Krax: Of Honor, and a Corrupted Empire

[hoodsdavid]

((DemonRide))

:: Coming out of the second warp jump, Krax nodded. For once, a well executed series of actions without damage or loss to his crew and ship. Not persay, a Klingon outlook, but given the prolonged entrenchment of the internal war between the Klingons shared his same views verses the Empire, a necessary one. He did not believe in wasting his fellow Klingon lives, especially on thr principle of honor, and the warrior way. He realized over the course of years his attitude and outlook changed. On combat, he would engage (he realized of course, that is Klingon), but never again on someone else's terms. ::

:: Earth had a slew of philosophers on the subject of war, perhaps with more insight into engagement than the Empire considered- oO Or they would say they knew it, and adapted it. Oo Krax monitored the viewscreen as the DemonRide swept down on the one Klingon vessel out of the four still on the Klingon side of the border, now drifting without power. ::

:: Funny how a lone, extremely lucky maneuver escaping from a Starfleet vessel yielded a powerful weapon. At the time, Krax fell to desperation, fueled by the desire to get his ship and crew as far away as possible from the damage he had developed, executed, and came to learn later, rendered on a core group of Starfleet ships. By all measures, the stunt should not have worked- a static electromagnetic burst within a warp corridor to stop the Achilles from capturing them. ::

:: A simple misfire then revealed an interesting truth later on, as Krax became more familiar with starship construction (thanks to Torak, a Klingon more content to tinker with construction than war). Most ships, regardless of who built them, did have fail-safes for electromagnetic bursts, but only to a certain level. Shields were simply a different sine form designed to keep energy based weapons from penetrating, but as with all things, had a threshold. ::

:: Torak went about proving that threshold by the development of high yield electrostatic bursts beyond what a starship's shields were able to deflect, with powerful yeild torpedoes designed to deliver nothing but excess-cap bursts upon impact of energy based sine forms. The result, Krax admitted, did more for the war than anything else, along with modifying their ships to withstand such a blast (in case of a misfire, which happened multiple times before Torak finalized the exact amount of burst necessary to completely short out a starship). ::

:: The DemonRide swooped in on the lifeless, adrift Klingon warbird nearing the Federation boarder. Krax motioned a hand. ::

Krax: Engage tractor beams.

:: Moments later, Krax watched as the Warbird shuddered before changing course, toward them. He punched in command codes to the console before speaking, in Klingon, to the power-drained ship he knew they were fighting to bring life support back online. ::

Krax: ::in Klingon:: =^= This is Krax. Your ship is without power, and set adrift. All of you aboard know me, or my name. The Empire has set its course and has attempted to kill me and every Klingon who believes the Empire has corrupted the very core of Honor and the Warrior Way. Some of you may have engaged me, whether at the battle of Quor'Tal, or having Empire ships fall to the border patrols of both Starfleet and the Romulans. As such, this message shall be familiar to you. I offer it to all Klingons who believe the Empire is destroying us, at their whim, with no regard to the Honor due every Klingon. =^=

:: He let that settle, watching the downed Warbird on viewscreen. ::

Krax: =^= I extend the same offer to all my breathren. Stand up, fight with us, fight our Honor, and our right. Stand up and fight for your right to be Klingon, and Honor yourselves as well as your enemies. Each and every one of you knows a Klingon who has been wrongly Dishonored, or has been disgraced, and not by means of their Family. My father served as the Governor of the area of space which is now independent of its own, the Thracian Alliance. That, not even the Empire disputes. And when they Alliance formed and its systems declared their independence, my father, the Governor, was cast out and Dishonored by the Empire. Was he given his right to take his own life, as due every Klingon, dishonored or not? No. Instead, the Empire deployed an assassin to kill him. I have the evidence in hand to prove this. =^=

:: And he did. It took the better part of almost a year, but Krax tracked down and found the assassin. A predatory grin flushed his features. The assassin died only after giving Krax the names of the people who hired them, the very Klingons who sat on the High Counsel now. ::

Krax: =^= The terms are simple. Join us, brothers and sisters, and fight for your right to be Klingon. Fight us, we will honor you with a Warrior's death. The choice is yours. =^=

:: He killed the transmission and glanced at Holthgar, monitoring from the weapons station. Over at communications, Grat snorted and caught Krax's attention. ::

Grat: Apparently the Gemini did respond to us. Asked to hold and not cross.

Krax: ::smiling:: And now?

Grat: ::a grunt:: I think our tactics convinced them. Do you mean to get Starfleet and the Federation involved with this war?

Krax: ::shaking his head:: This is an 'internal' matter. I do not, nor require Starfleet's help. However, our actions were inexcusable during the incident within the Thracian System, no thanks to our 'former' General.

:: Several chuckles broke out over the bridge. Oh yes, General Ma'Tag. Such a short life. That one did not get the right to die honorably. ::

Krax: ::realizing:: The point is that entire incident was dishonorable, and I am the one who designed and executed the strategy. There was those within the system who were defenseless, that our Honor dictates we must protect, and we did not. Instead, we almost took out a third of Starfleet's ships because we allowed ourselves to be manipulated for the sins of our family, for wrath, for revenge, for vengeance, for our chance to die as a Klingon. Where the truth is, had we succeeded, we would be cast down beyond Redemption, and not given this cause to bring the Empire down and make into what we, as Klingons, truly believe. Honor is all.

:: Honor is all. Krax listened to the echoes from the bridge. He believed in that. The Empire cast his father out, and then had him assassinated, the very opposite of the Klingon beliefs. And yet, the Empire forged him, made him, tested him. oO And now I fight the Hydra, the root of all corruption that destroys what we could be. Oo ::

:: He darkened at Grat, realizing the time passed. ::

Krax: Nothing?

Grat: Not yet. This is unusual.

:: How many of that ship's command staff would Krax have to kill in combat this time? He was very tired of killing his own. ::

:: A com broke through the bridge. ::

Warbird: =^= This is Klingon Warbird Quatar. We had a 'disagreement' which prevented our delay, General Krax. We would gladly accept your assistance restoring power so we may aide you in retaking the Empire. =^=

:: Krax reclined in the center chair as a nasty half smirk crested his features. He knew exactly what 'disagreement' meant. At least he didn't have to kill the Quatar's command staff, now. ::

Krax: =^= Quatar, this is Krax. I welcome you to our Fleet. Our people are ready to assist you now and restore power, with your permission. Will we be welcome, without problems? =^=

Warbird Quatar: =^= Without reserve, General. And may I say, most of us consider it an Honor to serve with you and your cause. =^=

TBC...


Krax
DemonRide
Vor'sha Assault Cruiser
Klingon Liberation Movement

as simmed by

Ensign Stephanie Moore
Tactical Officer
USS Gemini