"I am Klag, son of M'Raq, captain of the I.K.S. Gorkon -- and I summon you, my fellow members of the Order of the Bat'leth, in a call to honor.

"When the Order was first formed, by the Lady Lukara after Kahless's ascension to Sto-Vo-Kor, its members were tasked with ensuring that the teachings of the divine one would continue after the teacher was gone -- to make sure that the Great Houses of the Klingon Empire remained on the path of honor, and to lead them back to that path if ever they strayed. Chancellor Martok has, in his wisdom, returned the Order to that original sacred purpose, and it is for such that I summon you now.

"Ten weeks ago, a dozen ships, including the Gorkon, were sent to the Kavrot Sector to find new worlds on which to plant the Klingon flag. A week ago, the Gorkon found one, in the system designated Kavrot loSmaH Soch. Called San-Tarah by its native population, the world's orbit is littered with subspace eddies. We have determined that it is the fallout from a battle with subspace weapons fought some time within the last two centuries. These eddies have played havoc with our technologies, hindering some, eliminating others. Energy weapons do not function on or near San-Tarah, and communications only in the short range. However, the planet itself is rich with such mineral resources as kellinite, koltanium, and uridium -- it would make a glorious addition to the Empire.

"The native population is a warrior culture. You may think that makes them like us, but they are different -- the planet is so abundant that they can afford a pure warrior ethic that Kahless himself would envy. The day-to-day compromises of life do not affect them. When we first beamed ground troops down, we surprised them, arriving at night by a method of transport far beyond their means -- and still they succeeded in driving us from their village.

"I had planned to beam down a larger force and take them, but then the leader of their Ruling Pack requested an audience. They wished to discuss how the battle might continue. They did not wish to speak of peace -- in fact, the translator did not render the word peace into one that they could comprehend. No, they were only interested in how best to continue fighting, for they, like we, value battle above all else.

"I learned something, speaking with the head of their Ruling Pack, a wise and powerful warrior named Me-Larr: We would not defeat the Children of San-Tarah. Oh, we might very well crush them, we could easily overtake them even with our curtailed weapons capability, but they would defy us from the oldest warrior to the youngest cub.

"They also offered us an alternative. They proposed five martial contests. If we defeated them in the majority of these contests, they would willingly cede themselves to the Klingon Empire. If they defeated us, we would go and never trouble their world again.

"I looked into Me-Larr's heart when he made this offer. I knew that these were honorable foes -- more, they were worthy ones. And so I agreed.

"In the end, we were defeated. More specifically, I was. We bested them in the hunt and in a seek-and-capture combat mission, while they got the better of us in marine combat and in a one-to-one contest of strength. In the end, it was left to me and my bat'leth to face Me-Larr and his sword. After many hours of glorious battle, I was finally defeated. Though Me-Larr spared my life, he did declare a just victory, which I conceded to him. I gave him my word that I would honor our agreement, and that the Klingon Empire would leave these fine warriors to their own planet.

"Only a few minutes ago, I received this message from General Talak."

"Captain Klag, I have reviewed your reports. While I appreciate your admiration for these primitives, I do not appreciate your attempts to speak on the Empire's behalf, nor do I see any reason for the future of the Empire to be governed by words spoken to those who deserve only to be jeghpu'wI'. Regardless of the outcome of this ridiculous 'contest' that you and these people have concocted, San-Tarah is a world that must come under our flag. Brenlek will be fully conquered within three days of your reception of this message. You are to hold station at San-Tarah and await the arrival of the task force in five days' time. I expect a full map of the subspace eddies and a tactical analysis of how best to secure the planet given the limitations presented by those eddies by the time the fleet arrives. San-Tarah will become part of the Empire within the next two weeks. I will contact you again when the task force is en route. Out."

"Is this now the face of the Empire? Are we no longer Klingons? Do we break vows at a whim, ignore promises that inconvenience us? I say we do not. Kahless slew his own brother because that brother went back on his word. I am a Klingon warrior, a proud member of the Order of the Bat'leth, and captain of one of our warships -- if I do not speak for the Empire, then who does?

