Karissa finally stopped crying as Will administered a tranquilizer to her, but it was evident the utter loss she still felt. Her brown eyes gazed at the Naussicaan she had killed as images of his fight with Ryan played through her mind. If only she had made it through the decon sooner. If she had only gotten out of the cycle sooner, maybe she could have stopped Ryan's death. But there was nothing she could do now.... He was gone. She had been too late.... She'd lost the only true love of her life. She stared at the gate numbly.
"Karissa, I am very, very sorry," Will said as he took her hand. "I'm here for you in any way I can be of help."
"Thank you...," she said, just above a whisper. A tear fell from her brown eyes after all the other tears she had shed. "I just... can't believe he's gone...."
"I know...," Will replied, tenderly wiping away the tear.
"Karissa," Tyran said, as he kneeled beside her.
She immediately turned her head to him. Her chin quivered, but she didn't cry. "Why is fate so cruel? Why wasn't I in time to save him?"
Gently, he pushed the hair from her face and looked into her brown eyes filled with so much pain. "I can't answer that.... I wish I had an answer for you.... But know that we're all going to miss him."
Tears sprang to her eyes once again and she looked down. "I feel so alone...."
Tenderly he pulled her into his arms again, like he had done when he first had found her. "You're not alone," he said. "You have all of us to help you through this...." He looked at Will, "Perhaps we should arrange for her to go back up to the ship. I'll take you myself." Though he knew he would have to turn around and come right back. Karissa then looked at him. "There's not much else for you to do down here anyway...," he said.
She thought about it a moment and nodded. It would be good to get back and see her children. As he stood, he assisted her. The tranquilizer made her a little unsteady on her feet. Will walked behind them as Tyran escorted Karissa through the corridors, over the dead bodies that hadn't been removed yet, and out into the open. As the sun hit her face, she squinted in the brightness. But the anguish and pain hit her again. The tears started flowing from her eyes and a sob escaped her again. Will immediately grabbed the hypospray from his medkit and inserted the tranquilizer.
"She needs a higher dose," Will said, as he administered another shot.
This time she almost collapsed into Tyran's arms. Nige looked at Will questioningly.
"It's the grief," was all he said. "She needs time and I wouldn't recommend her being alone either."
"All right," Tyran said.
With that Will walked off to attend to other things.
"Commander Tyran to *Ronin*."
[*Ronin* here, Commander.]
"Two to beam up and have Lt. Shara Mikori meet us in the Transporter room," he said.
[Aye, sir.]
Instantly he and Commander Bentara disappeared in a beam of light.