Daughter of Kela

By: Ginomo

Set in the weeks following "Change of Heart." Jadzia makes great efforts to fit into Worf's family, yet she never expects the same from her husband. In need of medical treatment, Jadzia has to return to Trill and is confronted by family resentments both old and new.

Chapter 4

Dr. Rehnol's footsteps were as even and controlled as every other aspect of her personality. She'd been a physician at the Symbiosis Commission for a long time and had seen a lot of things. Working in the service of joined Trill was the highest honor anyone on her planet could have and she took pride in what she did. The procedure from today was a delicate one, but not something she hadn't overseen before. That the head of the Symbiosis Commission wanted to see her about it was a little unsettling.

She came to a large set of doors at the end of the corridor she'd been walking down. Rehnol paused, smoothed her hands over her clothes and entered.

"You asked to be updated on the state of the Dax symbiont," she said as she stood before his desk.

"Yes," Nareth Jelano put aside what he was working on to give Dr. Rehnol his attention, "Proceed."

"I am pleased to tell you that it has gone well. By separating the host and symbiont, we discovered some internal injuries that Dax had sustained. We were able to treat those injuries and would like to return the symbiont to the host immediately."

"How is the host?" he asked.

Rehnol swallowed nervously, "Stable, though she has not done as well with the separation as I had hoped."

"In what way?"

"Right away, she began to lose access to the memories associated with the symbiont," Rehnol felt like she was admitting failure, "When she awoke after the separation surgery she could only vaguely recall events that happened after her joining."

"Really? That type of loss of brain function does not usually happen until the host is near death."

"I attributed it to the damage the symbiont sustained. That said, I would like to rejoin the two as soon as possible to avoid any long term memory loss."

Jelano picked up a padd and accessed some files, "We have two approved initiates on standby waiting for an available symbiont. Have," he paused, scrolling through his data, "Have initiate 39471 prep for joining surgery and transfer the Dax symbiont to him."

Dr. Rehnol was taken aback, "What?"

"I think I was clear in my directive."

"Yes, but, with all due respect, may I ask why? The surgery on Dax was a success; frankly if you had not called me in here I would have already rejoined the two."

"Did you know that Jadzia Idaris was the first initiate dropped from the program to go on to be granted readmission and ultimately a symbiont?"

"I'd heard that, but-"

"And do you know how many washed out initiatives have reapplied since then? Or worse yet, how many completely unqualified Trill have had the audacity to even apply in the first place?"

"No, no I don't."

He placed the padd down slowly and folded his hands, "You and I are joined Trill. We came through the program when there were no second chances. Only the strongest and the best were given the privilege of hosting the most precious part of our species as a Trill."

Rehnol didn't speak.

"I remember when Curzon Dax readmitted her. I was outraged, it was a slap in the face of the process I'd been taught to respect and revere. If this woman could challenge the Symbiosis Commission and win, then what authority did we have at all? I didn't have the power to do anything about it then, but I do now."

"So you are willing to sacrifice her life to prove that Curzon was wrong?"

"I am fixing a mistake that was made years ago. She should never have been given a symbiont in the first place and her track since joining record proves it. This is the second time she has had her symbiont removed, an extremely rare procedure for anyone. Then there was the incident with the memories of the repressed host."

"None of those incidents were her fault," Rehnol was trying to maintain her composure.

"It doesn't matter. Jadzia has been a problematic host since she joined the program. Doing this will serve as a warning to the other initiates- if we say a host isn't fit for joining then that's what we mean. The record will state that because she was unfit, her body ultimately rejected the symbiont and we were forced to join it to a new host."

"That's not what's happening here-"

"We have a duty to the symbionts above all. I am the final authority on what is best for the symbionts and I will not be questioned by anyone, not even you"

Rehnol was quiet again.

"You are dismissed."

"Come in!"

"Sir, I apologize for the distraction but this," the woman paused, giving Worf another skeptical once over, "This man says he really needs to see you."

"Let him in and close the door," he barked. The woman ushered Worf into the lab and quickly left.

"Sir, my name is Lieutenant Commander Worf," He paused and looked down at his chest; his heart was pounding so hard he was worried Jadzia's father would be able to see it. Facing half a dozen Jem'Hadar would have been preferable to this, "I hope that I am not disturbing you…"

Kela Idaris barely even looked up at Worf. It was as if he knew his daughter's Klingon husband would show up at some point and he wasn't bothered by it in the least, "I know who you are."

"Sir?"

