STF

Deck 5- Hiding Out

Posted June 8, 2022, 3:33 p.m. by Lieutenant Miranda Martel (Chief Engineer) (Sam Haynes)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Eulailia Dacascos (Chief Operations Officer) in Deck 5- Hiding Out

Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Deck 5- Hiding Out

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Bethany Kovra Gadi (Chief of Security) in Deck 5- Hiding Out
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
It was too much. Too much to ask. Too much to bear. But she wasn’t sure that anyone, not even Micah, fully understood right now just how hard it was to be in the light and be asked to be in the shadows too. The murky middle ground was where people were destroyed, or destroyed others.

It would be her downfall.

And thus with that reality fully before her, Shara sobbed.

Commander Calloway, CIO

Of all the interactions she had with the crew on the Asimov in the conference room, there was something about Commander Calloway that Eulailia couldn’t shake from her conscience. Yeah, sure the woman was moody, and to her a little scary, as well as mean, but with all the training and experience she had in non-verbal communication, Eulailia knew there was something more to Shara. Maybe something a little sad? She wasn’t sure but she knew that she didn’t have the same feeling about Gadi or Martel and she was beginning to understand why they defended her too. Eulailia also realized that she HAD made a mistake as Ryley had said while they were all in that conference room, but the mistake was not about the rank stuff, which is what everyone probably thought, but the mistake was how she had responded to the Commander in that room.

A few minutes after the Captain had spoken and shut down all the bickering, Eulailia left the conference room and began to wander the halls of the ship thinking about all the pirate stuff. They were all right; she didn’t understand it but there was one person who did for sure. She wanted to see if she could talk to Commander Calloway and see if she could understand why she thought Blue’s plan was a practical one and ask if there was no other alternative. After all, Shara was the CIO and she was the COO and they would have to work together closely as both of their jobs involved some aspect of communication. She stopped, and accessed the computer’s information system, “Computer what is the location of Commander Calloway?” There was silence then the computer replied, =^=Commander Calloway is currently in her quarters on deck 5. =^=

Eulailia nodded, got in the turbo lift, and headed to Deck 5. When she reached the Commander’s room, she stopped in front of the door and stared at it. The feeling of anxiety filled her stomach. She wanted to turn and leave but couldn’t. The way Shara left the conference room… She was angry and Eulailia was sure it was her fault because of the way she pounded her fist in her hand! Eulailia felt like a fool standing in front of her door, but after a few moments, she quickly touched the chime. As soon as she did, beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. She stood there stiff, hoping she was doing the right thing and it wasn’t too soon.

Dacascos, COO

Bethany wished she could have walked out of that meeting, but someone had to stay. She was lucky the captain didn’t order her to the brig. Not that she would stay there. Just to prove a point. She’d pay her time later if there was a later. She wanted to ask Shara if her husband or Blue had hit their heads recently. She took the lift down to deck 5 wishing the ship was bigger, more room to move and think.

These people were not able to make the shift. They could not play their part only when watched. They had to become their new persona. Inside, outside, live, breath, eat and dream it. Their hearts had to beat for who they were now or no one would believe them. One small challenge to their perceptions and the meeting went to crap. And she and Shara hadn’t even gotten to the fact groups like this often employees telepaths and empathy to ferret out agents and moles and traitors.

Bethany didn’t want anyone hurt on either side, but they could not fail. And that meant a level of commitment to do what must be done. It wasn’t pretty or for the faint of heart. Every time she went out if she came back, she was likely to be praised for a job well done and then equally thrown in a dark unknown cell for following orders the Brass wouldn’t admit to. She was willing to pay that consequence.

Martel had rode the lift down to deck five in stony silence. But on a ship like the Asimov, about the same size as the Defiant or Avenger class ships, that was a very short ride. Her jaw was set. Hands clasped behind her back, left hand gripping her right wrist like it was a forging hammer. Her arms and shoulders were tight, and one could see the strain of corded steel beneath the layers of soft skin and fat. But her face was kept a careful neutral, other than the iron set to her jaw.

She stepped into the deck and down the corridor. “Feel like joining me for a drink, Miranda?” She paused as she approached her door, one up from Calloway’s.

The engineer stopped in her tracks, heading toward her quarters which was a door farther still. They were next to Gadi’s quarters. The question caught her off guard, but after a moment’s consideration… “!#$% yes,” she said with an emphatic nod. She could worry about the fallout of that later, but for now, it sounded like exactly the right thing. It would help her relax, and maybe get in a different headspace. The last time she drank was at least a couple years ago. Largely after the Shamshir, and mostly out of a worry she would fall down a deep dark hole of alcoholism and either wind up dead physically, or just spiritually, a slower death, but still death.

She didn’t dislike Dacascos, she just needed the woman to listen when Calloway was explaining, so she would stay safe. Bethany was weary and wary and for once her voice reflected as such. No need to have the woman stand there for no reason, “She’s not there, Dacascos. No matter what the computer says.” How did Bethany know? Because she understood Calloway. And tricking the computer was easy. “When I see her, I can tell her you are looking for her if you like.”

