Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Talking With the Intel Chief

Posted by Captain Sara Kiernan (Commanding Officer) in Talking With the Intel Chief

Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Talking With the Intel Chief
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Sara sighed deeply. “There are too many moving parts for this thing to go off without a hitch. We can only wait and find out what the hitch is and call the play from there. I am concerned right now with the people going over knowing where they’re needed, and being ready to redirect if necessary. We’ll be watching and… somehow make it work.”

-CO

“Well, I’m usually the adaptable one, and normally I’d be able to weave my way through this,” Shara said, leaning back in her chair. “But I’m going to be really honest Sara that I don’t know how to go about it this time. There is a reality here that makes anything I suggest in the moment much more complicated. And that makes me feel hesitant, which is a good way to get yourself killed.” She threw up her hands a little in a rare show of frustration.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

Sara wordlessly reached for the brandy in her desk drawer and two glasses. The brandy was significantly diminished by her last talk with Shara and her conversation with Blue. She placed it all on the desk. “Alright. All cards on the table time. I need you focused and clear right now. So what’s going on, and how do we work it out?”

-CO

Shara reached out and poured herself and Sara a large measure and then knocked some of hers back. She let the taste wash over her senses as she gathered her thoughts. “All cards? Okay. Here it is. If it weren’t for Micah I would have left ages ago. But I also have too much damn pride and always finish what I start. The reality is, Sara, that this crew as a while does not trust me. My impromptu party, or lack of one, demonstrated that. I don’t care about being liked. The last Starfleet vessel I served on I was a Maquis. But I wasn’t alone. we could stick together when it clear were weren’t wanted or trusted. And since then I’ve been dealing with limited teams, mostly doing solo work. I left field work for a good reason and it’s still valid, but I don’t know how to be part of a crew and it’s clear this one doesn’t want me. I’ll see this mission through to its conclusion, if nothing else because I’m too deep in now to get out. But if we survive to tell the tale?” Shara inhaled and blew out a breath. “I think you should request a new Chief Intelligence Officer. Someone people around here might actually trust.”

~Shara Calloway, CIO

Sara chuckled. “Consider your request denied Commander.” She took a large drink. “Without your counsel, we would not have survived The Cloud. The crew trusts you. They trust you with their lives. And there lies part of your problem. Intel doesn’t knock on your door to say hi. You’re an officer of the most tight-lipped and dangerous branch of Starfleet. You can’t orchestrate friendships Shara.”

-CO

Shara shook her head, casting her gaze to the side. “They don’t trust me no. Because I’m married to one person they are wary of, and come from the same organization of the other one they’re not certain of. So don’t give me that crap. The ones that are vocal about it might be the minority, but I’ve done this too long to know that others thinking it.” She knocked back a good measure of her drink and looked back to Sara. “As for friendships… did I come to the Asimov hoping that something would be different? Yes, I did. This is the first time in twenty years I’ve just been another officer on an assignment. But that was tossed out the airlock the second my husband surprised me by showing up. None of you know how hard it was for me to get a regular duty assignment. The fights I had to have with Admirals, just to be allowed to walk away from field work, even though psyc was never going to clear me for it again even if I wanted to. Do you understand, Sara? I shouldn’t be here. Yes, we were given a choice, but it really wasn’t one for me. And if people do trust me around here? I foggiest idea why, because I don’t even trust me with this,” she said with a bitter laugh.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“I feel like we were on opposite sides of this conversation a while ago.” Sara said bluntly. “I couldn’t find my feet. My first major assignment as CO of this ship and I’ve got to be someone else and also me and- it was all too much. And then you came in here and you had the right words for the right time.” She paused, finding her own words. “You told me that the crew would follow my example. Well the example I’m giving them is “Shara Calloway is one of the people I trust most. She was before all this mess started and she will be after. Because she’s reliable. She does her job and does it well. She gives good advice. You didn’t get the normalcy you were looking for. Well, nobody did. The Asimov was a science and exploration ship when she was christened. And now here we are. Nobody was ready. Unless that Admiral screws us on the end of this, we’ll go back to missions we can write home about. The normalcy is coming.”

-CO

A part of her really wanted to believe that, to hold on to it, but it had been slipping through her fingers like water. She knocked back the rest of the liquor in her glass and set the glass down with a sigh. Looking over at Kiernan, Shara took a moment to really gaze at the captain. “Thank you for your trust.” Those wren’t just words, they meant something very profound, especially for someone like Shara. “I just hope it’s enough. I…” A pained expression slipped onto her face before she could brush it away and she shook her head. “I’m doing the best I can to keep my PTSD symptoms at bay, but I don’t know it’ll be enough. And it terrifies me. Especially given the stakes here.”

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“You think that if you felt what you’re fighting off you’d be a liability to the crew and the team. But you also think you’re a liability now, too busy fighting off your emotions to be effective. Is that about right for the situation?” Sara pushed further.

-CO