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Comp Science Lab 2- Post-Jefferies Tube

Posted April 18, 2019, 2:05 p.m. by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Comp Science Lab 2- Post-Jefferies Tube

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Comp Science Lab 2- Post-Jefferies Tube

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Comp Science Lab 2- Post-Jefferies Tube

(snip)

She wasn’t sure what she had hoped he would say, but she had hoped it would allay her fears. It did not. Moving in the spacious lab in what could only be described as pacing, Faye weighed her situation and whether any of it matched the conditions he had put forth. It didn’t; not exactly. And yet, it brought her back to her initial frustration when everything began to clearly unravel and she had told Blue as much. His response then had been reassuring, but only to the Faye Calloway that thrived on clear cut, on right and wrong. This was very much a grey area and she loathed this space.

Stopping, she ran a hand through the pulled back brown hair that had been tied back loosely at the nape of her neck. Her fingertips dragged slightly and her nails scratched at her scalp, eliciting a slight pain that blissfully helped distract her from her tumbling thoughts. Lowering her hand and looking to Cochrane, Faye seemed to silently make up her mind and moved back to her workstation.

One hand moving swiftly at the keys, she reached for a blank padd with the other as she spoke. “I’ve never disobeyed an order. Not once. Which would surprise most people, given my background and my penchant for trying the patience of authority figures. But I, not so long ago, was put in the position where I should have at least questioned orders, and I didn’t. And for that I paid dearly.” She glanced briefly over her shoulder at him. “Being at the whims of the Tal Shiar was not exactly my idea of fun, and yesterday when I lay in that jefferies tube feeling like my face had burnt off, It felt like those nine months all over again. I was conditioned by them to handle massive amounts of pain and brush it off like it was a scratch. And in the aftermath I now hold things in my head that people want dearly. And they seem to be banking on my just going with this, no matter the cost. But not anymore. I can’t do it.”

Finishing her task, she grabbed the padd and came to stand before him, holding the data device with both hands and the top edge resting against her upper chest. “I want you to know that I am loyal- to you, this ship and the Federation. I could have walked away many times, but I choose to serve. And I have never done anything on this ship that is illegal or put the crew in danger. But… while I also have never lied to you outright, I have been under orders to keep certain things from you. My orders did NOT give me the discretion to choose when to share this information with you, and thus, the bind I’ve been in. But I’m choosing to now, because I can’t keep this up. It’s breaking me in a way worse than being under the mercies of the Romulans. It doesn’t make sense anymore and when my orders were reconfirmed, I realized I can no longer follow it in good faith. So, I formally acknowledge my actions and accept the consequences that will surely follow. But you need to read this.” She offered him the PADD.

The device had a single file on it that was sealed with a Level Ten security level and marked ‘Captain’s Eye Only’. It read thusly:


To: Current Commanding Officer of the USS Manhattan
From: Rear Admiral Yi, Myles- Deputy Director, Starfleet Intelligence


Please be advised that Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Service Number 17746Alpha29) is hereby under the jurisdiction of Starfleet Intelligence and is hereby assigned to the USS Manhattan as Chief Intelligence Officer. As such, she shall be engaged in various projects on top of her expected position duties on an experimental level to improve the protection of the ship’s computer framework and associated processes.

Secondary to this assignment, Calloway has been ordered to conduct a high-level security audit of all senior staff assigned to the Manhattan. This includes, but is not limited to, additional background checks and surveillance as authorized by the processes outlined in the Extra-Ordinary Circumstances Clause of Standard Starfleet Operations. In order to accommodate this delicate process, she has been instructed to join the crew as a Mission Specialist only, and not reveal her role as CIO until cleared to deliver these orders. Additionally, her experimental data protection work includes other classified portions that she is now free to explain, as the situation warrants.

Questions about these orders can be directed to me personally at Starfleet Intelligence.

~Rear Admiral Yi


Faye swallowed, knowing it was blatantly clear by her previous statements that she had not been given permission to let him read it. She didn’t know exactly what it said, only that it contained her sealed orders as proof to her CO when her secondary assignment was complete. Which it wasn’t and which she had just now compromised. Although as she had already complained about more than once, it had long ago been compromised and was pointless.

Lt. Faye Calloway, CIO

Cochrane read the PaDD, and a deep crease furrowed his brow. His jaw muscles flexed involuntarily, and he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. “Mother- …” and he bit off the last part of the curse. Opening his eyes, he read the missive again and then looked up at Calloway. There was a fire inside the ice of his blue eyes, and it was not warm and comforting.

“Before we get into this at all, I have a question I need an answer to. And it needs the most singularly accurate answer you have ever given to any question. Understand?”

Faye stood unflinchingly before his gaze, understanding deeply the conflict in him. She nodded once. “Yes, Sir.” Her response, while perfunctory, was sincere.

“How long before your install is complete? And I prey to all the gods in all the heavens you don’t tell me days.”

Cochrane, CO

Her eyes shifted to the side, focused not on anything around her but inside her mind, doing rapid calculations upon a surface only she could see. She took her time of it too, knowing that especially in this moment that if it were precision he required, then it was precision he would get. At length, she returned her gaze to Cochrane. “Before the explosion, I would have finished the build in sixteen hours of work on my own. Then there would be at least two hours of testing before everything was clear to be brought online. But those eighteen hours may be as much as twenty-six, but I won’t know for sure until I evaluate the situation in the jefferies tube. The repairs alone will take six hours, and that is if I have help, willing or not.” She gestured to the mysterious device resting on her worktable. “Since the converter is seemingly intact, provided nothing inside is fried, we’ve saved us the extra time trying to work around that would have cost. It is a prototype and I don’t currently have a spare. So, in summary, we are looking at thirty-two hours of solo work on my part. Significantly less if we wish to further breach the classified nature of this work and bring in people to help.” She didn’t add ‘your choice’, but having already made a challenging bed she was ready to lie in, it was his turn to make a decision. One of likely many he was going to need to today.

Lt. Faye Calloway, CIO

Cochrane visibly flinched at the thirty-two hours statement. He looked down at the floor in thought, and then looked up sharply at Calloway.

Leaning forward, he put both elbows on his knees and looked at her. “One. I have no idea what breach you are talking about. Clear? Two. You have eighteen hours to get this done. You will task the Ops Chief and Chief Engineer for help. Only the Ops Chief and Chief Engineer. You will brief them in my office. Once your install and testing is done, you are going to contact Admiral Yi and tell them you are done and that you have need to disclose the true nature of your assignment to me immediately. Tell them I’m poking around, asking questions, showing up all the time… whatever it takes. You get them to give you the clearance. I’ll handle it from there and I’ll make sure all the Department Heads know your new position. If they give you any flack, bring them to me.” and he leaned back. “And lastly… From here on out, if Fleet Intelligence gives you a classified task they want you to hide from me and the crew, you come and tell me. I don’t care what it is. Intel gets one freebie to screw with my ship and her crew… and you.” he added and emphasized the last two words. “And they blew it on some dumb crap. That’s on them. My ship is not a tool, and neither is my crew. As of right now, Ms. Calloway, you are wholly and completely mine and this ship’s. No matter what it says in your record. We have you, and you have us. No one screws with you from here on or uses you for errands without your consent and my agreement. Or they deal with me. And trust me, Lieutenant… the Klingons didn’t like dealing with me when I was pissed. I doubt the Admiral will very much enjoy it, either.”

Cochrane, CO


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