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"Facing The Darkness"
[Previous Post: "New Life"]
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This is the journey you've always been destined to take."
-Kai Opaka
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Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section D-2, Level 5, Primary Docking Port
Stardate: 63075.0530

There was a coldness that came from within the ANUBIS, one that the towering giant knew he would be one of the very few to feel because of his unique connection with the ship. Although many would have claimed the SCARAB-Class cruiser to be nothing more than an inanimate object, the Oltharian knew better and acknowledged that the ship itself had been hurting just as much as its crew following the hardships they had faced over the last years.

That the trials and tribulations they had endured had originated from another dimension, another universe following a different timeline had not mattered. The pain that they had all felt had been real and made only more powerful when those who had returned had discovered that only a few days had passed in this reality while years had painfully made their mark on the crew in the other universe.

As Elan slowly made his way through the transparent umbilical connection linking the base to the docked ship, his eyes gradually wondered onto the bio-regenerative hull that still displayed the scars that the ANUBIS had suffered during the latter part of those years. Without access to a decent repair facility the Chief Engineering Officer had not been able to restore that particular system, amongst so many others, and now the wounds that still marked the hull of the ship only served as a reminder of the hell everyone had endured.

With less than a few steps left for the Oltharian to make in order to gain access to the ANUBIS' interior, the giant Engineer paused as his soul felt an overwhelming icy wave. So many memories, both pleasant and horrifying had found their birthplace within that ship and for a brief moment Elan wondered if it had been wise for him to have volunteered to take charge of the repair efforts. To fix the body would be a daunting task but the Chief Engineer knew that the soul of the ship could never be healed, just as his own.

Elan closed his eyes for a moment and sought answers to countless questions. To give in to the pain and sorrow would have been easiest knowing that there had been no way for the CEO to detach himself from those feelings. Life though had never been meant to be easy and the Oltharian quickly recalled the words of his uncle about the need to face the darkness that all too often comes to cross one's path in order to find the light beyond it.

As the Enigneering Officer slowly reopened his eyes, he drew in a long deep breath as he clenched the tool kit that had been in his hand. With a new found resolved Elan took the steps that stood between him and the ANUBIS and entered the darkness knowing that this had been the journey he had been destined to take.

--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette

Lieutenant Elan Talak Fairborn
Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS

And

Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA