Fight Forever in Fautless Skies (ST:Remenant)

[Kensai]

A brave soldier in a doomed world
By Charlie Azumi

[Kensai]

Fighting on a losing side is never fun, but what can you do when you believe that it will be a better day. That somehow tomorrow your side will win. I don’t look for fights and conflict with other intentionally, but always seems like other want to stick their nose into my business. So we, as Maquis, take a risk whenever we step into the fray – a price to pay for fighting for something.

When I entered that bar, I kept my eyes focused forward, others tended to get curious when you make eye contact with them. The new ship I was serving on was a lug, but the luxury of new ships was something to be dreamt of. I had a new ship, a new chance to survive. I had said goodbye to my ship the Reprisal, shared a brief moment of sadness for its passing before moving on. One cannot spend a lifetime grieving over what is already lost.

I purposefully avoided the main crowd, but they somehow find me. The damn Starfleet, like that commander, has to sit down next to me and order a drink. The whisky the barkeep gave me was not regulation synthonol, and began to cloud my thoughts – not that it mattered. That damn, smug Starfleet, so comfortable in his seat and uniform – I couldn’t resist making a comment. Achohol doesn’t help when you want to not let your emotion take the better of you, but I still managed to slam the glass down.

That old, decaying hatred started to rise inside me. Why were the Federation so selective in their help? Could they not see the terrible things that the Cardassians were doing to the Bajoran people? Damn them and their politics. To make matters worse, I noticed more Starfleet enter the bar.

Why do the Starfleet personnel always follow me and then provoke me with their smugness and mock concern? That commander probably attained his rank with minor scuffles, unlike me who had to crawl my way out of every single battle every time, in every mission she went on. Imagine my annoyance when he offered to buy my next drink and then notice my Bajoran pistol.

His curiousness was too much, how they ask the neutral questions but actually want to find out if you are really Maquis. There were few categories humans in space fell into, Federation/Starfleet personnel, civilians, Federation officials…or Maquis. My disruptor, securely strapped to my waist, narrowed down the choices considerably. I knew I should have left while I had a chance, but for some reason I stayed.

The commander seemed to be shaken by my cruel words, but I’m not one to back down. Especially when I can pick a fight with another annoying and smug Starfleet officer. His buddies started to show an interest as he rose from his chair displaying his phaser. He was close enough for me to disarm him, a simple manoeuvre So I returned his threat with a warning of my own, somehow I thought that he would actually back away. I didn’t want to go back to that damn prison, I could not help others in that jail.

[Kensai]

Chapter 2

I watch as a uneasy ensign hits a officer that looks a lot like my new crewmember, Maxwell Hooper. It takes me seconds before I get the commander in a wrist lock, hitting him across the jaw. Another Starfleet bowls me over and starts hitting me. As I strike him hard against the temple and get up, another engineer hits me in the short ribs. I hit him in the groin and the second attacker started to come back for more.

He slices my side, with a superficial cut, but I strike him hard across the jaw - dropping him like a light. Running up to the other two, I tell them to get out of there as I turn to face the other Starfleet officers. I shoot first the lead male, the female tackling me to the ground. She pulls my hair, but my distruptor finds her side. I pull the trigger and she falls down.

A crewmember helps me, Yen I think her name is, she tries to get me to stand but I can't - my body is suffering badly. I reach for my distruptor but another guard stomps down on my hand. The bones crumble under the weight before I jump up and shoot him. Yen gives me her hand and we start to get out of the bar.

As we near the exit, I collapse to the floor, tired. I introduce myself to Yen before I notice that a medical officer is checking the Starfleet I shot. They are all dead and I killed them. I throw up next to me and tell Yen my hand is broken. I drop my weapon at the Lieutenant Commander's order and try to convince him to let the others go. I sit down and try to convince Spectra that it was his men's fault I attacked.