QoB Crew Primer

[Joe Manning 0]

Qapla’ batlh je! Welcome to the crew of QoB!

 

That is the last welcome you shall ever receive, for now you belong to us. As long as you serve among Klingons, you will learn the ways of Klingons. You will live on our ship. You will respect our traditions. You will use our weapons. You will eat our food.

 

You are now only scarcely more worthy than the filth who wear our slave collars. Once, you crawled like a dog among them, picking your meals from the slop heap, performing work that is beneath proud warriors, and dying like rats upon the blades and beams of our enemies. But in time you showed some small measure of worth. The servants of Kahless are wise enough to reward even lowly slaves who show greater worth. So it is that we have brought you into our ranks. First, you will learn them.

 

Bekk -- This is you! You are a Warrior and you will do as you are told. You will fight. You will die. Think not that this proud distinction affords you the honor of a Klingon Bekk! You do not have the mighty spirit of Khaless within you, and so you must fight like a cornered targ to continue proving your worth. Should you merely think of stepping out of line, your death will be swift and honorless.

Lieutenant -- Bekks who have distinguished themselves with sharp mind and great prowess serve as no less than the Commander‘s elite honor guard. You will do what they tell you. Should you step out of line, they will be the ones executing you. Give them the respect that they have earned.

Commander -- Only the mightiest Klingons are worthy to sit upon the seat of command. You will honor your Commander with the greatest respect! Cast your gaze downward should your Commander do you the rare honor of paying your meager existence heed. Speak not to your Commander unless spoken to first! Always obey and dream not of mutiny unless you are stronger than your Commander, which you are not.

 

You have but one job on this ship -- warrior! If you cannot fight with our weapons, you will learn. When we raid, you will fight. Do not think this a Federation ship, its crew divided into clubs that are protected by a police force. On QoB, the only department is the warrior department. We do recognize secondary skills, however, and the necessity of putting them to use. If you are adept with machinery, you will study our engine room and maintain our ship. If you have training in medicine, you will man our medbay. If you possess a scientific mind, you will advise the Commander. But no matter your role, you will fight! Know our weapons and wield them well!

 

Bat’leth -- The traditional sword of a Klingon. You will all wear one upon your backs. Your Bat’leth may serve great use in combat within twisting starship and station corridors where a swift stroke may defeat the precise aim of a disruptor, but your Bat’leth chiefly serves ceremonial purposes. The flat of the blade may be used to subdue, but a Bat’leth which does not draw blood is like a warrior that does not kill. We have more suitable means of subdual.

Mek’leth -- The smaller Klingon sword chiefly affords concealment. It is not as easily noticeable as the Bat’leth and it cannot be traced by weapon sensors. Seldom do we skulk about and bypass security without spilling blood, but should this be required your Mek’leth will serve you well. It is also preferable to the Bat’leth in tightly constricted areas where the larger sword cannot be freely swung about.

D’k tagh -- The knife of a Klingon is intended only for ritual. We do not engage our enemies with the D’k tagh unless we are deprived of all other weapons, but this does not diminish its importance. You will keep your D’k tagh safe and secure. Your blades belonged to the Bekk whose death allowed your advancement. They first belonged to a Klingon. As such, you will keep the steel clean, sharp, and strong at all times.

Disruptor -- Many of you will wield our pistols and rifles on raids. They will allow you to kill at a distance. This is not the preferred way of a Klingon, but the cowardice of our enemies demands an equitable battlefield. You will only use your energy weapons against defensive machinery and foes that are similarly armed! You will draw blade or painstik against any foe who cannot engage you from a distance.

Painstik -- Our electric prods are our chief instruments of subdual. Many of you will carry painstiks on raids, hunting for live captives. A brief jab on the highest setting is enough to knock out any but the most sturdy target, but be warned that prolonged exposure can induce unwanted cranial burst. On lower settings the painstik is true to its name, useful for keeping rebellious slaves and undisciplined subordinates in line.

