Post 236: Lursa's Curses

Stardate: 70620.1630
Title: Lursa’s Curses
Author: N'Dura
Scene: Quarters/Holodeck
Time: Sixteen hours after "Daybreak" by Zanh Liis

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Her combadge chirped. Instantly awake, N’Dura touched it and took in the time on her bedside chronometer.

[Chief?]

“Is there a enemy vessel about to fire on us, Ensign?”

[No… Sir…]

“Then this better be good, Biggs, or you can say goodbye to your holodeck privileges.” The Klingon snarled as she grabbed her boots from beneath her berth.

Simon Biggs swallowed hard. [There’s… ugh.. there’s an unauthorized entry in holodeck 2.]

“Biggs, I have not slept in days. Open a channel and tell them to get a room.” N’Dura said, now sitting on the edge of her bed.

[It’s the Lair child, Commander. She’s running your cha'qu' ceremony… thought you might want to know.]

There was a long pause before N’Dura responded. “I’ll handle this personally, do not log, understood?”

[Aye, Chief. Biggs out.]

N’Dura dressed quickly, cursing and muttering under her breath the entire time.

=^= 15 minutes later.

The holodeck doors opened to reveal the foggy terrain of Borenth. Following the path to the Pool of Dark Waters. It was there that she found Arie kneeling, her arms wrapped around herself, desperately whispering to the swirling waters.

As such, she did not hear the Klingon’s approach.

“D’ach vo tel al, kol ah..rie?” (Explain yourself, Arie-child.) "How did you get here?"

Arie turned, guilt written in her expression. "I snuck out of our quarters, Honored Warrior."

"And why did you do this?"

She managed to choke out two more words “e’mam K’Raye…”… the tears that threatened to spill forth, she held back in defiance in front of the Klingon.

"I am afraid that she won't come back to us. I heard my parents speaking. They thought I was asleep. They do not know if she will ever be found, or if she is," her small shoulders slumped as if beneath the weight of her entire, small world. "I miss e'mam K'Raye, N'Dura. A whole lot. I thought that since Kahless did such a good job bringin' Oko-mekh home that maybe, if I tried real hard," She closed her eyes and began to speak to the waters beneath her once more.

*Flashback*

N’Dura was all of 14 years old (Borenthian years) when she first heard it. “May the curse of K’Raye shadow you until you plead for death.” The words spoken by her mother. But the name had meant nothing to her at the time. Then again, L’Ursa’s curses tended to be unique… and … well, colourful. N'Dura had made a mental note to look up the name, but she never got around to it. Had she, the Chief of Security would have understood the meaning of Lursa’s words… and how they applied to the former Counselor of the USS Independence.

*End Flashback*

N’Dura knelt down on one knee, placing an arm around the child’s shoulder. Speaking as gently and softly as she could for her current mood, “I believe you have tried hard enough, Ah .. rie. The pool of dark waters cannot change that which has past… only fate. Come, let me return you to your … home.”

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Lt. Commander N'Dura
Chief of Security
USS Independence