Passing of the Torch

In the flame-lit room of Anzyl's quarters, Diela looked up at him. The Guardian had just confirmed that the memory transfer was complete, and Anzyl was about to meet the previous host he was most nervous about encountering. Dreading, even.

Diela, an older woman already, changed her persona to one of elegance, grace, and poise, sending shivers down Anzyl's spine.

"Hello, Milian," Anzyl tried an honest smile, though it wavered with anxiety.

"Hello, Anzyl," Diela—now Milian—smiled back. "My, how you've grown." Then her smile twisted into a grimace. "And still a total nervous wreck whenever you see me, I see." She let out a loud laugh and slapped Anzyl on the back. "I see my time as your Field Docent didn't spare you any PTSD!"

Anzyl let out a dreadful sigh. "When I heard you were assigned to me as my symbiote field supervisor, I nearly wet myself… the 'Initiate Annihilator' was going to be living with me and watching my every move…" Anzyl plopped down on the couch with a hefty sigh.

The old woman scoffed. "Well, after Curzon lost the mantle of toughest Field Docent and handed the Dax symbiont to that cutie patooty Jadzia, someone had to weed out the weak from the worthy!" She turned to Anzyl sternly. "Do you remember how many symbiote applicants the commission gets every year?"

Anzyl nodded. "Around 5,000."

"Aaaand how many symbiotes become available each year?" she questioned, like an old teacher giving a pop quiz.

Anzyl nodded again. "Around 300."

Milian nodded stoutly. "That's only 16% of applicants who make it through the program! Meaning it was my job to weed out the other 84%!"

She then calmed her demeanor and sat softly next to Anzyl on the couch. "But I can tell my choice in you was not a wrong one, young man." She nudged him slightly with affection. "You've come a long way from that nervous wreck of a Lieutenant when I first met you."

Anzyl laughed softly, a hint of nostalgia and bad memories. "You ran me RAGGED! I still gasp every time my alarm goes off in the middle of the night, afraid that it's you with a surprise inspection or an impromptu history lesson followed by laps around the ship!"

Milian smiled a proud grin. "But you did it! Never once did you think about giving up."

Anzyl retorted, "Oh, I thought about it! Many times!"

"But you never DID give up, Anzyl," she smiled softly back.

"But why me!?" Anzyl pleaded earnestly, the question that had haunted him since the day he heard the news he was selected. "Among thousands of applicants—from artists, musicians, poets, writers, ambassadors, doctors, lawyers. Why select me?! A lowly Lieutenant in Starfleet. A nobody!"

Milian understood his plight and softly smiled with the ease of a kind and reassuring mother. "It was your determination and sense of honor that I saw you could add to the Praxas symbiont." She shrugged frankly. "We already had an artist, scientist, musician, diplomat, and ambassador." She smiled, then patted his chest and heart. "We had enough hosts with imaginative souls, expansive minds, and giving hearts." She then patted his shoulders. "We needed someone with determination, gusto, and a stout body! The discipline to keep the Heart, Soul and Mind of Praxas in check with the Body to protect it and keep it safe. And you had IT, Anzyl. The missing pieces to truly make Praxas an amazing symbiont to add to the history and annals of our people. That is the underlying purpose of the host/symbiont relationship—to expand the horizon of knowledge far more than one single person ever could." Then she held his hands softly in hers. "And that's why I nominated YOU to be my replacement for the Praxas symbiont."

Anzyl nodded and smiled softly. "So you saw I needed the heart, but Praxas needed the discipline of a Starfleet officer."

"And I couldn't be more proud of the combination you've become." She gave him a deep hug, like that of a proud mother embracing her grown son. "Anzyl Praxas, Captain of the USS Nexus."

After the deep embrace, Anzyl smiled softly. "You know I was promoted to Captain only four months after I was joined. They skyrocketed me through commander and captain training. I really only needed to learn command procedural stuff." His smile was full of nostalgia. "After all, 'What can experience teach you in a few months—"

"—that you haven't already learned in five lifetimes?" Milian finished his sentence, as their bond grew closer than ever before. She leaned in for another shoulder-to-shoulder hug.

Anzyl closed his eyes, feeling a warmth and acceptance he had rarely felt in his life. "Thank you, Milian. For everything."

Milian looked into his eyes, her expression softening. "Remember, Anzyl, the Praxas symbiont chose you because you were the perfect fit. You were always worthy, even when you doubted yourself."

Anzyl took a deep breath, feeling a sense of closure and peace washing over him. "I'll carry your teachings and your strength with me always."

Milian smiled one last time. "And I will always be a part of you, guiding you, supporting you. Never forget that."

As Diela's persona shifted back, Anzyl felt a profound sense of connection and understanding. He had finally found the answers he sought, and the weight of his doubts lifted. He was ready to face whatever the future held, with the strength and wisdom of those who had come before him.