"General Talak is sending his fleet to this system in order to conquer a people to whom I have sworn the Empire's protection. I would not be worthy of my position as captain nor of my induction into the Order if I did not defy the general. I do not take this action because I wish to -- for I have no desire to engage my fellow Klingons in battle -- but because I must. If we allow this to happen, then all we fought for against the Dominion will have been lost. We are not mindless Jem'Hadar who blindly obey our Vorta handlers. We are Klingons -- we are warriors! And we must stand against this atrocity before it has a chance to spread!

"Join me -- bring the Empire back to glory. The days of such honorless behavior must be put in the past forever!"

Klag ended the recording, encoded it onto a data spike, and sat back in his chair. He had the support of his first officer, Commander Kornan. Now he needed to go out to the bridge and secure the support of his crew. He had little doubt that he would get it; he had been in command for over half a year, and knew that the warriors of the Gorkon were among the finest in the Defense Force.

The true test was the call to the Order. Would they heed Martok's return to the Order's primary function? Even if they did, would they consider this a fulfillment of that mandate?

If not, Klag thought, I will be one ship against many. Talak's fleet included a dozen ships, though he might well leave a few behind at Brenlek.

And then there is Dorrek. Just as Klag had found San-Tarah, Klag's estranged younger brother Dorrek had found Brenlek as commander of the I.K.S. K'mpec. Klag would not be at all surprised if the K'mpec -- a massive warship of the same class as the Gorkon -- accompanied Talak's fleet.

Like Kahless, I too may need to take up arms against my sibling. So be it. Dorrek had never forgiven Klag for refusing to see their father, M'Raq, when he chose to wait for death on the Homeworld rather than reclaim the honor he lost when he was captured by Romulans. Nor had his younger brother thought any better of Klag when he chose, shortly after M'Raq died in his sleep, to have their father's right arm grafted onto Klag's own shoulder to replace the one he had lost during the war. Dorrek had refused to acknowledge Klag's supremacy as older brother, so Klag would treat him as any other honorless petaQ.

M'Raq's arm was a few centimeters shorter than that of his eldest son. As a result, Klag -- despite having several months to grow accustomed to the new limb -- still often listed to the right whenever he got up out of a chair. He did so again now, cursing as he stumbled rightward, grateful that Kornan had left the office moments before he began his recording for his fellow members of the Order.

He went onto the bridge and played the general's message for the crew. A breach of protocol, perhaps -- the words of generals to captains were not usually fit for the eyes of mere crew to see -- but it was best for them to hear the reasons for what he was about to ask of them unfiltered.

To his relief, but not his surprise, the crew was behind him. "Strike them down!" one cried. "We go with honor!" said another.

Then the second officer, Lieutenant Toq, led them in song -- an old victory chant called "Don't Speak." Klag smiled as he joined in the titular refrain of "yIja'Qo', yIja'Qo', yIja'Qo'." Their song was sung throughout the halls of the mighty vessel.

After the second verse, cheers echoed off the bridge's bulkheads. Toq and the substitute gunner, Grint, head-butted.

"Fear not!" Klag cried over the din. When he spoke, the bridge grew quiet again. "We will not face the honorless general alone. Over a thousand years ago, the Order of the Bat'leth was formed after Kahless ascended to Sto-Vo-Kor -- both to spread his word and to enforce his doctrine. Today, the call will go out once more. Again, the Order of the Bat'leth will serve to remind the galaxy of what it means to be a Klingon!"

Klag walked over to Toq and handed him the spike onto which he had recorded his message and his Order of the Bat'leth medallion. Indicating the medallion, he said, "This will allow you to send a tight-beam communication to anyone else in the Order." Then he held up the spike. "I want you to send the message encoded on this."

Now, he thought after Toq took both items, we wait....

Copyright © 2003 by Paramount Pictures