Ensign Trovek: A Good Death - Prologue
Arys Trova
((OOC - Please read: This is Part One if a longer storyline that deals with heavy topics such as death, euthanasia and the abuse of duty of care. I will place specific warnings on top of each post, and I would like to encourage you to skip those that you are not in the headspace for.))
((OOC Warning: Death of a loved one))
“A good death is one that is free from avoidable distress and suffering, for patients, family, and caregivers; in general accord with the patients’ and families’ wishes; and reasonably consistent with clinical, cultural, and ethical standards.”
((Culat, Cardassia Prime. Thirty-Nine years ago))
Ceron couldn’t help but think that Aski was beautiful when she cried. It softened her harsh features, and the tears washed away any pretense of confidence. It showed her vulnerability, and of course, she didn’t like that. He placed a kiss on her forehead while she blamed ‘hormones’, and him by extension, knowing full well that his affection infuriated her when she was so already so upset with him.
His hands wandered to her stomach. She wasn’t showing yet, but she would, sooner or later. He hoped that they would have a son, but of course, he would love a daughter all the same. It was their third attempt at having a child.
Ceron knew that she felt like she had failed him, and the state made both of them feel like they had failed Cardassia - after all, the family unit was one of the pillars of Cardassian society. A harmonious family was the basis for a harmonious state.
Aski: ::quietly:: Do you have to leave?
She took his hands. In the light of the Lover’s Moon, her blue eyes were pale and inquisitive despite the previous display of emotion. Looking into them made Ceron wish he could stay.
Ceron: I do, my Love… :: he sighed in return, raised her hand to his face, and kissed her fingertips ever so softly:: Bajor is still defiant, and Dukat has requested additional forces. I will return within a few weeks if everything goes well. And after that, I will never leave you alone again.
Despite their differences and difficulties, as every couple of every species surely has them, she was the reason he got up in the morning. And even though she didn’t know it yet, she was also the reason he had agreed to relocate the Bajor. The climate was mild, and the fertile land made food and water readily available throughout the year.
Of course, Bajor had its troubles. Bajorans. Aski taught her students the same thing she, and every other Cardassian, had been taught. Reports of how Cardassia had discovered Bajor with its primitive population, how they had extended their hand in friendship, and how the Bajoran’s had violently cut down the peaceful Cardassian settlers.
Despite that, Ceron was certain that his partner would be happy there. Perhaps she could teach the Bajoran children a better way than their parent’s savagery.
They said goodbye, and like every time he had to leave her for an extended period of time, she grieved his loss as she returned to their home without him. She knew the separation wouldn’t be for long, and she held onto their dream of carrying a child in her arms to shower it with all the love and affection she was so eager to give.
This time, she was sure it would be a successful pregnancy. This time, she was sure, they would truly become a family.
((Terok Nor, Thirty-Seven years ago))
Even now, Aski vividly remembered her arrival at Terok Nor.
How she had been led along a filthy Promenade where Bajoran laborers were held like animals in makeshift living conditions that reeked of trash and death. And how it had been a perfect extension of how Aski felt as they led her into the room that had once been her partner’s quarters, and to the empty shell that remained of Ceron.
She had not believed she would ever look into Ceron’s eyes again, and yet here she was, looking down at an infant with both Cardassian and Bajoran features.
They said the Bajoran who gave birth to the child was likely the same woman who had murdered its father. That she had left the child to die of exposure. That the boy wasn’t truly Cardassian, and that Aski wasn’t expected to acknowledge him in any way.
But how couldn’t she? She looked into the little boy’s eyes, and she knew that he was Ceron’s son. The child he had always dreamed of, and which hadn’t been able to give him.
Aski: Taril. ::she hesitated, then repeated the name:: His name is Taril. And I am taking him home to Cardassia Prime.
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