Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Executive Officer) in From the Shadows Comes Hope

Posted by Civilian Micah Pikelsimer (Federation Security Agent) in From the Shadows Comes Hope

Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Executive Officer) in From the Shadows Comes Hope
Posted by… suppressed (18) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Shara snorted. “You do remember I almost poisoned Faye with her own birthday cake? Actually, to be fair, it wasn’t dangerous, just terribly inedible. But Nadine’s got enough weird things about her birth mom to work through. Food poisoning is not something I want to add to the list.”

While they were joking, there was something earnest in her voice. “I just don’t want my father to be the reason I can’t do something. I’m getting too old for that crap. Besides, he’s dying and if he didn’t die during our disappearance, he can’t last much longer. Though Gavin would have…” Shara dropped her toast onto her plate, her mouth and eyes wide.

“I haven’t called Gavin. It’s like I forgot we were even talking again…” she whispered. He had to have heard all the rumours but what if he hadn’t heard the aftermath? His sister, once again a terrible person betraying Starfleet. That’s what he had to have been thinking this whole time.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

Micah stood up and went to the closet where the records were kept and came back with a small comm unit. “Call ‘em. Right now. Although I will say FedSec sent a clearance memo to all known family members, so he probably knows you’re good… but ya should call.”

Micah

She set her plate down and took the comm. Shara stared at it for a moment before she put in the ping to Gavin, not even sure where his ship was right now. She knew the general service areas they tended to be in, but that didn’t mean he was easily reachable. “Okay, ping sent. Just need to wait,” Shara said, picking up her plate again and resuming her meal.

“So, besides listening to my music and teaching me to cook, and spending time with the kids, anything you want to specifically do while we’re here?”

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“Other than you?” he asked with a wink and a grin. “I wanna go fishing. I wanna go to the cave and drink some of Pap’s shine. And I wanna have the Morgans over to thank ‘em for the work they did for us and the kids. Other than that? I just wanna kick back and watch the trees for a while.” He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, all the tension he had held for the past almost-year starting to finally exit his body, mind… and soul. “What about you, hun? Whatcha want to do while we are home?”

Micah

“Well, Black Wolf was arranging things, but to make the experience more… real for me than the holodeck would be, he suggested I do this sweat lodge thing here on Earth. Would you go with me?” It was partly about safety while in a vulnerable state, but also she wanted him to be a part of her healing process. He had been for quite a bit of it and it felt important to allow him into this piece of the process.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“Done and done. I’ll sweat with you anytime you like.” and he grinned and kissed her; a long, slow kiss that conveyed as much love as it did lust. When he finally pulled away he smiled and said “Oh, and just in case ya forgot… I love you, Shara Calloway-Pikelsimer.” They had never discussed names, or if either of their names would change after they were married (in a drunken haze, yes… but still legal). And his use of the name didn’t seem to say that he was suggesting it… just that she was a part of him, a partner and a wife.

Micah

“What a mouthful,” she quipped trying to curb a smile from lips that still tingled. “You forgot my middle name too. Yep, a mouthful.” She finished her toast and set the plate down. “I do want to drop into Knoxville to look at piano music, but that might be a good thing to do on our way back from wherever we do this ritual.”

---

Meanwhile, the shuttle dipped as they descended through the troposphere. Faye had been rather quiet on the journey over from the Athena, but she wasn’t moody per say. Just very contemplative and trying to not let her thoughts get ahead of her. Tess roamed about and had her favourite nooks but of course her favourite place to be was in Faye’s lap, even if Faye was piloting, as she was now. “We have clearance all the way. Should be two minutes,” she said, eyes focused on the readouts, glancing out the front window as North America came closer and then soon they were headed over the Eastern US towards Tennessee.

~Shara & Faye Calloway

Daggum stared out the window. “I’ve never seen anywhere like this.” he said as the shuttle banked and moved across the Appalachian Mountains. “I mean, I saw the forest groves on Nillar II. But those are planned and planted cultivated. This place looks… ” and they drew closer to the tree tops and could see the deep shadows, valleys, dense foliage, and dark hollers that gave the region it’s reputation of mystical and sometimes dark energy. “It looks haunted.” and he looked at his wife and said “Am I being weird? Did that sound weird?” he asked with a chuckle.

