealed the deal."

He held her eyes at that, searching her eyes even if it made him...feel unsettled to do so. But he finally nodded and looked down. "Okay," he said, accepting it.

She smiled softly, nodding with approval to his accepting it. "Come tomorrow. You'll have more time. She has to finish a 'this is me' collage tonight."

He nodded and stood, because he knew that their time was up. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, already turning for the door.

Lex smothered a smile at the way he moved into 'leave' mode, standing to join him at the door. "If you make it for 6, you can join us for dinner."

Jace stopped and looked at her, the surprise there. Dinner was social. It was...different. But he gave a nod, before he could think of reasons not to do it. "6. Goodbye, Drake," he said and left.

Lex arched an eyebrow, the smile finally allowed to pull at her lips at his abrupt exit. "Goodbye..."

---

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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