Unspoken Rules: Part 1/2

Posted on Thu Apr 2nd, 2026 @ 2:59pm by Lieutenant JG Electra Drake & Sergeant Jace Morven

1,864 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: Counsellor's Office
Timeline: Early 2389

Jace Morven was right on time for his next counselling session. A week later, same time. He had remembered it. He had also made sure that there was time, afterwards, for him to do something. He remembered Drake's instructions. He shifted a little where he stood, not fidgeting as much as calibrating his body. A week had been a long time. Sometimes, for him, time was...abstract. He breathed and lived until the next mission. But in the space of the week he had already seen Drake when he had brought Lucy to her quarters. Another interaction he had not anticipated. He wondered, briefly, if it would have consequences. And then dismissed it. If it did, it did. He could do nothing with it. He rang the chime, waiting until he heard her voice before entering. "Counsellor Drake."

Lex smiled lightly as he came in, moving to the replicator to get sparkling water. She had opted not to wear the uniform again, her wide-legged trousers navy and coupled with a cream blouse. She still felt that it was the better option with Jace. "Can I get you anything?"

He watched her move before he shook his head, remaining standing as he watched her. He remained silent, watching her get the sparkling water, observing it was the same she had last time. So her usual drink then, at least in this session. His eyes went around the room, taking in the details, before he looked for her notebook and pen.

Lex noted the way he looked...or searched. She chuckled softly as she made her way to the chair, setting her glass down. "What is it?" she asked bluntly.

"Your pen," he said and looked at her, not moving from where he was standing. "I was trying to see where it was." His eyes went to the seating but he didn't move yet. Not been invited to and he knew there was...a line with that.

"You like it?" she chuckled gently as she pulled open a drawer in the low coffee table, taking the pad and pen out. She offered the pen to him to look at if it pleased him.

He didn't take it at first, but his eyes watched it for a long moment. "I've not seen one for real before," he admitted and glanced at her. "I've seen holograms of them." He took it and held it, studying it as he turned it over, feeling the weight.

"It's a fountain pen, I have to refill the ink," she admitted with a soft chuckle, motioning for him to sit with her. "Wonderfully impractical."

He moved to sit down, holding the pen before he offered it back to her. "Tip's sharp," he observed, not meeting her eyes.

She took it, watching him for a moment at the comment. "Does that bother you?" she asked softly, taking the lid off and resting the notebook on her knee.

His eyes stayed on it for a moment before he glanced at her face. A small shake of his head as he shifted, hand on his leg...the same posture as last time. Alert, but not too tense. "It reminds me of a knife is all."

"Would you rather I didn't use it?" she asked, a genuine question. She'd put it away if it bothered him.

His eyes met hers for a moment before he gave a short shake of his head. "It is not a threat," he said, meaning it. The space between them...even if she was fast, he'd have time to react.

"It certainly wouldn't be in my hand," she replied, and the wording might have been a light joke, but her meaning was sincere.

There was a slight pull at the corner of his lips at that before he nodded, becoming silent for a moment. His hand stroked over his knee for a brief second, fingers moving, before he stilled. Waiting, not looking at her.

Lex watched him for a moment. She was pretty convinced that if she didn't speak first, he would sit silently for the entire session without problem. "How have you been, Jace?"

"Fine," the word came without any weight behind it and he looked at her...not into her eyes, but at her face before his eyes went to whatever was behind her. "Squad has been performing well in training."

"And you? Have you been performing well?" she asked lightly, easing him into it by leaning into his language.

The question made something pull inside of him. He frowned, a little, considering it...no, weighing up what he knew, the mental reports he had done. "I am teaching them what they need, so yes."

"And how about outside of work, how are you doing there?" she asked, creeping a little closer to where she wanted to take him.

He looked at her, a slight pull between his eyebrows with confusion at the question. "I am fine," he said, but it almost sounded like a question. He didn't know what she meant. Or what he was meant to say.

"How have you been feeling, outside of work?" she pushed a little more, wanting him to think rather than just react.

He tilted his head a little, the words not...sitting right with him. He had felt...what had he felt? His lips parted and he realised he didn't have any real words. "It got loud at one point," he finally said. He was aware of the balance...even when he had nothing to offer, he needed to offer something.

