In Memoriam (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 11 Jun 2013 @ 12:26am by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas & Lieutenant JG Jacrux & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov & Commander Scarlet Blake & Verity Thorne & Lieutenant JG Victoria Crawley & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk & Marine Captain Ray Fernandez (Ret.) & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont & Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant Dawn Meridian & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Amril & Ensign Varek & Petty Officer 1st Class James Watt & Ensign Marjorie Horne & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton

2,871 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Port Torpedo Launcher
Timeline: MD 08 - 1910 hrs

Previously, on In Memoriam (Part 1)...

Jacob moved to a nearby window. He quietly sang a tune in honor of Lt. Stone:

"Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the sky on laughter silvered wings
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things
I've wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence
Hovering there I've chased the shouting winds aloft
And flung my eager craft through footless halls of air

The higher we fly, the farther we go
The closer we are to each other
The darker the night, the brighter the star
In peace go my sisters and brothers

Up, up, the long delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor even eagle flew
And while with silent lifting mind I trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space
Put out my hand and touched the face of God

The higher we fly, the farther we go
The closer we are to each other
The darker the night, the brighter the star
In peace go my sisters and brothers.."

(OOC: http://youtu.be/rF6Tte1VDPg)

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

People began to leave the room, Mor'an with them. She was not saddened by what happened, as some of the others seemed to be. Should she be as sad as them? She didn't think so. She hardly knew the deceased men and, while the loss of a fellow crew member was a sad event, she seemed to be emotionally neutral. Leaving the room, she meandered down the hall in thought.

Dawn followed soon after, wondering to herself. The funeral made her sad, and not just for Stone. He was gone now, and so was his body. And the only thing he'd really cared about had gone with him. There was something poetic about it. Was that happy or sad? There was a word for that... Bittersweet, she thought, and disappeared down the hall.

As many of the officers and crew left the memorial, Rhodes remained; still standing at parade rest. He contemplated the man and his insane perspective on Starfleet guidelines and his disruption to the ship while on board. Theron was glad that he was no longer on the ship, but was saddened, by the loss of Stone's individuality. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

The audience filtered out, some slowly, others with surprising swiftness. Jac approached one man in Security colors who stayed behind, looking saddened but well-controlled.

"Nice speech," Jac said by way of greeting, "Nice song, too." He nodded at the large man who had sung the haunting words. "I'm a new assignment here; can you fill me in on why half the crowd looked like they were chewing on hlai dung during the Commander's speech?"

Rhodes barely moved his head and glanced out of the corner of his eye at the one who addressed him, but did not respond right away. It seemed rather brazen for new crewman to ask such a question at a memorial service. Theron got a better look. He appeared to be Vulcan, but did not speak like one. He refocused his mind, going over the list of new crewmembers that had recently come aboard. "Ensign Jacrux I assume. Forgive me for not answering your question, but this may not be the best time to answer that question." The Tandaran took a deep breath and cleared his mind. "Maybe over a drink instead."

That the other man knew his name surprised Jac, as he'd only arrived on board that morning. He supposed Security had more impetus to proactively read the files of every new crew member. He inclined his head and gave an open and entirely unapologetic smile. "Of course. You'll have to give me directions to a more fitting venue," Jac told the Lieutenant.

Theron about the room at those still talking in small groups and looked back at the part Romulan, "Actually, I have to go back on duty until end of Beta shift. If you would care to join me later we can talk about it." Then crossing his arms across his chest he asked, "I also have some questions about your background as well. If I may."

The Ensign had expected that request, though maybe not so soon. "Again, tell me the place and I will meet you there," Jac inclined his head, "Although, I may be disinclined to answer the questions. Unless it an official inquiry?"

Rhodes tried to smile to take some pressure off the Ensign, "No. Not official. Could we meet in the Officer's Mess at 0030? I realize that it is late, but I usual get a bite to eat after my shift."

Jac nodded, "I worked Beta on my last assignment. 0030 will do nicely." He glanced around the room and saw most people had returned to their work. "I'll leave you to get back to your shift," he said by way of departure, and stepped towards the door.

Cyrus returned to his spot on the wall and looked out into the empty space. He couldn't help but smile at Maenad, though there was anything but laughter in his eyes as he realized she was trying to leave. Heartless to the core was all he could think. He snorted in disgust, but could he blame her? Jeremy had been anything but a model Starfleet Officer.

