Home pt 4

Posted on Sun Mar 28th, 2021 @ 8:53pm by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Chief Petty Officer Remal Kajun

Mission: *CD*
Location: Bajor

Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads
I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

******************
The next morning Rhenora awoke to tangled sheets and the lingering scent of the previous night's activities. A sheepish grin curved her lip and the thought alone was enough to make a grown woman blush. It would be a night that would stay with them forever in more ways than one, but for now she was content to lay next to her sleeping husband and simply 'be'.

The sound of the crashing waves had been the perfect soundtrack to their previous activities, accompanied by the subtle crackling of the fire and murmuring of sweet nothings. She had missed these times when the universe seemed to just stop. She needed more of those times. Her eyes wandered over the sleeping man next to her, his form obscured by the blankets that kept them warm.

She felt a stab of a missed opportunity, a decision she should have made years ago but was now too late. When had her career become more important than their lives and their want for a family? When had Starfleet overruled the natural order of things? She rolled over and turned her attention back to the waves, the constant ebb and flow of water echoing the give and take of life. She gave and she gave and maybe it was time to take a little. The Prophets had shown them visions of their future, why had she not pursued it. Was fear part of it? The lack of control? She sighed in frustration, trying to shake the thoughts from her mind and go back to a mindful state of just 'being present' in every moment.

Restless she rose, heading for the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, ignoring the state in which she had left it the night before. There would be time for cleaning later. The sun was beginning to rise, casting a brilliant cascade of pink, gold and purple over the crashing waves. Picking up the now made coffee she padded quietly towards the door, stopping only to slip into a satin robe before walking down to the sand to watch the sunrise.

The sand tickled her toes as she walked, finding the slight rise at the high end of the beach where she could sit without getting sand where sand shouldn’t be. Coffee wrapped securely in her hands, the ceramic mug warming them from within she sat, letting her mind wander from the sea to the sky and everything in between. It truly was a spectacular sunrise, the mix of colours so completely individual it would never be seen in that exact likeness ever again. Life was full of moments, millions of them in total but each and every one of them unique.

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see
I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Coffee. The sweet aroma of the magic bean mixed with warm water permeated the air, rousing him from slumber. He rolled over to face his better half only to be filled with the disappointment of her absence. Predictable. But the smell of coffee gave indication as to her whereabouts. He rose slowly, stretched, scratched and yawned then made his way to the restroom for his early morning pit stop.

Sunlight streamed into the small room, basking the counters and various toiletries in a warm first light of the day. It was warm against his skin. The bathroom unfortunately did not face the beach, so he could not see the splashing of the waves outside. For that he would need to step into the foyer or go outside.

Once relief was had, and hands were cleaned, he headed into the kitchen following the smell of coffee. Still no beautiful blonde woman to be found. He did however find stacks of dirty dishes, pots and pans, a cutting knife or two and just a general state of mess. He smiled while shaking his head. “Maybe later.” he said out loud. Pouring himself a cup of brew, he sipped his drink and then moved out of the still kitchen and into the windowed foyer area with it’s magnificent view of the sunrise and the sun soaked beach.

There, in the distance, he spotted a shimmer of gold crouched low in the sand. She was glowing like an illustrious star whose coronal mass ejection struck him deep within his soul. Despite his boxers, he walked out onto the sands, coffee in hand. Sand poured in between his toes, warm like the sun, yet cool to the touch. He moved silently up behind her.

The sun glistened as it rose, casting golden tendrils that played on the ever moving water. It seemed like a reflection of her life - always moving, never staying still. Her mind wandered, recalling her experiences of the past and the glimpses of the future the prophets had shown her. She closed her eyes, drawing internally for a while to see what her Pagh had to say.

At first there was nothing, just the blackness of unseeing eyes. A few moments later there was an image of the celestial temple in all its glory, the swirling home of the Gods of her people.

Something seemed off though - a component of red lay deep within, a fire that burned uncontrolled yet completely surrounded. The Pah Wraiths - the eternal enemy of good and all things just. The thought of the Wraiths alone was enough to make anyone shudder, they still had a strong following amongst some Bajorans, those who felt the Prophets had abandoned their children during the Occupation.

The Wraith movement had been slowly gathering momentum over the years as the planet struggled to recover, still outnumbered by the children of the Prophets, but a force that would have to be reckoned with. If they set their mind to something it would be an effort to prevent it. That is, if you knew what they were targeting.

There was no great omen, no call to action that she could see - just a sense of discontent and dissension that the Prophets were concerned about. They felt their people were not as one, and if Rhenora and Remal’s visions were anything to go by, their role as Emissaries would be to remedy that little oversight.

How she didn’t know. There was something else… another presence that would become known. She couldn’t see who or what this presence was, only that it would be instrumental in the future of Bajor.

She felt a presence behind her and opened her eyes, still a million miles away but attempting to focus back on the present.

Even at 20 yards away he could tell she was in meditation of sorts. It seemed her foresight into the realm of dreams and visions was occuring more often these days, even without the aid of an Orb. He longed for the days when things were not so vague or presented in a way only she could interpret, while at the same time fearing for their future.

He swallowed hard the feelings within and approached. “Good morning love. Care if I join you?” he asked while plonking himself into a sitting position by her side.

“Good Morning” She said as though still preoccupied, turning to face her husband who had come up behind her at some point. How long had he been there?

Seeing the haunted look in her eyes and the glow fading from her skin, his counselor side emerged once more. “Slip of latinum for your thoughts?” He offered. “What did you see this time?”

“ There’s a dark force moving, it’s like a disease sweeping through Bajor, slowly at first but gathering moment” She whispered, eyes still haunted. “ I don’t know what it is, but it’s there” She couldn’t fully explain it, couldn’t fully verbalise the feeling that had started to build. She wished she could share what she had experienced. Gently she grasped his hand and brought it to her ear, hoping that something could be conveyed through her Pagh.

“Oh is that all.” He initially commented, but quickly changed his tune as he felt the raw emotion transmitting through her ear lobes, enveloping him, feeding on him. He fought his initial reaction to pull away. Instead he focused harder, trying to absorb some of the burden she was currently forced to bear. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it. Dark, twisted, pure hatred, pure evil, but it wasn’t her, just what she had seen or rather, experienced. And it was coming for Bajor.

"I don't know what to do" she said simply, turning her eyes now bright blue back to the ocean as though it would provide the answers. What could they do? Two simple people who live in the stars. The waves crashed, the only sound apart from their breathing in response to the statement.

They stared in silence at the idyllic scene before them, sun rising on the ocean casting golden streaks on the ever moving water. Her coffee was cold, forgotten in her search for bigger and deeper things.

"Whatever we do, promise me we will do it together" she grasped his hand in an almost urgent matter. "I need your strength, your grace and your guidance. Now it would seem more than ever"

“We do everything together. That is the vow I made to you the day I married you. I have not, nor will I ever forget that day, those before and those since. My only regret is the years we spent apart. But I am here now. Forever more.” A tear found it’s way into his eye but he fought it back. Staying strong for her sake was a master class in control.

He allowed the moment to rest for a beat, counting the waves crashing against the shore before he spoke again. “Speaking of doing everything together, I suppose that means you want my help in cleaning up the kitchen?” His sunken heart allowed a grin.

She found her way back to him, crawling into his arms and resting her head against his broad chest. Staying for a moment to savour the connection before rising again “Our kitchen… and yes I would love your help” She smiled, trying to force the premonition to the back corner of her mind where other such things lived. For now she wanted to focus on her time with Remal.

Hand in hand they walked the short distance back across the sand, cold coffee in their other hands, the warmth of the morning sun gracing their skin.