Bajoran Militia Interview: Prelude to the Kendra Valley Massacre (Part II)

Posted on 26 Mar 2015 @ 1:14am by Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D.

1,397 words; about a 7 minute read

Location: Starfleet Academy, Security Interview Room Twelve
Interviewer: Colonel Hurnal Rellon, Department of Military Archives (Bajoran Militia)
Date: September 23nd, 2378
Time: 1300 Hours

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It was day two of the interviews. Cadet Benice prayed to the Prophets that this whole ordeal would not last too long. She had a restless night, no thanks to repressed memories she forced herself to forget long ago. Memories of her family and friends being blown to bits.

So there she was, in front of the interviewer, Colonel Hurnal of the Bajoran Militia. Exhausted from a very tough PT period on the cadet training grounds, Gyce truly did not want to sit in the sparse interview room for too long. A nice, cold bath to sooth her muscles and nerves would do very well.

"I'm told that Starfleet Security training in the Academy is considered very grueling," the older, plump Bajoran male began. "I read your file some. Three attempts it took, and then an appeal to prove you could handle their physical expectations."

"I detect a But there," Gyce pointed out as the detective in her kicked in. And casually went to filling herself a glass of cool water from the pitcher between them.

"But..." he smiled with a small chuckle. "Your focus would rarely allow you to see frontline duty, given your injury."

"With all due respect Sir?" Gyce answered with a very calm, level tone. "I know my posting opportunities will be limited and I am more than fine with being a non-combat Security personnel."

"You have a Bachelors in Federation Law and Enforcement with a Masters in Criminal Psychology, which led into obtaining a Doctorate of Criminology," Hurnal read off from Gyce's Pre Academy education file. "From those credentials alone, you could succeed as a Terrorism Threat Analyst, a Federal Criminal Psychologist, or even as a legal advocate for the criminally insane."

"And you're wondering why someone with my credentials is in Starfleet Academy, studying to be a detective?" Gyce finished his train of thought for him. And doubled up by answering said assumption. "I'm here because what I wanted, after the Occupation was to keep defending my home, Colonel. But the Bajoran government did not want me as an analyst because of my age, nor did they want me as a non-combat officer because of my leg. So I defend the best way I can."

"And what way is that?" Hurnal prodded as he took a sip of water from his glass.

"Using my brain. I will never be assigned a combat position, which means I can never truly defend the government from outside threats," Gyce answered with a hint of bitterness. "The closest to a true front line assignment I'll ever get, is by taking the jobs that protect from within. Finding the terrorists and preventing attacks. Dealing with Post-War PTSD veterans with very dangerous chips on their shoulders. Dealing with crimes that have risen within our ranks because of how ugly and terrifying the Dominion War was to Starfleet personnel."

"Wow...." Hurnal's facial expression was very transparent in that he had not expected that answer. "I had not realized the Federation reached such a depolarization in their civilization."

"They haven't," Gyce quickly corrected. "It is a very small population. Wars bring both the good and bad out of people. And with the martial law incident here, the constant paranoia of changlings throughout the quadrant, and the harsh combat conditions many of our finest broke from? We should not be blind to the fact that some people in the Federation are not coping well. And the even smaller numbers within that population, that choose to take it out on us? Those are the ones I wish to either help or lockup."

"It is an admirable goal, but a slippery slope," Hurnal noted with an impressed whistle. "Detectives constantly live with skepticism. Not knowing when to turn it off can cost a lot on a personal front."

"Your concern is noted, Sir." Gyce took a sip of her water and willed herself not to take his bait.

"I think this would be a good time to transition over to the main topic, yes?" He began.

Every fiber in Gyce's being told her not to agree, but she knew she had to follow through. The more she resisted, the longer he stayed. So she inwardly sighed and nodded.

"You last asked about the demolitions raid, prior to the massacre." It took all of Gyce's strength to look at him with hardly any emotion on the subject.

"I did. And looking at what all your cell took, it did raise the question to why you didn't bring the weapons and explosive back to the village," Hurnal asked as he brought his PADD back out and began to type fast.

"Common since," Gyce answered just as quickly. "You don't bring weapons into a place where inspections are so random, you can never guarantee the safety of the innocents. So we stashed everything in very hard-to-reach places, then headed back to the village."

"A very noble act," Hurnal noted. He was very impressed, indeed. "So where were you when the massacre happened?"

"I had accidently carried a primer in my pack. And I caught it in time to attempt a doubleback. It was not a very thrilling trek back to one of our stash sites," Gyce spoke very humbly, but her eyes watered with the memories surfacing. "I had picked berries beforehand... So I had an alibi if I was stopped, on my way back."

"Were you stopped but any enemy patrols?"

"Yes. But not for being searched as a suspect." Gyce swallowed hard, and her eyes seemed hallow at the memory. "A patrol of seasoned Cardassian military grunts were stationed at the entrances of the village. And anyone inside, at that time were..."

"I know this hard, Cadet Benice." Hurnal prodded the water glass for her to drink. "But it is important that we learn what happened. So other generations can understand why things like this happened."

It must of taken Gyce about five minutes to recompose herself before she noted quietly, "It was mostly a surgical strike. They had fire teams, tagging and killing cell members that came in to the village together. Unarmed, unaware. The disruptor blasts to the heads were not easy to watch. Heartbreaking, as my family were part of the number that died."

"Were there any prisoners taken? Any cell members' bodies unrecovered?"

That question was so out there that Gyce forgot about her grief momentarily.

"There were no prisoners," Gyce answered after a long time to think about the scene in question. "So far as I know, all cell members that died were buried, Sir."

"Were there any pleas of surrender?" Hurnal asked without looking up from his PADD.

"No. We all knew the risks going in. We die willingly to protect the cause," Gyce replied.

"I believe that is all for now," Hurnal nodded sympathetically to Gyce. "If it weren't for the movement, we'd never be free. For that, the Provisional Government is in your debt."

That comment almost made Gyce sick. Why did idiotic command level officers field such retarded praises? But she was smart enough and disciplined enough not to be baited. She simply nodded in respect to her superior.

"I will look over the notes I took, for the next few months. I may call you a half-dozen times to ask something I might have forgotten to ask here," the colonel concluded. "I do thank you once more for meeting. It can't have been easy for you, to relive such travesty. But you should take comfort in knowing that your efforts paved the way to a free Bajor."

"I shall," Gyce smiled. It was natural. Well-practiced to be that way. If he was not a colonel, she might of ripped him a new one for his unwanted platitudes.

She was not a hero. She was not a saint. She was a survivor of a horrific series of deaths. And the only conclusion that Gyce had about the events that led to the massacre, were that they were too convenient. Benice did not give a kosst about the eventual findings.

The one thought that ran through her mind throughout the rest of the day, was, We were betrayed.

 

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