The general dreamt.

Martok knew he visited the twilight world of dreams, because he saw with both eyes. He saw the steaming cleaning solution sloshing around a rusting bucket near his right elbow and the quill-bristle brush in his left hand without having to move his head. He saw chech'tluth draining through the floor grates where First Officer HomQat had dropped his mug. He saw gnawed bones, greasy with fat, cast aside when the gagh had arrived. He also saw that much of the mess hall still required cleaning. So he crawled along the floor on his knees, dragging the bucket along with him, scrubbing the grates and the table legs and the backs of chairs.

Thick smells surrounded him, invigorated him. From the stench of engine lubricant to the overburdened waste processors and the sour sweat of too many bodies crushed in cramped quarters, he inhaled the essence of a warrior's life on a bird-of-prey. Only the deep wood-flower tang of Sirella was more seductive than this! Soon he would be with her, presenting her an offering of power, of glory, of victory. For now, he would scrub. He scrubbed to the rhythm of a warrior's song, chanting the words as he worked.

He scrubbed until his scrub brush found smooth metal, glowing red in the half-light. He crouched low to the floor, eyeing his discovery: a bat'leth, forgotten amidst the kegs of flowing ale, the roasts, the gagh, the songs and stories. Martok ran a cautious finger over the tip, savoring the finely sharpened point. He jerked. A drop of blood drizzled down his finger. Throwing back his head, he laughed. A noble weapon, to be certain!

Gingerly, he lifted the blade off the floor, holding it on his forearms to admire the weight, the heft, the smooth perfection of each notch and curve. He flipped the weapon off his forearms, into his palms. Curling his fingers around the handle, he twirled it cautiously to the left and then the right, challenging his unseen combatant with a thrust-and-parry rhythm. He drew deep breaths, felt battle lust surge within him. Baring his teeth, he snarled, crafting a dance of spins and jabs. To the throat! And the belly--

A dull thud and a clank told him his bucket had tipped. A hot gush flooded the deck, soaking his boots before he could sidestep the filthy fluid.

"Come now, Ketha boy," came the mocking voice, speaking in the hated tones of the privileged class. "Startled by a little water? You'll have to do better than that if you expect a promotion -- to scrubbing the plasma conduits!" A deep, throaty laugh reverberated through the galley.

Martok felt the eyes of the despised one fall on his bat'leth. Clutching the handle tightly, he imagined how he would gladly thrust the tip into his enemy's throat. Or not. Why grant him a swift, painless death when he could slowly eviscerate--

"You are not worthy of such a weapon."

Turning around slowly, Martok saw -- as he expected -- the detestable grin: Kor. Growling, he lunged.

With an effortless twirl of his own blade, Kor deflected the blow, sending Martok's bat'leth clattering to the floor. He cackled, apparently amused by Martok's clumsiness.

With my bare hands, then! Martok thought, circling his foe.

"Fetch me some bloodwine, boy," Kor said, the edge of his bat'leth glinting in the torchlight.

"No." Martok willed the Dahar Master to meet his eyes. I challenge you to look at me, old man. Afraid of what you'll see?

Kor scarcely attempted to hide his disdain. "Make that ale, boy. Bloodwine cools a warrior's blood after he has tasted the fire of an honorable fight. But this..." He laughed. "... this was no fight. This was a jo--"

Instantly, the d'k tahg slid out of Martok's sleeve, its extra blades deployed, and targeted on Kor's throat.

Kor tipped his head to one side and seemed to enjoy the breeze made by the blade whistling past his ear. Martok twisted around for another attack. But Kor pivoted behind him, slammed the back of Martok's knee with his boot, and wrested the knife out of his hand. Collapsing forward, Martok dropped onto all fours.

"Fool," Kor spat. "I knew of your strategy before you did. You will learn your place, mongrel!" He reached down and, with unexpected strength, pulled Martok to his feet by the scruff of his neck.

Martok resisted, twisting and jerking his body, struggling to break free. How can he do this? An old man in his dotage holding his ground against a man in his prime? Or was he? Martok's gaze dropped and, with horror, he saw his own withered, wizened body, his armor hanging off him like graveclothes.

And Kor? He tossed a great, glossy black mane, his clear eyes burning Martok with each glance. Kor released his grip; the general stumbled back a few steps, but remained standing.

Laughing with wild joy, Kor swept the blade up over his head, then around his back in a showy display of prowess. "For the insolence you've displayed, mongrel," he said, "the sentence is death, but I will not soil my noble weapon with your blood. A lesser one than I shall dispose of you!" The keen tip of the bat'leth spun down in a bright arc, finding purchase in the mess table and splitting it asunder.

The two halves teetered and crashed to the floor. Where the table had stood, the floor groaned, the deck plating peeled away like skin, and from the bowels of the ship, a dark vapor -- pierced only by a bright, flashing red light -- seeped through the floor. As the post ascended, Martok's heart chilled, for he knew whose hand Kor had designated to deal him death. He scanned the room for the Dahar Master, but the old man had already vanished, swallowed by the darkness. He threw himself on top of the post. If he could stop it, push it back to Gre'thor, from where it came... Grunting, he braced his hands on the light, pushing down with all his strength. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he bellowed mightily.

