| Rules of Engagement
by Peter Morwood
1 Kirk dispatch - border zone 3-39, with special attention to Organian influence, if any. Enterprise finishing three month border patrol in this sector of debated space, they were scanned by Klingon vessels on three occasions [3/72-5.3, -5.83, -5.91 refer], at no time was any overt or covert hostile maneuver or activity directed at this ship and that as a consequence of this atypical Klingon reluctance to undertake offensive action, this sector may presently be regarded as one of the Organian treaty Zones, with all policing and protection appertaining thereto. It is my opinion that the Organian Peace Treaty is being honorably maintained. Log - Whether through Organian or some other influence, such as Klingon Imperial policy, this particular area of the frontier corridor is at peace. This last mission has been both nerve-wracking and boring. However, there are more relaxing places to be bored than the Klingon Neutral Zone. There is no way to tell how actively the Organians will enforce their treaty without an actual outbreak of hostilities. Proximity to the Neutral Zone had given the mission a flavor of espionage. Klingons never took kindly to exploration in what they regarded as their own backyard. They called it spying and reacted accordingly. No recorded instances of Organians enforcement of their treaty restrictions in this sector, but no one tested it either. 8 Sulu had cross-linked two flight simulation programs, and started to tweak all of the Klingon and Romulan ship capabilities toward optimum for each vessel’s class. Now known as the most Evil Game in the Known Universe. There were five Klingon ships in the 3-D tank now, in confused, confusing and spectacularly messy combat against a Fed fleet of 12. The enemy ships wore only the plain gray-blue of the Klingon Navy. One of the Klingon ships responded like a shark in bloodied water, it whipped around in a turn tight enough to set off inertial compression warnings then fired a bracketing salvo of disruptor bolts from its forward batteries. The Klingon’s brother shops reacted by following their consort into a right echelon formation that brought all of their forward weapons to bear on the Fed ship. The Klingons locked into a firing position. The Fed ship went into a pitch and yaw course. The right most Klingon vessel was left on a collision course with one of its own consorts. The entire Klingon formation broke every which way. Lt. Jerry Freeman, produced version from rescanned sterry tapes of Klingon space opera may’Duj BortaS! [Battle Cruiser Vengeance] the old tapes have been available as xenosociological material for years. Ever since the Fed ambassador to the Empire brought them back from the Klingon homeworld when he was recalled. Freeman had run about 10 of them through his conversion program. Kirk – Propaganda? Threats to morale? Improper conduct? I don’t think I need to worry. I doubt that a space opera, even a Klingon space opera, is likely to harm the physical or mental welfare of this crew. Harsh metallic music blared from the sound system, Kirk was fascinated by this new experience. There had been all those encounters in the past, when he had met Klingons, spoken to them, fought with them; but this was the first time he had ever heard their music. Main title introduction, Alien scale and tuning, then a chorus of fierce voices burst into song. Somehow Kirk had never imagined Klingons singing. HIchmey tuj, Som chuStaH It was about hot guns and a noisy hull. The song crashed to a conclusion in a brazen atonal scream of trumpets and a rattle of percussion. A Klingon warship went into action on the holostage. Cutting up one of the old Constitution-class starships. Enterprise had been on the receiving end of firepower from that sinister crankwinged vessel too many times for her commander to regard such a battle cruiser with anything like equanimity, and the prospect of this crew of largely untried youngsters seeing that same ship as no more than part of an entertainment disturbed him. Translated dialogue. Never occurred to Kirk that Klingons might have had a gift for comedy. Nothing intentionally humorous in the production, the whole thing was so deadly serious that after a while it became impossible to take seriously. Klingon officers snarled Battle Language at their subordinates, line members conspired against their enemies and one another, commanders moved fleet elements as they might move pieces on a klin zha board, and ships blew up other ships in what might have passed for combat maneuvers in an effects studio. All was done without a smile, without a laugh, without a single joke to lighten the oppressive mood of determined glory-seeking. A Klingon of the Imperial race stood on the shattered bridge of a Romulan Warbird, flanked by his personal guards, and gazed at the members of the Rom vessel’s crew as they knelt on one knee to acknowledge his victory and their defeat. SoH’Iv? One of the Romulans asked. Who are you? The Klingon captain put his hands on his hips and glanced about him at sparking consoles and smoke-blackened bulkheads. He smiled that toothy Klingon smile that has nothing to do with humor. HoD Qotlh jIH, he said. Qotlh BortaS. je Dujvam tevwIj maj. I am Captain Koth. Koth of the Vengeance. And this ship is my prize. Harsh music swelled triumphantly as the image froze. Then both sound and image faded slowly away. They aren’t like this, Kirk thought. Kor wasn’t, at least not much, and Koloth certainly wasn’t. doesn’t the Empire dare to show that its military might have a sense of humor? Or do they regard humor as subversive? High-phase Tlhinganaase The sound of high-phase Tlhinganaase being spoken on the Enterprise always meant trouble in the past, or at least an unwanted ripple in shipboard routine This young crew, prior to publication of The Final Reflection, knew Klingons as only the enemy, cardboard cutouts of villain. How many of these crew read The Final Reflection before they joined Starfleet? The ship’s library has info on Klingons and their empire. According to library records, a lot of the reading had taken place while the Enterprise was in the Klingon patrol corridor. Kirk had noticed the increased turnover on data and hardcopy printouts and had been considered enough to visit the Rec Room and Sick Bay. There were attitudes and states of mind concerning and held by, the nominally fictional characters both Klingon and Terran in The Final Reflection that could have had an unfavorable effect on morale. 26 the Klingons and the Orions spheres of influence extend too conveniently close to Dekkanar, 4725 Cancri for Starfleet to want to give either unfriendly power the opportunity to expand by virtue of Fed errors. Isolated star system, all alone, seven planets, only Dekkanar inhabitable, belt of asteroids. Asteroids inhibit sensors functioning. Unstable type F2 star source of ionized radiation, effective jamming. the Fed early warning installations, designation Firechain, drone satellites fitted with an adaptation of the Romulan cloaking device, like the one that had been monitoring the three Klingon cruisers at the beginning of the V’ger incident; false asteroids and real ones hollowed out. The main station is in Dekkanar. The laddies from Klingon Intelligence would love t’ get their hands on the whole kit an’ caboodle. Losing the planetary base would be bad enough; losing the surveillance facilities to the Klingons would be far, far worse, because they would love it. The Empire’s diplomatic arm would try to use it as political leverage both through the Organians and in other, nastier ways. 37 years ago Fed started an industrial development and self-help program on Dekkanar. By virtue of Klingon Imperial expansion up to the Peace of Organia, a manned facility for detecting potentially threatening incursions was installed. Organia and Station K-Seven are farther into Federation space than Dekkanar. Sulu – Gunboat diplomacy? I think the Klingons use those methods on their worlds. 38 twenty drydocks surround orbital shipyard at Taamar. Ship’s gray thermoglaze showed no reflection and was untarnished by light-years of travel, engineering pod with retractable protective shrouding and toggles on command board and polarization console of the viewport padded, main yard complex, rebuilt almost from keel, new brighter colors on insignia and graphics, spotlights buried in the hull. Primary weapon conduits, bare metal efflux nozzles and blast tubes the ship glittered like something carved from obsidian and crystal, shape was subtly different from that of others of its class. The occupant of the pod rose from his seat and stood at attention, offering without speech or other movement a salute to the ship that had once been his and was now his again Reaction thrusters of pod brought it in line with docking port amidships, multiple latches. Protective shrouds slid back into place. access hatch at rear of pod Red-lit corridor of ship Captain Kasak sutai-Khornezh - Thank you The pilot, zan Askel, was on his feet immediately – This need not be said. Captain Kasak sutai-Khornezh - I say it. Thank you for the tour of iiinspection. And for the music. Especially for the music. Tales of the Privateers. Captain Kasak sutai-Khornezh of the Klingon Imperial race smiled thinly, deciding to let at least some of his amusement show. zan Askel - This one considered the circumstances appropriate for music. And all of the themes from Battle Cruiser Vengeance are overused Captain Kasak sutai-Khornezh, wondering if the ears of Security were listening – Appropriate, zan Askel? And what of propriety? Privateers are not something mentioned to the one when he assumes command of a new ship. Askel, formally – The reputation of sutai-Khornezh is such that no impropriety could be implied or suspected Askel, full Commander, science specialist. Perhaps he was with Imperial Intelligence. Nothing else could have made him so bold. That one word reputation never failed to make Kasak’s liver move in his chest while he reviewed the other words that had been uttered with it, searching for the hidden slight. It had been his reaction for so long that it was almost a reflex now. Certainly not necessary where Askel was concerned. The specialist was as close a friend as Kasak ever allowed. Hakkarl, Vanguard. Named for a piece in the game klin zha. KL-1017. He had started life in same orbital shipyards at Taamar five years ago, as the first of the K’t’inga class battle cruisers. Kasak had commanded the ship’s proving flight. As he commanded the flight of all new vessels and had found himself a fine ship, strong, responsive and swift. And then, as always, the vessel was taken away and given to someone else, someone considered more politically sound. Now he was back, refitted, uprated and a little more besides. Three of Hakkarl’s brother ships lost to energy field Fed called V’ger Kasak showed his teeth and stalked aboard his ship. His for a while. Years ago, during Kasak’s cadet cruise, Koloth vestai-Lasshar. the incident at Space Station K-7 had turned a relatively simple mission into a fiasco. And a flurry of negative security notations had dogged all members of that ship’s crew throughout their careers. Only the cadets had emerged relatively unscathed, those who did not draw attention to themselves. Midshipman Vasak. His name had come up too many times for Imperial Intelligence not to take notice when looking for scapegoats to carry the blame for the loss of Sherman’s Planet, the capture of one of their deep-cover agents and the infestation of an entire battle cruiser with the furry vermin yiHmey. Deep red glow associated with combat, emergency and imminent violence. It was too cool, painfully dry. At tubolift, press for lift car Heater-humidifier and airlock flush clamped to its ceiling just inside lift car door Ride out to the command pod Preflight briefing Vasak had often wondered what had saved him from the fate of the others, be it legal termination on trumped-up charges, suicide by command, or simple disappearance. He was of the Imperial race, but that was no real protection. On Koloth’s ship, crewed largely by human fusions, Imperial race, those of pure blood, singled out for special punishment on the assumption that regardless of how low their rank might have been they at least should have known batter. It might have been his line, whose members were not without influence and certainly acted in his support and defense, just as soon as it was safe to do so and in exchange for his incurring heavy debts both of cash and obligations. His survival might just as easily have been due to the fact that he was too useful to dispose if simply for the completeness of things. An order for promotion to ensign and the change of name it required and an immediate posting to active duty in the hot spots along the Romulan frontier. Ensigns had little enough time to call their own and still less when under a more stringent level of security surveillance than everyone else. Kasak had managed to scrape together a few minutes before they shipped him out to the waiting frigate. On orbital Facility 3 he stood at a viewport and looked out at the naked stars that surrounded all who sought glory among them, seen or unseen. It was there that he had chosen to play the Perpetual Game. There, filled with pride and thinking himself the first of all Klingons to do so, he had vowed to write his own rules for himself. He had learned very quickly that in komerex zha there were no other kinds of rules. Kasak had exercised the usual privilege granted to first-flight commanders, of putting forward a lift of names for consideration as department heads, based on his evaluations during previous cruises. He had recommended all eight of the crew for this special mission. All familiar faces and names. They looked pleased enough to see him and to have been singled out for this honorable if not necessarily glorious duty. Weapons Specialist Katta, female All the facets of the question, all the layers of the answer The bridge had neither control boards or seating other than small and uncomfortable inspection pads on which they perched This is a matter for Science to explain Specialist Askel Hakkarl is crewed by computer The chosen crew members were all sufficiently senior to know about the occasion when Starfleet had launched a fully computerized ship and what the consequences had been Somewhere safe – the Rom zones The Fed’s khest’n M-5 We know better than that Dark metal casing that shrouded every work station The work stations are beam-linked repeater arrays boosted through a Z-eight primary core. Crew control the repeaters and the core. Maneuvering thrusters at station-keeping Bird of prey scout Tazhat, KL-1018, he will be flyer to our Vanguard. Tight smiles too full of teeth greeted the joke Now attend and learn Our captain told be that you were swift He gave the last word the klin zha intonation Without crew, Hakkarl no longer needs to hold back in combat. Cruiser similar though he may be to all others of the K’t’inga class can tolerate accelerations and maneuvers far beyond that of his fellows The main drive has no drain other than thrust and shields and weapons Earlier designs perhaps a third of all energy output went to light, heat, gravity and life support Too often, skirmishes with Fed or Rom vessels had to be broken off because the parties were too evenly matched. This class of ship would make all the difference and maybe break that balance Physical connection is by regenerable monoweb filament Engineer Aktaz, full Commander Stared at them for the drawing of a breath and said nothing that the laugh had not made plain already All connections to the cruiser’s weapons systems are nonphysical and powered from the scout. Also, and note this well, the two vessels have separate cloaking devices The fathership The outrage of honorable Klingons who had just been told that they were expected to hide from the foe instead of striking at him and thus gaining glory. He let the birthing argument die stillborn He began in that low voice that was feared even more than his rage by two generations of ensigns Took a long step forward My children All of them were hushed by the honor done them thought this form of address I understand your anger, your concern, your fear of loss of glory to your lines. Know this: if Hakkarl responds only one half as well as the specialists who built him claim he will, there will be glory overflowing for all of you and, yes, for generations yet unborn. The naked stars themselves will watch you, as will the Emperor himself. All will say – Truly, these are Klingons! Know this, as you know me and all my past endeavors for the Empire; when we are done with Hakkarl, our names will be spoken as is that of the Emperor Kahless of ancient times. We will be Unforgettable. Askel knew Kasak too well to assume anything he did was accidental. The shift from high-praise oratory to Battle Language was most certainly premeditated. Kai kassai! Kept what he was thinking in the private place behind his own cold eyes. Askel was here not as science specialist no matter what Kasak sutai-Khornezh might think, but as an operations master of Imperial Intelligence. Askel’s collusion with I.I. had been a running joke between the two officers since their days in the Houses, lifetimes ago. Askel had always been the quiet one. Too thoughtful for his own good was the usual interpretation A Klingon who thought too much wasn’t considered an especially healthy phenomenon, particularly in a navy career where unthinking obedience to superiors was as much a requirement as arms and legs. The I.I. connection had started out as an insult, but time had worn it down. Only the cream of jest remained and that was something Askel was not about to share, Intelligence had become aware that there was likely to be more to the first voyage of KL-1017 than just the usual shakedown cruise. The source of the information had confirmed a great many suspicions and provided answers to several of those niggling questions without which no intelligence executive would be complete The amount of time and money spent by a certain passed-over captain to make sure he would acquire this ship. That sort of activity in a politically unreliable officer was invariably well worth watching, particularly when his reputation was that of Kasak sutai-Khornezh. He had achieved his present status only through a diligent accumulation of glory along the Rom frontier and had used that status as a lever to further himself politically, cultivating powerful supporters both in his own line and among his superior officers by ensuring that his successes reflected well on them. Askel had been impressed by the subtlety the captain has displayed in this undertaking. It had proven so effective that Kasak’s surveillance file contained records of regret expressed by high officials that the Empire could not, because of the black mark in his past, reward so worthy an officer in the manner he deserved. Askel had read that twice and then sat for several seconds staring at the name of the epetai, a Thought Admiral no less, who had spoken those words. Stared, and shaken his head in disbelief. The most that could be done had been done. Kasak had been honored by being entrusted with first-flight command of every new class of ship to leave the yards. It was a backhanded compliment at best, for it implied that if anything went wrong during a test flight, he would be a lesser loss to the Empire than an officer who was considered more reliable. There was no and there never had been, taint of treason about Kasak. Only the understandable discontent following the business with the tribbles had blighted his career. his expensively cultivated chain of contacts was discovered. The certainties of I.I. operations masters were not questioned by lesser forms of life. The data had crossed his desk at irregular intervals for two years now. At the very most it seemed Kasak was making moves to feather his own nest through a little privateering on the side. That was where the most important questions were asked. If this particular captain never had a vessel of his own except for the initial proving voyages, then how, and with what, was he intending to become a privateer at all? Then suddenly the yards refitted a full-size battle cruiser to run with a maximum crew of eight, and it became all too likely where his ship was coming from. There was another matter, stranger still, and it was the only reason Operations master Askel had not simply handed the file over to Imperial Security with a termination order attached. it involved Kasak’s connection with planet Dekkanar. 