Ensign Paarus Zalbac - Murder She Wrote

[Lucas Peterson]

((Iko and Paarus apartment, Marrakech district, Habitat ring))

Paarus: I appreciate your sentiment but the Vidiians, like the Cardassians, had no regard for anyone but themselves. They saw organ harvesting as a means to an end. ::trying to find the right words:: The atrocities committed by the Vidiians should not be taken lightly. I understand why they feel like they were justified but the people's lives they took...

Zal choked down his tears and turned away from Bec.

Iko: Zal?

Paarus: Have you ever seen someone murdered?

Bec appeared to fade out of the room. It was almost as if she had left this plane of existence. She looked a trillion light-years away.

Paarus: ...Bec? 

Iko: Sorry. What was your question?

Paarus: I asked if you had ever witnessed a murder? 

Iko: ::nodding, tearing up:: Good friends, people close...

Bec paused, almost as if considering the question. Then she got that far-off distant look in her eyes again. She remembered a friend of hers, Archie Grey. 

((Flashback, 239009.4, Old Campbelltown train station))

Grey: Rebecca! Hey! 

Iko: ::eyeroll: I suggest you leave.

Grey: Someone's sad today?

Iko: GO! NOW! 

Grey: ::beggining to walk backwards:: Geez... I'm leaving...

As soon as Archie was out of sight She heard a phaser fired, followed by what sounded like a thump of someone falling backwards after being shot. She ran to investigate.

All that was found was a pulseless Archie and a type 2 phaser on the absolute maximum setting. 

((End flashback))

Paarus: Bec... are you... are you ok? 

Zal could tell that his question had triggered a memory but he wasn't sure what. Suddenly, Bec was back in the present and she seemed flustered.

Iko: I didn't know... I didn't know they were there!

She slammed her fist against the bulkhead with a grunt before shaking out some of the pain.

Paarus: You didn't know who was there? Sorry, did I miss something?

Iko: Response

Zal was used to these outbursts from Bec. It was something he found endearing about her as he too was an emotional creature prone to bursts of emotion that he couldn't contain. It was one of the reasons they had become fast friends. However, Zal wanted to make his point about the Vidiians. He didn't want Bec to think he was some sort of racist Bajoran who couldn't understand another race's history or culture. 

Paarus: I'm sorry, Bec. That sounds like a terrible way to see your friend go. Did they ever find who killed Grey? Did that person have a motive?

Iko: Response

Paarus: That's awful. ::pausing for a moment:: No one should have to experience that and no one should be forced to relive those situations either. That is cruel.

Zal now felt bad that he had sparked the memory in his friend. It wasn't his intention to call up Bec's tragic memory, but he remained determined to say his peace.

Paarus: That's how I see these Vidiians. They are the trigger through which others will see their own loved ones. Gutted and defiled, sometimes right in front of others, all as a means to an end.

Iko: Response

Zal cut her off and continued...

Paarus:  The Cardassians were much the same way with my people. They were cruel, forcing us into camps, starving us of our culture and our dignity. I will never forgive what they did.

((Flashback, Stardate 236801.19, Jalanda Labor Camp, Bajor))

Life in the camp was dirty and cold. The Cardassians had kept the barracks at a minimum of five degrees Celcius and provided no blankets, pillows, or any creature comforts. This made the sleeping barracks unbearably cold in the long southern winters. The dirt floor was crawling with slime worms that would burrow and lay eggs in your feet. Many Bajorans suffered from untreated infestations which lead to amputations in the Medical barrack. Food in the form of a single kava root stewed in a bowl of water was provided to each family twice per day. Life was grim but many Bajorans helped each other in small ways.

It was Zal's fifth birthday and in spite of the dreariness of the camp, Zal was excited. His mother had promised him spice cake to mark the occasion. Zal was playing with his brother in the barracks. A few other Bajorans were resting between their shifts. Their mother was out attending to a Cardassian Lieutenant as a comfort woman. She had promised to be back by early afternoon, but it was getting late and she was not home yet. This was common as the Cardassians made sure little routine was kept in the camps.

Llongan: Are you excited about your birthday, Zal?

Zal: Yes! Mother says we can have spice cake!

Llongan: That sounds yummy. 

Zal: She said she is going to get it today. She should be home soon.

Almost as if she was summoned, Zal's mother opened the barracks door with something wrapped in a dirty cloth and tucked into her sleeve. She smiled at the two boys who were sitting on one of the wooden bunks. Taking off the cloth to reveal a small piece of spice cake on a plate, Zal's mother set the plate between Zal and his brother. 

Mother: Happy Birthday my baby. ::with a strained smile:: Now, quickly eat this up. ::she looked over her shoulder with a worried look::

Zal split the cake between him and his brother. No sooner had he taken a mouthful of cake, when the door to the barracks was kicked in by a large Cardassian guard. He looked angry and surveyed the room. Zal's mother quickly hid the plate under the wooden bed and stood to face the guard.

Mother: To what do we owe this... 

Before she could finish her sentence, the guard punched Zal's mother and she stumbled into one of the bunks. She was slow to get back up and the guard look around the barracks to see if anyone else was going to try to speak.

Guard: Who took the plate?

No one responded. Zal's mother was on all fours on the ground. Some other Bajoran's stirred and moved away from the guard. Zal and Llongan held each other's hands looking terrified and shocked.

Without even asking again, the guard stepped over to one of the bunks where a sleeping Bajoran man was just beginning to stir awake from the commotion. The guard grabbed the man by the neck and dragged him out of the middle bunk and held him up by his neck. A sickening gurgle came from the Bajoran as the life was squeezed out of him. The guard tossed the body to the floor. 

Guard: You take from Cardassia and I will take from you. Let this be a lesson to you filthy people. ::spitting on the dead Bajoran::

With that, the Cardassian guard turned and left the barracks.

((End Flashback))

Paarus: I watched a Cardassian snuff out the life of a Bajoran over the alleged theft of a small plate. ::shaking his head:: I will never forgive what the Cardassians did to my people. Nothing justifies their cruelty to the Bajorans. I reject any justification anyone makes for the Vidiians.

Iko: Response

TAG/TBC

--

Ensign Paarus Zalbac

Operations Officer

Amity Outpost

A239811PZ4