Ace Advice

Posted on Tue Mar 17, 2026 @ 4:02am by Lieutenant T'Lul & Ensign Matilda Cromwell

2,824 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Jubilee
Location: Counselor's Office
Timeline: MD 01 late afternnon

The station was crazy with acivity, due to the incoming comet. Matilda could only shake her head. Right now she had her own crazy things to deal with before she got asked to go onto other projects.

She stepped into the turbo-lift to Deck 55 where the counselor's office was, it wasn't her habit to truly seek out a counselor excapt for the mandatory yearly check up from the neck up sort of examination. Drawing in a deep breath, Matilda stepped inside the department.

Matilda was aware of who T'Lul was, they had sort of clashed or worked together, she wasn't certain just what happened only that they did work together to accomplish necessary things for the station.

She looked for the counselor to see if T'Lul was in her office.

"Lieutenant T'Lul? Are you free for a counseling session?" Matilda queried.

T'Lul looked at the redheaded woman that appeared before her. She had piercing blue eyes and her hair appeared unruly in a way that she suspected others would find attractive. She seemed rather fit, which either meant she had a strong metabolism or she cared a good deal about how she appeared. T'Lul reserved that thought for later. "I am available," T'Lul responded simply. "How may I be of assistance?"

"I came to talk to you in order to keep me from allowing a strong emotion to get out of hand." Matilda began. "The subject that I am having trouble with is Lieutenant Ace Cannon. He is someone who I had an interlude with. He is angry with me as I apparently embarrassed him in front of the one he had strong feleings for. Lieutenant Brianthe Oaxaca. "

She looked around then spoke to T'Lul. "May I have a seat?"

T'Lul blinked once at the mention of Ace and Brianthe. It seems my hypothesis regarding Mr. Cannon is confirmed, or at least has significant corroborating evidence. "Of course," T'Lul answered gesturing to a seat before her. T'Lul sat nearby and said, "Why would you want to not feel a strong emotion and what emotion do you wish to suppress?"

"I have a great amount of anger where Ace is concerned. And I felt it would be best to talk to you instead of my going and punching the man out. He has made it clear that he is a horrible man. A narcissist, one who doesn't care for anyone but himself and also Brianthe. Though he did deny that fact, when I pointed it out to him. His feelings could be seen, it was there leaking out from him."

Matilda made herself comfortable. "Now the anger I have with him is also anger directed towards myself. As I fell for him, I thought I saw good points to him. Much to my dismay I was wrong. When I went to check on him I had no idea he was angry at me, until he told me straight out. He said horrible things to me, and I consider that verbal abuse. I think it was his plan at any rate. I am glad that I have found this out, as huzzah he had hit his mark. He is a sad little man, who likes to roll in the middle of a huge cesspool used for sewage."

Sparks of wrath could be seen in Matilkda's eyes, her hands balling up, to contain her emotions.

T'Lul listened patiently as Matilda ranted about Ace. "It does appear that you have a great amount of anger. It is healthy to express your anger. Supressing it could cause you a great deal of stress and internal pain." T'Lul decided it would be better to get to the root of Matilda's anger and pain. If she could get through the initial outburst of emotion, eventually she they could logically work through her feelings.

"Of which I do agree with what you have said." Matilda stated, having taken some deep breaths, in order to be addressing this situation.

She then launched into her perception as to what led up to her anger.

1.Ace had in some manner told Matilda not to go to the Arboretum when she had expressed interest in visiting it. Saying it was his project and that she didn't need to go there.

2.She did go there, despite Ace having told her to not go there. It was a public place and he had no right to tell her to not go there. She met Brianthe, met Paula. She worked with them.

3.Later on, she was requested by Brianthe to help with the Arboretum. Ace found out, he got mad at her going to the arboretum. There was a slight confrontation, Matilda left to ease tension and to keep from giving into her desire to punch Ace in the face.

4. She went to do her job, she brushed off Ace's anger, as time had gone by, with her doing her work on repairs for the station. Ace was grumpy and Matilda figured that it was due to the invasion of the sparkling animals. He had ordered her and another person to do a job. Said person made a comment as to calling him Grumpy pants. She defended Ace, sticking up for him saying that him being grumpy was due to all that was happening. And that the person shouldn't be talking like that. She forgave his grumpiness. Situation on the station was resolved.

