Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Requiem for a Life

(snip)

The words sat on her lips. And if I wanted to go? But somehow Faye knew he’d say something akin to letting her free if she truly wished to. And for that exact reason, because she somehow knew he would, she couldn’t ask. Which was madness! But Faye understood even in that bizarre moment that right now she was still reeling from the massacre of her home, the loss of so many people. Ever since her mother had gone missing the year before she had felt like her life was a ticking time bomb. It went off the day the Dominion arrived and had been going off in small explosions ever since. Right now, she needed to metaphorically hunker down and regroup. And for the moment, as strange as it seemed, life with Kodell was safe. She had food and a roof over her head. Protection. And now, as it appeared, purpose and a chance for exploration. She was sixteen, nearly seventeen. Yes, she could take care of herself if she needed to, but Faye knew damn well that she didn’t want to. Not just yet. How there was comfort to be found in what Cameron had so aptly called their gilded prison Faye didn’t fully understand. She only knew there was some here, and right now that was what she needed most. Gazing at Kodell, she nodded. “I believe you.”

Tick.
Tick.
Boom.

Faye had spoken true: she surprised them with the testing. It never dawned on them that her father had been teaching her engineering and computer skills. And all the while her mother had focused on the mathematical and programming side of computers. Not to mention T’Lora’s vast range of tutoring. It had made her an asset at her parent’s side as members of the Maquis, rather than a liability. For better or worse, T’Lora’s prediction that Faye would be well suited to a life away from Tracken where she could exercise her mind to the fullest was taking shape, even if Orion had been about the last place she had expected to ever be.

Faye’s favourite moment of the whole thing was when she demonstrated her ability to hack a computer system. Kodell had just laughed uproariously and walked away, his chuckles sounding through the house. The truth was laid bare for all to see: if Faye truly wanted to escape, she had the means, if not the opportunity.

Throughout the whole process she casually dropped a detail here, a tidbit about the way she was raised. It led to her being allowed greater freedoms in the manor and on the property, along with a larger variety of tasks. Yes, she was still just a servant in the household but she was grateful for the variety. It had led her to a welcome respite: the gardens.

Kneeling at the edge of a bed, the evening sun cast long dappled shadows through the trees. She liked working in the evenings after dinner was over and she had finished the rest of her work. While she did help with large amounts of planting as needed, she chose these times of solitude to putter about, plucking weeds and potting up seedlings. The vast estate required a lot of plants!

“You disappeared rather quickly after dinner,” a voice to her right called out, coming around the corner into this one particularly lush and secluded part of the ‘wild’ garden. “I went looking for you in the kitchens and Linella said you had already left.”

Sitting back on her heels, Faye smiled softly and looked up at Kodell. “Linella didn’t need me anymore and I wanted to catch the last of the light.”

He crouched down beside her, and she marvelled at how easily he was willing to dirty the fine suit he wore. It could easily be replaced, after all. It was yet another sign of how disparate their realities were. “What are you doing?”

“Pulling weeds,” she said simply. He just gazed at her deeply. “Making space for some new plants tomorrow. Read about them in an Orion ecology book and realized they would work perfectly out here.”

A throaty chuckle and shake of his head ensued. Kodell shifted his weight so he was sitting on the stone edging of the garden bed. “What else have you been reading that interests you?”

Faye blew out a breath and shifted herself beside him. “All sorts. Quantum mechanics, a Vulcan treatise on diplomacy and negotiation. Oh! And I found a first edition on Betazoid spiritual practices. Where do you get all these books from?”

He smiled. “Oh, I have several buyers that look out for things they know I’d be interested in.”

“But there’s no way you could ever read all of them? And some of them are really old, Kodell. Shouldn’t they belong in a museum or something?”

Kodell shrugged. “A lot of people like collecting things and I just happen to like unusual and rare books. As for reading them, well, sure I can’t read all of them in my lifetime, but I like having the option to.”

Faye shook her head. “You’re a strange man.”

“Why thank you. Coming from you that sounds like a compliment.”

Shifting her gaze from the path to Kodell, Faye once again felt like she was only getting the outermost layers of him, and she suspected that was more than most people were allowed to see. “You chafe.” The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them.

“Pardon?”

Faye struggled to form the rest of the thought in her mind but his gaze compelled her forward. “The fancy business suits, the constant meetings and private dinners for current and potential clients. All of it. Your mother’s massive house that you struggle to feel at home in. I think you’d rather be at some sort of academic institution teaching curious minds.” Kodell rose to his feet, a frown on his face. Faye was instantly on her feet, aghast. “I’ve misstepped. I’m so sorry,” she said before moving away from him.

Fingertips caught hers and stopped her in her tracks. She turned back and her gaze dipped. Somehow knowing her error left her unusually mortified. “Faye…” he whispered. The tension on her arm lessened as he drew himself closer. “Don’t be sorry for speaking the truth. Not with me. Besides… you were right.”

Eyes upwards again, Faye inhaled slowly. “The truth can still be painful,” she said softly.

Kodell nodded. “Yes it can, but you didn’t hurt me. Not in the way you think. I just…” The words tumbled away from him.

Faye took a tentative step towards him, closing the distance, once again aware that his fingers were still holding the tips of her. His skin was smooth, unworked. And while he held them firmly, he was extraordinarily gentle. “What? You just what?”

As the sun began its final dip into the horizon, they were cast in a warm glow. He didn’t immediately speak, and sheltered by the large shrubs and trees the chances of anyone coming across them were sparse, though of course the security folks knew he was out here, just as they did her. Faye realized the longer the silence went on, just how desperately she wanted him to finish his thought.

“You see me. I didn’t expect a young rebel from the colonies would be able to.”

Faye swallowed. His finger traced a line in her cupped palm. The next thing she knew, his lips brushed hers. At first she didn’t back away and her inclination was to kiss him back. She silently debated it and ever so slightly pressed her lips more firmly on his. A warmth flooded her body and for a moment she felt contentment. But something also felt wrong and she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Pulling back, Faye dropped her gaze. “I should get back inside. I have to be up early.” Faye tried not to flee, but her legs carried her swiftly, her lips still tingling. Kodell didn’t follow.

{To be continued…}

~Faye Calloway