"Not very many Klingons make their way to Trill. And since my daughter seems to be obsessed with them these days, I'm drawing the conclusion that you're with her," Kela finally raised his eyes to meet Worf's; the striking blue color was just like Jadzia's, "And forgive me for being rude but whatever you're here for you are wasting your time."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm guessing you came here to perform some archaic ritual where you ask me for my daughter and then stab me or something like that?"

This must be what Jadzia felt like when she met Sirella, "No Sir. Jadzia and I are already married."

"Oh really," Kela placed his tools on the lab table and stood. Worf could instantly see the resemblance between father and daughter. Kela was tall, had the same blue eyes, dark hair, and a look on his face that was part scowl, part smirk, "I suppose that's not surprising. She does what she wants to do with little regard to how it affects her family. So when did this happen?"

"Jadzia and I were married earlier this year."

"You know, I honestly didn't think she'd go through with it. She used to be so reliable and decisive but since she got that symbiont I can never tell what she's into. I suppose this Klingon thing is sticking, though."

This was not going well at all. "She has never spoken much to me about her family and now I understand why. It is obvious that you do not approve of our relationship."

Kela sighed and crossed his arms, "I don't mean any offense to you personally, but the reality is that Jadzia could have done immensely better. My daughter is brilliant. Jadzia was at the top of her classes her entire life and she's won more awards and distinctions than I can count. She could have been working here as the Ministry of Science, she probably could have been running the place by now, but instead she chose to be a Starfleet space soldier and marry a Klingon."

Worf stood his ground, "Marrying your daughter has been the greatest honor of my life. I know how wonderful she is and I doubt that I ever will be truly deserving of her, but I will never stop trying."

Kela was not impressed, "I am sure you mean well but this is really not necessary. Jadzia has made her choices and she and I have been disagreeing about those choices long before you."

"With all due respect, I did not come here for myself, I came here for Jadzia," Worf paused, "She is here on Trill right now and she is very ill."

"Ill? What happened?"

"She was injured, very badly. She nearly died and as a result her connection to the symbiont was damaged. She is at the Symbiosis Commission right now."

Worf could see the smirk/scowl fade from Kela's face and his arms fell to his side, "That damned symbiont," he whispered.

"Jadzia is very proud. She will not admit it but I know that a visit from you would mean a lot to her. That is why I came, to ask that you put aside your differences and see her. All I care about is Jadzia's well being."

"And you think that I do not? She had her whole life ahead of her, here on Trill with her family and friends. But what did she do? She left us all behind to go off and join Starfleet. And if that wasn't enough, she sacrificed everything she was for one of those symbionts. I told her it would ruin her life, but of course she never listens to me." Kela shook his head, "I barely recognize her anymore. It's like my daughter is gone."

Suddenly, Worf realized this really had nothing to do with him.

"I did not know Jadzia before she was joined. I do, however, know that your daughter is not gone. She has changed, but she is not gone. When Jadzia and I first met, she told me about her first research project from when she was a little girl. She was growing highly allergenic cultures in your lab and she tried to shortcut the procedures you'd taught her. She ended up infecting both of you."

"She and I broke out in hives and had to be quarantined for a week."

"She says it was one of the best weeks of her life."

The memory made Kela smile. There was silence between the two men for a long time.

"She is at the Commission right now? And you chose to come find me instead of staying there with her."

"Yes sir. The doctors removed the symbiont in the hope that joining them again would reestablish the connection. She's without her symbiont right now and is dealing with some memory loss."

"What type of memory loss?"

"Her doctor said that the memories she formed since being joined to Dax are fading."

"Then that means she doesn't remember you?"

Worf swallowed, just admitting that was hard for him, "That is correct. Which is why I am not there with her right now."

Kela didn't know the Klingon well at all, but he could hear the distress in his voice, "How long has she been separated?"

"Almost three hours."

"She should not be experiencing that so soon," Kela ran his hands through his hair nervously, "To them, the host is just a shell, and they'd think nothing of sacrificing her life to save it," he sighed, "I swore I'd never go back to that place."

Worf wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, "I am planning to return right away and I ask that you come with me."

For the first time, Kela really looked at his daughter's husband, "Yes, yes of course."

"You keep sneaking out like this and you're going to get caught."

"No way. I'm too good to get caught."

Nareth rolled his eyes at his roommate and went back to his studying.

"I'm not the only one who does it. There's a bunch of us who head out for drinks once all the instructors go to sleep," Kela said, plopping onto his bed and kicking off his shoes, "You should join us."

"Initiates are expected to behave in a model fashion and sneaking out for drinks is not part of that," Nareth said matter-of-factly.

