Early Morning Comms Run

Posted on Thu Aug 14th, 2025 @ 3:53pm by Lieutenant Lioren Daeval & Ensign Kaaven Saenar

590 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Prelude: The Gathering
Location: Main Bridge, USS Proxima
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 0000

[USS Proxima]
[Main Bridge]

The comms station aboard the Proxima wasn’t especially glamorous. Consoles hummed softly under pale blue lighting, their status monitors flickering in rhythm as subspace traffic cycled by in endless streams.

Ensign Kaaven Saenar already felt at home there. He hummed as he worked. It was something gentle and wordless, almost like a lullaby. His fingers skimmed delicately over a screen while a long diagnostic scrolled beside him.

Lieutenant Lioren Daeval lingered at the threshold to the bridge, momentarily unnoticed.his arms folded coolly across his chest.

He watched the young Haliian in stillness: the subtle sway of his shoulders with the rhythm, the way his posture ,fluid even while seated, seemed to radiate both emotion and focus. There was something bright about him. Untamed, but careful not to burn.

Given the early hour, the bridge was quiet, without the usual bustle of mid-shift. Lioren cleared his throat gently so as not to startle him. He smiled small, but warm.

“Lieutenant Lioren Daeval. We met briefly at the safety briefing yesterday, though not properly.”

“Ensign Kaaven Saenar,” the Haliian replied, springing to his feet. “Can I be of assistance, sir?” A communications device was still tucked in his left ear as he stood at attention.

“I was told you were good. Efficient. And very… fast.” Lioren let the corner of his mouth lift into a smirk.

Kaaven tilted his head slightly. “That sounds suspiciously like the tone someone uses before asking for a personal favor.”

Lioren raised a brow. “Am I so transparent?”

Kaaven grinned. “No, sir. But this isn't my first assignment.”

“I need to send a message to Betazed,” Lioren said at last. “To my mother in Vandarelle. It’s not urgent, but I’d rather not route it through official channels. She prefers… something more personal than the standard transmission.”

Kaaven was already sitting again, pulling up a subspace queue. “She doesn’t like the three-second delay in the official relay feed, does she?”

“She calls it ‘the silence of bureaucratic affection,’” Lioren replied dryly, shaking his head.

Kaaven giggled. “She sounds like a poet. Or someone very good at guilt.”he thought of his own mother, a woman who could somehow make him and his siblings feel guilty for something she herself had done.

“She’s both.” Lio paused, then added, “She’s also been alone a long time. I think she worries I disappear when I’m not speaking to her. As if silence is a symptom.”

Kaaven’s expression softened. “That’s fair. My father used to say, ‘Absence is a note that keeps playing.’”

Lioren turned to him, visibly impressed. “That’s… quite beautiful.”

Kaaven shrugged, offering a shy smile. “He wasn’t wrong. So...visual, or just voice?”

“Visual. But low bandwidth. I’ll keep it short.”

Lioren stepped forward, but Kaaven lifted a hand. “Wait. Let me adjust the encoder. The default setting makes everyone look solemn and vaguely haunted. Like a Vulcan monastic statue.”

Lioren laughed, a real laugh. Not just a smile.“You seem like you’re very good at this,” he said observing Kaaven work his magic.

Kaaven looked up from his console. “At communications?”

“At people.”The Betazoid said, plainly.

Kaaven blinked. Then smiled bashfully, but warm. “Only when they’re being real with me.”

Lioren nodded as Kaaven resumed his adjustments, fingers dancing confidently over the controls.

“Let me know when you’re ready,” Kaaven said, glancing up at Lio. His tone was light, but there was something expectant in his gaze.

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