Gone But Not Forgotten

Posted on Thu Aug 23rd, 2018 @ 4:54pm by Captain Mrazak & Qurban
Edited on on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 @ 9:38am

478 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: S1E2: Half Past Dead
Location: Arboretum
Timeline: MD 1

As per tradition, Mrazak headed to the Arboretum where he would meet with Qurban, his long-time advisor and perhaps only true friend. What loomed ahead was not just another Theta alert. This was the Clock Makers. The white whale to Mrazak's Captain Ahab, to borrow a Terran myth.

"We've got them, Qurban!" Mrazak came running up the foot trail to the central fountain where Qurban was wont to sit. "It's been a year, but we've picked up their trail!"

Qurban sat in repose on a stone bench, idly tossing one pebble after another into the fountain stream. "Who?"

Mrazak skid to a halt and grinned like an eager child. "The Clock Makers! No quarantine measures. No special orders. Just a barely confirmed report."

"I see." Qurban tossed the last of his pebbles. "Forgive me if I don't recall the specific event."

"Truly, zaipossu?" Mrazak said, using the V'tosh Ka'tur term for the Q. "I was rather cross when we were ordered to stay clear of Abadar's Gate last year."

The Q Exile couldn't help but smirk at his friend's insistence. "There was a day or two in the last few years when you've been 'cross,' as you so delicately put it."

Mrazak took a seat next to Qurban. "True enough. But I have never been as happy as I am this day. At last, the one sample that got away will finally be in our grasp."

"And what will you do if you get this elusive sample?" Qurban asked.

"What do you mean, zaipossu?" Mrazak turned incredulous. "Why, we'll lock it up and poke at it, just like we do with all else."

A laugh rumbled from Qurban's gullet. "Like the Borg drones."

"Yes, precisely!" Mrazak's elated face returned. "Memory Theta wouldn't be what it is today without Janeway and Greenfelt and the other drone butlers."

Before Qurban's chuckle could fully pass, he suddenly turned very grave. "Not everything is containable, Mrazak. There are times when it is best to leave well enough alone."

"Did you recall something just now?" Mrazak asked, full of hope.

"No," Qurban said with a shake of his head. "Some things are better left forgotten anyhow."

Mrazak patted his friend and mentor on the knee. "I honor your wisdom, Qurban, but that is not how this works. Even when some things are gone, they are never forgotten. That is our mission, our purpose--"

As Mrazak began to say the words, Qurban joined in with him: "We Will Remember."

"Yes, yes, I know." Qurban looked away in morose thoughtfulness. "I just fear this will be another memento mori."

One moment passed in silence, then another. Qurban had spoken the truth, and it was a possibility that Mrazak could not deny. Yet such was life. The mission demanded nothing else. "Then we will remember that, too."

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