Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Mess Hall- Late Night Tinkering

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Mess Hall- Late Night Tinkering

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Mess Hall- Late Night Tinkering
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Cochrane looked at the kitchen door, then to Calloway, then back to the door, then back to Calloway. “Um… what? Did you not just see that, Lieutenant? Something startled that man so much he dropped a plate. All I said was I hadn’t any better food since Risa?” and he looked at the door again. He made to stand up, but paused. Sitting back down, he said “Hmm…” and at that moment Harv reappeared. He didn’t speak, but came out with a old fashioned broom and dustpan. Whistling softly he came out and nodded to the two at the table and swept up the pieces. “Sorry about that.” he finally said. “Scared the beejezus outta me. Haven’t dropped plate in years.” and he gave an easy laugh and walked back into the kitchen, still whistling the same tune.

Cochrane watched as the man left and then shot Faye a look that said “Ok. That was weird.”

Cochrane, CO

He wouldn’t understand her overly neutral reaction, but Faye did. How did you explain to people that long after an implant that was designed to teach you to suppress your stronger emotions was removed from your brain you still couldn’t shake its influence? There was no pain now when she felt strongly about anything, but her first inclination was to avoid the painful stimulus in the first place. “It was, and yes, I saw all of it,” she said simply. More than you know, she thought as she gazed at Cochrane. her mind was already going through what steps she would take regarding Harv. But whether to clear it or simply lump it under orders was the question currently on her mind. “Strange man,” she added with a slight raising of her eyebrows.

~Faye Calloway, Data Specialist

“Strange. Yeah. That is definitely a word for it.” Cochrane replied. He was going to have to check up on Mr. Harv when he got back to his office. Setting that aside for the moment, he said “And as to Risa… it is amazing. Whatever you have heard doesn’t do it justice, trust me. I am willing to wager that even you could find a way to relax there.” he added with a grin.

Cochrane, CO

She snorted. “I don’t know… it would have to be pretty spectacular. I’ve never been much of a vacation person. Down time, sure, but never really been anywhere specifically for a vacation. But since it had such great food”-she gestured to him -“I might have to put it on my list as something to try.” Not that their long term mission in the Delta Quadrant was going to give them many opportunities, but who knew if they would come across a similar sort of place.

~Faye Calloway, Data Specialist

“You should.” and he laughed a bit as a memory came to him. “I knew a guy in Fleet Security a few years ago. Kepplers. Solid officer, knew his job backwards and forwards and was really good at it. But he worked almost twenty hours a day on average. Never took leave, never took time off. It got to the point the Station’s Old Man called him in and made him take two weeks on Risa. His two weeks came and went, and the only thing we got from him at the station was a letter of resignation. Everyone was just in shock. This guy was the most dedicated and hard-nosed Security officer we knew. And for him to just up and resign was… well, the rumor mill went into warp. I heard everything. He had been kidnapped by slavers. He had married a dancer. He was running a casino on some gambling planet. He found out he had a child on Earth. All of that and more for months and months until it kind of faded off.” and he paused and looked out the window a bit, a slight smile on his face.

Looking back he continued. “I went to Risa probably… oh, two or three years later… on leave. I walked into a bar and before I could order the bartender looks at me and says ‘Hey there, Alex.’. I look up and I see this human behind the bar. Beard, shorts, sunglasses, floral shirt… and I’m thinking to myself ‘How the hell does this guy know my name?’ and then I recognize him. It’s Kepplers, but he is so different. I shake his hand and we start talking, catching up. Turns out nothing happened, really. He just got a break and realized he didn’t want to go back to the twenty hour days and walking through the same ship and breathing the same recycled air and eating the same recycled food. So he resigned, got a job at this bar, and has been slinging drinks for tourists for the past few years. He was married, had a few kids, and was really happy.” and he laughed softly and shook his head. “It just goes to show you, every now and then you need a break to refocus.” and a slightly odd look crossed Cochrane’s face. “I think his daughter is getting ready for Academy this year. I’ll have to send him a message and check.” he said more to himself than Calloway. Looking back at her directly, he said with a grin “If you ever get your high-speed-low-drag comms set up, that is.”

Cochrane, CO