51 although zan Khitar specialized in communications and was skilled at making tight-beam tachyon packets do things their manufacturers hadn’t intended, when it came to preflight lectures that were customary in the navy, his specialization went out the nearest lock. Khitar had brought the word boring to an art form. Shift on their inspection pads Who was doubling for Security. Khitar, maybe. Communications was a good position from which to transmit reports. Or maybe too good, too obvious. Or maybe that was what he was meant to think and Security was running another double bluff. Askel smiled his meaningless smile. I.I. knew most things, but the learning of some was more difficult than the learning of others. It would be typical if he went off on this questionable cruise not knowing who his allies were. There was no love lost between Security and Intelligence. It was not uncommon for the two bureaus to act against each other through sheer professional spite. Security was too quick with its disruptors, and not quick enough with its questions. It was very difficult to interrogate a corpse. Marag, acting security officer, for no other reason than that a Klingon ship, even the tiniest deep-space shuttle, always had a security officer. Marag longtime friend of the captain’s. They were all friends insofar as the title could be applied to subordinates of a commander known to hold himself at a distance from the junior grades. They all had served with Kasak in the past and had gained by it. During his many successful commands he had gained the respect of his subordinates as well as that of his equals and superiors, through his reputation for success and m ore important, because of his unselfish sharing of glory. There were doubtless some who saw this as weakness but Askel was not one of them. He saw a cunningly woven web of strengths, each individually of small account, but when drawn together in the right place at the right time a most imposing instrument of persuasion that could draw as tight around an unsuspecting throat as a garrote. Kasak aware there had not been a first flight yet without at least two covert operatives from Imperial Security. There might even be someone from I.I. along for the ride, to keep an eye on what Security was doing. What he was doing was no act of treason. His contacts were a source of confidential information, the sort of information that seldom came lower down the line than an admiral’s private correspondence. Kasak had no interest in House politicking, at least not yet. But sooner or later something of real use was bound to reach his ears. It was a gift of glory from the naked stars themselves. Kasak knew why there was internal squabbling on Dekkanar and Fed diplomats expelled. A large part of his private fortune had paid for the situation to arise in the first place. his present position as first-flight commander would let him take best advantage of it. That Hakkarl required so small a crew that he could virtually guarantee himself support was just one more gift from whatever spirit guarded honest captains. The coup was his chance to restore to his name and to his line all the honors that had been withheld for so long. There would be a promotion to squadron leader, maybe even to admiral, and perhaps the right to start a House and line of his own. All this, and as much more as he dared to dream, would be his through a simple act of provocation. They were a liverless lot, thought Kasak contemptuously, and a far remove from Klingon diplomats, who were well able to take care of themselves and who indeed were selected as representatives of the Empire only after they had already proved themselves as warriors. Just one burst of overreaction directed at a vessel of the Klingon Navy, and the Organians would come interfering. In their usual fashion the g’day’t glowbugs would condemn the aggressor, and cede the questioned planet to the Empire. The Klingon Empire of course would be ignorant of what had happened and official hands would be thrown up in official horror that any captain should place a new and untried ship in jeopardy from the warmongers of Starfleet. Neither the emperor nor any of his Thought Admirals could dare to authorize such an undertaking, for fear of the whole plan blowing up in their faces should the Organians probe too deep. And so Kasak had determined to act independently. If he failed, not that the possibility entered his mind, so awash was it with schemes and plotting, then there would be no possible allocation of blame against the Empire or against Kasak’s line, while if he succeeded, when he succeeded, it would not merely be a great stroke to bring him all that he desired, it would be an admirable and cunning move in the game of komerex zha, the greatest of all games, giving Kasak sutai-Khornezh good repute and more than that, casting perpetual doubt on the abilities of those who down the years had judged him unworthy. I transfer my flag to Tazhat and I do it now Questionable remark, as only admirals had flags None smiled outwardly, since that would have been unseemly. He nodded, the only acknowledgment that was required. Stations As was the custom the crew went together in the first lift car so that they could make the scout ship’s bridge ready for Kasak’s arrival. Captain and first officer rode together in second car. Designers can say what they please, but they don’t go out in the khest’n things. Boost the controls on the heater-humidifier, inhaled the resulting vapor luxuriously. I insisted on a crew I could rely on Honored, Captain No compliment, ‘Kel. Just fact. If I can’t trust the ship, I’ll have to trust the crew. I can trust them, can’t I? There’ll be the usual complement of security watchers, and given the ship’s capabilities set against the small number of crew aboard, there’s probably at least one I.I. agent among them. ‘Kel, nickname of Askel Kasak roared with laughter Askel as I.I. was an amusing concept and that was why Kasak laughed. The ploy was so obvious that its use had already increased his watchfulness. I.I. was not so much his concern as Security. Intelligence officers were, by their very title and despite the usual contradiction that it carried, reasonably smart. Certainly they were more than commonly capable of seeing future developments based on current actions. They concerned themselves with the why and the wherefore rather than just the what observed by Security. A security operative wouldn’t give time to explain, an I.I. agent wouldn’t need the explanation anyway. Little travel pod to get from Hakkarl to Tazhat. Main docking port on Tazhat’s spine After his display of good humor he had decided it was time he became moody, another facet of his reputation and one the crew might be expecting to see during departure from drydock Leaving port in a new ship was never the most comfortable time for either captain or crew. More than one captain had been relieved of a command before it had gotten properly underway because some clumsy helmsman dented the ship or the dock facilities on the way out. That the accidents might have been a result of faulty systems did little to remove negative notations from their files. There was probably not even much satisfaction in executing the helmsman on the spot. Everyone was already heads-down and busy. A raised head meant a station unattended. The crew knew what that might lead to. Birds of prey were built around a nominal crew capacity of twelve, but that had been before the remotes and repeater arrays at every station. Clutter and thick, foggy and warmer even than normal thanks to surplus power already being bled off the battle cruiser A multiple overlay of computer-enhanced windows that showed exterior visuals from several points together: from Tazhat, from remotes on the structure of Drydock 20, from Hakkarl. Status. All systems fully active, Dock Control Clearance confirmed. Interlinks live. At your command. Krynn at helm [f] Action Acting Kasak felt a brief thrumming of subharmonic vibration underfoot Tazhat, scout ship, 30 thousand tonnes of mass. Krynn sat back from her close-maneuvers board, which was now all blue lights. Secured Take us out, maneuvering thrusters forward impulse power one-third at your discretion Affirm Navigator Khalen [m] – Course, Captain? Present heading? Two-seven-zero, green, standard Then why ask? Khalen stuck his head down again, suitably chastened. The captain was for some re4son out of temper and requiring the bridge crew to read his mind. That in itself would leave them with enough to think about besides extracurricular duties. Departure angle on viewer Hakkarl’s reaction thrust overcame the inertia of two hundred thousand tonnes Climbing, acceleration factor zero by five, climbing The ship is sluggish, he dislikes the extra weight Main display and repeater displays to either side of captain’s chair Both ships uprated from standard Someone, somewhere had failed or forgotten to boost the cruiser’s maneuvering drive to take in to account the additional mass of a scoutship Kasak touched keys on the command chair and noted that fact, then recorded the pertinent figures for his first-flight report The conscientious execution of duty was a habit not easily broken Lattice of drydock webbing While only the navy’s officers and men went out in carelessly constructed ships, there was an increasing chance that the more careless constructors would start to go out, but without any ship Alarms went off, we are being scanned Degh SuH qaH! chuyDah HoS’a’! vanglI’! Main thruster control, boosting to maximum in a single sweep of the levels Now Kasak knew he was being watched: the shift into Battle Language was not something any self-respecting spy could ignore Show mag six Gunboats, dock security contingent, twenty-plus Head of security, Taamar facility, he orders this ship back to Dock twenty at once If they were starting a test exercise early, and without the knowledge of the station security chief, then the testing was likely to be more stringent and the exercise more realistic than any of them had anticipated Battle alert. Secure for combat maneuvers. Zan Katta, weapons free. Disruptors only. Set for heavy stun. Kasak sat back and stroked the palm of one hand over his forehead crest, silently inviting someone, anyone, to make a comment. The fingertips of his other hand were doing a little dance along the grip of his holstered sidearm. Certainly a combat-hardened soldier’s opinion was worth more than that of a desk-bound paper-pusher like the Taamar head of security. More from Station Security, Captain. He demands that Hakkarl be returned immediately or he will personally take steps. Ignore all further communications from that source. Weapons? Preheat cycle completed, sir, running hot. Prelocks engaged on, confirmed on all 23 targets Screen: tactical He had never seen a tactical display so crowed with information; velocity, trajectory, vector, status, for each of the station interceptors The green triangle of a target lock, once he gave the order to lock on the triangles changed to blue. Weapons data went from standby to active Evasive corkscrew down starboard, go! an accelerating twist out of the line of fire With one hand Krynn hit maneuvering controls, with the other she cut in the cloak The kick in their livers that was like the effects of a very bad Saurian brandy No ship yet built could fire from cloak, to even attempt it was to create a power drain massive enough to shut down the main drive, the gravity, the environmental and life support I command! Obey! baHwI’, baH! Katta hit all the firing controls at once Coronae of blue incandescence bloomed among the gunboats as disruptor batteries stabbed lances of energy from target to target. Crews stunned and controls useless, tumbling all over Hakkarl’s power-consumption gauges had barely flickered Stand down from battle alert, secure from combat and evasive maneuvering, but remain cloaked. After this, every Imperial vessel in the quadrant will try to gain a sort of glory by making us look as foolish Slightly bored by the whole business another mannerism for which he was well known. Once visibly yawned at the sight of a fleet of Romulan ships that outnumbered his command by seven to one. The end of an engagement would not have seemed the same without it. Cruise stations Forward angle on the screen Once we are clear of the Taamar primary, come to warp four. Praise was not expected, nor was the giving of it a requirement of good commands Kasak’s gaze seeming to see more than perhaps it ever could, making the innocent writhe as much as the guilty. He relented and permitted them the honor of a salute. A good first combat. The others will be better. Praise, promise of glory, and veiled threat all in one. Klingon was an economical language. Oapla’, joHwI They could see his face and its total lack of any expression The Imperial Palace on the Klingon homeworld Frontiers and Neutral Zones and official protests had not stopped Klingon spy ships 74 Kirk – You know how the Klingon Empire responds to rebellions on their subject worlds Hechu’! jISaHbe’! barked the speakers an instant later. chuyDaH! A Klingon warship powered its way across the screen on the thrusters its commander had just called for. Battle Cruiser Vengeance 89 the Dekkani shuttle craft approach in a classic attack profile, in a classic attack formation, a Klingon attack formation all Hakkarl’s systems were shut down, even to the running lights Askel and Chief Engineer Aktaz in work pod make final exterior inspection, first flight checkup For three hours the engineer had been virtually a part of his diagnostics board Askel directs the remote sensor probe Structural analysis, main drive nacelles, external casings, long checklist Commander Askel Askel’s interest lay in the complexities of the mind, in the multifarious ways of plotting and in the equally varied ways of suppressing those plots or turning them to a different use The smell of intrigue was one his nostrils had grown accustomed to recognizing. Every Klingon officer was involved in something or other, be it only jockeying for power and promotion with his own line families. For Kasak to expect his first officer to believe that of all captains in the Imperial Navy he, the famous sutai-Khornezh, was without some complex subterfuge to better both career and position was tantamount to calling him a fool to his face and before witnesses. Until he learned the details of Kasak’s scheming, he could not be certain just how deeply he had been insulted. Imperial Intelligence had agonizer booths enough and to spare for the captain and all who had assisted him Unless, of course, there was more profit in supporting Kasak than in handing him over to the appropriate authorities. That was the one great problem about working for I.I. The bureau valued any ability to see both sides of a problem; it meant that agents could better understand its complexities and more easily work against it from the inside. But it also meant that the advantages of a given stratagem were as plain to an I.I. operative as basic, blatant treachery usually was to a member of Imperial Security. And the intelligence for which the organization was named was also a faculty that enabled its members occasionally to see that their loyalties need not always lie with the more obvious side. Nal komerex, khesterex = That which will not grow will die Askel always thought of it inverted, nal khesterex, komerex, as did his captain, and, curiously, a Thought Master among the Doy’tS line of humans long ago, That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. Aktaz’s irascible voice cut through his thoughts Why were engineers and surgeon specialists always so easily irritated? Was it because the machines they worked on constantly broke down and needed their services? Travel pod’s flight controls Krynn, one of the two females on the crew, one of the captain’s two favorites. One of the two who most bore watching. Perhaps Krynn was too efficient, if there could ever be such an officer on a Klingon ship. Engineering reports completion of external checks. Restore power to all systems. We will observe. Out. Affirm. Acting. Bridge out. If Captain Kasak’s plan involved some privateering on his own account before returning Hakkarl to the Taamar drydock and unless Kasak’s security and intelligence officers agreed with his misuse of imperial resources. Of course, if the profit were high and the ship was indeed to be brought back intact, they might be persuaded to agree. If that was the case, then as far as Askel was concerned nobody was too good at his or her job. Like some vast monster from the old legends aroused from sleep First came the glimmer of the skinfield, running along the generator grids that covered Hakkarl like a protective net. Running lights were next Last and brightest were the anticollision warnings, the safety beacons and the insignia spots that made Hakkarl’s imperial trefoils glow against the darkness of space under the gaze of myriad naked stars Main hull, up the boom to the command pod Jeweling his ghost-gray armor, proper adornment for so mighty a vessel Askel watched and felt his liver shift in his chest at the promised glory of it all. Mains are back in line. Blue lights on all systems. Power to max at your discretion Have the pod brought back on board Hold station. Tazhat will exercise separation sequence from Hakkarl. Observe and report He waited until the signal had been acknowledged Maneuvering thrusters forward, one-half power Krynn pushed for thrust Tazhat vibrated slightly, a rumbling that was felt in the bones as power graphs flickered and screens began to register more than drift. The entire console swiveled on its plinth until Krynn was aligned with another and quite separate bank of controls, these shrouded with security covers that retracted into slots as she keyed in an unlock code, other officers did likewise at their own stations. Zan Khitar, interlink status? interlinks live, full communications confirmed On my command, execute a full combat breakaway to cloak. Affirm action. Kasak sat straight-backed in the command chair and stared straight ahead out of the viewscreen and toward the naked stars. Degh, yIchu’Ha’ Acting, said Krynn, and tabbed all the release toggles together They had watched numerous computer simulations, leisurely parting The monoweb filaments connecting Hakkarl and Tazhat were degenerated. The smaller vessel was supposed to push clear with pressors, nothing dramatic, no flash of explosive bolts such as occurred when a ship’s boom broke away from its main hull Reality, especially under the command of the sutai-Khornezh, was somewhat different The impulse drive on both ships glowed red A brutal kick of acceleration Leap away from the fathership Kai Imperial Engineering! Pounded his fist against the diagnostics board in delight Imperial Intelligence took a dim view of operations masters who allowed their surveillance subjects to give them the slip in so unglorious a fashion His eyes fixed on a certain spot at the nape of the neck and he flattened one hand into a chopping blade Tazhat rejoins with Hakkarl and picks up Askel and Aktaz in the pod Monoweb connections regenerated The voice sounded as please with events as the sutai-Kornezh ever permitted Wanted to roar like a stormwalker Let someone feel the teeth of his anger Is the one gratified by the performance of this new ship I am content. Return Aktaz would never know how close he had come to service in the black fleet Either the captain was genuinely innocent of the plot that I.I,. suspected he had hidden somewhere or he was infinitely more subtle than any of them suspected. 