Prompt: Author's Choice - Cross/Crucifix
Symbols of Unity
They all celebrate and mourn in their own ways.
On a ship with a crew hailing from so many different planets and with so many different cultural customs, it is inevitable that the sight of so many different methods of expressing one's grief, especially, serves to emphasize how alone they are, stuck on a ship in the middle of uncharted space, surrounded by so many people so very unlike oneself.
But it also serves to bring them together as well, to emphasize not only their differences, but their commonalities, and how they rely on one another, blending so many different customs into a generally-compatible whole.
After the ceremony to honor two ensigns lost in the most recent skirmish with the Klingons, crosses are hung alongside memory beads, and mourning scrolls are set upon the deep red fabric of banners sewn to honor the dead. Flowers from four different planets are placed in the same vase and pictures are printed on hard copy and tacked to a board in one of the rec rooms.
The crew gathers in small groups to talk and reminisce, and, of course, to share a drink. The faces change with the changing of the shifts and the process begins anew with the advent of the newly off-duty crewmembers.
Together, they honor the lost and celebrate the living.