Control [Really Far Back Post]

Posted on Fri May 26th, 2023 @ 12:19am by Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver

4,079 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Short Treks
Location: Triton Seabase: Captain’s Quarters
Timeline: MD13: 2030 hours

Max had finished his duty shift and returned to his quarters to ‘straighten up’. In such a small, singular space, one could not hide their messes. He picked up pants, socks and other sundries; tossing them into the fresher.

Otherwise, he made his bed and made sure there wasn’t any accumulation of dust. Before Vi arrived, Max changed into his most comfortable outfit in his closet. A beige pair of woven cotton pants and a woven white shirt to match. They were from home, and though they were a little over-sized, they were beautifully hand woven and hand stitched by his grandmother, who always was trying to fatten up her skinny boy. She had decided she had seen enough life and passed just a few years ago. Wearing the clothes brought her memory and a smile to his face.

He decided it had been too long since he had visited with his family, so he would book some time in the holodeck so he could visit properly. Besides, he had the big news that he’s come into the El Aurian empathy, listening and learning, and more importantly the sensation of other beings’ auras.

He still needed help navigating those situations, and Vianola had been huge in navigating the world as an El Aurian. It was she that he’d invited. Sitting on the edge of the couch, he realized that he hadn’t felt the new carpet between his toes. They were almost two weeks out of dock and he’d barely used his quarters.

The feeling of being cooped up in a tin can of a Starbase had always felt strange to Vi. It was even more so that this was not a 'star' base but a 'sea' base and the feelings of travelling on water had made her a little seasick. Not that she'd admit that to anyone aside from the Doctor.

As she approached the Captain's quarters on the station, she was wearing loose fitting trousers and a fairly slim top. Nothing too fancy as she was off duty but still smart enough to meet with the Captain. She rang the chime and waited for his response.

Max stood, his eyes landing on a black pair of underwear that weren’t his. He snatched them up and tossed them in a closet just by the door. “Come in,” he responded, a sudden blush on his cheeks rising.

It hadn’t been very long since the last time he’d seen Vianola, but for the purpose of talking about his newfound powers, it felt like ages. Just as Vi stepped inside, Max asked, “Can I get you something to drink?”

"Oh, whatever you are having is fine." Vi said as she moved inside. There was an air in the room she couldn't quite place. A feeling from Max that he was embarrassed about something but it was dissipating as the source seemingly removed. "How are you sir?" she asked.

“Come on, Vi,” Max said as he found the bottle of red wine brought by Dani the night before. He didn’t know much about wine, but he left it on the counter after pouring two glasses. “I’m not in uniform and neither are you. Personal names, even Galen allows it now…” He smiled slightly as he handed her the glass of wine.

"Sorry s-- Max. I forget sometimes." she smiled as she accepted the glass of wine. "I'm in the uniform for so much of the day it sometimes feels alien to be in anything else but that yellow jacket." The wine was nice, surprisingly so.

“That’s why I like to remind people that we’re more than those uniforms that we wear, as you’ve just said, all the time. We have names beyond rank and ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’,” he answered with a chuckle. He sipped the wine and thought it better the second time around.

"Well, I know that." Vi smiled and shook her head. "I've been with some Captains who still like to be called sir and ma'am, or even Captain, when we are in personal situations. I know you're not one of those though..." she paused letting the elephant of a question hang in the air without it actually being said.

“I asked you here today because I still have trouble understanding the El-Aurian gifts. If I had come into them younger, I would have been assigned a mentor, but our people don’t travel much, as you know, and I can’t walk away from this project right now, as you equally know. The Terrans would say I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

"Oh, our people get out and about more than you think. We just just don’t advertise it a lot." Vi replied taking a large gulp of wine. "Kaitos is still new and people are just getting used to the fact we are open to the galaxy again." she smiled. "But you are right, they will not assign a mentor at your age. Not with the limited speciality teachers we have, but you know I will help you any way I can. I'm not as good as a teacher but I can muddle through and maybe touch base with my own if I need help."

“I’m curious about…relationships for us at this age? Does anyone care if we’re in a relationship with the younger races? How does that work with our abilities? Also, with being burned by Jack, how do I use my truth abilities if/when I need them?” His mouth spurted before his brain could keep up.

"Relationships?" Vi paused as her mind cast back to her lost love, Hevol. "They are discouraged, and you'll get some frowny looks from your parents, and maybe some elders, but at the end of the day it is your life and you choose how you live it. I've lived mine how I want so far." There was a pang in her still, the loss of Hevol would never leave her. "If someone makes you happy Max then you should grab them with both hands... as long as its consensual." she joked.

