When We Talk Like This

Posted on Sat Jul 5th, 2025 @ 2:01pm by Lieutenant Commander Aer Feshau-Patton & Lieutenant Kaylee Serra
Edited on on Sat Jul 5th, 2025 @ 2:02pm

2,018 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 5 - The Cold War Ends
Location: Aer's Office, Intelligence Suite
Timeline: MD001 - 1730 hours

Kaylee after speaking with Jack, she had the strong desire to go see Aer. and to reconnect, this move had been a bit of an undertaking. Tapping on her combadge she sent out a call.

=^=Commander Feshau, it's Lieutenant Serra, do you have some time for me to come see you? And where are you at currently?=^=

=^= Of course, lieutenant. I'm in my office within the intelligence suite. Just say to one of my officers and they'll show you up. =^=

Aer would have to do a quick tidy up before Kaylee arrived.

It took about fifteen minutes for Kaylee to arrive. She had been down on one of the lower sections of Faltan Station. She was led directly to where Aer was by one of her people. "Hi Aer, how are things?" the younger woman having a cheery smile when she saw her friend. "This station is going to be something to get used to. It's not Poseidon Station."

Aer nodded. "No, Poseidon Station was unique I think. Brought us all together and for it to have ended the way it did was sad." she felt a well of emotion swell in her, her hormones playing havoc on her in her weakest moment. "Please come in and sit down. I'd get up but..." she gestured to her mid section. "It's not as easy to get up and around as I used to."

Kaylee nodded in acknowledgement moving to take a seat near Aer. She felt the wave of emotions from Aer. "You know, I am actually at your beck and call too, if you need something. I am having to get used to this new position of mine, but enough about me. Is there something I can do for you?"

Kaylee's comment made her smile. "It's very rare that people come to see me to see what they can do for me." she chuckled softly. "I am fine, Kaylee. Thank you. Unless you want to take over the rest of my pregnancy I'm afraid I'm pretty good here. Although..." she hesitated. Using Strategic Operations in her intelligence gathering might be useful.

"What has the traffic been like in the area since we all arrived? More so the influx of marines. I'd imagine there has been a shift there. What can you tell me about the Faltans incomings and outgoings?" Aer asked. Sometimes an outside view, outside of intelligence, gave unique insights.

"At the current state of things, there has been some traffic, but not much. I have yet to talk to the CO of the station one on one. I am overdue for that. And she just seems to lackadaisical about running things here. I've not worked under someone who has what seems to have disinterest in how things are." Kaylee frowning as she thought about M'Mira.

Aer shrugged. "I've not spoken to the captain one on one either. I don't really feel in the mood to either." she sighed. "I'm too tired to speak to new people." she mused. "But I have heard that things on this station are too lax in relation to security and safety of intelligence, or information." Shaking her head as a bad taste in her mouth formed.

"I plan on doing such just to get to know her. Especially since I will be working with her on a regular basis. This station is so different from Poseidon Station. So much to get used to." Kaylee remarked having a worried expression. "Anyway enough of the worry. We've got a place to make it our own. Hopefully."

"They do say you can tell a lot about a person by meeting them, but more so for me about their actions, what they've done, and it's all here for me to read." Aer spoke of the intelligence not only on the captain but those on the station in general. "I'm sure this place will feel more like home the longer we are here. Poseidon was for a time but in this life you know as much as I do we go where we are told. I just thought I'd be bringing these little terrors up there and not on the outskirts of a civil war."

Kaylee nodded solemnly "Things were going well so far there, you getting married to Colonel Patton, upcoming children for you. And me... I found someone I am very interested in, on Poseidon."

Kaylee's cheeks turning a bit pink as she revealed this. "He's a marine, he is here on this station. I just don't know if I should bother him here. The marines are all busy setting things up and making their new home, shipshape."

Aer’s expression softened as Kaylee spoke, and at the mention of a certain marine, a knowing smile curled at the corner of her lips. “Ah... so that’s why you were glowing when you walked in. And here I thought it was just the overhead lighting.”

She leaned back a little, shifting to get comfortable. “You know, I think people forget how much stability we cling to out here. New posting, new faces, new politics. It can all feel like quicksand. So when something—or someone—familiar comes along, we shouldn’t be so quick to brush it aside just because the timing feels inconvenient.”

Aer tilted her head slightly, watching Kaylee’s expression shift. “He’s busy now. But he won’t be forever. When the dust settles, you’ll regret not even giving him the chance to be more than a footnote in the Poseidon chapter.”

Then, more quietly: “Besides… if this place is going to be home, shouldn’t it feel like one?”

She paused a beat, then added with her trademark touch of wry humour, “And if he turns out to be a disaster, I’ve got all the dirt on him filed away already. Perks of the job.”

