>> "I wish I could go along to help things along," she mused out loud, wishing
>> she could, but realistically knowing she couldn't. "Ah well. I guess I'd
>> betterrr give the Council a call. Do you want to listen in? There's an
>> earpiece trrranslatorr in the cabinet overrr therrre," she pointed.
>
> "Sure thing..." he replied, then headed to get the ear piece.
She took a deep breath and entered in the direct subspace code for the
Klingon High Council. The secretary that answered tried to get her to
leave a message, but she bowled over the female with harsh words and got
her to connect through to Dashnak, head of the High Council.
The female's face was replaced with the Klingon symbol, and then a moment
later with Dashnak, his beard and mustache now going steely grey, his hair
braided along the sides was salt and pepper.
<[Qapla' Dashnak, son of Katarak!]> said Kitanya in Klingon.
<[Qapla' Kitanya, daughter of Torg! You have not been to Qo'nos in a long
time. You are losing your accent.]>
Kitanya smiled. <[Then I shall have to come soon, to be re-educated and to
re-educate some of your warriors in the ways of the feline.]>
Dashnak growled. <[Felines. We have enough problems with them right now.
Your training would be most welcome right now.]>
Kitanya nodded. <[I know. That is why I called. We are having similar
problems with this new species.]>
<[Are they Caitians?]> he asked, suddenly suspicious.
She shook her head. <[No. They are not Caitians and they are not Kzinti.
They may be derived from them, though, as Caitians were.]>
Dashnak smoothed his beard. <[They fight like you fight, but they are
physically tougher. Not liek the gentile Caitians,]> he sneered, a joking
insult.
Kitanya growled in mock anger. <[Say that to my face, Dashnak, and I will
remind you of the gentility of my claws in your flesh.]>
Dashnak laughed. <[And I was worried when I heard about your new
assignment that you would grow soft and lazy sitting in Starfleet Command!
So, what do you wish to discuss regarding this new enemy?]>
Kit leaned back. <[We have studied the situtation, and since it is
occurring along the Neutral zone, it is a problem for us both. What we
propose is a joint mission, a joint strike force, to find out who these
beings are, what they want, and how to stop them before they have a chance
to gather their forces. Right now, we don't know what they want or what
they're doing; my guess is neither do you. If our operatives are having a
hard time getting in, with Caitian and Federation undercover operatives,
I'll bet you're having a harder time. So, we need your cloaking devices,
and you need our operatives.]>
Dashnak thought for a moment. His word was not binding on the Council as a
whole, but it held great weight, and their own problems with that area were
considerable. After a few moments, he nodded. <[Very well, Kitanya. Your
House is an honorable one; you would not deceive me without risking
everything. We will go along with this joint strike force. But! We will
not let the Federation use our ships and give us the scraps of information.
We require joint command and the crew of the Klingon ships will be at
least half Klingon, not just technical crews to operate cloaking devices.
And we want some of our own ships involved in the event of a major
campaign; you can't expect us to sit by and watch the Federation take all
the glory!]>
Kitanya nodded. <[What you ask is fair and resonable, Dashnak. You know I
do not have the authority to agree to your request, but expect to hear from
me later today with our decision. I am almost positive it will be met with
agreement.]>
The Klingon nodded with satisfaction. <[And what of you, Kitanya? Will
you be coming along on this little venture to train our warriors in the
ways of feline fighting?]>
She sighed. <[I am going to try, Dashnak. But I am bound by other duties.
I will suggest it, though, and try very hard to convice my superiors that
myself and the others of my clan in the fleet are the best trainers
possible for this kind of campaign.]>
<[But the others of your clan do not speak Klingon, or know our minds and
hearts as you do.]>
<[I will try, Dashnak,]> she replied. <[We will give you an answer by this
evening. Qapla'!]>
<[Qapla' Kitanya!]> The scren went back to the Imperial symbol and Kitanya
shut it off. "Well," she sighed, looking over at Aurelius. "They'rrre
having morrre trrrouble than we thought. Forrr Dashnak to agrrree so
rrreadily means they need ourrr help." It was well known that Klingons
would never ask for it, so others always had to offer.
(resp?)
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"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us,
to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."
--Abraham Lincoln, February 27, 1860
