A Long Awaited Visit

Posted on 17 Jan 2014 @ 8:02am by Lieutenant Asahi Kita

1,122 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Starfleet Memorial Cemetery, San Francisco, California, Earth
Timeline: MD 04 - 0800 Hrs

ON

Asahi was grateful today had been kind to him. When he awoke, the sun was shining overhead, making the relatively chilly weather much more tolerable for the engineer. He could hear the birds chirping as he strolled along the sidewalk. It was the almost the perfect day for him to enjoy. If things went well, maybe he'd go to the beach later. There was certainly enough wildlife out enjoying the weather, why couldn't he?

As he passed through the silvery gates of his destination, however, an eerie silence seemed to fall. The birds were nonexistent, and Asahi was fairly certain the area was devoid of most of the area's fauna. But, that was what happened when one visited a cemetery.

He slowly passed through the gravestones of the fallen, each of them former members of Starfleet who had nowhere else to call home, or chose Starfleet over whatever situation they were in. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another visitor weeping over the grave of her lost loved one. There were flowers in her hands, blue in color. It was an odd choice, but Asahi wasn't one to judge. At least she had the foresight to bring flowers with her. All Asahi brought was an old pip.

But it was the thought that counted, as Grandma Ai pointed out. 'Your grandfather is already watching over you. He knows how hard it is to return to Earth to pay your respects.'

He had never been the spiritual sort. It was likely that whatever anyone left here that wasn't perishable would have had more value to vandals than it would have had to those it was intended for. If Asahi understood the reasoning behind bringing flowers to a grave, he would have probably brought that along instead of his meager gift. But he understood that about as much as he understood visiting a grave. Flowers withered and died, just like humans did, uselessly at that. They served as little more than fertilizer or worm food at best. In his grandfather's case, the headstone was just a headstone. His remains were in a prettied up jar sitting on the mantle of his grandmother's exceedingly odd home.

Asahi didn't want his body to go to waste like that. If he was going to die, his body was either going to be lost off in space, or it was going to serve some greater purpose. Even if it ended up converted into deuterium from some freak accident, and he ended up powering a starship in his afterlife, it was better than ending up six feet under on Earth.

He brushed his thoughts aside, as he stopped in front of a polished marble gravestone. "I'm about eight years late, aren't I? Thought I'd have a chance to say more than a quick goodbye after graduating, but... I was assigned to the Grendel the moment the CO found out who I was... Excuses, excuses, right?" Plopping down in front of the stone, he couldn't help but smile a little. "Just like me, huh? Fashionably late. I was late for your funeral too. I figured you wouldn't mind, I had just finished my application for the Academy..." There was a pause, before a he let out a low chuckle. "Look at me talking to a gravestone that's marking a spot with no one in it. I don't even know if you can hear me from here. Grandma was insistent I do this though. She said this is where your spirit is... was she always this superstitious?"

He fell silent for a long time. It had been eight years since he left Earth, and even longer since his grandfather was around. "I... guess I haven't thought about how much I missed you until now. We all do, and I know it hit Grandma hardest. She's insistent that she won't remarry. You were the only man for her... but I know she's lonely. Mom and Dad can only visit when they're in the area. She has a few friends stop by, and a lot of Academy instructors too..." A pause, then a hiccup.

"... It's just not the same without you. I didn't think I'd miss your disapproving criticisms and your angry looks. We fought so much, didn't we? I knew I would have been able to talk much when I finally got out into space, but... I would have been able to see your face at least..."

Asahi sniffed, bringing a hand up to his cheek, brushing away the tears that had fallen during his ramblings. "I've gone from the Grendel to the Fargo and had no problems though. I kept myself out of trouble; you would've been proud. Eight whole years out in space... I've learned a lot, you said I would. I'm in engineering by the way. I bet you saw that coming a mile away. All that tinkering and mischief made it easy for me to make the transition." He chuckled, shaking his head.

"... But I've been out in the Beta Quadrant with my next assignment. The Galileo. She's a science vessel, runs real smooth. She's a great ship, I'm hoping to be there awhile. The CO's pretty great too-ah... she was CO. Now she's a Commodore and she's mission advisor. I don't think she'd ever wanna leave the crew. But she's real sweet, an Orion-Didn't you tell me Orions were no good? Full of sex and commercialism... i'm not sure how that's any better than being American, but I guess you'd know more. Lihra's nice though. You wouldn't like her at all."

A sob welled up in his throat. "... I ended up transferring in the middle of one of their missions. Ran into some Borg on the way... I-I'm not sure how much I can reveal, it's all confidential. I don't want you yelling at me in spirit because I broke a code, but they promoted me to Lieutenant for helping out and I-..." He hiccuped, holding his knees close and wiping at his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. "This isn't how-how a Starfleet officer is supposed to a-act huh? I-I'm sorry, I can't help it. I might sound silly, but... you and Grandma raised me when Mom and Dad couldn't. I... took you for granted. I know I was young, but I really did. I'm so sorry. I miss you."

Asahi let the tears fall for a few minutes, hiding his sobs in his knees. As they subsided, he slowly staggered himself upright again, placing the pip on the gravestone. "I won't let you down. I'll make you proud."

OFF

Lt. Asahi Kita
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

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