New Beginnings

Posted on Sun Aug 29th, 2021 @ 11:51am by Lieutenant Kathleen O'Shea

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Arrow Class Runabout "Emerald Sea'
Timeline: Current
802 words - 1.6 OF Standard Post Measure

She was alone.

For the first time in years she did not feel the comforting presences that had been her constant companions. With distance came the inevitable dissolution of the links which bound them together. With distance, that which brought her so much joy...so much comfort...slowly faded away. Her voice was once again alone.

alone.....

Kathleen stared out of the portal at open space, and for the first time since her awakening, she yearned to be truly free. She yearned to travel and explore as the elders had before her. But she knew this was simply a defensive reflex. She was afraid. Afraid of letting go of those who meant so much to her. Afraid of what lay ahead of her. Afraid of those whom she had yet to meet. Would they accept her? Or would they shun her...an outcast in a world that did not understand her. A world that did not know her. A world who did not even know of her kinds existence until but a few years ago.

Ka'Bu.

The mystical race that once had been labeled as witches, sorcerers, and heretics in the times of old on many planets. They were artists, musicians, architects, and engineers. They held nothing but the highest respect for those that surrounded them. They worked hard, and were the first to lend a hand when needed...to help those who could not help themselves. They were loving, devoted, and loyal.

They were hated. And then they were hunted.

Many millennia had past since those days. Days which discovery meant death. They now lived in an enlightened age, where many races existed who had varying degrees of gifts. But fear of the unknown would never be vanquished from the hearts of man. And for some reason, her presence elicited that very emotion. Maybe because there were so few of them known to exist. Most of their kind lived in secrecy, afraid that the purges of old would return once again. Many lived among Humans and other species, settling down and even raising families...always afraid, but dedicated to the life they chose to pursue. Such was how Kathleen came to be...the child of a Human and Ka'bu union. But unlike the offspring that had proceeded her for centuries, something happened that was both wondrous and frightening. An accident of circumstance that had changed her world forever. An accident that awoke her true heritage and sat if free. A heritage that she had not even known existed. And being that she...and another...were both officers in Starfleet, it was quite impossible to conceal what had transpired on that fateful mission. Even as the two lifelong friend struggled to understand what exactly had happened to them, Starfleet was busy trying to decide what to do with them.

In the end, their Mothers had come to their rescue. They 'outed' themselves without hesitation, to show all that would listen that they had co-existed for centuries with Humans, and that they had done so in peace. There was no danger. And so the power that be decided that, for now, they would allow them to return to their life, returning to their roles without restriction, but not without scrutiny. So they returned to their lives as if nothing had transpired. Kathleen often wondered how much their decision had been swayed by the discovery of the Ba'Ku, a race which had descended from the Ka'Bu a millennia ago. A race that just happened to own the proverbial fountain of youth. So they went back to their lives. But it did not take long for fear and superstition to creep into the fold. Such was their existence now. But throughout it all, they had always had each other. Others were slowly added to the circle as well for each of them. But now, all of that was gone. Kathleen had to start over, and she knew not what to expect. Her kind did not handle being alone well at all, and they prospect of being so frightened her more than anything else she could fathom.

It was at that moment she realized that the window had frosted over. 'Control, Kathy...' She warmed herself just enough to chase the chill away. Fortunately everybody else was asleep in the cabin. Wiping the moisture off the portal, she realized that their journey was almost at an end. As the Arrow Class Runabout dropped from warp to lazily navigate the systems planets, a chime sounded to wake the sleeping passengers. Waking them from the peaceful slumber that had eluded Kathleen. But there would be time for rest later, because for now only one overriding thought flowed constantly through her essence and haunted her in it's waking nightmare.

Alone......

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Lieutenant Kathleen O'Shea
Strategic Operations Officer
USS Elysium