Midnight on the Run

Posted on Sun 12th Oct, 2025 @ 9:41pm by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Renato Solis

1,625 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: From The Ashes
Location: Dr. Graves Office
Timeline: 2300 hours

{Paul Graves Quarters}

For the renewal of their late night appointment Renato had come prepared. It was an honor of their maturing friendship to be invited to Paul's home. So, he brought a classic vintage record player with actual records. Betazoid music had a tendency to turn into long symphonies of whale song like compositions, Ullian music was all about octave ranges, but Human music had a balance between their senses that was enjoyed by both men. He placed a record by BB King, "Live from Cook County Jail" to start the night.

He joked as he placed the needle, "I can empathize with his experience a touch. My stay was six months though."

The voice which sang to them was in pain, but the aura was bliss. Renato poured a glass of Strawberry flavored tea, soaking in the notes.

"I suspect you can," Paul agreed. He set a bowl of assorted hard candies that he remembered Renato liking on the table where their drinks were. "You should listen to some Johnny Cash, sometime, too."

Renato took that suggestion with a gentle nod and sipped his tea. The honey taffy caught his eye. "it is so very good to see your home, thank you for having me."

"I should have had you here long before this," Paul said. "It's good to finally be able to host you."

While Renato had been gone, Paul had discovered a blend of orange-cinnamon black tea that had swiftly become his favorite. He poured a cup for himself, added stevia, and took a sip. "It's good to have you back, Renato. I've missed the heck out of you. I was stunned by how much. Work kept me busy a lot of the time, but it wasn't the same." He sighed. "And you didn't have the distraction of work."

Gracefully Renato made a slight bow with is head, replying "Seeing your face at my trial filled me with a warmth I can't describe. Like... revelation. It is good to be back, Paul. The notion of coming home has never been so strong as the last half a year. What have you been up to, what has happened, let us for once talk of you."

Paul took a deep swallow of tea. "Well...Mikaela's been gone for even longer than you have, and she only just returned, so not a whole lot happening in the love life department for a while," Paul said with an amused look. "I've had some patients with interesting problems that I would love to discuss with you if professional ethics would only let me. A colleague of mine died. You remember Dr. Anderson from the Brown Sector clinic? She volunteered to participate as a physician in a Klingon war game exercise, and she somehow got killed. Oddest thing I've ever heard of. What else...you knew Qaraq, right? He bought the Orchids & Jazz space and has tried to revive the jazz club. It's not quite the same, though. He's hired an employee with the most fascinating cat." Paul gave Renato a wry look. "Meaning, I keep wanting to pet the cat every time I see her. I don't know why."

Renato knew of Gary and Sundae, and was not surprised Qaraq had only expanded his holdings. The headline for Paul though was Mikaela Locke returning.

"Oh goodness, is Commander Locke back? And that cat is a mystery wrapped in a riddle, stuffed with enigma, I also feel compelled to... it sounds so odd, but... I get the urge to tend to her needs. Make sure she is comfortable." Though he laughed at that in a small way Renato paused to separate the sentiment from what he said next, "Dr. Anderson... she was... she helped me a lot when I was not myself. I am sorry to hear that, Paul."

"So am I; it was quite a shock. As for Mikaela and I--we're going to spend some time getting reacquainted. I don't think she wants to move in together. I have to say, though, her not being XO is--I'm kind of glad, because it will make our relationship easier than it was before. We can go on vacation at the same time. That sounds so crazy and petty, doesn't it? Being XO and Second Officer while being in a relationship was a pain."

He couldn't help but smile, "I often tell myself, when change comes, that there is no good or bad, just what is welcome or not. She may sense an unwelcome change, but I think you are welcoming it, yes? So I hope you finally get to have that work/life balance."

One corner of Paul's mouth quirked upward. "I think Mikaela doesn't like it because it's a bit of a demotion, even though she won't lose her rank, just her position in the command structure. Technically, she could probably replace me as Second Officer, though, if I were her, I wouldn't want that; it could appear as though Command somehow didn't think her up to being First Officer--which isn't true, but you know how people will talk. She probably would have liked being Chief of Intelligence, but I think she'll do well with whatever position they find for her. Maybe Andrus Grax will come up with something. He owes her that, if you ask me, since he took her out of 109's command chain for so long."

"Mikaela and I have never met, but I sense your butterscotch emotions when you have her in your thoughts. Whatever either of you do, please prioritize your time together, take this chance, if even fleeting. Life is long, romance... is not always."

"Butterscotch? I hope I don't come across as too sappy when I'm with her; I'd hate to be that way," Paul said. "I agree with you, though. about making time together a priority. I think that's doubly important after an extended absence."

He looked back at Renato. "Have you ever had...someone special?" Paul couldn't recall Renato ever talking about anyone romantically. If he preferred Ullians, his exile would make that all but impossible. "You don't have to answer that if you'd rather not."

Renato considered his usual dodge of obfuscation and silver-tongued avoidance, but realized there was absolutely no reason to. Paul was as good as it got when it came to speaking your mind.

"I mean nothing by it, I am florid in my word choice, but take it as a flair for dramatist. There has been a time or two where I was..."

He found himself being vague, and refocused his story, "There was a friend who I loved dearly. It was returned but only in kinship. I became obsessed, in my youth I had impulse control issues, became a false persona to please them... I ruined it, trying to make something happen, but limitations of gender ideology made it so I would never have qualified as a romantic partner. When he married I spoke my mind in a drunken fit. It was the last time we spoke. Anything that followed was fleeting."

His eyes welled, as Renato lamented what was for the millionth time in a lifetime.

"That rots," Paul said, no pity; just a statement of fact. "I did gather during your trial that Ullia is extremely strait-laced in its thinking. Is there no outlet for same-sex couples at all, or was it just that one person?"

Renato nodded to agree, "Ullia allows for same sex couples, it was my pursuit of someone who had no returning interest that drove me to madness. No others stood a chance in the face of such a headstrong belief as I had that we could be a couple. It was foolishness, I marked myself a fool for it at least. It is a lesson I've carried for my whole life. My libido has taken a back seat for what feels like a lifetime at this point, my happiness comes from other sources...."

Renato took a sip, and paused in near speech, before asking Paul, "I think I very much enjoy this new portion of my life focusing on the cultivation of my community, moreso than the silly rituals which took so much energy and attention. If I could live my youth all over again, I would spend it reading, and exploring, learning as much as I could while my brain could take it all in. Oh that's the waste of youth, isn't it?!"

"Too true," Paul agreed. "When you have the time, you don't know best what to do with it, and when you're finally old enough to know how best to spend your time, you're running short of it," he said in wry tones.

A natural lull fell between them, and the two friends comfortably sat in silence as the album went on. Strings were the closest to a human voice an instrument could get, and the notes were pulled much like the honey taffy and overlapped into discordant harmonies. Renato had always found that to be the most pleasing thing about the blues jazz of Earth, the music was so alive. The blues made sadness beautiful, and for that it was special.

After some time, Renato felt his eyes grow heavy, before the night could end he had one last thing to offer his friend.

"If what comes after is real in any way, and I've come to see it as a coin flip, then I know she is watching us. Inasmuch as I might yearn for the peace and solemnity of non-existence, there is great comfort to think of old friends long past still checking on us, waiting patiently. To Elizabeth."

Renato raised his glass for a cheers.

Paul clinked his glass against Renato's. "To Elizabeth, wherever we may find her."

 

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