Childhood Innocence

Posted on Thu Jun 23, 2016 @ 3:50pm by Civilian Thereen Tera & Civilian 'Arrival' Krell Antos

1,294 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Things Past
Location: Bajor/Kendra Province
Timeline: During the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor

The sun sat high in the sky, making the hot Bajoran summer day all the more hot. Berra wiped the sweat from her brow as she plowed the vast field. She stood with her hands on her hip, peering out at the field her Cardassian oppressors charged her with keeping. Her field supplied the overseer and staff, but lately her crops were not coming in as bountiful as she was hoping. Whenever it was possible, Berra would take a share of the crop home to feed her two children.

The sweltering sun above her, and no hope of reaping anything from the dry field, Berra headed back towards the residences of the work camp. The camp wasn't as bad as some of the others Berra had heard of. Here they had clean water, usually there was food, and the children were safe. That was paramount to Berra, who would do anything to save her son and daughter.

The slender Bajoran woman walked through the wrought gate of the camp, passing many other family dwellings along the way. She looked around and smiled at those she passed. Finally, she came to the dwelling that was assigned to her and her children and went inside to find her daughter Meru sitting alone. Meru was her youngest child, only five. Berra never liked to see her alone. "Merry," the mother said, using her daughter's nickname, "where's Antos?"

The young girl looked up at her mother and with a mischievous smile. She pointed towards the back door.

Berra kissed her daughter on the head and moved through the building to investigate.

Antos was running around the small clearing that backed six houses in the same sector, a sort of communal yard. He had a stick in his hand, holding it like a rifle. "May the Prophets give me the strength I need to stop this Cardassian scoundrel!" he called. At only ten years old, Antos' view the Cardassians was very developed. He saw what they were doing to his people, his world, and his mother.

Another little boy popped up from behind a stack of empty crates with his own stick. “Die, you Bajoran scum!” he said, ‘firing’ back at Antos. Noyal was another boy from the camp. His mother worked in the Overseer’s kitchens, and his father maintained the Overseer’s grounds. It meant they were a bit better off than most in the work camp. It also meant that they teetered on the edge of what the Resistance considered collaboration. But none of that seemed to matter to two ten-year-old boys.

Making a big show of his 'death' for the sake of the game, Antos fell backwards, sputtering and moaning. Then he lay motionless for a moment.

Berra came to the edge of the clearing. Having heard their exclamations from the dwelling, she was understandably angry. "Krell Antos! Here! NOW!" she bellowed.

Antos dropped his stick and moved as fast as his ten-year-old legs would allow, his eyes wide.

Berra put her hands on her hips. "Just what do you think you're doing yelling things like that?" She eyed Noyal for a moment. "And with him." She lowered herself to her son's level. "If the Overseer were to get wind of you playing like this, we'd be punished." She spoke in an urgent whisper.

Her face quickly changed to its normal, cheery expression. She kissed her son on the top of his head. "Run along, be careful." There was more warning in her voice than she anticipated.

Berra turned and walked back to her dwelling.

Antos returned to his friend. "We need to think of a new game to play," he said, sounding a little sad.

Noyal nodded soberly. “Why doesn’t your mum like me?” he asked, watching Berra go inside. “We could go to the river,” he said. “It’s hot and I’m all sweaty.”

"We aren't supposed to go to the river," Antos said warningly. "Vedek Styra says that 'Rivers run free with all the fear of the oppressed.' He gave his friend a serious look.

“Ah, what does that old cleric know?” Noyal scoffed. “I go to the river all the time. It borders the Overseer’s gardens,” he said. The river separated the work camp from the overseer’s mansion on the hill.

The young pair walked towards the river. Antos looked around suspiciously. "You know, people think it's weird that your family doesn't come to worship anymore. Vedek Styra said she was going to visit you, just to make sure everything was alright." He followed close behind Noyal, "She cares about all of her people," Antos called after his friend.

“Papa says we don’t go to Temple because people don’t want us there,” Noyal said. “I don’t care. Temple is boring. I get to play instead.” Of course, on Temple mornings he didn’t have anyone to play with since all the children were at Temple, but then Antos was usually the only other child in the village that would play with him.

"I want you there!" Antos was trying to keep up with his friend."Vedek Styra says 'A heart grows faster with a friend' and I think my hearts grows at Temple," he called out after Noyal.

Noyal paused to let his friend catch up. “Well…maybe I’ll go, then,” he said. “I’ll ask my father. Why do you even like Temple?” he asked. “You just have to sit there and listen to Vedek Styra drone on and on. Maybe you can skip Temple and play with me!”

"But Styra wants me to help with the younger kids, I can't miss it." He sighed, looking into the face of his friend. "I think she wants me to take her place as a Vedek someday." Antos grabbed some sparse berries from a nearby bush. "Maybe I'll be Kai too, who knows."

Noyal scowled. “Like Kai Nowar?” he asked. “And everybody calls my father a collab’rator because he plants some flowers,” the boy said, mangling the difficult word. “Kai Nowar practically grovels!”

Antos furrowed his brow. "You shouldn't talk like that." He kicked a stone, which skipped along their path.

“What? Tellin’ the truth? Ain’t that what Vedek Styra says we should do?” Noyal asked. “At least my dad earns the food on our table. He doesn’t guilt it from anyone else.” The boy sighed, not wanting to argue with his friend.

“So what do you think about Onet?” Noyal asked slyly, changing the subject, mentioning a neighborhood girl he never failed to throw mud at, or pull her hair. “She’s such a…girl, yeah?” They reached the river and Noyal jumped to the first stone of the crossing. There was an actual bridge downstream on the path, but this was shorter.

Antos stopped at the river's edge. "She's alright." He kicked a stone into the flowing water, and watched as the ripples echoed outward.

He sighed. "Listen," he called to his friend, "I think I'm gonna go home," he admitted, looking at the ground. "My mom doesn't like it when we play down here."

Noyal paused on the rock in the center of the river and scowled. “Yeah? Is that right?” he asked, hurt. “Well, your mom—“ He cut himself off before he said something about Antos’ parentage that might end his only real friendship. Certainly people said such things about his own!

“Okay,” he said. “Guess I’ll see you later then.” He looked away, up to the big, fortified manor home of the local Cardassian prelate. He wasn’t going to cry, not in front of Antos!

FIN

Krell Antos
Neighborhood Do-Gooder
Kendra Work Camp

Thereen Noyal
Neighborhood Outcast
Kendra Work Camp
NPC Caleb Ryan

 

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