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Klingon Legends: The Forgotten Gods of Karklon Gamma
- Klingon Legends: The Forgotten Gods of Karklon Gamma -
The planet named, in the language of Federation Standard, as Karklon Gamma... was considered to be a forbidden world for any star ship to approach... it was at the outermost fringes of the neutral zone that was set up between the worlds of the Federation and those of the Klingon Empire. It was owned by the Klingon Empire, technically, and was protected by the Imperial Klingon Defense Forces since as far off and back into history as anyone could remember. It was, however, not marked on any star maps that did with a good degree of accuracy depict the immense boundaries of the Empire and the Beta Quadrant in which the vastest bulk of the Empire lay. Any star ships other than those of Klingon origin that were to approach Karklon Gamma were seen as breaking the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty and shot down in order to prevent their presence being seen as an act of war. The treaty had been enforced and adhered to ever since the year 2267, when the terms of it were first imposed. And ever since, no ship had gotten close to Karklon Gamma. It was, however, not for this reason that it was stricken from every map. Each and every record pertaining to that planet which was kept by the United Federation of Planets had been meticulously erased. And to the Klingon people, it was considered a sacred world, a holy planet, a place of pilgrimage and respect. But no one ever spoke of why. It was said that, on that planet, the people of that world kept to their own calendar and did not pay attention to the goings on of the universe beyond their planet's skies. Some considered it a backward civilization that existed on it, a throwback to ancient Klingon times... when the Empire knew turmoil, and the warlike traditions of the glory days of the past saw their greatest of tests. Upon that forbidden and secretive planet, a small transport freighter bound in haste from the Klingon home world of Kronos landed at the star port of Valkalis in the region known to the locals as the Red Valley. It was a calm day in the early autumn season, and the star port was not in a particularly busy state. It never was, since visitors were rare. The landing ramp emerged outward, from the side of the transport freighter, and the doors hissed open. Out of the vessel walked a slender figure clad in a black hooded cloak trimmed with blood red embroidery. Clearly a noble from a house of some renown. An equally slender saber hung from the figure's belt, a weapon very different from that favored by most Klingon warriors. An older weapon, from a bygone time. The guards at the landing pad seemed to recognize this individual, and they parted to allow this one to pass. The landing pad was guarded, for it was needful to make certain no one set foot on this planet who was not allowed to. The guards wore a kind of antiquated armor the likes of which was a throwback to less civilized times. They spoke in their own dialect of the Klingon language, and the cloaked individual did not fully understand them. But did understand enough of what they said to realize they were obedient to their orders, and paid the cloaked person every bit of respect that was due. This was not this person's first time on Karklon Gamma. But it always seemed like a fresh experience each time! This was nothing even so remotely, like unto Kronos.
His name was Khalin, and he was beardless and feminine in his appearance as he withdrew the hood from his face and head with a graceful gesture. No one mocked him for this, for diversity of every sort was well respected in the Klingon Empire, even on a planet with such ancient traditions. His head was shaved bald, the line of ridges that ran up his head and down the back of it were small and slight when compared to the more pronounced ridges of most Klingon men and women. But some had such ridges as his, and several of the noblest of the great royal houses that he could name were as such. There were many variations of ridge patterns, and this was one of them. His entire body was mostly feminine in its' shape. He had feminine hips, small breasts, and a rather rounded buttocks that many men looked at in an approving manner that told him some men considered him beautiful to their gaze. He was born with a condition that made him this way, and though he had fully functioning male genitalia he was for most intents and purposes like unto a woman in appearance. Even so... he identified as male, and was treated as a male to honor his wishes in this regard. But he liked his feminine appearance, and so cultivated it.
