Reconciliation

[Keb 0]

Beran Faldek sat in security, trying to submerge his feelings in work. His eyes were on a report, but his heart wasn't in it.

 

Looking harried and distressed, with her hair only quickly brushed and her face still damp from a quick washing-up, Keb Mizu entered security quietly, twisting the ring on her finger. The letter he'd left her on the PADD, saying that they could not continue together, kept running through her mind. Her mind kept answering, "No!" She glanced around security, her eyes darting like a nervous animal's.

 

Faldek heard the door open and looked up at the sound. It only took him a moment to register who had entered the department. He stayed in his seat, across the room from her. "Hello."

 

Keb tried to answer. She tried to say his name but her voice stopped working right in the middle of the word. Her throat was too tight; there was too much emotion behind the name. It caught there in her throat. She tried again. "Beran…"

 

The security officer stayed calm, as if she were just an ensign interrupting his work with a question. "What I did was for the best…" he said, watching her reaction.

 

The room seemed to be swallowing Keb. She heard the echoes of her father's voice. "It's for the best," he had said. It was better for them to be apart. She shook her head, fighting both of them at once. "No…no…you can't…" Her hands were clenched at her sides; she wanted to pound on his chest until he was more sensible than her father.

 

Her quiet answer didn't even seem to stop Beran's thought, though. He continued in his calm voice, a tone of finality. "I hope that we can still be friends, best friends, but I will not come between you and your family." The decision had been made, and that was that.

 

She walked over to him, her skirt fluttering softly with her steps, still shaking her head. "You don't get it, do you? I want you to be in my family."

 

"I understand that this will hurt but only for a time. I overheard your parents talking, and I feel that it is in my best interests to not be involved in this sort of situation in which I will always and forever be hated by your father for the acts that I committed in my previous lifestyle." Keb couldn't even hear a hint of emotion in Faldek's voice. She stopped dead in her tracks at the coldness of his statement.

 

"You're not even giving him a chance to get to know the real you."

 

"He does not want a real chance to get to know me."

 

Keb couldn't argue with that. She looked away in shame for a moment. Until he'd heard about the engagement, she'd never had any reason to be ashamed of her father—he had always been a wonderful father, a good man, a good ambassador, and before that, a good Starfleet officer. No one could have accused him of anything other than working too hard. Yet, when he'd discovered that his precious daughter wanted to marry a Cardassian, all this pent up hatred had come out. For Keb, it was a strange side of her father that she didn't know how to deal with. For everyone in her life now, it seemed like a perfectly good reason to hate him back, no matter what his reasons or his other good qualities were. Now it was driving a wedge between her and Beran, which was just what the ambassador wanted. She couldn't deny Beran's words; they were true.

 

After a moment, Keb answered. "Well, fine, maybe he doesn't. Forget him. This isn't about him. Dad's not the one wearing your ring."

 

But Faldek remained unconvinced. Still in his steady voice, he continued. "On Cardassia if a father does not approve of the person's mate, and is as adamant as your father is against the union, then it would not happen. You are always wondering and asking about Cardassian traditions, and things of that sort, so there is one tradition. I would rather not be completely uncomfortable in the presence of your family. I would rather be alone."

 

His words stung Keb, but she tried to see it from his perspective. She took a step closer, putting her hand on his arm. "What did Dad say to you? It must have been awful..."

 

"He didn't say anything to me. I overheard him and your mother speaking in the kitchen. I was outside and I heard talking, then it turned a little louder. Your father was very adamant about me not being around. Even how uncomfortable he was with a killer in his home. I understand why he doesn't want me around."

 

Keb sighed. How could he say these things so directly, so calmly? She sought out Beran's hand with her fingers, looking for some comfort. "He shouldn't have said that...but it doesn't matter. We don't have to be there. It's not how I feel about you, Beran. Doesn't that matter more?"

 

Faldek neither responded nor pulled away, except in his answer. "It does... but also think about this. We are special operations, and this last mission... what if I were to die? We lead a dangerous lifestyle, and it's scary that I could lose you or that you could lose me, and how devastated you would be. I saw your reaction on Oppo... I do not wish to put you through that again, and again."

 

She tried hard, but completely failed to control the tears flowing from her eyes. Her voice was cracking again as she remembered the sight of Faldek after days of worry. "One of the happiest moments in my life was when I saw that you were okay, Beran. Maybe it's worth the risk."

 

He stopped, thinking long and hard, looking directly into her eyes. He could see the love that she felt for him. Something inside shifted, but he was still cautious. "If we do this we get married before leave is over..."

 

"You mean…right away?" she asked, looking back at him through blurry, damp eyes. Her voice was wavering.

 

He shrugged. "I mean there're six days left for leave, and it needs to be before those six days end... is that right away?" If she was going to be his, she needed to be completely his.

 

Keb glanced down for a moment, thinking about what her parents would say, and remembering how she felt when she didn't know whether she'd ever see Beran again. "It'll startle some people...but I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose you because of something happening to you--killer robots, crazy accidents, anything--but I don't want to lose you because of what my father thinks, either. It's you I want to be with, and build a family with."

 

"Then we will be married before the week is out... we need to let people know... want it to be small or should we invite the entire ship?"

 

She found the strength to smile at him. "I don't care. Invite everyone, I guess." Her eyes went shifty. "We'll have to invite my family, too."

 

Beran shrugged. "Your father can attend if he wants. I'm sure if he doesn't Captain Sovak would give you away..."

 

Keb nodded softly. "I guess..." she answered, and then looked down for a moment, serious. Then she looked up with a huge smile on her face. "Oh my goodness--I'm getting married!"

 

Beran finally smiled. "Yeah... so, know any good places to have the ceremony?"

 

"What about right here on the ship?" she replied after a slight pause.

 

"Nah. Make it someplace nice on Earth... maybe like a national park or something... The Cochran monument in Bozeman?" He gave this suggestion a moment's thought and then rejected it. "Nahhh--too cold."

 

"Maybe a cathedral? I wonder if we could get one on short notice." Visions of her white gown colored by light streaming through stained glass windows flitted through Keb's head.

 

"I am not a member of any human religion... We'll figure it out." Beran stood up and hugged Keb tightly. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, the rest of the universe fading into a distant void. "I love you," he said quietly.