Coffee [Part Two]
Posted on Wed Jul 16, 2025 @ 3:25am by Commander Cara Letsul
1,484 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Time After Time
Location: Promenade Observation Deck
Timeline: MD 09 Later in the Evening
"StarFleet had also asked me to return to duty, and they also used 'The needs of the many, outweighed the needs of the few, or the one." I countered with an offer of 'If they wished me to come back, to drop me from being an Admiral to being a Commander and I wanted to be a counselor as well. They were surprised that I wished to be a Commander, instead of being a Captain. I didn't feel it would be proper because the CO was a Captain, and I didn't want anyone to get confused as to who was in charge. And they knew I wasn't going to back down from my request."
[Continued]
Her voice took on a strong determined tone. "They owed me that. They convinced me to become an admiral of Avalon Station." she gave a slight scoffing laugh. "They knew I cared about Avalon Station and my two friends who at the time were my CO and Executive Officer, blast them. They convinced me as well."
Vex listened without interruption, his focus steady and wholly present. There was no urgency in his posture, no rush to fill the spaces between her words. He simply absorbed what she offered—the thread of loyalty, the weight of choice, the ties of family rediscovered when least expected.
When she finished, his gaze lingered a moment longer, thoughtful.
“It is rare,” he said calmly, “to find something that anchors you so deeply it pulls you back when you have every right to move on.”
There was no judgment in his tone—only a quiet understanding.
He glanced briefly toward the view beyond the glass, as she had, then back to her.
“You chose service again. But not for rank. Not for status. For the sake of the people—and the place—you felt connected to.”
A small pause. Then, with the precision of a Vulcan observation touched by Betazoid insight, he added:
“That speaks more of who you are than any promotion Starfleet could have offered.”
His hands remained loosely folded on the table, his voice even, but there was an unmistakable thread of respect woven through it—the kind given when words alone were insufficient.
After a quiet moment, he asked, his tone softer, more curious than formal:
“Do you miss it? Avalon Station… the life you built there?”
He did not press, but he left the question there, an open door, should she choose to walk through it.
"In some way, I do miss being there, but with all of the people who I fought shoulder to shoulder with, blood, sweat and tears in getting that station back up and running. They left, I no longer had that connection, that core I depended on. My adopted family. I felt alone, and they went on with their lives. I did make some connections, but not on the level I had with them. I found that I had resentment towards them. I got over it eventually, as it wasn't healthy. And it was time for them to move on with their lives. And then it was time for me to leave, as I was being hunted, by someone I used to work with." she paused and gave a little bit of a mysterious smile. "That someone, it will take him sometime to find me. If he does."
Vex stilled—not in hesitation, but in deliberate assessment. The word hunted had shifted the tone entirely. This wasn’t just a story from her past. It was a warning wrapped in memory.
His voice lowered, calm but intent.
“Then you didn’t just leave Avalon. You disappeared.”
He didn’t wait for confirmation. The look in her eyes and the ghost of that smile told him everything he needed to know.
“Starfleet offers a dozen reasons to move someone—promotion, reassignment, burnout. But stepping down from admiral to commander? That’s not retreat. That’s strategy.”
His gaze flicked briefly around the café—casual, practiced. Then it returned to her, sharper now.
“You’ve got someone in your shadow. And Deep Space 5?” He gave a faint shrug.
“This is where people go when they don’t want to be found… or when they’re looking for something they can’t ask for out loud.”
He let the silence hang just long enough before continuing.
“You’ve got ghosts. I’ve got a career that stalled for being a little too effective.”
Finally, the corner of his mouth lifted—just a trace of a smile. It wasn’t amusement. It was interest. Alignment.
“Maybe what we need isn’t just answers. Maybe what we need is leverage.”
Then, with perfect composure, as if the shift hadn’t happened at all:
“Do you take cream in your coffee?”
"Cream yes I do, instead of coffee, black as my heart as one friend had said about themselves." Her eyes crinkling up with amusement.
"A friend of mine, she's been leading him astray until I have myself settled to where I can deal with him. The other station, I thought it would be there. She had told me he had faked his death, using biomimetic Gel making a clone of himself. Its been a game of cat and mouse. And who is the cat and who is the mouse at this part of the game. Who is the hunter and who is the prey? I think he may have changed his appearance, what he looks like I don't know yet."
Vex offered a faint nod, taking in her words with quiet focus.
"Then it’s not over—not by a long shot."
He kept his tone even, thoughtful.
"If he’s gone to those lengths, this isn’t someone who gives up easily. But having someone lead him off your trail buys you time. And time gives you control."
He met her gaze, steady and calm.
"When the game turns, make sure you're the one setting the board."
" I fully intend on that, which is why I will be exploring this station to plan where the tables will be turned. With how skilled my friend is, she'll keep him chasing ghosts for a little while, until she tires of the chase and leads him to where he will be stopped. She said I needed to be the one to end this hunt, and not her."
She paused the conversation as the server came to bring their food along with the requested drinks, when the server left Cara poured herself a glass of water drinkig half of the glass before she continued. "I will be glad when it will be over, this hunt. As it doesn't help to be knowing that someone is on the hunt for me."
Vex nodded once, slowly, as the plates were set down and the warmth of the food filled the space between them. He waited until the server stepped away, then lifted his coffee and held it near his lips—not drinking yet, just letting the moment settle.
“It will end. When you choose to end it. And it sounds like your friend has given you exactly what you need—space, and the right moment.”
He took a small sip, then set the cup down gently.
“Until then, I’d say you’re entitled to something resembling peace.”
His expression softened slightly—not in pity, but in quiet recognition of everything unsaid. Then, with a subtle shift in tone, he turned the conversation forward.
“You’ve been generous with your story, Cara. If I may—would you like to ask something of me in return?”
He didn’t offer a script, or a suggestion. He simply left the door open. The conversation, now, was hers to shape.
Cara picked up her fork and knife cutting into her food. As she did so, she said, "I would like to know more about you, what you are comfortable in sharing with me. " looking up from the neatly sliced food towards his eyes.
She wasn't certain how much he'd be willing to share with her. There were pieces of her that she hadn't shared with him.
Vex offered a small nod of acknowledgment, the edge of his expression softening—not into a smile, but into something more open. He picked up his own fork, considering her request with the same quiet deliberation he gave to everything else.
“That’s fair.” His eyes met hers, steady, unguarded. “And rare.”
He took a small bite, gave it a moment, then set the fork down lightly.
“I was born on Betazed. Raised between embassies and starships. My father was Vulcan—strict, precise, distant. My mother… Betazoid. Intelligence division.” A pause, as if measuring how much to say next. “Sharpest mind I’ve ever known. I didn’t inherit her patience.”
TBC
Lieutenant JG Kael "Vex" Tharien
Star Fleet Officer
Deep Space 5
Commander Cara Letsul
Executive Officer
Deep Space 5
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