Cerulean Stars - Chapter 83

Cerulean Stars - Chapter 83

Stardate 48288.9 - April 16, 2371 - 10:45:00

The Mekro'vak plains weren't particularly impressive as far as planetary features were concerned. A reddish grass like plant covered most of the generally flat ground, interspaced by the occasional brownish rock and gray twisted tree.

Its only saving grace as far as Quark was concerned was that unlike the near constant state of damp on his own homeworld, it was just the right level of humid to leave him neither miserable nor wishing he'd thought to replicate some skin cream before coming.

“Is this it?” He asked quietly, looking at the twenty-nine surely looking Klingons gathered on his House's side of the battlefield.

“These are the members of our House's home guard.” Grilka answered back, leaning slightly towards him and keeping her voice low. “It is allowed to number exactly one percent of a House's total warriors.”

He was really starting to wonder if he should have researched what was involved in this fight a bit more. But given the time crunch it had felt like it was a choice between that and all the other more important things he needed to get ready.

“You must go and announce yourself to D’Ghor.” Grilka added with a sigh as her eyes flicked between their fighters and the impatient looking Klingon in question who was standing about a hundred meters away with his weapon at the ready in front of his own troops.

Quark looked between Grilka and D’Ghor for a moment before giving a nod and then beginning his walk, clutching the haft of the odd curved Klingon sword he had been given in a tight knuckled grip as he did.

D’Ghor began walking moments after Quark, at a measured enough pace that by the time the smaller Ferengi reached the middle, so to did his opponent in this.

“I am Quark, son of Keldar!” Quark yelled out, not that the last was particularly impressive with the way luck had always seemed to turn against his father. However that was how he had been told he was supposed to do this, though he doubted Grilka would be particularly upset about the one bit of improvisation he had planned to further enrage D’Ghor. “And my House has come to answer the insult of D'Ghor,”

He paused for the briefest of moments and gave a toothy smirk. “son of whatever.”

“I will make you regret what you have done here today, Ferengi.” D’Ghor whispered before taking a deep breath. “I am D’Ghor, son of D’Gall, prepare yourselves, for it is a good day to die!”

With that he raised his Bat’leth into the air, a move Quark matched with his own weapon as he tensed his legs for what would come next.

Both weapons came down, and the scream of almost seventy Klingons rang out across the planes as both sides charged, while Quark himself turned on a latinum slip and began running as if his life depended on it, because it very much did.

“You will not escape me, Ferengi!” D’Ghor yelled as the sound of heavy boots impacting the ground began following hot on Quark’s tail.

Quark angled his ‘escape’ towards the dry riverbed to the left of his sides rapidly approaching forces, and he skidded down the rather steep embankment just as the sound of Klingon’s engaging in battle began.

“This will not save you!” D’Ghor exclaimed as Quark took them around a twist in the riverbed on the other side of which thirteen additional Klingons waited, led by the grizzled, and hopefully sober, Kor himself. Who upon seeing Quark gave a savage grin before motioning for his men to ready themselves.

“Trickery!” D'Ghor exclaimed with a growl as he skidded to a stop mere meters away from the varied group of Klingon warriors poised in wait. “I didn't expect anything different from an honorless Ferengi, but to think he found Klingons willing to interfere in a Ghuy'cha between houses.”

“Someone like you who wouldn't know honor if it bit them on their sa'hut dares to lecture Kor on honor!?” Kor spat as he raised his Bat’leth, the half dozen warriors to either side of him rushing past D'Ghor at the silent command to join in the fighting elsewhere.

“You really should have checked the Council registers D'Ghor.” Quark added in as he turned around and took a few steps to the side. “The House of Quark formed a formal alliance with the House of Kor about three hours before you accepted my challenge.”

“You planned all of this?” D’Ghor asked in shock as he lowered his weapon slightly to glare at

“It's called the Ferengi Alliance for a reason.” Quark taunted with a smirk, not sure why other species always seemed to forget that when dealing with his people.

