Carriers of Our Death (Part Two)

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 3:52am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Sasha Vieers (Deceased)
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 6:03pm

Mission: The Evils Within
Location: Hesiod Green

OOC: Hey folks, there's a lot of information here about one aspect of the alien's culture that's worthwhile reading :D

ON:
Awakened in a cave on an alien planet, Sasha Vieers found herself in quite the predicament. She had been sent by Captain Temple to make contact with the Away Team on Pithos and to find out whether the facility had violated the Prime Directive. It was a joint suicide mission / redemption tale of sorts. But, over an hour into her journey, she had gotten disorientated amongst the dangerous landscapes of Hesiod Green - only to then be rescued by one of the planet's native inhabitants. The irony had not been lost on her that Sasha herself had violated the Prime Directive by being rescued by Ja-Bo, but that became a secondary concern when it appeared the alien woman was already aware of the foreign visitors to her planet. In fact, she welcomed them, as it was part of her religion that these "children of the stars" were the "carriers of our death". Quite the predicament.

Sasha stood suddenly, frightened by the woman's words. "Wh-why would you say that?"

"Because you are, Child." Ja-Bo merely beamed, "You bring death."

Her mind was reeling, but Sasha felt defensive, she put up her hands and tried to explain. "No, no, no. That's not who..." She paused. "It's not really who I am. I don't know why you'd say that."

The elderly Hesian woman tilted her head slightly, confused by the Child of the Star's reaction. For her, this was a warm and delightful moment, the realisation of years of suffering. "Death is a wonderful thing, Child. I can feel it; you are surrounded by it."

"No!" Sasha protested, as she looked around for a way out of this cave. "I have made mistakes, but I am not here to kill any one!"

Ja-Bo sighed, in quiet patience, as she turned her back on Sasha and returned to her sewing.

Frightened, Sasha began to look around for her stuff again. It had been removed from her person by the alien when she was rescued on the surface, and seemingly stored somewhere. Sasha had no idea how long she had been unconscious for, or how far away she now was from the Pandora or Pithos. She just hoped she still had enough oxygen inhalers to make it back to safety.

The cave was filled with a life's worth of supplies, personal items, knick-knacks. Sasha sat on a bed made of thick, woven blankets in one corner; opposite to her was Ja-Bo sitting at her table, seemingly made of formed concrete; on the third wall was a kitchenette with a stove and hand-made shelves for cooking equipment and tools, as well as cubbies dug into the rock surface and filled with goods; the fourth cave wall just had a large blanket strung across it. Sasha figured this was hiding the doorway out of there; she just needed to get her equipment and be on her way again.

As if sensing Sasha's unease, Ja-Bo smiled to herself, and she said softly, "All this time. I had dreamed of this moment."

"What?" Sasha huffed, her frustration showing.

The woman had clearly hidden her belongings. Or they were still left outside amongst the crystals.

"I thought the Children of the Stars knew their purpose. The gift that they give us." Ja-Bo continued, speaking to herself. "But you don't see it."

"Death is not a purpose, or a gift!" Sasha stated fiercely. "Killing someone is horrible and it is permanent. Believe me."

"Killing someone?!" Ja-Bo cried, turning to face her guest. "My Child, you misunderstand. You are not here to kill, you are here to Renew."

Sasha paused, her lips mouthing the words just spoke to her, "Renew?"

"Yes!" Ja-Bo smiled once more. "To be uplifted from our bodies is a beautiful honour. To pass on our possessions to our friends and kin is a great gift. To become one with the planet is..." Her voice was full of praise now, "...The highest reward. This world sings with the voices of our deceased who have already become one, I know you heard it out there in the crystals."

"One with the planet?" Sasha breathed out in disbelief.

"Yes." Ja-Bo nodded. "One with the planet. And once we are all one, the planet is renewed. Reborn. Life begins again."

Sasha shook her head as she knelt down back into the small bed. She buried her head into her hands for a moment, trying to process this elderly woman's words. This sweet but ragged face was portraying such a grim statement in the most joyous of ways. The dichotomy of the real, lasting consequences of death being spoken about as a welcomed, temporary event, was unnerving the Trill. She believed in new lives, of course, through the act of symbiotic transfer. But that had a real, scientific, explanation for it. It was not a fantastical theory about afterlife and reincarnation; it was a medical procedure that moved an organic being from one host to the other. Once the body or symbiont was dead; that was it for them. There was no coming back.

Vieers had been present at many deaths in recent times. and some of those by her own hand, or due to her own actions. None of those people felt enlightened or happy to pass on; none of them had suddenly reappeared as if they were reborn. Death was a permanent, unavoidable state - mortality was a constant in this universe. Sasha - an Operations officer - who had once upon a time liked to investigate and question every manner of their lives, never accepted such a concept of afterlife or being reborn. Sasha - an actual murderer - knew death was a painful and irreversible event one should never willingly choose to make happen.

Finally, Vieers looked up again, full of resolution. She had to make the Hesian understand her point of view, even it meant jeopardising the Prime Directive even further. She was speaking from experience, very recent experience, and this drove her objections. "I think it's great that you see death as such a fantastic experience. If that helps you get through the days on this damn awful planet, I understand it. But to cause someone's death is a horrible burden. It stains your life and your soul forever. It is no purpose to kill another person."

Ja-Bo shook her head too, a quietly passive smile on her lips, still resolute in her own beliefs. "The Children of the Stars do not kill people, my Child. You set us free. All of us. You sweep the planet clean, make it new again. We become one with the planet and we are reborn again. This is how it has been for a thousand cycles."

The Trill's face fell; this was no ordinary belief system she was speaking to. It began to dawn on Sasha that there was something very specific, very known, at work. "You said you'd been expecting us... And you believe we have done this before?"

