Don’t fear the Reaper

“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.”

Chuck Palahniuk

Star Trek is a genre redolent and centric with the search for new civilizations and life – affording the writer rich connotations with which to dip our quills into the creative inkwell of creation and bring vibrant stories of life – to life.

But how we treat with death is just as important and the genre has delivered some of its most compelling interactions and tableau as it forces us to experience the loss of a favorite character. From the iconic “death” of Spock in The Wrath of Kahn (cleverly “Kelvin – flipped” during ST – Into Darkness) or Commander Data’s final embrace of virtual – oblivion in ST – Picard, such poignant depictions of loss have delivered an emotional heft that will endure within us through the ages.

Competitors are challenged to write a story, from the perspective of one of their own Story – characters that details how that person deals with a particular loss.

Hints

• Whilst ostensibly loss of another sentient being that your character has a relationship with would deliver the most obvious emotional impact, writers are permitted to be creative as to the exact nature of the loss.
• The loss could be of someone directly linked to your character – a family member, loved one, partner or pet.
• The loss could be linked to more oblique – a close colleague, a distant colleague, a stranger or someone the character admires but has never met.
• The loss could be existential or hypothetical – a character may mourn the loss of potential or opportunity, express an inner – fear of the loss of someone or something. It could even (conceivably) detail the loss on an inanimate object that the person has a deep connection with. 
• The loss can be immediate, recent or historical. Maybe a direct attempt to stabilize a fatal wound, visiting someone suffering with a serious illness or remembering a person that has passed away some time ago?
• The competitor is encouraged to consider and illustrate the emotional impacts on one or more people as a result of this actual loss/potential loss.

Criteria

• Stories must be submitted through the BFMS and your entry should link to that story. Stories should be between 1,000 and 2,500 words.
• Stories will be graded using the Bravo Fleet Fiction Rubric, which marks on the following criteria: Language, Style, & Mechanics; Adherence to Canon; Perspective; Characterization; Originality; Use of the Prompt.
• Stories must be written during the competition period and should not be a reuse of an existing story. Stories written before or after the competition begins will be disqualified. The BFMS publication date will be used.
• Your story must be a single-author post, not a joint post.