Star Trek: Cayuga
‘Meanings and Endings’
By Jack Elmlinger
The hatch of the shuttlecraft opened up and Jeanne Pozach stepped out onto the smooth blue stone of Intooine for the first time in eighteen years. Behind her, Sean Pasko shouldered his bag, breathing in deeply before gagging.” The atmosphere’s really thick here,” he said, choking.
“You’ll get used to it,” Pozach said distractedly, her eyes scanning over the perpetually shadowed landing field.
Pasko squinted into the gloom. “Who are the humanoids?,” he asked her, indicating the bipedal aliens in the distance.
“They’re Vaskans.” She sighed. “They won’t come close to us. They don’t like strangers or technology that they can’t sense.”
“I thought they knew you?”
“Not anymore.” She glanced at him apologetically. “It’s improper for us to attempt to leave without an escort.”
Pasko plopped down onto the short, spiky grass. “Great.” They waited in silence for what seemed like a very long time before Pozach stirred.
“There.”
A Human strode towards them across the plateau. Pozach left her bag and rushed over to meet him, clutching him in a tight hug. “Chris,” she said,” how are you?”
“I’ve been better,” he admitted with a smile. “Loch’etid and Rah’Meto send their greetings.”
“I thought they wouldn't actually come over.”
“You've been gone for too long,” Chris reproached her, noting her bitterness. “You know how they are.”
Pozach turned to Pasko. “Chris, this is my friend and Aloxim-tem, Sean Pasko. Sean, this is my cousin, Chris Pozach.”
“Glad to meet you.”
“Thank you for coming,” Chris responded politely.
“Where is the Rictara being held?,” the captain asked as he led them from the landing field.
Chris shook his head. “There’s no time for the formal welcoming, Jeanne. If you could have come sooner…”
“There’s no fast way across the Federation, Chris. We came as quickly as we could.”
“Almost three weeks at Warp Five to get to Bilana II. Then we had another week on that new soliton trade route,” PAsko enthused. “But I’ll tell you. I’ve never seen a shuttlecraft try to do Warp Nine-point-Seven before. In fact-- “
“Sean,” Pozach said quietly.
Pasko looked over with confusion before he lapsed into silence.
“I’ll go prepare her,” Chris said and lengthened his stride.
As they crested over the hell, Pozach’s steps became smaller and slower. She said softly,” My grandparents were some of the original colonists here. Intooine was a joint venture between Humans and Vaskans to facilitate cultural exchange. We share a lot of traditions,” -- she sighed -- ,” including the Aloxim. Your role is to listen, to remember, and to keep a testament of what’s said.”
Pozach paused at the front steps of one of the houses. She brushed her fingers against the railing before shaking her head. They stepped inside and she led them down a long hallway, glancing furtively at the framed photographs that lined it. Chris stood next to the door at the end of the hallway. He nodded to his cousin and with a quiet growl from the bottom of her throat, she gripped the doorknob, twisted it, and stepped inside.
It was dark. Thick curtains covered the windows and a thin, frail woman lay in bed, her dark skin sallow. Pozach stepped up stiffly to the foot of the bed and Pasko stood against the wall.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Jeanne,” the woman said,” you came.”
Pozach took a steadying breath and began to speak by rote. “As you prepare yourself to leave this life behind you, I remind you that your time has not been wasted. My accomplishments are yours.” She gazed at the ceiling and continued her recitation. “Fourteen years ago, I graduated seventy-eighth in my class from Starfleet Academy with a specialization in Diplomacy and Federation Law. Three years later, I was assigned as a liaison to the Federation Council. At the end of the Dominion War, I was assigned by Starfleet as First Officer and later as Captain of the USS Cayuga.”
“Why are you so formal?,” her mother asked her, struggling against her sheets to sit up.
Pozach’s mouth twitched at her question. “I’m doing as the Aloxim requires.”
Her mother smiled weakly. “I think that we’re beyond simply following the letter of the ritual.”
“Why?,” Pozach snapped at her, her carefully-maintained poise shattering and her words falling from her lips like shards of glass. “What do you think this is? Some perfect world where loving daughters rush home to embrace their dying mothers? This is no utopia. In a utopia, governments don’t addict others to crushing psychotropic drugs in order to deaden their will to resist oppression. In a utopia, innocent people aren’t killed because a madwoman believes that their entire species is evil. In a utopia, people don’t steal food from the mouths of children in order to make a profit. In a utopia, wars don’t leave hundreds of millions dead!”
In a utopia,” she continued through her sudden tears,” fourteen-year old girls aren’t beaten and raped by their fathers while their mothers stand by and do nothing… and nineteen-year old women don’t run away all the way to Earth after killing their fathers.”:
“But,” her mother whispered helplessly,” you were our perfect girl.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Pasko sat on the edge of a cliff, his legs dangling over the edge. The horizon began to warm with dawn’s morning glow, and as he watched amazed, drops of rain flew up into the sky.
He glanced up as Captain Pozach sat down heavily next to him. The tears on her face mixed imperceptibly with the rain.
“Jeanne, I…”
“Don’t say anything,” she said, interrupting him. “Just don’t talk.”
