The Quiet Between Stars
Posted on 2025, Sun Jul 27th, @ 8:41pm by Lieutenant Commander Corin Taves & Lieutenant Commander Kaela Renn
434 words; about a 2 minute read
Mission:
Episode 1A "Shadows of the Empire"
Location: Earth | Paris – Île Saint-Louis
Timeline: Present
The café was small, tucked between two centuries-old stone facades along the Seine. A single candle flickered between them. The table was worn smooth from decades of conversation, laughter, and maybe a few silences like this one — the comfortable kind.
Kaela Renn swirled her wine, eyes reflecting the soft orange glow of the streetlamp nearby. “You know, if someone told me ten years ago I’d be drinking pinot noir with a Security Chief in Paris, I would’ve told them they had the wrong Trill.”
Corin Taves gave a small, amused smile. “And if someone told me I’d spend my leave not punching anything... I’d have been suspicious.”
She laughed, leaning back in her chair. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Okay, fine,” Corin said, chuckling. “I almost punched a Ferengi at the wine shop. But I showed restraint. You’d be proud.”
“I’m always proud of you,” Kaela said, without teasing this time.
There was a pause — not heavy, just full. He watched her tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, her spots tracing delicate patterns against the candlelight.
“How long has it been since we’ve had one evening where no one’s bleeding, shouting, or radiating?” he asked.
“Eighty-seven days,” she replied automatically.
He blinked.
“I track these things,” she said with a smirk, then her voice softened. “I miss this.”
Corin reached across the table and took her hand in his, his fingers rough from training, hers warm from the wineglass.
“I do too,” he said. “And I think… I’m afraid of losing this. Of forgetting who I am when I’m not on the job.”
“You’re not your rank,” she said. “And you’re not alone.”
He studied her face — familiar and new in the same breath — and then leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles.
A waiter walked by and paused only long enough to smile at them. No interruptions. No urgent comms. No emergency reroutes.
Just two officers. Two people. Holding on.
Later that evening, they walked along the river in silence. Not because there was nothing to say — but because everything important had already been said.
Taves’ Personal Log – 23:18 Hours
She grounds me in ways duty never could.
I don’t know what the next mission will look like, but if I have this —
Just this — I’ll make it through.
Renn’s Personal Log – 23:22 Hours
I remembered how to breathe tonight.
He makes me feel like I’m more than my work.
And tomorrow, I’ll make sure he knows the same.
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