100 Hakkarl was running at an easy warp 6.2 engines drive the ship and power enhanced sensor suite small inspirational theatre aboard the scout ship. The screen hummed, glowed and flicked into life we’re to be inspired, to do something Security can monitor before they die of boredom. To be advised, instructed, inspired or whatever else the captain had in mind. for once Design Engineering had told the unglazed truth about its latest product. That was sufficiently unusual for the captain to have made special note of it in his report all’s well? Blue lights Marag showed just the points of his side teeth in an expression that only loosely could have been called a smile. Minimum rank Lt. Commander among Tazhat crew Surgeon Specialist Arthag, a ship was required to have a surgeon. So far he had treated two small electrical burns and a finger nipped by the unsecured lid of a diagnostics board. The empty quiet of sickbay Kasak – The flight goes well. This ship can do all that has been claimed for him. I have said I was content. It is not so. This id my intention. To give Hakkarl a first flight worthy of his capabilities, and worthy of the crew I chose to fly him. The Roms have done what I now plan, testing their cloak and their plasma torpedo, but since the interference of the g’daya busybody Organians, no ship of the Empire has done so. Until now. In ten standard minutes we leave neutral space and enter that claimed by the Federation. The lack of authorization and their departure from Taamar had been no exercise but a theft, so that no Organian could blame the Empire’s policymakers for the doings of an independent privateer, no matter how much the Empire stood to gain through those same doings. This dramatic play was not merely possible, it was capable of such vast success that all concerned could wallow in glory and everything that glory brought. I.I. had required him to believe things far more unlikely than this, and to gather evidence about them. Askel, there was a small pellet pistol in its customary place within his tunic If Security Marag’s response was such as to spoil his chance, all their chances, for advancement beyond that of a lifetime’s service to I.I. Askel was ready to use the pistol and justify its use afterward to whoever needed explanations Kai the captain! Kai kassai, Klingon! Stamping and saluting. The khest’n covert Imperial Security operative and what their true feelings might be. Askel does not cheer his friend the captain. Communicator panel near the wall, switched it on His own eyes, yellow, hot, unblinking They are cheering the one down here. This one wished to speak instead of cheer. Success, my lord. A smile with all his teeth on show. He raised his right hand, empty of weapons and closed it in salute 109 Kasak sutai-Khornezh glowered at every single member of his crew, not assigning specific blame but more than willing to hand it out on a more general basis if he had to. Shut off that khest’n noise before I shut off the one responsible. Better. But not much. Explain. This is already known. Enhance. If the one will permit? Askel, presuming on his friendship immediately assumed an easy posture, then caught the expression in Kasak’s yellow eyes and snapped right back to attention. Looking as predatory as any Klingon of the Imperial race might do whose liver had just been jolted in his chest. That dangerous rank-linked formality No member of the crew was so presumptuous as to relax until instructed Interlink schematics, monoweb connectors, combat breakaway, stress points between the two ships both while joined and when separate, pickup alignments, beam-linked repeater arrays, pickups shifted out of sync by vibration Askel was Imperial Klingon, Kasak wondered if there might have been a Vulcan fusion somewhere in the ancestry of his line. Zan Khalen, navigator Flipped a schematic onto the screen. To avoid relativistic and temporal distortions we should not drift at a high sublight velocity. Time to target will be seven point six at point forty five c Schematics and silhouette data, destructive capabilities of the Klingon ship were made plain even to the most uneducated layman K’tinga vessel nominal crew complement of five hundred thirty No known Klingon scout-class vessels with a crew of less than twelve If the Klingons or the Dekkanar Planetary Council attempt to open communications, Kirk orders Uhura to jam the frequency The Klingons have a policy of constant upgrade and refit of ships, a new ship built on the structure of the old Klingon ships sold to the Romulan Empire are stripped out Klingons saw no need for orbiters or for research programs and no need for any of the rules and regulations that bound the Federation. The k’t’inga class has never been anything but military, some of its later variants have converted their troop carrying capability into research space. Klingons’ continuing refusal to adopt centralized artificially intelligent units, they don’t trust smart machines. Klingons are scarcely safety-conscious and are notoriously profligate with lives during the testing of new equipment. Klingons might not have much concern for safety but when it comes to security they’re red hot. Helm headset audio receptors Askel and Aktaz work on remote transmitters, to fix Tazhat and Hakkarl Zasak and crew had all lived long enough to have seen the aftermath of an environmental accident Hakkarl would become just one more piece of junk that had left the imperial yards with such high hopes and never come back The whole point of Kasak’s plan was to entice Fed ships into firing first, thus outraging the Organians. No captain in the Klingon Imperial Navy felt anything except unease without considerable, and preferably overwhelming, firepower at his disposal. Curled his lips back from the points of his teeth What navigational intelligence had said about traverse of the system Kasak had informed navigator Khalen, in front of the rest of the crew, that even a minor collision would prove fatal for him. The first-flight Captain’s Log, augment his previous observations about whoever in Design Engineering had been responsible for the intership data link. That data-link designer would be finished. He would be terminated. Kasak had done it before. On one occasion he had been so enraged that he had simply drawn his duty sidearm and disintegrated the offending designer where he stood gaping across the bridge. After that incident had been passed around, design engineers had grown very skilled at devising reasons not to accompany Kasak sutai-Khornezh on the proving flights of their own ships. He closed the file, locked off the pad screen Askel is testing each transceptor as they unlock and recalibrate. Awards one day could so easily become demerits or worse, the next. It made the life of a captain so much simpler if the justification of changed reports didn’t need to be done in public. Heavy-duty work coverall and a clear-view visor Seniority based on date of graduation Transceptor heads, new signal-seeking hardware, heavy lugging of electronic power units in and out of their location slots. Double-bluffing the Fed and the Organians, a plan so elegant Askel was almost eager to see it succeed. Gain wealth and glory by becoming a thorn in Starfleet’s flank The Thought Admirals of the Advanced Strategies Board might object to any or all of Kasak’s plan Data transceptor programmed to home in on its mate in Hakkarl’s hull and also to transmit messages from Askel’s science board without going through communications Nanosecond for a tightbeam tachyon squirt Kasak’s view of shoddy workmanship was already notorious A k’t’inga class cruiser didn’t need additional protection Kirk – Bones, get someone from medical with knowledge of Klingon physiology, have them rig a suitable medical pouch 138 Captain’s chair repeater screens If the one’s statement is correct, then why not? Kasak sutai-Khornezh was never so dangerous as when he sounded patient and understanding. Too many subordinates had fallen into the error of assuming that because, against all reason and expectation, the captain appeared calm, a mistake or breach of regulations had been overlooked. No Klingon captain ever overlooked anything of the sort It is for the one to order restoration of power and for others to obey that order. Kasak nodded in sage agreement but inside he was showing his teeth in a smile that was more than half a snarl. Askel had not shown such careful respect for the privileges of rank after the external check. He had addressed Krynn even though he had known the captain was on the bridge. Without needing or requesting further clearance she had begun the battlecruiser’s power-up sequence. comm array within suit helms or visors. Good attempt on the first officer’s part to impress Neither had worked, both knew it, and honor was satisfied Opened a shipwide channel on his chair communicator All stations, commence all-system warm-up. On my command, action, affirm action. Acting, said a chorus of voices and data displays all over the ship came glowing back to active status. 141 wIy cha’ . baHwI’, cha yIghuS! he glared at the tactical display as at the naked throat of his worst enemy. Katta’s hand over the torpedo controls, fingers spread wide for volley fire The triangle of a target lock They would all go to the Black Fleet together, he looked at death and glory in the maw of the enemy’s phasers, his head cleared and his blood began to cool. Communications specialist Khitar stiffened at the honor of hearing his title used in full, open a Fed hailing frequency prefaced with the level three friendship message and greeting. Kirk replies using level four The Klingon ship was designed first and foremost to make attacks It was the first time that most of the younger crew of Enterprise had seen a Klingon of the Imperial race except for those depicted in Mr. Freeman’s sterries of Battle Cruiser Vengeance. An entertainment tape, even one that had originated in the Klingon Empire, had none of the impact of the real thing. For those accustomed only to holos of the ordinary-looking fusions, the face that now glowered from the viewer was a disturbing one. To Kirk's experienced eye, it had all the characteristics of a line long kept pure. There was the naked dome of skull with its high, bony crest, raising above a swan-back sweep of thick black hair that from in front had the appearance of horns; the heavy brows above yellow-irised eyes that burned within their deep sockets like something lethal hiding under a shelf of rock; and the coarse beard and whiskers surrounding a mouth that looked as though it would wear a smile only if one was surgically inserted. Kasak did smile, in a slow and careful sequence of muscular contractions, evidently quite aware that what passed for smiling among humans was very different from that acceptable to his own people. Kai kassai. HoD QaSaq jIH. Ha’Qarl QaSaq. gavanneS lo’laH gholwIj. HIja’neS nuqneH? Guttural voice Kirk knew rather too well for comfort Lip-reading was not unknown among its opponents Kasak swung sideways and was snapping orders at someone offscreen. Spock - His manners are exquisite, he has already employed two honorifics where none were appropriate or required. This approaches the level of insult, though of the most delicate kind. Unnoticed because of translator limitations He Captain Kasak. Kasak of the Hakkarl. That’s not an unusual opening; similar ones on Battle Cruiser Vengeance tapes. I am honored to salute my worthy adversary. Do me the honor of telling me what you want. The newbies would learn in time that Klingons were seldom this polite even to one another, except when addressing a very highly ranked superior. Using any form of address so exalted that it became absurd was always an insult. A captain would customarily promote a slacking ensign to admiral or, far worse, general, somewhere in the course of a dressing-down. To do the same to a Fed officer in the near-certain knowledge that he could not react, because he was unlikely to speak even basic Tlhinganaase, and his translator would filter out the subtle nuances that gave the words their weight, would be a rich jest indeed. DaH choQoylaH’a’? jISov! QqaboQtaH DIvI’ Hol vIjatlhtaH Can you hear me now? I know! To assist you I will speak the Federation language. Only those who knew Klingons of old were able to pick up the patronizing undertone to his choice of words batlh jiH, ‘ach ‘utlI’be’ pup tlhinganlIjqu’ Hol naDev wIyajlaH I am honored, but it is not necessary. We understand your Klingon language perfectly here. a sidelong smirk of satisfaction started to cross Kasak’s face, collapsed into a thin straight line. That Kasak had pledged himself to speak in the enemy’s tongue and had learned too late that such a step was now unnecessary and consequently a humiliation. Before the Klingon could brood long enough to do something they might all regret Kasak’s high-backed chair Kasak jerked upright from his posture of studied indolence as though someone had run an electrical current through his chair and stared from the screen with unsettling intensity. There was a heat in his eyes that would have been more appropriate had he been squinting down a gunsight, them the moment was past, and Kasak was relaxing back in his command chair again. The ships 15 km apart Two warships of the Klingon Empire in an area of space prohibited to them by treaty, by accord and by accepted practice. With eyes like yellow flints Kasak muttered offscreen – Two captains [Kirk and Spock], they must be running out of ships This vessel combination suffered a systems failure during first-flight shakedown Much face-saving involved in holding command of a Klingon ship, aggressiveness posturing to impress subordinates Kasak looked sideways through the warm and comfortably humid mists of the bridge and received immediate nods of readiness from Askel and from Khitar on Communications. Kasak – Prepare your comm board for a transfer of the distress signal we received. He watched the moments of fussing on the Fed ship and heard the muttered speculations. Kasak thought – They have no patience. A few seconds more and they will know, but still they have to debate and wonder what it is I send them. Ready to receive it, yes; but to accept it? That must yet be seen Askel leaned over the comm board, did something to the controls that made lights chase each other across the readouts, then straightened up and walked over to his accustomed place just behind the command chair. Askel fed a scramble signal into the transmission. Let the Feds try to analyze it, if they have five years to spare. With malevolence in both his face and his voice he added, Unless zan Khitar would prefer that I make cracking our codes a little easier for them? Khitar said nothing, nothing at all. Kasak, taking care not to smile at the wrong time no matter how he felt inside. His message cassette being passed from hand to hand as gingerly as if it were coated in one of the more interesting contact poisons Kirk – This is a forgery Kasak – Then I am scandalized that I should have come so close to precipitating an incident because of an untruth. You should have evidence of the false signal that led us astray. Kasak presumed that this was what was called a dirty look. Any Klingon cadet proctor could do better and make it feel worse with the live end of his shock wand. Makhoy, the name of a soldier, not a surgeon specialist Makhoy had the fire, the passion, the klin Kasak had seen Romulans move, both in the cube and in the year Games, and he was fascinated to find a human with the same kinetics as a Romulan. There was a story behind Makhoy, more probably several, and given adequate facilities and sufficient time, Force Leader Marag could extract them all. Kirk was a worthy adversary indeed. He was quick, wise, and difficult to deceive. That would make his final defeat so much the sweeter. For he would be defeated. Kasak had sworn it before the naked stars in the instant when the name of the man and the name of the ship had shown him just what a gift had fallen into his hands. Kirk would eat deck scrapings and dust from the soles of Kasak’s boots for every one of the vermin tribbles he had transported onto Captain Koloth’s cruiser, and even that would not begin to make him suffer as Kasak sutai-Khornezh had suffered. At the last he would be denied even the Black Fleet, and his spirit would wander through cold darkness between the living and the dead, bewailing its fate for all the years to come. Kasak daring Kirk to call him a liar to his face – We picked up a distress call, this was during the initial exercises for Hakkarl. We had a ship beneath us that was new and fine, one that would strike fear into all wrongdoers. And even in the Klingon Empire, the one does not receive warnings of the imminent invasion of an unprotected planet every day. This planet was in the Federation sector; but Hakkarl’s long-range scans could detect no Fed vessel coming to assist. Therefore we came instead. The remark and the ill-timed laughter joined all the other notes in the locked file at the back of his mind. It would be a useful lever later, when it came time to learn what stories Makhoy had to tell. Kirk – Has it not been true in the past that the Klingon Empire enters Fed space only when it sees a chance for profit or expansion, and preferably both? Kasak – Thanks to the g’day’t glowbugs, Excuse me. Thanks to the wise and farseeing policies of the Organian people, the Empire is not at war with the Fed. Is it not, therefore, the duty of all to further friendly relations between our two races by offering whatever assistance is at our disposal, whenever and wherever it may be required? Kirk cleared his throat in the significant way Kasak had heard humans use before. It sounded as if one was announcing to the other that he felt unwell. Kirk – So far as offering assistance is concerned, Captain Kasak, a K’t’inga class battle cruiser seems like an over enthusiastic response to me. Believe it or not, we came here in good faith and when this new ship developed faults in the propulsion and life-support systems, we almost lost our lives. allow me and my crew to believe we came so close to the Black Fleet in the service of something useful. Askel and Khitar had labored over the fake message for almost a day, until it sounded just right. Kasak – Since it was a respect for the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty that brought us here and placed our lives and our vessel in jeopardy, then under the terms of that same treaty, I, my crew, and my ship may rest and resupply at the M-class planet known as Dekkanar. Kasak allowed himself a broad smile that showed the points of his teeth to best advantage. Askel could not believe his own boldness, making his first use of the transceptor override, through Communications in full view of its department head and of the captain. He had even risked testing Khitar’s resolve with that stupid excuse about the double-random signal. For all his ability, and the very fact of Kasak’s selecting him as crew said everything that needed saying about that, the communications officer was lacking in any form of courage. Even though he had certainly noticed something irregular about the readback following Askel’s signal, he hadn’t dared say anything about it. Either the captain would respond as he always did when equipment misbehaved or Askel would deal with him personally. Having weighed the relative prospects, Khitar had chosen silence as the safest course. Those for whom Askel’s signal was intended were not the ones with whom Captain Kasak would have wanted to make contact. Not yet, at least. But it was essential that Imperial Intelligence be made fully aware of what was happening here. The message Askel had just transmitted outlined Kasak’s first intentions, as the captain had relayed them in the theatre; to become the protecting power for this planet once they had thrown the Fed off it. And to so obtain the planet for the Empire by provoking an Organian intervention if such became required, but until then displaying no loyalty to any other than himself. Kasak had covered his reaction to Kirk and Enterprise well, well enough to fool those who didn’t know him. The reaction had been enough to make Askel’s liver shift in his chest. Kasak had wanted to kill. Perhaps Kasak would restrain himself, and be satisfied with the ignominy that would fall on Kirk for the loss of an entire planet; that revenge would be sweeter than a simple killing, reflecting as it did what had happened to Kasak all those years ago. Uhura announces the forged signal very good. Carrier wave, signal corruption, apparent planetside source of transmission. The Klingons have always been capable of this sort of deception. Tazhat’s punctilious observation of Starfleet’s mandatory traffic limits; held exactly at the boundary of minimum separation, 5 km. Correct to the millimeter and 8 decimal places Scotty would sooner turn teetotaler than admit interest in the Klingon ship Scotty – Cheap and nasty rubbish, all but the guns. Kasak was speed-scanning the data on Kirk's career as it appeared on the library computer monitor in the captain’s private office. Intelligence had been working hard where James T Kirk was concerned. The human’s name had a considerable entry against it. Kasak had demanded to see the lot. 159 Askel had said he would prefer that Kasak not find out more about Kirk's career. It was never good for a crew to see their commander lose his temper and his control so completely. He had only bared his teeth at first, but later he had raged and twice now he had flung the collated hard copy across the room. Kasak – that Kirk should be an admiral by now is a thing that I can understand. But that by all accounts he should resent the promotion is an insult! An insult to the rank, to the institution of rewarding merit, to the others like him who have lived long enough to earn such rewards and to ambition itself. If it pleases the one to say so, then it is so. Thought Master Askel Be careful. Be very careful indeed. Killing the speaker will not kill the truth. And killing Admiral Kirk will be a poor satisfaction. The boldness of his words took Kasak by surprise, disarming whatever threat or action his statements might have provoked. How are these issues connected? In this fashion: your rage would have you kill him by some means not offensive to the Organian wewwI’vethpu’, and once he is gone, what then? He will be my servitor in the Black Fleet, and I will slay him again a thousand times, laughing. That will be in any case. But would it not be a more elegant revenge to make him you, and you him? Explain, Kasak said, using battle Language to indicate his impatience Why? Kasak continued to use Battle Language, for though his irritation with Askel was fading, his idea was of sufficient interest to require minimal prompts. Askel, science, first and executive officer needed to be reminded who was in command on this ship. It would teach him humility and a sense of place, and if it pushed him into losing his temper, then Kasak already had several punishment details in mind that would do the job just as effectively. Superiority had been reestablished, so the captain could become magnanimous once more. Kasak Askel remained standing quite still, and inwardly Kasak went tense. If he had pushed too hard, as he had done to other junior officers in the past, then this was the moment to be most wary. There was something about being criticized and then patronized immediately afterward that touched a raw nerve in the Klingon psyche. Askel – All know that the Federation is weak and lacking in the true komerex klin, that strength of purpose which gives Klingons their superiority. It is unable to punish even its own criminals as they deserve. Incompetence is not punished with execution. Therefore one can safely assume that even after you disgrace Kirk by causing the Organians to hand over this planet’s development to us, he will not be terminated by his own superiors. Kasak amused and confused – This is intended to be more stimulating than cutting out his liver? Askel – Yes, sir, it is. They will leave him to rot behind a landbound desk. If he ever travels out among the naked stars again, it will be as a passenger on some other