BETHLEHEM
STARDATE 08.20.25
DRAGON’S TEETH
Captain Abrams sat in his dimly lit Ready Room deeply disturbed. He looked out of his window, watching the Space Fiends tear each other apart with fury. It happened year round without fail. The red destroying the blue. The blue destroying the red. They hated each other. And yet, as our astrobiologists discovered, the red Space Fiends and the blue Space Fiends were actually the same species.
Captain Abrams rubbed his eyes momentarily. He was an older man with a lengthy grey beard. His body was lean and fit, even at his age. With all his memories and experiences, he often wished he could return to his days of innocent youth. But there was no forgetting the things he had seen.
Why must the Chosen always be at constant war with the Fallen? What is the purpose of all this? Planets full of dead bodies and unbelievable suffering. Captain Abrams told himself what he always told himself. That if the Chosen did not act to stop the Fallen, matters would be much worse. The Chosen had to protect their loved ones, their families, their friends, the weak, and the innocent. Whether they wanted to or not, it was their duty to fight, simply because they had the power to do so. To stop evil on a massive scale. For them not to fight, when they had the power to do so, would be an unforgivable crime. And it would be the unprotected who would pay the ultimate price.
The legends say that we are descendants of the Old Man. That our mortal enemies are the offspring of the Mad Son. But why did the Son go mad? Why wasn’t he stopped right from the beginning? Why doesn’t the Old Man speak to us anymore? In exchange for following the path of righteousness, for maintaining certain values in life, we were promised peace and an expanse of space full of happiness without suffering. Where is it? All that we have now is war. And death. And misery. And at times, I wonder if the old legends were just stories we told ourselves.
Forgive me, Captain Abrams said silently. My belief falters. If anyone aboard Bethlehem needs to remain strong in their convictions, it must be I. I am the rock this starship rests upon. I must have Faith.
No matter what happens, I will do my duty. As will every soul under my command. And if that means slaying the Fallen until the end of my days, then so be it. If it means sacrificing my life to save those who cannot protect themselves, then so be it. I must not question my fate. I just need to fulfill it.
Captain Abrams stared out of his window at the endless bodies of dead Space Fiends. They destroyed each other until no one else remained. This was their final fate.
AND THE SHARP STING OF SORROW PIERCED CAPTAIN ABRAM’S HEART.