"It's a bit more complicated than calling it truth abilities, that's not exactly what our ability is. We are not a walking, talking truth serum unfortunately." It would have really helped in security Vi couldn't help but think.

"We have a pheromone we can release around us that makes species more 'pliable' for lack of a better word. They become slightly intoxicated by our scent and open up to us. They tell us their hopes, fears, their dreams and ambitions. Their secrets if we play them right." Vi opened up about this to him. "But they do not work on all species. Those of strong mind, the strong willed are more difficult, if not impossible. Vulcans can be quite hard, Betazoids are complicated and Trill, well... if they are joined its honestly like opening up Pandora's Box. With so many consciousnesses everyone wants to talk to you."

“I noticed you avoided Terrans,” Max said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It would have helped if I’d had these pheromones…before I met him.” He felt a large amount of guilt about the whole situation.

"Yes, Terrans are easy to manipulate without the pheromone and usually if they catch a bit of it they can hang on to you for dear life... it's not pretty. They are too emotional, too young a species and often it leads to infatuation and sometimes not so pretty tendencies when it wears off." Vi sighed. "But you do sometimes get strong willed Humans." she shrugged.

She felt he was talking about Jack, Hells, who else would he have been?

"Max, if Jack wanted to poison you he'd have found a way. Don't get me wrong it didn't help you openly welcomed him at first sight. You made my life a nightmare trying to keep security tight but you are the Captain, but you are also just a man. You guys make mistakes AAAALLLL the time." she nudged his shoulder trying to make him feel better.

Max gave Vi an actual laugh. “I don’t know, Vi, it’s like I’ve come to this place and something’s happened to me. It’s like I’m all messed up. I’m following moods and feelings and auras. It’s like a second puberty. It’s messed up.” He chuckled again.

"Where as most of us only go through one puberty." She looked herself up and down. "It is easy to forget that both you and I are still seen as teenagers in the eyes of our people. To their surprise we are in command positions, you more so." She bowed her head a little. "But always remember to take a step back, a deep breath and let the aura's wash over you. If you fight them, they will drown you."

Max smiled. “I guess I better let that be true of emotions and also, maybe get a bit of my outward puberty under control?” He suggested. Plying himself off the couch, he asked, “Do you want some more wine?”

"Can you hear the Irish in my accent? When do we ever turn down alcohol?" she asked rhetorically with a laugh. "Don't tell me Da, but I consider myself more Irish than I do El-Aurian. Given that I stepped out on the family at 38 I don't think he needs more ammunition to come at me with. Good old Marshall Paxidor." she rolled her eyes.

Max nodded. “Your secret is safe with me.” He poured more wine into VI’s glass.

“The only time I feel level is when I’m with you,” he admitted. “The rest of my life feels like this base, rocked around by the battering around me. Unfortunately, I can’t always have you at my side to level my mind.”

"Much obliged sir." she tipped her glass to him upon his keeping of her secret. Not that it was much of a secret, Vi knew her father kept tabs on her. Close tabs.

"Well thank you. I'll take that as a compliment, but we are calmer for lack of a better word, when we are in others of our kinds’ company." she took a sip of the wine that had been refilled. "You can always centre yourself in the moments we are together, use them to calm yourself in times of need."

“How do I do that on my own?” Max asked. “Because what happened with Evelyn today can’t repeat itself. I’m tired,” he said. Though his slight wound had been healed by medical, he was much more mentally wounded. “I’m not physically tired, but whatever fight we had, it was inside all of me. I’m emotionally exhausted.”

"No... what happened with Ev was something that could have been handled better." Vi sighed. "El-Aurians can exist 'outside of a moment' if that makes sense? When we focus enough we remove ourselves from time. To us it gives us clarity, focus and some time may pass for us whilst none for those around us. We return back to the moment we left."

Max nodded. “I’ve experienced this recently with the young man I’m dating,” Max let slip. As soon as it was out of his mouth, all he could do was think, ‘Shit!’ before continuing. “A moment that felt it could last for all of time, but I didn’t think I had done that.”

Max leaned against a wall, looking out the window to where water met blue sky and sunshine. “I’m gonna need a book or something for dealing with a late expression of my gifts,” he said to Vi. He felt like if he laughed about it, he’d been diminishing the seriousness of the reality.

Vi shook her head as if that was news. "Yes, I know of Mr. Martinez," she replied as she could see the curious look on Max's face. "Do you think after Jack I was going to let just anyone come into your quarters? I don't think I could take nearly losing you twice," she said warmly. She could be overprotective sure, but it came from a good place, a good heart.

