To Thy Own Self Be True

Posted on Sat Jul 9th, 2011 @ 6:02pm by Captain qeraQ'
Edited on on Sat Jul 9th, 2011 @ 6:07pm

Mission: In Our Time of Need
Location: Various
Timeline: Current: Before Divitia Prime Mission

[On]

Lieutenant Valkris stood in line waiting for her turn to disembark from the Iapetus reading the last message from home. Her sister was still posted on Emperor's Fist, somewhere in the Delta Quadrant and her finacee was also on his own ship within Starfleet as well. As she stepped up to the transporter pad, she began to think about her life up to this point; Going from a Marine CO within the Klingon Imperial Forces to resigning her commission to rejoin Starfleet. Valkris had spent her entire life straddling two very different worlds and up until now, she'd considered herself very fortunate.

"Enjoy your time on the station Lieutenant..." the transporter operator commented as she stood, waiting for the telltale shimmering white light to wash over her.

Nodding her head, she offered a slight smile and closed her eyse and whispered a silent prayer to Kahless and was rewarded with the welcomed sight of Starbase 900 (will re word this later)

She wished for a brief moment to see a familiar face waiting for her, a friend or family member, more importantly her mate, she'd served for many months on the Iapetus and couldn't think of one person with whom she'd even shared a meal with or had a conversation with that didn't end up becoming an argument or wasn't about the mission at hand.

Walking up to the nearest LCARS panel, the name near the top caught her attention. The XO of the base and a Klingon as well. "...Commander qeraQ'? No, that can't him?" Valkris said aloud as she quickly searched for the fastest route to his office.

A short while later, after navigating her way down several corridors and up a number of turbolifts, Valkris found herself stepping onto the operations center of the 900. The room was a hive of activity, immense display monitors and whole sections devoted to the numerous departments the base had under it's control. Valkris smiled to herself as she looked around. '...this is a place I could get used to..' she thought, her mind recalled what little information she could about Sa' qeraQ' vestaI Durel, former commander of the Klingon Reactionary Force, the man in his reletively young age was a legened among many warriors and his battle tactics were often adopted, even by Marine Commanders attached to ships of the fleet.

Valkris herself had reorganized her own first company to reflect the doctrines Sa' qeraQ' had developed...and here he was, the executive officer aboard a Federation starbase.

---

qeraQ' had left the meeting with the Divitians with a sense of frustration and excitement mixed together with a touch of apprehension. He enjoyed moving forward into new situations and discovering new peoples, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they were being used. Moving to the central situation desk in the centre of Ops he looked around, making a note of who was on duty and what was currently in the pattern before beginning a message to the staff that had been assigned and entering the departure information for the Hammond and Takei. Three hours should be sufficient for everyone to assemble, and there were a number of detailed engineering and science reports to go through to understand the situation in more detail.

As an afterthought he send a quick message to Commander Frost:

"Frost, if the Hammond and Takei were to develop some minor issue affecting propulsion efficiency, shield strength and weapons effectiveness it may not be noticed... Don't show your hand too early..."

Hopefully he would understand the message, their earlier conversation had indicated that his head was screwed on, and he wanted to keep any contingent that was looking for a fight guessing as to their real strength. Surprise was always a benefit, something that he had learned very early in his career. Thinking back to some of the battles he had fought in the service of the Empire and the Federation he smiled, memories of glory tinged with sadness, it kept him alive and seeking more.

His thoughts were interupted by the approach of a slim Klingon woman dressed in duty uniform, she was making a bee-line for him, and so he stood more straightly and awaited whatever was to come.

As Valkris approached, she felt a twinge of excitement, she could see that this Klingon, missing one arm and with a scar on his cheek, it had to be him Sa' qeraQ'! She barely composed herself as she approached. "...Commander qeraQ'? Sa' qeraQ' VestaI Durel?" she asked hesitantly, though the man appeared to be the one she was looking for, she doubted herself for a momnent. "...Lieutenant Valkris sutaI tSepeS- Edwardson..." she began as she stood just a little taller at addressing the honored warrior

"...you may not remember me but my sister and I both attended your lectures at the Academy on Qo'noS. I earned much honor for my house and the empire by attaining the rank of chom' commanding 4 brigades attached to the IKV Sword of Valor, in the 9MD out of ISF MataI near the triangle. Before that I was part of the second wave during the battle of Cardassia Prime during the war and served a number of times during the Empire's Officer Exchange Program with the Federation." Valkris stood in near awe of what the man had gone through. she composed herself and switched her introduction to Federation standard.

"...I have recently arrived on board the Iapetus, I wanted to meet you before you leave.."

He looked at the woman again more closely, something was familiar about her but there had been so many soldiers, so many people in the past that they mainly blurred into one. "Well you have met me," he said, perhaps a little too gruffly, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"I was hoping to spend some time with your Chief of Strategic Operations, get the latest intelligence and perhaps tour the facilities a bit."

