First Solo Run [Part 1]

Posted on Tue Mar 11th, 2025 @ 8:07am by Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami

1,927 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Timeline: Past

The sound of the Pendragon’s engines powering up reverberated through the ship, vibrating the deck beneath Adrianna’s feet. She stopped mid-step, her brow furrowing as she looked over her shoulder toward the cockpit. Something felt… off.

She had arrived less than an hour ago, her bag slung over her shoulder and her mind half-focused on the last conversation she'd had with Vance. He’d been cryptic, asking her to meet him at the ship for a “simple run”. She had assumed the crew would be there, ready to dive into another of Vance’s lucrative–albeit risky– ventures. But now, as the low hum of the engines grew into a steady thrum, she realised she hadn’t seen a single member of the crew.

Her steps quickened as she approached the cockpit, the unease building in her chest. She rounded the corner and froze when she saw him, seated comfortably in the captain’s chair, his hand lazily resting on the throttle.

“Where’s the crew, Capitano?” she asked, her voice sharper than she intended.

Vance glanced at her, his smirk as casual as ever, “not coming.”

Her heart skipped a beat, “eh? What do you mean, ‘not coming’? Who’s running the ship?”

He leaned back, his fingers dancing over the controls with practiced ease, “I am– and you.”

Adrianna’s stomach twisted. Her heart leapt at the idea of being alone with him, just the two of them. It was romantic, intimate– exactly what part of her longed for. But another part of her, the part that had spent years learning and training to survive, couldn’t help but see shadows in his smile.

“Vance,” she began cautiously, stepping further into the cockpit, “what kind of run is this?”

“Relax,” he said, shooting her a quick glance, “it’s nothing dangerous. Just a short trip, a few systems over. Thought it’d be good for us to get some time alone. No distractions.”

Her heart soared, but her mind screamed. Why alone? Why now? Had she left something that could link her to StarFleet in her quarters before she left with the kids?

Adrianna crossed her arms, leaning against the doorway as she studied him, “You’ve never done a solo run before. Not with me anyway.”

He chuckled, adjusting the ship’s trajectory, “First time for everything, dove.”

Her pulse quickened. Was this his way of testing her? Had Lutz outed her? Had he pieced together who she really was? She thought of the times she’d slipped away to send intelligence back to StarFleet, the coded messages she’d buried in seemingly innocent exchanges. Had he found something?

She forced herself to breathe, her voice calm as she asked, “what’s the real reason, Vance?”

His hands stilled on the controls, and he turned to face her fully. His smirk softened into something more genuine, almost vulnerable, “do I need a reason to want to spend some alone time with you?”

The words disarmed her, and for a moment, she hated herself for doubting him but the conflict inside her raged on, her head and her heart battling for dominance. “I don’t know,” she said softly, her gaze steady on his, “do you?”

Vance held her gaze, his expression unreadable. Then, with a quiet sigh, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I know you’ve been through a lot, Adrianna, and I know you probably don’t trust anyone fully anyway, but I’m not here to hurt you. I just want...” He hesitated, his voice dropping to a near whisper, “I just want you– to see if what is between us can actually work. A lot happened whilst you were gone. I almost lost the entire crew because I put you first. I feel like I know the answer, but I have to know that the fallout would have been worth it.”

The sincerity in his tone cracked something inside her. Her heart screamed at her to believe him, to let go of the fear and the doubt. Her head– the part of her trained to see deception everywhere– kept her rooted in place, refusing to budge, her arms still crossed.

“Then why didn’t you tell me the crew wasn’t coming?” she asked, her voice a little steadier now.

“Because I knew you’d overthink it,” he said with a small, wry smile, “and here we are– you're overthinking it already and we're barely out of the dock.”

Adrianna’s lips parted to respond, but no words came. Instead, she exhaled slowly, her body relaxing just a fraction. She didn’t know whether to lean into her heart or listen to her head but for now, she’d let the engines carry her forward and see where they landed.

Vance leaned back in the captain’s chair, his eyes softening as he studied her. “Look,” he began, his voice gentler now, “I know you've not been able to relax for the last six weeks, and I know coming back hasn’t been easy. So yeah, maybe I had a selfish reason for wanting this run to be just us, but part of it…” he paused, glancing at the controls before meeting her gaze again, “I figured you could use the money too.”

Adrianna blinked, caught off guard, “the money?”

He nodded, his expression earnest. “I’ve been holding your shares from the last few jobs before you stayed with the kids, but you weren’t here to collect. Thought this would be a good way to get you back into the swing of things. Low risk, decent payout, and no one breathing down your neck or taking your share. You can make up for lost paydays.”

