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

(snip)

Gazing at her husband, Faye looked skeptical before she gazed out the glass door that led into the hallway in the direction of the kitchen. “We could do that,” she said thoughtfully. “I’ll ask if she wants to go with us. Can only give her the option.”

Taking Daggum by the hand, Faye led him out of the atrium and down the hallway in a circuitous route back to the kitchen. When they reached the main corridor she pointed to the right. “Front door is that way. I’ll meet you in the entry in a few minutes. ” And then Faye turned left.

Daggum watched her go and then made his way to the entrance. A guard was standing in the doorway. When Daggum walked in he moved to stand in the doorway and glared menacingly at Hammor. “No one leaves without Master Kodell’s permission.” Daggum looked at the guard… and then chuckled. “I’m waiting for my wife. But trust me… I go when I want.” The statement wasn’t needed, but this whole endeavor had brought up dark feelings in Daggum. Slaves and slavery… it made him sick with anger.

The guard, to his credit, gave Daggum an appraising look and then decided that escalating the situation may not be the best course of action. He turned and looked out the door as if Daggum wasn’t there.

In the kitchen, Linella was chopping vegetables and humming to herself. Faye slipped in silently and leaned against the wall, not saying anything just now.

“You going to to just stand there or are you going to help?” Linella said not even turning to see who was there. She knew.
Faye grinned. “Happy to help but I’m heading out.”
“Not even going to stay for lunch?”
“I… think we’ve stayed long enough. Tackled demons and all that.”

Linella set down the knife and turned to face Faye, holding her arms out. Faye simply moved to embrace the woman. “I’m glad you came by, Faye,” Linella whispered. “I’m so glad to know you’ve made something of your life. You deserve it.”

“You do too,” Faye whispered. “You still can, it’s not too late,” she added, pulling back to gaze into the Trill’s lovely eyes. “You could come with us. Dag and I have a fancy ship we’re using right now for our honeymoon. Very high tech and secure too. We can get you out, you just have to say the word.”

For a moment Linella looked like she was even considering it but she gave a small smile and shook her head. “Oh Faye, my situation was never yours. I did a lot of bad things and I got myself into a lot of trouble. If I hadn’t ended up here, I’d be in prison. “This”-she gestured to the space around them-“is the best case scenario and it’s not a bad life, for me. You needed more than this. My goodness I still remember the look on everyone’s faces when they realized you could hack the security system if you wanted to. You were meant for so much more. I was meant to have a quiet life repaying my debts in a way that had some dignity.”

“But you’re not free!” Faye said.

Linella lifted her hands and cupped Faye’s face. “My girl, if I wanted to go, all I would have to do is ask him. Like I said, my situation is not yours. And after all these years I’ve long earned his respect. Hell, I could ask to be properly employed if I wanted to, but I’m okay here, truly. This is not a bad life for me. I promise I’ll be okay.”

There was a romantic notion that Faye had to set aside just now in freeing the woman who had also been a mother to her. Then she’d have two moms in her life. But romance had its time and place and this was not one of them. “Okay,” she said quietly with a nod.

The Trill pulled Faye into a tight hug and kissed her on her forehead. “Go with your new husband and live an amazing life. Just… dream big, okay?”

Faye pulled back and grinned. “I’m going to be a starship captain.”

Linella beamed. “Oh yes, you are. I can see that. Be well Faye, and leave this place behind now, promise?”

She studied her for a long moment and then nodded. “Promise.” Faye gave Linella one final hug before exiting the kitchen and making her way to the entrance. She gave Daggum a nod. “I’m done. She’s okay here,” she said, her tone sombre.

Kodell was coming down the grand staircase, a cloth wrapped object and a datapadd in hand. He stood before Faye and Daggum and handed Faye the padd. “Whatever amount you feel is appropriate,” he said.

Accepting the device, Faye took her time accessing the small amount of funds she had stashed away. She had never told Daggum about it because it wasn’t like it was necessary with their lives in Starfleet, but having had life toss her to the side on more than one occasion it had been a tiny safety net in case she truly had nowhere to go. Now she had Daggum and they would make those decisions together.

She entered in the full amount of her savings. It wasn’t enough to cover the actual price of the book on antiques market but it wasn’t a joke either. It would do for their purposes. Without a word, she handed it back to Kodell steading her emotions to make it through this final moment. Kodell glanced at the padd briefly but the amount wasn’t a concern. He offered her the wrapped book. “It’s right that you have this.”

“I agree,” Faye said before taking a deep breath. She stepped closer to the man who had turned her world upside and sideways all those years ago and gazed deeply into his eyes. “Whatever might be true about life here and the circumstances of it, I did love you. That was real, even if I couldn’t face the implications of everything else. I learned a lot here, about how I might move forward, about turning to productive work to keep my mind okay. I needed help later to make those skills useful but it did start here and… I’m grateful. Goodbye, Kodell, be well.” She leaned in and kissed him tenderly on the cheek.

“Goodbye, Faye,” Kodell whispered before she pulled away. Then he gave Daggum a nod.

Daggum nodded back and said simply “Do better. Be better.”

Faye turned to her husband. “Alright, let’s go. Onwards,” she said, holding the book carefully.

~Faye

They walked past the guard and out the door. Dagggum grinned and said “The guard said we couldn’t leave without Kodell’s permission.” and he chuckled.

Faye snorted. “Did he now? Too bad he didn’t say that to my face…”

Once they were off the grounds, Daggum looked down at Faye and said “One more stop? Or do you want to head back to the ship?”

Daggum

She stopped and gazed up at him. “Your turn, Star Man. You were with me through my demon hunting. You’ve got me for yours- I’m armed and raring to go.” And Faye was honest, and even though she wasn’t entirely sure where he would go, she had her suspicions. Much like the holodeck program she simply observed and held space for, she would do so again with whatever the reality was here on Orion. Was she scared? Hell yes. But if any of this was supposed to be easy, they both would have done it a long time ago.

~Faye