The Final Lesson?

Posted on Sat Jan 16th, 2021 @ 2:10pm by Chief Petty Officer Remal Kajun & Captain Rhenora Kaylen

Mission: Healing of Minds
Location: Bajoran Village - Orb
Timeline: Current

The Final Lesson

The flames lapped as she felt, seemingly everywhere and nowhere at once. Beings with fire in their eyes clawed at her body, tearing at her clothes and her flesh with their fingers and nails. Rhenora tried to hold on to her terror, telling herself over and over it wasn't real, it was a vision designed to scare her into doing the Prophets bidding.

At first it was random wraiths who tried to drag her down, their eyes glowing with the fire within. Then it became people she knew, people whose lives lay at her feet, friends, loved ones. Her parents, her brother, their faces and mouths distorted in a grotesque approximation of hate and loathing.

"You sent us here" one of them sneered, coming dangerously close to her ear. "Your defiance burns us"

The dear friends and comrades on the ships she'd captained came next, Laria, the Syed's, dear Jenna, Rain, Savar and the more recent arrivals of Aurora and Anna. Their faces and bodies engulfed in flames yet still they taunted her, mocked her choices, dragged her further down.

She fought, struggled with every fibre of her being to tune them out, to close her eyes from the horror being played out. The actors were her friends and the storyline was her life. She clung on to the barest thread of sanity, or rational and hope. If they showed Remal she knew she was done for. They would exploit her weakness to break her, then only then would she rise from the ashes like a Phoenix.

"This is but a sample." The Celestial being, the wormhole alien, spoke simply, her voice clearly heard above the din.

"Enough!" Remal shouted as he stepped from the lapping flames. "What lesson does this teach us? What right do you have to torture us time after time with your deceptions." He was clearly pissed off and directing all of his anger at the being. "Release her from this nightmare. Now!" He had words, oh so many words he wanted to yell and scream at this Prophet but his focus at this moment was the love of his life currently being tortured and she couldn't even tell if he was real or not.

"To what end? She asked to see the alternative" the being replied, using Rhenora's defiance back at Remal "this is of her choosing, and what of yours? What will you see in the caves?" The being almost taunted, the vision changed tact, the twisted manifestations of the Liberty crew replaced by the walls of their beach cottage, the flat tone of an unbeating heart and the cry of a newborn.

Remal stared at the scene, unwilling to be a pawn, unwilling to be tortured. But the cry of the child, and the tone signaling his love was lost, the only thing louder was the breaking sound of his heart. He could not look away, despite wanting to. Some unmovable force kept his eyes locked. He wanted to scream, to run, to destroy everything yet he could not.

Everything froze, a moment in time captured and held there by an unseen force. A cry suspended, both new and of at the same time, both joyous and filled with a gut wrenching grief. What beings inflicted this?

All that he could do, all the Celestial Being allowed him to do was shed tears and shed them he did. Rarely had he ever allowed himself to show signs of weakness, but this, this was an end of all he held dear. And yet, the baby, new and unsullied by the harsh realities of the universe, needed him for if she was gone, he was all that baby had left. This realization allowed him to move forward, to reach out and hold the baby aloft momentarily before bringing into the folds of his chest. He clutched it as if there were nothing else more precious in the Universe.

Rhenora stood next to Remal, no longer on fire, no longer a grotesque mutilated version of himself. She was still shaking, her mind traumatised from what she had witnessed. Now she was being shown Remal's darkest fears. Before them in their comfortable cottage lay a scene of both joy and grief. Birth and death in the same instant. A version of herself had just given birth to a healthy child but complications had cost her her life. A doctor worked in desperation as a midwife handed the new child to it's father who looked on in horror.

She took his hand "this is not how it ends" she whispered, uncaring that this was all still a fabrication of the Prophets whim.

Seeing the grief on his face she turned her attention back to the beings that had caused this.

"Why are you doing this?" She started, struggling to contain her emotions. "It's wrong and goes against everything you supposedly stand for"

When they didn't respond, she could take no more. "Answer me!!"

