Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Deck 5, Faye’s Quarters- Out of the Brig
If she were thinking rationally, Faye would have immediately realized that her roaming about the ship on her own was a very bad idea, not the least because the crew didn’t yet know the truth. But she wasn’t thinking clearly and her mind was rather muddled at the moment. Between the revelations from the imposter, to the weight of the secrets her mother had shared with her, to the very real torment of being in that cell for the two days, Faye had reached her limit.

Fortunately for her, she didn’t encounter anyone as she made her way up to Deck 5. Then again people weren’t expecting to see her so they probably wouldn’t have thought much of it until after she passed by them anyway.

Slipping into her quarters, she exhaled the breath she suddenly realized she had been holding. Closing her eyes, she tried to steady her breathing, focusing on the expansion of her chest and the deflation of her belly when she let the breath flow back out. It was an important pause before she then set off to her bedroom, her muddled mind fixated on the one thing she knew was absolutely necessary: they had to rescue Leroy.

~Faye Calloway

Shara had two guesses where Faye might go first, but one was more likely. Because despite everything and all the years apart, she knew her daughter. Maybe not in a normal way, but she understood much about her. She was no longer the slightly recalcitrant preteen with an intellectual ability far above her peers that her and Edward had debated over and over what to do with. But Faye had a pattern of behaviour that was repeating itself right now whether she was fully conscious of it or not. Not only would it harm Faye in the long run, it was a sure sign that they needed to intervene quickly.

Using her higher access codes from Intelligence, she overrode the lock on Faye’s quarters and entered… just in time to see Faye come out of her quarters with a bag slung over her shoulders. Faye froze. It was like she hadn’t calculated her mother’s arrival or perhaps not so soon. Her eyes darted around as she worked through her different options.

“Faye…” Shara said gently. “Put down the bag. The captain wants to see us. We need to give Admiral Greyson an update and that needs to happen asap.”

“He’s out there. I have to go. I can’t leave him there!” Faye exclaimed, her voice almost panicked.

Shara risked venturing closer, but not too far. She didn’t want to spook her daughter, who clearly was on the edge. “I know. I heard.”

Faye processed this tidbit and exhaled. Her mother heard. That meant her recording was not the only one. “The recording!” she said, realizing she’d made a mistake. An understandable one, under the circumstances, sure, but a mistake nonetheless.

Shara held up her hands. “It’s okay! I retrieved it and Cochrane has it in his possession. It’s safe.”

Her free hand shaking, Faye nodded, finding her feet rooted. What she wanted was to push past this woman, tell them all to go to hell and go find Leroy. But she needed the coordinates. “I was going to go down to my lab next,” she said quietly.

“Can you retrieve the info from here? We need to send a copy to Greyson in Cochrane’s presence,” Shara reasoned. She understood that the best thing she could do was appeal to Faye’s sense of logic. The evidence would not only clear Faye’s name but also expedite Intelligence’s inevitable rescue mission. While Faye was all set to do so herself, Shara understood that neither Faye nor herself could be involved. It was simply not a viable situation for either of them. “I need you to hold on Faye, just a little bit longer, okay? We just need to see this last bit through and I promise they will be on top of finding Blue.”

Faye could feel the weariness settling into her bones. The bag slipped off her shoulder and landed on the floor with a thud. Taking a deep breath, she simply nodded and moved over to her work station. Slipping into her desk chair, Faye opened up a secure shell to her workstation in CS Lab 2. After a moment she frowned. “You messed with stuff,” she grumbled.

Shara smirked. “Hey, nothing important. Just had to create my own space away from what you were doing. Pretty sure you don’t want programs crossing.” She had cast her gaze about Faye’s space, admiring the small details that told her more about her daughter. She knew about the garden so the shelving unit of plants growing beneath lights didn’t surprise her, though she hadn’t expected such a set-up in her personal space. And then there was some sort of cooking contraption that made her smile a tiny bit.

Faye growled slightly and she continued to work. Eyes fixed on the screen, she reached into her desk and pulled out a fresh PADD. Moments later, she was done. PADD in hand, she slipped out of her chair and moved for the door. “Let’s go.”

Whether Faye realized it or not, she had just pulled her self back towards safety and Shara felt another swelling of pride. It might seem like such a tiny thing to others, but to Shara, who had seen Faye survive Hell, and whom herself had been battling her own demons, she understood the tremendous strength and will power Faye was drawing from just to keep herself going right now.

“Yes, let’s,” Shara said softly as they exited Faye’s quarters.

~Faye & Shara Calloway