Ceremony of Reconciliation

The Ceremony of Reconciliation was a complex ritual involving an arranged marriage between the empathic metamorph Kamala and Alrik of Valt. It was performed by Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a holodeck replica of the ancient Valtese Temple of Akadar on the Federation starship on stardate 45766.1. Its purpose was to end the centuries-long war between the Valt and Kriosian systems, and it was conducted at a mid-point between these two systems.
Complications arose when two Ferengi, conning their way aboard the Enterprise by fatally sabotaging their own shuttle, awakened Kamala from her chrysalis-like stasis. After offering first ten thousand and then twenty thousand pieces of the purest gold ingots in the galaxy to the Kriosian Ambassador Briam in exchange for the metamorph, the two Ferengi were rebuffed, and – when it appeared that Briam was poised to report their plot – accidentally injured him in protest. With the ambassador failing to regain consciousness in time for the ceremony, Jean-Luc Picard found it necessary to replace him. 
The Ceremony of Reconciliation required considerable knowledge of Kriosian and Valtese tradition, and thus Picard accepted the assistance of Kamala in its rehearsal. She aided him with each detail, from the playing of the torze-qua on a xylophone-like musical instrument to the reading of an ancient scroll. Though Kamala was by this point in the final stages of her finiis'ral, causing her to imprint upon Picard rather than upon her intended, she also assumed the captain's sense of duty and thus insisted upon going through with the ceremony. 
The culmination of the Ceremony of Reconciliation occurred when Alrik stepped down from the Temple's throne and received Kamala as his bride. Much like a traditional Terran bride, Kamala was gowned, veiled, and given away with her life-defining statement, "I am for you, Alrik of Valt", at which point Alrik removed her veil. However, as Briam was still incapacitated, Kamala was instead given away by Picard, who had developed a deeper connection to her than either dared to admit. ()
Category:Ceremonies