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 Civilian Micah Pikelsimer (Federation Security Agent) in From the Shadows Comes Hope
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Faye’s grin grew, lopsided though it still was. “Probably for the best. You know she’s still weirded out by that right? The whole not remembering bit. I think it scares her because of her dad. Some of the stuff she told me when I was younger made it seem like he used that sort of stuff as an excuse.” Faye shrugged. “But you probably know better than I do.”

Out in the open living area, Gavin signed off of the call and Shara set the terminal to the side. Something about the conversation with her brother and the ease to it (despite having to start off with difficult topics at first), left her more content. Yes, there were things that needed to be hashed out between them all here, and she still had news to share, but Shara felt like she could take a breath for the first time. She smiled at Daggum and Nadine and rose to her feet. “Back in a minute. Going to get some water.”

Shara moved to the kitchen and watched Faye and Micah cooking, her smile deepening. She new how hard it had been for Faye to open her heart to another father, but once she had it was clear how much Faye loved Micah. That blow-up between the two of them was evident to not just their strong personalities, but their strong feelings. Only loved ones could get under your skin quite so deeply.

She moved around Micah and planted a kiss on his cheek before reaching into a cupboard for a glass. “What do you want me to set the table with, Chef?” Shara asked, teasingly, but also asking a genuine question.

~Shara & Co.

“Oh, just the standard. Nothing fancy. But give Faye a big girl glass. No sippy cups this trip ” Micah said with a grin.

Pikelsimer, FedSec Senior Agent

Shara smirked even as Faye rolled her eyes. She filled her glass and took a sip, setting it to the side so she could grab the needed cutlery.

Faye stepped away from the counter and intercepted her. “Yes?” Shara said, amusement threading through her voice. Faye threw her arms around her mother and held her tightly. Startled, Shara gazed at Micah wide-eyed and then she enveloped her daughter.

“I’m glad you’re here. Both of you. I forgot in all the chaos to tell you that, and I’m sorry,” Faye said.

Shara’s breath caught in her throat as the emotions swirled around in her gut. She squeezed a little, and rather than stuff down the emotions, she sighed them out, releasing some more of the tension within her. “I know, my girl. And I know you always have the best intentions. You have an incredible heart. Don’t think I don’t see that.”

Faye pulled back and gave a lopsided smirk. “Well, I think my execution could use a little work.”

Shara laughed and leaned in, planting a kiss on her forehead. “The same could be said for all of us. Family is like that sometimes.” She move over to the counter and gathered the cutlery, nudging her hip against Micah. “ETA on dinner?”

“Fifteen minutes for chow.” Micah said.

“Okay, Shara said with a nod and took the cutlery out to set the table.

Out in the living room, Nadine move to one of the large windows and leaned against the frame with ehr side, gazing out over their majestic surroundings.

~Shara & Co.

His presence was not hard to miss as Daggum walked up to stand beside her. “It’s really beautiful here. Hard to imagine there are still aces like this in the galaxy.” he said while taking in the view.

Pikelsimer, FedSec Senior Agent

“Oh, there there are probably more than we realize. It was nice to hike through to here though. I’m glad I did it,” Nadine said. She looked up at Dag. “About what we were talking about earlier… do think I should ask Faye to inquire on my behalf? I mean, it’s weird, isn’t it? I’m liking the idea of going somewhere, and I can have a purpose in doing so outside myself, so much the better, but I’m not one to ask favours and I don’t know if this one is even okay to ask.”

~Shara & Co.

“Absolutely. Ask her.” Daggum said with a smile. ‘And I imagine she would be pretty excited to help you with that. And don’t forget the rest of us. You have more favors and influence at your disposal in this cabin right now than Star Fleet Command when all the brass is convened. We’ll get you where you want to go. Don’t worry about that.” He set a hand on her shoulder and have it a gentle squeeze. “And I think you’d do amazingly well out there, by the way.” He glanced over his shoulder at Sharah, Micah, and Faye and he chuckled. “I mean… it’s kinda in your blood… and in your family.”

Pikelsimer, FedSec Senior Agent / Daggum Hammor

Nadine grinned. “You know, you’re probably right about that. Just because I’ve never spent more than a couple weeks in space, doesn’t mean it’s not for me. Just hadn’t been something I needed to do before now. And thanks for the vote of confidence. Didn’t know I needed one until just now,” she said with a warm smile at her brother-in-law.

Daggum smiled back and said “Confidence is probably one thing no one in this family lacks.” and he laughed. “But you are most welcome. And I was serious earlier. We all know the Skipper of the Manhattan. Cochrane is a good man. And a good Captain. You could do A LOT worse than having your first taste of starahip life being on his ship. And the ship’s chef is a complete asshole, but you won’t eat any better anywhere, either.” and he chuckled. “You just say the word, and we’ll make sure you get a job there.”

Nadine nodded and drew in a steadying breath. She wasn’t fully sure what she would do, but her mind was definitely working through the possibilities. At least she had some options now that didn’t include just sucking it up and existing in the same realm as her ex and his new wife.

