Lost Forever in Time

Posted on 29 Oct 2021 @ 4:59pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Ensign Mimi & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater & Commander Teegan Jones & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Oliver Sylver & Petty Officer 3rd Class Constantin Vansen & Petty Officer 3rd Class Raine Ni-ya & Verity Thorne & Petra Varelli Ph.D.
Edited on on 29 Oct 2021 @ 5:06pm

3,501 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Lagrange - Primary Shuttlebay
Timeline: MD 07, 1603 hrs

[ON]

USS Lagrange's primary shuttlebay was inundated with activity in the late afternoon. Starfleet personnel from all departments across multiple starships had arrived to pay respects to those lost in the current operation in the Latari system. The transport vessel's massive hangar bay which usually housed tens of shuttlecraft on its tarmac now had over a hundred photon torpedo casings in their place on the landing pad, all neatly arranged into precise rows and columns. Each casing was supported by a small anti-grav stand which supported the elliptical object. And each casing housed the body of a deceased Federation crew member or colonist who'd perished under the proto-Tholians' recent assault.

Captain Saalm from USS Galileo stepped through the open shuttlebay doors and into the bay with her crew following close behind. They wore Starfleet's ceremonial dress whites which, while uncomfortable compared to their duty uniforms, were a small yet necessary sacrifice to honor the fallen. Lirha's olive green skin and dark black hair contrasted sharply against the milky white colors of her uniform, and she noticed several heads turn to their direction when her contingent moved into the brightly lit hangar.

After a brief observation of those assembled, Saalm recognized USS Kali and Lagrange's primary crew organized on the starboard side of the bay while Solaris and the remainder of Trial's crew stood on the port side. Towards the rear where they had just entered was a massive gathering of non-uniformed personnel whom she took to be the planetary colonists. Clad in various white and gray civilian garbs, they outnumbered the combined Starfleet personnel almost two-to-one. It was a solemn sight, for there was no doubt they had suffered the most casualties out of any crew. Mothers and fathers who'd traveled the stars to start a new life, but now had sacrificed everything. Children and the next generation of the colonies lost to a savage, primitive creature with no regard for Human life. Their new beginning and the prospect of colonizing new worlds had all been lost through no fault of their own. Instead, the blame rested solely on Starfleet and its ancient experiments -- on its hubris and assumption that Humans could somehow wield the power to create and destroy life.

Marisa Sandoval entered with Petra Varelli. They both paused to look around at the groups gathered and the casings. It was a somber sight. Neither spoke, both remembering their respective away teams and what happened afterwards.

Petra saw Teegan Jones with the survivors of the Trial and headed over to her to give her a hug.

Marisa went to talk to the colonists who'd helped her, grateful that so many had been saved.

Blake remained still where she was, sombre in the moment, but her stance had the usual tell tale military tautness about it. She'd had to convince Lily this was no place for her, but she'd still felt like she was missing out. How did she explain to a child that celebrating the life of those who had died didn't take away from the grief of their parting? She caught Duke in the corner of her vision, reminded of the strength they'd shown. As their eyes met briefly, she gave a slight nod before returning her gaze forward. She'd been through enough of these in her time, but it didn't make it any easier.

Aria didn't often put on her white dress uniform. It reminded her too much about funerals of the past, during the war, more and more people remembered and buried. But in that spirit and tradition, she had tied her hair back into a ponytail, the only makeup she wore was light mascara and she walked a straight back. She looked over at Blake, studying her for a moment before she looked around. She could feel a headache brewing, a hint of emotions that she had pressed down. She saw other faces she knew...colonists she didn't really know but they were all here for the same reasons. She gave a small nod of greeting as she entered, her breath caught in her throat as she looked over at the casings, a reminder that there were people dead there...sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, friends, enemies, people who had no one but were still a part of the community. All dead.

