My Life, My Love, and My Lady

Posted on Sat Aug 8th, 2026 @ 11:39pm by Lieutenant Zoren Valyus & Commander Cornelius 'Kit' Hanlon

2,470 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Behind the Curtain
Location: First Officer's Office, Deck 2, USS Fenrir
Timeline: En Route

[ON]

Commander Cornelius Hanlon sat behind his desk with a mug of coffee that had gone somewhat cold in one hand and Lieutenant Valyus' service record open on the PADD in the other. Kit had not served with many Deltans before, which created a natural curiosity, but he pushed that aside as he read. There would be time to learn about the man himself when he arrived.

For now, Kit was more interested in the years spent providing relief to Cardassian colonies, the xenoneurology work on Deep Space Five and the mass-casualty training aboard the Endeavour. It was a strong record, varied enough to suggest Valyus knew how to adapt when circumstances changed and experienced enough that the Assistant Chief position did not feel like much of a leap. The removed reprimand, which was now just a footnote, caught Kit's attention as well, earning a small smile as he lifted the coffee to his lips. Refusing to hand over a critically injured patient for interrogation said something about a doctor. Probably several things, depending on who was writing the report. Kit liked that though, a stance. Starfleet values. Kit lowered the mug again and glanced towards the door, wondering which version of the story Valyus would tell, if he would at all.

___________
[Zoren's Quarters]

The temptation to dive into new waters was always present for Zoren. He could scarcely have been a bigger lover of aquatic bodies than if he'd been a piscinoid. His mother had joked that he should have been born with gills. Yet despite such enthusiastic longing, even he knew that new waters were uncertain things. It was best to sit at the shore for a while, and to study the wet before descending into it.

It was no less so when embarking upon a new ship along the sea of stars he'd made his home. So he'd forced himself to wait before jumping in. He'd put away his things. Placed simple decorations in his quarters. Then sat, eyes closed, listening to the sound of the sea.

The tide of emotion could tell you a lot about a new posting. The combined feelings of a crew made a kind of mental sound. Like the noise of countless waves tumbling into each other and upon the shore. Not one of them could be clearly discerned or singled out. But they sang their low song, delivered their gentle pressure upon the threshold. Told you about the weather beyond the horizon.

This song of hundreds of souls told him the weather would be just fine. The waters would be warm and welcoming. This was a place he could call home. A safe perch from which he could sail upon the starry sea he'd chosen to embark upon nearly two decades ago.

Fenrir. A name derived from legends of human origin. Those legends described a dangerous wolf born of a trickster God and his giantess lover. Zoren wasn't entirely sure what the name was meant to convey from the human perspective. But he knew that a part of the legend described the creature as a bound and chained animal- chained because of the danger it represented.

That, at least, was a metaphor he understood. Power without restraint could only lead to disaster. So he chose to take the name as a symbol of wisdom, and that made him happy.

He indulged in his meditations for some time, but he could not remain in his quarters forever. He would need to report in. To his department head. To his commanding officers.

He stood, smoothed his uniform, and undertook the journey.

Until finally he stood outside the Commander's office and touched the chime.

___________

[Commander's Ready Room]

The chime made Hanlon look up, a small smile coming to him as he let out a breath. "Enter," he said and stood, because that was always polite. And Kit liked making people feel welcomed.

Upon being given the word to enter, Zoren stepped inside the chamber and presented himself at attention.

"Lieutenant Zoren Valyus reporting, Sir," he announced himself in a deep, unhurried voice.

Kit took him in for a moment, from the broad shoulders and hairless scalp to the almost deliberate stillness with which he held himself. The deep, unhurried voice suited the impression the service record had given him, although there was something considerably more imposing about Valyus in person than a photograph had managed to capture. Kit's smile warmed as he gestured towards one of the chairs rather than leaving the man standing at attention. "At ease, Doctor, and welcome aboard. Please, have a seat." He moved towards the replicator, lifting his own mug slightly as he did. "Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, water? Mine's gone cold, so I wouldn't necessarily take that as a recommendation..."

