Star Trek: Eleventh Fleet

Episode 1: Chapter 1: Lost Friends

Images of fire and death permeated Kal's thoughts and dreams. But it wasn't his death that he saw or feared; it was the death of one he hadn't seen in too many years. Why did he torture himself by returning to this monument today? Around him spun cherry blossoms in the air with the gorgeous pink trees that filled Washington D.C. The warm breezes and cheerfully sunny skies had no impact on his emotions. Thoughts of fire and death were always with him, haunting him. Yet, here he was, walking up to the newest monument.

"Oh, great. She's back." Kal muttered to himself as he approached a giant spherical installation that was etched on every part with names.

A bubbly human woman led a group of tourists up to the memorial and explained its meaning to them. He hated listening to her chipper tone as she described one of the most painful scars in his heart. However, he stood there and listened with the others next to the globe-shaped stone.

"Thank you, thank you, please, stand back and...please wait, sir, you can take a self-picture with the monument after I finish talking...thank you." The blonde tour guide shooed away a tourist who wanted to get too close. "Okay, everyone, this is the Demilitarized Zone Monument. As you know, just a few short months ago, the Cardassian Union allied itself with the Dominion from the Gamma Quadrant. To deal with the Maquis uprising in the Demilitarized Zone, the new alliance swiftly invaded and destroyed several Federation colonies believed to be hubs of rebel activity. Many civilians were needlessly massacred in the ensuing battles. We still do not have a full count of all those who perished, but we have inscribed the names we know on this monument. Each time we confirm a new identity among the dead, the artist etches the name here."

A Bolian stuck his hand up and asked, "Why is it a sphere shape?"

"Good question, thank you. The artist chose this shape and called the monument 'Unity'. He said that the sphere has no beginning or end, only continues, which is our hope for the memories of the lost and that one-day peace will be as endless. This shape is as much a memorial to the dead as hope for our children's future."

A human man called out, "Do they also put the names of the Maquis on this thing?"

She smiled at him, "Thank you, good question. Each name on here is a civilian. Star Fleet is currently withholding putting any names of known Maquis on this, as some criminal investigations are still active and those names are part of the cases. They are currently undecided about allowing the names to be placed on here after the investigations are done. However, it is possible that some on here were Maquis or Maquis sympathizers, but we cannot fully ascertain that. Now, we need to be moving on, so I will step back and let you take any pictures you wish. The gift shop has perfect holographic replicas of all the monuments here, if you wish." She walked away, leaving the throng to their pictures and murmuring for the moment.

Kal let out a sigh of relief. He didn't mind what she said; it was the pleasant demeanor that got to him. He waited while all the tourists got their pictures and moved on. Finally, he could get up to the monument without being shoulder to shoulder with people.

As he stood there, staring at one name in particular, all the sounds of the world fell away. He reached over and brushed his fingers over the small, laser-cut engraving of a name, 'Sakura'. A tear rolled down his cheek as he thought about her again. No matter how many times he stood there, he couldn't fight the pain that welled up in his chest. The fires returned, the sound of screaming echoed in his mind. He could see the colony on fire, and feel the heat burning his skin. There she was, calling out to him, screaming in pain.

"Sheesh, a waste of time!" A voice broke his vision.

Two men stood next to him, one a human, the other a pig-faced Tellerite. The human leaned over and looked at the names. "You know they have lists of known Maquis operatives. They should have used that to weed out the idiots."