Things Past – Minutes to Midnight
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Post Details
ON:
Eight minutes. How could eight minutes seem like an eternity. Eternity was what awaited on the far side of those minutes. But each second felt like an aeon; each breath had a sense that it might be his last. It was a strange thing at such a time to muse that he'd never considered breathing to be so enjoyable. The hustle and bustle of life had obscured that from him, but now, as he approached certain death he took the time to savour the experience in full.
The interceptor's viewscreen showed the formation of fourteen Romulan D'deridex-class warbirds approaching. In just under eight minutes their powerful forwards disruptor banks and torpedo launchers would be in range of the flotilla of rag-tag Bajoran ships forming the blockade around the moon. One warbird would probably have no problem wading through the formation with barely a scratch on it, but fourteen of them would totally annihilate the small ships. Relma ran his hand along the side of the console at which he was sat. He'd helped build this ship and he felt pride at being given the opportunity to man one of its command consoles in its final act - a battle in defence of Bajoran soil from a hostile occupying force determined to fortify their position: the Romulans. Prior to the Derna incidence the man had never really had any contact with the Romulans. All he relaly knew about them had been passed on by the Starfleet and even Cardassian officers with whom he had served. Sufficed to say, however, given the situation with Derna and the multiple similarities between them as a people and a culture and the Cardassians, Relma disliked them intensely: they had been allowed to establish a hospital on Bajoran soil for humanitarian reasons and they had abused that trust, and now refused to leave and insisted upon putting devastating weapons in orbit of the Bajoran homeworld.
The last 12 years of Meryn's life had been dedicated to protecting the Bajoran people from all threats: foreign and domestic. There had been a time when he would have distrusted all aliens taking an interest in Bajor, but working alongside the Starfleet personnel on DS9 in the face of the Dominion threat had changed that. The ignominy of working alongside the Cardassian and Dominion personnel, when the Bajorans had been unable to oppose the Dominion takeover of their system, had been unbearable; especially watching the smug Gul Dukat swan around the station as if he owned the place again. Now, less than a year after the liberation of DS9 from the Dominion, the 'might' of the Bajoran Militia was about to be annihilated by a small formation of ships from another superpower - and he saw once again how weak Bajor was. The Federation would not intervene due tot he immense importance of the Romulans to the war effort, so Bajor had to stand alone. And, alone, Bajor would see just how weak it was in only a few minutes' time.
He paused for a moment to transmit a prerecorded message he had made for his sisters, nephews, and nieces. He had always known this day might come - and indeed following the attack on New Bajor in many ways he wished it already had done - the day when he would have to lay down his life to protect the people of Bajor from oppression and tyranny. He glanced back up to the viewscreen: the fourteen warbirds were closing. Soon it would all be over in a fiery explosion of disruptor fire and torpedo blasts. He was angry, though, angry that the Federation had not stepped in to help them - as the seconds ticked by and the Romulans closed in. Given the importance of the Romulans to the war and thus keeping the rest of the quadrant safe Relma felt he could forgive that, perhaps - but with great difficulty given that it was Bajor which was losing out because they didn't want to risk their alliance.
A few more minutes passed by and the Romulan ships continued their approach. Colonel Kira ordered the weapons to be charged and all power reserves sent to the shields. The Warrant Officer complied and, after rubbing his hands down the outside of his legs for a moment to ease his nerves, returned them to the console and prepared for combat - as short as it was likely to be. At that moment the face of a Starfleet Admiral and a Romulan senator appeared on the screen in order to talk to the Colonel. While maintaining his station and trying to seemingly give his console the full attention his ears naturally inclined themselves to listen to the Colonel's conversation. She was a formidable woman - even for a Bajoran - and she was not backing down. During the Occupation she, like him, had been a youngster in a cell and worked her way up - these days she was every bit the leader that Shakaar, Borath, Li Nalas, and all the other heroes of the Bajoran Resistance had been. It was an honour to serve, and probably die, alongside her.