Sylver frowned slightly as he entered, never having had the control of his features most had associated with his previous career as a Marine. But the way he stood gave his background away, the way every button was polished. It had been hard but here they were, standing united. And even so, he'd rather stand next to Verity, holding his hand in this moment. But there was an order to things how you entered a room. He wasn't an officer. And he was part of representing the ship.

Raine observed it all with detachment as she stopped, taking it in. Traditions of death and saying goodbye had not been something she had witnessed before she had come into Federation protection. Her eyes took it in like they always did, with blank features as she analysed this against experiences she had and what she had read. It was a lot to take in. But still she did.

PO3 Vansen had to force himself to breathe, slowly, as he walked in. Everything felt heavier than usual, the way his uniform hung on his body, the way his hair was tamed. The boots felt too heavy and he was pinned by them to the deck. as if magnets were attached to them. Even the air felt heavy with a sense of loss, of all the people cramming into the bay. And the emotions being shown, or not shown, depending on people. That was a lot to...handle.

Allyndra walked as if she was a Mother of a Great House. Her back straight, head high and the great translucent wings held stiff down her back. Her faceted sapphire blue eyes observed but she kept her face neutral. While she could tell others found the uniform stiff she was much more used such things. In fact, it felt natural to be back in that formality.

She glanced briefly at the colonists gathered, her only real interaction had been to check many of them out and also when they briefly met when she had flown them from the surface to the ships. While medical was certainly necessary and she had been busy in that task, she missed sometimes being a part of the more active departments. It was what it was though. She would not really trade the job for most anything else. The cases lined up reminded her that even with advanced technology that one still lost patients. At least a few of those that now lay in those cases she had been there as the last bits of life drained away. It was never easy but while it made her hearts hurt, one showed one's respect. She walked between some of them whether protocol or not and whispered, "E kele manuahi kou'a ʻuhania. Ia hoʻāʻo wau ika mea hikila. A kale ma i'au." Her mind also supplied the Federation words as she walked dignified along the lined cases, "May your spirits fly free. I tried my best. Please forgive me." She needed it so she could calm her own mind.

Many of the colonists observed the doctor walking among them. Some even stared, for they had never seen a member of her species before. The winged woman spoke in a foreign language but her Federation Standard was easy enough to understand. A few nodded their appreciation towards her while others lowered their heads sentimentally. At the forefront of the colonists' columns, Duke and Vasquez both turned their heads to spot the Galileo delegation. Each of them recognized a couple officers from their time spent at the colony and raised their hands to give half-salutes to the Nova-class' crew for their invaluable assistance in containing the proto-Tholian. Many more of them would have died without the science vessel's help.

Lt. Shizn entered the large shuttle bay, walking to stand with the other crew members from the Galileo. A flight-deck like this was very familiar to him being a pilot, yet in this situation it was most unusual. With all those present, there was very little noise, except a few whispers among the attendees. Tris’ heart felt for the loss of these officers and individuals wanting to make a better life. To focus his mind off the hurtful trauma, he focused on the many caskets laid out on the deck. His mind began to find uniformness of their arrangement, the mathematical coordination of the layout, and its solemnity. Tris closed his eyes to refocus his mind on the here and now, and for the moment not at the tragic loss. Unfortunately, that is when he saw the female Andorian from yesterday, standing with the crew of the Lagrange. He wanted to break ranks and immediately go over to question her, but that would have to wait.

Mimi didn't want to attend the funeral service but knew she should, she had grieved enough for a life time after learning everyone she knew was gone when barely a teenager. She was one of the last from the galileo to arrive having finally gotten some sleep after their conference and sleeping straight through several alarm calls.

A few drawn out moments after the doors settled closed, Blake's shoulders squared and her chin lifted just a touch. It was a subtle change, but a definite one. She gave the call to attention, her features as still as usual as silence filled the vast space.

Rice moved to her place, her features set as she faced the line of torpedo caskets. There were so many of them. She stayed with a straight back, face front, her jaw slightly tight. This was something she had...seen before. Attended. Of course, it felt a bit different today for some reason.

