Breakfast Alone

Posted on 06/04/2020 @ 11:37am by Captain Cian D'Anvers
Edited on on 06/04/2020 @ 11:41am

Mission: S1E3: Visit to Starbase 375
Location: Captain's Mess
Timeline: Day 2 at 0615

There were reports and communiques to read; a schedule to organize. Problems to resolve. He knew this and yet, the only thing on his mind was the sight of his wife disappearing into a transporter beam. Headed into danger. Heading to a place where he wasn't going to be there to offer protection. He didn't know how she managed.

For the first time in his life, 874 Cian was not standing at stiff attention in the presence of his betters. For the first time in his life, his parents weren't nervously watching his every move. No one was. They stood together in familial groups, adults clinging to each other, many sobbing softly, while the younger children unaware of what was happening, ran among the buildings.

At eight years old, he was long past childhood. His arm ached from the recent adjustments to his brand; it now read 'abandoned property'. A summation of worth. Of no worth, he supposed. Some of the older serfs had brands four times the size of his. Years of markings and notations carried inscribed on their bodies.

Last night, he caught his father in the bathroom and saw that his brand carried the same markings and felt a new knot of pain form inside him, different than the gnawing hunger that was his constant companion.

He sat on a rock and watched. Listened. The nobility were gone. None left on the entire planet, some said. And today, the last of the free were embarking on the great ship that would take them far away. He wanted to be happy about not having to fetch and carry and serve, every waking hour of the day. But he wasn't. Couldn't.

The adults, who understood much, much more than him were terrified. The ships had taken away the last of the planet's vast stores. For the first time in memory, the fields were barren. The warehouses emptied. The shops vacant. He thought about how they could work for themselves. Do all the same things they'd always done just for themselves now which just went to show just how much an eight year old didn't know.

The memories lost their grip on his mind and Cian returned to himself. He wasn't good at being left behind and this, apparently, was something he would need to learn. He crossed to the replicator and ordered himself a cup of coffee.

Time to get back to work.

The first item did nothing to improve his mood. Starfleet, in their questionable wisdom, had sought to rob the ship of its first officer. He was assured that a replacement was en route and was thanked for his cooperation.

"Not," Cian grumbled in the direction of the missive, "that you gave me any gorram choice."

The second item was marginally better. Miss Emma had been replaced by one Jennifer de Vega, wife of his new Chief Intelligence Officer. He sent a meeting request to her office and noted that her husband, the Lieutenant, would be reporting in this morning.

The Third item was the transfer of a new counselor, Remigius Fawkes. He settled down to the business of reviewing the file and found in doing so, a sort of comfort.

A post by:

Commander Cian D'Anvers
Commanding Officer
USS Crazy Horse