Peace in the Valley

Posted on Fri 30th Mar, 2018 @ 11:40pm by

725 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Brushfires
Location: Guest Quarters, Deck 25
Timeline: MD 5, 2117

The guest quarters were ... comfortable ... adequate ... sterile. Wherever Riko looked there was nothing to remind her of Samurai, nothing of who she was, who her friends were. There was no tea set gift from the Winter sisters for her birthday. Her own embroidered tapestries and decorative pillows were missing from this anyone-can-live-here space. The things she took for granted were gone, and with them, some of the people she'd loved the most ... not all, but some.

It was normal to feel ... down ... blue ... depressed. She told herself this over and over. When you lose so many friends, even more understandable to be in a fog. Her own injuries, moderately severe, had mostly been healed in a day. She barely felt a twinge in her left shoulder, which she hadn't even realized was badly damaged on the bridge that day. It was only her heart that wouldn't heal. Where was the piece of med tech for that?

A staunch Presleytarian, McCord had tried to pray. Without her alter and candles and picture of Elvis, she couldn't seem to pull her spirit together. She'd tried this hymn or that one, but felt no answering relief. There was one that ran through her mind over and over, like a litany, which brought a small feeling of comfort, or that there would be comfort in the future.

Well, the bear will be gentle,
And the wolves will be tame,
And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes.
And the beasts from the wild,
Shall be led by a child,
And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes.

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day.
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray.
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow,
No trouble, trouble I see.
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me.

She hoped it was true. She hoped if she thought about it enough, the peace would come. Lying back on the bed, Riko closed her eyes and thought of her family. Starfleet was keeping the Samurai incident, as they'd dubbed it, as quiet as they could. Hard to do with so many dead, but the dead came from all over Federation space, so it was easier than one might think. No doubt they'd issue a statement soon ... leaving out most of the facts. Riko needed her family. She needed to hear their voices, even Midori, rattling on about some new fashion she loved.

It was impossible to call them, because she would never be able to keep her anguish to herself. Forget about being inscrutable. That gene has passed McCord by, and either of her parents could always look right through her deceptions ... as could her grandparents.

Her mind drifted for a few minutes, and then she found herself remembering the last dinner with all the Winter sisters. How could they have been so much alike, and yet so unique? How could any of them be gone, just blown out like an altar candle? She ran her mind over each one ... serious, inquisitive, peacemaker, solution-finder, and each one with a great sense of humor. How could anyone that vibrant, that full of life, be dead? She knew some had survived, but she was afraid to look to see who hadn't ... other than the ones she knew from the few minutes on the bridge. She needed to know, to contact the surviving ones, to visit them. She needed to talk to Henry. She knew he was okay, and she'd seen the captain briefly yesterday.

And then the thought was in her mind, unbidden. How many days had it been there, waiting for Riko to recognize it. She needed to go home. She needed to leave Starfleet, leave her commission, leave space. She was broken ... finished. She needed to go home, find a small job in a big lab ... heal in her own time ... never to be where it was possible for her to fail her crew again, any crew. As the idea crystallized, she felt calm for the first time since the attack. Home was her answer to every question, but it had taken her time to find that answer. With the words to the hymn floating through her mind, peace in the valley, McCord finally slid into sleep.

 

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