"There are a few books on the subject, but I'd have to talk to my Umali (mentor)." Vi scratched the back of her head. "She often told me she was one of the oldest ones that survived and I'm sure she'd have stacks of dusty tomes in her wardrobe." Vi rolled her eyes. She could still remember the cane she used, sometimes she would whack her with it unsuspectingly if she started to nod off during a lesson.

Max could sense something amusing in the recollection, if not the memory itself. “A few books?” Max wondered aloud, “So little of us survived, it’s a wonder we did as a whole.”

“Maybe it’s not the entire wisdom of an Umali I need,” he wondered, an idea forming in his mind. “Maybe I just need the wisdom of the old and the passion of the young to temper them both within me?” It was an idea he was going to try, soon.

"You could be on to something there but I do think maybe some reading might help," Vi ushered him gently down a more traditional path. "I'm not saying you need to read them all, but you are not the first, and probably wont be the last, to go through this. Maybe there are even some on Kaitos who you can speak to, gain some insight."

Max laughed. “Contrary to popular belief, I can sit down and read. I do it quite often. I meant that, since I won’t be able to obtain an Umali because of my age, and there isn’t a large library of El-Aurian reference material. I may have to experiment with how to temper my age on either end of the spectrum.

“I have an old friend that I’ve hired to take care of Hart stables. He’s still got a good twenty years on me, like someone else I know.” Max looked smugly at Vi, but quickly added, “Age has not been as kind to him. At least I can make use of him until I can ask for another, older friend.”

“Obviously, there are plenty of average, young ensigns working on Triton that I can utilize as a source of more recent information.” ‘Not to mention a much younger boyfriend,’ he thought.

Vi sighed a little as she thought of age, of mortality. Her mood changed a little as she thought of Hevol. Where would she be now if he hadn't died on Mars? How hard it would have been to watch him grow older and eventually pass on to the ancestors as she continued to live on. 'Maybe a quick death was easier' she thought before immediately feeling sick with herself for such a horrible thought of the man she loved.

Max immediately felt Vianola’s mood change. “Obviously it was something I said,” he said aloud. “I certainly didn’t mean to elicit such a sudden change in feelings.”

Max grabbed the softest of soft fleece blankets and tossed it over her lap. He laid his head on her lap, an otherwise awkward situation with your boss if he was twenty years younger, a bit more attractive, and, most importantly straight. “So how do we fix the melancholy Miss Vi?” He asked his friend aloud.

The nuzzle from the Captain did throw her off a little, but it was nothing too surprising knowing him. Subconsciously she began to play with his hair, "I'm not melancholy," she protested feebly. "Just the thought of the mortality of other species sometimes gives me a little pause." She smiled a little weakly.

Max could feel her attempt - and failure - to change emotional reflection. Maxwell could also feel the physical comfort of one friend stroking the hair of another. It wasn’t unpleasant in anyway he could sense, for either of them. “That’s enough about me, Vi,” he decided to not be a complete narcissist. “Let’s talk about you. How are things going here? They can’t be easy for you, especially with me as your CO.”

"You can make things difficult, Max, but interesting to say the least. You keep me on my toes." Vi laughed softly. "The Romulan law enforcement here are tough to deal with but I think I am establishing a rapport with them, and our XO is warming up to me." she looked almost in disbelief. "He did not approve of how we first met back in that bar, the us part specifically. Romulans are far more reserved with public displays of... well... you know."

“I don’t know,” Max answered, the confusion clear in his voice. “The more Romulans I meet, the more I’m finding they’re as divided as they are unified. They paint a nice picture, but as you look more closely, they’re each small points of color to turn the canvas into a painting,” he laughed as he couldn’t remember the Earth term for the type of painting.

“They’re more conflicted than any other species I’ve met yet. It’s an odd thing to say.”

"They are a people of very strong opinions," Vi replied. "Those strong opinions, I guess, do lead to division as much as unity. I suppose with everyone here believing the planet, Hells their species, should be run a specific way can only lead to a 'messy canvas' if we are keeping your metaphor going."

“So are you worried that the Federation and Starfleet might be interfering with the clarity of their vision?” Max asked first before following up with, “or is it the fact that we’re en route to our third city state out of six is doing the same? And for that matter, the Praetor, who is meant to be clarifying this canvas has yet to be seen at a single one of these city states?” Max finished his rant.

"I think you need more wine, love." she said as she topped up his glass. "Those are worries for officers on duty." she smiled and nodded, albeit the nod was more to herself. "I'm not back on shift until the morning and unless someone dies, or we have a massive security breach, I am not thinking about anything but this glass.”

