Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Side Sim - Commander Calloway’s Quarters - White Lightning and Black Ops

Posted by Shara Calloway (Intel Liason) in Side Sim - Commander Calloway’s Quarters - White Lightning and Black Ops

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Side Sim - Commander Calloway’s Quarters - White Lightning and Black Ops
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Dropping the arm on the back of the sofa, she took the jar in hand and turned slightly to face him more. Shara took a whiff before she took a generous swallow. The drink definitely had bit, but so did she. It went down easily with nary a twitch on her part and she was tempted to ask him where the still was. The drink gave her time to digest his unexpected question. He might not have caught her unaware with the drink, but his question struck a nerve.

For a moment there was silence before she found the right words, but even then she knew they didn’t full encompass it all. “It’s rough,” she said quietly. Shara inhaled and in her exhale, she shoulders relaxed downwards. “There’s…” She shook her head. “As a parent all you want to do is protect your child. Keep them safe. All you want is for them to be happy. And so much of it is out of my hands. I can’t do anything, so I’ve had to wait and be patient. Never used to be my strong suit,” she said with a snort, before taking another drink.

~Shara Calloway

“Wouldn’t know. Never had any of my own. But I seen what their loss can do…” and he took a drink. He looked at her directly and said “You ain’t gonna have to deal with that. I won’t let it happen.” His voice was calm and even, but there was a resolution in his tone that was… palpable. “I meant what I said back there in the conference room, Ms. Calloway. I’m here to help. And I’m here to make sure the right people pay…” and he looked out the window a moment. “Ain’t nobody getting used as scapegoats while I’m here, thats for damn sure.” and he looked back at her and gave her a half-smile and took a drink.

Pikelsimer

She had no illusions to the fact that he had access to her entire unabridged file, though how much he looked over it was entirely unknown. “Well, we can use all the help we can get I think.”

Shara’s gaze drifted away from Pikelsimer to the expanse of space outside the window. “This was supposed to be a fairly straightforward investigation. Dig, discuss and let others deal with it as needed. I’m used to things going awry- it’s been my entire life, but”-she returned her gaze back to him-“when the next clue led to Strickland and consequently Faye it like someone had stabbed me. We had just gotten out of one of the worst case scenarios for either of us. I wasn’t ready for this. Neither was she. And all I can feel right now is that same terror when the Cardassians first decided to visit our colony. They didn’t harass the same way the did the others, but still we knew at any moment we could end up just like Setlik Three. Faye was only a baby at the time and just past infancy and they beamed down and simply walked about. One of them stopped and watched me with Faye wrapped to my chest and at one point stepped close ad reached out to touch her. There was nothing malicious in it, but a visceral feeling came over and I put my hand out to stop them from drawing any closer. I didn’t say it aloud but I thought, ‘Over my dead body’. That feeling keeps returning and i know because it means Faye is in danger. So you can make all the promises you want, but until that feeling leaves again, she is not safe.” It surprised her how much she was willing to share. It wasn’t like she was sharing her deepest, darkest secrets or anything, but it definitely had been a very long while since she had had anyone to share anything with. A life in the shadows left little time for confessionals.

~Shara Calloway

Pikelsimer looked at her… stared, actually. For a long time he just looked at her. Finally he said “So I imagine you looked me up. And if ya did, you know my history with Cardassians.” and the metal hand flexed slightly. “So I don’t fault you for reacting like that. Not one bit.” While he spoke, he kept his eyes locked on hers, but he reached over and moved a strand of hair away from her face with his finger.

When they gazed deeply, people often were looking for something and they stopped when they found it, or something close enough to it. Whatever he was looking for, she let him seek it, curious what he would think he’d found. Him touching her hair though, delicate and innocuous as it might have seemed was a much bolder move. Both they both knew the truth with that one: she was too good at her job, too trained, with too strong a survival instinct to have let him get that close if she didn’t want him to. Simple. “Unfortunately, they did often earn their reputation more times than not.” She took a larger swallow of her drink, almost having forgotten it was in her hand.

“You need to know sumthin’ ‘bout me going forward. 8 don’t talk just hear my own voice. I mean what I say. And I say that daughter of yours is in a mess. But it ain’t a mess she made, and it ain’t her doing that got her in it. So I’m gonna do whatever I can to help her. But you gotta know and keep in mind somethin’.” and he slid closer to her and lowered his voice slightly.

“What’s that?” Shara said softly. She hadn’t moved at all since he had begun his forward creep.

“I’m gonna follow this wherever it goes. And once that prisoner is moved, you and your daughter aren’t gonna have a voice in what happens till its over. Strickland maybe, but not you guys. And I need you to keep in mind… if this goes sideways… you both are out in the cold. You know that, right?”

Pikelsimer

Calloway laughed lightly. “Oh, hunny, I knew that the second I saw my trail led to Faye.” This time she did move, inching ever so slightly closer to him and sitting more upright, studying him. “But I’ve been in more danger before, many times over. It’s not me I’m worried about. If you know half as much as I think you do about the both of us, then you know Faye is in a particularly dangerous position. She knows too much and that wasn’t her own doing either. When I say I intend to make sure she’s safe, I’ll take the hit so she doesn’t have to, however I have to. I’ve been a rebel the day I was born, much to my family’s chagrin. I considered my life forfeit a long time ago and if I have to go down to make sure she’s standing on her feet, then that’s what I will do.” Her mouth curled into a small smile. “But you already knew that.”

~Shara Calloway