Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Elsewhere- A Honeymoon

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Daggum Hammor (Chief Operations Officer) in Elsewhere- A Honeymoon

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Elsewhere- A Honeymoon
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

For her part, Linella seemed delighted and it was like she had forgotten Kodell was standing there still. But as her gaze lifted, the older Trill simply smiled, exchanging a glance with the master of the house that only they knew the meaning of. “Well, I’m sure you have much to talk about. Come see me before you go, will you?” She said to Faye.

Faye grinned. “Done deal,” she said, before looking back at Kodell and moving back into the hallway. “I saw you have kept the gardens up. They look good. Then again, they always did. But I got a lot of experience with design when I was here. Proved really useful.”

Kodell looked like he wanted to say something but instead only smiled. It was genuine but it took Faye a moment to know for sure. Evan as her eyes moved away and she took in the surroundings, there was this odd feeling settling in her. The whole place was like a time capsule. Very little had changed and a part of her was uncomfortable even guessing at why that might be.

“Did you want to go browse the books? There’s an additional few bookcases in the back corner of the atrium…” Kodell said.

Faye’s eyes lit up and she looked to Daggum. “Want to see the coolest library you’ll ever see outside a historical vid or preservation centre?”

~Faye

Daggum knew better than to acknowledge the shared looks and simply smiled and said “Lead on. This stop is all about you, Faye.” and he gestured for her to lead the way.

With a wink at Linella, she spun on the ball of her foot and moved down the hallway. Kodell walked at a leisurely pace behind Daggum, a smile on his face.

As they walked, Daggum assessed his surroundings. Something was nagging at the back of his head and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was.

Daggum

Up a set of stairs to a large set of dark wooden double-doors, Faye stopped, her hand on the door. She couldn’t explain the strange sensation that flowed through her body but it was enough to make her draw in a deep breath.

“You’re allowed,” Kodell said softly as he drew up beside them.

“I know,” Faye said, not daring to look at him in this moment. Instead she looked up at Daggum and smiled. “Brace yourself.”

On the second-floor office slash library, it was no less awe-inspiring now than it had been all those years ago. Two floors high there were nearly floor to ceilings bookcases interrupted with walkways and staircases. There were thousands of books in this space, easily. Probably more. Much of it was lit with sweeping windows, selectively positioned. It was easy to imagine that this space took up a large chunk of this side of the manor. In one corner of the lower floor was a large wooden desk with guest seating and a small ornate lamp on one corner. Impressive but also simple.

Walking backwards, and gaze upwards, Faye turned slowly, taking it all in, her eyes alit. “Amazing, isn’t it?” she said to Daggum.

~Faye

Daggum wasn’t looking at the books, but was instead intent on Faye. “Absolutely.” he said zand then looked at Kodell. “Impressive.” he said and then looked back at Faye… but spoke to Kodell. “She told me about her time here. This place saved her… at least for a time.” he said softly.

Daggum

Kodell took in Daggum and gave a tiny nod. “I know,” he said, matching pitch. “She always had this insatiable curiosity. I knew right away that it could never be fully satisfied. The best I could do was give her access to whatever knowledge piqued her interest that day or week.”

Meanwhile, Faye was moving across the expansive mosaic floor, the colourful tiles creating a geometric pattern- cascading lines in indigo, mustard and olive. Reaching the curved staircase that went up to the mezzanine level. Her hand ran up the polished wood banister, the sensation so very familiar. She had polished this feature herself many times, not so much as a requirement of her work, but more so she had an excuse to be in this space, often near Kodell. People wouldn’t question her cleaning and she could admit even now that she had taken special delight in dusting the books and sitting area.

Reaching the top of the stairs, two overstuffed armchairs sat in front of a large bow window with a little table in between. Suddenly she could vividly remember the feeling of sitting in Kodell’s lap, of all those stolen moments. And it wasn’t painful. Curious.

Looking down, the two Orion men were fixed in her gaze. One her past, who confused her but also brought joy and light into a time of darkness. The other was her present and future, the person who help all the parts of her with incredible tenderness and love. Someone else might be worried about how this could all go, but suddenly she wasn’t. But still there were things to say here that needed to be said. Or rather pieces of the puzzle that had to be put into place.

“I know that look,” Kodell said with a smirk, gazing up as he and Daggum approached the stairs. “Dare I ask what you’re pondering?”

For a moment Faye shifted her gaze to her husband, drinking him in. Then she smiled at him before looking at Kodell. “Too many things,” she replied at length. “And I know we just suddenly dropped in without warning, but do you have time to talk?”

Kodell smiled and nodded. “Give me a few minutes to attend to one thing and I’ll meet you both in the atrium. Access is still the same.” With a bow of his head, Kodell stepped away, leaving Faye and Daggum in the Library alone.

“Well?” she said.

~Faye

Daggum looked up at her for a long moment and then made his way up to her. “That family crest… I know it. Took me a minute to remember from where.” and he sat heavily in one of the chairs. “You know that one rock in my gear bag? Where I keep all my… stuff… from when I was fighting? Did I ever tell you about it? What it means?”

Daggum