She knew the computer was rarely wrong and Calloway was probably in her room but she nodded and said, “Okay.... maybe I can come back later.

Bethany sighed, she wasn’t lying to Dacascos. There was no reason to. She wasn’t messing with her or hazing her. They were trying to prepare her, the whole crew actually.

Bethany keyed the door and stepped halfway through to keep it open for the moment. She was already shrugging the black leather jacket off.

Gadi, CoS

She started to leave but she stopped turned to Gadi and said, “I know you think I am weak and maybe I don’t have the “backbone” to support you or anyone else on this ship, but I do and I can.” She clasped her hands together as she stood there. “I admit I don’t agree or understand the plan fully but I am willing to learn more....and anything you can offer to help me…I would greatly appreciate.”

Bethany leaned against the door frame, half in half out of her quarters and sighed. A soul crushing sigh of a weary fighter who had to find a way to keep going. “Look Dacascos, it has nothing to do with that. It has to do with you aren’t trained for it. And Blue and Pikelsimer messed up. They didn’t give Calloway and me time to prepare you. But instead of listening, you all are going on about how we can’t do this or that, or how to be ‘gentle’ about it. We’re going on this mission whether Calloway and I like it or not. Those are our orders. Do you think I want to use those over powered phasers and Ragnarok torpedos we got? I’m the one in charge of targeting and yield output. I don’t like it, but that’s on me. And if these people don’t believe with their entire soul that I will fire to make fire works, have a party and drink while watching, simply because I am bored then we all die.”

She shook her head, “It has to do with you have too many tells. That hand flutter and wide eyes,” and Bethany imitated the action perfectly, but it didn’t carry any derision or mocking, simply demonstrating, “when you were surprised because of what Calloway said and how she said it. That will give you away immediately. No one will buy whatever story you are trying to sell. These types of people, they use telepaths to scan the thoughts and emotions of the people they are around. You have not just know the story, your heart has to beat with it, or they will find you out. And death is a mercy. We don’t have the luxury of time. We’re out here alone, now, right now, with the Federation hunting us. We needed cover stories a month ago, but Calloway and I weren’t given that time. So now it’s crash course time, from now on we are all in character and we don’t break from it.”

She dropped her head and put her both hands behind her back as she listened. “I understand,” she said quietly.

The engineer paused for a moment, regarding Dacascos thoughtfully, and there was perhaps some sadness that crossed her features. regret. As badly as she wanted to apologize for earlier, she shoved it down. She had been correct. Her execution could have been better, but there wasn’t time. And besides… Randi the Pirate didn’t have time for that. More over, she didn’t apologize, unless it really was a bad enough reason. A little ruffled feathers? Not good enough. Turning, she followed Gadi inside, stepping to the side of the doorway so as not to remain a silhouette against the brighter light of the corridor, subconsciously staying out of the fatal funnel. Doors and corners.

Eulailia stood there for a moment, her hands dropped to her side as she looked at both Martel and Gadi then turned and headed toward the turbo lift.

There was no expectation of them to ask her to join them, but she hoped that they at least realized she was trying to mend the tension between them and herself. She didn’t like when people didn’t like her and ever since she joined the academy she worked hard trying to fit in and prove that she wasn’t just a sheltered overprivileged girl who “lucked her way” onto a ship in Starfleet. In the conference room, that wasn’t the first time she’d heard she didn’t have a backbone. And it bothered her. Her cousin, Najma, had also told her plenty of times she didn’t have one and definitely didn’t have what it took to be a Starfleet officer. Even so, her cousin did try to teach her to be tough and how to respond in situations where she had to defend herself. That is why she made all those snarky remarks in the conference room. Eulailia knew she should have just been herself, listened, and not tried to be someone else. Especially her cousin, Najma. That girl had anger issues and Eulailia heard from her father that she was recently marshaled for stunning her XO with a phaser.

Gadi held up a hand, “Hang on.”

Eulailia turned towards her, eyes wide.

Shara heard the sounds and knew there were people there, but the whole point was to buy herself time. She didn’t expect to stay hidden for very long or she would have gone to greater lengths to do so. No, this was about gathering herself back together, if she could.

She hadn’t moved from sitting against Gadi’s bed, though one of the jars of clear liquid had had its lid removed. A small amount had crossed her lips, but that was all so far. Mostly it had been because her mind had slipped more than once and it was frustrating. But like Micah had said after that first terrible staff meeting, during this mission she might just need to let herself fall apart and then pick herself back up, dust herself off and carry on. It just looked messy at times and Shara was not a messy kind of person. She liked things tidy, contained. But as she sat there only half-aware of the voices in the corridor, at least the tears had stopped. Gods wouldn’t that have been embarrassing! But in half-lit quarters, the telltale red-rims of her eyes would speak volumes.

Apparently for her falling apart looked like this.

