Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in 2378- An Incognito Life

(snip)

Faye’s attention shifted back to Megs and she frowned slightly. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Megs said with almost a concerned look on her face. “Look, Abby, I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but I know a person who’s had a rough go of it when I see them. I know because it was me for a long time. I can’t promise how this will go for you but if you give it a chance, this can be a good place. Dirk is a good man and a good captain. He looks out for us.”

Faye shifted the bag on her shoulder but then moved over to the bed and set it down. Turning to face Megs, she chewed on her lower lip. “I keep wanting it to be, but…”

“I know,” Megs said with a rueful smile.

“But I’ll give it a try.”

A grin spread over Megs face and she moved to link her arm through Faye’s. “You know Abbs, I think we’re going to have some fun around here.”

Faye chuckled. “Is that what you call it?”

Location: SS Kodiak, Beta Quadrant

The smell of sauteed vegetables, and slow cooked broth wafted from what amounted to the galley. It was basically a part of the dining room, separated by one counter length where they stored dishes and cookware, and had a small oven and stove top with a couple induction burners. There wasn’t a lot of food stored there currently, but Faye had acquired a few things she thought would be useful to them in the long run and so far she thought it had been a great investment.

Dirk stepped into the dining room and leaned up against the end of the counter where Faye was cooking. “Smells good. Whatcha making?”

“Soup.”

He frowned. “Really? All those supposed cooking skills and you made soup?” His incredulity was etched through his tone and across his face and it made Faye smirk.

“Ahhh, but what if I told you it was likely to be the best soup you’ve ever tasted?” she countered.

“Really…” Jensson’s eyes traced over the kitchen until they landed on a group of small bags and containers on the far side of the counter. He moved in to examine them further. “Where did you get all this?”

Faye smiled. “Ahh, well given how little there was here to work with, I went shopping on the station.”

Dirk’s expression darkened. “Abby, how much did you spend? I know Tortuga and while I don’t know what all of this is”-he lifted a bag of some sort of dark leaves in a reddish-purple colour-“I do know that anything on Tortuga costs more than elsewhere.”

Faye planted a hand on her hip and glared. “Look, yes, it cost more than we want to spend normally, but it will last a really long time. I can make good use of it and it will go a long way to making really basic food staples taste great, thus saving us latinum in the long run. Go ahead and question my every decision, but at some point you’re going to have to trust me. And since you’re letting me cook for you with the presumption I won’t poison you all, one would think that my buying necessary cooking supplies wouldn’t be that much of a stretch.”

He nodded before breaking into a tiny smile. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I am looking forward to this soup that is the best I’ve ever had though.”

“And fresh rolls too!” Faye said brightly, opening the oven a touch so a waft of cooking bread escaped. “I plan to earn my keep, don’t you worry. Hiring me will turn out to be a great decision, just you wait and see.”

He patted her on the shoulder and stepped out of the galley. “I’ll go round up the troops for dinner.”

Half an hour later, they all sat at the table digging into the soup and fresh herbed dinner rolls. Megs groaned with delight. “Fresh bread. I can’t remember the last time we had any. Where did you learn to cook?” she asked ‘Abby’.

Faye shrugged. “We cooked and ate communally a lot of the time on the colony I grew up on. My dad was pretty good at it and I learned from others too. And in recent years I’ve picked up stuff here and there.”

“Well, none of us are complaining, that’s for sure,” Renn said with a warm smile as he dipped his roll into the rich tasting soup. “What’s the secret?”

She grinned and twirled her spoon. “Nothing crazy, I assure you. Simply… time. Cook it in stages, on low, for a long awhile, and it develops more flavour. Simple.”

“Huh.”

“That and seasoning. Makes all the difference. I found some great salt on the station. Pricey but worth it. Don’t need too much.”

As they continued to eat, Faye mused to herself that there was something comfortable about the Kodiak; something she couldn’t put her finger on. A part of her thought it was that similar feeling of camaraderie that she had grown up with on Tracken II, but there was something more as well. Here she wasn’t the odd one out. Here she was just as wayward as the rest of them, even though she had only gleaned tidbits of anyone’s story. In any case, it felt comfortable and while she wasn’t about to drop her guard too far, she could allow herself to settle in here and keep her promise.

