"Forgotten"

[LeftEar JoNs 0]

10.13.07

USS Agincourt NCC-81762

“Forgotten”

 

Left Ear quietly finished dressing next too the bunk she had been assigned in the common barracks of the hidden Rihan base on the surface of Bajor. The clothing was secondhand, discontinued military fatigues of Terran design (probably lifted from warehouse or something), but they were warm, dry and a worthy substitute to her ripped and rumpled civilian clothing.

 

Her green eyes checked the doorway, and there was no mistaking the outline of her escort, tr’Ravellan just outside in the corridor; the feline smiled to herself. The boy was no more then fourteen seasons of age, yet worked with this Romulan resistance cell. It was a sad fact, but resistance groups typically took all the members they could get. As a junior member, he had been assigned to basically shadow her – to make sure she didn’t “wander” into a sensitive area of the hidden resistance base, but also to familiarize her with the base. Left Ear wasn’t exactly a prisoner, but she wasn’t exactly trusted either. If anything, she felt forgotten.

 

The Caitian finished dressing, and then with a sigh, walked toward the entrance way to the barracks; she needed to link up with Segami and Maturin so they could start hatching some plans. Lieutenant Commander Laarell was still detained on the Imperial star base orbiting high above Bajor, and then there was the little matter of tracing the Excalibur. No worries, snorted Left Ear to herself.

 

“Hello tr’Rav.” The smile that the cat flashed at the boy was genuine.

 

He inclined his head to her. “Miss”

 

The brown furred feline pointed a paw at him. “What did I tell you about the ‘Miss’? It makes me sound old. It’s Left Ear or MVess.”

 

“Of course…sorry. Left Ear.”

 

The feline waved it off and the two of them started to walk down the hall.

 

“…you were a pilot?” The boy asked the question with an underlying tone of hope, and it was the latest in a series of inquires he had made to the Caitian; it was obvious that he wanted to know more about the universe she had come from, so much like his own, yet very different. Left Ear always answered him, but still maintained her caution; it wouldn’t do to reveal too much concerning her own universe and such.

 

“I am a pilot, but my specialty is security.”

 

“And you have seen action?”

 

“…yes. Perhaps too much. I cut my teeth on a nice little conflict called the Dominion War. Flew quite a few combat missions, then after it was all said and done, transferred to security full time.”

 

A smile split the boy’s features. “I hope to enter battle soon, and fight the Imperials.”

 

How do you tell a kid that he’ll be fighting a losing battle? And get himself killed in the process?

 

JoNs abruptly came to a halt and gently grabbed at his arm, stopping him as well. “Listen to me. You have a girl? No? Well someday you might. And if you get yourself killed fighting the Imperial Fleet, you won’t meet her. Get out tr’Rav, otherwise, you will end up with a disruptor blast between the eyes. From what I have seen, the Imperial Fleet has a stranglehold all over the known galaxy. One resistance group won’t make much of a difference.”

 

Hot fire flashed behind the young Rhan’s eyes, and he flushed copper bronze. “You belittle our cause?”

 

Gods save me from the brainwashed”lets go get ‘em, hoo rah” training. “I would never belittle a cause. My own planet fought for causes, and my Dominion War was a cause, and it was fought with the best intentions in mind. It’s just that causes tend to get you killed, and if you follow blindly without any sense of your own creeping in, then yes, you will catch a disruptor bolt. And then, you’ll be one of the forgotten, one more downed corpse in the face of the advancing Terran agenda. You need to be practical. Always watch your own back tr’Rav…”

 

He opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it; a myriad of emotions flashed behind his eyes. Maybe someone had never been that blunt with him before?

Left Ear sighed. “Come on; don’t mind the ramblings of a displaced and cranky Starfleet officer. Let’s go get some chow. It’s going to be a long day…”