Rin's First - 21104.01

By Azernal Rin

Rin walked through the doors of the bar and found an open seat a table with some familiar faces. He was sitting with some of his best friends from the Dragon, and they were exchanging stories over some mugs of ale. There was already a drink waiting for him and Rin took a sip. The smell was strong and herby, but the taste hit him like a ton of bricks with a burnt coffee flavor. It burned down his throat, and he could feel it sitting in his stomach. He coughed slightly, and got a round of laughter at his discomfort.

As his old Captain finished up his tale, Rin spoke up. “Well, my first mission wasn’t quite so smooth…”

I lay on my bunk, my leg hanging off the side. The sound of my boot repeatedly hitting the metal bed frame echoed through the room, filling the small space with a consistent rhythm. My mind was far away from this austere environment…I was replaying the fateful day that lead me to where I was now.

Flashback

I had been an oblivious child…I can see that now. Since the day I was born my parents fought. They had some of the loudest, angriest fights I have ever seen, but they clearly loved each other and loved me. They never got nasty or mean with each other, and after minutes after fighting they could be found curled up on the couch cuddling. Both my parents loved their battles, so I never really took them seriously. I couldn’t see the cracks that were forming between my parents, and they were unaware of the struggles I was having fitting in. Their community…the community that was so important to my mother…the community she raised me to respect and love…was shunning their family.

I walked into the house returning from yet another study session in my favorite garden. I loved sitting surrounded by nature while filling my head with the amazing art that wasn’t taught on Zakdorn. My peaceful day was shattered by the shouting I heard from the kitchen. This wasn’t new, the difference was that this time my mother was crying, and my father was shaking…though I couldn’t tell if it was with rage or despair. They flung hurtful words at each other, tearing apart their respective cultures.

“Well, maybe if your precious Bajoran people could see past their nose ridges they wouldn’t judge us so harshly!” Mial accused, pointing his pudgy finger at Dahn almost accusingly.

“They wouldn’t have anything to judge if your people had any manners at all! Turns out, you aren’t the best at everything and what you are good at you don’t need to constantly yammer on about!” Dahn responded, through her tears.

“This relationship was a mistake. This marriage was a mistake. Our whole life has been a mistake!” my father bellowed, and my mother simply cried harder.

“Then maybe we should get a divorce, would that make you happy Mr. Perfect?” Dahn managed to spit out.

The shock that had held me glued to the floor up to that point during the fight now seemed to propel me into motion. I burst through the swinging door into our modest kitchen. Reaching up, I ripped my family earring off my ear feeling the accompanying burn as it slightly cut my skin.

“If this family is falling apart, I certainly won’t stay here. I have hated it ever since we came back. I won’t be a part of this charade we call a happy family any longer!” With those words, I tossed the cherished earring on the table and turned on my heel, storming out with only the clothes on my back.

I couldn’t calm my frantic mind…I didn’t know what to do…or where to go. I had been unable to make friends on Bajor since we had returned from Zakdorn the previous year. I was certain that any acquaintance I approached for assistance would simply ridicule us for our failed family…they would find joy out of pointing out that the family that appeared so rude and above all others would have fallen so far. I wandered the streets aimlessly for hours before stopping in front of a large window that proclaimed “Bajoran Special Forces Recruitment Office”. I went inside.

End Flashback

My watch chirped twice and I sat up quickly in my bed. This was it. I had put in my time and paid my dues in the City Watch Division, patrolling the streets and ensuring my people stayed safe. My keen eye and attention to detail had finally earned me a real job. I had been recently promoted to First Lieutenant and I was eager to prove myself. I didn’t know what my assignment was, but the briefing was down the hall in exactly 15 minutes. Jumping off my bunk, I double checked my uniform before putting on my hat and walking confidently through the doors. I arrived in a room that was dominated by a large, oval table. Around the table sat nine chairs. Five of those already filled, and I took the sixth. I nodded to the only person I recognized, Lakahn, my unit commander. A few minutes later the remaining three chairs were filled and the man sitting at the front of the table began to speak.

“I’m General Kelan, and this is our assignment.” Until now, I hadn’t noticed the screen that took up the wall directly across from Kelan. Now, it flickered to life showing the face of the well known Vedek Nila.

Clicking a button, the picture minimized to only taking up a small portion of the upper right hand of the screen, and instead a map appeared with a large area covered in red. “The people living in these cities follow Vedek Nila and her somewhat unorthodox ways. She is a follower of Akorem Laan and is trying to raise support to bring back the D’jarras caste system.”

Another click and the map swept to the upper left hand corner while the screen filled up with an image of a smiling family. The smiling faces of Vedek Nila, her husband Robar, and her daughter Temara were shining out of the picture. I felt like Temara’s eyes were staring right at me, the vibrant green color seeming to jump out of the picture. She was a strikingly beautiful young woman. “Temara is coming here for a visit. The family has received threats that she may be ‘made to pay’ for the Vedek’s wild beliefs.”

Setting down the controller, the eyes of the room refocused to the General. “That’s where you all come in. You are her protective detail. Lakahn will be coordinating everything from here. You six will be on constant alert, three at a time, at all hours of the day and night” the General explained, pointing at everyone except me.