“Rargh!” D'Ghor yelled out with an angry snarl on his face as charged at Quark with this Bat'leth raised.

The suddenness of the move was enough to make Quark stumble back in surprise, the downward swing of the blade just narrowly missing him as D'Ghor used the momentum from this missed attack to swing the bat'leth around for a follow up strike that never came as the sound of metal on metal rang out.

Chancing a glance, he could see Kor standing with his blade locked with D’Ghor’s, a savage grin on his face as for a moment the two warriors pitted raw physical strength against raw physical strength. 

“You are old.” D’Ghor taunted with a smirk as he slowly pushed his weapon forward against the increasingly shaky armed Kor. “Your strength wanes.”

“Perhaps.” Kor shot back in glee as he slowly used the force of D’Ghor’s own weapon to twist their locked blades ever so slightly. “But with age comes skill that you clearly lack.”

The moment Kor finished speaking he pulled back his weapon, the pronged spikes on the end locking with D’Ghor’s and pulling the younger Klingon off balance just long enough for Kor to separate the weapons and swing back slicing a shallow cut through the armor protecting D’Ghor’s abdomen.

“Even your blade dulls, old man.” D’Ghor growled out as he stumbled back slightly, and Quark could see a light trickle of blood visibly oozing through the cut as he adjusted the grip on his weapon. “Or perhaps your Ferengi master lacks the DaynguH for killing and ordered you to spare me.”

While Quark knew it was true that he had recently discovered something which could charitably be described as a conscious. He wasn’t the Federation who would give people that kidnapped people he cared about and tried to kill him second and third chances. So he bent down and grabbed a fist sized rock from the riverbed, and then chucked it with all his strength at D’Ghor’s head, taking more than a little satisfaction as it smacked into the focused Klignon’s head with a meaty thwack leaving a lightly bleeding welt as D’Ghor finally seemed to remember that he wasn’t technically in a fight with Kor alone.

“I’m perfectly fine with killing.” Quark added in as D’Ghor turned his eyes towards him with a glare.

Something which turned out to be a costly mistake as Kor seized on the younger Klingon’s inattention to rush forward and cut into D’Ghor’s shoulder.

“Gargh!”

“So used to fighting like a dishonorable p’taq that you forget the battlefield at the slightest provocation.” Kor scolded with a disappointed look on his face as he pulled the blade away and allowed D’Ghor to fall to a shaky a knee.

“Be grateful that you at least died with the honor you lacked in life.” He finished as he raised his bat’leth high and brought it down, cutting D’Ghor’s head off with a single strike.

“Gotta admit.” Quark muttered as he took a moment to stare at the body. “I kind of thought he’d put up more of a fight.”

“I had rather hoped that myself.” Kor offered almost sadly as he secured his bat’leth on his back before bending down to grab D’Ghor’s head. “Come, we still need to finish things.”

“After you.” Quark agreed in a magnanimous tone, taking a moment to allow the old Klingon warrior to turn and begin walking before pulling out the padd he had stashed in his belt.

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Returning to the battlefield proper, Quark let out a sigh of relief upon seeing a wounded but alive Grilka limping over to meet them as the remaining of their two houses combined forces finished off the last of D’Ghor’s warriors

“Qapla!” Kor exclaimed, holding up D’Ghor’s head triumphantly. “Know all warriors who died this day have done so with honor and so will be welcomed to Sto'Vo'Kor!”

“Qapla!” Various Klingon voices rang out in response.

“I see you survived unscathed, husband.” Grilka offered in a disapproving tone as she looked him over.

“Yes, well.” Quark began in an awkward tone as he compared her state to his own, only to pause as his eyes fell on the nearly sixteen centimeter bleeding gash on her left hip. “Are you going to be okay?”

“It is but a minor flesh wound.” Grilka offered with a shrug.

“Your forces fought well, Lady Grilka.” Kor said as he joined them, noticeably no longer carrying the head. 