5 Time having gone by, Matilda decided to go check on Ace, the redhead being concerned about his state of mind. She dressed up prettily, wearing something that he liked seeing her in. Even brought dinner, drink that he liked. She found that he was in an off mood, He got flabbergasted with her, talking about how she didn't know that he was angry at her and that they were through.

"The thing of it is, I didn't realize that he held onto his anger because I met Brianthe that I was in his special project the arboretum when I am allowed to be there."

Her eyes flared with fire once more, intermixed with hurt. "I foolishly thought I saw good things in him. Hah! I developed feelings for him.Fie on him and Fie on me." Matilda growled out.

"He called me daft, he said I had a blackhole for a mind. You know something, I now see that he is a broken man, and honestly he is an emotional abuser. He is a control freak, and shallower than a puddle on a hot summer day."

Tears of anger, and sadness trickled down her cheeks, Matilda was done with Ace.

T'Lul patiently listened to everything that Matilda had to say, not daring to speak while Matilda spouted her anger. She had many questions. While some of Matilda's statements matched what she understood about Ace, not everything did. However, that was not the proper analysis at this time. She would save it for reflection and determine what it meant about Ace and Matilda later.

The counselor reached behind her and grabbed a tissue. Politely she offered it to Matilda. "This should help," the Vulcan suggested.

She tilted her head slightly, considering her next words carefully. "I am curious what you mean, when you say that he is a broken man. I have encountered him at least once and he seems to be quite whole. I also am curious why you beleive he is a control freak and emotional abuser when you say that you saw good things in him. What would those things have been? I do not believe it to be logical for you to have stayed with him if you did not actually see them, unless you are telling me that you experienced a delusion."

Dabbing at the corners of her eyes, Matilda quietly blew her nose.

She cleared her throat, "The interlude surprisingly was more than a one night stand. It was his idea, as he was upfront that he normally does only one nightstands and goes to the next person. For some reason, he thought I was someone who he would enjoy having more than one night. I was good with that."

With a grimace, at her own folly. "Now, what I thought were good qualities was, he is polite, and well at the time respectful. However it is more of, he is respectful when he wants something. Then he just tosses women away like they are pieces of trash, once he uses them. Oh, he is charming. He has a lovely voice that can charm someone. He is well versed in the art of seduction. Makes a woman's heart skip a beat. Oh, I can't deny that he is honest. I believed that I saw something else there that isn't there. Wasn't certain what it was. Just something there. That though I do not want to even, try to unearth."

A bitter huff from Matilda, "This is due to something I have observed. He is obsessed with Brianthe, so utterly obsessed. Which is why, come to think of it, he got upset that I actually met her. How dare I meet her!"

T'Lul thought about it for awhile. Matilda certainly was letting a lot of her emotions out in this room. That was a good thing. However, Matilda seemed to have her emotions mix up with her logic. On one hand she admitted that Ace was honest and on the other was demeaning him for things he did, despite being honest. It was somewhat perplexing.

"I wonder...." T'Lul started with a practiced patience and pause. "Could it be possible that you are jealous of this Brianthe?"

Matilda leaned back in the chair, one arm over her chest the other, her elbow cradled by it rubbing her chin, as she contemplated her feelings, looking at them like she was looking at an operational or engineering project to solve an issue.

"Could I be jealous? That is a valid question, and it could also put me in the same category as Naomi. She is someone who seemed a bit jealous with my being with Ace in the restaurant where she works. Poor girl, I will not call myself poor woman, I did step into an association with him, knowing full well what he was like.What I didn't expect though, was to actually have had developed some feelings for him in a quick amount of time."

Matilda shrugged her shoulders, lowering her arms down to where her hands were in her lap. "Brianthe is a lovely woman, kind, genuinely warm and personable. And she is someone I would like to develop a friendship with. Before I left Ace's quarters I did tell him that I considered him being in a committed relationship, even though it isn't an intimate one in a physical way, he is dedicated to Brianthe."