The Warrant Officer closed his eyes and said a quick prayer to the Prophets, preparing himself for the fatal moment. His moment of solitude and solace was shattered by a large sigh from the Colonel, followed by a huge eruption of applause and cheering from the other bridge personnel. The Weapons Officer, a Captain by the name of Alenis of around Relma's age, slapped him on the back - hard - and whispred in his ear "Oh ye of little faith - Starfleet always come up trumps. I'll have to send Admiral Ross a bottle of spring wine to thank him for that."
Meryn turned around and nodded and, standing, returned the embrace which the woman initiated. The feelings of elation inside him were tempered by a sadness. What did this entire situation say about Bajor and the Bajoran people - it demonstrated just how weak they were and how they were unable to protect their own: The Occupation, the Circle's coup, the fall of New Bajor, the Dominion Occupation of DS9, and now this. If Bajor was to be safe the Dominion had to be defeated - and to protect Bajor the Bajorans could not fight the Dominion. Even five years previously Relma would have utterly rejected the idea that Bajor should join the Federation. But now? Now he was certain that they must. If the Militia could no longer protect Bajor then he questioned what the point was of being in the Militia.
It was in that moment that he made up his mind: he was going to join Starfleet. He would request a transfer in the morning.
"HEY!" said the woman, nudging him hard in the side "Are you okay? Are you even listening to me?"
His train of thought broken he looked down at the woman and whipered "Sorry, I was a million miles away. What were you saying?"
The Captain smiled mischievously and whispered back "What're you up to tonight?"
"Can't say I had any plans beyond having my remains crash onto Derna. What did you have in mind?"
"Think you need to be reminded you're still alive, Meryn." she replied with a whisper - bringing her mouth as close to his ear as she could given their difference in height. "That's an order."
Relma smiled as the two broke their embrace as othe rmembers of the bridge crew approached to congratulate them and celebrate "Aye, Sir." he answered.
He'd request that transfer to Starfleet tomorrow...
Tomorrow afternoon.
Or evening.
OFF:
Warrant Officer (provisional) Relma Meryn
Chief Engineer
Interceptor Kitara, Bajoran Militia
by
Post Details
| Title | Minutes to Midnight | |
| Mission | Things Past | |
| Author(s) | ||
| Posted | Sat Jun 23, 2012 @ 3:53pm | |
| Location | Bajoran Militia Interceptor Kitara, in orbit of the fourth Bajoran moon, Derna. | |
| Timeline | Stardate 52152.6 (February 25th 2375). |
Eight minutes. How could eight minutes seem like an eternity. Eternity was what awaited on the far side of those minutes. But each second felt like an aeon; each breath had a sense that it might be his last. It was a strange thing at such a time to muse that he'd never considered breathing to be so enjoyable. The hustle and bustle of life had obscured that from him, but now, as he approached certain death he took the time to savour the experience in full.
The interceptor's viewscreen showed the formation of fourteen Romulan D'deridex-class warbirds approaching. In just under eight minutes their powerful forwards disruptor banks and torpedo launchers would be in range of the flotilla of rag-tag Bajoran ships forming the blockade around the moon. One warbird would probably have no problem wading through the formation with barely a scratch on it, but fourteen of them would totally annihilate the small ships. Relma ran his hand along the side of the console at which he was sat. He'd helped build this ship and he felt pride at being given the opportunity to man one of its command consoles in its final act - a battle in defence of Bajoran soil from a hostile occupying force determined to fortify their position: the Romulans. Prior to the Derna incidence the man had never really had any contact with the Romulans. All he relaly knew about them had been passed on by the Starfleet and even Cardassian officers with whom he had served. Sufficed to say, however, given the situation with Derna and the multiple similarities between them as a people and a culture and the Cardassians, Relma disliked them intensely: they had been allowed to establish a hospital on Bajoran soil for humanitarian reasons and they had abused that trust, and now refused to leave and insisted upon putting devastating weapons in orbit of the Bajoran homeworld.
