Epilogue: Lt. JG Alieth - I am a stone, unaffected

[Wes Greaves]

This was a big movement in Alieth's character arc, and she did an outstanding job tying together something she has been dropping hints at for MONTHS.  She also seamlessly integrated actions during the most recent mission that indirectly resulted in the outcome of the sim.  I'm always impressed by Alieth's writing, but this slow burning character arc has been a treat to try and figure out what is going on.

 

Bravo Zulu!

 

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(( Room 06-0501, Deck 6, USS Thor, being towed to Bajoran space))

 

The day had been long. Longer than she could have ever anticipated when it had begun, with her long-delayed call to her hometown.

 

 Yet, all duty was finally over, and she had no more excuses to face the inevitable.

 

And, despite all her training to master her emotions, Alieth was overcome with anxiety.

 

Fear of what she might discover. But even more of the absence she suspected.

 

Either way, she NEEDED to know.

 

So she plunged into her cluttered quarters and, after a few minutes, managed to find the gadgets she needed.

 

She dressed in a traditional meditation robe, knelt on the mat she had brought from Vulcan, and lit the meditation lamp in front of her.

 

Miraculously, the old lamp had survived the rough journey and the only damage it had suffered was a small crack that made the flame flicker, as if it were a frightened bird.

 

Somehow, it seemed an appropriate tribute.

 

Alieth focused on the quivering dance of the fire during several minutes, until only the flame and her breath were left.

 

Then, she closed her eyes.

 

Her breathing flowed like the sands of the deserts of Xial, quietly but relentlessly, eternal.

 

In her mind, Alieth circled the flame and unlocked the door hidden in her brain, that sheltered place where she had preserved her most cherished treasure.

 

“Sern” she uttered carefully, summoning the katra she had carried with her for so long, the only thing that had remained from one of the most important people in her life.

 

Only silence replied.

 

“Sern!”

 

She called again, letting the anxiety and helplessness percolate through the voice of her mind.

 

The same helplessness that she had felt so many years ago, when she had been unable to save his life, as he had saved hers.

 

The same anxiety that she had felt when she had been unsuccessful at stopping the river of green blood flowing from his body to water the thirsty sands of Xial.

 

“SERN!”

 

She asked one last time. This time, she knew her lips had spoken the word aloud. The name she had refused to utter for so long echoed through the empty room, reverberating through the shattered remains of her belongings.

 

But the outcome was the same.

 

Silence.

 

Alieth opened her eyes.

 

The flame of the lamp had long since faded, leaving the room in a twilight only lit by the cold glow of distant stars.

 

Alieth hugged her chest and leaned forward, until her forehead touched the complex motifs woven into the meditation mat.

 

And, then, she let out a tearless sob.

 

Because she had lost him again.

 

This time, forever.

 

[TBC]

 

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Lt. JG Alieth

Medical Officer

USS Thor NCC-82607 

Fleet Captain A. Kells, Commanding

Author ID number:  E239702A10  

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[Alieth]

Awww thanks man! i should thanks @Geoffrey Teller here due he has FED this arc unadvertised, and has made it even more FUN to write.