Zoren relaxed his posture, though not much. Then he took the offered seat.

The offering of a beverage was a more complicated matter. In some cultures, such an offer could not be refused without causing offense. In others, it should be refused to prevent putting a Host into a subservient position. There were even peoples who would judge you on the choice of a beverage, using it to determine vast details about your entire personality.

Zoren thought that in this case, a coffee was just a coffee. But he wasn't thirsty.

"Thank you, Sir. I'm fine." He paused, a thought occurring to him. "Though I am curious.

At the Academy, and at various postings, I've noticed that some people enjoy hot coffee. And some people prefer cold coffee poured over ice. But even larger than these two groups are the people who drink both hot and cold coffee.

And yet... even among such people, if a drinker makes themselves a hot coffee, and it becomes cold, they look at it with distaste.

Is there a rule about coffee temperature I have misunderstood or overlooked all of these years?"

This probably wasn't the right venue to ask, but who knew when the topic might surface again naturally in the future?

Kit looked down at the coffee in his hand, considering it for a moment before he smiled. "No, I just have a bad habit of making coffee, getting absorbed in a report or something, and then remembering it exists half an hour later." He lifted the mug slightly. "It's basically a chronometer, just in disapproving liquid form." He looked at it again before setting it aside. "Although now you've asked, I'm probably going to spend far too much time wondering why deliberately cold coffee is fine and accidentally cold coffee is somehow offensive." He sat down again, folding his hands loosely in front of him as he smiled at the Deltan. "I suspect you're going to be busy reporting to half the ship today, but I wanted the chance to meet you properly and do a bit of a check-in. I'm Kit Hanlon, First Officer, and part of my job is making sure people have what they need to do well here." His smile crooked slightly. "And, ideally, helping them get where they want to go in Starfleet without making the process unnecessarily painful."

Zoren allowed himself a small smile, "Perhaps it is about the beverage subverting your intentions. Recalcitrant foods. I've seen something similar with soups. If I were a Cousnelor, I might do a study on it."

A study that would be read by an entire seven people in the entire galaxy.

"I enjoy meeting new people," Zoren said next, "though I admit whenever I first report to a new posting, it takes time to get used to the..." How to describe it? "...The sensation of it. Like the sounds of waves on a new shoreline. A song of indistinct emotions rolling over the decks and bulkheads. A fingerprint of shared experience. Fenrir has a good song. I think I will like it, here."

He thought about the topic of aspirations the ship's XO had raised. "I hope someday to lead my own department. Serving under Doctor McEntyre will be instructive to that end. The reports of his relief operations on Acamar are recommended reading for all front-line physicians throughout Starfleet. I did not think I'd have the opportunity to meet him in person, much less serve with him. I feel privileged to be here."

It was usually polite to return interest.

"I have also thought that one day I might command a vessel. If it is not too forward to ask, what has been your most persistent challenge in Command of a starship?"

While Hanlon was not the CO, an XO found themselves frequently in the center chair, and their more personal experiences with the crew probably did much to shape the command persona.

Hanlon looked at him with surprise. Usually he didn't like having the spotlight put on himself during one of these, but Zoren had already covered every question that he had asked, even casually. He sat back a little, tilting his head. "Honestly? For me it has been stepping away from what I once did," he admitted with an almost embarrassed smile. "It's...difficult to step away from something you've done for most of your adult life and then letting someone else be in charge of it."

Zoren was surprised to hear his own reservations coming from another person's lips. The only thing that gave him pause in his ambitions for command was letting medicine take a back-seat to other duties. Apparently, he was not alone with such concerns.

"I have often wondered what it might feel like to step away from the medbay. What I might miss. You were an engineer, weren't you, Sir?"

It was always prudent to do a modicum of research on the people you were going to be working with.

