A Tactical Retreat: Part 2/2

Posted on Sun Mar 29th, 2026 @ 6:31pm by Lieutenant JG Electra Drake & Sergeant Jace Morven

1,736 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: Deck 14, USS Guinevere

Continued from part 1:

"Is this your house?" Lucy asked with curiosity, tilting her head as she looked him over...his hair, his clothes, his hands.

Jace looked at the bench and then shook his head, slowly. "No," he said, frowning. He knew what houses were, he just...didn't have one. His blue eyes went to her for a moment. "I come here when it gets..." he wasn't sure what word to use. "A lot. When people get a lot."

"Oh!" her blue eyes widened with surprise and she bit thoughtfully on her lip. He was like her. She'd found the best place to come then. "Needs a swing..."

"Would entice more people to come," he said and looked at her, tilting his head a little. Elen would love that. A swing. He looked down at the discs of metal and started to tidy up. "You steady now? Less...loud?"

"Yeah, this helps," Lucy lifted the metal, studying the patterns her thumb had been rubbing and worrying at. "You make them so you can feel them?"

"Maybe," he said as he glanced at her, nodding. "Or...make something that is stuck in my head. When they're done, I...usually get rid of them. But...you seem to like it."

"You can't get rid of them!" she watched him with horror, shaking her head firmly from side to side. "I'll have 'em!"

He looked at her with slight confusion at that, at just how...she was looking at him. He wasn't sure what to say, if it was best to agree or not. A slight frown came to him. He usually polished them clear, so that he could do it again...wasting as little as possible. But she wanted them. And...he could always get more, he supposed. "If...your mother...is okay with it," he finally said. Because that, somehow, seemed to matter.

"Okay," Lucy nodded obediently, but with a soft sigh. Her Mummy made the rules, she knew that...even the ones that seemed tricky.

He gave a small nod at that, a twitch at the corner of his mouth at the sigh. "You...should contact her," he finally said, frowning.

Lucy made a soft noise at that, something between a grizzle and groan as a frown settled on her face and her jaw set stubbornly.

The noise made him tense, looking at her with confusion unmasked. But the frown told the story and his shoulders eased a little. He nodded, shifting slightly where he sat. "Hungry?" he finally asked. He had no other words to say, nothing else to...offer up.

Lucy nodded quickly at that, relaxing again as her feet resumed swinging and she looked to him with hopeful eyes. "I like cake."

"I got..." he reached into the pocket of his combats, frowning as he pulled out the ration bar. Chocnut. He turned it over in his hand before he looked at her. "They say it's the nicest one." He held it out for her to take.

Lucy hesitated before taking it. She carefully rolled it over in her hands, much like he had, studying it with narrowed eyes. "Is there green beans in it?"

Even Jace wrinkled his nose at the idea, and he was someone who ate whatever was put in front of him. "No. I...think it is some protein, with...nuts and chocolate flavour. This..." he searched for a word. There was none that really fit, so he used one that was unfamiliar to him that he knew others used about people. "...friend of mine, they said it was the best flavour."

"Chocolate?" Now that caught the girl's interest. She opened it before studying it carefully, even giving it a delicate sniff. She finally nibbled the corner, trying it cautiously. She took her time, considering the taste and texture as she titled her her thoughtfully. "Okay," she finally declared.

He gave a nod in reply, watching her for a moment. Small humanoid child. But she seemed...healthy. His eyes scanned the corridor again, a slight frown coming to him. "When you're ready...I can walk you to your...quarters."

"Hm....fine..." she set herself on her feet, offering the rest of the bar back to him, watching him with curiosity, as it was the first time she'd fully looked at his face.

He took the bar, eyes lowered before he looked at her, in the same manner she was looking at him. His eyes went briefly to her hair before back to her face. "Lucy," he said, not...to ask a question. More in naming her properly, locking it into his mind as a memory. He put the ration bar back and stood, putting the little case into his pocket, same with the bits of metal...although one he slid under the seat to leave there. For her to know it was there. And she still had the one he had put on a string for her.

Lucy watched, a small smile on her lips at seeing it hidden there, enjoying the secret. Without prompting, she reached to take a hold of his hand as she waited for him to lead her with trust. "Jace."

