Uncomfortable Clarity

Posted on Sat Jan 10th, 2026 @ 10:45am by Commander Wesley Evans & Lieutenant Jaina Zalla

1,162 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Respite

Morning aboard the Eclipse came quietly, the ship still in low activity night shift cycle as departments eased into their day time shifts. Sickbay, usually alive with movement and low chatter, sat in a rare pocket of calm. Only a few medtechs reviewed data at the side consoles, their quiet conversation blending with the hum of biobed monitors. Wesley sat in his office, coffee mug in hand as he reviewed the overnight reports. His hair was slightly misaligned, his uniform loosened at the collar. It wasn't enough to make him look unprofessional, but enough to suggest that he had had a late night.

The doors to sickbay parted and Jaina stepped inside. She paused just past the threshold, her posture rigid in a way that betrayed far more than her expression did. She looked as though she’d slept hardly at all. In fact, if she had slept, it had been the restless, unsatisfying kind. Her gaze swept sickbay once before landing on the person she had come to see. Jaina hesitated. Leaving would have been easier, indeed avoidance usually was. But she forced herself forward to the open doorway of the medical office. "Sir, do you have a minute?” she asked.

Wesley looked up immediately. The tension in Zalla's voice wasn’t lost on him, neither was the way she avoided eye contact for a heartbeat too long. He set his mug down, nodded once, and gestured for her to step inside his office and sit down.

When she had sat down in one of the chairs, Jaina exhaled, a long, controlled breath as if she were bracing herself for a tactical report rather than a personal conversation. “We should talk,” she said. “About last night.”

Wesley softened his stance, folding his arms without closing himself off. “I’m glad you came,” he said gently. “And yes, we should.”

Silence stretched between them for a moment. It wasn't hostile, just weighed down by everything unspoken. The memory of the previous night hovered in her ming, everything from the gym, the exhaustion, the grief, the anger. Jaina finally met his eyes. There was frustration there, directed not at him, but at herself. “I wasn’t thinking clearly,” she said, voice low. “I was angry and hurt, and you were trying to help, and I...” Her voice faltered. “I misread it. Or maybe I didn’t. I don’t know.”

Wesley listened without interrupting. He knew pushing would only make her retreat. “I don’t regret being there for you,” he said quietly. “But I also don’t want this to make things harder for you. Or for either of us.”

Jaina swallowed, tension tightening her shoulders again. “It’s just that everything with Alesia is still really fresh, and I don’t want you thinking that I used you. And I don’t want...” She shook her head. “I don’t want this to mess up our working relationship.”

Wesley leaned a little closer, not enough to crowd her, but enough that she could see the sincerity in his face. “Jaina, we both walked into last night,” he said. “Two people hurting, people needing something familiar, something grounding. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t wrong. And you didn’t use me.”

Her eyes flicked away again, but the stiffness softened. “I just needed to make sure we’re okay,” she murmured.

“We are,” Wesley said with a small smile. “And we’ll figure out the rest together. Without rushing anything and without letting this change who we are as officers.”

For the first time since entering sickbay, Jaina looked relieved, although still conflicted. A tiny breath of tension left her chest. “Thank you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Wesley nodded. “Anytime,” he said.

After a moment of silence, Jaina looked up at the commander's eyes and frowned. "You said that we were hurting," she said slowly. "I have to ask, if that's alright, what were you hurting from?"

Wesley nodded and leaned back in his chair for a moment, thinking carefully before he spoke. "I've never really spoken of this, not for a long time," he finally said. "I was briefly married several years ago. We met while at the academy, got married when she graduated, even though I went on to medical school and she went on to serving as a security officer. We drifted apart throughout the years, in fact I haven't even spoken to her in several years. The day I arrived on Starbase 24 to wait for the Eclipse to arrive because of my transfer back, I ran into her. We recognized each other of course, and I tried to rekindle our relationship." He broke off with a heavy sigh.

Jaina could read between the lines and she instantly knew what he was about to say. "She had already found someone else, hadn't she?"

Wesley nodded. "They were already engaged," he confirmed. "In fact, she told me that they had set a date and that all they were waiting for was for the divorce papers to be signed. The JAG officer sent them to me the day I came aboard the Eclipse. Naturally, after the conversation I had with her on the starbase, I just signed them and returned them. I don't know why it hit me like it did, and in a way I think I felt as if I were using you as well and for that I truly apologize."

Jaina nodded silently, her thoughts whirling for a long moment before she spoke again. "So I guess we both needed last night," she finally said.

"Yeah," Wesley said with a measured nod. "Where we go from here, I really don't know. But I'll understand and accept any course you decide on."

"I think I need some time," Jaina said. "In fact, it sounds like we both do."

"I can certainly agree to that," Wesley said.

Jaina stood. "But, I certainly wouldn't mind if we actually talked, both about what happened last night and what happens next between us. I ask that you at least be open with me. I need more communication in a relationship, not just a series of one night stands."

"I'm in complete agreement," Wesley said. "The last thing I want to do is end up hurting both of us again."

Jaina nodded and offered a small but completely real smile. "Then I think we're both off to a better start than we were before," she said. Giving Evans one of her usual crooked grins, she turned and walked out of sickbay, somehow feeling lighter, maybe even happier.

Wesley watched her as she left sickbay. He still wasn't sure how things would work out between them, but at least he could feel better about the circumstances. For now, it seemed, there was clarity. He hoped that was enough for now. With a heavy sigh, he stood and tried to push it to the side. He had a department to run.

 

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