captain’s ship, where he will be of no more account than a piece of baggage. And always he will know and helplessly remember how he was brought so low, and he will speak your name with curses. As you have spoken his for far too long. Kasak gazed at him through eyes half-hooded by their heavy lids. 164 Uhura – It’s Hakkarl, sir. Captain Kasak sutai-Khornezh wishes to discuss a matter of importance. That use of full title and line, rare between Klingon and human, suggested that this might be more than just a social call. Age and experience had left their mark on Kasak’s face. Kasak was still speaking Federation Anglish and showing no sign that doing so annoyed him. The Klingon’s yellow eyes had gone cold and wary. Kasak – I and my crew require and request that at this time you grant us your protection and political asylum within the borders of the Federation. The whip-crack imperative of the Battle Language had a more immediate effect even than the heavy disruptor pistol he had drawn the instant he spoke his final words to Kirk. six of his crew dropped back into their proper places. Surgeon Specialist Arthag and Security Officer Marag stood right where they were watching the pistol and remaining very still. The captain had ordered them present to witness his discussion with Kirk No duty station on the bridge for Surgeon or security Their desire to extract the traitor’s lungs and make him eat them The pistol wasn’t meant for use, unless absolutely necessary, but to buy him the moments he would need for talking After that, either he would no longer need the pistol or he would need it as he needed breath: to live. He had framed out what he would say an hour and more ago It pleases me that all of you are loyal The others heard only sarcasm and responded according to their custom, with glares of silent hatred or snarled curses He returned the weapon to its holster. It was not an act of such daring and trust as he intended it to appear, for he did not reseal the strap that looped across the pistol’s grip to hold it secure. And he was comfortably at ease with the speed of his own gun hand It was the gesture that mattered, the gesture that was meant to impress, and it succeeded All made acceptably relaxing movements Kasak did not relax until Arthag was seated at Damage Control and Marag had perched himself at the position normally occupied by Environmental engineering. Damage Control on automatic, overrides run through Engineering Central Environmental Engineering on automatic, overrides run through Medical Sciences Most important, Force Leader Marag was now almost a full radius of the bridge away from his supposedly treacherous captain, and given Marag’s well-established reputation, that was still barely far enough Now that you are willing to listen, hear what I have to say and study it well Loyalty aboard a Klingon ship was a difficult thing to ensure at the best of times; there was too much jockeying for future position, for arranging the downfall of a superior if that downfall would bring with it more benefits than would continued support. Kasak had always taken care to judiciously spread his own personal glory among his subordinates, even when their accomplishments were of a lesser magnitude than his. In that fashion they were continually reminded of the source of their most immediate advantage and furthermore they were continually presented with indications of their captain’s esteem. At no time would such a policy, even in its most blatant form, be considered an attempt to buy the loyalty of a crew member or an entire crew. The usual interpretation was that a given captain was recognizing the part played by his crew, individually or collectively, in his latest success. Just as, if they were responsible for his failure, he would kill them. There was not a single Klingon on Hakkarl’s bridge who had failed to benefit in some way from service with this captain. For all that he could be cruel, his cruelty had never been pointless; it was widely known that the sutai-Khornezh regarded energy wasted to no purpose as wasted energy and nothing else. But if there was some advantage to be gained, there were stories about that, too. Stories to scare cadets with. It was this same attitude that controlled his granting of benefits; he did not hand them out purely as a bribe in the hope of future support, as some captains were known to do, but as payment for hard striving in the duties Kasak set. And when they were so earned, he gave them immediately, publicly and with much praise. Kasak – An attempted mutiny is not in itself a mutiny. But an attempt to act without thinking first is always thoughtless. And unwise. There are other captains who would have left you dead. All of you. Or you might have left me dead, and then none of you would know the reason why I spoke as I did to the Federation Captain Kirk. 170 the Klingons had an unfortunate propensity, demonstrated for the first time at Donatu V and all too frequently thereafter, of resorting to an unrestricted level of violence when settling in-ship disputes. Since the ultimate demonstration of this tended to be the detonation of their own warp drive system, and consequently all other parties in the area, high speed retirement to a safe distance had become standard response for anyone caught in the vicinity of a Klingon crew reconciling their differences about internal politics. Enterprise moves 100 thousand km distant in seven seconds, full impulse power Askel found it hard to believe that any Klingon officer of Kasak’s fame should lay himself so open to ridicule. Had he or any of the others spoken of the captain’s history in his hearing, as Kasak was speaking of it now, he could and would have burned them on the spot and been applauded for it. What the rest of the crew thought of his tale of tribbles being deliberately introduced to infest a ship he couldn’t tell, apart form the usual and instinctive reaction of disgust. Askel loathed the useless fluffy little horrors as much as any of them, even though he had gained a few seconds of amusements when he discovered that his people’s word for them, yIH, exactly matched a human noise of distaste. It was plain that while they found the rest of Kasak’s tale of ability passed over something to be regretted, they were unable to understand why the captain was subjecting them and himself to this embarrassing and humiliating ordeal. Until he named the Fed starship and the Fed captain who had been responsible. Then Askel understood. Mentally he lashed himself for his obtuseness, for missing the links that an Imperial Intelligence operations master should have spotted even before Kasak began to speak. He calmed somewhat, knowing that he was blameless, since he had lacked essential data. He had not known, for instance, that Kasak put revenge on Kirk and the Enterprise above his own reputation. That did not mean that any covert Imperial Security operative had also taken the unusual step of believing what he or she was told. Kasak – I hear you wondering among yourselves if the one has taken leave of his senses. You wonder then if what you heard him say to the Feds was something spoken only in your imagination. I tell you it was not. I said it. But I spoke those words not to betray the trust placed in me by the Empire, or the honor given me by those I command on this first flight. I used them as I would use any other weapon; against my enemy. The longer we can maintain the illusion that we would meekly deliver Hakkarl and Tazhat and all their secrets in exchange for what passes for life somewhere in the Federation, the more blinded with anger he will be when he learns that the only truth is his own fear of our superior race! Laughter bubbled up under Askel’s immobile face The science specialist found himself having to fight down an impulse to leap cheering to his feet. It was so simple and yet so brilliant that it deserved to, no, it had to succeed. Some dull lecture at the Academy Askel has taught at the Academy The one will act like any wise commander; free fire at impulse engines to disable the prize; precision fire to sever warp nacelles, thus preventing destruct option; finally tractor towing. Except for the Organians. Kirk may call down fire on us, but I doubt if it will leave his phaser tubes. We have been visiting a planet permitted to us under the light bulbs’ own peace treaty, will be innocent victims of Starfleet aggression. off-duty work assignments and written examinations Terms of Organian Treaty regarding development of planets located in Treaty Zone. Respective signatory parties to send envoys. Purpose: demonstration of respective abilities to develop planet in peaceful useful manner. Rights granted to party showing best ability or most acceptable to native population. Failure to abide by terms of agreement: physical interdiction of offending party from planet, which is then ceded to nonoffending party. Our distant line-cousins the Dekkani. Kasak sutai-Khornezh still has a mind sharp enough to cut throats. Rumbled the force leader from somewhere deep in his chest. If a Fed starship goes so far as to fire on us, or even to attempt it, the planet and its surrounding spatial zone will become part of the Imperial zone of influence. And the one will have exacted his revenge, gained much glory, and won the Empire a foothold in Federation space. Marag rose from his seat and came to a full salute The one is no traitor. All of Security is with him. A barely veiled warning to the coverts who acted as one or other department heads Hakkarl sends message – Still on course to Federation planet 4725 Can IV, still awaiting your reply. A request to time-set twenty photon torpedoes came in from Hakkarl less than two minutes later Kirk and Kasak to deploy torpedoes to make it look like Hakkarl exploded, four teratons’ worth of explosive power Captain Kasak advises that he intends a low-velocity launch and will complete the deployment process using tractors. Hakkarl has boosted warp drive Sulu had no more love for Klingon ordinance than his captain Klingons were 30 thousand km off to starboard and the same distance astern, a whisker over half a second behind them, travelling at sublight velocity max Kasak wanted to come calling, go via shuttle, after orbital insertion around Dekkanar. Seven minute shuttle trip Kasak prepared answer – It will deepen Kirk’s trust in my good faith, that I will cross to the vessel of an enemy and meet with him face to face. Askel and Kasak discuss the visit in the mess room. Kasak punched up food and drink for them both. A tray of fruit nectars and plain pastries. Sweet fruit nectar. He would be more serene than a sleeping Vulcan, more difficult to read than an unwritten book. Askel would use that position of strength to do some subtle testing of his own. He had already sent another intelligence communication, during the flurry of activity that accompanied the shepherding of 20 live time-set photon torpedoes. His message had been primed in the same instant that Krynn sent Hakkarl in pursuit of the Fed starship and he had transmitted it under cover of the magnificent explosion. It would have sounded just like any other flux-distorted random squawk. Askel, taking great care over the inflection of his speech – This may no be. It would be wrong if the one went unaccompanied. It would lack propriety. A captain of such repute should have an honor guard. Kasak was looking at him, a strangely speculative look that turned Askel’s liver to lead within his chest. None of that panic could be seen on Askel’s face. Nobody attained the rank of operations master by letting people read what they were thinking and several operations masters in the past had gone so far was to wear dermally implanted prostheses of cosmetic plastic to permanently mask their features. He hid his thought by not allowing them to show, ever, except deliberately, for effect. Kasak – Then the one will accompany his captain onto the Enterprise, together with others yet to be named. Askel – Honored, Captain. It is always good to have security in a hostile environment Though he ran that one several times thought his mind and sifted all the layers of meaning out of it, Askel still wasn’t sure whether it was a simple statement or some kind of very subtle joke at someone else’s expense. And not necessarily that of the security chief. Marag had already stated that he approved of Kasak’s plan With Hakkarl’s extra power at his disposal, Tazhat’s transporters can easily burn through naturally occurring interference. Hangar bay Duty uniform and sidearm, dress sash with all decorations and commendation clasps. Starbase 12, destination for Kasak claiming political asylum from Dekkanar The shuttle, a squat chisel-nosed vessel, grim gray thermoglaze, imperial trefoils, beacon light. Hatch swung out and up, boarding ramp out and down Going unarmed could be misinterpreted as that most dangerous thing to suggest where Klingons were concerned, a sign of weakness. All six responded with a salute to unfamiliar honor of boatswain’s pipe shrill squeal The name Kasak has an uncomfortable ring of familiarity about it, to Spock. He requests data from Starfleet Intelligence, transmission time to Starfleet HQ 3.73 hours Kirk – If Kasak has run across the Enterprise before I doubt he’ll remember the occasion kindly. Few Klingons would. Scotty – Och, that Captain Kang was all right, once we got things sorted out. Nothing more than a bunch of dissatisfied Klingon officers defecting to put their opponents in a bad light. All the Klingons were of the Imperial race. That suggested at the very least a certain elitism and at worst racial intolerance and xenophobia. These Klingons are all Imperials and are probably unfamiliar with the way a mixed crew works May I introduce Captain Kasak sutai-Khornezh, commander of the Imperial Klingon Vessel Hakkarl and officers of his crew. Kirk, said Kasak, giving the consonants their full Tlhinganaase value, though whether as compliment or veiled insult was unclear. As it is our intention to speak with on another as equals, it would please me to be called by my own name. Askel hoped an argument would develop, a frank exchange of opinions, mutual criticism that sometimes became brisk enough for either or both parties to let slip things that might best have been left unsaid. Kirk and Kasak both too experienced to indulge in any petty name-calling Glass of juice sharp and thin even after two additional pushes of the processor console’s sweetness selector. Rich fruit nectars in the Klingon style. Others have double-sweetened juices of one kind or another. Makhoy persuades Force Leader Marag to try mint julep There were few creatures more touchy than a Klingon trying to retain his good manners while his fingers froze It was a peculiarity of humans that they seemed to enjoy their recreational drinks either dangerously hot or ridiculously cold. Even those drinking juice put ice in it. Askel wondered if that related to the way humans behaved. Askel knew the official name was rec deck He had seen inspirational theatres on planetary installations, never mind spacegoing vessels, that were not so enormous. Khitar from Communications chats with Uhura, a female as dark as any Klingon who was easily keeping pace with his convoluted specialist vocabulary, despite the speed of its delivery after frequent drafts of black Saurian brandy from glass in left hand. Becomes deadly boring and repetitive. Askel made a mental note to discipline him later, not so much for drinking to excess as for having a loose mouth under its influence Several other species, all behaving like equals on this human ship instead of like the kuve they undoubtedly were As one trained in the sciences, Askel knew about the Sulamids and the four races of the Denbian worlds and even the Janusian living rocks, but that didn’t mean he had to like them, or the idea of a multispecies crew. Let the Vulcans propound IDIC theory, then show him the extent of their empire and the terror and respect in which it was held. Strength lay in unity, not diversity. Kasak’s strength had been evident from the first, when he had defied the suspicions of everyone from Thought Admirals and chiefs of security on down to the crew he had chosen himself. At each stage of his gradually revealed scheme he might have been arrested, or just gunned down by one of the interested parties who were following orders or who stood to gain by doing so. Marag, acting for Security, or whichever clandestine agent was aboard, also acting for Security, or Askel, acting for Imperial Intelligence, or a quiet member of the crew who might act only out of loyalty to the empire. That Kasak was well on his way to success and glory said something about his luck. It is the belief of my race that the one has only so much luck this side of the Black Fleet. The three left on Tazhat and Hakkarl could maintain life-support and environmental systems and monitor the cruiser’s standard orbit, but capable of little else. Boosted transport hypercarrier wave could beam safely through even deliberate jamming In an emergency the captain could control both ships from his command chair long enough for the scout to escape. Kahlesste kaase, Kahless’s Hand indeed, except now a captain had no need to tie his hand to the chair with his sash in order that none might say he fled before his crew. Drinking alcohol was as much a part of Klingon culture as it was of human social life. From past experience on Space Station K-7, mix Klingons, Enterprise crew and a bar and you get trouble The mockery of a Klingon was something to be wary of rather than simply endure The sensor suites on Hakkarl were probably eavesdropping anyway With no source of protection other than the weapons of the Klingon battle cruiser hanging in an ominously close orbit right above their heads, the Dekkani would waste no time in asking the Empire to help them sort out their internal differences. For the Klingons, sorting out something they had probably started, or at least organized by the usual method of cultivating and arming a group like the PDI, would be simplicity itself. Captain and part of the crew of IKV Hakkarl, they’re requesting political asylum I knew that Klingon captains turned privateer but I’ve never heard of one defecting until now It was the sort of grin the Klingons probably understood as well as anyone, all teeth, no humor. Even the Klingons had contrived to look concerned If the one may prove of some assistance? A disruptor screeched and its actinic blue bolt went past Straav’! Tokhe straav’! willing slave, the foulest insult in all the dialects of the Klingon language and one that only death could cancel out The human built chair was awkward for Klingon anatomy Khitar had not seen an elegant move in klin zha but mutiny and treason. Fires at Kasak but misses, drunk. Khitar covert Imperial Security. Imperial Security had never been renowned for intelligence. Compassion had no place behind a security badge or a security pistol. He remembered the Organians, no matter what he had done or would do yet, Khitar was an officer of the Klingon Empire and the glowbugs would surely come interfering if he was shot. The unmistakable shrilling of a disruptor at its highest settling. Khitar was engulfed in white fire and his screamed insults became a simple scream. It faded swiftly as his body glowed, incandesced and vanished. Helm officer Krynn straightened from her aiming crouch, her pistol holstered again before the last echoes of that horrid noise had fully died away. Ha’DIBah, she said softly, and then to Kasak, ’utpu’, joHwI jIyaj, the captain saluted her. majQa’ Askel’s mind was racing to shape the excuse it had just formed into something that would pass for truth – That officer is, was, of a line we had all thought dead. Extinct. That line has been at feud with the captain’s line, Khornezh, for Keth’s years. It would seem that one of them survived and determined to resume what was considered done with and at rest. This one and all of us regret it happened here. Surgeon Specialist Makhoy was blazing with anger Askel was careless of mere anger, no matter how intensely felt; all that concerned him was that his words not be questioned. While the Feds were bury being shocked at this demonstration of Klingon frightfulness Telling the truth, or at least most of it, about Khitar and Imperial Security might well have been the wiser course. Askel considered assuming an affronted expression, then discarded the idea as wasted effort The Fed was weak, it seldom executed prisoners. But it kept them caged until their time of detention was done or until it pleased someone to release them or until the end of life. That thought made him shiver more than any threat of death. Surgeon Specialist Arthag was nowhere to be seen. There were two of them. One loud, one quiet. Then kai Security after all. Pick up transmission, definitely Klingon, but a nonstandard frequency, from rec deck men’s room Kasak glowered at him, still managing to convey irritated innocence. If Arthag is truly of Imperial Security, I make no promises that he will heed me. Arthag! Specialist Arthag, this is the sutai-Khornezh. Arthag fires two shots at Kasak but misses, hides in the men’s bathroom Kasak’s people neither objected nor resisted being disarmed. Set disruptor’s power pack to overload, Spock uncertain of the energy output yielded by this type of sidearm, similar to more recent variants of phaser, blow this section of primary disc clean off the ship Kirk asks Horta Lt. Naraht to go into bathroom and capture and disarm the Klingon officer. The other Klingons stare with a mixture of distaste and contempt for a captain who would ask one of his crew, and a member of an inferior race at that, to do something. secret transmission acknowledged from out of system, same frequency, same code groups, indicate three-plus heavy cruisers at warp speed Arthag kills himself with a phaser blast, low enough to leave most of a body Kasak said evenly – Imperial Security would scarcely approve of what I have attempted. The one tried to stop me and failed. It seems he was less alone than either of us thought. These new ships are moving to prevent the theft of imperial military property; they have probably been following Hakkarl at a discreet distance since he left dry dock. Klingons seemed little troubled by events Kasak, whether accidentally or through deliberate malice has engineered a way in which several Klingon ships can legally enter a restricted and already sensitive sector of Fed-protected space. request for asylum is null and void. Kasak smiled venomously 211 jol yIchu. Katta, ghojol. the LED telltale on his communicator that indicated a transporter lock began glowing red Klingon communicators could and did run in a standby mode, without lights or beacons to betray the fact. In total silence golden light enveloped the four remaining Klingons Being Klingons they’ve gone for the military application rather than the safety aspect, the enhanced or boosted carrier wave High ranking officers have personal transport controllers responsible for their safety Typically Klingon in that there was someone to take the rap for a mistake KL 1017 Hakkarl, the battle cruiser was winding up from orbital shutdown to active status and the data readouts beside the crankwinged silhouette that was the standard tactical symbol. Battle cruiser achieved nominal power output, raise shields. Tazhat lifted clear of its parent vessel as slowly and as cautiously as a newly qualified pilot. Tazhat hung 10 meters over the dorsal surface of Hakkarl’s main hull. With equal slowness both ships rotated until they were facing in opposite directions. Port and starboard to Enterprise. It was almost as if Kasak was deliberately flaunting the size and power of his command to the man who had hoped to seize it. He seemed to be daring Kirk to fire, to fire point blank, render it immobile and claim it as his prize. Place Fed in violation of the Organian Treaty. The scout and the cruiser went transparent, shimmered, faded and were gone. Spock - If the behavior of those covert Imperial security agents means what I believe, Kasak and his ships are here without official orders and without the knowledge of his government and his superiors. If necessary the Empire can repudiate his actions and refuse to be responsible for the actions of a mutinous privateer. Unless of course the Empire stands to gain something. If so, the Klingons will claim that Kasak was acting under orders all the time. The planet, ceded to the Klingon Empire under the terms of the Organian Treaty. 