"The Curse of Kahless"

[Cptn Elias Moore 0]

"You're lucky we were warned of your arrival." M'ehl said to Rex. "If we'd taken you for simple Orion merchants, we might have opened fire. Quite ironic, don't you think?"

 

Rex looked to Captain Archer as the Klingon laughed. "Captain, what's going on here?" He'd already told the rest of the team to stand down their rescue efforts. Now he wanted to know why.

 

"It might take a while to explain, Ambassador. Why don't you have a seat." Though Taavlan was a prison camp, Archer's abode looked nothing like a prison cell. It was as dark and musky as any Klingon environment with markedly alien furnishings and architecture, but it was as large as a VIP suite with all the amenities. There was little to suggest that Archer was anything but a guest.

 

"Ambassador," Archer continued once the trio was seated. "I need your assurances that the information I'm about to give you doesn't leave Klingon space. This is as per not only the orders of Starfleet Command... but also a promise I made to the former Chancellor M'rek. You can share it with your crew, but beyond them this must remain strictly confidential."

 

When Rex gave his agreement, Archer unexpectedly brought up the Augment crisis which took place two years ago. The first part was nothing new to Rex. He'd read the reports about noted scientist Arik Soong's descent into madness and his relationship with a band of genetically-engineered humans 'built' using secrets from the days of the Eugenics Wars. He knew about their quest to start a war between the Humans and Klingons and about Enterprise's race through Orion territory to stop them. How closely those events mirrored Challenger's mission; it couldn't come as too much of a surprise that the Augment crisis had something to do with all of this.

 

It was the account that followed that came as a surprise. Some time after, Archer explained, the Klingons investigated the site of the decisive confrontation between Enterprise and a Bird of Prey hijacked by Soong's Augments. They managed to recover samples of the augmented Human DNA and used them in an attempt to replicate the process on their own warriors. Their attempt backfired, however, resulting in the emergence of a fatal virus. The Klingons kidnapped Enterprise's Dr. Phlox and forced him to develop a cure for the virus. The aftershocks of the incident continued to reverberate, however.

 

Rex nodded as Archer described the new Klingons. They were stronger, faster, and sharper, but, as a curious side effect of Phlox's cure, they more closely resembled Humans than Klingons. He now understood the identity of the 'Klingon' that was locked up in their transport's Brig. "There are about a thousand of these augments spread throughout Klingon territory." Archer continued. "It wasn't until I was sitting in a cell aboard M'ehl's ship that I learned about the most important one of them all..."

 

Archer practically jumped off of the crude steel cot in his cell when the door opened. His captor, M'ehl, surprisingly entered alone, the door closing right behind him. He was obviously confident that a Human posed no physical threat; Archer had no intention of putting this to a test. "You've opened fire on two Starfleet vessels and kidnapped a Commanding Officer. Obviously, you're aware that this will lead to war?" He kept the rage out of his voice; he could only assume his crew was dead, but he had to remain political.

 

"A war between our people is indeed brewing, Captain." M'ehl answered. "Sit."

 

"I'll stand." Archer replied in a defiant tone. The Klingon would have to force him.

 

M'ehl, however, just smiled. "Stand, then." The Klingon walked past him and seated himself, putting himself at a remarkably vulnerable position--an even greater demonstration of his confidence. "Your two ships were disabled, but not destroyed. They are in our possession. The crews have been transferred to cells aboard our ships. None of them have been harmed."

 

"Klingons don't take prisoners." Archer stated simply, a narrow-eyed gaze fixed on M'ehl.

 

"They do if they've been ordered to by their Chancellor." M'ehl wasn't returning the gaze. For some reason, he was looking around the cell slowly, as if he'd never seen it before.

 

"What does the Chancellor want with us?"

 

"Chancellor Min is aware that you are responsible for his condition." M'ehl answered, almost lazily, as he seemed preoccupied with scanning every inch of the cell's interior.

 

"His condition?"

 

M'ehl now looked Archer squarely in the eyes. "His forehead has no ridges."

