Respite

Posted on Tue Mar 24th, 2026 @ 9:17pm by Lieutenant JG Jacob Rosen & Lieutenant JG T'Lar

1,241 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Character Development
Location: Main Lounge
Timeline: 2100 Hours - Post Skygowan Departure

Jacob walked lackadaisically through the corridor leading to the Main Lounge, whistling the tune to Baby Beluga. He had just been finally relieved but was not yet ready to turn in. He needed some time to decompress, to process the events of the past mission.

Jacob knew one person on board, Rowan Hale, from a brief passing during the Battle of Chin'toka. Other than that he was too new for most folks to open up to him yet. The junior officers in Ops were friendly with him, they had even given him a funny nickname, yelling "COOOO!" when he entered their departmental spaces.

"Bunch of weirdos." Jacob laughed to himself when thinking about it. Still, he was their boss, there was a barrier there and he wasn't interested in forcing his way in.

Jacob continued, approaching the junction between another passageway when he saw a familiar face making the turn towards the Lounge.

"Counselor." He greeted her warmly. "I had meant to thank you for your help earlier. Finished for the day?"

"Lieutenant. It is agreeable to see you again," T'Lar replied

"Yes, I am finally done with my duties for the day and I should be thanking you. Today was my first time sitting in the Number One chair. I hope I acquitted myself satisfactorily."

"I think you did great, and please call me Jacob." Jacob replied with a smile.

"As you wish. And thank you. You may call me T'Lar."

The two entered the lounge and approached the bar. T'Lar ordered a Mudslide. While alcohol itself had very little intoxicating effect on Vulcans, drinks made with high sugar content and in particular drinks made with chocolate were quite efficacious in that regard. Fortunately this fact was not unknown to the bartender who served her a "Vulcan sized" serving in a whiskey tumbler instead of one of the milkshake sized monstrosities that humans usually consumed.

Jacob ordered a Dark and Stormy and squeezed the lime juice out into the drink before dunking the wedge below the ice. Thanking the bartender he turned to T'Lar.

"A Mudslide, now that is not the type of drink I would expect." Jacob said after taking an initial sip of his cocktail. "You have a sweet tooth?"

T'Lar took a sip from the tiny straw and inwardly reveled at the cascade of pleasurable sensations the mixture of chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, Kahlua and Bailey's irish cream shot through the pleasure centers of her brain. Setting the drink down she glanced sideways at Jacob in a way that would almost seem shy.

"I do, but in moderation," she admitted quietly before facing him directly with a raised eyebrow. "Just what sort of drink would you expect, Jacob?"

She studied his face carefully. There was just a hint of provocation in her question; almost... playful? She took another sip keeping her eyes locked on his as she waited for his answer.

"I think most Counselors that I have served with have been somewhere between an herbal tea and a dark red wine." Jacob said, taking a healthy drink and savoring the spiced rum. "This." He gestured to her glass. "Is a lot more...fun than I would expect from a Counselor."

T'Lar set her glass down and twirled the drink with her straw.

"Counselors, even Vulcan ones can be fun," she finally said after considering her drink for some moments, before facing him again.

"I for one enjoy a great number of physical activities such as rock climbing, hiking, running, cycling, even skiing and ice skating, though I confess I am not fond of the cold. I also am quite adept at board and card games. I also enjoy listening to jazz music."

She took another sip of her drink, and looked him up and down.

"I would like to hear what you do for fun, Jacob."

"I grew up doing a fair amount of hiking and cycling for sure." Jacob said, taking a sip of his drink before continuing. "I did some wandering through Latin America during my... recovery time I guess we could call it." He said with a rueful smirk and nervous cough. "I picked up fishing, poorly I might add. Also learned how to cook finally, I really enjoy that."

He took another drink and smiled again, addressing T'Lar. "Did you hike on Vulcan or was it something you picked up at the Academy?"

"I grew up hiking in the hills surrounding my town on Vulcan. I did enjoy hiking in the Sierras and Santa Cruz Mountains while at the Academy." T'Lar answered. "Recovery time?"

Jacob breathed in slowly and gave a controlled exhale before returning to the previous warm smile. "I was one of the sole survivors of the Battle of the Tyra system. The USS Marquam was my first post returning to the fleet as an Officer... I was able to fashion together a little leaky lifeboat out of an airlock, a type 4 battery, and a forcefield."

He sipped the last of his glass and gestured to the bartender for another. "We crammed what remained of the bridge crew, what I didn't account for was limited oxygen." Jacob nodded in thanks for the refill. "Anyway... at some point we were picked up and I awoke at Starfleet Medical back on Earth." Jacob stared into his glass before returning to eye contact for a long moment. "My physical recovery was fairly quick but my assigned Behavioral Health Provider refused to clear me for duty until I completed their evaluation. So I left for a while. I left everything and everyone."

Jacob coughed and thumbed at the hem of his uniform sleeve. "Sorry, that was a bit heavy." He laughed to break the tension. "Sometimes once the ball gets rolling it's hard to stop."

T'Lar regarded him closely with as close a look of compassion as she could reflect.

"Do not apologize, Jacob. I understand more than you know..."

She quietly twirled the Claddagh ring on her left ring finger.

"It was 11:35 on April 19, 2375. Brian, my fiance' and I were in the Student Union Building at Starfleet Academy when the Breen attacked. Of the 23 Cadets and staff pulled from the rubble that day, only 3 survived: myself and two others. Brian did not survive. After my physical recovery I took a sabbatical from my studies and returned to Vulcan where I attempted to process my grief and survivor's guilt with many long treks alone in the desert."

She took a long swig of her drink, before setting it down heavilly. The numbing effects of the concoction thankfully did their job as her emotions came dangerously close to the surface.

"I... don't know what I'm doing here...", she said at last, confused by the tumult of conflicting emotions she was feeling. "Perhaps I should go..."

"T'Lar, wait." Jacob asked quickly, and taking a breath in. "Telling me that took courage. If you feel like you need to leave, that's completely ok."

He smiled reassuringly before continuing. "One of the most important things I have learned is: you will feel warm again. We can't lie to ourselves and say that everyday will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing."

T'Lar took a napkin and stealthily dabbed at her eyes. Vulcans do not cry in public.

"Thank you," she managed quietly. "I think I'll stay. Tell me, Lieutenant, have you ever considered becoming a counselor?"

TBC

 

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