Still, the truth was that she was angry at herself for doing the one thing in twenty years she had never done: she slipped character. During her little speech. She had been Shara again, instead of Elaine, the woman whose loyalty moved where the breeze blew. She was loyal to this rag-tag bunch… for now. But she could turn at the snap of her fingers. Elaine was someone to be wary of, watch out for. Shara? Not so much. People assumed she had a reputation just because of the division colours she wore when she was in uniform. But the thing about having lived in deep cover for sixteen of her twenty year career was that any reputation you had existed with the higher ups and in classified notations on files. Because as far as the galaxy was concerned, Shara Elaine Calloway hadn’t existed.

Now she did. And she was torn between duty and self-preservation.

Commander Calloway, CIO

Bethany could smell the shine from the door way. It brought back memories, ones she wasn’t prepared to indulge in at the moment. “Hope you’re ready for a student, cause we got one,” she called into the shadows. She turned back to Dacascos, “Come on, join us. First, rule 1 everyone is welcome in here if you can leave your preconceptions at the door, yes even me and Calloway, rule 2 you drink and play Never Have I Ever. Coffee will be provided afterwards.”

“Really?” she adjusted her tone trying not to sound too much like the outcast who was just asked to join the cool kids. “I mean, of course. No preconceptions here,” she shook her head as she said it.
“And I love Never Have I Ever, which was no fun for me during my early days at the Academy....because I had never ever done anything “fun” before that. But now I think I can compete.” She said with a big grin on her face, then she quickly darted into the room. She saw Calloway sitting on the floor next to the bed. Eulailia found a spot on the floor, close but not too close, so she wouldn’t invade her personal space, and sat down too as she looked at Calloway. She decided not to say anything to her just yet.

Shara snorted. Her first reaction and outward acknowledgement that there was actually anyone there.

By now, Martel was fairly familiar with Gadi’s quarters and even in the dim lighting had no trouble navigating to a convenient perch, this time at the small table and chairs. “So what we drinking.” And then she spotted the curled up ball in a pool of shadow, the glimmer of an open container. She didn’t have to see anything more than that to know that kind of anguish. Her expression dropped, her shoulders drooped. She didn’t know Calloway well at all, but at least Gadi seemed to, especially with the invasion to her quarters. She opened her mouth to say something but everything that came to mind seemed to die just as quickly as she gamed out how it would go, then sighed. Better for Gadi to handle this. Anything she said was likely to get her stabbed or make things worse.

Randi

Dacascos, COO

Bethany stepped into the darkened room, passing by Martel and squeezing her shoulder. “Smells like we’re drinkin’ shine. If you want different you know where I keep it. Help yourself.” Bethany slid down beside Calloway, picked up the shimmering jar and blinked as the fumes burned the eyes and nose. Good Stuff. She tipped the jar back for a swallow, set the jar down and then her whole body shook and twitched as it went down.

Gadi, CoS

There were all sorts of hiding places, even in a smaller cabin like this. Especially if one knew their way around the innards behind the bulkheads. Engineers and Security/Intelligence folks tended to know where all the ‘slicks’ were. The former because they always stumbled across stuff when working and made notes. The latter because they were the ones having to find the hidden stuff. Or secure it away for themselves when on an operation. While Miranda hadn’t’ had to fix anything in here, Gadi was good about doing her own repairs and was no doubt certified in Tactical Engineering, she could imagine where to look easily. More than that though, she’d been on ths hip long enough, and given free-reign of the space that she did know where most everything was first go. Randi considered for a moment then decided to pass, ultimately. Wasn’t the first time she’d wound up drinkin’ absolute hooch shine. This couldn’t’ be any worse.

Eulailia waited for Gadi to finish taking her drink then she held her hands out for the jar. She had never drunk shine but what the heck she was down for it and when in Rome Do As the Romans Do, right?

“I have a second jar here unopened but I don’t trust everyone else with it yet not to be knocked on their asses, so I’ll wait and see who can handle it.” Tipping her head back and her gaze to the ceiling, Shara closed her eyes and sighed. “Sixteen goddamn years. Sixteen! Never once have I ever broken character. And hell, I’ve sworn in meetings before. Usually it’s this jackass of an Admiral in Intelligence I clash with. We can’t stand each other, but he knows how good I am in the field and he was rather unhappy with my decision to retire from field work. But who gets me to break character in all of this mess? Some punk-ass kid counsellor.” Shara reached for the jar and took a swig, putting it back where the others could grab it. “I am not looking forward to sleep tonight.” A simple statement but one for Shara that was more ominous with her issues.

Commander Calloway, CIO

Dacascos, COO

Randi scooted over to the others, settling next to Dacascos but closer to Gadi and sighed, partially decompressing, and partially from her own stroll down the terrible side of memory lane. When she had a chance she took the jar and took a good swig, letting it trail fire all the way down, drawing out a couple of quick coughs. “Ugh, wooo, that’s pretty stout.” Then again, it had been two years since she’d had anything stronger than a beer or two.

Martel, grease monkey


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