Neutral Ground: Part 2/2

Posted on Wed Mar 18th, 2026 @ 3:52pm by Lieutenant JG Electra Drake & Sergeant Jace Morven
Edited on on Wed Mar 18th, 2026 @ 3:55pm

2,200 words; about a 11 minute read

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

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CONTINUED

"What do you enjoy about this ship?" Electra changed the subject, giving him a bit of space from the heavier subject they'd been circling.

The change made Jace pause, still tense, an emotion rising in his chest he wasn't sure about from what they had talked of. He shifted and blinked, slowly. Pushed the feeling away and his shoulders relaxed a fraction. "The gym's quiet," he said, meaning it. "And there are...spaces. Where you can be alone."

Lex tilted her head thoughtfully as she watched him. What do you enjoy about the ship...'the gym is quiet'. Not that he enjoyed the gym...it was 'the gym is quiet'. "Do you prefer it to training with your colleagues?"

"It's different," he said as he looked at her. His breathing was calm, slow...baseline, for him. Barely noticeable. He felt his heart, slow beats...settled in his skin. "Training as a squad, or to improve combat skills...it is different. The gym is just me and the bag." And sometimes others. Elen, dropping by. Or Cressida to train with him, but that fell a little bit in the first category. Regardless, he mentioned neither.

"And what is going on in your mind during those times?" Electra asked softly as she set her glass down. "When it's just you and the bag."

"Nothing," Jace said, voice low, eyes on the glass...at the soft sound it made when it was placed on the table, at the slice of fruit in it. It wasn't quite true, that there was nothing going through his mind when he stepped up to the bag, but it wasn't a lie either. Nothing specific went through his mind in a way he'd register, or recall, or name. He had lost time, occasionally. Sometimes, memories he couldn't shake. But there was nothing specific, nothing he called forth and kept. Nothing consistent. "I just move and the bag absorbs. It's...physical."

"Is that, perhaps, why you like it?" she asked, tapping the end of her pen against the notebook for a moment. "A physical activity that grounds you to the moment, and keeps you there?"

Jace's eyes were drawn to the movement and sound, his eyes settling on the pen. "Bag doesn't ask for anything. I don't have to talk to anyone. No one expects anything."

Electra nodded with understanding, scrawling a note for a moment. It was as she'd suspected, and frankly, a fairly healthy way to decompress. "Is there anything you ever do want to talk about?"

He glanced at her face, a muscle in his jaw tightening. He didn't shift, didn't fidget. Didn't even think. "No," he said, his voice flat with it. And once he had said it, there was a moment where he wondered if there was something he ever wanted to talk about. He couldn't...find anything. He drew a blank.

"If that ever changes, you can talk about it here," she assured him firmly, wanting him to know that nothing was off limits. "Whatever it is, no matter how big or small it might seem, you can talk about it here, and I will gladly listen."

His eyes went to her, to her face. And then to the book. "Why?" he suddenly asked. He had almost asked Connie in the past. Almost, until they had reached the point where he knew, or could guess, what she would say. But Electra Drake was a new face. A new person. And for once he wondered...why would counsellors listen. And why should he talk about it with them.

"Because I want to," Lex replied honestly, looking him dead in the eye, showing the truth of it in her own. "I want to hear what you have to say. I want to know more about you, what you think and feel. And I would like to eventually make that easier for you too."

He broke eye contact, tensing at the words, at how exposed they made him feel. He didn't see a lie, or look for one. Instead he took a slow breath, his hand shifting a little. He pushed the feeling down, the creeping sensation in the pit of his stomach. He stayed silent for a long moment before he gave a quick nod. Not...agreeing, or volunteering. But he had heard what she had said.

"What are you feeling right now, Jace?" she asked softly, gently, her voice almost soothing, but wanting him to stay with it for just a moment.

He frowned, sitting there for a moment, trying to find the words for it. He couldn't. Nothing was offered up, no words that explained it, that he could point at. "I don't know," he said, which was closer to the truth than the automatic answer which would have been...nothing. His lips pressed firmly together. It wasn't frustration. Not really. Just knowing that he couldn't name it.

"That's okay," Lex assured softly but firmly, nodding a gentle encouragement to him. "Then just describe the sensations."

He looked at her for a moment, lips parting. And then he shook his head. Whatever it was, he couldn't grasp it enough to say what it felt like. "It's nothing. It's gone." Both statements were true in their own way.

"Of its own volition or did you push it away?" she asked softly, a genuine question, to understand how it worked for him.

He looked at her with slight confusion for a moment, not understanding. He understood the words, just not what she meant. "It just goes," he said, after a moment. It was instinct to him, not always a conscious thing.

"Okay," she accepted the response, nodding gently as she thought of the best way to manoeuvre around that. Knowing how he was feeling, or not, was pretty key for her. But during her time working with offenders, she'd learnt that there was always someway to make it work. "Next time you get a reaction like that, I'd like you to describe it to me, before it goes. It's okay if you don't know the emotion, just describe the sensation...butterflies in the stomach...tightness in the chest...numb fingers...faster breath, that kind of thing. Do you think you can try that?"

He looked at her, at the instruction. Somehow, it made it easier. Especially if it was physical. He gave a small nod, looking ahead. "Yes, Counsellor."

