Some Enemies don't Deserve Mercy
Posted on Mon Feb 16th, 2026 @ 5:01pm by Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant Ralen Trellis
Edited on on Mon Feb 16th, 2026 @ 5:03pm
828 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
The Return
Location: Flight Deck
Timeline: (Just after the Memorial)
The flight deck had mostly cleared, crew members filtering out in small groups or alone. Lieutenant Yuvek stood before one of the wall-mounted displays, his eyes tracking the endless scroll of names. His uninjured hand was clenched at his side, the treatment device on his burned arm humming softly.
Ensign Marcus Chen, Operations. Lieutenant j.g. Sarah Blackwood, Engineering. Dr. Keiko Yamamoto, Civilian Medical. Emma Kross, age 7. Jasad read to himself.
"They deserved better than this," he said quietly, his voice tight with barely controlled anger. "Every single one of them."
His jaw clenched as more names scrolled past. "The Heralds don't negotiate. Don't take prisoners. Don't show mercy. They just... erase. Planets. Stations. People."
He wasn't aware he was speaking aloud until movement caught his peripheral vision. Counselor Trellis stood a few meters away, also studying the names.
Jasad didn't acknowledge him directly, but continued speaking, his voice harder now. "We can't coexist with them. Can't negotiate. Can't find common ground. So the only logical solution is complete extermination. Wipe out every Herald, every Iconian. Burn their worlds before they burn ours."
His pale features were set with grim determination. "It's them or us. And I'd rather it be them."
Counselor Ralen Trellis heard the words and felt Jaret's memories stir uncomfortably. I've heard this before. Different war, different enemy, same conclusion.
He moved closer to stand beside Yuvek, his own eyes tracking the names on the wall. For a moment, he said nothing, just let the silence settle between them.
"Extermination is efficient," Ralen finally said, his tone measured and calm. "Clean. Final. No more wondering when the next attack comes, who else will die."
Counselor Trellis paused, still looking at the names. "But there's a cost to thinking that way, Lieutenant. Not a tactical cost - a personal one."
Jaret paid it. Spent years consumed by hatred until there was nothing left but rage. He thought to himself, keeping the pain of those memories to himself.
"You want to talk about the cost of hatred, Counselor?" He wasn't angry - just tired. Bitter.
He gestured sharply toward the names on the wall. "The Founders ordered the Jem'Hadar to turn on Cardassia. My homeworld. They systematically exterminated eight hundred million Cardassians in a matter of hours. Burned our cities. Slaughtered civilians. Children."
His jaw tightened, neck ridges standing out prominently. "And when it was over, when Cardassia was nothing but ash and bodies, what happened to the Founders? They got to retreat safely through the wormhole. They got to go home. They faced no consequences for genocide."
His jaw tightened slightly. "But what I can't understand is why we keep making the same mistake. The Founders committed genocide and faced no real consequences. And now the Heralds are doing the same thing, and we're still debating whether complete extermination is morally acceptable."
"It's not about rage...," he said quietly. "It's practicality. Some enemies don't deserve mercy because they'll never offer it in return." he said in a direct tone.
Counselor Trellis shifted his gaze from the list towards the Cardassian. "When you decide that an entire species deserves complete annihilation, something changes in you," Trellis continued quietly. "You start seeing the universe in absolutes. Threats and non-threats. Problems to be eliminated. It becomes easier to justify more and more extreme measures."
He glanced at Jasad. "And eventually, that hatred doesn't stay contained. It spreads. Consumes everything else. You stop trusting people. Stop seeing nuance. Every problem becomes a nail because all you have left is a hammer."
I carry those memories. I know exactly where this path leads.
"I'm not saying the Heralds don't need to be stopped," Trellis said firmly. "They do. But if stopping them requires you to become someone who believes genocide is acceptable... you need to ask yourself what that costs. Not just tactically. But personally. Mentally."
He turned to face the Cardassian directly. "Because once you convince yourself that complete extermination is justified, it's very difficult to come back from that. And the war doesn't last forever, Jasad. But you'll still have to live with who you became during it."
Ralen couldn't help but remember just how his previous host, Jaret, never came back from it. Even decades later, he saw threats everywhere. Couldn't trust. Couldn't rest. The Dominion war ended but he kept fighting it in his head until the day he died.
"Maybe you're right, Counselor," Jasad said quietly. "Maybe that hatred does consume you. Maybe it does change who you are."
He gestured toward the scrolling list with his uninjured hand. "But right now, standing here looking at four thousand names... I can't bring myself to care about who I might become. I just want to make sure there aren't four thousand more."
Jasad turned and walked toward the exit, leaving the Trill Counselor alone with the names.
Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Ralen Trellis
Counsellor
USS Tokyo
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