WORF: I did not mean to interrupt.
O'BRIEN: It's all
right.
WORF: You are
performing Ak'voh... for your friend.
O'BRIEN: I am?
WORF: (nodding) An
old Klingon tradition. When a warrior
dies in battle, his comrades stay with the body to keep away predators. That
allows the spirit to leave the body when it is ready for the long journey to
Sto'Vo'Kor.
O'BRIEN: A fine
tradition.
Worf nods and takes a seat next to O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: What are
you doing?
WORF: We
shall both keep the predators away.
My father passed away in the hospital. After he died, they removed all of the tubes and breathing apparatus and left him to lie peacefully on the bed. My mother, brother and I gathered around him, waiting to see what happened next. Would they take him to the morgue? Would the funeral home come to pick him up? I'd like to think we were performing ak'voh. We kept him safe until his spirit left his body and made the long journey to his equivalent of Sto'Vo'Kor, where I know it arrived safely and he will live forever. I know I will see him again, someday.
(from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", episode "The Ship", teleplay by Hans Beimler, story by Pam Wigginton and Rick Cason)