"Great," she offered him a smile, even if he had yet to show his. It was fine, she could work with stoicism. And she'd seen enough to know that there were feelings in there, he was just working really hard to keep them compartmentalised. Often without even realising it, she suspected. "What do you do to unwind, Jace? Do you have any hobbies or interests?"

He blinked, the pivot making him shift. He wasn't sure what constituted that, but he knew what activities he did that Montoya had classified as hobbies. "Engraving. Repairing...broken tech..." he looked down for a moment, thinking. What had Counsellor Montoya reacted best to? "I repair clockwork at times, in the holodeck."

Lex's features remained gentle and neutral, but the reply was fascinating. He enjoyed fixing things. Of course he did. Putting something back together with his hands, making it right again. It wasn't irony...it was a subconscious doing its best to break through to the surface. "Sounds pretty therapeutic actually, I might give it a try," she chuckled softly. "Is there anything you can do in the barracks?"

"The tech, yes," he said, giving a small nod. He could do that on his bunk, without anyone noticing or caring. The rest..."I have weekly holodeck time. Sometimes, I do it there. Or there is the holodeck programme the counsellor at Echo told me to do. But I've been using it less in the last year."

"What is it?" Lex asked with curiosity, not remembering seeing any mention of it in his notes.

"Woods," he said, looking at her for a moment. "Misty, not cold. No fire. A clearing with a fallen log. Minimal birdsong. Always the same, always...consistent. I didn't make it."

"Do you like it?" she asked lightly. It wasn't something she'd have recommended for him. He was isolated enough. But there may have been a good reason for it.

He looked at her before his lips parted as he rolled the question in his head. "It's predictable," he finally said, and there was a twitch, just under his eye. "Until it wasn't. I didn't keep track of time and someone walked in."

"Ah..." Lex nodded with understanding. The safe space had been breeched. The illusion broken. "I would like you to make sure you're doing something calming after every session, for at least twenty minutes. It can just be in the barracks, you don't have to go out for it. But it's important."

He looked at her, with confusion at the words. "Calming?" he asked, because it was...too open. What was calming? He was calm now, what...else was there? And he found he needed instruction for it.

"One of your hobbies," she explained with a slight nod. She realised she was going to have to be specific in her language...but...there was a part of her that wanted to try and draw him away from the reassurance of full explanation. Get him more comfortable with the risk of filling some gaps himself. But there was time.

He nodded at that. Taking it in as instruction, eyes focusing ahead. "Yes ma'am," he said, his voice...neutral at it. Locking away the order. Twenty minutes after each session. It was doable, if the sessions were timed right. He would need to make sure he freed up time.

"Electra," she added, a touch of firmness to her voice about it because she knew he'd likely squirm at that. She had never been a Ma'am, and never intended to be. "But if you don't like that, Drake or Counsellor is fine too."

He heard her tone, unable to understand why. But he accepted the words for what they were. "Drake," he finally said. Because he liked how it sounded. He paused for a moment. A choice. He had a choice...and while he felt he was reaching some sort of wall, he was not there yet. "Your name sounds strong. Precise. Like phaser fire."

A note of surprise managed to reach her features, an unusual thing for the counsellor. She was usually known for keeping calm, poised expressions that gave little to nothing away. What he said, it was more descriptive than anything else he had spoken about. It showed care and attention. "Phaser fire? Hm...I like that," she smiled with a soft chuckle. "Electra is a character from Greek Mythology. Have you ever explored any of it in the holodeck? There's some really quite bracing stories..."

"No," he said and looked at her, meeting her eyes for a brief moment before his eyes went past her, to the side. "I don't know mythology."

Lex had noted it though, his eyes meeting hers. She took it as a step closer, and didn't want to push much more for one day. "Maybe consider it, if looking for some holodeck stories to try out one day. There are some pretty epic stories to explore. Just a suggestion though," she made that clear, not wanting him to think it was an order. "Do you have any questions for me, Jace?"

He considered it for a moment before he nodded. "When is the next session?" He could then fix it in memory, rather than ask the computer. It made it easier...if he had to ask the computer in a few days time, he might forget. And he wouldn't notice a message that didn't come from Command.

"We can do the same time next week, if that suits?" Lex caught hold of her PADD to make a note of it. "And...so long as you're happy to continue with me," she added, meaning it. She wouldn't object if he preferred to go back to Connie.

He took a moment, not to think as much as make calculations. For now he saw differences, but didn't have enough data to make a call on the threat level. "Next week, same time," he said, standing easily.

Lex nodded, rising with him, wrapping her arms around her middle to hold her notebook close rather than offering a hand. "It was good to meet you, Jace. I look forward to speaking again."

He looked at her face, briefly, not meeting her eyes. He knew he should reply something to that. The words just...didn't come to him, the pattern broken. He gave a nod of acknowledgment instead. "Drake," he said, before he turned and left.

Electra watched the doors close, holding her breath for just a moment. He really was quite something. She absently touched her dark red hair, having noticed him looking at it on more than one occasion. Just one of many notes to set to work on.

---

Sergeant Jace Morven
Platoon Sergeant
Federation Ground Forces
USS Guinevere

Lieutenant JG Electra 'Lex' Drake
Counsellor
USS Guinevere

 

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