Occupy the Gardens

Posted on Sat 11th Mar, 2017 @ 10:24pm by

1,419 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night
Location: Deck 1554, Tivoli Gardens
Timeline: MD 2, 1620

After Caroline left the surgeon, she wandered along the edge of the crowd, stopping to ask people's opinions. There were some who were there only for the entertainment value, but the majority of those, both marching and watching, had an opinion. They didn't all share the same opinion, but most of them had a few facts which backed up their opinions.

"Pardon me," the reporter said to a woman marching along the edge, inside the barriers set up by the security department. "What does that sign mean, exactly?" The sign read "Resistance is not futile!"

The woman, tall, slender and dressed in flowing red robes turned her cat-like eyes on the reporter. "It means I will never settle for the Federation dictating to the Bajoran people. It starts with one event with one planet, and then it's a second one and eventually, it's my people who are under the the guns of the Federation."

"Don't you think that's a little extreme? The Federation hasn't turned its guns on Bajor or anyone else. What makes you put it in those terms?" Caroline wondered if she hadn't picked a grabba nut off the tree with this one.

"You check the past. The Federation has been in control for over 230 years. The interior rot has already begun. Check any empire you wish, all the way back to the Romans on your earth, Miss Post. Those who refuse to study history are doomed to repeat it." The woman moved on with her sign.

The interior rot? Caroline thought. Perhaps the beginning of an interesting series. She made a note on her pocket PADD, and then moved on to a woman she recognized.

"Ms. Penre, isn't it?" she asked. "Tell me, what do you think of all this?" Ms Post waved a hand to indicate the marchers and the crowd around them.

Penre Meryret gave the news reporter a wry look. "My feelings are mixed," she admitted. "If Bajor had not joined the Federation, we would have tried Breloc Tejar on our own planet without question. So it is frustrating to have the Federation decide for us that he must be tried on Andoria. I don't see that it's any of their business, as Cardassia is not a Federation member; therefore, they are under no obligation to protect him. But I suppose, since Bajor is a member, I can see where the Federation feels a sense of needing to protect him. This trial is not worth the risk of hostilities between the Federation and the Cardassian Union." Meryret grimaced. "The man was responsible for my grandparents' deaths, so I am feeling unaccustomedly angry at this situation. I'll need to meditate a great deal to come to terms with it--both with what Tejar did and with the Federation moving the trial elsewhere."

"It must be very difficult having him responsible for deaths so close to you. I think this might feel like you've been ... slapped by the Federation? If you have a specific thought or message you would like quoted, I would be willing to include it in the news report on this protest," Caroline said.

Meryret paused. "I would not put it exactly that way," she said. "As a gut reflex emotion, yes, that is what I feel--as if we are not considered adult enough to handle such things, even though we have a long history of being a civilized culture. On the other hand, I also know my people. We are as capable as anyone of letting our emotions get the better of us if we become angry enough."

Caroline thought about that for a moment. "It's humanoid, isn't it? Being emotional, getting carried away by our emotions. No matter how evolved we think we are, we can still make mistakes in judgment if we let our emotions run away with us. Thank you so much for your thoughts, as a Federation citizen and as a native Bajoran citizen."

As the reporter walked away, she scanned the crowd for other Bajorans with whom she was familiar. She spotted one of the fighter pilots, the attractive Bajoran Squadron Leader Izzy Cantrell. Making her way to the fighter pilot, she asked a question which hadn't been addressed by other interviewees this morning. "Lieutenant Cantrell, you're normally involved in the defense of Vanguard. How do you, a member of a warrior group and a Bajoran, view this protest today?"

Cantrell blinked in chagrin and then shook her head. "You'll have to talk to Starfleet Media Affairs, Ma'am. I'm not authorized to give any kind of statement to the media. There's tons of civilians here you could ask. Believe me, any of them would be happy to give you their opinion."

"How about if I quote you as an unnamed source ... or something like "a Bajoran bystander was overheard to say blah, blah, blah? Would that give you enough anonymity?" Caroline asked. She really wanted an answer. She didn't intend talking to Media Affairs at all. Their statements were the blandest whitewash and always said nothing at all. She thought you'd have to be able to talk in circles for weeks to be able to get a job there ... and who would want a job where you did nothing but lie and cover up information?

"That would work. You're lucky I'm out of uniform, or I couldn't talk to you at all," Izzy said. "The thing is, that question will get you two different answers. As someone tasked with defending this station, I'm not keen on this protest. What if it gets out of hand? What happens afterward? There are Cardassians visiting all over this station. Tomorrow, I'd like to be able to get a quick bite of hasperat at a fast-food place without having to watch my back, and, much as it pains me to say this, I don't really want the Cardassians to feel nervous around me, either."

She paused and then went on. "Speaking as a Bajoran, though? The Cardassians--and the Federation, if you ask me--brought this on themselves. Did they really think we would just sit down and take this change of venue meekly? Breloc Tejar was a Gul Darhe'el in training. We don't want him tried on Andoria. It's an affront to us as a people."

"It sounds as if personal feelings and duty sometimes don't mesh. Or maybe personal feelings and security," Carolyn reflected. "Would you say that, generally speaking, you don't hold the war atrocities against Cardassians you meet around the station today, but you aren't willing to let those who perpetrated those atrocities get away with the crimes?"

"Exactly," Izzy said. "Mind you, I was born just before the Occupation ended, and I really don't remember much of it. I've just heard my family tell horrific stories. But no, the average Cardassian I meet in the corridors--I don't have much ill-feeling toward them. As long as they're willing to be civil, so am I. How could I hope to be worthy of the Celestial Temple if I hated all of them? My real anger I reserve for their military."

Caroline thought about the pilot's words. It was a dichotomy of sorts - being able to split opinions on the Cardassians based on the group to which they belonged. "You mentioned not living through personal experiences with the Occupation. Do you think your opinions are shared with others of your age or younger? The ability to separate the military actions of a past generation from civilians of the current generations?"

Izzy paused to think about it. "Sometimes," she finally said. "I think the Occupation is still a little too close for some people. I think a lot of it depends on how you were raised. My parents were just ordinary people. But some people my age, whose parents and families were hard-core Resistance--they don't let it go so easily, even though they have no personal experience of the atrocities." She shrugged. "Me, I've got better things to do with my life."

"That sounds healthier than dwelling on it. Thanks for your contribution to my report. I appreciate your stepping outside the box and giving me a feeling for Bajoran mindsets. I promise to keep your name out of things, and not to make you identifiable by anything I say," Caroline assured the pilot. There was a lot to think about, and she was almost ready to compose her report, if nothing else happened during the protest.

 

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