AT/D99 - Other Locations

[Tyra Crawford]

== There are a number of areas that are not specified by the major threads, where a character may find themselves. A list (not comprehensive) can be found on the FS Wiki under the Vesta Class Explorer Deck Plans ==

[Tyra Crawford]

== La Telenovela ==

== C's Secret Stash ==

It felt like a confession, her admission that she had always intended to bear the consequences of the mission but she doubted it came as much of a surprise to anyone, much less Nathan. In fact, wasn't that what Ben had been trying to pre-empt with his confession? Her falling on a sword that he didn't feel was truly hers to claim.

Nathan seemed to understand this too, as well as the source of her deep frustration. He voiced it almost immediately without a second of hesitation, confirming her own realization that there was no fixing this mess and no saving Ben.

Her lips almost quirked into a tiny grin when Nathan let a "y'all" slip but it was lost just as quickly as his actual statement registered. Instead of dwelling on the lingering suggestion that they'd never been meant to survive Parhelia, she poured herself some more whiskey and offered some more to Nathan before setting the bottle down.

“...and I wish I could lie to you now, but you’d see right through it even if I did. But there isn’t much you can do for Ben, except for maybe softening the blow. Get someone to stay the proverbial axe. But I can’t see them letting this go. Not without someone taking the fall, and even then, they might just be trying to collect careers at this point.”

Tyra had leaned back, the glass resting on her knee as she watched Nathan, weighing his words carefully. She had to wonder when Nathan had gotten so wise and perceptive, shaking that blinding idealism for something more pragmatic. Oh, he'd made leaps and bounds under her watchful eye but he had grown into a responsible and capable officer once given the chance to leave the nest. And while this hurt on so many levels, she couldn't ignore that little bit of warm pride blossoming under her chest bone as she regarded what might as well have been prodigal son.

His commentary on both collecting careers and shaking spiders webs echoed her own suspicions, not that she had any illusions that she wasn't already in the spider's web. She didn't know what exactly she had done to end up in someone's crosshairs but all of the pieces of the puzzle seemed to add up to that conclusion. Or maybe their method of survival had merely hit a sore spot but there was something about the initial orders that seemed off in hindsight.

“I know Ben falling on the sword wasn’t in your plans. In fact, it was the opposite of what you wanted, because you were planning on that being your last act if y’all made it back. What is done is done now though. You’ve got to fight for yourself now. Because there is something else in all of this mess. Something that doesn’t add up. I wasn’t even a part of all this, and I can smell the rot that is covering everything about whatever it was you were all sent to do.”

She closed her eyes at those words, taking a sip of whiskey as if the burn would wash away the bitter taste brought on by the idea. Oh, the thought had crossed her mind during and after Parhelia but her career, filled episodes of conspiracy, paranoia and distrust, had bred her to see shadows where there weren't any. She had enough self-awareness to realize this but Nathan… Nathan didn't have two decades of terrible HQ decisions and questionable orders to build off of. If Nathan saw this as something other than a colossal cluster of ineptitude at the highest level…

“I think you should fight. Dig yourself out of this hole first with everything you've got. And then, I think you need to figure out who stuck you under the bus to begin with; to make what Ben did worth more than just being the shield.”

The whiskey swirled in her glass as she considered his statement. Wasn't that why she had stormed down to the brig? To fight for Ben, to find out her odds of saving him? Was she so Hell bent on falling on that sword that she hadn't really considered fighting for herself? If she was going to keep the collateral damage to a minimum, she'd need to put up a fight but it needed to be strategic and careful. She wasn't a political player by any stretch of the imagination but she was no stranger to them. There were connections that she possessed on numerous fronts that would likely become very useful in the coming days.

“Tell me what I can do, and I’ll do it.”

His words were earnest and honest and she felt her heart squeeze just a little at the offer. And yet, she didn't answer immediately, trying to concoct some sort of plan that didn't involve dragging Nathan headfirst into this mess anymore than he had been by Pomn.

"I can't…" she started to say, blue eyes watching him over the rim of her glass before she swallowed hard. Why was it so hard to swallow her pride and accept help from an unlikely source? "Logan. I need a message sent to Logan."