He looked at her hand in his, confused before he gave it a little squeeze. Experimental. Unsure. But he nodded and led her to the turbolift. "Computer, Counsellor Drake's quarters. Where is it?"

"Counsellor Electra Drake's quarters are on deck ten."

He gave a nod and led Lucy into the turbolift, getting them to deck ten. He was silent, but now and then he'd look down at her. He didn't understand. But he still led her to her quarters, reaching to ring the chime.

Electra opened the door, clad in a casual shirt and trousers rather than her uniform. She looked between them with confusion and then concern at Lucy not being in school. "Is everything okay?" she asked, a note of both worry and caution in her eyes.

He didn't meet her eyes, his own eyes going just a little past her. "There was a fight at school, Lucy did a tactical retreat to safe distance," he said, almost as if reporting an op. He did not let go of her hand, but his own wasn't...gripping Lucy's. More like it rested in his.

"A tactical..." Electra blinked as she tried to understand, letting out a soft breath to try and calm from the flutter of concern. She knelt down to watch Lucy with a frown, her hands tidying up her appearance, an unconscious gesture to show love without crowding her. "A fight? Were you hurt?"

Jace looked down at the girl before he let go of her hand, taking a step back. "She wasn't," he said, thinking about it for a moment. "It was loud." He watched Electra, how she was moving...and he tilted his head a little as he studied the way she was straightening her daughter's clothes. The care.

"Noisy," Lucy agreed with a stubborn frown, knowing she was meant to stay in school. "Not meant to fight. So I left."

"Lucy, you can't leave without an adult," Electra said firmly, but her hands were nothing but tender loving care, an expression of her worry. "Next time, you tell a teacher...." she looked up to Jace, letting out a tight breath. "You found her?"

"She found me," he said, back straight, hands by his side. His eyes went to Lucy for a moment, studying her for a second before his eyes lowered. "Deck 14," he added, and there was a reluctance. The more people knew of the quiet corner, the more people would show...and it would no longer be quiet.

Electra nodded, standing as she started to regain her usual cool composure, pulling the girl close to drape a hand over her shoulder. "Thank you...for bringing her home..." and for keeping her safe, but she didn't want to say it in front of Lucy. She didn't want to plant a suggestion that she might not be safe.

The thanks made him look at her, briefly, before he took a deeper breath. It felt unfamiliar, sort of...unsettled. He didn't know where to place the words so he pushed them aside for now. "The...disc is hers. I gave it to her," he said, because a part of him wanted to make sure that Lucy wasn't accused of stealing.

"Jace made it," Lucy lifted it for her to see with a soft smile, her thumb still feeling over the pattern on it. "Like starmaps..."

"Your engraving?" Lex asked gently, looking to Jace with a small smile. It hadn't been what she'd expected.

He gave a curt nod, a slight pull between his eyebrows. He straightened a little, jaw tight. "She liked it, I put it on a string," he said, his voice quiet.

Lex lifted it to better see, caressing the pattern for a moment. "What is it? The pattern, I mean."

He glanced at her before he tilted his head a little, thinking about it. "Roads," he said, quietly, shifting as the frown eased. "Stars over it."

Lex let out a long, soft breath, taking it in. Stars over roads. She could see it. But it was...artistic, not literal. There was a heart to this man that he wasn't showing her yet. "You're sure you don't mind her having this?"

"A gift," he said, the word a little awkward, clearly not something he was used to saying, or giving. "No strings attached. Except the one so she can...carry it." His eyes went to the side, a deeper breath inhaled. He was itching to move, to get out of this situation.

Lex watched him carefully, seeing the brimming restlessness in him. She took pity, patting Lucy's shoulder. "Say goodbye to Jace, sweetheart, he has work to do."

Lucy bit her lip, looking to him almost shyly, like a kid who didn't want her friend to go home. "Bye bye Jace, see you soon."

Jace looked at Lucy at the words before he gave a small nod. Maybe agreement, or maybe just acknowledgment. "Bye Lucy," he said, his eyes meeting hers briefly before he turned and walked away from them, the frown settling on his face.

OFF:


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

Lucy Drake
Civilian Child
USS Guinevere

Lieutenant JG Electra 'Lex' Drake
Counsellor
USS Guinevere

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