Meanwhile, Faye finished up the chopping. “Anything else you need help with?” she said.

Micah looked at her and then over his shoulder. “Yeah. Go see what your sister and that walking broccoli are whispering about. Conspirators in my house makes me nervous.” he said with a grin.

Faye snorted. “Alrighty then.” She snapped off a cheeky salute and left the kitchen.

In the living area, Shara retreated from the dining table after taking a sip of her water and moved to her piano. She puled off the cloth cover (no point in it gathering dust while her and Micah were off-world) and folded it up, setting it to the side. She ran a hand along the edge of the lid, following it around till she slid onto the bench. Her fingertips rested on the keys. For a moment she just sat there with her eyes closed, as if something could channel up through her fingers. In fact, she was channelling a memory and letting the music find her again. Could she remember after all this time, after all that had happened. Her memory was that good, but there was a lot of other stuff that could easily get in the way.

Her fingers began to press keys, playing some of that ‘high brow stuff’ that Micah loved to hear her play. From the grand piano came the first movement of Beethoven’s Mooonlight Sonata. It was a pensive piece, but not a sad one. Not to her, anyway. It was curious and thoughtful.

~Shara Calloway, XO

Bump

As the first notes began to fill the cabin, Micah smiled. She was finding herself again… her music.

Pikelsimer, FedSec Senior Agent

Nadine turned to watch Shara, smiling. She had gotten used to this sight when she had been here before, but it surprised her how much she had missed it. It was that knowing that music had been a part of her life in a way she had never understood until she finally was reunited with her birth mother.

Faye stopped and instead of moving to see Nadine and Daggum, she slipped over to the piano and sat on the end of the bench, trying to give her mother room to play.

Shara continued to play, though she tossed a smile Faye’s way. “I wasn’t sure I’d remember, but it’s a lot of repetition in this first part of the first movement, so it’s not so hard.”

“I remember you playing a lot of other types of music, but not so much classical,” Faye said.

Shara drew in a breath. “Sometimes I’d play for Ed, since that was a part of how we met and first connected, but I had a lot of difficult memories attached to this music, so I didn’t. Things are different now. I’m different. It’s been nice to let it be a part of my life again.”

“Yeah,” you are different,” Faye said. It was a criticism either. They had hashed out a lot of issues since their reunion and this was Faye acknowledging that they were not the same people. That things were okay.

Shara beamed and slowly brought this part to a slow end.

Nadine clapped and Shara gave her a withering glare. “Really not necessary.”

“Nonsense,” Nadine said with laugh. “Where else are you going to have a captive audience show their appreciation. Last you said, you didn’t have a piano on that ship of yours.”

“Tempted to change that,” Shara said as she got up from the bench, and moved to the table knowing that Micah was about to bring out the meal any moment now.

~Shara Calloway, XO

And she was correct. A yell of “Dinner! Set your butts down and get ready to eat!” came from the kitchen and Micah appeared carrying a large tray which he set in the middle of table. On it we’re all the vegetables Nadine and Daggum had gathered along with a sizable bowl of marinated and sauteed mushrooms and skewers of various fruits. “We’re vegetarian tonight. I’ll rustle us up some meat tomorrow.” Micah said and took his seat. He looked at Nadine as she and Daggum sat down and said “So whatcha two talkin’ about? Seemed pretty excitin’ judging from the looks an you two’s faces.”

Pikelsimer, FedSec Senior Agent

Nadine blew out a breath and nodded slowly. “So, I’ll explain why after, but I am looking at making a big change and Daggum gave me a great idea. But I need to have some details in order to fully wrap my head around the option. So, how does a civilian come to work on a Starfleet vessel. Like, is it the CO who makes the decision or does someone else have to weight in?”

Shara shot her hand up with a highly amused expression on her face. “Oh! I know this one since I’ve been buried in regulatory manuals lately,” she said with a laugh. Faye shot her an equally amused look.

“So, it depends on the reason for the assignment. The most common situation outside of being stationed with a family member, is that they are hired as an outside contractor on particular project and that assignment lasts as long as that project does. General staffing of civilians is less common but it can happen. But not everyone will meet the requirements. You have to have a needed skillset, pass all the background checks, and agree to be bound by the Uniform Code, which governs the behaviour of all personnel and outlines the consequences for its violation. Just because someone isn’t in uniform, doesn’t mean they don’t have to abide by most of the same rules. But in any case, a Commanding Officer usually is the one to say yes, whether they were approached directly, or personnel suggests. they have the right to say no in such a circumstance.”

Nadine swallowed and nodded again. “And a misdemeanour crime with community service as a sentence would be frowned upon?”

Shara smirked at her daughter. “People make mistakes and Starfleet does not expect perfect. If they will accept a former Maquis who was deemed a terrorist at one point, they won’t even bat an eye at a teacher who passes all the background checks to work with kids and has a tiny little blip in their record.” She winked. “You’ll be fine.”