Kaylee gave out a laugh, "I-I don't know what to say and yes he is someone who makes me smile. Though I met him a couple of times before in awkward encounters." Kaylee's cheeks turned a darker pink. "did you hear of the woman who had purplish blue skin covered in down, naked beneath a towel, landing on the Round Table on Poseidon Station? That was when I first met Bobby. The second time I was sleepwalking and found myself at the door of marine country and Bobby he made certain I got back to my quarters. We did go out to have a bite to eat after his shift."

Aer blinked, then tilted her head slightly as something clicked.

“Wait—Bobby... as in Robert Schiano? Meatball Bobby?”

Her expression shifted into amused disbelief. “Stars, Kaylee. I’ve seen his file—Jack trusts him, which says a lot, and I’ve got more than a few reports on him tucked away. Speaks Klingon, rides holographic horses, can bench press a shuttlepod... but I definitely didn’t have ‘Marine towel rescue’ on my intelligence grid.”

She gave a warm, tired laugh, one hand absently stroking the side of her bump. “Honestly, I’m in no position to judge anyone right now. I cried this morning because my boots were on the wrong shelf and then forgot why I walked into my own office. Twice.”

Looking back at Kaylee, her tone softened. “If he makes you smile, that’s something. This place... it’s strange and disconnected right now. Holding onto something good, something familiar, it’s not weakness. It’s human. Or, well... El Aurian-adjacent.”

She smirked faintly. “And don’t worry, I won’t bring up the towel incident. I mean, I heard about it, obviously. But I’m far too professional to admit that.”

Kaylee giggled. "Ah yes, secrets you find out unexpectedly, right? Bobby does make me smile thinking of him. And something about him just makes me feel, well good inside. His voice, the way his smile just lights up his eyes.." Kaylee paused. "Oh gosh, I don't think you want to hear me gush about him. He is down to earth, not full of airs. He is just himself, and solid. Handsome. Yes I noticed his muscles. His personality though is the most attractive thing about him."

Aer smiled gently, her gaze resting on Kaylee with a kind of quiet fondness. “He makes you feel safe.”

It wasn’t a question—just an observation, said with a softness that came from recognition.

“There’s something in the way you talk about him. Like you’re not trying to explain it. Just... feeling it.”

Her fingers reached up, almost absently, to the silver chain around her neck. She toyed with the pendant there—an old El Aurian memory crystal, worn smooth at the edges. The motion was slow, repetitive. Comforting.

“I’m glad,” she said, voice lower now. “In this line of work, comfort tends to come with a price tag. So when it shows up without strings… you should hold onto it, gently.”

She exhaled through her nose, her gaze shifting toward the far wall of her office. Not avoiding. Just… distant.

“I’ve been thinking about the work lately. Starfleet. Intelligence.” A pause. “Fourteen years doesn’t sound like much until you start measuring it in choices. In consequences.”

Her tone didn’t falter, but it carried a weight—one not dulled by repetition.

“There are names I’ve crossed paths with. Operations that… left ripples. Some things we deal with never fully go quiet. They just... step back into the shadows and wait.”

Her hand moved instinctively to her abdomen as she added, almost to herself, “And now I’m not the only one who could get caught in that crossfire.”

A beat passed.

“I’ve had moments—late ones, quiet ones—where I’ve asked myself if this is still worth it. Not the job itself, but the position. The visibility. The risk it brings. Not just to me anymore.”

She looked back at Kaylee then, eyes clear and thoughtful. “Jack would support me if I stepped away. He wouldn’t like it—he bleeds Marine green—but he’d understand. But I think… we both know we’re not built to walk away easily.”

Her smile was faint, weary in places. “So I stay. For now.”

And then, softer—just above a whisper:

“…But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel something moving. Something that’s not finished with us.”

She left it at that.

The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable. It simply existed—weighted with meaning and the bond between two people who didn’t need everything explained to understand each other.

Kaylee nodded with understanding, no words needed to be said.

Her own thoughts went to what she had faced before arriving on Poseidon Station. The planet killer, seeing its gaping maw as the ship she was on, being pulled towards it. The ship being sacrificed to destroy it from within.

Kaylee blinked, pulling herself to the present.

"Whatever it is-I'm, I will be here, to face it with you and others." Kaylee responded softly. She felt an even stronger connection with Aer, little things seem to just form a bond.

She was fond of Aer, the quietness of the intelligence Chief, hid the true strength beneath the surface.

A sound caught Kaylee's attention, she glanced around, then realized that it was her PADD. pulling out her PADD she looked at the message.

"I've got an appointment with the dockmaster of the station. I felt that it would be good to get to know him, and get status reports on the ships that arrive." Kaylee looking up from her device, to Aer.

Aer smiled faintly. “Good instincts. The dockmaster sees everything before the rest of us catch up.”

She paused, then added more softly, “Thank you for today, Kaylee. You’ve no idea how much I needed it.”

A beat passed. “And if you see Bobby… remind him Intelligence is always watching.” A wink followed—just enough to lighten the air.

 

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