“The Daughter Went Home”
On Chaltok, a far-off colony in the Romulan Republic, there was an old story. An old man was saying farewell to his daughter, who was marching off to war. Yet in that farewell, their words became hateful. Wrathful. Farewell to fire. The daughter calling her father tired. The father calling her daughter delusional.
At the end of the year, the daughter died in the war. The old man learned of this. And when he did, he wandered to the shore beside his home. Broken. Alone. As he gazed forward, he saw a white bird before him. Staring at him. He stood in silence.
The bird canted its head, then soared into the air. Undaunted. He watched as it sailed away. Free. He knew then: His daughter had gone home.
Nathes’ father had told her that story. Frequently. Especially when she enlisted in the Star Empire to fight against the Dominion.
She thought about him and that story as she wandered the shores of her home: On Chaltok.
Nathes was still in her duty fatigues. Her hands were sunk deep into her pocket. And her gaze was fixed onto the roaring sea. She was not far from the village. She knew this path well. She and her father had walked it constantly when she was young. Collecting sea-shells. Catching mollusks. And always when they were done, he would hold her hand.
At the end of the year, here she was. Her heart heavy. Yearning for home. Alone
This devoted, proud Commander of the RRF felt alone. Despite having much. Respect. Friends. Someone she loved. But she still felt alone. There was a hole.
But just before she drowned in this uncertainty, she saw before her: A white bird. It stared at her.
Nathes’ eyes grew watery. Remembering the story. She said aloud.
“I miss you so much, papa.”
The bird then titled its head. Then at once, the bird soared into the air. Undaunted. She watched as it sailed away. She gazed upwards in silence, watching as its wings spanned and caught the winds from the sea.
The hole in her heart was gone. She had sworn she would never go back. Yet here she was. And now she understood:
Her father was free because of a promise kept.
The daughter went home.