Home pt 7
Posted on Fri Apr 2nd, 2021 @ 7:46pm by Chief Petty Officer Remal Kajun & Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Mission:
*CD*
Location: Bajor
Timeline: Current
Just beyond view, they stopped. The charcoal clad leader turned to face the others. “Did you catch the details I did? She spouts lies as though they are truths. She shows little compassion for the company within her dwelling. What sort of Marnah is she to be to the people of Bajor?”
The younger of the three, the voice of reason spoke up against his station, “She did invite us in, and she offered us tea. That shows caring.”
The third agreed with a small nod, “Basic decency in the face of fear, not caring or compassion. A child has basic decency.”
The younger one’s brow furrowed “She was afraid of us?” He asked, hesitation in his voice. He was still learning to read body language and interpreting social cues.
“Oh yes. Did you see the way she guarded herself, the small beads of perspiration that were clear upon her brow? She was afraid.”
The third cleared his throat, “Did you notice the glow about her pale skin? She’s been out among the stars so long, yet there was a radiance about her. And that smell?”
“What smell?” The younger one asked, purely innocent for such things.
The older one and the third chuckled menacingly, before the leader spoke, “Sex boy. The unholy act of fornication only this was for pleasure not procreation.” He grew stern, “A Marnah should not compose herself as trollips and gutter trash. She must be pure, or made pure.”
“ She’s married, that’s a start” The younger one protested “How is she supposed to birth the true savior of the Prophets if there’s no sex?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Divinity, young one. Divinity always wins.”
“She may already be pregnant. Does that interfere with the plan?” The third, wise one interjected.
“ Pregnant with the saviour and we’re gonna burn her alive?” The youngest paled at the thought.
“We’ve come a long way to send a message. This is not just about her, remember. This is bigger than any two people should be. The Marnah and Fa of the Varo should be of Bajor and not blasphemous fornicators. Now. Carry out the plan, leave nothing untouched.”
“Of course” The young one pulled open the pack and handed the contents to the others. A small canister of high octane accelerant, a frayed course rope, and a match. The rope would drive the flame to the roof of the cabin and bring the entire thing down on the woman inside. They started with the flowers of Rhen which lined the path, her very essence in namesake.
At first there was an innocent flame that flickered on the end of a match, then the inferno would begin.
His morning was sublime. Everything was new, his senses heightened. He could see the vibrance in the flowers. Could smell the scents of every little thing upon the air. The lilacs were in bloom, the spring tulips had risen and the pollen flittered the air like specks of dust reflecting the afternoon sunlight. This was love as a schoolboy, and he still felt it, even in his middle age.
When he entered the village, his grin was big, his chest full from a heart that was bursting with life. He greeted each villager he met with a nod until he entered the market, an open-air spot near the bustling downtown, where maybe ten people were walking. He asked the local shopkeep for a bottle of cream and a spot of milk while sampling the cheese on display.
As the keep handed him the bottle, there was a loud scream in the village square. Remal looked around to see everyone had their attention upon something on the horizon, behind the hill and down the road. He followed their eyelines until he spotted it. Billowing black smoke rose into the sky, coming from the location of the cabin.
His heart stopped, his grin faded. For a brief moment, he was stunned before panic struck. He dropped the bottle of cream, but even as it shattered upon the floor he was already gone from the shop, and running up the street, desperate to make it home in time.
TBC