The black eye makeup Khalin wore, was a bit exotic looking by human standards... and his blood red lipstick made his lips look fuller than they actually were. He had a fairly small mouth, and he found this to do wonders for it. At least one of the guards winked at him as he passed by them and continued upon his way. He smiled, liking how that attention made him feel. He had a liking for men and women alike, and had lovers of both genders in his lifetime. He was not exactly young anymore, and needed as much confidence as he could get. He was forty nine years of age in human terms, one year from fifty, and felt at times as if his best days were behind him. He walked onward towards the city that was built up about the star port, with its' gleaming metal pyramids with flat tops... upon which were built immense palaces and dwellings for the city's governing individuals. Beneath and all around them were grand buildings of every sort with rough stone foundations and concrete walls decorated with elaborate murals and several sorts of mosaic designs. Some newer buildings had metal walls, but the oldest ones used antiquated sort of materials such as brick, concrete, and stone. This was the noble district, and so the most opulent. At least when compared to the other districts of the city, which were far less so. He had a look at the data pad he was carrying to review the details of his mission. Satisfied, he walked on towards the library on the far side of the city's central plaza. The plaza was easy to spot! It had in its' center a great pool filled with water artificially colored to look like blood. From it rose a statue of one of the ancient gods of the days when Klingon culture still had gods to revere, before the gods died... killed by their worshipers, if the legends were to be believed... and the people were left to their own devices. The form of the statue was feminine in appearance, the features of the deity recognizably Klingon... but, it had a pair of great, bat-like wings emerging from its' back and its' right hand was raised triumphantly, holding a globe that was probably meant to represent the planet itself. This was a guardian god, perhaps. Or an embodiment of some kind of the life force of the world. Like the human goddess Gaia was to the planet Earth. Or, as Earth was known to Khalin's people... Terra. There was a fight going on outside of a nearby tavern, but on closer inspection it was just two friends greeting each other a little too enthusiastically. Men were a bit of a mystery to Khalin, even though he identified as one. Though in Klingon society, women could be just as passionate and fierce. If not more so! And Khalin's passion and ferocity, when roused, were a tad bit legendary among those who knew him best. And some who did not know him at all. He walked up the steps of the great library's massive structure, and marveled at the columned facade that did loom above like some minor mountain. All the buildings of this city were massive like that, built to impress, to intimidate, and to be marveled at in just this way. The great doors of the library slid apart, as Khalin approached, and the young woman working at the library's main desk smiled and greeted the newcomer warmly. “Welcome to the Thalkor memorial library, stranger! I have seen you about town before, but I cannot say I have seen you here before. What brings you to the library today?” She was friendly, eager to please by the manner she put forth, and looked... whilst not pretty exactly... at least somewhat on the attractive side. She had light blonde hair, wavy and neatly combed, parted in the middle to show on full display her forehead ridges. Her eyes were dark and sparkling... her makeup natural and subdued... and her body had an athletic quality to it. She wore a long dark blue silk gown with forest green trim. It had long, puffy sleeves and a low cut front that showed off the woman's cleavage, quite nicely. She had on her feet a pair of sandals that clacked on the floor as she walked about, and by the look of her jewelry... mostly handmade... she gave a great deal of care to her appearance. But as attractive as she was, Khalin felt she was simply not his type so he decided not to turn on the charm with this one. Instead, he said in a businesslike tone of voice, his voice sounding mostly the same as it had when he was a teenager: “Ah yes! I am supposed to be meeting with someone named Saklara... I do not know what their last name is, but I do know that they happen to be a patron of this library, and that they always come by here between mostly the second hour after noon and the hour before the library closes. They do some deep research work here, from the information I have been given. And usually they work at a private table. Familiar?”
The woman put a finger to her lips, and seemed deep in thought. Then, she replied: “Yes! I think I do know the person you mean... a short girl, looks like a child if you ask me, never speaks a word. She just comes in here, goes to a private table on the third floor, and towards the back, and her name is Saklara. I met her parents once, her father was overly stern but her mother was pleasant enough. I thought, if at all, she was doing school-related work, not deep research. Strange for one so young! Does this help?” Khalin's grayish blue eyes regarded the woman approvingly, as he nodded his head saying: “It does! But I must agree... this seems strange for a girl so young as you make her out to be. Anyway... we shall see.” The receptionist found the stranger somewhat unnerving. Unlike the darker skinned peoples as native to this world, Khalin was pale with almost white skin, though with a faint yellowish tone to it. Sallow was the right word for it. And... she could not be certain whether the person was male or female, and having no desire to get their gender wrong, she simply said at the last: “Glad to be of help! Sir, or Madam. I do hope your business is successful.” To which Khalin proclaimed: “Success... and victory!”, which was as since the oldest of days a traditional Klingon parting phrase used in situations such as this. The woman said the phrase back, and clapped her palm to her chest above her left breast as she did so. Khalin then returned the gesture and set about looking for the stairs so he could reach the library's third floor. If the outside was opulent, the inside of the library was