Posted by Civilian Cassandra Klrin of House Ke’dass (Orphanage Caretaker) in The Ending of a Chapter
“Jeeves!” A shimmering form appeared. A middle aged man in a tux and tails. “Yes Mistress Cassandra?” She stumbled into the mostly powered down shuttle, slamming a hand against the hatch control panel, carrying a small bundle. Bare feet sticking out and head lolling backwards over her arm. The small form was shivering and whimpers tore from his throat, that was dry and scratchy. “I need a full bio scan Jeeves. Hurry up!”

She pulled a lower cot down with one hand and laid a small boy with dark brown hair that was dirty and matted. His caramel skin was a sickly color and even the slightest touch of hand or cloth had him writing in pain. “Mistress Cassandra you are bleeding. Sit down.” The man was very formal and proper. “I can take care of me, help him!” She collapsed back against the opposite bench and pulled and tugged out a med kit. She stripped off the torn and bloody shirt, and it dropped from numb fingers. Bandages, antiseptic, and a shot of a low grade painkiller, and some strong antibiotics and anti-inflammatory, she was slowly slipping on an extra shirt.

The ship’s hologram was standing by the small boy. “What is it? What’s wrong with him?” The man turned and looked at her. “Malnutrition, dehydration, vitamin deficiencies. Infections from cuts and scraps. He’s dirty and too thin.” If the man wasn’t a hologram she’d knock him out. “Yes I know.”

“I’m sorry Ms Cassandra. It’s meningitis. We don’t have medicine on the shuttle for that. And it’s contagious.” She shrugged, “All my shots are up to date. Can you synthesize the medicine?” The hologram slowly nodded his head considering, “If I had the file, but I would have to break radio silence to access the Star Fleet Medical database.” Cassandra stared out the shuttle window. “Take off Jeeves. Get us out of here. Head straight for Delotha.” The hologram nodded and the shuttle began hum and then lift off the ground. The hologram was integrated to all ship’s systems and it responded immediately. “Ms Cass you must sit down.” She shook her head, and took a cloth and water from the replicator. Her own vision was tinged hazy and dark and she felt like her stomach would expel food that wasn’t in it. And the shuttle spun wildly. But still she stood and carefully cleaned the dirt from the small face and between the subtle but proud brow ridges of the half-Klingon boy. “Shh..it’s alright, you’re safe now.” She sang softly, her own words slurring. She reached down and for the first time she pressed as small button on the dark purple stone on her bracelet.

---

Inside the Opaka the red klaxons began to sound and a corresponding alarm blared loudly on the desk in the small farmers hut. Loud enough that even at the far end of his fields, Ch’otok would hear.

Cassandra

Ch’otok was in his hut, working on getting a small loaf of bread in the oven while Vetad worked the field. Big for his age, the boy was a wonderful help, and he was eager to learn how to farm and the details of agricultural science. As he was from the town orphanage, Ch’otok saw the boy as a son of sorts, nothing so formal as an adoption, but more that the lad needed a steady hand and mentor, and the old Klingon war vet fit the bill with a mixture of strength and wisdom. As he was kneading the dough, he heard a sound that he had always dreaded hearing. A wailing cacophonous howl that shrieked through the air like a banshee with a sore throat who’d been gargling salt water laced with gravel.

He bolted to attention, and ran to the doorway, “VETAD” he bellowed in a voice so commanding it echoed through the fields as the crops themselves seemed to stand to attention. The Orion jolted to attention and ran to the hut. “Ch’otok what’s wrong?” The Klingon looked at Vetad and said in a tone serious enough to shake the most determined warriors, “It’s Zanya, I need to go. Now. Today is the day you are in charge, I know you can do this.” Vetad looked at Ch’otok with concern, “But… I don’t know as much as you, how long will you be gone? How will I take care of everything?” Ch’otok placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “No, you don’t know as much as I do, but you know more than I did when I started the farm, and you are more than capable. I will let you know when I am able to return, and please, bake the bread that’s on the counter.”

Ch’otok stepped out towards the blank field behind the hut and said “ngIl ngeD”. The Opaka decloaked and the light Bajoran tan D12 class Bird of Prey powered up. Ch’otok was transported onboard and he tapped a few commands as the ship lifted from the ground and into space, the navigation system already tuned to the pinpoint location of the signal.

Vetad heard the sound of atmospheric disturbance as the ship decloaked, the release of energy back into the atmosphere making a telltale static wave that dropped in pitch before ending high static discharge. As the bird of prey lifted off the young teen stepped out of the doorway to see the ship take off as he said to no one in particular… “So the other kids were right… and no one is going to believe me!” He said before continuing in a little mocking tone “Oh Vetad…. You really saw his ship? So where is it now?” He glared at the bread on the counter and blinked a few times before dropping the angst and said, “Right! I have to get that in the oven!”

Ch’otok