[AU] The Temple Of Our Faith

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 11:11pm by Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri-Smith & Lieutenant Commander James Smith & Lieutenant JG Vecon Fick & Sasha Vieers (Deceased)
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:02pm

Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Bridge
Timeline: One day after "Just A Little Bit Longer"

A Mission Post by Lieutenant Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri & Lieutenant Kalin 'Shae' Brennan-Griffin PhD & Lieutenant James Smith & Lieutenant JG Vecon Fick & Ensign Sasha Vieers
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Bridge
Timeline: One day after "Just A Little Bit Longer"
Tue Aug 21st, 2018 @ 10:19pm

It was time. A full day after Captain's Temple death, Lieutenant Griffin had called a meeting of everyone on the Bridge at 1100 hours, even extending the invitation to the group who had opted to live apart from everyone else. It was a time for a sad duty: to mourn the death of their leader.

So, with reluctance, Cailus stirred his weary body from his bed early in the morning, leaving a brief note for his wife to explain his absence. He moved silently down the corridor, as most of the Bubble's inhabitants were still asleep after the previous day's awful event, soon arriving at their little Sickbay. There, as planned, Cailus found Nurse Louis, and without a word, the two men got everything ready. They solemnly prepared the body with as much dignity as they could, before sealing it in a makeshift body bag, then brought the fallen captain up to the Bridge. Two yellow-shirted security officers waited there, having taken the morning shift, and after Captain Temple's body was laid gently in front of the viewscreen, they took their positions to either side of him. It was a sad duty to be his honour guard, and indeed, young Yugrid's eyes were bloodshot as she took up her position, but it was a duty that they took on without hesitation.

That done, Cailus took up his own position to the side to wait for the others to arrive. Like the others, he still wore his uniform, even though the grey-and-black jacket was a bit ragged after a long, hard year in the Bubble. The honour guard bore their phasers, although Cailus' own holster was conspicuously empty. In silence, they waited, nobody saying a word to break the funeral silence.

Krysia had stood in front of the makeshift mirror in their quarters for a few minutes debating if what she was wearing was a good tribute to Nyx or whether it would be frowned upon, sighing she settled on it and yanked on her uniform top to straighten it out. It felt strange to be back in her old uniform, she'd left the choice to the others for what they'd want to wear. She knew that not all the outsiders were going so she'd opted to leave Aurora in their safe hands while she joined the funeral with James. "Are you sure it'll go alright going in uniform after all this time?

James tugged at his uniform as he looked at himself in the mirror before replying, “Uniforms should be worn it’s only proper to give Nyx the best.” James swallowed hard he had known Nyx since the academy and he was like a brother to him loosing him was hard. He and Nyx had talked about bring the crew back together but this had happened first, and now he was even more determined to make that a reality.

As for Rochester everyone had agreed that he was going to be handed over so he was waiting to be taken along and handed over. She motioned for him to be brought along as she, James and Sasha lead those willing to go to the funeral.

Fick slipped into the back of the room, trying not to really be noticed. He didn't really want to talk to anyone, but he felt it was necessary to be present. He was a little disheveled and his face and eyes were red and puffy. For Fick, it was only the second time that anyone he had felt was important in his life had died. Nyx had also been his first Captain, right out of the Academy. He was someone Fick had admired wholeheartedly. He leaned against the back wall of the room and crossed his arms, paying attention, but not making eye contact.

Sasha arrived not long after, pulling at her uniform as she had also put it on for the first time in months. She no longer wanted to be disassociated from the crew, her family, and friends. Now more than ever she wanted them to pull together as a team, even if internally her heart was still breaking over the loss of their Captain.

She looked to the forlorn faces of the others in the room and sighed. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Krysia stood alongside Sasha upon hearing what she said she nodded in agreement "I never thought anything like this would ever happen"

Shae was having a hard time entering the Bridge; Nyx was one of the few people who had any understanding of her past, and now that he was gone it felt like a piece of her was missing. Going out onto the Bridge and facing that missing piece only to watch it disappear would be one of the hardest things she would do, but she would do it. Steeling herself for this, she scaled the lift shaft and pulled herself up onto the Bridge, seeing people had already started to gather. Then she saw Krysia, in uniform no less, grieving with Sasha.

"Kaleri," Shae said softly as she timidly padded closer. "I, um, never got the chance to properly apologize for what happened between us, and... I don't know, it feels somewhat appropriate to bury the hatchet as it were... The Captain would want us to make amends," she said, clearly uncomfortable with this exchange but willing and heart-felt nonetheless. "I can't rightly apologize for what I said because that is how I feel, and I'm not ashamed of what I feel... But how I said it, that I even said it at all when I should have kept those feelings to myself because it wasn't my place, and making you feel like I would harm you, for that I am so sorry. I know I was under the effects of my biological drives, but it's no excuse, I should have maintained control of myself and I swear to you that it will never happen again, even if that means I must lock myself away. A-and I want to assure you that... well, I never would have hurt an innocent child, o-or the mother trying to protect her... I was just posturing, I don't want to harm you; or at least I want to believe that I never would have harmed you had Cailus not intervened."