"Hmm, I think you would be better placed discussing things with our Intel and Diplomatic departments at present." He looked into the Valkris' eyes, there was something not right there, he had learned to judge someone by their eyes and he could see that she was only half Klingon - not an unusual occurrence these days... but there was something more. "Is there something troubling you Lieutenant? You hold yourself well, as I would expect given your past ranks, but the fire is missing from your eyes." It was true, there was passion there, and excitement, but no fire.

The reflection of herself she saw in the Commander's eyes followed by the look he gave her ignighted a spark within her. For months she'd felt that fire within her diminished. Each victory earned was taken away from her, some just as quickly as they had been earned. The most damning was her allowing to be be marginalized and dismissed by those she now served. Even her mate had put off their joining ceremony while he successfully rose through the ranks to a command of his own! ".....you sound like them..." She said as she looked away, the anger seething "...I have killed and shed blood in the name of the Empire and on behalf of the Federation through two wars and countless battles!" said, her voice low, "....I had thought to meet with you, someone I'd admired and whose teachings I'd...."

Valkris paused, as the realization of why she had come to see sa' geraQ' again. She realized that it was not to confer with an equal or to gain some better understanding of how to make her situation better on the Iapetus. Laughing she shook her head. "....forgive me Commander, I came here for help, for....answers, a sympathetic soul to talk to. I think that I have come here with the misguided intention to search for something that I feared that had been lost.."

"Perhaps not lost, but misplaced." he appraised the woman carefully, "What makes your blood roar? When I am in the heat of battle I feel it. When warriors choose to follow me, I feel it. When an Engine springs back into life I feel it. Remember that feeling, and draw from it."

Valkris suddenly realized that she was on the verge of misplacing her anger at herself, towards sa' qeraQ' and fought to regain control "....I have been... accustomed to a particular way of life, to having achieved success no matter what the costs may have been." She began to say "..I am a child of two worlds, one human the other thlingon, raised on the home world, I had to fight my entire life for acceptance, work three times as hard as my full blood half sister! I thought I had nothing left to prove and so I found myself here, serving Starfleet.." Valkris shakes her head, thinking back to her less than ideal posting on the Kearsarge and the Hera before being sent to the Marconi only to discover it had been destroyed. "....I've been told in no uncertain terms that I am too Klingon, too aggressive, to demanding! That the attributes that helped me at home, wouldn't serve me well here!" she said. "...each time I accepted their comments and tried things....their way, a little bit of who I am, what I had been trained and aspired to be, became...muted, made more palatable to the PetaQ I served with!" Valkris spat on the ground, forgetting where she was and quickly covered it with her foot. "....Seeing you here, I am suddenly reminded that I do not have to sacrifice who I am in order to achieve what it is I want!" Valkris added, laughing "....The way that has become clouded is now clear to me..and for that my heart roars!"

"We all have our challenges to face..." qeraQ' gestured to the stump that had once been his arm, "What matters is how you choose to live. If you live with it on your shoulders it will weigh you down and hold you back. Embrace it and it will make you stronger. I went through what you are going through now, in a way, without my full mobility my filth re rejected me, my life ended. I soon learnt that I could handle a mekleth better than most men could handle a batleth. Life is what you make of it, seek out honour, listen, learn and fight."

"...Thank you, I....don't know what else to say other than that, I think I will need some time to consider what I will do next and since I have some time coming to me, and my mate is due to return here soon, perhaps I will request a temporary leave of absence..." Valkris still sounding unsure of what her immediate plans straightens up "...talking with you has meant more than you could ever know. Perhaps when his ship returns, you will get the chance to meet him, I am sure he will be just as excited as I was to talk with you, provided your mission doesn't keep you away for too long that is."

"I would be honoured. Although I fear I may be gone some time. Contact me when next you are on the station, and try the Klingon restaurant called qul mI'wI', they do excellent fire skin and the atmosphere is somewhere close to Qo'noS. Tell the owner I sent you and to open you a bottle from my reserve. He will know what I mean." he hoped good food and good drink would help the woman, and the vintage of bloodwine put aside for him was especially good. "If you fancy something Terran, Mr. Banning runs a decent establishment."

"..Thank you, I was thinking that I would take some time away from the Iapetus and perhaps attend the Academy here on the station.." Valkris replied "...I am honored to have met you sa' qeraQ', I do not know what the future may bring but after speaking with you, I do not feel the weight of uncertainty upon my heart any longer! Qapla'!!"

"An honour to meet you, Qapla'!"

[Off]

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Lieutenant Valkris Edwardson
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
USS Iapetus NCC-83721

&

Commander qeraQ'
Executive Officer
Starbase 900