Kaseas Colony – 0900

Jordan had spread her and the science teams out among the outbuildings to ostensibly do medical checks on the colony citizens.  She walked back into the main building as Chief Katsumi was sitting down at the table with Governor Tasawa, explaining the dangers of what was happening out in the darkness of space, “We expect a report from the Edinburgh shortly, but the overall situation is not looking great, sir.”

Reid sat down, “Your people are healthier and stronger, Tasawa.”  She looked at him for the first time and found herself concerned.  He was looking more haggard than the last time they had seen him and his eyes drooped, his breath ragged.  “Tasawa…?”

He sighed deeply, “I am not well, Doctor.  I will not bother you with the details – you will scan me and have your answers soon enough.  I have lived a long time, Doctor…but it seems my time is coming to an end.  My people will live on…but I will need to select a new Governor.”  He shook his head, “The trouble is…I have no good candidates to select from!”

Okada asked, “You said…,”

A grumble was her answer, “I said that the old Governor would select one to lead…but there are none capable within.  I’ve looked, believe me.  In a thousand faces…I’ve yet to locate someone who can do this job well.”  He sat back in his chair, “I have one answer, but I doubt she would listen.”

Reid sat up, “You said there’s no one in your group who could…,”

“It is someone among your group, Doctor.  Lieutenant Thasaz.  She would fill this role with great wisdom and decisions.  She is still yet young enough to keep the people going.  Yet…I do not know how such a request would be handled…or made?”

Jordan looked to her first officer and Okada spoke up, “Governor…if we must move your people…will they leave?  Led by you…or whoever….?”

Tasawa shrugged his shoulders, “My people have known the moon as a God for enough generations that the ideas of the world outside us are…theoretical at best.  Your arrival a month ago was a shock – the revolutionary medical treatments you did pushed them to start asking questions about the past…and the future.  I began to tell them of how we came here…and what lay above us in the heavens and beyond.”

The engineer inquired further, “Do they…believe you?”  It was her turn to shrug at his askance look as she explained, “It can be hard for people who believed the bright shiny thing in the sky and the moon were gods to translate to understanding traveling through space.”Tasawa accepted doubts, “What you will find interesting, Chief Katsumi…is that within their family groups they told stories from the first who had come here…in secret.  They submitted to the rules, the practices, and they believed – that was not a lie…but stories passed down from generation to generation that told of a time when they would fly through the stars in ships…and that they would fly faster than anything they’d ever seen…when you left a month ago and I began to share pieces with them, many turned to each other and nodded – they had known the truth this whole time!”  He chuckled and coughed hard for a moment but sipped at his water and kept going, “Once you’ve traveled the stars like you do, it is hard to repress or remove that discovery from within your soul.  The first ones who came here…their stories have been silently burning in everyone’s hearts with each generation that is born and grows – it’s become a bonfire to us all…and your arrival lit the match.”

Okada was amazed and amused, “So if they must leave this place…”

Tasawa grinned, “They will not hesitate to follow whoever leads them into that next great space above them.”

Reid stood, “Then I think we’d better at least have them start preparing to depart, Governor.  I have a chair I can give you that will allow you to move about more freely?”

Tasawa hesitantly stood, breathing heavily until he let out a long sigh, “A month ago I would have refused you for fear of what my people would think of me…but in this moment, I will accept whatever you can do for me, Doctor.”  Reid left the room to get the chair and he turned to Okada, “I wish to die on my planet, Lieutenant Commander.  I wanted to make that known.  I do not wish to struggle in my last moments.”

She rolled her eyes as Reid came back with the chair, “Three things Tasawa – you’re not dead yet – I’m pretty sure Doc Reid will find a way to keep you alive.  Two, it’s Chief or Chief Katsumi.  And three?  You sure as hell have to hang on long enough to see space…because boy howdy is that something you don’t miss getting a chance to see for the first time.”

Tasawa stared at her for a moment before relenting with a growl, “I’ve heard the stories of Starfleet Engineers.  I should have known better than to try and argue with one.”