"It's no big deal, you should live a little."

"I am retaking the seventh section of the initiate practicum exam tomorrow; I need at least 14 more points to get my overall score up," he looked over his book at his roommate, "Maybe next time."

"Well, I wasn't with the other initiates tonight anyway."

Nareth put his book down, "You were with that girl weren't you?"

Kela smiled, "How'd you guess?"

"That's going to get you in way more trouble than sneaking out for drinks. You know the rules on romantic affiliations for initiates."

"Well, even if I didn't I'm sure you'd remind me."

"I don't see how you can be so nonchalant about all this. You don't prepare nearly as much as the rest of us and yet you're at the top of everything. You're-"

"She's pregnant."

"What?"

"She told me tonight."

"How could you let that happen?"

Kela looked at Nareth, "I know you spend all your time studying but even you must know how that happens."

"What are you going to do?"

"I love her. We are going to get married."

"Married? You might as well pack your things. Initiates are not allowed-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Initiates must be unmarried and without children of their own. They think joining changes a person too much for them to have prior obligations. They're wrong though, nothing could change how I feel about Beeti and the family we're going to have."

"So what are you going to do?"

"She and I just need to lay low until I'm joined, then we'll get married. It's not like they are going to take the symbiont from me once I have it."

"You don't even know if you're going to be joined, let alone when."

Kela passed a padd across the room. Nareth read the message that was loaded, "You got approved?"

"Last week. I knew you were retaking the exam and I wanted to wait until you got your new results to tell you. Now I'm just waiting to get matched."

"You barely study, you sneak out to go drinking, you get your girlfriend pregnant and you still get approved," Nareth sighed, defeated, "I could take this test a dozen times and I'm still going to be washed out."

"No, you won't. Your field docent loved you."

Nareth shook his head, "I'm kidding myself. Even with a perfect record, the reality is that there's only so many symbionts to go around. It's just a matter of time before they send me home."

"If anyone deserves to be joined it's you. You work harder than any initiate here does. You'll find a way, I know it."

Kela Idaris stood with his wife and Dr. Rehnol in the hallway outside his daughter's room. Moments before he and Worf arrived, Jadzia had lost consciousness and now her parents had just been told that she would not be rejoined to her symbiont.

"I need to see Nareth Jelano. He's still the head of the commission, is he not?"

"Well, yes, but, he has a very busy schedule. I can perhaps arrange something for you later in the week-"

"Later on the week! You and I both know Jadzia doesn't have that long."

"I know this is a difficult decision to accept, but it is the ruling of the commission that Dax be given a new, more suitable, host. The well being of the symbiont comes before everything and Jadzia agreed to the when she was joined."

Kela looked through the viewing window and into the room where his daughter lay. Her husband sat at her bedside, holding her hand and stroking her hair. The sight was heartbreaking; Worf's large form bent over his wife, gently whispering to her as she tried to will her to wake up. His face was filled with a tragic mix of fear and love, emotions Kela didn't think a Klingon was capable of.

Kela looked back to Dr. Rehnol, "You know this is wrong."

Dr. Rehnol stood there trying to decide what to do when the decision was made for her. He knew this confrontation was unavoidable, so Nareth Jelano prepared himself and headed for Jadzia's room.

"Excuse us, Doctor, I can take it from here,"

Rehnol breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him, "Yes sir. I will check on Jadzia."

Nareth turned to Kela and Beeti. The two men held each other's gaze for a moment and memories of years long past came back, "I understand this is a difficult time," Nareth began, "It should give you some comfort to know that Jadzia understood the commitment a host makes to its symbiont and would agree with this decision."

"I know everything about being a host, Nareth," Kela said, "You know that better than anyone."

Just then, Worf stepped out of the room and into the hallway with them.

"Worf, I am glad you're here. This is Nareth Jelano, the head of the Symbiosis Commission and the man who's condemned your wife to death for no reason whatsoever."

"No reason? I do not expect you to understand the hard decisions, the sacrifices, that we have to make for the sake of the hosts. I did not want to have to say this to you, but your daughter is not a suitable host. She never was and should never have been readmitted to the program after she washed out. I am righting the mistake that was made."

Kela shook his head, "That's not what this is about."

Beeti squeezed his hand, "Kela…"

He looked to his wife, "I have kept this quiet too long and look what it's come to," he turned back to Nareth, "So exactly how did you end up getting a symbiont all those years ago?"

Nareth narrowed his eyes, "That's not what this is about."

