The Sword of Katarin

[Duroz 0]

DUROZ HOLODECK PROGRAM ALPHA 3

 

PROGRAM RUNNING

 

 

Duroz stepped inside the holodeck, his personal Bat'leth in his hands... A sword handed down from his father, and his father's father. It's origins shrouded in mystery, Klingon's love to embelish their stories, thus no one truly knows how it fell in to the hands of his house.

 

The Myth however dates back three generations, to a time when the Empire was at war with the Federation. As his father told it, the Mek'leth once belonged to a famed and honored General, General Katarin. His grand-father was Katarin's right hand man during those years and served aboard the General's flagship as first officer. During a large battle with the Federation their ship, the IKS Mem'chok was forced to make an emergency landing on an L Class planet on the Federation side of the neutral-zone. Much of the crew were killed, and only a handful remained after the disastrous crash that left the Mem'chok unsalvageable.

 

Duroz' grand-father carried the General to safety and the two men, seperated from the other survivors, took refuge in a nearby cave. General Katarin was badly wounded in the attack on their vessel, and the crash had not been kind to the old man either. His life was fading and as Duroz' grand-father worked diligantly to repair the sub-space beacon and alert their comrades to their status, his old friend began to slip away moment by moment. In his dying breath he made his First officer swear to avenge his death and take the head of the one's responsible for his defeat. With what strength he had left, he pulled his sword from it's perch above him on a ledge and handed it to Duroz' grand-father, then his eyes lost their gaze and he drifted off to join Kahless and the honored dead in Stova'Kor...

 

His grand-father tells the story of the events after, he did face that same federation vessel once more in battle, aboard the IKS Gogarin. In that battle, the victor was the Empire, and his grand-father toasted the honor of General Katarin, his friend and mentor for many years.

 

Now the sword of Katarin was in Duroz able hands. He moved in to the center of the holographic cavern where the lights were so dark you could not see the hand in front of you. He did not bother to stare out with his eyes, instead he closed them, using only his hearing and his other accute senses to gauge his surroundings. For an instant, he felt adrift in space, the darkness all around him... But only for an instant.

 

A blade cut through the air swinging downward and hard toward Duroz left shoulder from behind him. He spun quickly and blocked the blade away with a sharp twisting motion that would have sheared a bulkhead. He pressed forward toward his unseen attacker and snarled and growled as he parried another joust and then retaliated with a precision strike that severed the jugular of his opponent. The pleasing sound of a gurgle came out of the holo-opponents throat and then as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.

 

Duroz had written this program back in his academy days, his first attempt at running it without the safeties had proven unwise. He was bested and injured almost losing his hand. But he did not fear the program, and had mastered it since. However current station protocols called for him to run the program with the safeties active... human's and there insesent fear of mortal danger.

 

A bright light flashed before him on the far wall, it pulsated giving light and taking it away in rapid succession. It gave glimpses of three more foes that were moving in quickly to surround the Klingon. He grinned a bit as he made himself small, recoiling in to a crouched protective position. As the first of the three approached he swept at the leg taking it clean off below the knee. The hologram vanished instantly... A clean kill.

 

The second attacker proved a bit more cunning, as Duroz swung low at him he parried and retaliated with a high strike that would have taken Duroz' head clean off had he not seen it coming at the last moment. After a slight exchange he pushed back and gathered his footing and rose to meet him at full size. He faked high as the hologram closed in on him, and then as it prepared to parry his high attack he went low yet again and dropped to his knees, swinging his Bat'leth around he took the opponent square at the waste... Another, clean attack.

 

 

The third opponent had been studying Duroz' technique... this one would take some time.

 

Duroz was growing curious with what the Lieutenant had been doing lately, so secretive, so sly. It belied his normally blunt and undetermined nature. He had noticed Caelan becoming more and more focused as of late, but on what he could not determine. He was working long hours, much longer than he'd ever seen the Lieutenant work. Yet when he had asked his colleague about them his response was always the same... "Nothing, just busy is all..."

 

A lie to be sure. But he knew the Lieutenant would never lie, aside from a redundant human attempt at humor. But this was no laughing matter, Fletcher was up to something, and keeping Duroz out of the loop.

 

His frustration at the lack of openness around Engineering was undoubtedly why he required this holoprogram so regularly now. Before he had used only once a week and sometimes once every other week. It was only to keep his skills sharp, and from time to time to vent his pent-up need for battle. As of late however, the program seemed to be a nightly ritual, one that had begun to leave Duroz feeling drained, but he could not stop. He had to get to the bottom of the secrets in Engineering.

 

The two blades met hard and his opponents hand slipped away... He used this oppurtunity to forcibly disarm him. He then head butted the large "Nausicaan" looking hologram sending him reeling in pain backward toward the wall. Duroz pursued but paused a moment to allow his enemy to lift his sword from the ground. Confident the enemy had regained his footing he attacked hard and the battle continued...

 

Duroz mind began to stray as he wondered once again as to what the Lieutenant was up to. That stray left his left flank open and his enemy took full advantage, swinging and connecting, if only barely, with Duroz left elbow. Had the safeties not been in place Duroz' arm would have undoubtedly been severed, but as it were the action was enough to snap him back in to the battle. His anger leapt out at the opponent, he was not angry with the program it was performing to specifications, he was angry with himself... That angered prompted a full assault of blows on the hologram, who could barely even block the first three let alone the remaining ten that followed in succession. It was not until the program dissappeared completely that Duroz quit swinging.

 

PROGRAM COMPLETE

Edited April 23, 2010 by Duroz