Collar -- As you surely know, targets subdued by painstik have one of our special slave collars placed around their necks. The collars deliver the same electric shocks as the painstiks, but by remote activation rather than touch. The activation devices can deliver their commands to any and all collars from anywhere on the ship, ensuring that no slave uprising can threaten the crew.

 

Whatever place you once called home, you will not see it again. We share this burden. The Qo’noS we love has turned its back on us, and now QoB is our only home. Until the day comes when we may return to Qo’noS as champions and saviors of our people, you will remain on QoB. You will die before that day comes.

 

QoB is a proud home. You may know that of Birds of Prey there are two types -- the smaller B’rel scout and the larger K’Vort cruiser. QoB is K’Vort, a mighty warrior of the stars that will serve you well, and that you will serve in turn. You will be prepared to die defending QoB. First, you will know QoB.

 

Weapons -- QoB’s chief weapons are its disruptor cannons. They must be aimed with care to hit their target, but an effective disruptor bombardment can tear through an enemy vessel’s shields. The Federation boasts of the precision of their phasers, but phasers are no match for the raw strength of a disruptor pulse. Our torpedo supply is limited and so we must be cautious in their use, launching them only when severely pressed by ships that we are willing to destroy. The disruptors are effective at disabling ships for boarding, however, and this is often our only aim.

Defenses -- The cloak drive is our chief defense, but also our most valuable weapon. A Klingon’s greatest desire is to be as close to his enemy as possible. The cloak allows us to close with an enemy ship and line it up for an accurate and secure disruptor salvo. Our shields and weapons cannot be used while we are cloaked and for a brief time after we decloak, so it is critical that we utilize the advantage quickly and effectively.

Wings -- Our wings have three modes, and if you should find yourself piloting QoB you will know them well. Their normal straight alignment is Flight Mode which affords us the greatest possible speed. We lower the wings for Combat Mode, which reduces our speed but grants us greater ability to maneuver and greater accuracy with our disruptor salvos. We raise the wings for Landing Mode, which we utilize for planetary raids and cargo transfers.

Transport -- We do not have fighters or shuttles, as QoB itself serves both purposes adequately. For ship boarding and rapid planetary transport, we utilize our four matter transport pads. The pads require several moments to recharge, so we may only send warriors four at a time to hostile ships. You will learn our boarding procedures well. Swords and disruptors go first to sweep the transport site, then painstiks are sent to subdue personnel for capture.

Flight -- QoB’s warp drive may maintain a speed of Warp 7 comfortably. Cloak is possible in warp flight, but not ideal due to the power drain. Our variously aligned impulse thrusters are utilized to their utmost in Combat Mode, allowing us to expertly evade enemy fire and dog ships more clumsy than QoB (almost all ships which we engage) with constant flight maneuvers.

 

Your advancement to the crew means you will no longer share space in the slave quarters. You have quarters of your own now and it is your responsibility to keep them clean and secure. Your quarters and all other living areas are in QoB’s midsection, the neck which adjoins the bridge and the engine section.

 

Galley -- You will feast, with the rest of us, on gagh and Rokeg and bloodwine and whatever spoils we can plunder from our raid victims. Should your stomach see fit to spill any of our fine fare on the galley deck, you will clean it up with your bare hands. All Bekks will be expected to serve shifts as galley chef and butcher.

Medbay -- We do not use the childrens’ toys that the Federation favors. If you will serve in our medbay, you will learn to use knife and clamp. A Klingon bears his scars proudly and he accepts death if he suffers defeat in combat. Any injury which cannot be fixed with cut and pinch is fatal, and any who are crippled on the battlefield are left to die with honor.

Armory -- We must be constantly ready for combat, so our disruptors have been stored in lockers throughout the ship, or at the sides of the Commander and Lieutenants. We all bear our swords at all times. The Armory has been converted to a training room. There is no leisure on QoB! Roll bones in the galley for latinum if your deeds have you earned you the time, but you are expected to put in ample sparring in the Armory.