"Tell me what happened?" she asked with a small smile of encouragement, settling back in her chair.

"The troopers were...bored. They started playing games," he said, looking at her before he looked over to the window, watching the stars. "I left."

"Why did you leave rather than play?" she asked, her tone open and curious, not at all suggesting whether he should have done one or the other.

Jace's eyes remained fixed on the view, his shoulders relaxed but there was a tenseness to his jaw as he sat there. "It was loud," he said, his voice quiet. He had...observed games before. Card games, that sort. He did not understand the point of them. So he never joined in.

"And why is that uncomfortable for you?" she asked quietly, knowing she'd have to lead him down each layer.

His eyes went to her and he watched her, not her eyes but her face. He wasn't sure. "It just is," he said, the way that water was wet...and you couldn't breathe in cold vacuum.

"What do you feel, when it's too loud...not just emotionally, but...in your body?" she pushed a little, getting the feeling that he was replying on automatic pilot.

He shifted, briefly, a simple movement of his weight. Barely noticeable, but she was watching him closely and he knew it. "Tense. As if there is a fight about to happen."

Lex nodded as she thought carefully on the words, what he was saying...what he wasn't saying. "Is that....a sense of noise can mean a literal fight or conflict? Or...a more personal or inner fight?" she knew she was pushing him more than last time, but she had a feeling he needed it, or he'd sit comfortably in indifference.

He glanced away, the pull between his eyebrows deepening into a frown. He tried to think back, but it was just fog between his fingertips. He couldn't tell the difference. "It just is," he finally said, with a small shake of his head. He didn't know what else to say.

"Next time it happens, I want you to focus on that sensation, and try and think about which one it is, or at least, note the other sensations that come with it, okay?" she asked softly, making a note on the paper to remind herself.

He watched her write, considering and weighing the words. "Why?" he suddenly asked, with a slight look of confusion. "Does it matter, when I remove myself from the situation?" The words were awkward, clearly him trying to...put something he had heard into the sentence.

Lex looked to him with a small smile. It was the most emotion he had shown since arriving. "What if you could learn to choose?" she asked lightly. "What if you didn't always have to retreat, or what if there was a time when you couldn't, and you needed a strategy? By understanding the cause, we can give you options."

He watched her for a long moment at the words, considering it. What would it be like if he could...choose to stay? Would he have to participate? He thought about it, his jaw tensing with it, already running it in his head.

"What are you thinking, Jace?" she asked quietly, wanting to encourage him to say the things he had been internalising.

"I don't see the point," he finally said and there was a moment that he looked younger, just around the eyes. "In staying when it's noisy."

"Maybe it's more about giving you options?" she suggested lightly, wanting to answer honestly, but not discouragingly. "Right now, you're leaving. But...what about staying and watching, or staying and just getting on with your own business...or even staying and joining in the game. It never hurts to have some extra weapons in the arsenal."

He considered it for a moment, watching her, taking a slow breath before he gave a nod. Of acceptance that it didn't hurt, even if he still looked doubtful. But...there was a time he had been able to stay in a room while others did things that were noisy. He had...forgotten how once the tight group of people had disbanded. "I don't play games," he said, flatly. A statement of fact...maybe even a bit of a warning.

"Why?" she asked softly as she reached for her drink, almost as if to give him time.

He glanced at her before he considered it for a moment. "I don't know the rules. And a lot of games lie," he said, his voice softening just a little, the classic Federation Standard not as crisp as usual when he spoke it. It was subtle, but there. "Card games lie, people cheat, have tells. Can spot something is wrong, can't say what."

"Some people enjoy those bits of a game," Lex commented lightly before sipping her water, thinking on it. "They enjoy the challenge of figuring out when someone is bluffing...the exhilaration of taking a chance...others enjoy the mechanics of it, learning to master the rules and get better...and then some people just enjoy taking part to be with other people, and don't really care either way about winning or losing."

He took in what she was saying, taking a deeper breath. And then gave a small nod of acceptance that...people enjoyed it for different reasons. He frowned, his hands briefly pressing down on his legs, back straight.

To Be Continued...

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

Lieutenant JG Electra 'Lex' Drake
Counsellor
USS Guinevere

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