For Honor (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 29 Mar 2017 @ 8:16pm by Ensign Miraj Derani & General ('aj) Ko'raH House of G'Iogh

2,311 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 14 - Statecraft
Location: IKS DuJa'Q - Main Hanger Bay
Timeline: MD 10, 2252 hrs

Previously, on For Honor (Part 1)...

Miraj gasped. She had accused Kor'aH of using the Starfleet crew as a cover when he'd had taken her clothes. Now she had proof. "I'm flying a Trojan Horse!" she realised. "He's here?" And she wasn't sure she wanted to encounter the old Klingon again.

"Not on this vessel...he shadows us in his own warship where our sensors cannot detect him. But I know of his presence and his plans. And many others. We are all loyal to the general. The TRUE general...not Starfleet's feeble Orion 'diplomat'."

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

So he was hiding behind their skirts, rather than the Romulan's. Using their movements to disguise his own. Not as stupid as she had originally thought? Then again, here was his henchman telling her everything. Chorag had even stroked his Goatee of Evil. She had to fight with every fibre not to burst out laughing again. "So he's going to sweep down on the council whilst Lirah's trying to convince them not to hunt him down like a rabid dog? Surely no ship could get that close?"

He shook his head and frowned at her. She didn't seem to be well-versed in the art of covert warfare, he judged. "He does not need to get close to Qo'noS. He has made 'alternate' plans. And if you value your life, you would be wise to join me and swear your allegiance to our cause. Only then can I protect you."

Miraj examined the Klingon. She burned with curiosity to know what those alternate plans were. She also wondered if she didn't agree to join him, if she'd get out of the hangar bay alive. "You seem very confident." She pretended to think about it. She needed more time to think. What would Bloodbeard do? Or any of his crew? "But I did call the general an honourless moron to his face. What makes you so sure he'll be happy with you for rescuing me. What guarantees do I have that he won't just have me killed or worse anyway?"

"Ha!" he barked, then paused to look around to make sure they were still alone and his outburst hadn't been too loud. "It takes more than mere words to insult the general. With your talents, I'm sure he will find you useful. The general wouldn't kill anyone he deems useful." Until their usefulness had expired, of course.

Might as well find out How much trouble she was in. "And if I say no?"

The enthusiasm and confidence in his dark eyes suddenly turned cold and deadly. He started into Miraj's irises with the most penetrating of looks while his free hand subtly reach down and clasped the hilt of his d'k tahg. "If you refuse my offer and betray the general's plans...I will kill you."

Miraj gulped and her own eyes fell to the handle of the knife and the hand on it. It was as bad as she thought. The look in his eye was just as worrying. Totally cold, ready to slit her throat without concern. "Then I guess," her vice shook a little, "That we have an accord."

Chorag let out a grunt of satisfaction while his hand moved away from the knife attached to his belt. "A wise decision," he replied. "You will be doing honorable work for our cause, and for the independence of Kreanus," he then praised. "I cannot reveal all of my plans to you, but in time, you could become one of my most trusted allies. For now, however...we must maintain the illusion of cooperation with the rest of the Starfleet crew."

Stepping back to pull a data pad from his leg holster, he punched in a short series of commands on the screen then passed the device over to Derani for her to look over. "This is my assignment for you."

She took the padd. Read the words written there. Her eyes grew large. She had expected something dubious. But this? This was insane. "How are you expecting me to do that?"

It was simple, really. At least, so Chorag projected in his calculations. "You are the vessel's helm officer, a trusted member of the bridge crew," he stated matter-of-factly. "One of my men from the previous shift will leave a d'k tahg in a concealed compartment beneath your console. When the time is right...you will retrieve it, but keep it hidden. Then you will get close to her, perhaps ask her to review your navigational data or approach her with a private request. Then you will plunge it into her abdomen just below the sternum with an upward motion, then twist," he detailed, showing her with his own hand motion and thrust into the empty air.

The Klingon first officer then shook his head to dismiss any concerns she might have. "It will be easy for you to gain her favor. She trusts you, and...I see the way she looks at you. She desires you. She will come at your request whenever you beckon."

The reminder of Lirha's interest put spots of pink on her cheeks, despite the dark subject matter. She wondered if this was his revenge for Lirha giving him a dressing down when he had called Miraj a harlot for scrambling in her nightclothes. It had a certain justice, from a twisted point of view. "In, up, twist," she murmured, miming the action with her free hand.

Chorag watched her practice motion and quickly shook his head. It was too weak to achieve the required deep-tissue penetration, especially once the knife was buried into the inner chest cavity and encountered bodily resistance. "Harder. With more force!" The Klingon repeated his motion, this time showing her with a more precise and accelerated air-thrust of his own. "You must strike her beneath her sash and where her bare skin is. She flaunts her body and it will now be her demise," he grinned.

She was right in the shit now she realised. But when you lose an engine, you still have to keep flying, you might get to glide. If you stop you definitely crash. "When? The moment we enter? Once we're past the listening post? Do you have a signal?"

"You must wait for my command," he continued to explain. "I will be on the bridge with you and I will give the call to action. When I give my command, you will execute your assignment while I eliminate the Trill called Ban. The rest of my men will be waiting outside of the doors and will enter the command chamber. Together, we will strike swiftly before the crew can respond and take control of the vessel."

