Klingon Battle Cruiser D'k Tahg
Klingon Space
Karel slept fitfully.
When he opened his eyes he was looking at his brother Kell--not as he
would have been now, but as he was when they were children. Kell was
eight and Karel twelve.
"I'm going with you," Kell said. His voice was full of all the force his
eight years could muster. It took an effort for Karel not to laugh.
"It is impossible. You are too young and it is too dangerous," their
mother said, appearing at the door.
Karel did not question the fact that he was standing outside his family
home on Qo'noS, or that his mother was there, or that his brother Kell
was young and still alive.
The logic of dreams told him these things were so and he believed them.
By force of will he pushed down the dim beginnings of questions. He was
too pleased to see his brother to allow them to remain.
"I am no coward, Mother," Kell said, gripping his mek'leth sword
firmly.
"No one is saying you are a coward, but only a fool faces a trial before
he is ready for it," their mother said.
"Karel was my age when he went on his first hunt," Kell said.
Mother shook her head in exasperation.
It was true, but Karel had been bigger at the same age. He had also
simply been more ready. Besides the additional danger because of his
smaller size, Kell was more squeamish than Karel had been at the same
age. He might falter when immediate action was necessary, and such a
mistake on a hunt could be fatal.
"Karel, talk to him," Mother said.
Both his brother and mother looked to him now.
His brother's eyes were full of expectation that seemed to demand he be
taken seriously as a Klingon and a warrior. The look should have been
laughable on someone Kell's age. But it was not. He might not have had
size, strength, or years, but he was determined.
Karel knew that if he said no, his brother would forgive him--but he
found that he wanted to do something to nurture a determination so
strong.
"You are not ready," Karel said.
"I am--" Kell began.
"You are not!" Karel shouted over the younger Klingon's protests. "But
today you have an opportunity to prove me wrong."
Before Mother could voice her own protests, Karel continued, "You must
prove it by staying by my side and doing what I say."
Relief visibly washed over Kell's face as he nodded vigorously.
Karel said, "I will look after him, Mother."
Karel could tell she was not happy, but she was satisfied. She was their
father's wife and would not let fear rule her.
She looked seriously at Kell and said, "Let your foe know the strength
of your blood."
Kell nodded seriously as Karel picked up his own mek'leth. They
walked in silence down a path to the edge of the woods near the family
farm.
The brothers met another four Klingon boys of about Karel's age. They
immediately shot glances at Kell, who met the gazes with an iron stare,
daring them to challenge his right to participate in the hunt.
None did. The small group had learned to show respect to Kell--Karel
had seen to that. Though neither the oldest or biggest Klingon of the
group, Karel had established himself as their leader several seasons
ago.
The group walked on to the edge of the cultivated fields of Karel and
Kell's...
)
There are more than four hundred sagas aboard the Starship Enterprise, one for each of the unique men and women serving under the command of Capt. James T. Kirk. For years their personal adventures, their individual struggles and successes, have gone largely untold ... until now. The U.S.S. Enterprise is patrolling the Klingon border when sensors detect a massive power source on a planet supposedly populated only by a race of primitive humanoids. Suspecting some sort of Klingon plot, Captain Kirk decides to investigate the matter personally, beaming down to the planet with Dr. McCoy and a team of security officers. But Kirk is in more danger than he knows. Among the landing party is Lt. Jon Anderson, a Klingon infiltrator on an undercover mission aboard the Enterprise. Anderson does not know if the Empire is at work on the unnamed planet, but if it is, then his duty demands that Kirk be stopped--by all means necessary.