The next cargo run was a big one that required a lot of organizing. They had three pickups before the whole lot was to be delivered to the client. Each piece of cargo needed to be double checked and logged into the system and then stored in the most efficient way possible for unloading. They were on a tight schedule, but it was mostly self-imposed. After all, the faster you completed a job, the sooner you could be on to the next one. Time was money.

Faye directed the antigrav cart towards the stack that she was sorting after their second run. They were making good time to stop number three and she was keen to have everything they just picked up stored before their arrival.

Temor was rigging the refrigeration system for several particular items and they had found a rhythm to their work, stepping around each other without needing to speak. Sometimes there was idle chit chat, but Temor was a quiet man who preferred solitude and Faye could definitely commiserate.

So when he finally spoke again, it actually surprised her. “You can slow down, you know. You’ve been working for three hours straight. Why don’t you take a break?” he suggested.

“Don’t need a break. I just want to get this done.”

Temor frowned slightly. “We’re ahead of schedule. Hell, the way you’ve been working the last several days we’ll be sitting around doing nothing.”

“He’s right you know,” a voice said from behind them. They hadn’t seen or heard Renn step into the cavernous main cargo deck, but then again it was a vast space with multiple doors.

Faye sighed. “So sue me for wanting to make quick work of this. The captain said this job was important and so I want to get it right. I am on a trial basis here, right?”

Renn offered a soft smile. “Sure, but I’m pretty sure the captain is already sold on your ability to contribute. Besides, you’re no good to anyone if you burn yourself out. Just… take it down a notch, for your own sake.”

Planting a hand on her hip, Faye scowled. “How about you let me decide what’s best for me?”

Her hostility was palpable and the part-Betazoid immediately put up more of his mental guard, though he didn’t close himself off entirely to her. There was something about the young woman that he hadn’t quite figured out and it seemed vital that they do so. “I wasn’t trying to tell you how to live your life Abagail, but I am the first officer and it’s my job to use our resources in the best way, including people. So do us both a favour and tone down the attitude just a smidge, alright?”

She said nothing but her glare softened… a little bit.

Renn sighed. “Anyway, I do appreciate the work you’re doing down here. You’ve got it mostly handled, so Temor is able to focus on the actual ship. It’s a nice change,” he said with a smile.

“Well, that’s what you pay me for, right?”

He chuckled. “Sure. But just remember that Dirk is not a slavedriver. He wants you in one piece and functional at the end of each job, right?”

He had expected another glare, perhaps a pithy retort, but instead he watched the colour drain from her face and those beautiful stormy eyes go wide. Turning away, she schooled her features. “Right,” she said and stepped away, leaving Renn puzzled. Her reaction was so visceral it was like he had slapped her. But more than that was the deep fear that was so tangible to him. As she moved over to the antigrave cart, Temor exchanged a glance with Renn and the two men just sort of shrugged at each other.

“I’m telling you there’s more to it than that,” Megs said, arms folded across her chest as she sat in the pilots chair, though turned to face the rest of the small bridge.

Dirk shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I promised her we wouldn’t ask too many questions and I don’t intend to stomp all over that promise. Everyone here is entitled to a measure of privacy.”

“You said not too many questions, not none at all,” Renn countered. “I’m not saying we make a big deal of it all, but I’m worried. I’m telling you that woman is troubled and we owe it to ourselves as well as her to make sure we’re not ignoring warning signs.”

Jensson shook his head. “You might be right. You probably are.” He leaned forward in his captain’s chair. “But let me make this abundantly clear once and for all: no one on this ship is going to feel safe if they feel attacked from those around them. Abby is full of secrets. She doesn’t even try to hide that. If she wants to talk about it, fine, happy to lend her my ear. If something comes up and that forces some disclosure on her part, so be it, we will deal with it then. But you will NOT push her, am I very clear?” he said firmly.

Megs gave a nod. “Loud and clear,” she said quietly before turning back to her console.

Renn just gazed at Dirk for several long moment, making the captain of the Kodiak quirk his brows in a question. “You’re the captain,” Renn said at last. A concession but certainly not an agreement.

To Be Continued…

~Faye Calloway AKA Abagail Blair, Wanderer