A Silence of Three Parts

Posted on 25 Jan 2016 @ 6:53pm by Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast

265 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Rude Awakening
Timeline: MD9 - 1400 Hours

Silence.

The Bast symbiont existed in a world of silence.

It was a silence made of three parts. The first part was obvious, as symbionts are naturally blind and deaf, relying on their Hosts for contact with the outside world.

Which was closely related to the second silence. The symbiont couldn't see what the Host saw. And the symbiont couldn't hear what the Host heard. The last thing the symbiont had seen had been Captain Terlexa, sitting herself at a table across from Temerant Bast, smiling guilefully, while the cadaverous Selamat Ambassador had looked on. The last thing the Bast symbiont had heard, had been the crowd on the promenade at Deep Space Eleven, failing to cover the words of Captain Terlexa, as she spread her lies with her sweet voice. The grating sound of her voice had made Bast's skin crawl, and the poison in her words had made its blood boil.

The third silence, which was the most frightening, stemmed from the fact that the symbiont had lost all mental connection to the Host. Bast could no longer hear Temerant's thoughts, just as Temerant could no longer hear Bast. And benefit from its experience, its wisdom, and its guidance.

Bast had sensed the cold and malevolent touch of the Selamat. Bast had tried to scream a warning to Temerant, but the sudden silence that had come almost immediately left little doubt in the symbiont's mind that its warning had not been heard. And for a long time now, it had heard nothing from Temerant.

And that was the most frightening silence of all.

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