Tears filling his eyes, Remal turned to face the being. “She won’t, because she doesn’t understand what it means to care. Or cry.” He stepped forward towards the being, letting go of Rhenora’s hand despite the strength she provided. “We are but toys to them, playthings they can manipulate like a child's dolly. And then when they are done with us, they sit back and tell themselves they are mighty, benevolent Gods and that they don’t interfere with corporeal beings such as us.”

He took another step towards the being, making himself seen and heard. The being meanwhile was nonchalant about his presence, or his purpose because neither one were significant. He spoke more directly, “You, who are of Bajor, allowed the Occupation to happen, why?”

“As a lesson to the people of Bajor.” She answered simply.

“Death is only a lesson to the living. Innocent people died to teach your lesson, what of them? What lesson did the dead learn?” Jaw clenched, his mind was reeling, his intentions yet hidden, the answers he sought were forthcoming.

“A necessary collateral for the greater good.”

“A necessary evil you mean. From the beginning you have manipulated the Bajoran people.” He stepped closer, wondering if Rhenora would understand what he was about to attempt. “And after many years of study I believe I now know why.”

The being didn’t even look up at him.

“You have no idea what emotion is, what it means to live. You and the other wormhole beings are but infants, toying with the people of Bajor like puppets. You play with us and get us to worship you like the narcissistic bastards you are. And I am done with you.”

She still didn’t look him in the face, just continued to float a foot away.

“Do you hear me?! Do you understand me?!” He grunted and lunged forward, grabbing hold of nothing as the dark vision and the hell wraiths and the cabin and crying child all fell away, leaving only a white emptiness.

Rhenora stood rooted to the spot, her mind in a state of conflict between their treatment of Remal and the epiphany he was having. She knew in her gut that he was right and that they would refuse to admit it.

A heartbeat passed, a single breath of simulated air moved through their lungs and then a man cleared his throat and spoke. “Well done.” Remal and Rhenora both turned to see the dark skinned bald man staring back at them, his Starfleet Captains on full display.

"Captain Sisko" Rhenora looked at the man who was supposedly the bridge between the Prophets and the people. The Emissary.

“You made a choice. I congratulate you. It is not easy to stand up to your enemy, and a helluva lot harder to face off with those you call Gods. In my time on the station as your Emissary, I learned a thing or two about these wormhole aliens. Mostly that they are a pain in the ass. But also, that it takes understanding to convince them that they are wrong.”

“So now what?” Remal asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Indeed, what happens now?" Rhenora stood beside her husband, thankful to be talking to Sisko rather than the Prophets themselves. Sisko at least made sense. "Where does it end?"

“I suppose you already know the answer to that. They selected the two of you to eventually succeed me as their Emissary, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are to sing their praises. Perhaps, this is an opportunity for the Bajoran people to wake up to the realities of the bigger universe, with you as their guide. In the meantime, I suggest you make the best of the time you have together.”

Remal squeezed Rhenora’s hand.

“You have seen the flames, been through the fires of the Occupation, felt the pain and the burn like no other, yet here you are, still strong, still together. I don’t believe the Prophets will attempt to cross you anytime soon, better make the most of it.” He smiled a knowing smile and tossed a ball at Remal, which Rhenora caught with her quick reflexes.

Remal was stunned, but Sisko just laughed as the whiteness of the space dissolved only to be replaced by the bajoran temple. The ball remained firmly in Rhenora’s grasp.

"Do I have a choice in the matter?" She was about to ask as the vision faded from her eyes. Damn them and their damned oaths and their damned plans that involved her without damned well asking. Anger, frustration with a barest hint of fear bubbled just beneath the surface, held there ever so barely by the thought that they weren't supposed to be here in the first place. She had brought them here, she had her answers, not that she liked them.

"Let's get the hell out of here" she took Remal's hand and closed the ark, turning her back on the Orb that had caused them so much pain. She tossed the ball to Remal and snuck out of the room towards their freedom.

Sometimes we have to go
Down in flames, to feel the burn,
To know the fire, to be the ash,
And then come back to life
In the smoke that rises.
-Stacie Martin