Star Trek: Viq'Tarr's Tale

[Golden Lion 86]

The House of Qal'I'Eth was a small and proud family of loyal Klingon warriors. It had existed for many centuries, and had produced many great warriors, as well as a number of Klingon scholars. For the last three decades, it was under the rule of Qal'I'Eth, a great warrior who had fought and won many battles in the name of the empire. However, Qal'I'Eth was injured in his last battle, and had lost his sight. This was a tragedy for the house, but Qal'I'Eth would not surrender so quickly. His body was still in fighting condition, and his ears were as sharp as a Vulcan's. He trained for many months, regaining his accuracy and strength of battle, and today, that skill would be put to the test.

The House of Jar'Draq, a blood enemy of Qal'I'Eth's family, had declared open war against the house, and was preparing to strike in force and numbers. Many Klingons would remember the day when the House of Qal'I'Eth fell, but none so much as Qal'I'Eth's two-year-old son, Viq'Tarr. The house walls had already been breached when Qal'I'Eth sent his wife, Qad'Arra anb his son into the hangar. He, as any Klingon, was ready to die an honorable death in battle, but he did not want his wife, a scholar, and his son, an infant, to follow him to Sto'Vo'Kor just yet. He wanted them to live. He wanted his son to grow up, to become a man, and finally to return and crush his blood enemies.

Qad'Arra and Viq'Tarr rushed to the small ship that Qal'I'Eth had prepared, albeit reluctantly. Qad'Arra was torn between duty to her husband, and duty to her son, and knew that the former was more important. However, she also knew Qal'I'Eth's request. She knew that Viq'Tarr needed to live to fight another day. Slowly, she climbed aboard the ship and took off, leaving Qal'I'Eth at the entrance of the hangar. When they were gone, he imbibed a Klingon herbal mixture known as The Spirit of Kahless, a brew designed to amplify a Klingon's strength and lust for battle. He turned around just as the enemy soldiers rushed in. Bravely did he fight for nearly an hour, taking severe injuries, but felling the enemy by the dozen. Finally, when he felt his fingers losing their grip of his Bat'Leth, he reached for another mixture, the last remaining flask on his person. This one was fiery orange in color, and was designed to heighten his senses. He felt clear-minded again, but he knew the effect would not last, so he had to act quickly. He made his way past the soldiers, killing them if they were in his way, but ignoring them if not. Speed was of the essence. He came to the other end of the hangar, and began punching a code into a panel. Just as the last key was pressed, Qal'I'Eth collapsed onto his knees. The soldiers gave off a cry of victory, but soon, a shrieking siren sounded through the building, silencing them. The siren stopped, and the soldiers looked around, puzzled. Qal'I'Eth tightened his grip on his Bat'Leth, he smiled to himself and said:

"Today is a good day to die!"

Moments later, a nuclear explosion consumed the compound and all the lands for many kilometers. The House of Qal'I'Eth was no more, but now his enemies were crippled. From the porthole in her ship, Qad'Arra watched the explosion, which appeared to her a small but bright spot on the surface of Qo'Nos. She knew then that it was all over.

[Golden Lion 86]

Qad'Arra's shuttle cleared the Klingon atmosphere and set a course for the Federation, where she had allies and friends. She knew that she would be safe there, but there was still danger while she was in Klingon space. The House of Jar'Draq could send ships to find her and her son and kill them, so she had to move quickly.

The shuttle had been in flight for only twenty minutes when the worst thing imaginable happened: a Bird-of-Prey, bearing the house insignia of Jar'Draq, de-cloaked and opened fire on the shuttle. The first volley damaged one of the engines, and Qad'Arra rushed to repair it from within. While she did so, another volley hit the shuttle. This one overloaded some of the consoles and caused them to explode. Viq'Tarr was shocked and fell to the ground. Qad'Arra rushed to help him up, but another explosion sent debris flying her way. She was hit in the neck and fell onto Viq'Tarr's seat. She tried to get up, but found that she could not move. She had lost hope of escaping, but would not give up. Vocally, she ordered the shuttle to turn around and ram the Bird-of-Prey. Unfortunately, the shuttle was so damaged that the computer did not register the command and continued on its way.

Suddenly, a Romulan ship de-cloaked and opened fire of the Bird-of-Prey. The Romulan was a science vessel, and was better equipped to handle the Klingon ship. It disabled the Bird-of-Prey, and then, firing a torpedo into its engine, destroyed it. It then flew over to where the shuttle was, and locked a tractor beam onto it, pulling it to safety. Inside was a medical crew, ready to take in the casualties.

The commander of the vessel, Captain Movar Tei, was a benevolent Romulan, a rarity among his people, and he saw it as his duty to defend the weak. In this instance, he found that the shuttle, fleeing from the Bird-of-Prey, was in dire need of assistance, and he decided to help. With the commander were a few people of great significance. First, there was his fourteen year-old daughter, Eviess Tei. She was a relatively small girl, but she was very bright. She studied medicine, and even at her age, she could put many novice doctors to shame. She was with him when the shuttle was brought in, and she was ready to help the wounded who lay inside. Also with the Captain were Vedek Kina Amahr and his eight year-old daughter, Jocel. They were refugees from Bajor, and had left during the Cardassian occupation. The Captain rescued them and several dozen other Bajorans when their transport was attacked by Cardassians. Vedek Kina was also trained in medicine, and his young daughter wished to learn it. All in all, the party, Captain Tei included, was made up entirely of doctors.

They extracted the two bodies from under the debris: a woman and her young son. The woman was dying, and nothing could be done to save her. Her nerves and blood vessels were damaged, and not enough was known about Klingon physiology to treat her. The boy, on the other hand, was unscathed, except for a few small cuts and bruises from the debris. He was in a state of panic, however, and could not move without help. The woman was taken to the infirmery, as was the boy. After an hour of medical treatment, Qad'Arra died of her injuries. She was already too far gone to save, and the Romulans did not know how to treat her. Viq'Tarr was very young, but he understood what had happened that day. He vowed that by the time the sun set on his life, there would not be a member of House Jar'Draq alive anywhere in the Klingon Empire.