23 - Never Let Me Go
Posted on Tue Nov 12th, 2024 @ 2:31pm by Commander Jenna Ramthorne & Remal Kajun & Patin & Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Mission:
The Beginning of the End
Location: Bajor
Somewhere between the darkness and the snow, her body had drifted away into the night. It moved and staggered looking for one last place to set down as if the waves of the wind were waves upon the ocean, guiding her, rocking her from side to side. She passed beyond the house and the deceased body of the Jem' Hadar upon the lawn. One last drink from her flask, one more step.
It was only when her feet touched sand, she began to slow her stagger into a crawl. Her body moving towards the waters beyond of its own volition. Her soul was gone but her spirit, or a small bit of it, was still driving, seeking absolution. The light of the temple remained open, shining a guiding light upon her face, beckoning her forward.
The vest came off. A symbol of the war within her, a past which haunted her, a weight off her shoulders now tossed aside into the sand. Next the boots with the two-inch heels. They had provided a sense of height to her small stature she had always wished to be taller. Next fell the pants, torn, bloody from battle, confining, tight. Together with her socks they fell upon the sand with a dull thud.
She looked up into the moonlight and at the Prophet's temple beyond, just as her feet touched the cold waters of the bay in the Province of Drakkar, where she hesitated only briefly before pulling off her shirt. Standing nude in the cold air of night, she closed her eyes and pressed forward into the waters. Her body was at an end. Her destination beyond. As the water reached her neck, the moon reflected neatly off the still waters causing up to appear down.
And then she dived in and swam up to the heavens above. In the depths she found no cathedral, no shrine and no need to speak. In the depths of heaven Patin had found peace.
Back in the cabin Kira and Remal looked at each other and Zio understood what was about to go down. "I'll stay here and help with everything. Go, go bring her home"
Kira headed out the door and paused, sucking in the cool night air, the first light of the new dawn turning the lower portion of the sky a brilliant pink.
Together she walked sagely along the beach, boots sinking slightly with each step. Patins boot marks were evident in the sand, Kira could see where the other woman had walked, stumbled, faltered, rose again and continued on.
Remal followed, marching along his own path. He held Rhenora's concerns in his mind like one does a newborn child. He too had found a boot, tossed aside.
No words were necessary as they approached the pile of clothes left in a heap on the sand. Discarded one last time from a body that had no need for them anymore. The bare footprints headed towards the water.
Kira followed until her boots touched the water. Looking with futility into the deep waves.
Something shiny caught his eye and Remal made his way over to a patch of seaweed. He crouched down, his knees giving an audible popping sound. A moment later he found Patins flask, open, among the dredge. He showed it to Kira, then turned it over to reveal that it was empty.
In all the short time he had known Patin, the flask had never gone dry. And as he looked out over the water he reflected on the concept of design and how a Patin without a drink in her hand was like a flask without a drop to drink. And ultimately, their family would feel just as empty without Patin in their lives, giving it color, energy, life.
He stood once more and pocketed the flask. "Do you think she's gone, like Rhen says, to be with the Prophets?" He asked Kira, knowing Kira had dealt with something similar with the loss of Ben Sisko.
Kira looked at the pile of items on the beach and the footsteps in the sand. Intermittently there were drops of blood, and the vest had a soaking bloody hole in one side. "I think she knew her time was up, and she ended it on her terms. What the Prophets had to do with it I'm not entirely sure, but if Rhenora says that's where she is, I don't doubt it for a second" Kira replied with tears in her eyes. There had been too much death today.
He stood tall, looking out over the water. "I believe she knew much more than she was willing to share. As for the Prophets, I've never been one to believe what they are at face value, but maybe, just maybe, Patin has finally made peace with her own daemons." He turned. "Ready to head back?"
Together they walked back to the cabin leaving behind Patin's clothes. Remal would pick them up another time perhaps. For right now, they had all of the evidence they needed to know she was gone and wasn't coming back. There was only one thing left to do really, face the rest of the crew who would be worried. Secrecy had a way of not staying secret for long on a Starship.
And the baby still needed a name.
OFF
https://youtu.be/zMBTvuUlm98?si=m40Ez4pT3kOAXwv3
Never Let Me Go
Song by Florence & The Machine
Looking up from underneath
Fractured moonlight on the sea
Reflections still look the same to me
As before I went under
And it's peaceful in the deep
Cathedral where you cannot breathe
No need to pray, no need to speak
Now I am under all
And it's breaking over me
A thousand miles down to the sea bed
Found the place to rest my head
(Never let me go, never let me go)
(Never let me go, never let me go)
And the arms of the ocean are carrying me
And all this devotion was rushing out of me
And the crashes are heaven for a sinner like me
But the arms of the ocean delivered me
Though the pressure's hard to take
It's the only way I can escape
It seems a heavy choice to make
But now I am under, oh
And it's breaking over me
A thousand miles down to the sea bed
Found the place to rest my head
(Never let me go, never let me go)
(Never let me go, never let me go)
And the arms of the ocean are carrying me
And all this devotion was rushing out of me
And the crashes are heaven for a sinner like me
But the arms of the ocean delivered me
And it's over and I'm going under
But I'm not giving up, I'm just giving in
I'm slipping underneath
So, so cold and so sweet
In the arms of the ocean, so sweet and so cold
And all this devotion, I never knew at all
And the crashes are heaven for a sinner released
In the arms of the ocean delivered me
Delivered me
(Never let me go, never let me go)
(Never let me go, never let me go)
(Never let me go, never let me go)
Delivered me
(Never let me go, never let me go)
(Never let me go, never let me go)
Delivered me
(Never let me go, never let me go)
And it's over and I'm going under
But I'm not giving up, I'm just giving in
I'm slipping underneath
Ooh, so cold and so sweet
Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Commanding Officer, USS Sunfire
Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer & Mission Advisor, USS Sunfire
Remal Kajun
Counselor Aide, USS Sunfire
Husband of the Captain
Played By Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Patin
Friend of the Captain, USS Sunfire
Played By Commander Jenna Ramthorne
