Never Forget

Posted on 01/28/2020 @ 4:54pm by Captain Cian D'Anvers
Edited on on 02/25/2020 @ 5:21pm

Mission: Sum of our Experiences
Location: Fields Outside of Krystalaj Akvoj, Invernia II
Timeline: Day 1 at 0000

Sidonie was only just beginning to understand the importance that this particular day held for her people. She knew that it was the day of remembrance, filled with stories and personal recollections, commemorating the day when the Invernian people first learned that they were not alone in the universe. Remembrance day was the day when classes were set aside and everyone came together in the field beyond the settlement. They would in groups and ragged rows, surrounding by trees and banks of flowers, to sing the chant and hear again the stories.

She wore ivory, a simple pair of pants with a long-sleeved top, as did everyone else in her community because color quite properly came from the heart, not one's wardrobe. Her aunt, who designed and made clothes, had taught her this. One's outfits were subtle, a backdrop to the display of emotions that lived on the skin.

At ksenit, an inaccurate term but still widely used, Andryn rose from where he knelt with the monks and made his slow, ponderous way to the front of the group; only then, as he turned to face the crowd, did he shrug off his robe. The gesture was dramatic and appreciated by his followers. He stood, barefoot, in a sleeveless, knee-length tunic over long pants, his skin glowing in entwined patches of browns and blacks.

From where she sat, among her classmates, Sidonie could see the nods of approval, a wave of heads bobbing up and down, in response to the honesty of his emotions. Andryn still grieved for those who had been lost to the Cardassians and he wasn't alone in his sadness.

"It has been fifty five years, "he said, "since first contact but Invernian memory is long."

Someone in the front row, certainly not an elder, said, "and twenty years since second contact."

Andryn, who had sworn to serve the maker of all things after the death of his only child during first contact, frowned. Sighs rippled through the crowd as pinks and a muddied yellow threaded through the blacks and browns of his unending grief. "We honor our dead," he said. "We must not forget."

The same individual, whose skin gave off a lovely combination of orange and red, shook his head. "There is more to life than grief, Andryn." The tone of his voice was gentle, softened by the compassion they all felt, though his words were rightfully honest. "I do not say forget. I do say give the Federation a chance."

Andryn drew his dignity up around him and to Sidonie, whose hair seemed to shine in pink and gold, it seemed as though his grief was armor against hope. She herself had heard the most fascinating stories about the Federation and its many worlds.

"There are other days for such talk, Tal Lucien. This is a day for remembering" Andryn admonished as he raised his arms outward, palms up, "let us rise and begin the chant."

The crowd rose, in a rustle of ivory material, and Sidonie rose with them. Her bare feet curling into the grass, waist-length hair glowing in pinks and golds as were most of her classmates, she knew the chant by heart. They all did. ot everyone believed but, as she had overheard her parents say one night, on certain days, everyone was devout. Being only ten, she could perhaps be forgiven for reciting the words and skimming over the deeper meanings; being only ten, she had not yet learned the depths of loss.

"Maker of all," she said, "hear our cries ..."

OFF:

Cmdr. Sidonie Ysayne
Commanding Officer
USS Crazy Horse

Definitions:
Ksenit - zenith