Max chuckled. “Okay, fine,” Max replied as he sat up so he could drink instead of choke or spill wine on Vi. “Just don’t let me get drunk enough to go punch Evelyn Stewart just out of spite.” Max smiled and stuck out his tongue.

"I'll let you get drunk enough to call Mr. Martinez for a booty call later." Vi stuck her tongue out back him. "As for Ev, you are both safe from each other. Genie's out of the bottle with you two."

Max was actually surprised by VI’s comment. “He’s such a sweet Terran, even if he needs to cut his dad from his life. But I’m not his therapist. I don’t even think he’s a booty call, Vi. I feel stupid, but I already like him…” he said, becoming serious for a moment.

Vi smiled. "That's good. I mean don't jump in with both feet, but if you like him maybe he'll be a bit of stability here for you. If it lasts, he can be influenced in time to see the error of his father’s ways."

Max cocked his head, agreeing with Vi. “So does he meet your security stamp of approval?” Max asked. “Assuming so, does he match your friendship seal of approval? You seem to know as much about him as I do!” Max brushed his hair back, it was time for a trim.

"If you think I let just anyone come see you Max, you are sadly mistaken," Vi said in a friendly tone. "After Jack...well I've kept closer tabs on your safety and who visits. I'll always look out for you, my Captain or not." Vi avoided the stamp of approval questions. She hadn't met the man, all she'd seen was information on a computer, and anybody can write anything.

“What if you met him?” Max asked. He knew Vi would be able to tweak the human to tell the truth and nothing but. “Maybe over dinner, assuming all goes well at Mountain Home?” Mountain Home, and how that would go, was a question entirely unto itself.

"If you want me to meet him, I can." Vi replied. "I'll try and not give off the overbearing, bigger sister, vibe." She laughed. "As for the Mountain Home, that is the question. Depends on how hospitable our Romulan friends are."

“Gods know what in the hells are going to happen!” Max blurted out. “Dani’s dad is a terrible person. His family seems to support business here with the Romulans more than Dani’s physical existence. I’m going out on a date with him tomorrow and breaking the tracking systems his father has used to keep his place in the Alpha Quadrant.

“If that starts to go under, we’ll be back on Triton without question,” Max told Vianola.

"Take your communicator with you, and please don't go too far." Vi almost pleaded with him.

Max smirked, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. “I’ve got a safe place worked out. It should limit Martinez Sr.’s dolts for about a day. Max filled their glasses with the last of the wine. “Damn,” he paused. “Now I have to find another bottle, same year…I should have a person for that soon,” Max looked to Vi with an evil look and a cocked eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, soon, these quarters won’t just look unlived in. I’m sure crewman Brix will have some ideas about my furniture and artwork,” he told Vi quite humbly really.

“As for meeting Mister Martinez, I’m not sure about him, but I would adore the meeting of the minds. If this was a Starfleet starship, I would say take the XO too, but I don’t want Dani jumping over board in fear of his life.”

"I would imagine that Colonel s'Khev would not be too happy with a meeting like that as well." Vi laughed as she accepted the last pour. "I made him smile the other day though." She sounded triumphant. "I think he's warming up to me."

“I can’t say I haven’t been working on that, but I guess my working isn’t hard enough. I don’t know,” Max said and then paused with a huff. "I haven’t taken a day off in the last ten days. The only thing keeping me sane is the twenty eight hour days. Without the extra twelve hours off, I’d be losing my mind by now!

There’s no satisfying the Colonel…and don’t you dare go there,” he suggested with a disgusted look on his face.

"I would never go there!" Vi covered her heart in fake shock and horror. "We just have different styles and he happens to prefer mine to yours," she teased.

“And what’s so wrong with my style, Vi?” he asked, a comfortable mental dimness starting to creep in. “Especially today,” he was ready to trounce anyone verbally who spoke against his homemade clothing.

"Nothing Max, its just not mine." Vi smiled at him. "Who knows the inner mind of a Romulan Colonel who sorely needs to get laid, or drunk, or a good nights rest?" her voice raised at the last part indicating she had no idea what would make the Colonel truly happy. "I've never understood Romulans... I don't even try with Vulcans."

Max and Vi sat together for a long time in comfortable silence. Eventually, Max’s eyes grew tired and his body relaxed with Vi playing with his hair. Before long, he was gently snoring.

It wasn’t until the next morning, when he woke up to an empty bottle and a hand written note about being “better company next time” that he had realized she’d even gone.

 

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