He continued to look at her, but this time when he spoke, his voice softened a noticeable degree. "I understand this might be difficult for you. You are young and a Human hybrid. It was hard for me the first time I killed in the name of my family's honor..." He took one of her hands in his, balled her fingers into a fist, then pressed it to her breast atop her heart. "You must be strong and never forget your allegiance to Kreanus. Your 'Starfleet' crew members do not know what it means to fight for their own world. They have never experienced the hardships we have. But I see...in your eyes, that you are different. You were not raised in their perfect world, were you?"

It was a full scale mutiny and she was now smack in the middle. She was neck deep and sinking. And if Chorag doubted her she would never get a chance to warn them. She had to make him believe she was with him. So she lied. "When your mother is responsible for bloody slaughter, people keep expecting you to be no better."

"Yes, I have read your Starfleet record. Your mother was involved in mass piracy, a capital offense," he said. Chorag shook his head lightly in disgust. "Her actions have dishonored your family and left you with the burden. A selfish act. But now...you have the chance to redeem yourself -- to serve for a true cause and restore your name throughout the quadrant." He paused to think for a moment and stroke his long goatee. "From now on, your name will be Miraj'ah. Your are one of us now, and that will be my signal to you on the bridge."

Miraj'ah? Shiver her timbers she was stuffed. Stuffed and served. "I'll be ready." What else could she say? Just make him believe, she told herself. "The green cow has touched me for the last time."

He scoffed at the colloquial name she'd just given the fake general. "Orions have no place in this world except to seduce and exploit the naive. Klingons once conquered their pitiful worlds but found the benefits of their retention outweighed the costs. Tell me, what is it the Starfleet crew sees in her? Why do they follow her command when she is not one of them?"

Because she's caring and loyal and smart, moron. "Orders I guess. Probably slept her way to those fancy pips."

"You are wise to reject her. If Starfleet had any sense, they would bring the Orion colonies under their control and conquer them. Not let them roam the galaxy like the savages that they are." He shook his head in disgust that such an influential political power as the Federation was so weak and 'accommodating'. "But that is beside the point," he added after realizing he'd started ranting. "I have given you your orders and you will obey them. You will not speak of this to anyone, understood?"

"Yes, sir." She couldn't help it, her eyes fell to the knife again. She knew what the alternative would be. She just had to think how to get out of this enormous pickle. "Not a word."

"Good." Chorag felt satisfied but then reached behind his back to his belt where a concealed piece of unfamiliar Klingon technology lay hidden. He pulled the sub-dermal implantor free and grabbed Derani by the arm. "Lift your sleeve. I must implant you with this device." It was a crude version of the tracking technology that Medara had used on the Federation crew, and it was his means of keeping track of his operatives.

Shit. Wretched bastard. "What is it?" She could guess, and it was going to really screw her over, if it was what she thought. She didn't want to upset him though, so began to roll up her sleeve anyway.

He took her arm firmly in his hand; he could feel the soft flesh of her youth beneath his fingers. He pushed her sleeve up further, to the shoulder, then with his other hand, pressed the device into her upper-arm. A soft hiss sounded when the injector deployed and sent a small microchip painfully through her muscle tissue and firmly against the humerus.

"It is a tracking device to monitor your movements and communications," he explained. "We acquired this technology from the Romulans on Kreanus and have developed our own version. Anything you say or do will be recorded. It is to prevent treason."

Arse. Arse Bugger Hump . That Klingon was a rutting lump of knob cheese and no mistake. She had to warn Lirha, or Commander Ban. Or anyone. How could she do that now? She pulled her sore arm from the Klingons' grasp. She was going to be covered in bruises from him digging his fingers into her shoulder and arm. Was there even a word for gentle in Klingon? Even if there was he probably didn't know it. "No honor amongst mutineers then?"

"Not until I can verify the integrity of my officers..." his voice trailed off. "But you have no reason for concern," he suddenly reassured, hoping he hadn't spooked her. "This is to protect you from those who are dishonorable. I monitor these frequencies every hour and if I discover one of my people betraying us..."

She didn't need that spelt out. She swallowed. She didn't believe for a moment that this was to protect her from his other conspirators. The other way round maybe. "So now I just wait? Its not far until the neutral zone. Tomorrow night most likely."

"Yes," he answered with a simple nod. "According to your captain, we will enter the Neutral Zone shortly in approximately twenty-four hours. I will be on the bridge as the ranking executive officer. When I inform her of our approach to the border, she will summon all of you. Then you will arrive and we will complete our objective, and restore Kreanus to its proper place."

Miraj wasn't counting on that ever happening. "Then I guess I'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day." And I have to figure out how to warn the admiral without speaking or doing anything to arouse your suspicions.

Chorag agreed and gave his consent for her to depart. "Yes, you must prepare yourself. You cannot be weak of the mind. Tomorrow, when we approach the border, I will call upon you to serve for Kreanus, and you will fulfill your duty and restore our honor." He put his fist to his breastplate and waited for her to depart to oversee her final body language and demeanor.

She nodded to him, and turned, heading straight for the hanger doors with purpose. But whilst she kept her head high and her back straight, her heart was hammering and her mind was churning. How could she save them all?

[OFF]

--

Ensign Miraj Derani
Chief Flight Control Officer
IKS DuJa'Q

Commander Chorag
Executive Officer
IKS DuJa'Q

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