Kallistra gazed at the items already collected in the box, each of them delivering stabs of pain to her heart. Arising from where she stood, she moved over towards the dresser and removed the picture of Syrik, staring at it for a moment before storing it in the box as well. She stood up and glanced around the nearly empty room, heaving a sigh. She could not even conceive of how he was dead and gone because she can bat an eyelash. Fighting a barrage of tears, she closed the box and secured it, making her way out of the room that had caused her so much pain.
"Mommy! Mommy! Can grandmamma take me down to the beach?" Bellona with the youthful vigor of any child, sprang out of nowhere and gave her a hug. She enveloped her daughter in a hug, smiling down at her.
"Did you finish packing?" She inquired, patting her on the head. Bellona shook her head but smiled that innocent smile that had the tendency to lure people in.
"No…but grandmamma promised we would be quick." She responded, still smiling that angelic smile. "Please please please!" Kallistra stared at her for a moment then chuckled.
"All right, young lady. But I want you to finish packing tonight. You got it?" She gave her daughter a firm staring meaning that she would not relent on the issue. Bellona nodded then sprinted down the hall and towards the kitchen where Kallistra's mother was.
"Have you given any thought to my proposition, dear?" Soraya, her mother called to her from the kitchen. She shook her head slowly and made her way up two flights of stairs then stood on the balcony, overlooking the ocean.
"Mother…you know it is out of the question. Like it or not, Bellona is coming with me on the starship. What mother would I be if I just left her here?" She replied, sighing at her mother's failure to ever cease in persisting. She had never met a more unrelenting soul in her life!
"I cannot believe that you are choosing to do this. You know it would be better for her to spend life her on Betazed. It is a positive atmosphere and she would make many friends at a nice academy. On some Federation starship, she won't have much to do." Soraya's tone reeked of pure disapproval. She watched as a young couple splashed about in the sea water and her mind was filled with their laughter.
"I know you mean well but I am not going to just drop my daughter off with someone else. I am sure there are children on the spaceship so she will be fine." She ran her fingers through her long dark hair, observing the young couple as they had fun. As she continued to watch them, she could feel their happiness and the joviality that seemed to fill their hearts.
"I still do not approve, Kalla. Honestly she would be better here with me." Her mother still kept at it much to her dismay.
"It is settled. She is coming to live with me on the spaceship. If ever there is a holiday or we do get back to Betazed, I may even consider her living with you for a while. Just right now…we need to mourn together." She heaved another sigh, wondering quietly to herself how she and her mother were related. They were completely two different people. Kallistra enjoyed the quiet of a small simple life while her mother was one for flamboyance and ostentatious display. After moments of dwelling upon that, her mind lingered on Syrik and his demise on the USS Armistice. She still felt awful because the last time they ever parted was in anger and after a long quarrel over how to raise Bellona. The next she knew, the ship's Chief Medical Officer, Lieutenant Orson was at the door of her counseling office with terrible news.
"Counselor…Kallistra." Was how she started and without her even finishing the sentence, Kallistra knew full well that something terrible had occurred. Call it intuition or instinct.
"Lieutenant Grey has died." She paused to allow the gravity of the words to sink into her skin. "There was an incident where three Angosian dissidents snuck aboard the ship and one of the victims was your husband. He was shot as he began to overpower one of the dissidents and there was little we could do to save him." Normally, Kallistra would have cried but she was barely able to process a thought let alone cry. Linda placed her hand over Kallistra's hand, a sad expression plastered on her face.
"I am very sorry, Kallistra. I truly am. Syrik was an amazing man and he will be missed. Captain Cralore will come speak to you soon. He wants to hold a funeral for your husband as soon as you wish." She spoke in a warm voice but all she said fell on deaf ears. Kallistra only nodded, a dumbfounded expression on her face.
"I would like to make a request." She declared, her voice trembling.
"Anything."
"That Syrik's body be sent back to Vulcan so that his family can hold a proper funeral." She moved her head so she could regard Linda better.
"Yes. If that is what you want then I will speak to the captain about it." Linda responded, smiling faintly then lifted her hand off Kallistra's hand. As long as she could remember, Linda was always so warm and so kind to her, always offering an ear to listen to her problems.