Daggum

“I would never call you weird,” Faye said as she adjusted their pitch starboard and their pitch downwards further, banking towards the clearing where the cabin was located. “It looks like a forest in the mountains to me, though I was raised in a community surrounded by woods, and anything supernatural had a discernible source. Even when we can find a logical reason, doesn’t mean there isn’t one,” she said with a tiny smirk.

~Faye

“So you say…” Daggum said doubtfully and then sat back as the shuttle came in for a landing. He looked at Vanessa and nodded in approval. “Pikelsimer has good taste. Those things are almost indestructible for their size.” As the engines powered down, he stood up and grabbed (all of ) their bags. “Lead on, wife. You can tell the spirits that there is a logical reason for them.” and he grinned at her.

Feeling mildly smug about her excellent landing job, Faye matched his grin and stepped out the back. “Don’t worry, Gem, I’ll protect you from the ghosties.”

Inside the house, Micah’s ears had perked up at the sound of the shuttle about a minute before it landed. He was on the porch watching; and even though they were expecting company, there was a nasty looking Klingon rifle just inside the doorway. When the hatch opened and the two figures appeared, he grinned and stepped off the porch. “ ‘Bout time. Y’all take the scenic route of sumthin’?” he asked with a grin.

Daggum / Micah

Shara appeared behind Micah wearing a light smile that hid her nervousness. At least Faye and Dag seemed in good enough moods.

“Naturally,” Faye said as she appeared. “It’s R&R after all. Vacation means sightseeing sometimes. Thought about doing the Sol System tour, but been there, done that. Though we most definitely avoided San Fran. I made sure none of the brass knew I was in the system because that’s the last thing I want to be doing.” Her experimental work was getting interesting but she had no intention of letting the uppers drag her into meetings while she was around.

Faye reached Micah first and threw her arms around him. “Heya, Pops. Nice of you to survive. I appreciate it.” It might sound flippant to others, but those that knew Faye understood given her history just how happy she truly was to see him. Her father.

~Faye & Shara

Micah embraced her tightly and held her for a long minute. “It’s good ta be seen, hun.” he said quietly. “I missed ya, daughter of mine.” and he let her go and looked at Daggum. “What’s up, Chief?” he asked with a smile. Daggum chuckled. “I thought you probably already knew.” and he reached for Micah’s hand. Micah slapped it away with his metal hand and the hugged the giant Orion close. “Missed ya, boy. Glad to have ya here.”

Micah

Shara stepped down watching this all play out with a deeper (and genuine) smile. Faye approached and stood there before her, hands planted on her hips, wearing a look Shara often did. It made her smirk to see her own disgruntled expression tossed back at her. “Nice to see you too,” Shara said.

“I’m putting a tracker on you, for the record,” Faye said before she closed the distance and threw her arms around Shara.

The embrace was tight and it surprised Shara, not that it happened, but by its fierceness. There was something in it, in the tiny caught breath that tore at Shara’s heart. Yes, she knew none of them have gotten off easy. Never mind that if anyone else had made that threat, Shara wouldn’t have believed them capable, nor would they have tolerated it. But Faye? Well, there were few people she trusted as much as her daughter, nor any of those who had Faye’s quirky brain and impressive skills as well. “Duly noted,” she whispered. “We’ll talk more, promise.”

Faye nodded within the embrace and buried her head more. When she finally pulled back, she slipped out of Shara’s arms and held up a finger. “Needed to do that before I brought our other guest.” Faye jogged back to the shuttle and a minute later came out with Tess in the carrier and then closed up the shuttle. She had thought about letting Tess walk into the cabin on her own, but she didn’t want Tess getting used to being outside when the chances of a predator taking her cat was rather high. “She’s been strangely interested in the travel. But I want to set boundaries about where she can and can’t be.”

“Well, the cabin is mostly open, except for Micah’s record room. She can’t get stuck many places inside, but you and Daggum have your own cabin to stay in, so we’ll make sure to give her a chance to get to know that space too.”

