Plant a Seed and Watch it Grow
Posted on Sat Jul 31st, 2021 @ 5:26am by Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Mission:
Gamma Quadrant
Location: Bajor - Fire Caves
Timeline: The Same week as the Recertifications
They had left in the early morning, packing light and heading toward the path that would lead them to the fire caves. It would take time to traverse the rough terrain, the rocky outcrops and mountains, and the pair felt the time was against them. They needed clarification, they needed help on redirecting their strategy regarding the Emissaries and recruiting more Pah Wraith followers. Faro set a cracking pace, her thin shoes coping slightly better than Brin’s more worn ones. His feet had traveled many more kilometers over the last few months.
They approached the entrance to the caves and Brin paused. Atonement was required and so he removed his thin shoes and would traverse the rest of the way, across the fire etched shards of glass like rock barefoot before presenting himself on his knees to the deities within. He had made this trek more than once before and each time had required much patience. Due diligence.
As he knelt upon his knees for the beginning of the second hour, the blood on his feet having had long since dried, the pain throughout his body was long gone numb. He knew Faro was growing impatient, never one to wait. She had much to learn.
“ Must you rest again?” She urged, drawn by the closeness of the caves and the urgency to complete their task. They were so close - she could feel it.
His prayers were finally received in the form of a black fiery mist rising up from the depths of the rocky cave. It moved and swirled with the slight breeze and the very breathing motions of Brin himself. As it rose, it began to form into the shape of a humanoid male, though never fully. While it held shape, it did not hold form or function.
For once in her life she was speechless - Faro watched as the being coalesced and held form, gazing intently at the pair of them. She just froze for an instant, fear touching her heart.
The form began to speak, but the voices were many and distant like an echo from a faraway place. "We have heard your prayer, a summons to this place. Why do you call us? Why are you here and not out there as you were instructed. Time is not favorable."
Brin bowed lower, "We seek only guidance in our efforts. The spreading of our word has met with much resistance. More so than we were led to believe."
The Fire Daemon shouted, "RISE! Do not sink yourself lower than those who have little position, for you are ordained with a task and a duty that is above. And they are nothing, sheep, pawns to be used.
Brin, shocked, rose slowly onto his sore and tired feet.
"Only sink low to the dirt when you are about to sweep your enemy away. For they will fall when the time is right." The daemon moved around the space like he was pacing, searching for a way to explain in a way simple beings could understand. Ultimately it stopped and peered down at the dirt below.
“Strange thing, dirt. By itself, bland, dry, useless. But provided the right sort of materials, fertilizer and such, even the toughest of crops will sprout forth and with them more seeds leading to whole forests of well trained soldiers.” Done waxing philosophical, the daemon turned back to Brin.
“You’ve planted the seeds, and you will plant some more, but what I believe you are asking for is the fertilizer to help them grow.” The fire within the daemon’s smoke flared as the daemon chuckled. “And whom better to provide you with the shit you need, than a politician?”
It directed it’s next statement at Brin, or rather through Brin and more towards Faro. “You will seek out Third Minister Canno T’Givishite And together you will spread the seed far and wide. The masses will be reached, in the far flung colonies beyond the moons of Bajor. Our seed will spread like the fires we call home and soon, soon, the masses will arrive in droves.”
Brin could tell the daemon was enjoying it’s moment as it monologued it’s ideal vision. He now had a name, and with that name, a location. He dared not question what was being asked of him, not in this manner. But he still held onto one burning question in the back of his mind. One that he only ever let rise to the surface when he was around Faro.
The tone shifted as the fire daemon noticed this burning question within Brin’s mind. “You wish to ask something else, not of us, but of yourself. You seek justification; Perspective. Your own mind holds both the question and the answer and yet you cannot see the key for the door, interesting.” There was this sort of sneering disdain in his voice, one that visibly upset Faro.
“ What you ask of us is impossible!” Faro couldn’t help but erupt “ They are not listening! We’ve tried everything” Her body almost shook with emotion. “Every effort is thwarted, every action unsuccessful”
The daemon ignored her and continued on, “Within each of you is this belief that the words and actions you perform are good. But what is good, if not but an illusion of perspective? The seed sown to plant the crop is good for those who are hungry, yet before that seed can be planted a forest must be cut and lives displaced.
Everyone is the good guy; everyone is the bad guy. What matters is, not what others want it to be, but what will be. You seek to justify the death of two emissaries and their unborn infant. A justification you will only find when you see the perspective of three versus thousands. They must perish so that we shall thrive, for our time is now!” The daemon beat it’s gassy chest before phasing into nothingness.
Brin hung his head in reverence and understanding. His path was the righteous path. His goal was right. He looked to Faro. “Let’s go. We must find T’Givishite. We must plant our seed and watch as it grows.” He wrapped his arm around her for support. His feet, sore, but not unbearable any longer.
The seed fell into the dirt below. He covered and packed it down, then picked up the watering can and gave it a generous amount of water and nutrients. He then brushed his hands over the soil, and stood up to his magnanimous height of 6’8”. As he stared out the window at the pylon of Terrok Nor, an ominous feeling tugged at the back of his soul. Something out there was building, growing.
TBC
“Everybody believes they are the good guy,” former CIA officer Amaryllis Fox.