As the signal had been given that the ceremony was beginning Sofie quickly scurried over to where the rest of Galileo's crew were gathering. She'd been chatting among the friends she'd made on Kali but as she saw that crew lining up at the starboard side of the room she couldn't help but feel she should be standing with them. They looked like a family as they stood side by side, a family Sofie had briefly been a part of. Reaching her place among the other officers of her own ship Sofie tried to look as proper as any of the others.

Sandoval looked around at the surviving colonists. Some of them she recognized from her brief stay, but most were strangers. It didn't matter. She felt the deaths of those who could have been saved if the other captains had acted immediately to rescue the colonists rather than insist they were an acceptable loss when faced with Genesis. Her arguments and those of others on the away team meant less than nothing, and she still blamed them for the unnecessary loss. If it wasn’t for Saalm and the Tholians, none of the colonists would be here now. It made her rethink her commitment to Starfleet for the first time in her career. She stood by the scientists, the ones she would remember most, and the ones she would stay in contact with and help as much as she could. Their help on the colony and after had been invaluable.

Petra and Teegan stood quietly, looking at the casings. Both were thinking of the people they had failed to save on the Trial. Teegan especially. She still couldn't quite take it all in. One day she'd wake up without her heart aching for all the lives lost here, but not today.

Rasmussen took his place in front of the gathered crowd, taking a moment to look at them and breathe the silence in. He took his time, holding the gravitas of a man who was used to commanding a room.

"Ad Astra Per Aspera," he paused to let the words weigh heavy in the atmosphere, looking across the crews and civilians. "To the stars through hardships," he finally translated, nodding before looking down, his heavyset features grave but proud.

"Starfleet has a long and noble history of brave souls, who journeyed through those hardships and laid down their lives. Sometimes for the need of the many, sometimes for the need of the few.

"But behind all of our endeavours stand the civilians who make up the heart of the Federation. Here, they lost their lives with the same courage that brought them out so far from the place they once called home. And here, with their Starfleet kin, they will be laid to rest..."

As Rasmussen continued to talk...and by smoke and ash, did he like to talk...Alexion glanced around the room. It was still so strange to him, this uptight, grim ceremony to mark the passing of life. No matter how many years he lived beyond a human lifespan, he would never get used to it. He looked back to the Starfleet Officer as he sensed a change in tone. The man liked the sound of his own voice alright, but the rhythm changed as he finally wrapped up his speech and gave a final, solemn nod to the crowd and stepped aside.

Blake led the line of officers, eyes down on the sombre task at hand. She took one corner of the flag, not even looking to her opposite as she started to drape it across one of the coffins. She barely registered as other officers around her started to do the same. A silent rite that didn't end until every coffin was draped in the colours.

Allyndra participated in the ceremony. It was not something she would have done on her world but here things were different. She silently sang to herself: "Aia ka makani ma hope ou, Aia ke ānuenue ma luna ou
Hoʻopuni mau ke aloha iā ʻoe" *

Aria had stepped forward too, her hands working with the flags, the almost stiff draping of them. The flags represented so much, the sacrifice done for each other and for what they all felt...a duty to protect. And the colonists...there was so much courage in travelling the stars to make a new home. And to then fight for it.

The Federation flag Captain Saalm held in her hands was ceremoniously draped over one of the torpedo coffins by her green fingers. In a rare moment, she remained silent and stoic while privately reflecting on the totality of their recent Tholian and proto-Tholian encounters. There was no true method to quantify the loss of life here in the Latari system. While the ceremony was genuine and appropriate, it could never replace those who perished. None of them could undo results of the Genesis experiments from a century ago. Instead, their mission had been to destroy the abominations which Starfleet research had created.

Once every coffin was draped in its final shroud, the Chaplain stepped forward. He'd been asked to speak, perhaps to reflect the ceremony also representing the civilians lost. Verity opened a small book, letting it rest in his hands for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.