Krysia stood looking at Shae as she apologised for events between them under different circumstances she might have got emotional but this was Nyx's funeral not the place for emotion about other events. "Apology accepted." She offered a brief smile, "I understand your reasons Shae I really do, being torn apart from Aoife in this way I'd be the same if anything happened to Aurora." She looked around those gathered. "Maybe it's time we all buried the hatchet."

"That was my thinking as well," Shae replied, then looked up to where Nyx's body was laid out in front of the view screen. "He was working so hard to bring us all back together... He wanted me to apologize, but I was so ashamed of my actions that I was afraid. But all that fear and shame, it seem so inconsequential now... He believed in us," Shae looked back at Krysia, "all of us, believed we could find a way home, and it's up to us to keep that faith alive."

Krysia nodded in agreement "I'd like to raise Aurora as part of a united family not one that's at odds. we can talk about it once Nyx's funeral is over." She offered a smile.

It was like so that everyone filed in, exchanging quiet greetings and whispered platitudes, the crowd slowly growing. The Bridge was a large space, able to accommodate the crowd of twenty four mourners well enough, but it nevertheless felt very intimate. It had, after all, been a long while since the entire community (minus a handful of malcontents) had gathered like this.

Of course, one man stood apart from the group, conspicuous by the look of agony on his handsome face. The man's eyes were red, his jaw plainly in need of a shave, his blonde hair askew and untidy. His eyes hadn't left the bodybag on the deck since he'd arrived, and while an armed guard stood behind him, the man didn't even seem to notice.

After the quiet chatter had faded into nothing, Cailus took a firm step forward, looking around at the crowd. "You have all heard the news by now," he said loudly, his iron voice reaching the back of the Bridge. Cailus' eyes flicked to Shae's, sharing a brief but intense flash of pain, but he swiftly moved on. "But for the sake of clarity, I will confirm it to you all. Captain Temple is dead."

Pausing to allow everyone to accept the news, Cailus continued on, his hands clasped behind his back. "Yesterday morning, during a routine inventory inspection, we noticed that one phaser rifle and a quantity of foodstuffs had gone missing. Captain Temple ordered a search of every room onboard, and in the process of searching Mister Rochester's room, Captain Temple discovered that Mister Rochester was the thief. Mister Rochester panicked, retrieved his stolen weapon and fired. The weapon was set to kill. Mister Louis did everything he could, but the damage was simply too severe."

Now, Cailus fixed Rochester with the most terrible of looks, a cold, relentless glare. "Rest easy, Mister Rochester. You will be tried fairly by court martial, and your punishment will be in accordance with Federation law. You are merely here to bear witness of the consequences of your act."

Krysia looked at Rochester as Cailus stopped talking waiting for his reply, she still felt a modicum of guilt for not sensing that there was something more than he’d been letting on to her.

"It..." The former officer tried to speak, before noticing the intense glares being thrown his way. "Was self-defense," he muttered under his breath.

"Self Defense!" Krysia looked at Rochester. "Self Defense! Are you completely mad?!" She walked across to Rochester. "There was NO reason for you to even that weapon let alone use it!" She stood, trying to keep a lid on her own anger. Granted she and Nyx hadn't seen eye to eye of late, but she would never have bore him any ill will. "You want something to yell self defense about..." Her anger boiled over as she stood, simply staring at him at least that's how it looked when she was actually invading his mind with every unpleasant thing she could think of.

The young man grimaced as the feeling of a searing headache suddenly infested his mind and within a moment he went completely limp, knocked out by the sheer overwhelmed emotion coming from Kaleri.

Shae placed a hand on Krysia's shoulder. "Don't," Shae said softly. "If you are intent on getting revenge, at least do so in privacy when there's culpable deniability. I doubt anyone here would blame you should you take his life this very moment, but to do so would still invite repercussions, so don't throw your life away on his account; do not let his actions deprive Aurora of her mother. Instead, let him waste away in perpetual fear of when the proverbial knife in his back will come."

Krysia stood for a moment longer before looking away from Rochester, "Thank you Shae I... I didn't mean to..." She took a calming breath as she stepped away from Rochester who had now stopped reeling from her mental attack, she'd never intentionally hurt anyone before. On Drax it was a crime that was severely punishable. "Lieutenant..." She looked at Cailus. "I shouldn't have done that, I'll accept any punishment you see fit for it."

Sensing that Krysia was in control of her emotions and thus no longer a threat, Shae removed her hand from Krysia's shoulder. It felt odd to stop the woman when Shae herself had made a threat on Rochester's life not that long ago, but Shae knew better than to do something like this out in the open; not to mention, she had a feeling that taking a life, even for a man who was guilty and deserved death, would not sit well on Krysia's conscience.