The End...
‘Meanings and Endings’
By Jack Elmlinger
The hatch of the shuttlecraft opened up and Jeanne Pozach stepped out onto the smooth blue stone of Intooine for the first time in eighteen years. Behind her, Sean Pasko shouldered his bag, breathing in deeply before gagging.” The atmosphere’s really thick here,” he said, choking.
“You’ll get used to it,” Pozach said distractedly, her eyes scanning over the perpetually shadowed landing field.
Pasko squinted into the gloom. “Who are the humanoids?,” he asked her, indicating the bipedal aliens in the distance.
“They’re Vaskans.” She sighed. “They won’t come close to us. They don’t like strangers or technology that they can’t sense.”
“I thought they knew you?”
“Not anymore.” She glanced at him apologetically. “It’s improper for us to attempt to leave without an escort.”
Pasko plopped down onto the short, spiky grass. “Great.” They waited in silence for what seemed like a very long time before Pozach stirred.
“There.”
A Human strode towards them across the plateau. Pozach left her bag and rushed over to meet him, clutching him in a tight hug. “Chris,” she said,” how are you?”
“I’ve been better,” he admitted with a smile. “Loch’etid and Rah’Meto send their greetings.”
“I thought they wouldn't actually come over.”
“You've been gone for too long,” Chris reproached her, noting her bitterness. “You know how they are.”
Pozach turned to Pasko. “Chris, this is my friend and Aloxim-tem, Sean Pasko. Sean, this is my cousin, Chris Pozach.”
“Glad to meet you.”
“Thank you for coming,” Chris responded politely.
“Where is the Rictara being held?,” the captain asked as he led them from the landing field.
Chris shook his head. “There’s no time for the formal welcoming, Jeanne. If you could have come sooner…”
“There’s no fast way across the Federation, Chris. We came as quickly as we could.”
“Almost three weeks at Warp Five to get to Bilana II. Then we had another week on that new soliton trade route,” PAsko enthused. “But I’ll tell you. I’ve never seen a shuttlecraft try to do Warp Nine-point-Seven before. In fact-- “
“Sean,” Pozach said quietly.
Pasko looked over with confusion before he lapsed into silence.
“I’ll go prepare her,” Chris said and lengthened his stride.
As they crested over the hell, Pozach’s steps became smaller and slower. She said softly,” My grandparents were some of the original colonists here. Intooine was a joint venture between Humans and Vaskans to facilitate cultural exchange. We share a lot of traditions,” -- she sighed -- ,” including the Aloxim. Your role is to listen, to remember, and to keep a testament of what’s said.”
Pozach paused at the front steps of one of the houses. She brushed her fingers against the railing before shaking her head. They stepped inside and she led them down a long hallway, glancing furtively at the framed photographs that lined it. Chris stood next to the door at the end of the hallway. He nodded to his cousin and with a quiet growl from the bottom of her throat, she gripped the doorknob, twisted it, and stepped inside.
It was dark. Thick curtains covered the windows and a thin, frail woman lay in bed, her dark skin sallow. Pozach stepped up stiffly to the foot of the bed and Pasko stood against the wall.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Jeanne,” the woman said,” you came.”
Pozach took a steadying breath and began to speak by rote. “As you prepare yourself to leave this life behind you, I remind you that your time has not been wasted. My accomplishments are yours.” She gazed at the ceiling and continued her recitation. “Fourteen years ago, I graduated seventy-eighth in my class from Starfleet Academy with a specialization in Diplomacy and Federation Law. Three years later, I was assigned as a liaison to the Federation Council. At the end of the Dominion War, I was assigned by Starfleet as First Officer and later as Captain of the USS Cayuga.”
“Why are you so formal?,” her mother asked her, struggling against her sheets to sit up.
Pozach’s mouth twitched at her question. “I’m doing as the Aloxim requires.”
Her mother smiled weakly. “I think that we’re beyond simply following the letter of the ritual.”
“Why?,” Pozach snapped at her, her carefully-maintained poise shattering and her words falling from her lips like shards of glass. “What do you think this is? Some perfect world where loving daughters rush home to embrace their dying mothers? This is no utopia. In a utopia, governments don’t addict others to crushing psychotropic drugs in order to deaden their will to resist oppression. In a utopia, innocent people aren’t killed because a madwoman believes that their entire species is evil. In a utopia, people don’t steal food from the mouths of children in order to make a profit. In a utopia, wars don’t leave hundreds of millions dead!”
In a utopia,” she continued through her sudden tears,” fourteen-year old girls aren’t beaten and raped by their fathers while their mothers stand by and do nothing… and nineteen-year old women don’t run away all the way to Earth after killing their fathers.”:
“But,” her mother whispered helplessly,” you were our perfect girl.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Pasko sat on the edge of a cliff, his legs dangling over the edge. The horizon began to warm with dawn’s morning glow, and as he watched amazed, drops of rain flew up into the sky.
He glanced up as Captain Pozach sat down heavily next to him. The tears on her face mixed imperceptibly with the rain.
“Jeanne, I…”
“Don’t say anything,” she said, interrupting him. “Just don’t talk.”
The End...