“Seventeen of my house's warriors have fallen compared to three of yours.” Grilka returned with an almost sad shake of her head. “I fear their training lapsed too far for comfort during Kozak’s descent.”

“An easy enough problem to fix.” Kor said as he turned to Quark. “And you Ferengi, are you prepared to face the consequences of your cowardice?”

“One moment.” Quark told the pair as he finished entering the last details into his padd and hit the button to transmit. 

“Okay, should be good now.” He finished as he secured the padd back to his belt and readied his sword.

“Quark son of Keldar!” Kor yelled out angrily, his voice echoing across the battlefield and drawing the eyes of every surviving Klingon warrior. “With the cowardice you showed today I declare you unfit to possess the House you have taken. As such I, Kor son of Rynar challenge you for it!”

“I accept!” Quark returned, tensing at what he knew was coming as he stared Kor in the eyes. 

Kor rushed forward with his bat’leth at the ready, and Quark raised his weapon only to blink dumbly at the sudden pain in his stomach.

As if in a fugue he looked down, staring almost unbelieving at the sight of the two spikes of metal connected to a bat’leth that had somehow become lodged in his gut.

“Oh.” He muttered in a bemused tone as the full impact caught up with him and the world went mercifully black.

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Stardate 48289.4 - April 16, 2371 - 15:08:00

Making sure to keep a smile on her face as she looked at Admiral Toddman, Raine seethed internally, because this was absolutely not how she had expected this to go when she had begun digging into Jadzia's problem.

“You're ordering me to drop the investigation, sir?”

“This isn't an order Commander.” Admiral Toddman corrected with a shake of his head. “It's an informal request that you hand the case over to the Trill Symbiosis Commission.”

Which might as well be ordering her to drop the investigation given how much diplomatic pressure must have been behind his particular request.

“They consider attacks on symbionts a serious issue, and are uniquely qualified to handle any investigations involving them.” He continued in a tone that made her think he honestly believed what he was telling her.

“While I understand that, Admiral.” Raine offered apologetically. Given everything I've discovered so far, it's highly likely the culprit is or was a member of the Symbiosis Commission itself.”

“Yes.” Admiral Toddman agreed with a nod. “They suggested as much themselves when they contacted Starfleet Command about the issue.”

That told her the Symbiosis Commission. likely had a scapegoat ready and waiting, because they had to know Starfleet wouldn't stop poking them about an issue like that without a culprit in rehabilitation.

“It also runs into the problem that Lieutenant Dax has already refused to disclose her medical files on this issue to the Symbiosis Commission.” Raine added in, unsure just how much the Trill woman suspected at this point given she was still in the process of working through the block.

“I'm aware.” Admiral Toddman confirmed. “Starfleet medical should already be contacting Doctor Bashir about the issue.”

Bashir would fight any direct order to go against Jadzia's wishes like that Raine knew, but she wasn't nearly as well versed in Starfleet medical ethics as she was their more general rules and regulations, so she couldn't predict whether he would be successful or not.

“Still sir.” Raine put forward, really hoping she wouldn't be burning any bridges with this. “While I'd be happy to include the Symbiosis Commission in the investigation as much as it's possible to do so, unless an official order comes down I can't in good conscience hand the entire investigation over to them.”

“After all, Jadzia Dax is first and foremost a Starfleet officer.”

Was she laying it on a bit thick, absolutely, but experience had taught her that Admiral Toddman respected when an officer was loyal to Starfleet over their world of origin, and his was a very obvious case of a member world trying to bypass Starfleet procedure.

“Very well.” Admiral Toddman said after a moment. “I'll relay your offer of a joint investigation to the Commission, Toddman out.”

With those parting words the screen went blank, and Raine leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh, fully aware the Symbiosis Commission was unlikely to give up on their back channel attempts to shut her investigation down given the lengths they had gone to so far to cover up their secret.

She just hoped things didn't get too dirty before everything was said and done, if only for Jadzia's sake.

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Author’s Notes: Alas poor Quark, we knew thee well.