Faye dropped her head to peer into the softshell carrier. “Sound good to you? You can’t corral your person when you don’t know the space, right?” Tess chirped and Faye laughed. She looked over her shoulder at Daggum. “What do you say? Tour the big cabin first and settle ourselves in the other after?”

Micah cut in and said “You better settle first. You guys got here first so you get to pick first.” He pinyed at the two identical cabins on either side of the main one. “Whichever one ya pick is yours. And by ‘yours’ I mean yours. To keep. Forever. Whenever ya come here, and ya can anytime ya want now, that’s where you live. Main house in me and Shar, other one is Nadine.”

Faye’s brows quirked upwards. “Huh… cool. Thanks,” she said.

Meanwhile, Shara gazed at Faye and Daggum with a soft smile and she held out her arms to Daggum.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

Daggum walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tight and lifting her off the ground. As she dangled there, he whispered “We knew it wasn’t true. Never doubted you two for a second.” and he set her gently down on the ground and let her go. “But next time you damn well bring back souvenirs, at least.” he said with a grin.

Micah/ Daggum

Shara snorted. “Oh, but I did! Just nothing I can share, fortunately. You don’t want these souvenirs.” She gestured with her head. “Come on, we’ll give you the thirty-second tour.”

Faye stared at her mother for a moment, trying to decipher the layers beneath her statement before she exchanged a look with Dag and moved inside, carrying Tess carefully. “So when is that sister of ours getting here?”

“Oh, soon I think. She said she’d arrive the same day and that she’d make her own way here and maintain the privacy of the place.” Shara shrugged. Nadine had been cryptic, but Shara found it interesting and let her daughter have her secret.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“Yep. She’s definitely one’s yours.” Micah said with a grin at Shara. “C’mon, y’all.” and he led them towards rhe main house. “We’ll show y’all ‘round outside after Nadine gets here, but here is the main house. Y’alls is just like this one but a touch smaller and without some’a tha ‘extras’. But like I said: whichever you pick is yours. Do with it whatever you like.” and they walked into the house.

Daggum looked around and nodded and smiled. “Damn… this is nice.” and he looked at Shara. “I can see why you got him drunk so he would marry you.” and he laughed.

Micah / Daggum

Shara snorted. “Yes, that was exactly the reason.”

Faye took in everything with a critical gaze and moved over to where the baby grand piano sat between the living areas and the room with all the records. She ran her fingertips gently over the glossy surface. “This must be a pain to tune when you’re not around very often.”

She shrugged. “I consider it a cost of having something I’ve wanted for a long time. It wasn’t so bad though. Micah’s vetoed my getting a piano for the Asimov’s lounge. Though Maybe we should revisit that idea?” she said, casting a knowing glance over at her husband. She wasn’t going to spill her news until after Nadine got her, but the idea of having a piano in each of her homes was growing more solid in her mind.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

“Bigger ship now than when you first suggested it.” He gave her a look and said “Probably somethin’ you should take up with the XO. Get on their good side and ya never know what they might say.”

Micah

She shot a look back. “I’ll keep that in mind,” Shara said.

Faye watched them and raised both brows. “Something you want to share with the class?”

“Later,” Shara replied.

Before Faye could respond, a figure past by the window as they approached the front steps. There was a knock before the door opened and a familiar head poked in. “This a private party or can anyone join?” Nadine asked. But the woman was a striking difference in her high tech outdoor jacket and large fully packed bakpack on her back. She wore sturdy hiking boots and looked every part the outdoors person.

~Shara Calloway, CIO

Micah very subtly, so subtly that probably o ly Shara would catch it, made him reaching for his ankle part of a movement to get up off the couch. He smiled at Nadine and said “Definitely private. Bouncers at the door are just lettin’ anyone in here now, I guess.” He walked over to her and gave her a hug. “Pack outside. Drop it in your cabin if ya like.”

