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FFM Day 4 — Pilgrim

He searches for the man taken by the Prophets.

He isn’t a believer, himself, but he knows how his father disappeared and the strange, ineffable connection he had to the entities that lived beyond the reach of their space-time. He begins, as always, in the unearthed ruins of B’Hala; it marks the first time than Captain Benjamin Sisko accepted the title placed upon him. He’s stared the future straight into the eye and made the hard call that no one else had dared, Bajor must stand alone! It was the first time also that Jake gave into his cowardice and pulled his father back to his side. No one blamed him, only eighteen then, but he could see the disappointment of all the Bajorans — of Major Kira — when he made the call and the connection to the Prophets was severed. The dusted, dry ruins beneath his feet were the perfect metaphor; nothing grew in B’Hala anymore, the earth sterile and lifeless; just how Jake had felt that first time he saw how close he’d come to losing his father then.

—

On and on he walks, knowing the route without even having to look up from his feet; but he does so anyway, Bajor is breathtaking and just as he hits the rocky outcrop, he can hear the waterfall, just a few more hundred meters — he found himself hurrying to get there. His mood seemed to lift with each step, on and on he hurried through the tall grass until he came to the top of the hill, in the valley below it was the waterfall where Ben Sisko had wanted to call home. It was protected by great Jikoo trees, their enormous fan-like leaves providing ample shade. Dad had visited this spot often, together — and sometimes with Kassidy — they camped out here, relishing the fresh air and cool water.

The sound of the water alone had been enough to bring peace to his Dad; the first time they visited, Jake had never seen his dad looked so relaxed. For all the stress DS9, the wormhole and the Prophets elicited, the falls managed to wash away, if only for a moment.

—

The bittersweet peace Jake found with the waterfall evaporates with his entry to the fire caves; the raging, sulphurous prison has claimed many lives, good and bad, by accident and by intent. A place of great spiritual fear to the Bajorans, Jake stares somehow impassively mesmerised by the flames; their erratic and hateful dancing contained only by the ancient rock. He follows the natural path through, worn in places by the footfalls of curious aliens and searching scientists but the rough edges tell of a place many still fear to tread. His dad had never seemed much afraid of the caves, in much the same way he never seemed that enthralled with being the Emissary. Even as he stood above the cliff, safely away from danger, he remember the comfort of taking his father’s large hand when he was still small; never mocked or belittled. Jake might have lost his mother far too young, but Benjamin Sisko had seen to it that he’d never want for physical affection; how Jake wishes he’d appreciated his father’s hugs more often as a child.

—

The day has long drawn to a close, and still Jake keeps walking, he climbs the rocks and hills and foothills of the Janitza range, the proud mountains rise for kilometers and still he climbs and the light dwindles. Derna and Jeraddo shine brightly, but for the little slivers of themselves which catch the sunlight otherwise hidden to his eyes; the stars blanket the inky sky above, to the point where Jake can’t separate one pin prick of light from another. He pauses for a moment, offering his ageing legs a rest and stares up at the endless sky, the still air fresh and cool; a flicker of light burns, drawing his attention before it abruptly disappears: the wormhole. The celestial gateway where, in some manner or other, Benjamin Sisko still lives, Jake knows it, he can feel it in his bones that his father is alive and not just in his memory or as a name on a building at Starfleet academy.

As long as Benjamin Sisko is still missing, Jake makes the pilgrimage. He will not forget his father.