The last 12 years of Meryn's life had been dedicated to protecting the Bajoran people from all threats: foreign and domestic. There had been a time when he would have distrusted all aliens taking an interest in Bajor, but working alongside the Starfleet personnel on DS9 in the face of the Dominion threat had changed that. The ignominy of working alongside the Cardassian and Dominion personnel, when the Bajorans had been unable to oppose the Dominion takeover of their system, had been unbearable; especially watching the smug Gul Dukat swan around the station as if he owned the place again. Now, less than a year after the liberation of DS9 from the Dominion, the 'might' of the Bajoran Militia was about to be annihilated by a small formation of ships from another superpower - and he saw once again how weak Bajor was. The Federation would not intervene due tot he immense importance of the Romulans to the war effort, so Bajor had to stand alone. And, alone, Bajor would see just how weak it was in only a few minutes' time.
He paused for a moment to transmit a prerecorded message he had made for his sisters, nephews, and nieces. He had always known this day might come - and indeed following the attack on New Bajor in many ways he wished it already had done - the day when he would have to lay down his life to protect the people of Bajor from oppression and tyranny. He glanced back up to the viewscreen: the fourteen warbirds were closing. Soon it would all be over in a fiery explosion of disruptor fire and torpedo blasts. He was angry, though, angry that the Federation had not stepped in to help them - as the seconds ticked by and the Romulans closed in. Given the importance of the Romulans to the war and thus keeping the rest of the quadrant safe Relma felt he could forgive that, perhaps - but with great difficulty given that it was Bajor which was losing out because they didn't want to risk their alliance.
A few more minutes passed by and the Romulan ships continued their approach. Colonel Kira ordered the weapons to be charged and all power reserves sent to the shields. The Warrant Officer complied and, after rubbing his hands down the outside of his legs for a moment to ease his nerves, returned them to the console and prepared for combat - as short as it was likely to be. At that moment the face of a Starfleet Admiral and a Romulan senator appeared on the screen in order to talk to the Colonel. While maintaining his station and trying to seemingly give his console the full attention his ears naturally inclined themselves to listen to the Colonel's conversation. She was a formidable woman - even for a Bajoran - and she was not backing down. During the Occupation she, like him, had been a youngster in a cell and worked her way up - these days she was every bit the leader that Shakaar, Borath, Li Nalas, and all the other heroes of the Bajoran Resistance had been. It was an honour to serve, and probably die, alongside her.
The Warrant Officer closed his eyes and said a quick prayer to the Prophets, preparing himself for the fatal moment. His moment of solitude and solace was shattered by a large sigh from the Colonel, followed by a huge eruption of applause and cheering from the other bridge personnel. The Weapons Officer, a Captain by the name of Alenis of around Relma's age, slapped him on the back - hard - and whispred in his ear "Oh ye of little faith - Starfleet always come up trumps. I'll have to send Admiral Ross a bottle of spring wine to thank him for that."
Meryn turned around and nodded and, standing, returned the embrace which the woman initiated. The feelings of elation inside him were tempered by a sadness. What did this entire situation say about Bajor and the Bajoran people - it demonstrated just how weak they were and how they were unable to protect their own: The Occupation, the Circle's coup, the fall of New Bajor, the Dominion Occupation of DS9, and now this. If Bajor was to be safe the Dominion had to be defeated - and to protect Bajor the Bajorans could not fight the Dominion. Even five years previously Relma would have utterly rejected the idea that Bajor should join the Federation. But now? Now he was certain that they must. If the Militia could no longer protect Bajor then he questioned what the point was of being in the Militia.
It was in that moment that he made up his mind: he was going to join Starfleet. He would request a transfer in the morning.
"HEY!" said the woman, nudging him hard in the side "Are you okay? Are you even listening to me?"
His train of thought broken he looked down at the woman and whipered "Sorry, I was a million miles away. What were you saying?"
The Captain smiled mischievously and whispered back "What're you up to tonight?"
"Can't say I had any plans beyond having my remains crash onto Derna. What did you have in mind?"
"Think you need to be reminded you're still alive, Meryn." she replied with a whisper - bringing her mouth as close to his ear as she could given their difference in height. "That's an order."
Relma smiled as the two broke their embrace as othe rmembers of the bridge crew approached to congratulate them and celebrate "Aye, Sir." he answered.
He'd request that transfer to Starfleet tomorrow...
Tomorrow afternoon.
Or evening.
OFF:
Warrant Officer (provisional) Relma Meryn
Chief Engineer
Interceptor Kitara, Bajoran Militia