Hold -- QoB is built for manpower, not for cargo transport, so our hold is not large. It serves adequately to store excess tools and supplies and to house the spoils of our raids until we can locate buyers. The cargo hatch is our access to the outside in Landing Mode, so planetary raids assemble in the hold. There is one cargo transporter for ship-to-ship exchange, but this cannot transport anything which lives.

Lab -- QoB once housed a targ breeding pen, but this was converted to a lab to serve the purposes of a scientist on the crew. A limited amount of breeding continues in order to supply our grandest feasts in the galley, but two of the targs (which we have lovingly named M’t and Bch) are reserved only for lab testing. They are not to be harmed unless we have run out of food and are starving to death.

 

You should need no explanation, unless you are a fool, of the purposes of the bridge and engine sections. Crew of various skills will be called upon to serve stations on the bridge. You may be trained if you have the brainpower to handle it and if it is felt that you are not serving enough purpose to the crew.

 

Flight -- The flight station can support two pilots, though one pilot of diverse skills is adequate. Flight Mode is easy enough for a trained targ to maintain, but pilots capable of handling Combat Mode and Landing Mode will be required at all times.

External Operations -- The ExOps station is responsible for sensors and communications outside the ship and supports one operator, preferably one with knowledge of astrophysics. Anyone who can hit a switch can handle the communications -- failing in this would likely result in your execution.

Internal Operations -- The InOps station is responsible for internal sensors and crew communications. This function is mostly automated, with security sensors alerting the crew to any intrusion and the comm network allowing direct contact between crew. In combat, this station can allow smooth communication between the bridge and the engine room, though this function may also be handled by the External operator.

Combat -- The combat station supports two tacticians, and the Commander’s chair has access to an optional firing scope. We are never unprepared for any combat situation. Controls for weapons, shields, cloak, tactical sensors, and (in the absence of an expert Flight controller) combat maneuvering can all be accessed here.

 

The engine section houses not only the warp drive and impulse engines, but all of the machines which control our utilities and provide crew support. You may be taught how to use and repair these machines and disciplined to maintain them even in the heat of combat. If, in combat, machines are allowed to break and fires allowed to rage out of control because of Bekks frozen by terror, their heads are removed with swift clean Bat‘leth strokes. We expect you to show the resolve of a Klingon!

 

All that remains to be noted is that you will behave like a Klingon as long as you serve among Klingons. Though we have been cast out of our military and now follow no authority but our own, we recognize the value of crew structure to the operation of a starship. You have earned your rank and your place among us precisely because we understand this.

 

You will follow the orders of your superiors without question, just as Klingon Bekks will be expected to follow the orders of former captives who have achieved the rank of Lieutenant. Rank is a mark of merit which has been identified and recognized in Klingons and non-Klingons alike. Should your superior demonstrate weakness exceeding your own, it is your right and your duty to challenge him to ritual combat to the death in the Armory. Do not take this sacred rite lightly! Your superiors achieved their rank by demonstrating strength which surely surpasses your own. The challenge has been the path to swift death for many headstrong Klingons.

 

We pledge ourselves to Kahless, our emperor and spiritual guide. As a weak-blooded heathen, you are not expected to share our devotion to The Unforgettable. You will share our respect! To speak ill of Kahless is to invite a death without honor and the worst fate your afterlife can provide.

 

To die in battle is the greatest end a Klingon can meet. You are expected to share this ideal, but not to flaunt it. To die recklessly is the end of a fool. There is greater honor and glory to be achieved in surviving to fight another battle. You are expected to fight with wisdom and ferocity, both for yourself and your fellow warriors. Your fellows will fight as fiercely for you. When we raid, we are as kin, and our bond makes us more than a loose collection of warriors with no sense of greater purpose. Always remember that we have a grand goal! We will see the glory of the Klingon Empire restored, with a leader of true strength placed upon the Chancellor’s throne. You will serve this end as if it were the purpose you were born for. It is the purpose you will die for. Know these things above all else.

 

ghIj qet jaghmeyjaj! batlh bIHeghjaj! Qapla’!