Facing the Past

Posted on Tue Jun 8th, 2021 @ 7:22am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen

Mission: Gamma Quadrant
Location: Bajor
Timeline: Night before launch.

The sun had long since departed when they arrived in the village, the moon casting everything in a silvery glow that seemed almost mystical. The cottage was gone, replaced only with a cleared concrete slab that lay ready for rebuilding. Materials lay stacked neatly to one side. Timber mostly, some metal roofing brackets and other modern items to begin their next home.

On the other side a small canvas tent and two sleeping bags lay ready to assemble, enough split wood for a campfire and a pot for cooking were also there. Rhenora mused if Remal had made a quick comm call before they had left the Liberty, arranging such things as he was so good at doing.

For a few moments Rhenora simply looked at the space where their cottage once stood, it’s material existence wiped through a deliberately lit fire that had almost claimed their lives. A harsh reminder of those that opposed them. The Wraith Cult were still out there, building their momentum, biding their time. A glimmer of fear coursed through her body like ice through veins, the feeling of dread taking root in her belly. Could she remain here after what had happened? Particularly now they were expecting? She knew the Cult would stop at nothing to achieve their goal of religious domination, and bumping off a small family would be nothing to them. She felt eyes watching them, even now in the dead of night having arrived unexpectedly.

She stood frozen for a few minutes, almost unable to move as she battled the feelings that arose. Why was this feeling so intense? The memory of the Cult and the fire were so raw that it felt as though it had only happened a moment ago, not a week ago. She admitted to herself she obviously had some processing to do still and resolved to speak more openly with her husband about how she was feeling. When she was in space she felt safe, she felt free. With everything that had gone on recently on Bajor she felt almost trapped, a watched person who felt she needed to be guarded.

A shaky exhale escaped as she focused on what was actually going on around her rather than dwelling on the memory. Remal had been setting up the tent, allowing her the space she needed to process things in her own time. With the boxes of their lives being packed up on the Liberty and the cabin Remal had built now gone, she felt a little lost. Focusing on that feeling she delved a little deeper, realising she only really needed Remal and the little bean that was growing inside her.