The Winds of Change
Posted on Tue Jul 26th, 2022 @ 5:39am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Remal Kajun
Mission:
*CD*
Location: Bajor
Timeline: BACKPOST
The night progressed with more talk, more banter and no rush to clean up the food. It was only after Patin finally passed out on the couch that Remal swept up his love into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Both exhausted from the lack of food, sleep and rest he knew it wouldn’t be long before their eyes were closed.
There was but one more matter to discuss before life returned to its normal boring routine the next day. With Zio and kids bunked nearby on the station, Remal was still concerned for their safety. Patin would be safe, or as safe as one could be on the Sunfire, but Zio would still be too close for his comfort.
She had promised to keep tabs on what was going on by watching the unrest from a nearby colony. Remal just wanted to ensure their safety which caused him to ask, as his head lay down upon the pillow. “I don’t suppose with the discord that Bajor is going through right now, Starfleet would be willing to protect at least a single family, would they?”
“ I don’t think they can assure anyone’s safety on Bajor, however if Zio is happy to relocate - we can find a suitable colony on the way” Rhenora suggested as they lay comfortably, fighting the urge to slumber. “It would be far safer than Bajor, or DS9 for that matter”
He frowned, "I'm not sure I can convince them to move that far out beyond the system. A colony world maybe, but…" he paused to reflect. "You don't believe this 'thing' is going to spread further than here do you?" His knowledge of the Prophets and the Wraiths told his brain otherwise. He knew if the Wraiths could enter the Celestial Temple and win a war with them, all bets were off as to how far their influence would spread.
“ I ‘hope’ it doesn’t spread any further, but only the Prophets know what will happen and they aren't sharing that particular nugget of information” Rhenora lamented as she shifted under the blankets, casting her eyes out the window to the space that lay beyond. “ They could go into hiding, well.. More hiding than they were previously, but the Wraiths have proven most resourceful in uncovering people’s identities”
He pulled her closer, his little snuggle bunny. “Hiding. Feels… familiar. Like a distant memory or bad piece of nostalgia. At some point we are going to have to stop hiding and face this thing head on. Right now we are outmatched, out gunned. And if we wait too long this will only grow worse.”
He frowned and then kissed her upon her nose ridges. “Sorry to depress you before bed. I just wish I understood the endgame, besides your death.” His voice low, a soothing grumble as old age and weary bones found favor within his throat.
“ I cling to the hope that it was only a possible future” She replied, snuggling into this warmth and reassuring herself that he would always be there. “They’ve shown us futures before that haven’t come to pass. Perhaps Patin is the wildcard?”
He chuckled, "she is the wildest of wildcards." Her warmth against his chest reached his heart. The chill in her toes was another story. Why did she always have cold feet, the life long question. He allowed his eyes to close knowing tomorrow they would return to work having achieved some semblance of normality.
Patin would join them, Zio and her kids would not. They would find refuge somewhere safe. The week-long adventure was nearing its end. For the most part they had achieved their goal of safeguarding their remaining, respective friends. Sadly only one was lost.
A snore broke the silence in the room, she had fallen asleep first. Her rest was well deserved. To be pregnant and fighting for your own survival had to take its toll. He did not envy her the road ahead. Some time later he too found sleep.
The familiar scene lay bare before her, the cry of a child, Remal and now a new player, Patin. Would she be the wildcard the Prophets had not expected, the forsaken child only to rise up when it was most needed and avert disaster? Was there another alternative?
The scene shifted, another alternative perhaps? It was one she had been gifted before, aged and greyer than they were now, hand in hand sitting by the beach, the sounds of children playing happily in the gently breaking waves. A family, theirs? She couldn't tell, the life she currently held within her was far too young to gain any kind of inkling as to its future facial features anymore than a spec on a peanut could resemble a nose.
This was one of the very few times she had been shown anything beyond the dire predictions that would supposedly soon come to pass.
She looked at the older Remal, his face resembling that of one well into their hundreds. The later half of his life must have been significantly kinder than the first half. She caught her own reflection in the water of the glass held in a slightly quivering half. Pure silver hair hung like a waterfall around her aged face, lines carved deep from both good times and bad nearly outdoing the pronounced ridges on her nose she had been born with.
She had never been afraid of the future, no matter what may be in store. Fear of the future only robbed the present of any joy that could be felt. If the Prophets changing their mind about her future was on the cards, she would gratefully accept it. Either way she was happy with the way she had conducted herself over the years. For good or for bad it was what it was and she had long since made peace with the ghosts of the past. It was only with grace and forgiveness could one fully move forward.
There was a flicker of joy, that there was the possibility of growing old together, of long evenings talking under the stars about anything and everything, or time with family and friends and those which they held most beloved. That their time would not be cut short to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Was there a way to do both? Their child was supposed to bring peace to Bajor, from what she could see in the scene laid out before her - that particular item on the agenda had been achieved. There were no explosions, no tears of fear, only an aging grace and happy tears. The satisfaction of a life well lived and drama achieved through hard work and utmost determination. A life lived with her beloved, Remal, and that of their child.
Even from deep within her sleep, she smiled.
TBC