No Kiwosk decided. He couldn't fault her or any of them for feeling the way they did. in a way, Cyrus felt that he might have been the only one that Stone had opened to, even if it had been only slightly.

"You all right, Cy?" Watt asked, walking up beside Cyrus.

"You don't even know, James." Cyrus casually glanced over his roomate and close friend before going back to his favored window in the room. "Stone was a hardass, a jerk and many other less than polite terms of various languages that could get me court-marshaled." He heaved a large sigh, not taking his eyes off the window. "But his heart was in the right place. He never went about it the easy, but something tells me he just didn't know how." He looked back to Watt. "What frustrates me about all of this James is that no one seems to give a damn about what good he had done while he was there. He saved Kiri's life... hell he distracted the whatever it was that ripped him to pieces and gave the rest of the people a chance to run.

"And all these people can do is stand around and think about everything he did to inconvenience them..." He spat vehemently. "All they can do is think about everything he did wrong...because apparently being tortured and watching your comrades die shouldn't break you." He snorted in disgust for the second time that afternoon. "Should he have been back in service, no...not by a long shot...should people have put up with his crap ...again no, but should they disrespect him so by reminding themselves about everything they hate about the man? Has anyone thought about how whatever family he has back home must be feeling now that their son or nephew or grandson is dead?" He shook his head and chuckled, but the sound was hollow and not at all like the full bodied laughs that Cyrus casually brought forth. "No. All they can think about is themselves." He stated.

Jacob turned his head to the conversation he was hearing between Mr. Watt and Mr. Kiwosk and interjected, "Mr. Stone, no matter how tortured, he was a good man who helped me through a difficult situation. I am thinking deeply about his family and others who he affected in his life.... not all of us are selfish." His voice was very deep, low and somber. He raised his open hand to his temple in the ancient form of salute that was once used in the military. He then turned perfectly on his heal and strode towards the door with all the respect due a somber occasion like this.

He simply nodded to Pendleton, but didn't dare allow himself to speak. It was good that some people understood that the Lieutenant wasn't a terrible man.

"The ceremony was brief," Watt replied thoughtfully, watching as Jacob left. "But as the Lieutenant said, those people voicing the majority of the opinions is not everyone. He was only aboard the Galileo a short while. We can't mourn for everyone to the same degree, we'd go mad if we tried, and maybe if he had been around longer and people got to know him his death would seem more appropriately somber. I can't speak for the others, but I, for one, feel as I would feel anytime a comrade falls." He gave Cy a firm grip on the shoulder, "Pay your respects as best you can and that's enough, you can't control what others do. I'll be satisfied if only one good person mourns for me."

" I'm not asking them to mourn James. I'm not asking them to like him, they can feel however they want about the guy. I personally wanted to throw him out an airlock at every opportunity. " He sighed. "But you don't just walk out...you don't just decide that you don't want to be here. A crewmember died. You pay your dues." He glared hard. "Because you don't know when you're going to be up there, in that launch tube. And how beautiful a scene would that be if someone just looked and shrugged their shoulder and left. The man may have been an idiot, but he was a crewmember and more...he's dead. You respect the dead, whether you want to or not." He leaned back to stare at the window. "I'm sorry James, but the entire thing, barring a couple people make this funeral a joke... and that disappoints me." There he said it.

He looked back over and smiled slightly. "I'm just glad XO made a good speech. It was what this needed to be acceptable."

Watt lifted his hand from the other man's shoulder. "You still can't control what other people do," he reiterated, "The XOs speech was good, and we've payed our respects. That's what matters." He turned to walk away.

He knew that James hadn't deserved his ire, none of them did. In fact, most of his rage wasn't even for the people in the room, but he didn't want to admit that his own nightmares were starting to creep up around him. He felt suddenly very alone, and Stone's death was something that he hadn't been ready to face. Staring back out the window, he didn't say anything else as James walked away. He wasn't ready to say anything else. It would have been too painful to say anything else. He held his rage, because if he didn't he was sure he would have shed tears over his own insecurities and fears brought on by the dead former Security chief.

Liyar walked over to Cyrus and stood beside him. Dressed in his V'Shar ceremonial uniform, he stuck out in the crowd, but managed to look more solemn than usual. The Vulcan clothing had a habit of that. He didn't say anything, merely lent his presence, a solid support. When Cyrus turned to look at him, he blinked and gave a nod.

"Hey Liyar." Cyrus replied glumly. "Surprised to see you still here. I would have thought you and Lieutenant Panne would have left together."

