Count Down To Yuletide Chapter 17- Part III - Pembroke Castle

Count Down To Yuletide on Star Base 12- Chapter 28

Karissa Elizabeth Ann Lowell was allowed to attend her beloved Roy' s cremation and burial where she scatted his ashes over his maternal grandmother's grave in Virginia, before her care-takers drove her to San Francisco, California to board the USS Republic on March of 2270.

Karissa Elizabeth Ann Lowell carried the last picture that Roy and she had taken together with her in her suitcase along with other family pictures, her jewelry, her books, clothes, and portable radio which she loved so much and she would sit in the garden on board the USS Republic where she would play it and listen to some of her favorite tunes.

Karissa Elizabeth Ann Lowell's only friend on board The USS Republic was Lt. Kevin Thomas Riley and he was just troubled as she was as he had lost his family to the sorry monster named Kudos who was the governor of Talos IV.

Lt. Kevin Thomas Riley and Karissa would solace each other and talk about the loss of their families,  but Lt. Kevin Thomas Riley had lost his family to a heartless monster, who thought he could play God, and Karissa had lost her family and fiance to radiation sickness brought on by World War Three which started in 2126 but it didn't escalate until May 1, 2153.

Even after 117 years later after the end of World War III, people were suffering the long term side effects from radiation sickness and despite the new kinds of treatments. It didn't work on everyone and people still were dropping like flies in 2270.

Roy L Mock and Karissa Elizabeth Ann Lowell's families were two of them among many others and Roy fell victim to it, at the age of 17 years old, and he didn't live long after he was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer caused by the radiation sickness. 

Lady Karissa Elizabeth Ann stands on her balcony at Pembroke Territory into the starry night that overlooks Pembroke Territory and she calls out " Blessed Yuletide Roy." 

"I pray to Odin that you can hear me call out to you." Lady Karissa calls out.

"It has been 21 years now since you left me." Karissa tells Roy.

"I am happy that you escaped what the United Federation of Planets did to the war orphans. The packed us are up like cattle and shipped us to what they told us we would be going to a brave new world." Karissa tells Roy.

"I intend to disagree with The United Federation of Planets and their good intentions." Karissa tells Roy.

"Good Intentions are always paved to the roads of Hades." Karissa tells Roy.

"I am thankful to President Hathaway. She unfunded and aborted The Program." Karissa explains.

"We were to be use for their experiment to repopulate their brave new world." Karissa tells Roy.

"We were the blessed few that were not tainted with radiation sickness." Karissa tells Roy.

"It reminds me of the novel "The Handmaiden's Tale" by  Margaret Atwood where women who were fertile would be given to men who were married because they assumed that their wives were infertile due to radiation sickness, but  they fact is they never tested the men." Karissa tells Roy.

"Thank Odin, none of were expecting to sleep with any of the 299 young men that came with us on the USS Republic." Karissa explains.

"My dear Roy.  I have been married for 21 years now to Lord Andrew Charles Howard and he is the fifth Duke of Norfolk Territory on Star Base 12 and we have five children together, and our eldest daughter was given the name we picked out together,  Lady Elizabeth Victoria Ann Beltane is now 16 years old and with my dear Lord Richard William Carey, Duke of Bedford Territory, we have have two beautiful children, our daughter, Lady Caroline Matilda and Lord Benjamin Lawrence. " Karissa tells Roy.