Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Elsewhere- A Honeymoon

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Daggum Hammor (Chief Operations Officer) in Elsewhere- A Honeymoon

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Elsewhere- A Honeymoon
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Stoking Tess’ head, Faye thought over her conversation with the woman. “She told me that her situation was not the same as mine, that she had gotten into trouble and it was either be a slave or go to jail.” She carefully shifted her position, mindful to not disturb Tess who was rather delighted to be snuggled up with her person. “But it’s been decades Dag. She also said that she has always known that if she asked Kodell to be free or employed, he’d have agreed to it at any point. But if she has a reason to leave, to do something else? I’d call that poetic justice. Community service even. She’s older but she’s got a lot of years ahead of her. She should have the option of something else.” She knew she was picking up steam with the idea in her head and it was quickening her speech, but the could easily trace the sequence of events. “We can call Kodell and see if he’d suggest it. Hell, I’ll call him myself if it will make a difference!”

~Faye

Daggum simply said “No, Faye. Please… do not call him. Distance is needed between you two… and no, I’m not being a jealous husband.” He opened his ears and sat forward, elbows going to his knees. “Your history with him has always troubled you. You had an opportunity to finalize that. Yes, it will take some time to process that, but it happened. That guy? He’s carried a trophy for how many years now? Used you as an excuse to hide from the world. I called him out on that… and he agreed. So you got your closure… let him him have his.”

Faye moved Tess to the side and pushed herself to her feet, needing movement. She wasn’t just agitated, her brain was spinning and when that happened, her body couldn’t stay still. She tried to explain it to people but most didn’t get it. It hurt. “Fine, he gets his closure too. But don’t think that my husband buying a school on a planet I swore I’d never set foot on isn’t leaving a crack open.” She turned back to him. Faye wasn’t angry at all, she was just still very confused about it all. “We’ve only been married a month, Dag. We’re so used to it being you, and me, even when we’re talking about us. But what we do affects each other. Both ways. I think this school is a great idea, but it’s wedging open a door I just closed.”

“And at some point you gotta acknowledge that it’s not just your door, Faye. You aren’t the only one processing here, ok?” Daggum said. There was no accusation or anger in his voice, just a reminder.

He took a breath and then exhaled slowly. “But… I think we can do something. I’ll ask Paul to talk to him. Have him make sure Kodel knows if he doesn’t emancipated his slaves and he works on this he’s being a f@<king hypocrite. It can be Paul’s idea for her to do it. How’s that?”

Daggum

Paul to the rescue. Actually, that worked beautifully and she let out a long breath. “Yeah, that works. Paul can handle that. If Linella wants to. But I alreayd know her answer, though she could surprise me.” Folding her arms over top of her head, she paced the room. Tess was clearly not pleased about the whole business, especially being removed from her comfy place. Disgruntled was probably a more apt word as the cat watched Faye pace. But Daggum was there and Tess knew that Faye wasn’t on the edge.

“Can I say something? It’s not a criticism, just a bit of… reality,” Faye said softly, still pacing.

~Faye

Daggum sat up and focused all his attention on her. “Absolutely. Always.” he said sincerely.

Daggum

She took her time finding her words, not trusting herself to say the right ones. That was the problem with where she was at in this moment- words got messy. “You’ve had more time. You’re farther along in the processing. I only just started, Dag. That night on the holodeck when I first shared my story with Zef and my mom. I’d gone my whole life since Orion until that moment, keeping it to myself because I was so damn ashamed.”

Faye stopped pacing and drew back to him, sitting back down on the couch, her body turned towards him. “If you need that door open to do your processing, then I support you one hundred percent. But just know that I might cost me a bit of the ground I’ve gained and that it’s going to take more work and more processing of my own to find equilibrium. If I can.” Good Gods that almost sounded level-headed! Could she be sure someone hadn’t body-switched her along the way? More than likely it was Dag’s influence. Go figure.

~Faye

Daggum took her hand and said “I get all of that, Faye. I do. And you know that I would never do anything to cost you the progress you’ve made. This thing… this is one of those things, regardless of who is involved or where it is, that isn’t about us. Its about me. My past. I don’t want to sound like an asshole here, okay? And I am not diminishing all the hard work you have put in to get to where you are. And to be fully honest… I was close to not telling you about it at all. But…” and he shrugged, “… we both know the damage secrets can do. And I knew if I didn’t tell you, and you found out years down the road, it would cause you a hell of a lot more problem than if I did it now. But Faye, this thing I’m doing here… or rather, there… it isn’t about us. It isn’t about you. It is solely about me and the demons I need to put to rest. I’m never going back to Orion. But I am Orion. And a Star Fleet officer. And, I hope, a good person. And as all those things I can’t not try to make a difference. You saw that place… those people in the streets. Hopeless. Lost. Wasted. We are supposed to help people like that. So I am. And yeah, I know how weird this whole thing is… but you don’t have to deal with it. This part isn’t your story, love. Yours is still out there.” and he pointed out the window at the stars. “Mine is too, because that’s where you are. But there will always be a part of me embedded in that place. And that means I have to make it worth a damn.”

Daggum