PROLOGUE
"Well,
then. It seems as if we have at last brought you to bay, Klingon filth."
K'las'
eyes narrowed as he circled in a defensive kata,
weighing his bat'elh along with his
options. The Romulans had finally cornered him here, in the citadel's watch
tower; and, through a combination of overwhelming numbers and non-existent
honor, had cut down his personal guard until he alone remained. As their
commander smirked and allowed him to assess his situation, K'las studied him
suspiciously. Why would they have paused for so long, unless they were flanking
him, planning to take him as a trophy...
Alive!
Roaring
his defiance, K'las whirled his weapon in a classic bakh'kel attack maneuver, according to legend devised by his
namesake, Kahless himself, for just such an occasion. Ideally, it forced one's
foes to abandon the capture attempt, for fear it would cost them too dearly in
blood and limbs.
The
first centurion with whom he crossed
blades, however, evidently had less respect for the innovations of Kahless than
K'las himself did. Though his blow shattered the Romulan's inferior sword as if
it were crockery, the bat'elh itself
became befouled in the ill-fated victim's ribs. The doomed soldier grasped at
the weapon with his remaining strength; and before K'las could wrestle it free,
the rest of the Romulan patahk were
upon him.
His
roars of frustration, however, lasted considerably longer than they should
have, as the quasi-medieval scene before him dissolved into the cubical
confines of a holodeck. K'las shook the bat'elh
and demanded, "Roh!" Again!
Before
the holodeck's computer could comply, though, a steely purr cut off any further
instructions. "'e' tem jIH! pol
De'... De'wI', nuq pong Devam?" Belay that! Save program ...
computer, what is the name of this program?
After
a moment, the console responded with a sneering stream of Klingonaase. To her
credit, Lieutenant Kaala managed not to laugh aloud as she repeated, "'The
Emperor K'las the Second Crushes His Innumerable Foes'? I'm sorry, Commander, I
must have interrupted just as you were about to implement the stratagem which
would 'crush' the six Romulans I saw clinging to you." Kaala stood
insolently at ease as K'las advanced upon her with the bat'elh. He got as far as raising it above his head before she
whispered, "If you kill me, Kerek will make you wish Romulans had taken you."
It
took him a full minute to decide whether the brief moment of exultation he’d
get from killing her would be worth the war which would then erupt aboard the Qul'etlh. It might leave him as captain;
but, as his plans were not yet fully set in motion, it would more likely see
him hanging by his own entrails in the cargo bay.
Honor
demanded a response, he decided. Nothing too significant; the backhand blow
left her sprawled on the holodeck floor, growling provocatively. As she looked
up at him, eyes glittering through the shock of black hair, he realized that he
was far too close to joining her there. With a hastily barked command, he
dissolved the makeshift bat'elh; then
he stormed out.
Kaala
laughed aloud at the closing doors. "Kai
the warrior's restraint!"
She
rolled easily to her feet, and considered K'las for a moment, wasting the
limited time allotted her in the holodeck. As the Science Officer, and the
covert member of Imperial Intelligence aboard the Qul'etlh, she could hardly help but be aware of his designs upon
the captain's chair.
For a Klingon male, he's moved with a...
surprising subtlety, Kaala thought. Despite the temporary tarnish on his
honor, K'las had permitted his commanding officer to believe himself superior
in every way; all the while, he’d bided his time. Even her blatant attempt to
divert him had failed. Kaala found herself pleased by this; Kerek's posturing
was becoming a bore.
Again
she chuckled. Despite the crudity of the pun, she would enjoy serving under K'las…
…and soon.
The
frontiers of the Klingon Empire were, for the most part, fluid. Aside from
agreeable and bitter arrangements with the Terrans and Romulans, respectively,
Imperial attitudes had not much changed since the glory days of Kor a century
before. Despite the fact that her economic stability had improved drastically
since the Federation alliance, and that militarily she had no real challengers
(especially when she could rely on Starfleet support in any sustained
conflict), it was still her intention to expand at all times, if at all
possible—preferably by force of arms against a noble and worthy foe.
In
support of that policy, many ships of the Imperial Klingon Fleet, now that they
were no longer arrayed against each other in civil strife, had been reassigned
to missions of exploration. Usually, these were within territories agreed upon
as probable paths of expansion. The most powerful craft, the Vor'cha-class attack cruisers, received
the choice assignments—that is, those sectors of space possessing numerous
stellar systems. Each of these, of course, held potential colonies or
conquests. Glory awaited, in carefully considered increments; the best vessels
received the optimal chances.
The
Qul'etlh, unfortunately, was not
one of the best vessels.
She
had had her time. Nearly a century before, she and her brethren, the K'tinga-class cruisers, had been top of
the line; the pride of the Klingon fleet, and the terror of her then-bitterest
foe, the United Federation of Planets. Despite the interference of the hated
Organians in what would have been a most exhilarating war, the K'tinga had led the Empire on other axes
of growth; she had been the Qogh vum,
or "beast of burden", during one of Qo'nos' greatest historical periods.
The
years had aged her, though. As her design was surpassed once, twice and again,
she and her sister-ships had been given roles of ever-decreasing significance;
until the Qul'etlh was now little more than a police cruiser,
doomed to patrol areas the Klingon High Command had categorized as
"essentially secure" or "of low priority."
The
Gar'edd System had been deemed both. It was located well beyond the bounds of
acknowledged Klingon space, and was nearly devoid of potential glory. There
were but a few systems in the entire sector wherein it was located—all of which
were sufficiently close to the Treaty Exploration Demarcator for the Federation
and the Empire to have begun a cordial rivalry in developing them. It was near
enough to Romulan territory, though, to discourage the humans and spur the
Klingons—almost anything that would antagonize the Rihannsu was worth attempting, at least for a time.
That possibility, presumed, however,
that there was anything to develop. Several high-warp probes dispatched by the
more scientifically-inclined Federation had returned a veritable cacophony of
mostly useless data, when they had returned anything at all. For all intents
and purposes, nothing was known about the Gar’edd System. Captain Kerek and the
Qul’etlh had been assigned to change
that.
It’s
inhabitants, though, were otherwise inclined.