Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Settling things with Intel

Posted by Captain Sara Kiernan (Commanding Officer) in Settling things with Intel

Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Settling things with Intel
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Shara nodded. “We’re not there yet, but believe it or not, I know as much as the rest of the crew. Marriage doesn’t get me an info-pass, unfortunately. And I know it’s frustrating that we don’t know everything upfront, but there are reasons for that. Consider just the instance where someone is captured. We can’t have our entire plan at risk. So we compartmentalize until we’re at critical junctures.” Normally she wouldn’t have to explain this to people, and she knew she didn’t to Sara, but the captain might need to remind others about it when they were complaining. Operational protocols in covert situations were what they were to protect lives and the mission.

Sara chuckled. “Being Captain doesn’t get me an info-pass. One of us deserves the inside scoop.” She paused to mull over the rest of what her intel chief had said. “I hate this. I do. If we’re not positive the mission is secure, we’ll do what has to be done.”

She sighed and felt that ever present heavy weight just a tad deeper. “This is hard for me too, Sara,” she said quietly, turning her gaze to Keirnan with an openness that was actually rare for Shara. “I’m not used to big team shenanigans. If it was ever more than myself, there were two of us, at most three, but it was mostly me doing the key work. I hid in plain sight, I gathered info and on occasion I set events in play as ordered. I’m not normally your bash and grab kind of agent. But I can play one as well as any persona I’ve ever had. Just… know that this isn’t any easier for me, but I give everything to the mission, so you have my word that I will do everything to help you get this ships and crew home. For the first time in a very long time I have reasons to go home. And while that’s a liability, it’s also pretty damn good motivation.”

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“We both want to get home. And we will.” Sara opened her desk drawer and pulled out her captain’s pips. She laid them carefully out. “This isn’t in any of our wheelhouses. This isn’t normal for Fleet or Intel. It never will be normal. But we’ll get it done. One step at a time. When it comes to the big finale… that’s you and the Agents, maybe Gadi. Just the experts. I’m not sending the whole crew off on that one.”

-CO

Shara gazed intently at Kiernan. “I would never dream of it being any other way,” she said seriously, knowing entirely what that might look like. She hoped it would play out differently, but she understood how it might have to be. “But remember, the goal is to get Blue and whatever he learns back to safety. I’ll do anything necessary to see that happen.”

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“Not to be cold, but, the agent is secondary to the information, yes?” Sara asked, disappointed this was the point she had come to. “It’s my understanding… if the mission or an agent is at risk… acquire the information and then uncompromise them.”

-CO

“Yes,” Shara said flatly. “And I don’t know what their plan is as a contingency, but since that is my realm of expertise, we’ll have the information one way or another. I will make sure that information is in safe hands and this ship gets itself back to safety or this was all for nothing.” Already Shara had played out various scenarios and she was well aware of the likely success rate in terms of agent survival. She knew those odds better than most people on this ship. They had been her life for twenty years.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“Contingencies upon contingencies. I need a drink.” Sara said, out of nowhere. “This whole business is exhausting and honestly… since I’ve had to lock an ensign in his quarters, yell at the senior staff, and punch a doctor, I just need a drink. Care to join?” She pulled a bottle of saurian brandy out of the cupboard behind her desk. “If I’m entirely honest this came with the office, the previous Captain left it behind, but it’ll do.”

-CO

Calloway smirked. “Yes, it will. Sure, pour me one,” Shara said.

Sara poured two glasses and slid one across the desk. She placed the bottle between them so either one could get a refill as needed.

Leaning back, the older woman tipped her head up to the ceiling and sighed. “I’m not good at laying myself bare. It’s not just uncomfortable, it’s been antithetical to surviving.” She tilted her head down, levelling her gaze on Sara. “When I arrived here I knew that how I had done things before wasn’t going to work, that I would have to adapt. I wasn’t expecting this mission, or Micah to be here. Hell, when I got here I was a newlywed who never expected to ever get married again. But here we are. I’m a lot older than a lot of this crew, and that is… hard. I’ve done a lot of things many people are still looking forward to, or deciding if they even want. So I’m going to tell you something only a couple people know here outside of Micah. In case something happens to Micah and I, I know the right people will tell who needs to know, but… Sara, I have not one but two daughters. My actual first born isn’t on my official record, and for a lot of reasons. But if something happens and you have to call my daughter Faye, ask her to put you in touch with her half-sister Nadine. Nadine should get the actual story, whatever version you feel appropriate of course, but not some ‘They died in the line of duty crap’ Starfleet would give. Faye will fill in a lot of the gaps for her, but she wasn’t here. You are. Can you do that for me? For us?” It was an earnest request, and one she managed to spit out with her best poker face. But oh to talk about Nadine right now when all this was going on added a slight twinge to her voice she normally would fight to suppress. Shara did not.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“Absolutely.” Sara answered without hesitation. But her face said it wasn’t out of any eagerness to see Shara gone- she just knew it was the thing to do. “If it should come to that- I’ll make sure Nadine gets the truth. I understand- I do. I don’t have a spouse or any kids, but could I impose upon you to do the same for my parents? If I die… Starfleet may never correct the record about what happened here. I don’t want them to go on thinking- thinking that the third in a family legacy of officers, and the first to make Captain, betrayed everything she ever stood for. I have enough trouble thinking that myself.”

-Sara Kiernan

Shara nodded. “Done,” she said softly. “They will know that you acquitted yourself with all the honour and courage expected of a Starfleet captain.”

“Thank you.” Sara meant it sincerely.

She leaned in and offered a genuine smile. “You know I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got here, and while I’ve had a lot of higher ranking officers giving me orders, I’ve only ever had one captain before you. The thing that you both have in common is that you are trying your damnedest to hold fast to what you believe is right under circumstances that most other people would crumble under. For what it’s worth, I admired her greatly, and I admire you too, Sara.”

~Shara Calloway, CIO

Sara blushed a little. “I feel the same. I wasn’t sure what to think when Intel dropped an officer on us. I’ve had my time with your division, and it’s more than enough. As much as Agent Blue reminds me of those awful times, you never do. Don’t have the same… essence.”

-CO