Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in 2378- An Incognito Life
Outpost Tortuga, Beta Quadrant

(snip)

They were offering her a lifeline and they all knew it. She had yet to turn down any job offer. Well… except that one. And given how rough the last two had been she had to actively suppress the uneasiness in her stomach. Or was that just the hunger? “Alright,” she said softly. “But don’t ask too many questions and I won’t have lie to you.” Being up front here seemed to be the way to play this.

Dirk nodded. “Fair. And I have rules for the Kodiak. A place like Tortuga requires sometimes breaking fingers, but you leave that crap here. It doesn’t come aboard my ship, understand?”

There was a seriousness in his tone that made Faye simply nod. Loud and clear, Captain.

He gave her a wide grin and reached out his hand to her. Faye took it and they shook. “Welcome to my crew, Abagail Blair. May you find what you’re looking for.” It was an odd thing to say, but it struck Faye deeply. She smiled. Releasing her hand, Dirk waved one of the servers over. “A round for the table, and bowl of soup for this one,” he said, pointing to Faye.

And so it began again. New name, new job, new life. She could be anyone she wanted to (within reason) and go anywhere she wanted to. And yet… Faye was still looking for that elusive thing called home.

Soon enough they were joined by Renn, who turned out to be younger than she had been expecting (though she was the youngest of the group by far) and also rather easy on the eyes. He turned a chair around and straddled it, resting his arms on the table as he took in the new face. “Well, hello,” he told her with a curious smile before looking to Dirk, raising dark brows and gazing at the captain with black eyes.

Jensson jutted a thumb Faye’s way. “This is Abagail Blair, or Abby.” He tossed her a glance. “Which do you prefer?”

Faye shrugged. “Either will do.”

He smirked and then returned his attention to Renn. “Renn Darlos, meet Abby, our new deckhand. Abby, meet Renn, our first officer. He’ll be overseeing your work. Abby here got into a tight spot with a pair of Uqarans and though she managed to get free, we knew how it was going to end and I stepped in. Good thing for us too- turns out she can cook,” Dirk said with a grin.

Renn considered Faye and nodded. “Well then, welcome to the crew I guess.”

“I really did have it covered you know,” she said with a hint of irritation, thought she kept it mostly contained. It wouldn’t do to piss off her new boss and crewmates right from the get-go.

“I’m sure you did,” Temor said, trying not to smirk and failing terribly. “Especially with that big lug’s hand around your throat.”

With a sigh, Faye lifted her boot and pulled out a small knife, setting it on the table. Then she reached to her back and pulled out a longer and slimmer one from her thick leather vest. Finally, she reached into the front of her shirt and pulled out a tiny knife, setting it down with a small clunk. “I had it covered,” she said casually.

Jensson burst out into raucous laughter. “Apparently you did! Does this mean, Abagail Blair, that you’re going to do security for us too?” he said, a gleam in his eyes.

She leaned in towards him. “Are you going to pay me more? For two separate jobs it would be reasonable to have a higher cut.”

“And the gumption to match apparently too.” Knocking back the last of his ale, Jensson nodded. “Alright, tell you what… you do this next run with us and if all goes well we’ll consider your probation done and we’ll pay you for both roles. Deal?”

Faye held out her hand again and gave him a smile. “You have yourself a deal, Captain.”

Renn was still considering her and she had already made the wise decision to put something of a barrier up and let surface thoughts coast along. She wouldn’t be able to fool him, not really, but she was pretty certain he was at least empathic and she had no desire to be picked apart by this stranger. “You going to bring us trouble Miss Blair?” he said matter-of-factly, daring her to meet his gaze.

“Ah, come now Renn, leave the woman be,” Megs said, tossing him an unimpressed look.

Without hesitation, Faye let her eyes drift to his and upped the ante by leaning on a braced elbow and resting her chin in her hand. “Possibly. All I can say is that trouble has a funny way of finding me, or else my mouth gets me into trouble. Either way, I can’t promise there won’t ever be any, but I did promise the captain here to avoid the use of violence and I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

He pointed a finger at her and nodded. “That I believe.” He allowed a small smile to slip across his stern features before he relaxed back in his chair.

Returning her knives to their hiding places, Faye had a funny feeling it wasn’t the last little “talk” her and Renn were going to have, but hopefully it wouldn’t spoil her time on the Kodiak. After all, she really needed this job!

A little while later they found themselves on the Kodiak. It was much like the other freighters she had worked on, but it was surprisingly clean and, at a glance, well maintained. Then again, in the short time she had been present with them, Faye could tell Jensson took pride in his ship and crew and they gave no reason to doubt that pride. After the last few months it felt like a lot to live up to, but she was determined to make this work.

“You’ll be bunking with me,” Megs said as she gave the quick and dirty tour. There really wasn’t all that much to see but later when she was needing to understand the systems and get used to how they ran cargo runs, she’d need to spend a lot more time on the details. For now Faye was just getting a feel for things after reclaiming her duffle bag she had put into secure storage after arriving on Tortuga.

“Okay,” she said absentmindedly as she took in the engine room she’d spend more time in later with Temor. Megs moved about with a confident ease Faye envied. Then again the woman was probably nearly twice her age so she figured she had earned that ease at some point.

They moved down the corridor towards the crew living area and the bridge. “You alright?” Megs said gently, giving Faye another once over.

“Fine,” Faye replied quietly. “Just tired and a bit hungry still. That soup on the station was terrible,” she said with a smirk.

Megs laughed. “Yeah, a really tasty meal is few and far between, and a replicator currently isn’t in the budget, but we don’t starve. Dirk can make a mean scrambled egg when we get fresh ones, and Renn makes this uttaberry dessert his grandmother taught him. But for the most part we are a sad lot when it comes to cooking food. Except for coffee. I make the best coffee out of all of us. Feel like a cup?”

“Gods yes,” Faye said. “I haven’t had coffee in ages,” she said with a smile.

“Next stop after.” Megs pressed a button to open the door and they stepped into a small quarters with a single bed on each side. Another door went to what Faye presumed was the lavatory. “It’s not much but this is home. Far bed is yours.”

“Thanks,” Faye said, looking around, but cautiously.

Megs once again was looking at her as if trying to figure something out. “Abby?”

“Hmm?” Faye said, her mind having drifted as she gazed at a small painting on the wall of what seemed to be some sort of impressionistic meadow. For a moment she could almost imagine herself back on Tracken running through the tall grasses non the east side of the lake.

“Abagail…”

Faye’s attention shifted back to Megs and she frowned slightly. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Megs said with almost a concerned look on her face. “Look, Abby, I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but I know a person who’s had a rough go of it when I see them. I know because it was me for a long time. I can’t promise how this will go for you but if you give it a chance, this can be a good place. Dirk is a good man and a good captain. He looks out for us.”

Faye shifted the bag on her shoulder but then moved over to the bed and set it down. Turning to face Megs, she chewed on her lower lip. “I keep wanting it to be, but…”

“I know,” Megs said with a rueful smile.

“But I’ll give it a try.”

A grin spread over Megs face and she moved to link her arm through Faye’s. “You know Abbs, I think we’re going to have some fun around here.”

Faye chuckled. “Is that what you call it?”

To Be Continued…

~Faye Calloway AKA Abagail Blair, Wanderer