"We all know that a journey in life means we also have to journey through death. That knowledge never makes this any easier," he said honestly, looking to the group gathered, his voice keeping a softer edge even as it carried across the room.

"These people came out here in the purest form of that journey of life. They came to bring new life to a different corner of our galaxy. To make it home. None of us would be where we are now, or doing what we are doing now if it wasn't for the sense of adventure, thirst for life and the sheer blood, sweat and tears that people like this have given and sacrificed over the centuries...to expand our home, to take us further, to discover new horizons.

"The grief we feel for their passing is the price we pay for being lucky enough to have such extraordinary and special people in our lives. Many of us believe that we will see and know these souls again, in time, and we ask that they be kept safe and in peace until that time. Others believe that they will continue as memories with us, and be in our actions and words, in the way that we have changed for them being a part of our lives.

"Whichever we believe, we thank them for being a part of our journey, and for all that they have given to bring new life for us, and for generations to come. We can all hope that we bring so much to this world, as they have, and we say goodbye now with all the love and respect they deserve."

Aria swallowed hard where she stood, the words oddly comforting as an acknowledgement to what people felt. She liked the idea that they were lucky, to have known these people before they died. That a quick meeting still had an impact and people would be remembered.

Galileo's conn officers were gathered together in a column of three and stood alongside the rest of the crimson-collared command staff. Chief Warrant Officer Lamar Darius was situated between his department head - the blue Andorian - and his fellow warrant officer, the tall dark-haired Human named Sylver. He'd taken in the totality of the ceremony with a demure expression and cold emotions. It'd been some time since he'd last had to attend services for the fallen. But when he was an active member of Starfleet's Marine Corps deployed to fight against the Dominion, it was a monthly occurrence. At a certain point in his previous career he'd grown numb to the pain. Losing hundreds of friends...good men and women, was beyond what most people were capable of dealing with. So he'd found his own way to cope, which had been to disconnect himself from his personal emotions. Yet the many rows of coffins draped in Federation flags brought back a solemnity which the chaplain's speech punctuated with candor. Discreetly, he reached up to the corner of his eye with his knuckle and wiped away a small droplet of moisture.

Oliver had kept a stoic face through it, but he had not been able to take his eyes off Verity. The way he spoke, the...words and the meaning of those words, it was powerful. He closed his eyes for a moment, offering an internal prayer for those that had died, for their souls. It was too familiar, the sight, and he remembered being a younger man attending these, with coffins draped with flags if there was a body, or just a flag and a hologram if there was not.

As the Chaplain settled back into his place with the others, the whistle sounded, shrill even in the heavy atmosphere. The coffins departed the ship in the remaining silence, the fallen taking their place amongst the stars that had given them life.

More than a hundred torpedo casings floated out into the black abyss of the Latari system. They would soon be reclaimed by the local gravity fields, but would forever remain in eternal formation. USS Lagrange's main shuttlebay door emitted a loud warning klaxon then slowly began to close. The entire Starfleet cadre stood at attention until Captain Rasmussen stepped forward to end the proceedings.

"Thank you for attending and godspeed to our lost friends. That's all for now. All crews and departments, return to your stations and standby for departure instructions. Dismissed."

[END EPISODE 17]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

CAPT Rasmussen
Commanding Officer
USS Lagrange
[PNPC Saalm]

CWO3 Lamar Darius
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Saalm]

Lt. JG Aria Rice
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

CWO2 Oliver Sylver
Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rice]

PO3 Constantin Vansen
Operations Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rice]

Crewman Raine Ni-Ya
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rice]

Lieutenant Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

Petra Varelli
Forensic Anthropologist
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Sandoval]

Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Second and Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Tris Shizn
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

ENS Mimi
Deputy Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

CN Verity Thorne
Chaplain
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

CWO3 Alexion Wylde
Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

ENS Sofie Ullswater
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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