219 Klingon battle group of nine more K’t’inga class cruisers entering the system, squadron leader Korzhan epetai-Kenek. Title for this duty was squadron leader, the rank insignia at his collar was that of an admiral. his speech heavily formal – You have possession of a stolen thing that is not yours. I want it back. The Klingon admiral thought Hakkarl and Tazhat were put into cloak by a prize crew from the Enterprise. This one has recorded information concerning the mutineer Kasak sutai-Khornezh. Information that was transmitter from your own ship. It is proof of treason against the Qomerex Tlhingan, and proof of your collusion. Kasak requested political asylum so as to evade punishment. He secured your cooperation by offering you the secrets of his ship! The epetai-Kenek will pardon me, but this one has a matter of imminent importance requiring all his attention. Kirk out. Nobody who lacks the nerve to defend his own ship, as a ship should be defended, would have enough blood in his liver to try to steal from the Klingon Empire. But my intention is to remain here until I discover where guilt is to be found. The PDI terrorist attack shuttles were starting an attack run on Korzhan’s squadron. Escape?! Execute withdrawal. Viewer track right, show mag four, hold. Showed fine contempt for kuve opponents, worthy of a Klingon; it would make bringing dishonor to his name that much the sweeter They settled back in comfort to watch the sport until Captain Kasak said Stations in the deadly tone of one who had not yet given any order to relax. He glanced at the foot repeaters Weapons, precision fire. Tracking prelock triangles Eyes slid sideways to meet other eyes and to wonder. There was no outcry of protest as there might have been before; the sutai-Khornezh had requested too many strange things on this first flight, thing that had later proved to be wise, or cunning, and always the proper thing to do. 228 Klingon battle cruiser Tarkan, starboard engine and part of supporting wing chopped away. The actinic blue track of a shipboard disruptor Korzhan’s response was typically Klingon, his flagship locked every disruptor battery that could be brought to bear onto the approaching targets and without issuing further warnings, opened fire. Dekkan orbiters blown up. Fed ships were well shielded but not well enough to survive the punishment that nine k’t’inga class battle cruisers could hand out if the Organians weren’t around to stop them. If the Organians regarded this sector as part of the Treaty Zone and didn’t regard Enterprise action as correct and necessary, they would immobilize Enterprise’s phasers, so that the Dekkani would be butchered anyway. The Organians would also be completely within their rights to hand Dekkanar over to the Klingon Empire as a penalty for the violation of firing unprovoked on a cosignatory. Just as Kasak had intended all along. Kirk talked as fast as he ever had to Korzhan. And to such effect that the Klingon admiral glowered doubtfully for no more than a second before calling a general cease-fire. Kirk began explaining facts and theories to Korzhan epetai-Kenek. That was Kasak’s intention, to provoke you by provoking me. he knew that the Organian glowbugs would not be troubled by an internal quarrel among Klingons. Such disagreements are not uncommon. It was a good plan, unless it worked against the Empire, as it might have done if Kirk persisted in using Enterprise as a shield for Dekkans. Pragmatism was not a trait Kirk had encountered much in Klingons Squadron leader Korzhan had evidently been selected for good sense and restrain rather than aggressiveness, in an attempt to put a stop to all those instances along the borders of the Organian Treaty Zone where overhasty Klingon captains had burned their fingers and the Empire’s. The admiral smiled, no more than a stretching of lips back from teeth. Korzhan - Kasak might have caused us to forfeit an imperial world instead of gaining one. This will not be forgotten. I will speak with you again, Kirk. The realization that an entire Klingon battle squadron had somehow been invited into orbit and that as a result the Fed ships were heavily outnumbered, had thrown the Dekkan government into a panic. The instant the Klingon squadron arrived the Dekkani realized their world and their culture were wide open, not for development but for exploitation. As far as the Empire was concerned, the PDI terrorists in their little ships were likely to start something that only the Klingons would finish. 232 Klingons were hunting Klingons. Korzhan’s squadron was moving against renegade Kasak, outraged that this passed-over failure had succeeded in making them all look like fools. If Kasak had been monitoring the frequencies as a sensible defector should, he would know he could no longer claim association with the Empire, but he would also know that the political restraints on his actions were gone now and for the same reason. Kasak is now a criminal. Personal rather than political aggression. Even assuming the Organians would intervene in this system, there is considerable doubt that they would do so in such a circumstance. It would be outside the restrictions laid down in the treaty. Nine Klingon battle cruisers were concentrating their fire on a single point, a mesh of blue fire. All that energy was splashing back from shields so powerful they were radiating out in to the ultraviolet. Suddenly firing ceased and Hakkarl was back in view. Hakkarl designed for hit and run raids, not full scale combat. The ships of Korzhan’s squadron fell back. Korzhan calls Kirk – There is your enemy, Kirk. And your battle, if he has power enough remaining to make a fight of it. Not mine. On Tazhat, Kasak – They have given him to me. Kirk and his ship are mine to destroy. Krynn – This was not why we supported you. Where is all the glory that the one promised in the winning of a planet for the Empire? This is mutiny! Snarled Kasak, his teeth bared to the gums. No, this is wisdom. Askel pulled the pistol’s charge slide out and tucked the weapon behind his belt Imperial Intelligence was willing to defend even the widest schemes of the sutai-Khornezh who was full of skill and brilliance. But not the one who is bortaS straav. Kasak’s voice had dropped to no more than an exhalation of air, none had ever heard him made so angry. What did you say? Only the truth. A captain may not lead his ship and serve the Empire and yet be a slave to revenge. Something must lose. We do not like to lose. It is not your ship but the Empire’s. but we will leave it, for you to hold as best you can. He swung back the padding on one arm of the command chair and unlocked the security lid that covered a key pad beneath it. Touching the keys in a coded sequence that brought different readouts to the data screens around the chair’s base. Kasak entered a last command series, closed cover and padding, and pressed the switch that normally opened the intercom circuit. This caused changes in the very structure of the chair as panels slid back and additional equipment swung up, locking in place with small, solid sounds; thrust levers, a sidestick controller, a sensors board, a weapons status display, all devices more appropriate to a single-seat fighter. Mine to control. He dismissed them by turning his back. Askel and others to transporter room and to flagship of Admiral Korzhan. Success, sutai-Khornezh. Whatever has passed you will be remembered with honor. Hakkarl was lined up on an attack course on Enterprise. Enterprise blasts section of plating on primary hull where Tazhat was carried and where remote command transmissions were received. Hakkarl, brain-damaged and blind, was homing in on its source of command signals, fires at cloaked Tazhat. Tazhat shivered out of cloak. Hakkarl ceases firing. It was programmed by Klingons. they take prizes for profit. Someone must have included surrender-recognition parameters, like dropping shields. Hakkarl had a large resident memory buffer Kasak was breathing the smoke, he was already dying. Kasak – Kirk, I see you have survived again. Be assured this cannot last. You have made too many enemies during your years, and luck is a finite commodity. Somewhere out among the stars there will be another enemy waiting for you, one more fortunate than I. One day you will know the bitter flavor of the coldest dish and in the Black Fleet I will know, and laugh. He stripped off his officer’s sash and used it to tie his free hand to the command chair. Kasakte kasse. Witness it, Kirk. It would be good if you did not forget. Kasak touched a control, causing Hakkarl to resume his attack run at Tazhat. Hakkarl destroys Tazhat, killing Kasak. Enterprise destroys Hakkarl. The Klingon battle group leaves orbit. Admiral Korzhan calls to talk to Kirk, Uhura tries to put him off that Kirk is taking rest after a long time on duty, he was very persuasive. Kirk didn’t know much about Klingon facial expressions. Korzhan was not in favor of great experiment, though no one asked for his opinion. Korzhan very old, very highly placed, to get this particularly satisfying command. Vindication, satisfaction, personal and political. Korzhan – Know this, as thy will know when I return; Klingons need no machines to do their fighting for them. There will be no more fighting done today, either by machines or by flash and blood. Maybe we will meet again when both of us have different orders and no interfering Organian light bulbs to prevent a warrior from seeking glory. Until then, or until the Black Fleet, I salute you. Kai kassai, Enterprise. Kai kassai, Kirk. Enterprise returns to Starbase 12. Organian Claymare comes to Kirk. We merely observed. It was pleasing that our intervention was not required. The conflicts of personal enemies, while regrettable, are not a part of the treaty and do not warrant intervention regardless of which party an individual might claim to represent. The late Captain Kasak acted through out on a most erroneous assumption of our response. Kasak aside, the reactions of both sides were most laudable. We are extremely pleased by this and await further developments. Ice Trap by L.A. Graf no Klingon content Death Count by L.A. Graf P16 Denebian lianas - fragrant drooping flowers Shell Game by Melissa Crandall P26 the space station Reltah bears a striking resemblance to early Klingon prototype stations. Given the proximity to the Romulan Neutral Zone, it could be of their making. Though Romulans not known for building space stations. P31 McCoy - perhaps the Klingons or any of the other less savory types we’ve encountered are trying to get the Romulans in trouble. I’d put my money on the Klingons if it came to a bet. They’ve been in cahoots with the Romulans before. While the Fed is busy trying to figure out the stray space station, possibly antagonizing the Romulans in the process, what’s to stop the Klingons from blithely cruising their cloaked ships across the Neutral Zone and wrecking their own special brand of havoc? Hell, neither group has much loyalty except to themselves. For all we know they could have started out as partners and ended up with a space station full of dead Romulans killed off by Klingons. P257 Romulan speech, so much more melodic than Klingon. Firestorm by L.A. Graf p19 Starfleet has been keeping an eye on numerous peaceable visits by Klingons to Elas over the past five years. The Dohlman treats all men as inferiors, and bondsman of her cohort are very subservient to her. p20 Elasians similar cultural ethics and a strong warrior code to Klingons p20 maybe the Klingons think that getting in good with the Elasians will give them access to all the dilithium on Troyius. Elaan, Dohlman of Elas was married to King Bejas of Troyius five years ago, but unlikely now that Dohlman Elaan was killed battling raiders 17 months ago p22 Elas could have bought warp technology and interplanetary weaponry from Klingons with Bejas' bequest to Elaan's sister Israi p22 the Klingons gave the Elasians a taste of what weapons they could get on the black market p47 Seven foot tall Elasian males carry Klingon disruptors p65 Elasians have no alphabet, only abstract pictographs p107 Elasian Crown Regent Zhirnen's flagship ionic output IDs it distinctively similar to Klingon cruiser, converted heavy frigate p107 Klingons make quite an industry out of retooling their older vessels for sale to non-allied systems p146 Elasian male kessh Takcas tortured with Klingon-made agonizer, bought on black market by Elasians p146 agonizer leaves burn behind ear, where nervous system is accessed p146 Chekov remembers his bout with the agonizer, only lasted a minute or less, nerves overloaded, feel only pain, keep body quiet and warm and free from stimulus to recover p154 Crown Regent Zhirnen has established ties with Klingons while ruling for Dohlman Israi, younger sister of Elaan p158 Chekov had nightmares about agonizer for a year, had to excuse himself from Security Academy lecture about the agonizer, and a year ago, at the prospect of face to face negotiations with Klingons during border negotiations was upset for three days p160 Chekov, at the prospect of agonizer torture again, bolts like a crazed animal p162 Chekov would do anything to avoid agonizer p174 Takcas suffers the agonizer again p177 Elasian's Klingon ship's sensors can misread energy fluctuations p208 Dohlman Israi of the line of Kesmeth mercy kills her kessh Takcas after they exchange the phrase "It is a good day to die." p266 one Elasian warship named the Esar p272 no dilithium on Rakatan, sentient magma creatures instead Blaze of Glory by William Rotsler P9 Star Fleet Admiral Karis Atum Tatenen, the hero of the Battle of Vonra, the Destroyer of Klingons as the media had dubbed him. Tatenen is one of the greatest heroes in Fed history. quite old, but still a serving officer. A tall, impressive man, white-haired with large physical features given to broad almost theatrical gestures. In old age involved in secret diplomacy, powers behind thrones. Kirk read his book, the Battle of Vonra, in the Academy. The bridge of the king Richard, air leaking out, half the phasers out, warp engines ready to blow. But still Tatenen had sent volley after volley into the Klingon battleships which greatly outnumbered him. Tatenen had won that battle, and many more after that, against both Klingons and Romulans. 29 years before, almost seven decades after the end of the Romulan war, when there had been an attempt by that savage race to break the treaty. The most famous of star sailors. Tatenen – Given the opportunity, go down with your ship. In the long run it’s the best! Pollox Iv is disputed territory. Dangerously close to Klingon territory. Food; planet Khepri – kok-ido birds; Altair zanahoria; Centauri cavolfiore; Axanar kukurydza; Andorian wine-analog. P19 Pakheth, near Tatenen’s home star of Ra, only three or four ly off. Ra referred to as Regulus by Fed. A skirmish with Klingon scout ships which was the precursor of the more famous Vonra battle. Tatenen seemed to relish in his wholesale destruction of Klingon ships. Tatenen – You’ve got to hit them at every opportunity. Be aggressive, be bold, attack! The only thing Klingons and Romulans understand is raw power. Strength! Firepower! They are barbarians at the gates of civilization. You must hit and hit first! Kirk – But first, you try to avoid war. Tatenen – I know Vulcans are related distantly to the Klingons, and you’re not a warlike people, but they are. They don’t understand about diplomacy. They think that’s weakness! Klingons, and others, will jump you at the liberty ports; Telemachus, Marsport, old Dronning, Kaksi, and of the Blue Planet ports; Abramsville. Or con you, or sold into slavery, out near Brin or Prantares. P21 three Klingon ships encountered, in Fed territory, a few hours from Pollox IV. Kl’ar class. Tatenen – Give them a parsec and they’ll take a lightyear. I know those Klingons! p23 they are Klingon ambassadorial vessels escorting someone called Kaare to Pollox IV. They are flying under Fed protection. Tatenen has been fighting Klingons as long as Kirk has been alive. They are tricky, tricky as a yellow scral and twice as mean. All night there were parties and receptions for the Klingons and Admiral Tatenen. This afternoon they are supposed to get together to discuss an agenda which has not been revealed. But they’re calling it the final act in the long Human-Klingon fighting. A new page in history. Tactics in Space War, by General Sandra Cohen. The Klingons have beamed up from the conference, they are very angry. Admiral Tatenen has issued a statement that the Klingons were not negotiating in good faith, that it was all a trap. Kirk feels Tatenen deliberately blew the conference to go out in a blaze of glory. Klingon ships have shields up, but are waiting to see what Enterprise does. 28 Kang is the Klingon commander on the Klingon ship. Kirk surprised – I thought they’d discipline you after Beta XII Alpha. Kang – They did, in their way. I’m still a captain and you, you’re an admiral. The Klingon, in his dark uniform with the glittering sash, shrugged. Kang – Mara, my wife, is well. She retired to care for our daughters. Kirk – Congratulations, Kang. Kang – For what, Kirk? They are females! And now your ambassador has put impossible demands upon us. My father fought him at Vonra. He was a brilliant tactician then, but now he is a fool! The Klingon Empire cannot possibly consider even one of his preposterous proposals! He threatened us, Kirk, threatened us with you, you and the Enterprise. Well, we are three to one, Kirk. we shall see who journeys to the end of time as a gas, human! He insulted us! He belittled us! I have no desire to start a war, Kirk. I attack you, you attack me, one wins, one loses, but there will be many deaths. There is no honor in that. Kirk – Sounds to me as if you’ve mellowed, Kang. Kirk saw a flash of Kang’s former anger, then the big, dark Klingon shrugged – Maybe, even with daughters, you think what is to come. But if we meet where there is reason to fight, just you and I, ship against ship! Kirk – There’s the old irascible Kang we all know and love. Look, we’ll leave together, all right? Then neither is retreating from the other. Kang – Done. You had better mothball that old admiral. He was first in his day, but. Tatenen escapes Enterprise in shuttlecraft Galileo, the Klingon Kl’ar class ship had its defensive screens up, but they were only effective against radiation, electronic