"Do you ever find opportunities to indulge those interests now that you are in a command position?"

"Indulge is the right word," Kit said and nodded, giving the other man a small smile. "And...you don't have to call me Sir when we're talking. Hanlon or even Kit depending on situation." He shifted, thinking about it for a moment. With the other man's ambitions, Kit wanted to be honest about his own experiences without frightening him away from the Command track. "I sometimes sneak in and do minor work when I get to a place where I need to feel that. I should talk to a counsellor about it, because not entirely sure covert engineering is considered a healthy coping mechanism..." he chuckled and met Zoren's eyes. "It's hard, but it depends on why you want command. What I want is...important enough for me to leave Engineering. But I haven't stopped being an Engineer."

From time to time in Zoren's career, a superior officer had offered the chance to use casual address in private conversations. Perhaps one day he and Commander Hanlon would get there.

But he did not think it would be today. Such offers came honestly enough, but when the fact of it manifested, it could create unintentional awkwardness. Better to be honest friends, first, before taking such liberties.

"My father told me once that life was like a corridor full of doors. And whenever you opened one door and stepped through, it would close behind you. A new corridor would then beckon, with more doors to choose from. My mother told me that if I found a door closed behind me, I should go ahead and open a window that I could crawl out of."

He smiled. "My mother would probably approve of your covert engineering projects."

He was tempted to ask why the Commander had sought command, but decided he'd probed enough during this encounter. He cleared his throat. "Was there anything you wanted to address before I meet my department head S-soon?"

He narrowly avoided the 'Sir.' He didn't replace it with 'Kit,' however.

"Just...if there is anything you need from me," Kit said as he met the man's eyes and held them. "If you have Command ambitions, there are things that I can arrange for you to get the experience towards it. But I won't think about doing it unless you say you want it, if that makes sense?" he gave an apologetic smile, because he knew it sounded a bit...strange. He was working on it though, to ensure everyone had what they needed on the ship. Doctor McEntyre would shape the department and the day to day experiences for Doctor Valyus. But Kit could help with the ambitions outside of sickbay.

Zoren stood, meeting the Commander's gaze. Sometimes he worried a significant look portended that something salacious was brewing, but he could tell the Commander was being earnest.

"The offer means a lot. Once I've settled in here, I will indeed be reaching out. Also... I wanted to express my thanks to you, and to the Captain, for taking me on. I know that not every ship desires the complication of having a Deltan on board. Even if it's not politic to say so.

I won't let you down."

The words felt like they should come with a physical gesture. An offered hand, perhaps.

Sometimes Zoren missed the myriad of casual social touches that life was supposed to contain. But losing them was a small price to pay for gaining the whole galaxy of possibilities that serving on a Starship could bring.

Kit's expression softened slightly at that, and he stood as well, although he made no move to offer his hand. "You don't need to thank us for taking you on, Doctor Valyus. You were offered the position because your record said you were the right person for it." He gave a small shrug, as if that really was as complicated as it needed to be. "Being Deltan doesn't change that. If there are things we need to accommodate or be aware of, then we do that. Same as anyone else." His smile returned at the promise, warmer this time. "And don't worry about not letting us down. You're allowed the occasional bad day. We all are." Kit stepped around the desk, giving him a small nod towards the door. "Go meet Doctor McEntyre before I make you late on your first day. And once you've settled in, come find me and we'll have another conversation about Command."

Zoren's expression hardened slightly. Not because he was upset; quite the opposite. It was because he felt a swell of emotion and was putting his hands on his own reigns. His eyes told the tale. One could easily read gratefulness in them.

"Thank you," he said at last, and then made his departure.

When the door was closed, he added one word to himself:

"Kit."

OFF:

Commander Kit Hanlon
First Officer
USS Fenrir

&

Lieutenant Zoren Valyus
Ast. Chief Medical Officer
USS Fenrir

 

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