“And you, young man, will be her personal escort. You will have no time off during her two days here. You will accompany her every move. If she sneezes, you will be there ready with a tissue. Let’s get into details…”

The briefing continued on for several more hours before they we dismissed. I accompanied my new team mates to the gym where we engaged in combat drills with each other to learn our strengths and weaknesses. Temara was due in town in less than a week, and we had a lot of preparing to do. It was seven days later that I stood outside one of the more upscale coffee shops in the city. Inside sat Vedek Nila and her 18 year old daughter Temara. Just three months younger than me, she was as beautiful a woman in person as in pictures. We spent the day before touring some of the wonderful art museums my city had to offer. The two came out of the café, hugged, and then parted ways. Temera walked over to me, a smile on her face as she tossed me a chocolate cookie.

“I know your sweet tooth can’t resist.” She said, a grin lighting her features.

“Thank you!” I said, with a similar grin, before I took a huge bite from the still warm cookie. “Oh gosh this is delicious!” I moaned, my empty hand coming up to catch the crumbs as they fell.

I chewed my cookie while listening to her talk about the visit with her mom. As it turned out, Temara and Nila’s relationship was strained. The older and wiser Temara got, the less she supported her mom’s desires to return to the caste system of ol’.

“But, enough about the same old argument. Let’s do something fun!” she exclaimed, turning to me on the sidewalk and jumping in place a few times. Her energy was one of the first things I noticed about her when we met. That and the long, smooth bright red hair that was somewhat uncommon for my people.

I had just swallowed the last bit of my cookie when my eye caught something interesting across the street. Over her should, slightly forward from where we were standing, Mikos, one of the guards was in some kind of argument with a shopkeeper. Turning my head, I looked directly across the street for the second guard, only to find him helping some lady up off the ground after a collision. Groceries were strewn all over the ground. Turning slightly on my heel, I looked backward and found the third guard. This one was yelling at a group of street thugs who were taunting him.

“What is…” I muttered aloud, as I began to turn my body back toward Temara. It was too late however, as I felt my body impacted. Already off balance from my slight angle, I took the full force of a human body and flew off my legs, slamming into the ground with force. I heard the sickening sound of my head bounce off the pavement. Temara screamed with fear as she watched her friend upended onto the ground. I felt something pierce my side and a searing pain traveled through my body.

My assailant raised his arm for a second strike and I could clearly make out the knife now, gleaming with my blood. As the arm descended, I reacted on instinct, deflecting the knife with my arm. My other hand grabbed the wrist that held the knife, quickly and efficiently breaking it. The deadly object fell onto my chest, where I grabbed it with my right hand and quickly swiped it across my assailant’s neck.

Time seemed to stand still as I felt the edge of the blade catch on the skin. With just a little bit of effort, the skin broke, and smoothly the knife cut through the muscle and blood vessels. The man raised his unbroken hand, grasping at the gaping hole. Blood spurted out between his fingers in time with his heart, my face and chest getting covered in the fine mist. It was the first time I had ever killed someone.

Time returned to its normal pace as the sound of Temara’s screams reached my ears. Leaping to my feet, my eyes darted across the road where my three colleagues were starting to realize something was wrong. Turning, I searched the crowded sidewalk for any sign of my charge. Somewhere up ahead, I caught sight of the sunlight reflecting off the deep red I had come to recognize.

I dashed through the crowd, rudely pushing people aside and leaving bloody handprints on their clothes. I figured I must look like something out of a horror film with the sheen of blood covering me. In no time at all I had caught up with the man who was holding Temara. I slowed down, trying to approach with stealth and catch the man off guard. My hopes were dashed at the shrieks of those around me, taking in my appearance and recoiling from me. The man looked over his shoulder, made eye contact and then offered an evil grin. He turned to face me, and it was then I could see the large knife the man held to her throat. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her eyes were filled with terror.

“Let her go.” I ordered, my voice taking on a commanding tone I didn’t even know I possessed. “Or you’ll end up like your friend back there.” I allowed my face to take on the smugness I knew was natural for my Zakdorn upbringing. The smile that snaked across my features might not have been considered evil or scary under normal circumstances, but with my face covered in blood and a dirty knife in my hand, it was quite the sight. Of course, it didn’t help that I flicked his tongue out, licking some of the blood from my lips and making quite a show of enjoying the kill.

“No, I’m going to cut her throat! That Vedek thinks she can just waltz in and make us servants again! My parents fought too hard to give me freedom to watch it taken away. I am going to make that bitch feel the pain she wants to inflict on us!” the man ranted, a crazy look coming over his eyes. The man’s wrist twitched, almost nicking Temara, and I knew my time was up.

“Well, I don’t really care, honestly. I just had to put up a show of fighting you…for my job and all. She’s been quite annoying really. Do you think I became a soldier to baby sit? Thanks for the cookie darlin’, but I got better things to do.” I shrugged, seeming to turn on my heel. The crazy man didn’t quite know what to do, and his hesitation was just the opening I needed.

As the man tilted his head to follow my movement, his arm loosened and the knife fell slightly from the throat of Temara to just above her cleavage. Raising my arm, I flicked my wrist and the knife I held in my hand flew across the short distance. It cleanly entered the man’s forehead. He stumbled back from the force of the impact, but remained standing and almost seemed bewildered before he finally fell over backward…dead…another life taken by my hand.

I ran the last few steps to Temara, where I gathered her in my arms and hid her head in my shoulder. My eyes looked up as I finally heard footsteps rushing toward me, and I glared at the three guards who had just now shown up.

“…and that’s the story of how I lost my virginity…wait, I mean my first mission!” he finished up, the sound of his colleagues laughter echoing around him.