"Indeed. I find the custom of a funeral to be somewhat unorthodox, but I can understand its necessity amongst psi-null species. You do not appear well," the Vulcan stated bluntly.

( * * * * * * * )

The ceremony had been stirring to say the least and Jared had to admit
he had been moved. He left the hanger deck in a very somber mood.

Keval, who had, had a slightly more favorable experience with Stone was even more moved. For some reason he even shed a tear or two. If Stone had lived he would have had an opportunity to deal with his demons and get on with his life.

It was indeed a very sad day.

Lamar worked his way through the crowd of personnel, watching while some stayed to chat while others made a swift beeline for the exit. There was a strange aura of mixed feelings present in the room which the warrant officer found weird. He had not been too familiar with Lieutenant Stone and his MWD, but had heard enough rumors floating around the ship to be able to portray a mental picture of sorts for the man. Even still, despite what type of personality the lieutenant had had, he was a member of the service - and that meant he had earned the right for a proper Starfleet ceremony, especially after giving his life to protect others around him.

Ray looked around the room and decided that he would make his way to the XO. "Commander Holiday, I must say your ship did this funeral justice." He extended his hand and drummed his free hand on the head of his cane. "It's rare to see a launch. I'm glad you were able to recover the two bodies." He made sure to avoid the fact that one such body was, in fact, a dog.

Taking the hand of the retired member of Galileo's current complement, John nodded in agreement. Being able to recover the remains of a fallen comrade was one of the final acts that one crew member could do for another. Every officer was entitled to a final send off.

"Thank you Captain. I only wish I had been able to do more to avoid this happening in the first place."

"Should have, could have, would have, Commander. " Ray said simply. "It's a dangerous game to play, but we all have at some point. " He looked at the rest of the individuals still around the area. "He wasn't well liked. " Ray said bluntly. "But you tried...hard." Ray stated, equally blunt as his first sentence. " I doubt that anyone could have tried harder to prevent what happened than what you, you personally, had already done for the man." He paused. "I would like to think that his selfless act was a moment of clarity in the man's troubled mind. Something that made it all worth while. And I'd like to think that it was your hand that helped him reach it." He poked the Commander softly with his index finger.

John smiled slightly for just a moment. Stone would most likely hold the record in his mind for the hardest officer to have served with, but he was also one of the most diligent. Nevertheless, life aboard ship had to continue, even if they were now less numerous than before.

"Kind words indeed Sir...thank you. If you don't mind I'm due back on the Bridge - double shifts in Captain Saalm's absence I'm afraid."

"Understood, Commander. Let me know if an old veteran can be of assistance, no? " He gave the XO a stiff pat on the shoulder and decided not to keep the busy man from his duties.

"Of course Sir. Nice to have spoken with you." John replied with a nod, before turning on his heels and making his way towards the exit. Whilst normally he would have loved to have stayed and spoken more with a veteran of the service, time, his eternal mistress, simply would not allow it.

With one last smile on his face, the XO disappeared from view. One thought stayed in his mind - the once-loathed security chief of the Galileo, had begun his eternal vigil amongst the stars.

[OFF]

--

CMDR Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. (JG) Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Jared Nicholas
Language Specialist
USS Galileo

PO 1 Keval Greyson
Operations
USS Galileo

Ensign Jacrux
Anthropologist
USS Galileo

Lt. JG Scarlet Blake
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

PO2 Verity Thorne
Chaplain
USS Galileo

Lt. (JG) Theron Rhodes
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. JG Victoria Crawley
Psychologist
USS Galileo

CWO Kiwosk
Security/ Tactical Officer
TRT Squad Leader
USS Galileo

Marine Captain Ray Fernandez
TRT Instructor
Starfleet Academy, Earth

Cadet Senior Grade Im'er Mor'an
Red Squad Intern
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Andreus Kohl
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Staff Warrant Officer Amon Mormont
Security/Tactical
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Dawn Meridian
Counsellor
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Delainey Carlisle, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Chuef Counselor/Doctor
USS Galileo

WO Lamar Darius
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
NPC'd by Lirha Saalm

Lieutenant Amril
Chief Operations Officer
USS Gaileo
played by Psylus Anon

Ensign Varek
Medical Officer
USS Gaileo
played by Psylus Anon

PO3 James "Striker" Watt
Engineering Officer
USS Gaileo
played by Psylus Anon

Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Diplomatic Officer, VDF/SDD
USS Galileo

Ensign Marjorie Horne
Assistant Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

 

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