"It doesn't matter what it says. It just needs to have the word 'Icarus' in it. He'll know what that means," she stated with more certainty than she feels. And then, she grins. "Really, just getting a message from you will probably put him at Red Alert without any other help."

There were more connected individuals that she could have Nathan reach out to, ones who could probably throw their weight around far faster and with more success than Logan, but that had the potential to place Nathan in the middle of what seemed like a shadow conflict. Logan was safe and Logan would move Heaven or Hell for her. Of that, she had absolutely no doubt.

"And depending on how this goes, I might need a sounding board, an outside perspective. I know that's an odd role reversal but I… I trust you, Nathan. You've grown up admirably but you still hold just enough of that idealism that you've avoided my pitfall of overt cynicism. And that's what I need: someone to remind me that not every shadow has a threat in it but some do."

"Someone that knows the players involved or enough of them. Someone who cares what happens."

== Tag! ==

[Mara Calleja]

== Crew lounge. Set a couple of hours after the briefing ==

Mara entered the crew lounge and took a quick look around. She’d arranged to meet Ju for something to eat and the Security chief was a little early, so she wasn’t surprised to have got there first. Her clothing was simple as ever, with boots, baggy shorts and a black jumper with a Korean style tiger emblazoned across it that she’d thought was appropriate.

Settling into a chair on one of the tables with a view out into space, the Security chief sighed and rested her head in her hands. It had certainly been a frenetic couple of hours. Calleja had been intercepted by a counsellor the moment she got back to her quarters, and the resulting session had been more bruising than the time that giant Cardassian had hit her in the face with Damian Coleman.

It was hard goin’ but I’m glad it happened. Helped me work through a lot, even if I didn’t wanna open some of those wounds again. Dealin’ with change, it’s not somethin’ I find easy. Then everythin’ changed for me, and when I’ve just about got my head around that, bam. It all changed again.

Even after the admonishment from Crawford, the volley from Givens (admittedly she hadn’t been listening to that, but by all accounts it had been spectacular) and now the session with Counsellor Kuik, Mara still didn’t regret that she’d spoken out. If anything, the fact that she’d been the only one to speak only reinforced her belief that things had needed to be said. What bothered her was that she’d been so off-balance that all her crewmates were going to remember was that she’d lost her temper. The point that she’d been making had been lost in the rush to judgment.

And that fuels my fire. Which makes it harder to stay cool when I have to find a way. I need to stay in control and make my points without turnin’ into a fuckin’ axe murderer.

Once the counsellor had left, Calleja had gone to the holodeck and vented her considerable fury in a combat training program. She’d ripped through enough Caitians and Mirak to carpet half the ship before bruises and fatigue finally took enough of a toll that she ended the program and went to clean herself up.

Mara’s stomach was already grumbling, but she was going to wait for Ju before getting food.

I just hope watchin’ me eat don’t gross her out, she thought with a wry smile. Her jacked physique demanded a constant influx of calories and it was well overdue.

== Tag Ju! ==

[Eun Ju Han]

This was all new to her.

Oh who was she kidding? Everything was new to her. The ship, the crew, the mission, the crazy dual captainship, the drama, the arrest, having a boyfriend, having a potentially criminal boyfriend… all of it. You sure know how to pick your life Eun Ju-a. Her Quarters was awash in soft pastel colors. A pastel purple gingham cover on her bed currently ruffled up as she had lay on it earlier and thought perhaps a nap would help the numbness she had achieved in the Briefing room return. Two hours and some vented frustration later, no nap had been achieved, and the ache in her chest was just as present as it had been earlier.

Mara had texted mid-frustration venting, the ruffled white pillows receiving a small reprieve from angry fists while she grabbed her PADD hoping for a message from Damian. Even though she knew in her mind they were not likely to give him any sort of communication device at the moment, it didn’t stop her traitorous heart from leaping into her throat with anticipation and falling into her guts with desperation when it was Mara’s name blinking at her.