"Yes!" Ja-Bo giggled. "The Children of the Stars are the Carriers of our Death!"

"What does that mean!?" Sasha shouted loudly, her anger boiling over at the cryptic nonsense.

Quietly, Ja-Bo stood, her old body moving as fast as it could. She shuffled over to the far wall, which had been covered by a hand-made blanket attached to hooks. With a struggle, she stretched her frail arms up and unattached the blanket from the first hook, letting the covering fall to the floor and revealing half of the wall behind it. "This." She declared with a deep breath.

Sasha stood as she took in the images, her mouth agape in surprise.

Upon the wall was a crude cave drawing etched into the rock. It depicted a large grey beast with a round, flat head and two limbs, hanging in the air against a background of green clouds. And from the beast's mouth came a solid blue beam of light, directed down onto the surface of a cracked, barren, brown land. On the ground were a group of stick figures, arms raised up in the sky, wide smiles on each of their faces as if to welcome the light coming from the beast.

Sasha's eyes poured over the drawing in earnest, she felt her heart skip a beat. She moved forward and looked at the Grey Beast in the sky, noticing the familiar shape of it.

"The Pandora." She whispered. She felt a deep sense of fear in her stomach growing as she stared at the drawing.

Ja-Bo meanwhile released the other half of the covering, showing a new scene. This was a world of bright green grass, trees, water, blue skies. Just like Hesiod Green's sister planet currently looked - a beautiful paradise. There were people here too - smaller, and fewer in numbers - but they had the same wide smiles on their faces.

Sasha was in awe, she moved closer to the wall and lightly touched her fingers across the rock scratchings. "This is what you believe will happen?"

"I didn't draw this." Ja-Bo explained simply, "It has always been here. Those of us who believe in the Children of the Stars make pilgrimages to see its beauty and learn of its message. As a prophet, it is my duty to protect the sacred message."

"What message?" Sasha asked weakly, though she suspect that she would already know the answer.

"That the Children of the Stars," She pointed to the beast, "Are the Carriers of our Death." She pointed to the people within the blue light. "And that we are Renewed once more." She finally rested on the last depiction, the paradisal world.

"And you know this because it's happened before?" Sasha stated. "But the Pand- um... The Children of the Stars haven't been here before. It's impossible. How could you know this is what will happen?"

This caused Ja-Bo some confusion, she furrowed her wrinkled brow and sighed, "It is not for me to question. Merely to relay the message to all who care to listen. Though, sadly, that is but a few of us now."

"So, not everyone believes this?" Sasha asked, nodding to the drawing.

"As it always happens." Ja-Bo let out a sad, resignation. "We stopped believing in the message and lay waste to this world. Greed, selfishness, destruction. Too many souls are sent back to be one with the planet in pain and despair. Some cannot bear it and choose to perish amongst the crystals. We destroy the new life that the Renewal brings us. But," She started to grin, "That is when you come. You always come. To sweep us clean once more. Maybe next time we can save our beautiful world for a little longer? Find a way to exist peacefully so our lives are as happy as our death? A hope, I suppose."

Sasha rubbed her temples, "And you know this will happen again? You just know it?"

Ja-Bo shrugged, "I have had my moments of doubt, of course. But then, two cycles before, the skies were enlightened. I saw them, from outside my home. Beasts, much like this one, came from the stars and danced amongst the sky. They began to release their fury on the ground, in loud, booming bursts! BOOM! BOOM! They shattered the earth open. I went running to tell the others of the joyous news but they didn't believe me! The Village Master said I was a nuisance, spreading lies to hurt him. They threw me in the pits to teach me a lesson." She smiled, oddly, at this, "But from there I could feel the earth shaking. So could those within the community. More and more the planet would growl; they would get stronger and last longer!"

Vieers watched the woman recount the tale with amazement. She didn't appear to be lying at all, she was a true believer.

"It took me two cycles but finally, I was able return to this place," Ja-Bo continued and her face fell with confusion, "I could no longer see the Beasts. They were gone. Though the ground continued to quake, reminding me to stay resolute and strong. My suffering was rewarded, this very day! That's when I saw it - the true Beast from the drawing! It descended through the clouds and landed upon this world, lights shining brightly against the dark sky. I watched you, the Children, come out and explore. They headed straight for the location of the first Beasts. Yes! Of course! The Renewal must come from above and within."

"The Away Team." Sasha whispered to herself, realising the Hesian had seen them pass through. Vieers spoke up to say, "Have you seen anyone else? Did you speak to these other Children?"

"No, only you," Ja-Bo beamed.

The alien had seen the Federation ships arrive; she had seen them start to build the Pithos base. Later. she had seen the Pandora land and the Away team travel towards the facility. Through her devotion to this cave drawing, she had been in the exact right location to see all of this take place. The Prime Directive had been broken and violated. Sasha couldn't be sure how much the other aliens believed in this strange prophecy, but Ja-Bo was witness to Federation contamination of an undeveloped planet. The predicament had just become a lot worse.

Quietly, the Hesian elder moved across the room and knelt before Sasha. "And now, my Child, I am ready to receive my gift."

Sasha blinked, "What's that now?"

"I get to be the first one!" Ja-Bo declared with a smile, the biggest one she had shown so far. Her weary eyes peered into Sasha's, moistened with emotion but brimming with unrestrained joy. "My old body is about to give way, but I will go freely with you. In hope, not pain. I offer myself to you, Child, as the first to be Renewed!"

Sasha breathed out, as the dawning realisation of the suggestion hit her. "You want... me to..."

"Make me one with the planet." Ja-Bo nodded firmly, grabbing hold of Sasha's hands in her own and pulling them close to her chest in a gesture of praise and appeal.

Vieers gulped, eyes widened once more.

OFF