Her arms loosened from their defensive fold as his words sunk in. He wasn’t wrong– she had been away for weeks, and the life she’d walked back into felt precarious at best. Starfleet had offered her no immediate orders, leaving her tethered to the Pendragon but unsure where she stood. The idea of earning her keep, of re-establishing herself, made sense. Not to mention that to look the part, she had to pretend like she was living off of his paychecks.

Still, she tilted her head, studying him closely, “You could’ve just told me that upfront. I had a bit saved too from prior jobs. I would have been ok. But, grazie– thank you. I appreciate the thought.”

Vance chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, “Yeah, well… I’m not exactly great at the whole honest communication thing. Figured you might say no thinking I'm treating you like a charity, and I wasn’t about to let you sit around thinking you didn’t belong here, or that I didn't care.”

Adrianna’s lips twitched, the faintest hint of a smile breaking through her suspicion, “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“Yes,” he said with a grin, “but you’re still here and you're smiling.”

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress the warmth spreading in her chest. The idea that he’d planned this run not just for his sake but for hers was sweet, in a way she wasn’t used to or had expected.

“Fine,” she said, pushing off the doorway and stepping closer to the controls, “but if this run goes sideways because we don't have the others, you’re paying me double.”

“Deal,” Vance said, his grin widening as he flicked a few switches to bring the ship into full power, “you won’t regret it, Reggimi.”

Adrianna sank into the co-pilot’s seat, her mind still wrestling with the conflicting emotions swirling inside her. But for now, with the engines humming and Vance by her side, she decided to let her heart have the wheel– at least for a little while or until he proved otherwise.

As the Pendragon slipped into the gentle hum of hyperspace, a comfortable silence fell between them. Adrianna kept her gaze forward, staring out at the stars streaking past, her mind still caught between trust and caution.

Vance was the first to break the quiet, his voice softer than expected, “it wasn’t the same without you, you know.”

She glanced at him, his eyes fixed on the controls, even though autopilot had now engaged.

“For the past six weeks,” he continued, “I only took small runs. Barely made enough to keep the crew happy. We took nothing that needed a translator. Hell, I turned down jobs that would've been a goldmine because... I didn’t want to bring someone else onboard. I didn't want to replace you.”

Her breath hitched, and she turned fully toward him, “you didn’t have to do that.”

“Maybe not,” he admitted, glancing at her briefly before focusing back on the ship’s readouts, “but I couldn’t stomach it. The idea of someone else sleeping in your quarters, working alongside me where you should’ve been? It didn’t sit right. So, I kept it as it was. Your room’s untouched. Exactly how you left it.”

She didn't have a reason to doubt him– which meant that he didn't find out her truth from her quarters. Adrianna’s heart tightened, the vulnerability in his words cutting through the wall she’d built up since her return. He hadn’t just waited– he’d had faith. “And the crew?” she asked quietly, “how did they feel about it all?”

He exhaled, his fingers drumming lightly on the console. “They grumbled, sure. They’re used to bigger payouts, flashier jobs thanks to you. A few even suggested hiring someone else, just until you got back. There may have been talk of mutiny,” his voice hardened slightly, a flicker of his temper showing, “I shut that down fast. Told them you weren’t replaceable and that they needed to be grateful to you for what you did.”

Adrianna didn’t know what to say. She leaned back in her seat, letting the weight of his words settle over her.

“I had faith that you’d come back,” Vance said after a moment, his tone gentler now, “I didn’t know when or how, but I knew that you would return alive and well. You’re not someone who disappears for good– not without damn good reasons.”

Her chest ached at the certainty in his voice, the unshakable belief that she’d return to the Pendragon– to him. It was both comforting and terrifying because he didn’t know the full truth of who she was or the things she’d done.

“And now you’re here,” Vance added, his lips curving into a small, sincere smile, “Right where you’re supposed to be.”

Adrianna swallowed hard, her heart warring with her head again but she let herself believe– just a little– that maybe she could belong here– with him.

“Thanks for waiting, amore mio,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Always,” he replied, glancing at her with a warmth that made her heart skip, “now, let’s see what trouble we can get into, shall we?”

She blinked away her lived up gaze and managed a small smile, her doubts still lingering but her walls cracking ever so slightly, “Just don’t get us killed, Capitano.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Vance said with a grin, turning his attention back to the controls as they dropped out of warp but the warmth in his voice lingered, wrapping around her like a quiet promise.

 

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