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Computer Science Lab 2- Sentinels for Faye

Posted Nov. 16, 2020, 5:55 p.m. by Shara Calloway (Intel Liason) (Lindsay B)

Posted by Shara Calloway (Intel Liason) in Computer Science Lab 2- Sentinels for Faye

(snip)

Was it good news or bad? It was hard to say, but Shara wasted no time replying. =/\=Calloway here. I’m all clear.=/\= A flurry of questions immediately came to her mind but she took a steadying breath and allowed the counsellor to say whatever she needed to.

~Commander Shara Calloway, Starfleet Intelligence

Still in Faye’s quarters, Zef responded. =/\=Cmdr, I wanted to let you know that I’ve met with Faye and I think she’s better. I am currently in her quarters, gathering personal items for her to change into before her meeting with this Blue person. She requested black clothing and her boots. I’ve also included a lipstick and necklace that I found on the bathroom counter. You should also know that I got her to drink most of a protein shake by appealing to her intelligence that it will help her think and sort while the inquest is going on. All in all, I believe she is in a better place then she was when I first entered the brig.

A flood of relief flushed through Shara and she was extremely glad to be alone at the moment. While she could allow herself to show emotion in public, there was a certain amount of stoicism the current circumstances demanded, if even for her own sake. The more she kept things compartmentalized, the better she could make rational decisions, an right now they all needed to keep their heads clear.

But Rollo’s remarks revealed several details. Faye had told her about Blue and that told Shara everything she needed to about the situation.

I can’t tell you what she shared with me, but it was significant and encouraging. She hasn’t given up and I wanted you to know that.=/\=

—Rollo, CNS

Zef couldn’t see Shara’s expression, so she couldn’t see that her eyes had welled with tears. Faye had a real chance here and her daughter’s ability to stare down the enemy and fight was the one variable she hadn’t been sure she could count on. But it was back on the table. Well, and good.

Several moments of silence passed before Shara was sure she could speak in a steady tone. “That is excellent news. Thank you, Counsellor.” Now that she could once again feel more sure of a ‘later’, Shara knew that this was only the beginning. Her and Faye had a lot of things to untangle together and she knew they wouldn’t be able to do it alone. But before even that could happen, Faye had to get through this day and get out of the brig before she was traumatized even further than she already was. “Might I suggest you keep tabs on the situation as you are able to. I suspect we’ll need your help again sooner rather than later.”

~Commander Shara Calloway, Starfleet Intelligence

=/\=I am headed back to the brig, but there is one more thing I wanted to share. After Faye shared certain things with me and I was going to leave to gather her things, I asked if she had any messages she would like me to pass on. There was only one and it was for you. She said “If things don’t go well for me today, do me a favour and tell my mom… thanks.”

Oh dear Gods, Calloway thought.

“I thought it was important for you to know that.”=/\=

She waited to hear what the Cmdr might say in response.

—Rollo, CNS

The moment Rollo had called her, she had been prepared for a variety of things. But that message from Faye was not one of them! Shara gazed up at the ceiling as if that might stop the tears from falling. But it was useless. How many years had they both been wandering? How many years had she wished she could create the perfect opportunity for a reunion? So far her presence had been not only shocking to her daughter, but potentially traumatizing simply because of the circumstances. Yet again circumstances were trying to tear things apart. But they had both managed to navigate their way forward before and she had this thread of hope running through her that they could do so once again.

Silence filled the comm and Shara wouldn’t have blamed the counsellor for wondering if she was still there. But she swallowed and exhaled slowly. Shara fought to keep her mind in the here and now, where the demons were not allowed to have their say. Not now. Not today. But Faye’s words lingered in the air and Shara realized the truth. She wasn’t ready to lose Faye. Not again. It would destroy her. It had been hard enough on Voyager when news travelled slow and inquiries were hard to make. But there had been that inevitable moment where she had had to give up on the idea that maybe Edward and Faye had survived. Then when they had returned home to the Alpha Quadrant and she had to figure out what to do with her life alone, only to miss the moment when Faye surfaced in the galaxy again and joined Starfleet. By then Shara was elsewhere and it would take several more years to find out that her daughter was indeed alive.

Zef stood by, silently. Letting the Cmdr process all that the message meant. From a daughter who had been through so much, to a Commander who had a reputation for strength and cunning in times of trial, the counselor knew the message was not a simple thing. She kept the channel open in case Shara wanted to pass a message of her own to Faye. She could hear the woman breathing, but no words were spoken.

She wished she could tell Faye that everything would be okay, but she couldn’t make that promise and neither could anyone else on the ship. But she believed in her daughter. She had watched her over the course of many months do what others might not have been able to. She had not just survived her time with the Tal Shiar, but she had resisted them. No matter what they did, how much pain they inflicted, and how close to the brink of death they had brought her, Faye had refused to let them claim her mind. Did Faye even realize that? She had been drugged and in pain so often that she knew her daughter’s memory was iffy, but did she know deep down that she had had the final laugh? If not, then Shara craved the moment when she could reassure Faye that she had seen that her beautiful, smart, and passionate daughter had never once broken. Ever.

It was the realization that there was nothing she could say back to that final message. If there was a ‘later’, then the things that had to be said would be far more than she could convey over the comm to a woman who really didn’t know her at all. Closing her eyes, Shara said, “Okay,” in a soft voice, still deeply moved by that one tiny word her daughter wanted to sum up as much as possible. Always, Baby Girl. Always.

~Commander Shara Calloway, Starfleet Intelligence

Finally, a response. In that one word, ‘okay’, there were volumes of emotions, promises and memories. The weight of the uncomplicated yet heavy communications between mother and daughter were so substantial, that Zef felt them weighing her own body down. She did not envy the next conversation Shara and Faye would have—especially if it had to be edited for others that might be around them at the time.

=/\=Cmdr, I need to get back to your daughter. What I’m carrying to her could be the difference between fighting for herself and just giving up. The old Faye was feisty, but the prisoner…? She’s walking a razor thin line and trying with everything she has not to give up. I’ll be in contact if I have any more news. Rollo, out=/\=

—Rollo, CNS

Left lone in the silence of the lab, Shara allowed herself a few brief minutes of tears before she wiped them away, pushed everything away into a nice little secure space in her mind and turned back to the screen. Her earlier admiration for her daughter’s work had been sincere and she gazed it it once again, letting it make her smile. Then, once again with resolve, she went back to creating the background monitoring program that they were counting on to help Faye save her own life and future.

As the minutes ticked on, they were all bought closer to the inevitable. But that was exactly remained to be seen.

~Commander Shara Calloway, Starfleet Intelligence


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