Mara was as close to a best friend as Ju could label. They hadn’t spent a lot of time together outside of planning the big party, but Mara had been a massive Artemis Ambassador to Ju during the Christmas party and the odd duo somehow hit it off. Opposites attracted, perhaps, but whatever it was at least Ju didn’t feel as alone as she might have post-arrest. Mara asked to meet her in the lounge in about thirty minutes, which meant Ju should probably get out of bed and socialize. She could say no and wallow in self pity. She could drink herself black and deal with the rest in the morning. But, she also knew Mara was Chief of Security and if she wanted to she could just barge into Ju’s Quarters and drag her out by her hair.

That was definitely something that Ju wanted to avoid.

Pulling herself up out of bed Ju quickly pulled her hair up into a quick messy pony tail that hung down her back. She changed from her uniform, the same one she had worn during the briefing, and into a simple pair of jeans and yet another Kpop band shirt. Her TXT logo emblazoned on her black shirt in a shiny silver font. Ju put on her shoes and washed her face and grabbed one last thing before heading out to the lounge to see her friend.

Ju couldn’t stand the looks of the people passing her by. Some were giving her a little look that she couldn’t quite interpret, it was almost as though they saw her as lesser. Most of the people were giving her pitiful looks. Her boyfriend, the FO, who had already caused waves by dating an Ensign, now arrested in front of her. Ju wanted to look at the floor, she wanted to cast her eyes down, but she had done nothing wrong. She had done nothing illegal and there was no current proof that Damian had either.

Ju tossed her shoulders back and lifted her chin with a look of sheer determination on her face as she made her way to the Turbolift and then to the Lounge. Thankfully, the lights weren’t overly bright in the lounge, but Ju was able to spot Mara and her tiger sweater across the room sitting by one of the star windows. Winding her way through the tables and people hearing all the whispers that carried her and Damian’s name. She could feel the tides of their emotion in such tight Quarters as they either judged her, Damian, or the situation. None of which they knew anything really about.

Sitting down across from her friend Ju offered her a weak smile. “So. When you lured me to the Artemis you didn’t mention asshole secondary Captains, bastard Caitian officers, and a whole lot of drama,” she said to her friend putting a very large bag of gummy bears down on the table. The little colorful bears spreading out slightly in the confines of the bag until they settled. “Are we having adult drinks? Because, I need to dull my senses if you know what I mean.”

Ju tilted her head in the direction to the people populating the lounge. She had no idea if Mara knew she was half-Betazoid, her eyes racially were dark anyway being Korean so dark brown-black was very similar.

==Tag Mara==

[Mara Calleja]

There was a faint squeak from the chair as Ju dropped into the chair opposite Mara.

“So. When you lured me to the Artemis you didn’t mention asshole secondary Captains, bastard Caitian officers, and a whole lot of drama,” she said to her friend putting a very large bag of gummy bears down on the table. The little colorful bears spreading out slightly in the confines of the bag until they settled. “Are we having adult drinks? Because, I need to dull my senses if you know what I mean.”

There was a moment’s pause and then Mara laughed, the harsh bark an unfamiliar sound to most.

“OK, first off, I ain’t takin’ the blame for lurin’ you anywhere. We both know who did that and it ain’t me. He got charms I don’t,” she replied with a wicked smile. “As for the drama, I thought we had that warnin’ stuck on the dedication plaque. It’s kinda what we do best.”

A feeling made Mara turn her head. A couple of off-duty crewmen were watching her and Ju, and the Security chief’s megawatt stare bored straight through them.

“You got somethin’ you wanna say to me?” she demanded. “‘Cause you know how this goes. You come for her, you come for me. And you ain’t got the stones for that fight.”

“Oh no no no…” One of them started an apology but never got to finish it.

“I didn’t think so. Now fuck off before you put me off my food,” Calleja snapped. When they didn’t move, she doubled down. “I wasn’t kiddin’. Out. You can think about not bein’ the arsehole over replicator rations.”