emissions, such as phasers, shuttlecraft could go right through. Tatenen intended to ram. A phaser spat a single burst, shuttlecraft exploded. Kirk – Uhura, send this message to Starfleet; Fleet Admiral Karis Atum Tatenen, hero of the Battle of Vonra, Destroyer of Klingons, died today on the bridge of a spacecraft after an unfortunate accident. Captain Kang, commander of the Klingon craft which accidentally struck Admiral Tatenen’s shuttlecraft, expressed deep regret. Under Twin Moons by William Rotsler P34 the Empire of Thrace is independent of both the Fed and the Klingon-Romulan Alliance. Planet Macedon III, only liberty port in the sector, populated by humans, arriving by sleeper ship, and native humanoids, war devastated race Thracians. Thrace on excellent terms with both Fed and Klingons. Some native – terran hostility. Matriarch Miranie; Prince Jaral. Wild Card by William Rotsler P65 fine Triacus pod wine, Rigellian dorf (alcohol) The Secret Empire by William Rotsler No Klingon Intelligence Test by William Rotsler P124 Rigellian shocker-worm, pretty. Everything pretty is not safe. P127 Eminiar Fifth Column arachnid. Its method of obtaining food was to sit in some exposed position, it’s fiery-red cilia waving in the breeze until it was attacked. It would then fold itself into a tight knot of overlapping chitin plates, coated with an acid-resistant gel, and let itself be swallowed. Once inside, it expanded, stuck out its legs to prevent regurgitation, then ate its way to the creature’s heart. It then used the corpse to lay eggs and to feed itself until the eggs were hatched. To Wherever by William Rotsler No Klingon Deep Domain by Howard Weinstein P21 the Federation flag flying in all corners of the galaxy made adventurism by Klingons, Romulans, and a host of other less powerful antagonists somewhat less likely Just Another Little Training Cruise, Enterprise Logs Captain Spock takes Enterprise on a mission to map section of space new to Federation, far from Romulan Neutral Zone and Klingon Empire, he expects no incidents. Sins of the Mother, The Lives of Dax no Klingon content Wagon Train To the Stars by Diane Carey P207 to fight Klingons, there was a way to do it. There were known manners of approach and their technology wasn’t a mystery. Belle Terre by Dean Wesley Smith with Diane Carey P10 Kirk had no doubt that when word of the discovery of hundreds of tons olivium in the Quake Moon of new Federation colony Belle Terre got out, the Klingons, the Romulans, and just about everyone else would all try to gain some foothold in this pristine backwater. Olivium used in replicators, holographic technology, medical science, more powerful weapons. Rough Trails by L.A. Graf P24 if Captain Kirk couldn’t convince Montgomery Scott to hurry in the middle of a pitched battle with Klingons, there wasn’t much chance of Sulu speeding him up just because of a little radioactive dust and colonial unrest. P356 there was enough quasimatter in the core of Belle Terre’s largest moon to power the entire Federation for decades. It could also power the Kauld, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Empire, and half a dozen other enemies as well. Kirk wasn’t going to risk that. The Flaming Arrow by Kathy Oltion & Jerry Oltion P5 enough quasimatter in the core of Belle Terre’s largest moon to power the entire Federation for decades. It could also power the Kauld, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Empire, and half a dozen other enemies as well. P149 Lilian Coates bookshelf even holds a thin volume of Klingon history bound in what looked to be targhide. That must have been a hard book to come across. She even had a copy of Jayne’s Guide to Non-Federation Ships. P222 McCoy looks at Spock as if he had confessed to an emotional fondness for Klingons. Thin Air by Kristine Kathryn Rusch & Dean Wesley Smith no Klingon content Challenger by Diane Carey P59 Kirk remembers Ens. Bonifay from two weeks ago, at cargo dock 16. Bonifay told one of Kirk’s delivery yeomen he is a quarter Klingon. Bonifay sensed Klingon in the yeoman, or that he had Klingon in his heart. P81 the Klingons? There’s not a Klingon within eight months of here. You mean the Kauld. P202 aboard the Peleliu - our shields are up to 85 percent, thiiis means we can take whatever anybody around here has, unless the Klingons are out here, we’re all set. Gateways 2 Chainmail by Diane Carey no Klingon content The Pandora Principle by Carolyn Clowes P44 Romulan Preator Than has been a member of The Ten for 20 years, an secret alliance of powerful Romulans, those with command of ships and troops, private funds for weapons, private contracts with the Klingons. plan to overthrow Romulan government. P56 the worst moments of Kirk’s career, worse than Klingon disrupters and alien entities, were spent in Admiral Nogura’s office. P141 Romulan Praetor Than had been diverting funds from purchases of Klingon ships for years. P170 Romulan smuggler Achernar had a bloodstone from the Klingon Empire, an item illegal for trade, at least in the Federation Dwellers in the Crucible by Margaret Wander Bonanno P1 only Klingons subscribed to six as a potent talisman – something to do with their obsession with the Games, allies of the Romulans or not, they were a reprehensibly superstitious lot. P3 Somewhere along the outer arm of a spiral nebula the Klingons had designed Haktuth, a battlecruiser commander named Krazz gripped the arms of his command chair and bared his back teeth in what he hoped his superior on the commpic would read as an obedient smile. Inwardly, Krazz wished Tolz Kenran’s testicles in a vise – all three of them. Respect, my Lord Tolz, I am not a babysitter. I’ve logged my complaint. But I will obey. Tolz outranked Krazz by only a hair. Were cadets together. Ri-hann-su, pretentious smooth-browed freaks. Call them Roms the way the Feds did and puree them all for gel pastries! The green-filled ones always give Krazz the trots Affirm. You will obey. flabjellah, deadly sharp ubiquitous Andorian dagger P22 T’Shael, Vulcan female, knows the word for light, in the abbreviated harsh, grating, guttural sound of Battle Language of the Klin. The Romulans and uneasy allies the Klingons. Romulan honor was legend, but the Klin. The Romulans have utilized Klin vessels since their alliance. P55 a Kzantor-style longrange, model 75ZX4 with modified forward nacelles, 4 passengers, small craft. Lands on planet T’Shael - The Klin thrives on the weaknesses of others The Romulan alliance with the Klingons has brought with it certain pressures which may be difficult to reconcile with their own moral code. There were four – two guards who immediately flanked either side of the doorway, weapons drawn, a leader of some high military rank, and his second Heavy bifurcated eyebrows, vestigial vertebrae arching over gnarled skulls, prognathous jaws and a tendency to breath through their mouths Krazz - His standard was good, almost unaccented, though one suspected it was limited. There was a swagger to his voice as well as his walk. He was small for a Klingon, which meant he had learned to survive by his wits. Caretaker to kidnapped Warrantors. You will tell your Federation that the Klingon Empire treated you well. Thumbs tucked into his weapon belt. If I understand your Federation’s way of doing things, we will probably be here for a very long time. If my officers and I must subsist without servitors, you cannot expect to live better than we. My orders are only to see to it that you are fed, sheltered and held in place. and I always obey orders. The second was taller than the commander and seemed less menacing. There was a listening quality to him. Deep voice. Properly self-effacing. There was an ancient taboo against sexual assault within the confines of a dwelling. He said in rabid, guttural Klingonaase. T’Shael caught the word preserve. Our superiors have no say in how we choose to relieve our boredom in this godforsaken backwater! We will do nothing that can be proven later. There will be no permanent damage. P72 Kalor, Krazz’s highborn lieutenant. Knows Deltans, disdainful of Krazz’s ignorance Unlike most officers Krazz had little experience with other species. He was not from one of the old houses, had not been reared with the luxury of servitors on Klin Zhai or any of the other cosmopolitan inworlds, but had clawed his way up from an undistinguished agri-clan, teaching himself the Games and winning his commissions by craft. He had never lost his provincialism, and his enemies claimed he still had triticale seeds in his mane and that downwind the smell of dung still clung to him So while the more sophisticated scions of the old houses could distinguish a Withiki from a Cherwtl without so much as checking the color differential of the underwings, Krazz still got his humanoids scrambled. Krazz has heard of Deltans, perhaps better than Orions. P74 Kalor has no sexual expertise with Orions. Kalor once had a Vulcan, there was a disabled Federation border vessel, when he was an ensign on Flyer’s Pride, Targa’s flagship. used agonizer on the Vulcan female, she only retreated deeper, unresponsive, killed. Krazz has sexual experience with Orions Too easy, I prefer a female with fight! Krazz has heard Vulcans do it only once in seven years. That’s ridiculous! P74 Krazz was been executing colonists on Ailig IV under the heading of political expediency. Incredible what a female would bargain for a death without pain. Kalor considers humans fragile and easily exhausted His rancid carnivore breath I like a female with fight The four Klingons had formed a close orbit around the Deltan, panting, feral. If Krazz had not come to his senses the Deltan might have casually exhausted them all. Away! He roared, first to lock into command mode and break the Deltan’s spell. He backed away from her as if she poisoned the very air he breathed, waving his blaster at the others to break their fixation. P83 one stayed with fruit nectars in the fleet, but a Klingon who couldn’t hold his liquor planetside was no Klingon. If I’d wanted to tend sheep I’d have stayed in the agricaste like my father! The strength of the Klingon is the strength of the whole Someday Krazz’s disaffection with his superiors would force Kalor to kill him. He who is strong is he who obeys Krazz poured them each three drinks in succession before he spoke again That takes the edge off an ill-omened day Krazz had hear that Deltans had power but he didn’t believe Krazz knew how close he sometime came to slipping and how Kalor made note of it Kalor was the first to succumb to the Deltan’s influence You’d like to see me blunder, wouldn’t you, Kalor? Your aristocratic sensibilities are offended by having to serve under a bumpkin like me, and you’d welcome the chance to remove me. Kalor could not meet that knifelike stare forever. It suggested old secrets, perhaps not buried deeply enough. Krazz has read Kalor’s dossier, and his father’s, thoroughly. I may be a hayseed, but I keep up on internal politics Kalor’s teeth gnashed involuntarily P84 The shame of Mertak epetai Haaral’s treason had haunted his youth, excluded him from the Academy, cost him access to all normal career routes despite his officiation at the old man’s execution. He still bore the claw marks on his throat and always wore his collars high, but the roar of his father’s outrage remained in his ears. They had grappled for the stunner. Zoren, his boyhood friend, had caught Mertak in the spine with his blaster. Kalor had had to kill Zoren to erase the dishonor. P85 his mother, she was Gelfa, powerful connections, long estrangement from her husband had saved her life. Kalor had enlistee on a merchanter, possibly the deepest humiliation for a scion of Haaral. Kalor had won his commission in the Navy dearly. He has spent his life restoring the honor of his House. These things sometimes take several generations to be forgotten. Kalor will always be suspect. You must learn to look life straight in the eye and stare it down, get rid of that horrible sideways analytical squint you’ve acquired. At times you border on intellectualism, it’s a dangerous trait for a Klingon He knew not what other battles he would have to fight to stay alive and in his lord’s good graces Krazz doesn’t like Romulans, they’re too subtle. Too serious. They deny the Fame, yet they play it to win. And they’d rather intrigue than fight. It’s not normal. Rid of the upstart and the traitor’s son in one swoop Or test if they will accept shepherding meekly or take initiative and find some way of turning this against the Roms, which is the current favored tack, or was when we left port. A variation on the Double Blind Game, clever but obvious. A distance of a billion kellicams This is in fact Triple Blind, the object of which is to slowly drive Krazz mad. And not so much as a chance to entertain ourselves with the females! There will be no hands-on with any of the prisoners, not even the males. Gods know what tricks they have up their sleeves or under their trousers. Your opinion as a soldier, widely experienced in such matters Krazz was not immune to flattery if it was well executed. The Feds don’t even know the Klingons are involved Kahless, but their lord was clever I didn’t have a hot bath until I was an adult P99 Supplies were beamed down every few weeks from passing ships, whether Klin or Romulan none could tell. They were not marooned at the far edges of the galaxy but somewhere on the main Klin-Romulan trade routes. Kahless knows how Klingons without their servitors were slovenly at the best of times. komerex tel khesterex – the orthodox expansionist philosophy of his kind Mertak epetai Haaral had presumed within the confines of his home and in the presence of friends to disavow the komerex, to suggest that conquest and subjugation need not be the only answers. A servitor overheard and reported his treason. Kalor obsessed with the study of the species his race conquered and enslaved or merely slaughtered. He participated in the slaughter to ensure his own survival within the system. P107 Kor epetai Zareht, his father’s comrade who had been to Organia. Kor had told of the Organian prophecy that someday Klingon and human would join together toward a new tomorrow. In that tomorrow it would be he who had the most knowledge of other races and the least of their blood beneath his talons who would best survive Scott contacts Admiral Korax. Korax owes Scott a broken jaw from their last encounter Scott – Ah, stow it and pour us another, ye bump-headed freak Korax – Ye’re a braggart and a blowhard, Muntgohmurrhee. He could still imitate the burr as well as he had during the celebrated incident on Station K-7 half a Klingon’s lifetime ago. Scott shocked at Korax’s appearance – he had gotten so old. He’d been only a youngster the last time. In the intervening years he had grown suddenly ancient. Scotty had forgotten the age differential that made a Klingon of 35 venerable. Korax must be close to 30 now, and in that respect he was older than Scotty. He was scarred, wrinkled, iron-haired and much decorated admiral in the Klin Navy, nearing his retirement. Intra-Empire Free Station, cross roads for Klingons, Romulans, other unsavory characters Korax – Muntgohmurrhee, Kahless, why can’t you have a decent name, y’old drunk? Something I can pronounce, at least. Skhottih. Korax just growled and ordered another. P111 Doch. toH? Korax – Testicles! A man like you have his own command. Disgrace! Like most elderly Klingons, Korax was more than a little deaf. Novelty of a human and a Klingon getting drunk together Korax knows Kirk has powerful friends in Starfleet. Considers Scott the best engineer either side of the Zone, y’old sot. Khest it, we could use you! Glory of the kill. A place in the Black Fleet, Kahlesste kaase! We can get drunk together for all eternity. Kai, Klingon! Kai, Skhottih! P112 Kle’tih’bach! He snarled in ‘aase. Former commander got himself khest. Krazz’s commander Tolz an old enemy of Korax, settle old score. Tolz is mortal enemy of Korax. Two razor-honed young Klin sergeants stalked over to him. The glare of their yellow eyes. Admiral Lord Korax Scotty didn’t need to know any ‘aase to understand the word ‘senile.’ P121 tremors cause guard broken arm. Kalor gashed his head on the scanner console. Half of Krazz’s store of ales and fruit nectars destroyed. Electrified fence sparks nearly kill second guard. Kalor – We were never meant to mix in it with these slithering freak-ears. Kalor had outlined experiment with Deltans to Krazz some time ago. Xenopsychology. A dead witness is no witness The Romulan faction who had sided with the Klingons now out of favor P152 some few security people not in Tolz Kenran’s employ The tharavul enslaved on Klin planets had their psi-centers excised The Xenopsychology study had absorbed Kalor more than anything else he could remember. Krazz was a slow reader, he mouthed the words A step on the road to your own command, perhaps a military governor. Romulan proverb – All is permissible unless one is caught P176 Romulan Sub-commander Tal loathed Klingons, their predatory stench offended his aristocratic nostrils Krazz – Are you accusing me of deceit, Ri-hann-su? Don’t make me forget we’re allies! Krazz muttered something unintelligible in an obscure dialect and bellowed for Kalor A more astute commander would have known his lieutenant had been loitering just outside the door, absorbing every word. In Kalor’s universe, opportunities were for seizing. Klingon slave planets. It is wasteful to hold prisoners unused. We either train them for service or we kill them. Harems and experimental labs. Technically Romulan sub-commander outranked Klingon lieutenant Tal has found most Klingons easy to read, simple brutes with one-track minds Kalor shrugged; if Tal thought these conditions primitive he had obviously never visited a slave planet. Romulans know the sort of experiments they conduct on their slave planets! Tal forcibly reminded himself that these bipedal beast were his Empire’s allies The Romulan commander did not give Lord Tolz time to bare his back teeth Tolz Kenran – gnarled and knobbed, grizzled and rheumy-eyed and missing most of both hands, talks out of side of slack and slobbering mouth. Clawlike prostheses. Year Games were being broadcast on an audvid screen. Last year visiting Allied team, comprised mostly of Romulans hand been badly beaten. Final freestyle battle sequence, awash with green blood and falling twitching bodies. Tolz Kenran agreed to be part of Romulan kidnapping of Warrantors because he was promised a substantial portion of the ransom Your ones have khest me out of that. What the khest are you talking about? Romulan Commander from Enterprise Incident not gifted in Klingonaase Klin philosophy, He who dies for the honor of his Empire automatically earns a place in the Black Fleet Eliminating Krazz had been Tolz’s object form the beginning, a n old score to settle, part of a plot in his brain from the moment his superiors handed him the sealed orders to assist the Roms in this silly kidnapping caper. Roms could never distinguish among Klin moods because all of them had teeth The servitor, of unknown species and indeterminate gender, fluttered and squeaked about its nervous ministrations Tolz epetai Kenran The abductors were a splinter faction acting in collaboration with the Klingons but without authorization from the Praesidium. The Klingons orders frequently contradict the Romulans’ instructions Send him to the Black Fleet Krazz killed in fissure by groundquake Kalor’s report on the innate weaknesses of the Deltan species and how best to utilize them for purposes of conquest and the glory of the Empire, lost with Krazz Kalor gnashed his teeth and tore at his mane and slobbered in his rage How else did a Klingon rise in the ranks except through the death of his commander? Krazz’s eternally unmarked grave It is the Klingon’s duty to obey dirhja – ancient Romulan dagger, short sword. Often jeweled hilt, 3 perfectly equilateral edges, incredibly sharp, enters painlessly with little loss of blood. Always leaves an unusual scar. Subtle weapon, uses victim’s own weaknesses against him. P231 Federation can’t touch the Klingons in any event thanks to the Organians P242 Kalor has celebrated the end of the Romulans’ governorship by smashing the neck off a fresh bottle of liquor and drinking himself to the verge of a stupor To remind one such as Kalor of his species’ taboos might be incentive enough for him to break them. The Klingon preys upon the weakness of others You would go with me willingly? he demanded, Klingon-suspicious. A Klingon also has honor, when it serves his interest in xenopsychology The Klingon weighed this, still smelling treachery. He whose ideology was rooted in deviousness was at a loss to deal with such relentless honesty P247 Kalor was very young, first deep space voyage, when he and his crewmates tortured Vulcan aboard her ship Kalor would teach Vulcan and human and even Romulan the parameters of a Klingon’s honor The Romulan rift with the Klingons continues to widen Kalor had had to set the Kzantor for surface skim The fire in her eyes challenged the Klingon, fanned the flame of his desire. He seized her face in one rough hand and forced his mouth onto hers, remembering at the last moment not to bare his teeth It’s a trap! Kalor’s Klingon soul shouted Kalor’s broad vestigially scaled chest Kleant, it could almost be a Klingon name Klingons kill to earn adult status and call it a game komerex tel khesterex, the Expanding Empire p262 Kalor talked about his father, about his obsession with rehabilitating the family name, about the cunning and the compromises and the sacrifices necessary just to stay alive in his society. A being who could execute his own father, then kill the friend who had assisted in the execution Kalor covered the human’s neck with love bites p270 what must it be like to be a Klingon and have it all past you be the time you were thirty. No wonder they were rapacious, violent; it was all over for them so quickly Kalor killed by Romulan Commander from Enterprise Incident What might he have become if that embryonic intellectualism, that almost sensitivity in him had had a chance to grow and conquer his Klingon need to maim and destroy Could a human be impregnated by a Klingon? Human children grew up on whispered horror stories of what happened to those captured and enslaved by Klingons. McCoy was certain such human-Klingon offspring existed within the Empire, assuming they weren’t aborted or murdered at birth, but he knew of none within the Federation Potential baby index: Kador/Cleante alFaisal Infinity, The Lives of Dax no Klingon content Time for Yesterday by A.C. Crispin P103 Kirk would like to avoid all tribbles P218 McCoy suggests sending the insane Originators to Klinzhai, give the Klingons something to worry about besides making trouble for us. Strangers from the Sky by Margaret Wander Bonanno P24 Kirk remembers the last book he was encouraged to read - The Final Reflection. Gave him nightmares for weeks. McCoy calls it an electrifying docudrama. Kirk admits it was exciting and enjoyable, but afterwards he thought of how there really are no Good Guys and Bad Guys. Just a lot of people falling over each other trying to do what they think is right. History is fragile. Kirk thought about how one individual can change the course of history. If Krenn had been the kind of stereotype Klingon we'd come to expect, if Tagore had been a lesser human, we might have destroyed each other long ago. P55 Kirk smuggled his paper copy of the book Strangers from the Sky out of the Admiralty as if it might have been Klingon aphrodisiacs P99 Programming the Kobayashi Maru test for Academy cadets, Kirk always gives them three Klingons in the attack phase. Never two for a change, or four, or one. Because anyone who knows anything about Klingons would know that they are predictable in their obsession with combinations of three. Hence a bracket of K'tinga class battlecruisers has been and always will be composed of three. P301 most reputable scientists have maintained that a civilization advanced enough for interstellar travel must be a peaceful one - not counting Klingons, Romulans, Orions Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Klingon proverb - Revenge is a dish best served cold. Novelization by Vonda N McIntyre - P8 Kobayashi Maru, 12 parsecs out of Altair VI , in Neutral Zone. Entry by Starfleet vessels into the Neutral Zone prohibited by Treaty. Ominous, probing shapes of three Klingon cruisers. Klingon ships deliberately fouling Enterprise sensors, transmission frequencies jammed. Klingons on attack course. 