extravagant, and looked more like a palace filled with shelves of books than a library proper. Both physical books and electronic ones contained on data pads could be read and taken out here, and ancient looking scrolls and manuscripts lay behind glass cases. There were potted plants and a fountain, and even a small eating area. This place was, by the look of it, as much a social destination for people as a place of study, research, or reading. Khalin liked libraries... and oft frequented the one in his home city. But never before had he seen one the like of this! It was, as everything in this particular city, quite overwhelming. There were two sets of stairs leading up... one on the leftmost side of the library and one on the right. Choosing one at random, Khalin ascended up to the second floor. A second set of stairs on the second floor led to the third, and soon he was able to find the private areas in the back of the third floor. These were more like lounges... with soft couches and chairs of comfortable design. Very uncommon to Klingon culture, which was not known for such luxury. But then again, everything about this planet and this city was unusual. Almost contradictory in terms of all that is known about Klingon culture, society, and thinking. Anywhere else in the Empire, a statue of an ancient god or goddess would have been cast down and destroyed. But here, it was kept pristine. Khalin wondered if in ancient times the Klingon people of bygone eras indulged in such luxuries as were freely on display here. If so... it was likely to never have been mentioned in any history books or records from those times. The warrior culture of today would regard it as a sign of weakness. But Khalin had a bit of a heretical taste for such luxuries... though he never spoke of his love for such things openly. Except for in the company of humans, who always seemed to understand this side of him. Then again, he had a bit of a sneaking admiration for humans also, and always had to keep that just as quiet lest such admiration meet with disapproval from his family and peers. Reclining on the couch was a pretty little girl of about ten years of age who smiled broadly when he greeted her. She was just as pale as he was, and looked to be human in appearance although she wore her long straight black hair parted in the middle, as was the typical Klingon fashion. She had no ridges of any kind, and was clearly a victim of the Augment Virus which had rendered so many who suffered from it almost totally human in appearance. She had bright blue eyes, much lighter in color than Khalin's own eyes were, and a round face with full lips and rather sensuous features for one so young. She wore a pair of baggy black silk pantaloons tied with drawstring at the waist, and had a black sleeveless blouse of the same material tucked into it. A blood red sash was tied around her waist with a large bow behind her back, and on her feet she wore a pair of black slipper like dancer's shoes. The only jewelry she wore was a black beaded bracelet on her left wrist. The scent of her perfume was floral and pleasant. The girl was stocky of build, and looked very strong for her age.
As Khalin removed his cloak and placed it on a nearby empty table, he sat down on the chair opposite of the couch on which the little girl rather imperiously reclined. She noticed his sense of fashion style... and how similar to her own it was. Her eyes went wide when she saw this about this person. For he had on a pair of silk pantaloons pretty much identical in style to her own, but with a far more draped quality about the fabric. His were crimson in color, and about his waist was a gold sash belt emblazoned with the tribal markings of his house. Tucked into the pantaloons was a sleeveless gold blouse much darker in color than the sash belt was, so as not to clash with it at all. He had it buttoned up all the way to his neck, whereas hers was a little bit more low cut. Not that with her flat chest she had anything to show off... she just liked how breathable it felt with that particular cut. On his left wrist, was a beaded style bracelet which was blood red in color. As he leaned in close to speak with her, Khalin noticed that the girl wore a silver pendant around her neck shaped like a cube with a blood red ruby set into it. She was fidgeting a bit with the cube, indicating she was feeling slightly nervous. She said to him: “Would you prefer me to call you sir, or madam?” He replied: “Sir, if it pleases you. I assume your name would be Saklara. I was sent to meet with you. My name is Khalin, of the House of Hakor'kai. I represent one of several occult guilds on Kronos that has an interest in your research.” He removed his soft leather boots and relaxed in the chair after introducing himself. The girl said to him in a friendly tone: “Long trip, or long walk to the library? Or long walk through it! Sometimes I think everything in this city is too big.” Khalin laughed, in that loud and hearty way only a Klingon can. He then remarked: “All of the above! This planet is pretty much on the edge of nowhere. We had to stop at so many planets on the way, that I stopped keeping track of the names of them all at least eight planets past.” The girl then said cheerfully: “I like your pants. And your bracelet. I hope you do not take it as an insult... if I say they look pretty on you, good sir.” Khalin smiled, and said to the girl: “No, not at all! Beauty is not something that has to be restricted to women only, I believe.” The girl replied: “Just as strength does not belong to men alone. I won the girls' arm wrestling championship at my school just last month. But my mother had to pay off my final opponent's family because I accidentally broke my opponent's arm. I was not meaning to, but it happened. Sometimes, I do not know my own strength. Yes! My name is Saklara, and I am the one who sent for you. Or rather, for someone from an antiquities association. They actually tossed it over to one of the occult guilds? Shows how much respect they have for my work!” Khalin sighed, and said in an honest answer to her statement: “Would you believe I had to practically beg the guild master to send me and take this matter seriously? He was going to toss out the case entirely and treat it like a joke. But me, I said to him 'what if there is something to this after all?' and he agreed it was worth looking