Ra'Shan

Posted on Sun Nov 15th, 2020 @ 11:53pm by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Chief Petty Officer Remal Kajun

Mission: Diplomatic Masquerade
Location: Captain's Quarters

He chuckled, "Oh no. The wine is the certified counselour here tonight. My wisdom springs from the bottle and nothing else. Besides, Bajor will still be there when we get too old to fight anymore. I'm certain of it."

"This is true, Bajor will continue whether we are here or not, the Prophets will make sure of it" She mused, realising that mortality was another topic she generally shied away from.

"Sometimes I wonder if we should have left a legacy" the words were out before she could stop them. Damned wine.

Misunderstanding what she may or may not have been referring to he responded, "I planted enough seed to fill a garden 20 times over and I built our cabin with my bare hands. Not much more I could have done to leave my mark upon Bajor." He smacked his lips. Glass number 3 was empty as he reached for the bottle once more. "You know how many Carddys I saved? Ungrateful bastards the lot of em." He was allowing the drink to bring out his mean side without remorse.

The change in attitude was a little abrupt but not unwelcome. The Occupation was dark times for both of them and they both carried the physical and mental scars.

"Why did you help them?" She asked, truly wanting to know his answer.

This question sobered him up a bit and redirected his attention to the past instead of the present mood. "Gosh'awk." He said simply, intending to say more but struggling to find the words.

She straightened a little, changing from snuggling into his embrace to wrapping her arms around him, giving instead of receiving. There were a few moments of pause where no words were needed, only comfort.

He knew she came to talk about herself and the situation she had just faced, but ever since his hallucination experience he couldn’t shake the memory of the young boy he had befriended. “I was very young when the Cardassians came for my family, putting us to work in the mines of Gosh’awk far from my home in Darkur province. Those were different times.” He took a sip of his wine and just held it, peering into the golden liquid.

“The mines were run by an overseer with a firm hand. So many times I had seen the whip crack across the backs of my fellow Bajorans, my father among them. One summer though, he brought his young son to watch, to learn, how to treat us dogs, as he called us. Children, well, we were often invisible to the eyes of the adults, capable of getting in and out of places undetected. Being that this boy was my age, we gravitated towards each other.

This boy, Ra’shan was just like me in so many ways. Unlike his father, Ra’shan just wanted to play and to express himself through music. He even revealed that he was secretly studying medicine so he could help the sick. We would often sneak into the various underground grottos despite them being off limits. Looking back I think my father was punished once or twice for our actions. But that summer I was reminded what it was like to be a kid again.”

It was her turn to listen and learn from his perspective and experience, his wisdom gleaned over the years. It was often touted that a problem shared is a problem halved, as though she had her own mental minefield to dismantle,this was just as important. She held his hand and listened as he spoke.

He took another sip of his wine, emptying the glass. As he swallowed the harsh reality filled his throat like a lump. “Near the end of that summer Ra’shan showed up in the grotto where we had pre-planned to meet. Only he didn’t look so well. There were these lesions on his face and hands. I asked him if his father had hit him like he does us but Ra’shan told me that while yes his father hits him, these lesions were a result of a type of pox Cardassian kids got that , while there was a cure for, he had not been inoculated against because his father didn’t believe in such nonsense.”

“I felt sorry for him, which after years at the hands of our tyrannical overlords, left me confused. Of course it didn’t take long for the pox to spread throughout the camp, and neighbouring camps as well. And they couldn’t allow their whole workforce to suffer so they set up inoculation camps. I’m not sure how your camp did it, but in ours you entered one at a time in to this tent. They asked you to verify your work number and then stick your hand into a screened hole where they injected you with a vaccine. It was simple, elegant, and like the military, orderly.”

“The next day when I saw Ra’shan, he looked to be within an inch of his life. I clearly remember him saying ‘Don’t scratch. Scratching only makes it worse.’ It didn’t take long for us to formulate an idea. He would sneak into the tent under the premise of watching the Bajoran’s suffer. Then when it was my turn, I would go in, give my number and then give my vaccine to him by letting him stick his hand through the curtain. I mean, we were nine and ten sour plans weren’t that brilliant but it worked. At least for Ra’shan.”

“Within a week he was back to normal, give or take some scars. Me on the other hand, I was hospitalized. They tested me and watched over me but they refused to concede that I failed to get the vaccine when their records were so clear and so concise. Needless to say, I pulled through about a month later, supposedly developing my own antibodies to the pox but never getting vaccinated. “

He swallowed hard, “After that summer I never saw Ra’shan again. I hope that he found his calling to help instead of hurt. Those events at Gosh’awk stuck with me when I realized there is a bit of love and compassion in all of us. From that time to this I dedicated my life to helping those who deserved help rather than hurting everyone. Some Bajorans' branded me a traitor, like Brad’ur. But I always felt I was a traitor to myself if I didn’t help others, knowing that I could have.”

He squeezed Rhenora’s hand, then reached for the bottle only to find it empty. “Well that’s a shame.” He smiled down at her, eyes watering but no tears shedding.

“ Perhaps” She smiled whimsically at the empty bottle. They had more than shared their fill and the next morning would be unpleasant if they didn’t stop now. Instead she rose to the replicator and returned with two long glasses, iced water with a twist of lemon - perfect for the detox.

“You’ve never told me that story before” She said quietly sitting back on the couch next to him, wondering what other tales he had in that impressive brain of his. For such an unassuming man he had lived an extraordinary life