Nadine flushed and Faye stared at her sister. “So… where are you thinking of getting assigned to?”

She explained the whole debacle with her ex getting remarried and about to have a baby and learning about all of this through a mutual friend rather than from him directly. “It’s just… too much. And Earth is starting to feel too small, claustrophobic. So Daggum suggested I could leave and work elsewhere, maybe say in the Deltaz Quadrant?” she said, looking at Faye directly.

Faye’s eyes lit up. “Awesome! Well, not about your ex, he’s a douche bag, but Alex will always take great people on his ship. I can ask for you!” She flicked her gaze to Micah. “I could even make the call after dinner on Vanessa? I’d use my special priority code, since it’ll mask my origin point.”

~Shara Calloway, XO

Micah shrugged and said “Or you can just use the terminal over there.” and he jerked his chin in the direction of the comm terminal by the piano. “It’s encrypted and bounces your transmission to around… ohhhh… I’d say roughly a few hundred thousand different nodes and labels all of them as the point of origin. It also assigned a totally random date and time stamp to all outgoing transmissions and messages after they are answered or read.” He smiled a wicked smile at Faye and said “You ain’t the only one with some technical skills, oh daughter of mine.” and he winked at her. He was very aware that he was nowhere near to being on the same level as Faye… but he had more than a couple of tricks up his sleeve.

Faye smirked and gave him two thumbs up. “I’m aware,” she said with a great deal of fondness for the man.

Micah looked at Nadine and said “Hun, I know how ya must feel… trust me… but I wantcha to keep in mind that the Delta Quadrant is new and unexplored. It’s dangerous… we’ve all seen that. But if I was to just jump in both feet and say ‘Screw it, Im a’goin’?’ Well, there are a hell of a lot worse places to go than the Manhattan. It’s a great ship, great crew. And their Skipper is one of the best in the Fleet. He’d take care of ya, for certain.” He looked around the table and then said “And I think we’d all trust him to look after you. He’s a good man. Not as good as me by any means… maybe close to Daggum, here. But a good man nonetheless.” Daggum chuckled and looked at Nadine. “Again… Captain Cochrane is one of the best officers I have served with. You’ll be in good hands.” He looked at Faye and snickered. “Isn’t that right, oh wife of mine?”

Pikelsimer, FedSec Senior Agent

Faye laughed. “Alex is my brother, and you’ve at least met him and spent a few minutes around him. Though not everyone knows he dances a mean jive,” she said with a smirk.

Nadine couldn’t help but smile and for a moment she just let herself feel the love they were all giving her. “Thank you,” she murmured and took a steadying breath. “I know I really have no idea what I’m getting in to, but…” She shook her head. “I don’t know that I want to wander aimlessly. At least going to a place I’ve been feels like I’ll have steady ground under me, so to speak. I just…” Tears pooled in her eyes and she slid her fork into a vegetable. “I just know that if I simply change locations, it won’t be enough. Ever since I moved back to Portland my life has bene exactly the same, predictable. I would never have thought of the Manhattan, but now that the idea has come out, I can’t get it out of my head.”

“You’re an explorer, love,” Shara said. “In your core, like the rest of us. It’s in your DNA.”

Nadine nodded slowly, wiping at an errant tear. “And I know that there is still a part of me that wants to be a mom, so I’m considering adoption, which is crazy given I’m opting for a semi-nomadic life, but I figure if it’s meant to be, the right opportunity will present itself when it’s meant to.” She let out a sigh, but it was followed by a soft smile, rather than sadness.

Meanwhile, Faye was giving her mother an expectant look. “What?” Shara said.

“Don’t think I didn’t miss your little comment, Madame Regulations…”

Shara smirked and glanced at Micah. It was time for her bit of news.

She set down her fork and folded her arms on the edge of the table. “Well, that last mission was a btch. It was really hard, not going to lie. If it hadn’t been for Micah I don’t now how I would have made it through,” she said, her voice dropping. “But, a lot changed, and a lot of people chose to go elsewhere. It was too much for them. Captain Kiernan suddenly found herself without a first officer, and she asked me to replace them, because of my experience and because I know the ship and the ins and outs of our mission profile so well. It took a lot of convincing from Sara and Micah, but… I said yes. I’m the new Executive Officer of the Asimov*.” She rolled her hand in Faye’s direction. “Go on, you’re allowed. I was the same.”

Faye burst out laughing, but it wasn’t at Shara. Instead she wore a beaming smile. “Oh my Gods, that is Amazing! And I can’t believe I’m envious of my own mother, but there we go.” She chuckled some more, amused her mother made a command role before she did, despite the fact that Faye had been studying her ass off for months now. She wasn’t upset though, which amazed Faye.

“Congrats!” Nadine said. “That’s a big step.” She flicked her gaze to Micah. “Does that make things simpler or more complicated for you on that ship?” she asked, suppressing a smirk.

~Shara Calloway, XO