"They did, dear," Falinn Ehlara replied in her soft voice as Reiv Garon finished the log entry. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her, though his face was nonetheless troubled.
The shuttle landed on Bajor and Reiv soon discovered that Ehlara wasn't kidding; the area around their landing site was well prepared with carpets, tapestries, tables, chairs, and even a makeshift altar with symbols and other articles of religious significance. A crowd had gathered; by the look of it, they were mostly comprised of friends and family of both Reiv and Falinn.
Reiv and Jevor exchanged a look, and Jevor opted to remain inside the shuttle. Jevor understood the importance of what was about to happen and realized that he wasn't meant to be a part of it.
Reiv and Falinn descended from the shuttle and were warmly welcomed by the assembled guests. All were a little wary of Falinn as none of them had ever seen anyone like her before. Their wariness wasn't really out of fear, but more from a profound respect and awe at the very presence of a spirit that had been touched by the Prophets.
Ehlara was instructed to join Kai Opaca at the altar; as Reiv moved to go with her, he was held back by one of the Vedeks in attendance. Ehlara noticed and stopped short, moving back to the point where Reiv had been held. Reiv started to weep openly, realizing this was perhaps the final good-bye he'd been dreading for the past two weeks, but Ehlara shook her head and smiled.
"No good-byes this time either, Garon," she told Reiv softly. "The Prophets have more in store for both of us. Until our paths cross again."
The two leaned forward to kiss; a rippling gasp went through the crowd as Ehlara's previously transparent form became quite solid. The Prophets were clearly benevolent that day.
At length, Ehlara's form faded back into energy, and her shadow backed away from Reiv and went up to the altar, where the ceremonies began. Incense was burning as a combination of rhythmic music and chanting began slowly. The tempo increased steadily, then dramatically, finally working itself to a fever pitch. The crowd was caught up in the moment, as individual beads of sweat began to appear on the foreheads of the assembled Vedeks. The Kai herself also began to show some strain.
After this had been going on for several minutes, the ceremony was suddenly lit up by a bright series of lights. These lights were coming from Falinn Ehlara herself, as parts of her pattern began to disappear, whisked away straight up into the sky and beyond sight of those gathered for the ceremony.
As the last of her image was about to disappear, she looked Reiv right in the eye. "I love you," she mouthed, for her soft voice would never have been heard over the din of the ceremony. He mouthed the same thing in return, and thought he caught the edge of an understanding smile before the last of her disappeared, the light faded, and the ceremony came to an abrupt end.
Reiv allowed himself to fall heavily to his knees, whispering a variety of thoughts and prayers under his breath. After a few moments he felt a light touch on his shoulder; he looked up to see the eyes of a visibly weary Kai Opaca observing him intently. "Kai Opaca!" Reiv stammered as he bent his head in respect.
"Look at me Reiv Garon," she commanded; he did so immediately. She then reached out and took ahold of his right ear, closing her eyes as she did so. "Your Pah is strong," she told him. "Very, very strong. You have many important tasks to accomplish in your future; tasks with ramifications for the whole of Bajor and beyond."
Reiv's eyes grew large and his face was pale. "What sort of tasks?" he asked when Kai Opaca released his ear.
"That I cannot reveal to you at this time," she told at him. "Don't fear them, for they are a part of you; just be ready to act when your time comes."
"I will," Reiv promised.
Kai Opaca smiled faintly, "Farewell then. We will speak again."
"Be well Kai Opaca," Reiv called after her. Reiv joined the gathering of family and friends for awhile before pleading the call of duty and returning to the shuttlecraft.
Reiv wordlessly piloted the shuttle into the air, quickly leaving the planet surface. He then opened a channel to the orbiting space station requesting permission to dock with it.
"Now what?" Jevor inquired.
"Captain Freeman asked me to drop something off here; he is friends with the new commander of the station, Commander Sisko," Reiv explained.
"How did he know who was going to get assigned here? The peace treaty and the Cardassian withdrawal were concluded while we were en route," Jevor demanded.
"Come on Commander," Reiv teased. "Why do you think he let us come this way at all? An unarmed Federation shuttle wouldn't last long in a war zone. Rank has its privileges; he knew about this in advance."
Jevor grunted sourly.
"Care to come along while I make the delivery?" Reiv asked good-naturedly.
Jevor wrinkled his nose. "Not that I particularly like being stuck in this shuttle mind you, but Cardassian construction makes me sick to my stomach. I'll wait here."
Reiv smiled at his friend, then exited the shuttle into one of the docking areas of the space station, renamed Deep Space Nine after a Federation presence was recently placed within it. He was greeted by a Bajoran woman with pale skin and red hair.
"Lieutenant Reiv? I'm Major Kira, Bajoran liaison officer to Deep Space Nine," the woman said, offering her hand.
"Good to meet you Major," Reiv replied, shaking her hand. "I must say I wasn't really expecting a formal welcome."
"I wanted to meet you," Kira replied simply. "I'd heard you'd had a very interesting experience on Bajor." Reiv nodded mutely as the two walked off down the hallway to meet with Commander Sisko.
***
Some time later Reiv boarded his shuttle where Jevor sat impatiently waiting for him. "That sure took you long enough," Jevor complained. "What were you doing?"
"Just dropping off the gift from the Captain and meeting with some of the crew of the station," Reiv replied innocently.
Jevor grumbled under his breath and shook his head as the craft left the Bajoran system. "Are you alright?" he asked Reiv after a time. "You've seemed different to me somehow since we left."
Reiv smiled at him and nodded, "I'm fine, Commander. Things have been set right again; everything is alright now."
"Interesting observation; in a peculiar way I was feeling the exact same thing," Jevor replied.
"Course set for Andor, Commander," Reiv reported after a moment.
"Engage at warp nine, Lieutenant. I can't wait to get home."
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