4 additional Klingon cruisers. Enterprise can not outmaneuver 7 Klingon cruisers, can outrun them. Kirk's experience is that Klingons never take prisoners. P39 McCoy's birthday present to Kirk - Is it a tribble? Or maybe some contraband Klingon - P205 Spock thinks of music - Q'orn [?] The Azphari Enigma by William Rotsler No Klingon content The Jungles of Memory by William Rotsler SD 8210.1 Nyota Uhura autobiography, Space, The Final Frontier, just published. 50 at return form first five year mission, UBC reporter thought there was nothing out in space but terrible bug-eyed monsters, rapacious Klingons, and treacherous Romulans. Uhura – in some ways Starfleet personnel are closer to those in the Klingon space fleet than to certain of our own race, those who have never looked at the night sky and truly wondered. On shore leave at Kenya Park, Uhura and friend Park Ranger Somabula attacked by two Klingons, male and female. Blue phaser blast. Something I thought I would never see on Earth! A Klingon! The swarthy skin, the black and maroon clothing, the dully gleaming scarf of rank, the Klingon hand weapon, the dark and deadly eyes. no Klingon could go unreported in any civilized part of Terra. They could have bribed or hidden aboard a freighter, then stolen away in the night to this remote spot. The Klingon was counting on the humanity of the native he had seen to attempt a rescue, Uhura of Somabula. More important that Starfleet know that one or more Klingons were on Earth than for Uhura to try to save Somabula. Uhura captured. Speak, Earthdog! Why are you here? He growled other questions at me. He could not afford to let us go. Digs grave with phaser, disintegrating the ground. It was a strange and overly elaborate Klingon knot. The weapon’s plastic ruptured as Uhura stomped on it. the crunch of electronic parts. Uhura knocks burly Klingon male unconscious and ties him up. This was the killing beam of a deadly Klingon weapon. There were two of them, and one was a Klingon female! She was dressed in the dark, glittery cloth that was the fashionless clothing of that strange race, and held a phaser in her hand with easy skill. Uhura sends primitive spear through shoulder of Klingon male, alive but unconscious. The electrical discharge of close phaser blast made hair stand on end, blurred vision, befuddled nervous system. Klingon female slices into tree, causing it to fall on her, crushed, she would be no more trouble. But there could still be other Klingons. The United States of Africa commandos found the Klingons had a buried ship deep in the Park, from which they had planned to direct a hit-and-run terrorist group that would, they hoped, bring the world government of Earth to the breaking point. None of this will appear in the news reports. They will just wait and snag each Klingon team as they get smuggled in. after two or three of their terrorist groups disappear without a trace, they’ll give up. Or try something else. A Vulcan, A Klingon, And An Angel by William Rotsler Coridan beer, Triacus pod wine, Andorian wine-analog. Scott’s story about Mr. Spock, the Klingon king, and the angel, during first voyage, a year out, maybe more. Pre Chekov, shortly after Gorn encounter. Edison II, Little settlement on a backwater world called Alva. Settled commercial colony 50 – 60 years before. Thomas, close to sun, and Alva, planets. A little two-world system near the Klingon line. Too far out for commercial freighters. Landing party beams down and out steps a whole squad of Klingons! Phasers drawn. No ship on sensors. Landing party weapons taken. The Klingons had us, and the colonists, but we didn’t know what they were up to. Scott – I was so angry I could have chewed dilithium crystals! 72 top dog among the Klingons was Klandor, called himself a king. Insisted on being called Your Majesty. Obnoxious fellow, but so are all Klingons. do it just to be nasty. Starfleet likes to remind the Klingons we have ships all over. So they knew Enterprise would drop in on Alva sooner or later. The Klingons recorded interrogations and put together message to call for beam up. Klandor was smart, or so he thought. He sent up Spock in front of Klandor and five Klingons, in transport. The six assault trooper never arrived, never found out what happened to them. Spock and Klandor went to Limbo, a nothingness. In limbo the Klingon went on the attack right off. With one of them Klingon roars he charged Spock like an animal. Spock coolly tossed him. The Klingon came again, knocked Spock down and tried to strangle him. Spock broke the hold. Angel telepathed to them to stop, and they did. The Klingon tried to attack the angel, but took only one step. The angry Klingon, I don’t think they come in any other type. Spock and Klandor fight the classic battle of good vs evil in Limbo. The stakes were unknown but high. For amusement of lifeform. What are you? How dare you toy with Klandor? The Klingon went on like this for some time, all emotional and egotistic. Any opportunity to kill a Vulcan or their pet dogs, the Earthmen, is a welcome opportunity. They are a crafty lot, the Klingons, and suspicious. They see treachery everywhere, the galaxy is against them. But their egos are so big it makes them vulnerable. An Andorian Alpha. Kang, one of the Klingon leaders. The Klingon was afraid, but had courage in defying whatever it was. You are a nest warden, petty and tyrannical, a poor substitute for a clan leader! A Vegan wart-worm, a giant scorpion-analog, a Vulcan legged snake. Klandor and Spock taunt the creature. The Klingon shouted insults in Klingonese, and the creature shrank. Send us back, pick on someone your own size! I have Earthmen to kill! Spock and Klandor are transported to Enterprise, Spock recovered first and knocks out the Klingons with his Vulcan nerve pinch before any of them knew what was happening. Enterprise put the Klingons back on Alva, built a prison for them. Sooner or later a Klingon ship would come by and take them. When the warlike Klingons arrived, the lifeform saw an opportunity for entertainment. Starfleet put a cap on Spock’s report. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock novelization by Vonda N McIntyre P30 mercenary ship has passed out of Fed space some hours ago, gray area between set borders, heading towards Klingons P43 Valkris kneels on floor, meditates during voyage on mercenary ship to rendezvous with Kruge. Remain in one position for a great length of time strength of will, seek discipline. Valkris more accustomed to flying her own ship, before her family fell on hard times. This mission would rebuild her family’s fortune and its honor. It was her duty to repair the damage done to all their reputations by the actions of her older brother. Kiosan had never forgiven their family for choosing Valkris, rather than him, to lead them. In his despair and envy he set out to prove how correct the family had been. He reneged on all the vows he had made when he came of age. He put aside his veil and showed his face to the world. He addicted himself to pleasure. Valkris offered him the opportunity to return to the family three times, and even a fourth though the fourth offer strained her sense of aesthetics. He refused and he dared her to break her own word and join him. Valkris had disowned her brother with intense regret. Kiosan’s actions had sent their family’s reputation and merit into an inexorable slide that could not be reversed unless he repented or she released him. Valkris has set him free. To all her other kin he was dead. Valkris wished him well and even envied him a little. Valkris had made vows. Every member of each great family took the vows upon coming of age. Every action she had taken since accepting her position had been to benefit the family. She had never fled a duel, never lost a duel. She bore scars from wounds that would have proven her honor even had she yielded to the opponent. Because of her reputation for ferocious tenacity, she had not been challenged in years. She had buried more opponents than she had permitted to be helped from the field. Valkris had designed the plan for recovery of family fortunes. She would gain no honor by vanquishing such a creature, he had no style. P89 Valkris material possessions honorably few in number Valkris’ wealth resided in the holdings of her bloodline, in her responsibilities, and in the duties she had carried out for her family, it resided particularly in the duty she had carried out toward her brother. Headcloth, sheer white fabric across face. She could see, opaque from other side. A sturdy, high-powered ship of Valkris’ family’s own production Dueling knife hung at side. Sheath encrusted with flakes of minerals, so finely cut they appeared as gemstones. The sheath ended in a heavy mass of fringe that was also thickly hung with cunningly milled discs of mica in all the colors of the spectrum each frequency of color meant something different, some honor or remembrance. Her dueling records were transparent and colorless, the representation of emptiness, nothingness, death. Only one was black, her disinclination to carry a disc for each member of her family was the only fault her bloodline could hold against her. Represents Kiosan. Sharp edges. No intrinsic value, symbolic. Ceremonial fringe with its adornment of electronically readable glass-chip records. Valkris had seen a performance of a hunt by a troupe of cat people. Valkris had researched crew and chosen this ship for cat navigator. Valkris was pleased beyond reason and dignity. Few people would recognize significance of the fringe’s details. She gives the fringe to cat navigator. Kiosan or any of her bloodline would recognize fringe and honor it. P95 Valkris pulls her headcloth aside, the Klingons were the Fed’s antagonists, unknown and dangerous. Commander Kruge, this is Valkris. I have obtained the Federation data and I am ready to transmit. Kruge’s rough powerful voice spoke a few words in a Klingon language. now Valkris knows precisely what Kruge planned. Like a ghost, like a creature of mist and fog, the Klingon fighter glowed into existence before the renegade merchant ship. The Klingon craft had the same effect as it master’s powerful voice. Valkris had never seen the cloaking device in action before. Inner packet of her robe. Valkris knew every frame of what she was transmitting In the language of Kruge and Valkris, which possessed an almost limitless number of forms and variations, every utterance had many layers, many meanings. When Kruge spoke again, he switched to the most formal variation. Valkris understood it, as did al well-born members of their society, but she had never spoken it, or had it spoken to her, outside the classroom. She felt honored and she knew for certain that Kruge would keep the vows he had made to her. Kruge spoke, implying regret and inevitability Valkris replied, granting permission in the second stratum and offering forgiveness as the third. Kruge spoke, accepting that she gave him and affirming that it was neither frivolously given nor lightly accepted. Valkris spoke, she made all three strata the same, for she wanted him to know that she understood what she was doing and why, that she understood what he was doing and why, and that she understood that he would make certain the promises made to her would be kept Kruge spoke in the form of their language used by commanders to subordinates The Klingon fighter changed, the wings of its aft armament section swung from neutral into attack. The vessel rotated, arching around until its bulbous command chamber thrust toward the merchant ship. Valkris spoke, in formal tongue. She loved him, as the instrument of her bloodline’s redemption. Happiness had deserted her for far too long. Kruge – You will be remembered with honor. Then he switched dialects again. Valkris knew he was speaking so she would be sure to hear his command to fire. She has seen the Genesis information, and must be destroyed. The Klingon ship turned away from its kill and headed toward Fed territory. Commander Kruge stroked the spiny crest of his mascot, Warrigul, who sat by his side whining and hissing with excitement The demise of an opponent offered more satisfaction if the death came slowly, but Kruge deigned to give Valkris a clean finish. His gunner reacted to the unusual order without question or hesitation. Kruge’s only regret was never meeting Valkris face to face. He had heard much of her, both before her bloodline came to grief and after. Her information would win for him a great triumph; her death would return her family to its previous place in their society’s hierarchy. He wondered if he himself could match her. He was good, but she was renowned as a duelist. Work pit. Command chair stood at a level that put him well above the heads of the crew members. None looked at him. Each bent intently over the task at hand, fearing a charge of laziness and the resulting discipline. Kruge could find some breach of regulations under almost any circumstances. anyone might be a spy, a challenger, a traitor. He slips data plaque from recorder to under belt Maltz, Kruge’s assistant, as usual reacted badly to ambush, deplorably sensitive to violence. Kruge kept him because he was an excellent administrator and follower-of-orders because Maltz seldom thought for himself, and while he might betray Kruge he would never challenge Kruge. It was inconceivable that any of his superiors would consider Maltz a suitable replacement for Kruge. Maltz not only supported Kruge’s position, he insured it. Therefore Kruge pretended never to notice behavior that some less devious commander might not have tolerated Execute a course to the Federation boundary. Maltz hurried to do his bidding Warrigul trotted after Kruge, growling. He likes his ears rubbed, also beneath the scaly jaw. You may have the honor of feeding my pet Struggling to keep the fear from his expression, the underling nodded vigorously. Kruge was so amused that he decided not even to discipline him for failing to answer properly. A secure data-viewer in Kruge’s quarters. The translator changed the words from the standard language of the Federation into Kruge’s dialect of the high tongue of the Klingon Empire. Maltz and Torg watch Kirk’s Genesis tape. Kruge interested in observing his subordinates’ reaction Torg watched intently, all his attention on the screen, in a state of high excitement, indifferent to any potential danger. Maltz gazed with wonder and admiration. Warrigul senses the tension and excitement Maltz dismissed with Station! He knew better than to defend himself when he had so completely lost his ground. He hurried to his post and made himself very inconspicuous. Kruge removed the information insert and slipped it beneath his belt Kruge confides in Torg Klingon emissaries negotiate for peace with the Federation at this time Helm officer speaks carefully in the tongue of subordinates. Kruge snaps, but eases his impatient first stratum with a second stratum of approval. Cloaking device, from within the ship, was a most odd and satisfying sensation. The ship and all its contents and all its occupants became slightly transparent. Voices grew hollow, like echoes. Puts peoples’ tempers on edge. Once in a while it would without warning, drive someone mad. Warrigul howls in protest while in cloak P163 The Federation Council has its hands full trying to deal with delegations form both the Romulan and the Klingon Empires. over Genesis. P178 Kruge speaks in the lowest of the low dialects The gunner’s crest flared up in excitement until he realized how Kruge had spoken to him. Kruge layered all the strata of his words with contempt The gunner’s crest flattened against his skull Offer him a chance to regain his honor Maltz stopped before the gunner’s station and drew his ceremonial blade. Maltz willed the gunner to get hold of himself and bow to the inevitable with grace. Maltz offered him his own honor blade. Every member of the crew watched, mesmerized. Instead of accepting it and doing the right thing, the gunner lurched backward from his station. He stumbled toward Kruge, his hands outstretched in supplication. Mercy, sir. Kruge drew his phaser and fired. The gunner disintegrated in a flare of energy. Maltz sheathed his blade, glad that its edge had not been sullied with the blood of a coward. Kruge still gripped the handle of his phaser, his frustration undimished Humans were the troublemakers of the galaxy as far as Kruge was concerned. It annoyed him thoroughly that the Romulans might be involved. No doubt they had abandoned their commitments to the Klingon Empire and rushed straight to conclude an alliance with the Federation, in return for a share in Genesis. Torg stood even straighter with the pleasure of his commander’s approval P209 Warrigul had been trained to recognize potential combat and to behave in a suitable manner. If Kruge ordered Warrigul to attack, the attack would be silent. Her serjeant materialized behind him. P210 all around the base of the Fed torpedo casing, like the monsters in the story of Ngarakkani, a myth of Kruge’s people, withered a great mass of sleek scaled creatures, a many-headed tangle of hiss and scream. Like the hero Ngarakkani, he would wrestle with the demons and defeat them. The serjeant whispered a protective curse. His subordinates gazed upon him with awe. He intensified their reaction by ignoring it. P227 the tall and massive Klingon, his bones were so heavy and his muscles so thick, he shouted angrily in a dialect of Klingon Saavik did not understand. Klingons had different points of vulnerability than humans, Vulcans or Romulans. She smashed her fists into the sides of his jaw, he staggered backward dazed by the transmission of energy from the maxilla into the skull. The two other Klingons taunted Saavik again in a dialect she did not know I hope pain is something you enjoy Torg saluted Kruge Battle Alert! The bridge erupted into activity around him. Kirk legendary Federation hero Smooth scales of Warrigul’s crest Kruge noted Torg’s intensity, Maltz’s uneasiness Stand by, energy transfer to weapons Understood clearly, sir Kruge had owned Warrigul since he was a youth and Warrigul only a larva. Died. White waves of rage pounded his ears The cloaking device is destroyed Emergency power to the thrusters Lateral thrust Kruge knows Kirk knows Kruge would die before