 

Archer's brow furrowed deeply as he took this in. One of the Klingon augments was behind the rumored coup on the Klingon homeworld! This was the third time Archer had been dragged into Arik Soong's eugenic playground. "Is that why you're preparing for war? Revenge?"

 

M'ehl tilted his head back and laughed. "Revenge?! Captain, you couldn't be more wrong! Chancellor Min views his condition as a blessing! A blessing from mighty Kahless... helped along by you and your Doctor Phlox, of course. He is so appreciative of what you've done, in fact, that he would like you to pass the blessing on to the rest of the Klingon people."

 

Archer's face contorted in a scowl; it was all starting to come together now. M'ehl continued, "The Klingon armada is amassed along the Coalition borders standing by for orders to invade. Those orders will not be delivered until I've accomplished my objective... which is to take you and your crew to my base and force you to replicate the transformation process. When our military invades, it is not to be the standard Klingon military, but a horde of the same genetically modified supersoldiers that were capable of overwhelming the capital city and swiftly seizing control of the Klingon Empire."

 

"You tell me all of this." Archer said coldly. "And actually expect me or anyone on my crew to cooperate?"

 

"My orders are to use whatever means necessary, no matter how 'un-Klingon' they may seem, to earn your cooperation. Torture, much like ambushes and kidnappings, is not above our new Chancellor."

 

"It won't work. On any of us."

 

M'ehl flashed a toothy grin at Archer. "Though I'd love to prove you wrong, Captain, I am not going to try. You see, I have no intention of following my Chancellor's orders."

 

Just when Archer thought he understood this entire situation, it all scrambled back up. He was stunned, but he offered no response, merely waiting for the Klingon's explaination.

 

"Chancellor Min was one of our finest Generals, Captain." M'ehl said. "An exemplary leader of men. Many of the Klingons who enjoyed the honor of serving alongside him, myself included, counted Min as a close friend. His influence over our warrior caste was great, indeed. So great that even after Min's transformation... even after Chancellor M'rek discharged him along with all the soldiers who had been changed by your virus... the loyalty of a great many of his men, even those who had not been changed, did not waver. For two years, Min coaxed the loyalty of Commanders assigned to homeworld's defensive fleet and drew up plans for a swift and subtle takeover. His coup met little resistance. Within days, Min occupied the throne and M'rek's head was displayed on a pike outside the Great Hall. Within weeks, the first stages of the renewed expansion of the Klingon Empire were being planned. None dare oppose him. His guile and his physical prowess are unmatched among our people.

 

"But he has been changed in other ways, Captain. His transformation was not a blessing. It was a curse! He is tainted by Human blood. There is no honor guiding his actions. He employs assassins to skulk about homeworld planting knives in the backs of potential rivals. He treats the families of M'rek and the old advisors as if they are garbage. He speaks of a return to the days of the Emperors, but his way could lead to anarchy. And now he wishes to spread the same taint to all Klingons. It pains me to say this of a former friend, Captain... but he must be stopped."

 

"But you kidnap my people anyway. Why?" Archer asked.

 

"Min gave this task to me because he trusts me, Captain. If I'd refused, he'd have had me killed and another would have taken my place. I must maintain the appearance of following the Chancellor's orders. He's assigned augments to my crew; if they report any kind of disobedience, I will be relieved of my command and they will take over this operation. If that happens, my plans will be ruined."

 

"And what, precisely, are *your* plans?" Archer asked, finding himself skeptical of his captor's noble intent.

 

"To give Min exactly the opposite of what he is asking for." M'ehl grinned. "You and your medical officer are the experts on these transformations, correct? That presents those of us who are opposed to this new regime with a great opportunity. Instead of replicating the transformation process, you will develop a means of reversing it."

 

Archer sighed deeply. "I've had it up to here with genetic engineering, M'ehl. This is not something that can be turned on and off like a light."

 

"I did not say I expected instant results, Captain." M'ehl stood. "But I expect results. The Chancellor has supplied my base camp with the finest in Klingon lab equipment, and the augments on my crew are going to provide you with genetic material... whether they like it or not. You will have all the resources you need. The alternative may not be torture, Captain... but as our Chancellor is preparing for war with your people, I am sure you can find suitable motivation to cooperate..."