Micah

Nadine set the pack just outside the door and entered the house fully. “Yeah, I saw your construction efforts. I guess that answers the question about where we all sleep. There’s only so much room on Vanessa and I’m not interested in listening to my sister and brother-in-law and whatever they get up to, she said, making Faye snort.

Shara approached as Nadine unzipped her coat and the two embraced tightly. “I think we might have corrupted you. You look like you’ve been on a trek?”

Nadine grinned. “What can I say? I was inspired to explore places more ever since I was out here. I hiked in from Athens, camped nearby for the night. I did think about calling ahead so you didn’t shoot me, but I figured I’d live a little.” There was a gleam in her eyes and nothing to give away how much of that was truth or not.

Shara shook her head. “Wonders never cease.”

“We only just got here and were just about to get the grand tour,” Faye said.

~Shara, Faye & Nadine

Nadine gave Faye a hug and then moved over to Daggum, arms open and grinning. “Hey there brother of mine.”

“Okay okay okay, I get it.” Micah said with a grin. “So first up, Main house. Sha and I’s place. Y’all are welcome to come and go in here as you want, but just know that I hate pants. So… you’ve been warned.” and he chuckled. “Kitchen with walk in chiller and stasis containment for perishables.” he said and pointed to the kitchen. “Breen made the chiller, so it works really well.” He moved over to the wall that hid the record collection and opened it up. “These are real records. Priceless, at least ta me. If’n ya find yourself wantin’ ta play some, let me know and I’ll teach ya how the system works.” and he closed the wall. “Upstairs is the bedroom and bathroom. No refresher downstairs. Sorry, but I didn’t build this place with family in mind.” and he grinned at all of them. He walked to the fireplace and slapped the wall to the right of it and a panel slid inwards and then slid out of sight inside the wall. Behind it was a wide assortment of weapons. “Armory. Just in case.” He looked at Nadine and said “Anything you wanna learn, I’ll teach ya.”

Rather than look aghast as she might have the last time she was here, Nadine simply nodded.

“C’mon. Follow me.” Micah said and walked outside. He led them down the steps to the front yard and walked out a ways so that they could see all three cabins. “Those two new ones, they are for y’all. You can fight it out amongst ya who gets what, but they are identical. Floor plan is identical to the main house, minus the record room. And the armory.” and he laughed. He looked at Daggum. “‘Sides, I know you carry that bag with ya wherever you go.” Daggum just nodded. He didn’t like the fact that his psyche had been so molded by the events of his childhood that he dared not go anywhere without the bag traveling with him, but he had accepted a long time ago. Micah then turned around and spread his arms wide and said “And this is our land. From here, if you can see it, it belongs to us. Eight hundred acres and the only developed part is this. No roads in, no place to land except right here. Over on that side-” and he pointed to the east, “- are the neighbors, the Morgans. Billy Jack, Cloris, and Maybel. Distant relatives and the ones who put up your cabins. Good people, trust ‘em with my life. They have free access to the property.” He pointed to the west. “That’s a nature preserve. Almost a million acres of nothing but wilderness. I got sensors along the border there that’ll let me know if anyone decides to come in. Usually don’t mind, but every now and then it’s something shady. River down yonder about a mile and a half. Couple’a creeks and ponds. Little bit of marsh down by the river between us and the preserve. Honestly, if you can see it, smell it, stand on it, or walk to it in two days in any direction, it’s ours.”

Micah

“Good to know I wasn’t trespassing,” Nadine quipped. “And the neighbours are nice, just be careful they don’t want to fight you too. I swear our mom was going to do in one of the sister’s last time.”

Faye snorted and tossed Shara a look. “Where’s your community spirit?” she teased.

Shara held up both hands. “Hey, I didn’t start it, but I would finish if it was required. Luckily, it didn’t come to that,” she said with a slight chuckle, remember Billy Jack’s intervention.”

~Shara Calloway, CIO

Micah chuckled and said “Y’all ‘ll meet ‘em soon enough. They’re comin’ for dinner one night. For now, why don’t y’all get settled. There’s a care package on the counter in the kitchens for ya both. Faye, get your little rock ready. It’s got a workout comin’.” and he grinned.

Micah