Matilda gave out a laugh, "One thing I don't do, is get into a relationship with someone who is committed to someone else. Therefore, Ace is being categorized as someone in a committed relationship and one who will be considered hands off. He did, mention to me that since I had feelings for him, that we'd be through. Hah he is acting like someone who is in a relationship, can't be with them all the way so, he gets his 'needs' met then goes back to continue to pine for someone he can't have. Though does he truly know how to be anything more than who he is, as he seems quite happy being who he is, prefering to be the shallow; lazy man that he is."

"Naomi?" T'Lul asked. "How did you meet this woman?" she wondered. "If he is not in a physical relationship with this Brianthe, as you indicate he is not, then why do you think it is something more to him? Do you not consider it possible for women and men to be friends?"

"Naomi is a waitress at Giuliani's. From the glances she was giving me," Matilda mused, "If looks could kill, I would be dead and ground down into dust or even atomized. I say that she really likes Ace and is jealous as to seeing him with other women." Matilda crossed one leg over the other, at the knee.

Twisting slightly in her chair, draping an elbow over the back of the seat, Matilda gazed at T'Lul contemplatively.

"To answer your question. I believe that men and women can be friends, to a certain point." and Matilda honestly believing that.

T'Lul continued to analyze Matilda's statements. "I wonder if this Naomi ever met Brianthe and if so, what her reaction was to Ace being with her instead of you. It would be an interesting source of comparison," the Vulcan concluded.

"Now, more to the point, I am confused by your statement that men and women can be friends to a point. What point?"

"It depends on just what develops. There are some who can just be friends, Kindred spirits, with no physical intimacy. Others can start as friends then a romance develops. Then a friendship can end up turning into enemies. As I said it depends on what happens or develops." Matilda replied.

"That does not give me an idea of where you draw the lines," T'Lul observed. "You have stated that this Ace and Brianthe are not involved in anything physical. According to the statement that you just gave, are they not kindred spirtits? Is it possible that Ace is not interested in more than a friendship with this Brianthe and there is another reason that he did not want to engage in a relationship with you. You said that he was honest. I think you also mentioned that he said that he did not desire a relationship. Therefore, I am confused on why you believe that Brianthe is the catalyst. I admit that I do not know more than what you are telling me. However, there seems to be some holes in your logic."

"I am only human, and do not have the logical mind that you have, T'Lul. Brianthe isn't the catalyst, I am just saying that with Ace having his focus on Brianthe, I am considering him as someone who is not to be pursued. One who has effectively tossed me into the trash heap, like he may have done so with others. No one likes feeling like a piece of trash."

Matilda paused as she considered what she had just said, "My talking to you, is helping me sort out my feelings and to make certain that I will no longer allow myself to be hurt by him. I also will not be consdering him as trash since that would be making me a hypocrite. I will consider him, not trash, but not someone I wish to seek out anymore. He will just be a co-worker when we might be working together."

"I appreciate that you find my services to be of assistance. Your attitude towards changing your perspective to him seems to me to be a much more healthy attitude." However, I still believe that much of the hurt you experienced was because you sought something he either did not want or was not ready for. She seems to leap quickly from thought to thought, but this is a healthier place and will likely help everyone involved. "I am not certain that I agree with all of your rationale but the conclusion appears acceptable."

Giving a nod as to what T'Lul had said. Matilda drew in a breath feeling relieved as a path was showing itself to make her way through the tangled mess that had developed when she decided to make herself known to Ace and to actually step into his web with eyes wide open. She thought that she'd be able to get out of this unscathed. She was wrong. Lesson learned, though she was afraid that there will be more lessons to be faced. Especially from her hidden history, one which she has kept hidden, deep in her mind.

"Thank you Lieutenant T'Lul. And I may end up coming back to you to talk, and keep my mind clear of other things." Matilda started to make herself ready to move from where she sat.

"You are always welcome to come back. It is my duty to assist when people are troubled."

"And I am glad that you are here." Matilda smiled genuinely at T'Lul. "Have a good rest of the day, Lieutenant." The redheaded engineer headed towards the door. She did feel relatively better, which was movement in the right direction.

T'Lul watched as the redhead left. The Vulcan was satisfied that she had assisted Matilda; however, she was concerned about her logic and rationale. At least she was in a more positive place. However, she would have to remember to call in Matilda for another session later.

---

Ensign Matilda Cromwell
Engineer/Operations
Deep Space Five

and

Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor
Deep Space Five

 

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