OUROBOROS
STARDATE 08.03.25
FIRST SECTOR
Captain Poe quietly entered Ensign Lee’s Quarters. He was not an intimidating figure. Standing only five feet five inches tall, Edgar was soft spoken, passive, and reserved. His demeanor and speech has disarmed many an individual. A light mustache and faint beard clung to his middle-aged face. But it was Captain Poe’s eyes that told his true story. For those melancholy orbs revealed the fact that he was not truly alive.
“Ensign?” Captain Poe said, immediately noticing the illumination in her Quarters had been dimmed. “You did not report to your Duty Station today. They said you were ill.”
Captain Poe saw the Ensign sitting on the edge of her bed weeping. She had been engaged to Ensign Sutton. Regrettably, Ensign Sutton perished recently on an away mission. A crevice had suddenly opened underneath his feet, allowing the earth to swallow him whole. The fall into darkness ended with his broken neck.
Captain Poe walked over to Ensign Lee and gently sat beside her on the bed. He reached out with one hand, comforting her with the physical touch of a fellow living being. They sat in silence for a time, the Ensign continuing to weep as her emotions dictated.
“I know it’s hard, Ensign Lee. But you must summon the strength to go on. Believe me, time will heal this wound. Just very, very slowly. Patience is your ally.”
Ensign Lee looked at her Captain. She was grateful for his visit. She knew he didn’t have to come by at all. That the Captain took the time out of his busy schedule to do so meant a great deal to her. He must have thought that she was worth saving…
“I can’t go on without him, Captain. He was my love, my life, my future. Without him, I have nothing. No reason to go on. I just don’t understand how he could be taken from me like this. Just when we were about to begin our life together. It’s not fair! How could Death claim him when he was so young?!?”
Captain Poe just sat quietly listening.
“Perhaps I will just end it too and join my Beloved…”
Captain Poe stood up and turned away from Ensign Lee.
“Don’t say such things, Ensign. You have much to live for. You have to live your life. You want to know why I came to check on you? So that you would know that there are people who still care about you. People who still support you. People who will hold you up when you cannot stand up yourself. So that you would realize that you are not alone, Ensign Lee.”
The Captain paused before continuing.
“What do you know about Death anyway? Death will come for you soon enough, when your time is nigh…there is no need to rush into her embrace. Right now, you see Death as some kind of Monstrous Beast who savagely kills its prey and drags it into the Great Beyond. But over time, you will come to see Death…differently, as I have.”
“Have you invited Death to dine with you? Have you spoken with Death about her motivations, misgivings, and regrets? Have you see Death smile? Have you felt her cold embrace? Her icy caress? When despair suffocates you in the middle of the night, do you wake to see Death’s comforting face staring back at you?”
“Because I have, Ensign. I have indeed…”
“AND SO, ALL THE NIGHT-TIDE, I LIE DOWN BY THE SIDE
OF MY DARLING – MY DARLING – MY LIFE AND MY BRIDE,
IN HER SEPULCHRE THERE BY THE SEA –
IN HER TOMB BY THE SOUNDING SEA.”