The two thought about arguing but wisely decided against antagonising the Bandaran any further, and made a sharp exit. As she looked around the room, suddenly everyone was intently staring at their meals or the person opposite them, and absolutely not in any way at all at Mara and Ju. Even after Gangnam Style, the Amazonian officer was still able to intimidate like few others on board Artemis

“OK, I admit. The drama is a bit much sometimes,” the Bandaran admitted as the hubbub of voices started up again. She didn’t know Ju was half-Betazoid but it wouldn’t have changed anything. Barely-suppressed anger was rolling off her in waves as she tried to bottle it up again. “And hey. You wanna drink, you go for it. I don’t touch the stuff. What with my temper, addin’ booze to that mix would be a fuckin’ disaster.”

Mara managed a wry smile.

“Although I gotta say. Even after a few bevvies I wasn’t likely to take up glitter related terrorism. If I go get you some of the good stuff, you gotta promise me I ain’t goin’ home covered in spangles and sparklin’ like a disco ball,” she teased gently.

== A much delayed back atcha! ==

[Eun Ju Han]

Han Eun Ju paused a moment in her sullenness when she heard Mara laugh for the first time. She was pretty sure she had never heard the woman laugh and was fairly certain it wasn’t a common occurrence. Ju was pretty sure at this point she should get a special medal for making the fire-hearted woman laugh. Even Ju, in her misery, had to quirk her lips to the side slightly at the sound of her friend’s laugh in such an honest and unexpected way. Mara’s signature twang always made Ju happy, there was something about the way she said average every day words with some sort of twist that made Ju want to ask all kinds of questions about her friends’ background. Maybe she would get drunk enough tonight to find out some about Mara.

The Security Chief told her that it was not her who had lured her to the Artemis and the both knew it, causing Ju to give a smile. They did both know it, Damian had certainly helped but there were situations that had pushed that decision to be much quicker than she had expected it to be. “You definitely helped with a your sales pitch on alcohol and what Artemis deems a fun time,” she corrected her friend. Though it was a minor thing, Mara had helped Ju feel welcome when Damian brought her, an outsider, to the Christmas party.

Mara looked off to the side, and then she began to give some guys the business. Ju turned to look over her shoulder at the off duty officers who seemed to be hovering. She couldn’t figure out why though because she was pretty sure she hadn’t met either of them and had no idea what they would want with her. However, they realized that she had some protection from Mara and quickly high tailed it when she used a bit more force.

“The drama is second to none, though this is only the second ship I’ve been on,” Ju had to admit. “But, it’s also the most welcoming and most fun. So I guess with that comes drama.”

Ju opened the top of her gummy bears and reached in pinching a few with her fingers and bringing them to her mouth. Chewing slowly as Mara mentioned that she wasn’t going to drink because mixing alcohol and anger issues wasn’t the way to go. Which, to be fair, was perfectly true. Then she made mention of glitter related terrorism which caused Ju to spit gummy pieces on the table in a quick bout of laughter. The glistening gummy body parts were a special kind of rainbow related carnage as they oozed slightly on the table trembling with vibrations while Ju finished her laugh.

“Well that’s disgusting,” Ju admitted as she reached over and grabbed napkins out of the little holder to the side and quickly cleaned up her own mess hoping she hadn’t managed to pelt Mara with any gummy limbs. “Okay so… first of all, I feel like that story is going to follow me for the rest of my life.”

Ju brushed a hand over her face before taking on another gummy victim and squishing him head first between her teeth before continuing. “I was not the Serial Sparkler okay? I was just associated with her. I was just buying crafting supplies, she’s the one that destroyed an entire shelf of glitter and both inhaled and consumed some. Then, she was the one who after a single sip of booze splattered glitter bombs on the Captain’s shoes.”

Ju grinned and sat back. “It really was epic. Not many can say you pissed off your Captain before even meeting them….” She gave a shrug of her muscular shoulders. “As to your question about booze, I can handle it, and I won’t puke. In my culture we start drinking young, illegally young,” she chuckled. “My brothers were teaching me how to drink in high school so no one could easily get me drunk and take advantage of me.”

“So, bring it on, Calleja, I’ll drink your poison.”

==Tag Mara==