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Calloway's Quarters- Mentoring in All Forms

Posted July 23, 2021, 10:05 a.m. by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Calloway’s Quarters- Mentoring in All Forms

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Calloway’s Quarters- Mentoring in All Forms

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Calloway’s Quarters- Mentoring in All Forms
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Faye smirked and then chuckled. “Not well! Basically, he was out for a run on the decks and barrelled right into me, and knocked me hard on my back. Now, the important detail was that he was mixed species-part Caitian- and well over two metres tall. I was more or less the same build I am now. So this Marine apologizes and offers e a hand up. I’m breathless and I feel one of my old rib injuries from my Lost Years aching. And on his arm is a tattoo of a special ops Marine group that I remembered from my Maquis days. Long story short they were responsible for attacking and arresting a nearby cell. My dad and I witnessed it, but from a hiding place as we tried to get out of there.

“So I muttered a curse under my breath after seeing the tattoo and he’s all confused as I tell him to get the hell away from me. He goes to walk away and curses at me and, well, it’s me and I took offence. So I go after him.” Faye smirked. “I had less impulse control back then. Anyway, we get into it and then he calls me a bad name, so I deck him square in the jaw. I was certain I dislocated it, possibly even broke it. And well, wasn’t he surprised!” She laughed.

“So he, retaliated and kicked me in leg. Hard. Straight in my femur. I went down really hard and couldn’t move and I landed on my back again and broke that stupid rib clean. He called medical and then walked away, leaving me on the deck. Later in Sickbay he had a broken jaw that he said he sustained in training. He’d actually gone back to the marine training area and fought!”

“Long story short, the two of us were like an old married couple, constantly bickering at each other, always ready to fight. Drove everyone crazy. And it was stupid on my part because I was on probation after my medical leave. He got promoted and my punishment? The captain made me plan a party for the crew.” Faye rolled her eyes. The panic attacks I had in private were really bad, and I was on meds then too.”

~Faye

Alex shook his head and just smiled at her. “You are a special kind of chaos, aren’t you?” he said with a small chuckle. He looked at her for a long time in silence.

“The best kind too!” Faye said with a gleam. Her brain wanted to keep talking but something about his gaze made her quiet. She mused though to herself that especially after her stint with the Tal Shiar, she decided a little less chaos was probably the best for everyone. It was laughable given the whole Shadow syndicate thing. Chaos, indeed.

“You do know you are my best friend, right?”

Alex

Smiling warmly, she reached out and gently cuffed him in the shoulder. “Nah uh. As I told your mother and sister, I always through of Leroy as like a brother, but you Alexander Cochrane are my brother. They seemed to get it too. I thought such an admission would be off-putting but they were surprisingly accepting of me. Especially your mom.” She smirked. “I think I have two moms now. It’s kinda cool.”

“Anyway, the point of my story was that we reached an accord of sorts on the Samurai and went our separate ways when the ship was decommissioned. But when the Atlantis rescued me? He was there, Alex! Walked right into Sickbay where I was drugged out of my mind still from my imprisonment and holding an engineer hostage. I thought he was a simulation because the Romulans were doing that- placing me in simulations from the Samurai to try and trick me. I quickly realized he wasn’t when the psychiatrist from the Curie, the man I first admitted I had been Maquis to, also showed up. Well, I kind of realized it was all real and broke down crying.”

Faye grew more serious as she wove her story. “Later as I was recovering after brain surgery to remove the implant he and I talked. I made him vow that if the Romulans tried to take me back, no matter if the Federation legally had a right to, he wouldn’t let them. I told him to put me out of my misery. I wasn’t going back alive. And I knew he’d follow through.”

“He left a while after the whole thing was resolved but there was this weird tension between us I couldn’t figure out. It wasn’t until we were saying goodbye that I realized after everything that had happened and how we grudgingly became no longer enemies… he was in love with me Alex. And yet, we said goodbye, such as we were able to. But never that word. It seemed too… permanent. I’m strangely not good at permanent.” Her face screwed up in a contemplative frown. “Or maybe not so strangely.”

~Faye

“You are fine with permanent, Faye. Its transition that throws you. The longer you have, the better you do.” He rolled his neck and shoulders. It was an odd sensation, but some of the horrendous tension he had been carrying was starting to loosen up. “Gi en the chance to put down roots? Figuratively or literally… you do very, very well. Another reason you’ll make an amazing CO.”

Alex

Faye’s eyes lit up. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I mean, I know what a good captain does and how not to be an ass,” she said with a smirk. “I have you and my other Captain Jerk to thank for those examples. But how did you know? Was there a moment when you felt that ‘yes I can be a great CO’?”

~Faye

Alex shook his head. “I’m going to tell you something a Klingon Admiral told me. You dedicate years… decades… learning to lead. The protocols, the rules, the systems and support structures. Psychology. Organizational Management. All of this and more. And once you’ve learned it; once you have done everything you can do to prepare… and the time comes and you walk onto the bridge of your ship for the very first time…”

Faye was listening attentively, naturally, and even leaned in a little.

“Thats the part when you pee yourself just a little bit.” and he laughed.

Alex

She broke into laughter. “And a Klingon commander told you that? Awesome!” Faye said with more laughs. Tess, startled, had gotten up and was watching them both for a moment before settling into the space on the sofa between them.

After a moment Faye gazed at him intently. “Alex, in case I forget to say… thank you. For everything. For believing in me when I wasn’t sure I could even believe in myself. I don’t know what will happen between you and Zef, but I want to see you happy too. Maybe that’s with her. Maybe it’s not.” She shrugged. “But I think we can both hope that we live life like my mom and Pikelsimer are. I mean, that’s knowing who you are. That’s jumping in with both feet!”

~Faye

Alex smiled and said “You need never thank me, Faye. Working with you, learning with you, fighting with and beside you…” and he laughed, “… you have helped me become a better Captain and better person. That is something I can never thank you enough for…” He leaned forward and took both her hands in his and looked at her directly.

“I love you, Faye. You are my best friend and part of my family. And your friendship and support have helped me more than you will ever know. I don’t know what the future holds for either one of us… but regardless of where you are, what you are doing, or what is happening… always remember that you are never alone. You always… always always… have me. And I will always have your back, whether you are right or wrong. Nothing will ever change that.”

Alex


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