Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Wedding Bells- An End and a Beginning

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Wedding Bells- An End and a Beginning

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Wedding Bells- An End and a Beginning
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Ouch. She was the party-killer, who would’ve thought it? But Faye also knew that there was a certain level of peopling that was, and might always be, difficult. Studying the woman as they walked, she sighed. “Halstead, hold up,” Faye said as she paused.

“Look, I’m not saying you can’t be excited. I’m excited! I mean, hell, I’m getting married today. But that’s the thing. This brain”-she tapped her head with two fingers-“is trying to do a lot of filtering to keep myself level today. Because I want to enjoy it, all of it. I want to be present for every moment. My fiance arranged this amazing surprise for me here on the Dawn and I want to really enjoy it. But I tend to go overboard from one end of emotion to the other, and it… creates problems. I’m trying to find neutral ground because today’s a really important and emotional day. Does that makes sense? Do you think you can help me with this?”

~Faye

Halstead looked at her for a moment and then smiled. “Absolutely, Commander. And I’m sorry… criticism is something I have always struggled to take, even if it’s meant well.” and she shrugged. “One of the joys of having an Uncle that’s an Admiral… I have an expectation of greatness that I don’t always feel I can live up to.” and then she shook her head and said “But that isn’t a discussion for today. Today is all about you! And… this.” and they came to a plain door in a plain hallway. It looked like any other door. It could have been quarters… an office… maybe a closet of cleaning supplies.

And then it opened… and it was none of those things.

They now stood in a stark white room. Opposite the door was a desk… and six armed and armored figures. Federation Marines in full combat load out. An additional figure sat at the desk, dressed in the Uniform of Ship Security. It was he that spoke up. “This her, Lieutenant?” the man asked. Pips on his collar showed he was a Lieutenant Commander… odd for a guard post. Halstead said “Yes. Lt. Commander Faye Calloway, Lt. Commander Drake Fris. He is in charge of securing the Hub” Fris nodded and said “Commander, a pleasure. Please step forward for the scan. After you will go through the door on my right, your left, and enter the clean room. You will fully undress, shower, and don a clean suit. Then you will be escorted inside. There you will meet Captain Octaviana Drulae. She is in charge of the Hub and will set you up.” Octaviana Drule was an absolute legend in the computer science field. Known for high-end modeling of simulated consciousness and inter-dimensional computational algorithms, if she was here there was something major going on.

The Hub

“See, I told Alex my wedding dress would have been too formal,” Faye said as she stepped up to the scanner, glad she was long passed her dislike of Marines. Outwardly she was calm, but inside she was buzzing. What was happening on this ship? How did Daggum know about it? Except he worked on the ship so knew about the facilities and had dealt with the supplies and power distribution, so he probably knew more than most and simply kept in touch or called in favours. Everybody owed Dag favours because he was that good. Drulae who had worked with Intelligence on multiple projects, who Faye had secretly idolized back in her Academy days before anyone knew she had been Maquis and that she was not just good at computers, but excellent, and even her comp sci degree had barely scratched the surface of her talents.

And so on and so forth. For everyone else it was like Faye was maybe daydreaming for a moment as she waited for her identity and security clearance (just shy of a Commanding Officer’s) to be verified. She blew out a slow breath, counting it out so she could calm her mind a fraction. Just enough to keep her here.

~Faye Calloway

A few moments later the two women stepped into the changing room. Halstead pointed to a small enclosed dressing room. “You can change in there. Clean suit is in the locker.” and she disappeared into a room of her own. Minutes later, Halstead was out and dressed in white, pocketless suit which covered her from head to toe save for her face; and that was covered by a clear face plate.

Halstead

Faye was the epitome of efficiency, so it wasn’t long before she too stepped out in a clean suit. While she had occasionally used one in a lab it was hardly the norm and certainly not necessary with the kind of work she normally did. What the hell were they doing in there anyway? She supposed she was about to find out. “Alright, Lieutenant, let’s go meet Captain Drulae and hope I don’t embarrass myself.” She was joking but also knew the possibility rated higher for her than it might others.

~Faye Calloway

Halstead smiled slightly and moved the door at the back of the room. As it slid open, there was a noticeable pressure change and the two women stepped through the door and into…

Nothing.

That is to say, nothing that could have been expected. The room was stark white and broken up into two meter by two meter squares by thin gold lines from floor to ceiling. There was no equipment, no consoles, no material interfaces anywhere. Instead, in the center of the room, was a bright blue hologram of a large sphere with a constantly shifting surface. Three people stood around the display and when the door opened, one of them turned to look. She was a human woman with bright blue eyes and warm smile… Dr. Octaviana Drulae, PhD and Star Fleet Captain. She held a PaDD to her chest and walked over to Faye and Halstead.

“Commander Calloway, a pleasure to meet you finally. Allow me to congratulate you on a most fascinating accomplishment. An almost real-time cross quadrant .communications relay is quite an achievement. And even more fascinating is how you managed to pin down Daggum. I thought the man was immune to female charms… kudos, Commander. And congratulations.” sge said with a grin.

Drulae