into as but a curiosity, at the very least. Me... I do not know what to think. This is, after all, in the realm of magic, and superstition... rather than science. I was happy to take on this mission though, since out of all of my colleagues I am probably the only one who would treat it respectfully.” The little girl then pulled out of data pad from under the couch and showed it to Khalin, who looked it over intently. It showed a map of some ancient ruins underneath the library, with a specific phrase written in one section of the map. That phrase was what caught Khalin's attention. He glanced at Saklara, smiling and showing his teeth in a bit of a grin as he said: “You do know what this purports to be, do you not?” She nodded in the affirmative and said: “I do! The burial place of a god. If its' body is still there, entombed, we could determine if it was killed by violence or died of natural causes. That would either prove or disprove the legends that claim the old gods were killed by their own followers.” If this case had reached the government, they would have disregarded it to the public but in private sent the military to destroy the burial site. So that the truth... whatever it was... might never be known for certain. This child was wise to send for a group that would at least handle this matter more delicately. Such were Khalin's thoughts as he handed back the data pad to the girl and asked: “How soon can we get going to see the site? I am anxious!” she said in an excited tone of voice: “I am too! Let us go at once.” She sprang up and extended her strong hand.
Khalin stood up and took it... the girl had a firm grip indeed. She took him by the hand, and indicated which direction they were headed in as they descended by many stairways to the library's basement and then into its' sub levels below the basement, the levels that descended deep under the building's deepest foundations. “I got permission to access the areas closed off normally to the public. It helps, that I have at least one relative to whom the head library director owed a debt of honor to.” the little girl said, in a tone that was almost arrogant to hear coming from someone her age. Her hand was warm... and Khalin thought if felt good to be holding it. He had not held a child's hand in a very long time, and it made his mind turn to simpler moments in years gone by. As the pair passed into the dark, subterranean caverns beneath the library's deepest areas, Saklara took a small flashlight from out of a pocket of her pants and shone it before her. It illuminated the area before them quite perfectly. Khalin was thankful to have had a hearty meal the day prior... since as time stretched onward and the tunnels, caves, caverns and natural passageways went on and on, he realized that he was swiftly losing track of time. “How deep does this go?” he asked his guide, and the little girl took out her data pad and showed it to him explaining: “Okay so this data pad is custom... I built it myself, using a tricorder as the base model for it. I can have it that the map displays lifeforms in the area, and these two dots you see on the map are us. The map shows us very clearly making progress towards the burial site. But the thing is... we don't appear to be making the slightest progress at all. My guess would be that something down here is warping our whole perception of time and the passage of time, so that we think we are wandering down here aimlessly... when clearly, the map shows we are getting closer to the place we seek. Like the map shows, the whole place is a bit of a maze of identical looking tunnels. Some of this is natural, but some was made by hand and all of it was designed to confuse and keep people from disturbing the burial site itself. Then again, when it was first laid out this way... they hadn't invented things like the tricorder yet. So they likely never expected anyone to be able to find their way through this labyrinth. Especially with whatever force field or what have you that is making it appear that our progress through this place is taking longer than it really is.” The girl was clearly a genius, and Khalin smiled and remarked: “You are brilliant, girl! Much smarter than other girls your age, I would wager.” She then giggled and stated none too humbly: “Smarter than many adults your age, I would wager!” And the winked at him as she said this. He was starting to like this girl, and was glad for her company in this strange and dark place. After some time walking on and on, Saklara took a look at her data pad again. Her eyes went wide, she pressed some buttons on it, and after a bit she screamed in surprise. Khalin asked in alarm: “What is wrong! Is everything alright with you?” To which she answered: “Oh, I am fine! I am fine... no need to worry for me. It is just that I am picking up a single life form, and it is coming from inside the burial chamber. As soon as I had the data pad check to see what the life form was... it found no match in any database. No match at all! That is... it is impossible, is what it is.” Khalin put his arm around her shoulder, and said to her in a manner that was meant to be reassuring: “Take it easy, sweet girl! Take it easy... it only means it is not a known sort of life form. Hardly impossible! Whatever it is, it simply is not something known to any database. We will be the first to discover it. Consider this an adventure, of sorts.” He then showed her his sword, and reminded her: “It is not as if we were going in unarmed. I also have a disrupting pistol holstered on the other side of my belt. A small one, but it packs quite the punch.” She saw that under the man's sash was a soft leather belt and from it hung the sword on one side and the holstered pistol on the other. He came prepared, if nothing else. Just as she had prepared ahead scientifically. The part of the sash belt Khalin wore was draped over his sword's sheath like a blanket over a baby. The little girl touched the weapon, and withdrew her hand. She looked up at the man, and smiled in a relieved sort of way as she said: “So, I am a sweet girl, am I! I need to try harder at being tough, then.” Khalin laughed a bit, and remarked in a kindly tone: “Worry not! I like tough girls even better than sweet ones.” Which made the girl to blush, fall silent, and say nothing further. The pair continued on their way, ever mindful of the possible danger.
