A Sisterly Perspective - Part Six

Posted on Sat Mar 21st, 2020 @ 8:16am by Division Admiral April Dragon & Captain Duran Jerrold & Senior Chief Petty Officer Duran Halaar & Post Captain Duran-Yeager Syal

Mission: Mission 98: Building Our New Home
Location: Various Locations - Starbase Vanguard
Timeline: 1540Hrs - September 11th, 2393

"I did want to keep you with me Syal... You and Akaria were all I had left." Duran sighed softly. "I kept tabs on you. To see how you were doing... But I was told that I could not adopt you or become your guardian... You seemed to be doing well and my career pulled me in other directions. I lost track of you after a while." Duran explained. "I didn't know you had even joined Starfleet."

"You left me there..." Syal answered quietly.

"I did. I was simply told no, I could not adopt you as I was with the resistance..." Duran's voice was getting deeper and husker as he explained. "That was what had gotten Lanair and Kastian killed... I lost our mother, my wife, and my son... all in less than a year. Akaria got wounded and very nearly bled to death and our father was killed as well." as he glared darkly at Syal. "I wasn't about to add you as well. So I made the choice to give you to family to raise you as best as they could... Had something happened to me, or to Akaria... I wanted to ensure that you were well taken care of. Had I known what was going to happen... Maybe I would have chosen something else... But I am not blessed with foresight Syal... I still have nightmares about it... you know this..."

Halar nodded her head, she could see Syal processing it. "Had he kept you, you would have ended up like me, emotionally stunted and unable to form long term relationships as a result... Hell, I got married to Talon Yamaguchi... only because she understood me, we co-habituated but there was a lot she and I needed to deal with... separately and together." she indicated Yeager who was sitting nearby. "You have him, you have your children... I have nobody... and my entire reality was burnt to ashes... You have this... I am not sure if I should pity you, laugh at you or outright hate you..." as she rose to her feet. "Duran," she addressed the older male who regarded her. "I am sorry you had to be present for this..." and with that, she left.

"I'm sorry too Halar..." Duran said quietly to her retreating back.

Dragon had held her silence until now. "Should I go after her?" she indicated the closing door with her right hand.

"No. leave her be... She needs to cool off and come to terms with what she said to me and everyone else present." Duran answered his spouse in a soft tone of voice, he then shifted his focus back to Syal. "I'm sorry I didn't put you ahead of my own wishes, desires, and needs." he huffed a sigh at her. "It was war and we were fighting for the future of Bajor, free from oppression, humiliation, and extermination... You were innocent and deserved better than a life of deprivation, anger, hatred, and squalor." Duran explained. "It was not because I hated you or considered you a burden... But I needed to help myself before I could help anyone else."

"The land and the people are one," Yeager commented in a light tone of voice. "Syal... You once asked me if it were me, in his shoes, would I do anything differently?" he asked his spouse. "Having had considerable time to process your question... My answer has not changed... I would do as he did... I would ensure that our family continued... No matter what happened." Yeager explained to his wife.

"You think he's right then?"

"I do." Yeager paused. "We've both known loss Syal... You recall the events with that fool Admiral Hunt and what he accused you of." Yeager explained evenly. Duran listened in silence, he knew of the details and so he seemed to show no reaction.

"I remember you wanted to kill him," Duran-Yeager answered lightly. "Considering what was said and how things went down."

"Yeah... I trusted you... I also had faith in you..." Yeager explained to his wife. "I knew all about the issues you had with him... Part of it was because you couldn't tell him how you felt and it built and built until all you could remember was the hatred and the rage... But you didn't remember why..." Yeager slowly smiled, the look on his wife's face said as much. "What?"

"You forgot why you were so angry with him... That's what this is all about, I've known you a long time Syal and you really are better than this... So he upset you, he lost track of you, so you assumed he didn't care whereas it was your guardians who failed you as they were the ones who put you into foster care."

"How do you know?" Duran-Yeager regarded her husband.

"I looked into the matter Syal," Yeager explained. "You hated him as it was easy to blame him... Because you were lost and confused and nobody would tell you what was going or dry your tears as felt alone and abandoned..."

Dragon watched Michael Yeager talk to his wife, much as Duran would speak to her, she had no idea that Yeager was an effective therapist but she knew he would be sleeping on the sofa for a month at this rate.

"You..." Duran-Yeager answered quietly, then just as suddenly as she started, she stopped.

"He is still your brother but he never abandoned you... Had he done so, he would not have bothered to reach out to you. You weren't ready to hear him, his side of this long, sad tale... You were forced into a situation you were not ready to deal with and were too young to understand."

Duran regarded Syal. "I am sorry Syal... For my part in all of this..."

Duran-Yeager felt numb, she had no idea of what to do or to say. "I feel... like... such an idiot..." the small woman had tears in her eyes, she felt battered and bruised, from all sides and she was tired, she was sick of all the endless fighting with her brother.

"No. Syal... It makes you Bajoran..." Duran answered as he came over to her, he gently took her hand in his. "You are still family to me, you always will be..."

Duran-Yeager gently slipped her arms around her brother's massive torso as he gently enfolded his arms around her, he gently held her in his embrace. "I'm Sorry Syal... For my failures..."

"So am I Jerrold. For all the times I yelled at you..."

Yeager turned to Dragon. "Now, we can track down Halar and tell her this issue is resolved..." he commented softly. Yeager then tapped his combadge. "Yeager to Duran Halar..." he said in a quiet tone of voice.

"Duran here... Yeah?" she asked in response.

"The issue has been... taken care of... You can come back in-" as the doors opened and in walked the small Bajoran woman who had precipitated the meeting at hand. Halar regarded the siblings as they stood there, in each other embrace. "Good... It's over."

"No, it's just beginning," Syal answered. "Thank you Halar... for this."

Halar had no easy answer. "Your welcome..." she decided to stick with the classics as she smiled before she let out a long sigh.