Sasha had watched the scene with a clear sense of disdain on her face. “Do you people have no shame? We are here to farewell our captain and you’re all still fighting! He died because we fell apart as a crew and now you dishonour his final moments by acting this way!”

"I'm sorry Sasha..." Krysia looked at Sasha. "I lost my temper!" She looked at James before turning to leave. She hadn't intended to cause any problems. "I... I'll go back to Aurora."

Having allowed things to unfold, analysing everyone's reactions and words, Cailus finally spoke. "No. Please stay, Mrs Kaleri. We will discuss your behaviour tomorrow. We have another priority today."

Fick watched all of this go on in front of him without a word. He felt numb. Like he couldn't feel anything, physically or emotionally. He watched the people in front of him almost as if he was watching a movie and didn't even know them. In all honesty, he didn't know them anymore. Nor did they know him. Their time in the bubble had twisted them, turned them into distorted shapes of their former selves. He was not immune to this fate either. He felt his own humanity slipping away day by day and his hope for rescue slipping away with it. When no one was looking he ducked out of the room and disappeared.

"We've had a hard year," Cailus said quietly but firmly, instantly silencing the whispers and murmurs that had sprung up during the brewing drama between Krysia and Rochester. Again, he looked around at everyone, meeting their eyes. "We've all struggled at times with the limitations of our circumstances. Hunger, thirst and cold have all ailed us at one point or another. It has been a day to day struggle to stay alive, to stay together, but most of all, to stay as we are. To not abandon ourselves to fear or despair."

Now Cailus looked down at the Captain's body, his expression solemn. "Captain Temple lost more than any of us when we were brought here, more than any of you know. Despite all of that he kept us fed, kept us warm and kept us alive. He was our guiding light, our leader and our center, and the finest captain that any of us have ever known. When we go back home, we will talk of this man who we were fortunate to call our captain. We will make sure that when people speak of Kirk, of Picard and of Sisko, they also speak of Nycolas Temple, captain of the USS Pandora."

Looking back at the others, Cailus cleared his throat, taking a deep breath as he shared a brief look with his wife. Of all those present, only Shae could glimpse that tiny glimmer of fear and doubt in his eyes, but to everyone else, he was as unyielding and hard as ever. "I am not Nycolas Temple, nor will I ever be able to match his capacity for leadership, compassion or intellectual brilliance. Nevertheless, regulations mandate that I take command upon his passing. I know that some of you have your problems with me, but I ask that you have faith. I will give you everything that I have, and we will get out of this place, one way or another. We will live."

James stepped forward, “Krysia and I stand ready to support you, despite our differences we all have the same goal of eventually getting home, and the only way to do that is together.” Smith reached out for Cailus hand not sure if he would take it or not

“Aye, Sir,” Sasha echoed firmly, standing with her back straight up again. Even if it was just for one moment, she allowed herself to believe there was hope again.

After taking Smith's hand and shaking it firmly, sharing a respectful and meaningful look, the crowd quietened down again, although the atmosphere had changed ever so subtly. Even with Captain Temple's body there, and even with his murderer standing on the Bridge right with them, there was something about the reconciliation of the two groups that had an effect.

They were sad, yes, to be saying farewell to their captain. They were angry at his murderer. They were all fearful of their future in the Bubble, of never returning home to their loved ones, but they were at least together. The group had a sense of unity and comfort in each other that they hadn't possessed in a long, long time.

Even so, there was still one more duty to perform before they could disperse. Lieutenant Arnaldo passing had been only a grim memorial, since they hadn't had a body to send into the void, but now they could do it properly. Turning to Nyx's body, sealed as it was in a bodybag and covered with the blue flag of the Federation, Cailus stood in a formal stance, his hands behind his back.

"Captain Nycolas William Temple," he said solemnly, repeating a benediction he had heard nearly a century prior, "we now commend you to the dark. We send you thus having been fortunate to call you our Captain, and we bear witness to your tireless service as a Starfleet officer in the finest traditions of the service and the United Federation of Planets. You were a valued friend, an extraordinary captain, a beloved husband and a wonderful father. The universe was a better place for your presence within it. We send you into the void knowing that as dark and cold as it may be, the void is brighter and warmer for having you within it. You shall be remembered."

With that, the body began to gradually float off the deck, supported by a thin anti-gravity support. The honour guard marched the body the few meters to the turbolift, and soon enough, the body was respectfully lowered down the shaft.

Minutes later, on the forward viewscreen, the crew watched as the automated escape pod gently left the hull. It stopped a several kilometers from the ship, at the very edge of the Bubble, before the crew saw the white fluff of gases as the door opened. Just like that, the body was sent outside the Bubble...sent to the unimaginable void between universes, the final frontier.

The crew watched in silence, tears in more than a few eyes, but they also looked to their fellows for support and succour. Captain Temple was dead. But he had left hope in his wake.