"From Dead Quiet"
(previous post "Mr. Charming")
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Stardate: 60298.2345
Setting: USS ANUBIS- morgue
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Morgues were strange places for telepaths. Although they learn how to filter out and suppress the constant drone of thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations and mental images of those around them, those things are a constant in their lives. Constant except in a place like a morgue.
For a telepath, the silence of a morgue is deafening. It creates a void, a sense of emptiness and barrenness that often leave telepaths off kilter and sometimes in a state of depression. For the Enaran who was standing in the morgue at the moment, the vacuum created by the lack of mental discourse was compounded heavily by a deep sense of guilt. He had already written the letters to the families of his four fallen marines and forwarded them to Captain Simmons for his signature but he knew he needed to do this. He needed to honor their physical form one last time, to thank them for their service and their sacrifice.
The burial rituals for Enaran soldiers who die in battle are complex and elaborate. The only other culture he had encountered with such a ritual were the Klingons. Being so far away from the Delta quadrant and the dearth of Enarans in Federation space, let alone Starfleet, pretty much guaranteed that when his time came, Pravat would not be buried according to his people’s custom.
An Enaran soldier who was killed in battle was afforded the highest honors and his body would be prepared according to the ancient rite. The ritual was divided into three parts and took five days to complete. When the body was returned to the family after the battle there would be a prothesis or a laying out of the body. A venerable group called the Chevre Kadisha, which was made up of sagacious old women, would then wash, anoint and dress the body in a traditional warrior shroud. The palms of the deceased would be painted with a sacred azoic dye in which the family insignia would be fire sealed.
The body would then lay in state for 3 days at which time the Supreme Commander and the members of his command council would view the body followed by the family and the general public. On the fourth day the body would be removed and carried on the shoulders of a special military guard to the family tomb. Inside the family crypt it would be carried to a stone sepulcher by the immediate family and placed with the remains of those who had been buried earlier.
Prav knew he would not be buried in his family crypt and as much as that disturbed him, he knew that his decision to leave ENARA PRIME was the only one he could make and still live with himself. It pained him to know that he was "dead" to his family now but until the Enarans could come to terms with their past he would continue to live as a stranger apart from his people.
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Stardate: 60299.0945
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section C, Level 4, Food Court
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Luke Onison was walking out of the food court as Pravat was walking in. Not making any signs of acknowledgement as the man passed, Prav watched him closely. He didn’t like him at all although he couldn’t give you one good reason why. It was just a feeling, some vibe coming off the man that made Prav put up his guard when he was around.
Normally Prav would have stayed on ANUBIS and grabbed a bite to eat in the Marine lounge but food wasn’t his primary concern. He had made a quick inquiry with computer and found himself drawn to the food court.
A quick scan through the crowd found his target sitting with the Ops officer. He strolled over to one of the vendors and took whatever was closest and made his way over their table.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked the Science Officer.
She had seen him walk in and when he went the other direction her heart sunk momentarily but his reappearce at her table with food in hand had changed that.
"Of course," she said, without consulting the other occupant at the table.
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Matt Kelly (downwitmal@yahoo.com)
Writing for:
2nd Lt. Pravat
MCO
USS ANUBIS
2005 post #051