"Isn't it? Instead of being prepped for joining, my field docent called me into his office and promptly kicked me out of the program. Somehow he found out about Beeti and I. Even though you were the only person who knew, I never imagined you would have told them because I thought you were my friend. But I suppose you showed a level of cunning and deceit that was just what the commission wanted, because not long after I heard you'd been joined instead."

"Your friend? Is that what you thought? Just because they put us in a room together? I despised everything you stood for. The way everything came to you so easily, the way you breezed through the program like it as nothing, the way you acted like the rules didn't apply—"

Kela interrupted his rant, "Did you know the baby was Jadzia?"

"I figured it out. It's fitting I suppose."

Worf stood by stunned. Jadzia's father had been an initiate? And he was removed from the program because of her? Had she known that?

Kela's tone changed, "Look Nareth, you won. You got the symbiont and now you run the whole commission. I'm just a researcher in a lab. You've won. Don't take an old rivalry out on my daughter."

No one spoke for a moment. Worf finally broke the silence, still trying to process what he was hearing, "As a representative of the Federation is it my duty to report everything I have seen and heard here. And if Jadzia dies, there will be questions. The kinds of questions that require an investigation to answer."

"I am sure you don't want that," Kela continued, "All those Starfleet officers probing into your files, digging up things you don't want dug up. How many other people did you have to cross to get to where you are?"

Nareth's eyes narrowed again, "Are you two threatening me?"

"Perhaps he is, I am just stating facts," Worf said coolly, "This is not the first time the Symbiosis Commission has been willing to sacrifice Jadzia's life. By my captain's orders, if she dies, everything will come to light."

Nareth Jelano looked from Worf to Kela and back again, "Excuse me," he disappeared into the room where Jadzia and Dr. Rehnol were. Moments later, he emerged, "We will rejoin her. Please understand, she had been separated a long time. It may be too late."

"For your sake, I hope it is not," Worf replied.

Jadzia Dax's eyes blinked open again. Those same bright lights were overhead, she was really getting sick of those lights. Slowly she sat up and looked around the room. In the corner sat the last person she expected to see at the Symbiosis Commission.

"Father?"

"Hey, take it easy," her father stood and approached the bed, "It's going to take some time for you to get back to normal."

Jadzia touched her abdomen, "Dax," she smiled; she could feel the comforting presence of her symbiont and previous hosts.

Kela smiled as well, "You were rejoined several hours ago. We've been waiting for you to wake up."

Her smile turned to panic, "Is Worf still here? I have to see him, he must be so worried-"

"He is here, right outside the room. I asked him if I could speak to you first."

"Then the two of you have met?" Jadzia asked nervously.

"We have. And I have to say, he actually reminds me of myself years ago, willing to do anything for the woman he loves."

"Well that's certainly a surprise to hear."

Kela sighed, "Jadzia, there are some things I have kept from you. Things you deserve to know," a pause, and a deep breath, "When I was a young man, I was an initiate."

Jadzia was stunned, "You? You hate the whole 'symbiont thing' as you call it."

"That's an acquired hatred," he said with a small laugh, "Not only was I an initiate, I was selected for joining. But before I could be matched I was kicked out."

"Why?"

"I had been secretly seeing a woman, and she became pregnant. You know the rules. Even though I was the best candidate they had, when they found out I was washed out immediately," another pause, "Your mother was the woman and you were the baby. "

Jadzia was speechless, "All these years…" she managed to whisper.

"I could never find the right way to tell you. Then, when you said you wanted to be a joined Trill, I suppose I was just embarrassed. I didn't want you to know that I had failed at it. Over time, embarrassment turned to resentment. You were able to achieve the thing I'd not been able to."

"I was the reason you weren't able to. You would be a joined Trill otherwise."

"It was not your fault and I was wrong to blame you… but I did. And what made it worse was that they were right. You changed so much after you were joined, had I managed to keep you two a secret and been joined myself, it would have destroyed our family."

"It seems as if my joining did that anyway."

Kela shook his head, "That was my fault. Things would have been different had I been honest, but I was stubborn. And unfortunately you are just like me."

Jadzia took her father's hand in hers, "Thank you for telling me this."

"I should have done it a long time ago. Now, I'm going to let Worf in here, I know he is dying to see you."

Kela headed for the door, but Jadzia called after him, "Father, will you come to the symbiont pool with me later on?"

Kela's eyes widened, "Really?" Seeing the symbionts in their natural, unjoined state was an honor few Trill got to experience, "Yes, of course. I would love that."

Jadzia smiled back at her father, "Good. So would I."

~finis

October 5, 2015