06-27-2024, 09:20 PM
When Tyra acknowledged Mara’s offer, the Bandaran nodded and shifted her weight on the chair. There was a moment’s lull in the conversation that let her savour the coffee. Inevitably she couldn’t keep the smile off her face, and she chuckled quietly to herself and shook her head.
I still… Wow. Just… Yeah. She took a sip from her drink. I guess elevation is the death of eloquence.
"Well, I am glad that you're happy to be changing jackets and I'm extra glad that I'm not twisting your arm," Crawford said, the faintest traces of her own grin returning.
"Was Chief something you've wanted since you put on the uniform? Or did it creep up on you? I never wanted a jacket, either Chief or even the one I have now, but careers seem to develop minds of their own."
“It was a dream for me,” Calleja replied with a nonchalant shrug. “I went into the Academy all brash and bold, thinkin’ I was gonna rip it up, show everyone. And reality bit, and it bit hard. Especially with those early fuck ups in my career. I figured DH was gonna be out of my reach, so I just knuckled down and did the best I could. Now here I am, head still spinnin’.”
She sighed.
“I think my parents wanted it more than I did. It’s gonna be a huge deal back home. The planet I come from, Bandar, it’s… it’s not great.”
That was quite the understatement from someone whose education was so poor she had to go through a special catch-up school to be able to handle Star Fleet Academy, but Mara didn’t want the conversation to turn into a pity party.
“There’s only been 11 Bandarans who made it into Star Fleet I think, and 4 of us as officers.” Mara was trying to explain the comment without drowning Tyra in details. “The first one to make it was Ro Taelor. I don’t expect you to have heard of her, but she made it up to COS on the Dauntless back in the day. OK, she also got kicked out shortly afterwards, but when she came back home she made it her absolute mission to drag Bandar up to Federation standards. Got us into the Federation, rammed all kinds of reforms through, got elected President, she made a huge impact. But Bandar, we lost so much momentum when we lost Taelor. A lot of the place is still a hellhole.”
The taller woman shook her head again, a wry smile on her lips.
“It’s made people desperate for someone to pick up where she left off. Her havin’ been in Star Fleet put a real focus on those of us who made it in after. None of us had come close to makin’ department head though, and then I made Lieutenant and suddenly my dad is blowin’ up my messages. I had to really lay down the law, make him cut out the ‘next Taelor’ shit. But when he finds out about this, my mum too… They’re gonna go batshit crazy. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that.”
The thought had made Calleja uncomfortable, and there were signs of that as she shifted in the chair. Last time she’d gone home 3 years ago, she’d joked with her family about the kind of welcome that might be waiting for her if she climbed the Star Fleet ladder to the same extent as the former President of Bandar IV. Making it to Chief of Security was an achievement, sure. On 99.9% of the worlds of the Federation, one of their people making that rank would be worthy of congratulations but that would be about it. Bandar was firmly in that 0.01% where it was a huge deal. Whether she liked it or not, Mara was following the exact same path as someone who was venerated across her homeworld, and that meant the comparisons were inevitable.
“Sorry for the history lesson about a backwater shit-tip,” Mara said, managing a grin. “Normally that whole mess doesn’t register with me day to day, but it’s gonna when I make that call home. I guess it’s not really a pressure you had to deal with so much? Earth is still pumpin’ out legends, has been for a while. Now, sure. You’ve earned that respect. But did you ever have to deal with people comparin’ you to others, and people you’ve never met watchin’ how you were doin’?”
== To you! ==
I still… Wow. Just… Yeah. She took a sip from her drink. I guess elevation is the death of eloquence.
"Well, I am glad that you're happy to be changing jackets and I'm extra glad that I'm not twisting your arm," Crawford said, the faintest traces of her own grin returning.
"Was Chief something you've wanted since you put on the uniform? Or did it creep up on you? I never wanted a jacket, either Chief or even the one I have now, but careers seem to develop minds of their own."
“It was a dream for me,” Calleja replied with a nonchalant shrug. “I went into the Academy all brash and bold, thinkin’ I was gonna rip it up, show everyone. And reality bit, and it bit hard. Especially with those early fuck ups in my career. I figured DH was gonna be out of my reach, so I just knuckled down and did the best I could. Now here I am, head still spinnin’.”
She sighed.
“I think my parents wanted it more than I did. It’s gonna be a huge deal back home. The planet I come from, Bandar, it’s… it’s not great.”
That was quite the understatement from someone whose education was so poor she had to go through a special catch-up school to be able to handle Star Fleet Academy, but Mara didn’t want the conversation to turn into a pity party.
“There’s only been 11 Bandarans who made it into Star Fleet I think, and 4 of us as officers.” Mara was trying to explain the comment without drowning Tyra in details. “The first one to make it was Ro Taelor. I don’t expect you to have heard of her, but she made it up to COS on the Dauntless back in the day. OK, she also got kicked out shortly afterwards, but when she came back home she made it her absolute mission to drag Bandar up to Federation standards. Got us into the Federation, rammed all kinds of reforms through, got elected President, she made a huge impact. But Bandar, we lost so much momentum when we lost Taelor. A lot of the place is still a hellhole.”
The taller woman shook her head again, a wry smile on her lips.
“It’s made people desperate for someone to pick up where she left off. Her havin’ been in Star Fleet put a real focus on those of us who made it in after. None of us had come close to makin’ department head though, and then I made Lieutenant and suddenly my dad is blowin’ up my messages. I had to really lay down the law, make him cut out the ‘next Taelor’ shit. But when he finds out about this, my mum too… They’re gonna go batshit crazy. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that.”
The thought had made Calleja uncomfortable, and there were signs of that as she shifted in the chair. Last time she’d gone home 3 years ago, she’d joked with her family about the kind of welcome that might be waiting for her if she climbed the Star Fleet ladder to the same extent as the former President of Bandar IV. Making it to Chief of Security was an achievement, sure. On 99.9% of the worlds of the Federation, one of their people making that rank would be worthy of congratulations but that would be about it. Bandar was firmly in that 0.01% where it was a huge deal. Whether she liked it or not, Mara was following the exact same path as someone who was venerated across her homeworld, and that meant the comparisons were inevitable.
“Sorry for the history lesson about a backwater shit-tip,” Mara said, managing a grin. “Normally that whole mess doesn’t register with me day to day, but it’s gonna when I make that call home. I guess it’s not really a pressure you had to deal with so much? Earth is still pumpin’ out legends, has been for a while. Now, sure. You’ve earned that respect. But did you ever have to deal with people comparin’ you to others, and people you’ve never met watchin’ how you were doin’?”
== To you! ==