being taken prisoner Kruge’s training and better judgment restrained his wish to fire, provoke a response, and end the battle quickly and cleanly. Kirk’s tree-dimensional image formed in the area in front of and slightly below Kruge’s command post. Kirk was neither ignorant nor a fool. He must know that that offers of the Klingon Empire did not surrender. And no one with a reputation like his could be a fool. Was he trying to provoke another attack, so he could justify destroying his enemy or increase his valor in the defeat? I trust my instincts He toggled on the transmitter A Klingon fighter was no match for a vessel of the Constellation class. Kruge’s voice tightened with the emotions of anger and desire for revenge The serjeant had been vastly impressed by his captain’s offer of final honor to his gunner, and vastly horrified by the gunner’s inability to accept the offer and carry out the deed. He recognized in Saavik a prideful being. As Kruge had shown magnanimity to the gunner, the serjeant would show it to Saavik. He would give her the chance to maintain her honor at her death. He drew his dagger. The toothed and recurved edges flashed. He raised it up, he offered it to her. The rest of the landing party were so fascinated, so impressed by their serjeant’s tact and taste. The knife was designed to do far more damage coming out than going in My name is Kruge. I think it is important that you know who will defeat you. A voice came from Genesis, but it was one of impatient command in a dialect of Kruge’s people that Kirk had never even heard before Kirk would be a fool to discount the Empire’s network of spies, assassins and kidnappers Kruge’s ship carries about a dozen, officers and crew Torg leads heavily armed boarding party. Torg understood the compliment his commander offered him by permitting him to lead the force. Maltz alone would remain behind with Kruge. Admiring his commander’s restraint, Torg wondered if he himself, in Kruge’s position, would have the strength to let another lead the assault. By forgoing that perquisite, Kruge would gain the more important prize of seeing Kirk brought to him a prisoner. Torg felt some slight apprehension about the size of his force relative to the crew of Enterprise. He knew that if the positions were reversed Kruge would sacrifice two hostages without hesitation His crest flaring Success! The intense thrill of excitement nearly overwhelmed the younger officer. No one had ever spoken to him in such high phase of the language before. Torg grasped the stock of an assault gun, a blaster, the weapon he particularly favored over a phaser The transporter beam spun Torg into a whirlwind what swept him away As inexplicable and distracting as most alien customs The fear in his voice infected every one of them Torg silenced him with a poisonous glance that promised severe discipline when the time was right. Torg aimed the directional microphone Confused and uncertain, Maltz waited by the transporter controls. He had directed the beam to the landing party, touched them, held them, then nothing remained. Kruge thought – do I retain the right to give orders? I underestimated him, a human being. He did the one thing I would have done in his position. Kruge failed himself with his own humiliation. Killing Kirk’s son was stupid! It made Kirk willing to die! Maltz spoke with transparent concern, for he had received no real response from his commander. Surely Kruge would not let one setback destroy him because of pride. Kruge - A human has been bolder and more ruthless than I. That is the real dishonor. P260 Kirk phasered the serjeant The planet destroying itself is exhilarating P271 Saavik mentally ran through the forms of address in the high tongue of the Klingon Empire. She was unfamiliar with the lower dialects she had heard the other crew members speak to the Klingon officer in a form too high than in one too low. If she could speak to him without offending him, she might have some chance of persuading him to rescue those left behind. She might even be able to persuade him to surrender, for the high tongue was a very persuasive language. Saavik hoped her accent was not too atrocious – Worthy opponent, we find ourselves in a delicately balanced position. Maltz glanced at her sharply and frowned, his hand tightened on his phaser Maltz – Stop! Saavik stopped, the tone of his voice gave her little choice Maltz, in quiet acceptable Standard - Why do you speak to me in this manner? Of course I speak your barbarian pidgin – do you think me ignorant of my enemies? But you speak to me in Kumburan, and I am Rumaiy. Can it be that you have not been taught the difference? Could it be that you believe the slanderous cant put about, that Kumburanya are in the ascendancy over Rumaym? Saavik had been told at the Academy that the language she was studying was the only significant one in the Klingon Empire. Maltz – Reductionists! Obliterators of diversity! He muttered something unpleasant in a language Saavik did not know, then he started to say something which she feared would be a lengthy tirade against the social or political group that opposed his own. Saavik took the risk of incurring his anger by interrupting him Kirk dredged from the depths of his mind the layout of a Klingon fighter. He strode down the corridor from the transporter room headed for the corridors. The Klingon phaser hit Kirk’s had strangely, having been designed for different joints and different proportions Maltz asked Where is Commander Kruge as if the question were his final duty. Kirk knew that he had not fooled the officer for a moment. Defeated and resigned, Maltz spread his hands. Slowly, reluctantly, he drew his dagger and surrendered it to Saavik. Kirk – Help us or die! Maltz – I do not deserve to live! Kirk – Fine, I’ll kill you later! Kirk left Maltz confused and defeated. Scott touched alien controls, moved another control to its farthest extent. The ship whined. The sound wavered then relaxed as it steadied and strengthened. If navigating the Enterprise was like driving a team of powerful draft horses, handling the Klingon ship was like a colt. Kirk – Mr. Chekov, take the prisoner below Maltz drew back and turned angrily on Kirk – You said you would kill me. Kirk – I lied. Chekov got Maltz off the bridge Survivors from the mercenary ship claim Klingons raided their ship Countdown, Strange New Worlds IV Death in battle is glorious; old age is for fools. Klingon proverb. If Klingon life forms do not wish to grow old perhaps they will not mind the fate which is about to befall them. Klingon commander is fully aware Genesis Device could be used as an ultimate weapon, a destructive individual. Allegro Ouroboros In D Minor, The Lives of Dax no Klingon content Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home novelization by Vonda N McIntyre P16 Sulu had managed to nurse the bird of prey all the way to Vulcan, but it would never take off again without repairs. It had been tense along the Romulan Neutral Zone ever since the Genesis disaster. Diplomats, Starfleet, the Federation, the shadowy oligarchy of the Klingons, even the mysterious Romulan Empire reacted to Genesis by exciting themselves like electrons in plasma. When the Genesis inquiry returned its findings the Klingons might disagree with the conclusions. They might go to war. Their allies, the Romulans, might join them. so far, though, the inquiry served the interests of the Klingons much more efficiently than open conflict. The Klingons’ communications signature The whole probe business reminded Captain Alexander, of the Saratoga, a little too strongly of the Kobayashi Maru. P26 a thunderous voice filled the room Amb. Kamarag –All the members of the boarding party perished horribly in this Fed trap. All but one of Commander Kruge’s heroic crew died by a devious hand, and Commander Kruge himself was abandoned, to perish on the surface of an exploding planet! But one fatal error can destroy the most sinister plan. The mission recordings remained in the memory of our fighting ship! Officer Maltz transmitted them to me before he, too, died. Did he die, as the Fed claims, a suicide? Or was it convenient to eliminate the last objective witness? The flushed and angry heavy-featured face of Kamarag, the Klingon ambassador to the UFP. Sarek had encountered Kamarag before. He knew him as an obdurate opponent. His brow ridges pulsed with anger, his heavy eyebrows lowered over his dark, deep eyes. Amb. Kamarag – Observe! The quintessential devil in these matters! James T. Kirk, renegade and terrorist. He is responsible for the murder of the Klingon crew and the theft of their vessel. But his true aims were more sinister. Behold the real plot and intentions! Even as the Fed negotiated a peace treaty with us, Kirk secretly developed the Genesis torpedo. This dreadful weapon, disguised as a civilian project, was conceived by Kirk’s paramour and their son. It was test detonated by the admiral himself. Kamarag waited for silence among the agitated councilors Amb. Kamarag – James Kirk called the result of this awesome energy the Genesis Planet. A gruesome euphemism! It was no more and no less than a secret base from which to launch the annihilation of the Klingon people! He paused again, letting his outrage affect the council chamber. He drew himself up. Amb. Kamarag – We demand the extradition of Kirk! We demand justice. Sarek – The Empire has a unique point of view on justice. It is not so many years past that the Empire recognized James Kirk as a hero, and honored him for preventing the annihilation of the Klingon people. One must wonder what political upheaval could have changed their opinion so precipitously. Amb. Kamarag – It is Kirk who changed! From concealing his treachery to exposing it, as Genesis proves! Kamarag clamped his fingers around the lectern and leaned toward Sarek with an expression of hatred and fury. Sarek – It was the Klingons who drew first blood while trying to possess its secrets. Amb. Kamarag – Vulcans are well known as the intellectual puppets of the Federation. Sarek – Your vessel destroyed Grissom, Commander Kruge did order the death of David Marcus. Do you deny these events? Amb. Kamarag – We deny nothing. We have the right to preserve our species. Sarek turned his back to Amb. Kamarag, an action both insult and challenge. Amb. Kamarag’s voice grew heavy with irony – Kirk retrieved Sarek’s son. One can hardly blame Sarek for his bias, or for letting his emotions overwhelm a dispassionate analysis. Sarek ignored the retaliatory insult. A fight between Amb. Kamarag and Sarek of Vulcan would be entertainment indeed. Kamarag, his voice low and dangerous – You intend to let Kirk go unpunished. Starfleet regulations! This is outrageous! There are higher laws than Starfleet regulations! Remember this well, there will be no peace as long as Kirk lives. Kamarag snorted with disgust. He swept down from the witness box and strode from the council chamber. In the shocked silence that followed his ultimatum, the heels of his boots thudded loudly on the polished floor. His security guards surrounded him; his staff snatched up their equipment and hurried after him. P32 the Klingon fighting ship. Its swept-wing body. McCoy had struck out the Klingon identification script; above it he had spelled out HMS Bounty. The heat intensified the pungent, slightly bitter odor of the materials of an unfamiliar technology Down the long neck of the Klingon fighter to the command chamber. Controls labeled in obscure dialect of Klingon. Even on the colony worlds on the boundary, people would ask questions of humans flying a Klingon fighter. Scott – damage control is easy, reading Klingon is hard. McCoy – it’s adding insult to injury for us to come home in this Klingon flea trap. Kirk – We could learn a thing or two from this flea trap. Its cloaking device cost us a lot. P42 Saavik’s deposition – Several hours after losing contact with Grissom a Klingon expedition arrived on Genesis. They made prisoners of Dr. Marcus, the young Vulcan, and me. The Klingon expeditionary force refused to believe the truth about Genesis, that the experiment had failed. They demanded the equations, believing Genesis to be a powerful weapon. Knowing that it could be used that way, Dr. David Marcus bravely refused to reveal the information, despite threats on all our lives. Commander Kruge, of the expeditionary party, demanded the Genesis equations of Adm. Kirk, and threatened him with the deaths of the hostages if he did not comply. To prove his determination, Kruge ordered a death. He ordered my death. Dr. David Marcus, protesting, drew the attack to himself. He was unarmed. He was murdered. The killing was unprovoked. The majority of the Klingon warriors sought Adm. Kirk on board the Enterprise. It self-destructed, destroying them. On the Genesis world, Adm. Kirk fought Commander Kruge in hand to hand combat, defeated him, and tried to persuade him to surrender. Kruge preferred to perish with Genesis. P47 gathered beneath the battered wings of their Klingon warship P52 The little ship hunched over him, ungainly on the ground, but spaceworthy again Sulu and Scott had directed the repair of the worst of the damage Control chamber of the Klingon fighter Commander’s seat, designed for a species that averaged rather larger than human beings Cloaking device available in all modes of flight Dilithium sequencer Klingon food packs The ship lifted off, it rose on a cloud of dust and power, then plunged forward, climbing slowly P83 engine room, complex webwork of engine structure, cargo bay a huge empty chamber, about 20 meters long. The ship will only handle so much mass. Rescue pods. Breaking thrusters Sulu – You need somebody to fly this beast. P97 the engine subroom beside the power chamber. The glow of dilithium crystals provide brilliant illumination. P203 the computer on the Klingon ship considered everything about the Federation to be unusual P212 Transporter chamber lit by fixtures of odd, angular construction. Proportions strange to human sensibilities, the quality of light, the colors. Small transporter platform. The glow and hum of a beam of energy faded. Controls of a console built for someone bigger than Kirk to operate, labeled in Klingon script. Corridor to echoing enclosed space. McCoy – Damned Klingon transporter is even worse than ours. Sensation of being lifted, stirred around, placed somewhere else. P231 wing five by zero. Wings to cruise configuration. P235 shimmery shiver felt as cloaking device disengaged. Walls of ship flickered briefly P248 hatch in control room, blown by explosive bolts. Explosive override on cargo bay doors Luminous wall panels glowed with blue emergency light The Last Tribble, Strange New Worlds I page 28 Tribble planet Federation designation Iota Geminorum IV, close to Federation - Klingon Neutral Zone. Cyrano Jones knnnows eventually Klingons will find the place To Reign in Hell, The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh by Greg Cox. 2287 SD 8415.9 John Kyle, Chekov both should have remembered Khan Botany Bay Affair top secret. 300 Reliant crew stranded on Ceti Alpha V kelbonite blocks scanners duritanium crates block scanners thermoconcrete, a silicon-based building material Marla Madlyn McGivers Singh, 2242 – 2273. McGivers quarters a gallery of paintings and sculptures paying tribute to great heros and champions of the past. No close family. 2267 Botany Bay, state of the art when stolen from Area 51 in 1996. sleeper ship. 41 men, 30 women. Children of Chrysalis – Suzette Ling, security Liam MacPherson, science Vishwa Patil, male India Joaquin Weiss, Harulf Ericcson, Zuleika Walker, supermodel assassin Dr. Gideon Hawkins, Afro-American, homosexual Saraj Panjabi, cricket player, homosexual, medical assistant Dmitri Blasko, bioweapons chemist Parvati Rao, female security Daniel Katzel, sibling Amy Katzel, sibling Nadia Gorinksy Eric Lutjen Armando Rodriguez Paul Austin, American Karyn Bradley Keith Talbot, dark Canadian Ali Rahman, security Kamala Devi, Bollywood star, microbiologist Hans Steiber, German Huang, male Marcel Dumas, propagandist Juliette Savine Dumas Shirin Azar Debra VonLinden Vijay Nikore, male Yolanda Aponte Dissension and power struggles between the Children of Chrysalis led to the Eugenics Wars. Khan spent years caught up in a global struggle against fellow superhumans. Vampire ants of Borgo III Baneriam hawk McGivers, Naked Time, proclaimed herself Crown Princess of the Universe. Shore Leave she met Richard the Lion-Hearted. Marla secretly fascinated with Klingons, never admitted it due to political situation. Klingons magnificent warriors with a rich and glorious culture. Ruthless. Distinctive code of honor. Thasians populate the quadrant, with Gorn, Andorians, Romulans. Khan's crimson banner, crescent moon superimposed on sun. symbolized totality. "Impatience will be your fatal flaw," said of Khan. Isis = Lady Ament Third World War produced dense black clouds that blocked 90% of Earth's sunlight for over a month. Entire food chain almost broke down. Millions died from starvation and exposure. Joachim, son of Joaquin and Suzette Trilaser scapel Marla taught Khan Klingon saying Revenge is best cold Planet Sycorax, colony of genetically engineered superhumans, Khan second generation taken there. The Klingon Dictionary by Marc Okrand For a long time, only a few non-Klingons were able to learn enough about the Klingon language to engage in meaningful conversation Federation Scientific Research Council has funded a study to record and analyze the language and culture of the Klingons, with the ultimate goal of preparing an encyclopedia, and teaching materials The rules in the dictionary represent what Klingon grammarians agree on as the ‘best’ Klingon Terms associated with the various sciences are the subject of a special study and a report is currently being prepared Such matters as traditional tools and long-standing customs, native plants and animals will be fully elucidated in the forthcoming Klingon Encyclopedia There have been problems recruiting staff interested in studying Klingon food and eating habits No words for greetings Klingons are proud of their language and frequently engage in long discussions about its expressiveness and beauty Klingons have found their language impractical for communication outside the empire For intra and intergalactic communication the Klingon government as accepted English as the lingua franca. In general, only Klingons of the upper classes, including higher-level governmental and military officials, learn English English is used in Klingon society as a symbol of rank and status. Klingons who know English use it to show off their erudition and make their place in society known. English is also used to keep servants, soldiers, or general populace uninformed The commanding officer on a Klingon vessel will often speak Klingon when giving orders to his crew, but use English with his officers A Klingon officer may use Klingon around non-Klingons to prevent them from knowing what is going on There are a number of dialects of Klingon Only the dialect of the current emperor is in this dictionary Historically, each new emperor speaks dialect different from predecessor New emperor’s dialect becomes the official dialect Klingons who do not speak official dialect are considered either stupid or subversive and are usually forced to do tasks official speakers find distasteful. Most Klingons try to be fluent in several dialects Some dialects differ only slightly, others significantly The student of Klingon is warned to check into the political situation of the Klingon Empire before trying to talk Native writing system, pIqaD, well suited to the various dialects An article is being prepared for the Klingon Encyclopedia which will explain the details of pIqaD Federation Interlanguage Institute members were quite helpful in critiquing drafts of dictionary A great deal of credit must be given to the Klingon informant who provided all the data upon which this dictionary is based. Although a prisoner of the Federation, he worked long hard hours to make his knowledge available to citizens of the Federation – Maltz Very few non-Klingons speak Klingon without an accent A very small number of Klingons pronounce b as if it were m Klingons do not worry about the discharge of saliva when articulating the p and tlh sounds There are three basic parts of speech – noun, verb and everything else Klingon poets often violate the grammatical rule regarding –mey suffix as a plural used with body parts Klingon does not express tenses, past, present, future, but indicate aspect. Honorifics are never required There are no adjectives as such in Klingon There is no grammatical gender in Klingon Klingon originally had a ternary number system, but the Klingon Empire adopted a decimal number system sometime back in accordance with more accepted practice Proper Klingon, in actual day-to-day use, is frequently abbreviated to Clipped Klingon, often in military context, but extensively in all walks of Klingon life as well Numerous synonyms perhaps hint at different Klingon social structure origins, and earlier stages of the language P173 due to the recession currently affecting most of this sector as well as recent political changes, research funds have become more difficult to obtain, Work has stalled on the Klingon Encyclopedia Increasing numbers of Klingons are eager to share their language and culture with the rest of us Cursing is a fine art among Klingons |
 |