The post won. As it always did.

The force of the post's upward movement cast him aside like well-worn armor, throwing him hard. His teeth lacerated his tongue when his head slammed into something; he heard his bones crack.

There would be a battle.

Before the mists blinded him, he would find the bat'leth Kor had stripped from him. With a bat'leth, he stood a chance of defeating this challenger....

Dropping to his knees, he felt his way over the floor with his hands, sifting through dirt, seeking the weapon. With a dull thud, he crawled headfirst into a metal barrier, and his world spun with bright dizziness. Up the paneling with his fingers, touching the rivets, feeling the divots and dents, then something warm. Something scaly and dry with a smooth, knife-sharp claw. He swallowed hard. The mists dissipated, unveiling a score of chanting Jem'Hadar, their reptilian eyes glinting in the half-dark. The Jem'Hadar whose hand he touched gave his forehead a solid shove, sending him sprawling onto the arena floor.

Small bits of gravel clung like barnacles to his sweat-slick face, but he lay still, prone on the floor, waiting for any indicators -- heat, respiration, shadows -- of Ikat'ika's location. Sensing his attacker's position by the sound of movement would be impossible: the Jem'Hadar was far too clever to let Martok find him so easily. His best chance of survival would be to reach the post. Where was the post? How could he have forgotten the post? Of all the rules he knew from his two years in Dominion Internment Camp 371, one had been ground into his bones: Never lose track of the post, whether your face has been ground into the gravel floor or your innards kicked into pulp. He had to touch the top of the post, make it stop blinking, or he would be disgraced, defeated. Maybe they would drag him back to his cell; maybe they would kill him outright. Martok didn't know; he didn't want to find out. He would not give the Jem'Hadar petaQ s the satisfaction.

How long had he been fighting? He needed to stand. Again, he tried to push himself up, groaned, felt ribs shift under his skin and tasted blood in his mouth. Standing would not be possible, so the general crawled -- damn all Jem'Hadar -- and prayed to Kahless that he was moving toward the post!

Behind him, he heard sounds: light footfalls and low Jem'Hadar voices. Then, before him, he detected the crunch of a boot on gravel as Ikat'ika shifted his weight. He wanted Martok to know of his plan, wanted Martok to hesitate as he anticipated the blow to his already cracked ribs. The bone would puncture his lung and the pain would be paralyzing. Martok expected the tactic because he knew he would do the same, given the circumstances. But he would not grant Ikat'ika even a hint of victory by hesitating. Dragging himself on by his elbows, he pushed toward the post.

Martok pulled -- clawed -- his way up. With only seconds left, he slapped the domed top and the blinking ceased. Martok spun around with surprising speed to face his opponent, d'k tahg drawn. Did I not lose this weapon at Kor's hand?The thought startled him.

The split-second reflection offered Ikat'ika an opening. The Jem'Hadar feinted to his left, dipped his right knee, then spun around, the edge of his hand moving at incredible speed. Martok had no reply for his enemy; he was helpless to block the blow. The bones of his cheek shattered on impact, splinters thrusting up through the muscle. From out of the cacophony of the roaring crowd and shouts acclaiming Ikat'ika's triumph, Martok heard a noise that might have been a small piece of overripe fruit dropping from a branch and realized -- or remembered -- it was his eye. The world turned black, then purple, then red. He heard a noise he recognized as his own bellow of rage and pain and tried to focus beyond the pain, the shouting, the lights, and run at his opponent, but his legs-- traitors! -- would not obey him.

The general staggered, dropping his weapon. Not even shame could move him. Like the implosions of an ancient star, his perceptions had shrunk into an infinitesimally tiny mote of agony that had once been his eye. He cupped both hands over the socket, and primitive instinct tried to tell him that if he just held on he would save his eye, he would stop the slippery wet sliding down his cheek between his fingers.

But if he stood paralyzed, the fight would be over. Ikat'ika would win.

He will not win, Martok vowed. As long as I have breath he will not win. Pushing aside self-preservation, he dredged the surrounding dirt with his boot, feeling for the d'k tahg. Whether he faced Ikat'ika's direction or not, whether he could actually find his weapon or not, Martok would attack. Proudly, he would wear the honored scar -- this warrior's mark -- and he would wear it as a warning of defeat to any who dared challenge him.

Elbows bent and fists balled, he assumed a fighting stance. Nearly blind, he sought Ikat'ika--

But found no one. No Ikat'ika, no Jem'Hadar, no Kor -- nothing except the damnable post, blinking steadily. He expected the low, grim laughter of a sated Jem'Hadar, but none greeted him.

Silence.

Swirling up from the floor, mists of darkness crawled over the barriers, into the arena seats, smothering each light they touched. Time. He was running out of time. He took a single step toward the post, seeking to claim victory before the last light snuffed out. He realized exhaustion had left him; the pain from his eye socket disappeared. He took another step. And another, each one coming faster than the last. I will triumph, he vowed. He reached the post, raised his arm--

Slow, dull clapping broke the cavernous silence in the Great Hall, accompanied by echoing footsteps.

Copyright © 2003 by Paramount Pictures