Before long, the natural rock and earth of these caverns gave way to a marble series of chambers that held massive columns and curved archways. Vaults of some sort, of a crude and yet somehow also very elegant architectural design. Khalin had lost track of how may side tunnels they had passed, how many forks in the passageways... it was a joy to finally be out of the maze and into this more linear area. If the city above was monumental, these vaults below were enormous and monstrous in their massive size. It almost seemed as though giants had built this place for themselves, and the air here was muggy and hot. They were not deep enough below ground to require oxygen masks, but they were deep enough that the heat was uncomfortable and making them sweat profusely. “People always think caves are cool... but a lot of them are like this, hot and miserable places.” the girl stated, happy she wore a low cut blouse for this occasion. She rolled up her pant legs to her knees so her legs would not sweat as much, and Khalin did the same and unbuttoned his blouse so it was more comfortable as well. Whilst also making certain it was not too much, so that his breasts would not be exposed in any way. What was it a certain Vulcan he met once always talked about... infinite diversity in infinite combinations? His body was proof of it, of that philosophy. He wondered what shape or form the life form in this place had or might take. As the two explorers reached the burial site itself, they beheld a gigantic raised dais with countless steps all leading up it. It had the look of a great marble hill, and there was something atop it that they could not quite make out just yet. The marble of this place was not white or light marble but black and dark. Most unusual choice, that. And clearly, a deliberate one. Whatever was down here, it was meant to remain far from the sight of those who dwell above... perhaps it was meant to remain in darkness for all eternity. A feeling of dread came over Khalin, and he decided it was unseemly that he should feel such dread in the face of the unknown. “The source of the life form reading is there.” said the little girl, and she pointed to the top of the great dais. She rushed ahead, then started the climb the steps leading up it, when all at once Khalin rushed forward and stopped her as he exclaimed: “No! I will go first. In case the life form is a hostile one, I at least am armed. You wait here, and I will call for you if it is safe.” The girl gasped a bit and said in a somewhat frightened tone of voice: “Oh, oh course! Very well indeed... I do not know, at all, what I was thinking for a moment there. Yes, this will be much safer this way.” She was nervous, and began to fidget with her cube pendant again. Khalin ascended the steps until he reached the top of the dais. Upon the dais was a monstrously sized sarcophagus and on it was a likeness not dissimilar to that of the statue of the nameless god in the city above. Clearly, this was that very same god's lost tomb.
The air all around the sarcophagus was cold, and there was no rational reason why it should be so. All manner of possibilities suggested themselves... but the one that made the most sense was that this was a cryogenic stasis sarcophagus. Such sarcophagi would have been meant to contain a person who died but whose loved ones had wanted the body to be kept frozen in stasis until a cure for death could be found. All in the hope they could be brought back to life once again. Even in this century, death had no cure as of yet... and people still sometimes resorted to these sorts of means when it came to laying a loved one to rest. “Come on up, Saklara!” called Khalin, adding: “I think I found the source of the life form which your data pad has been picking up.” Once she got to the top of the dais, she stood next to Khalin and as soon as she arrived she began to scan the sarcophagus with her data pad. “But... these sorts of cryogenic stasis containers were only meant to freeze dead people. It is impossible that one could contain a living person. The process of freezing alone, would kill them!” exclaimed the little girl. Khalin thought about that for a moment and realized the truth in the child's words. He then asked: “Could it be, then, perhaps some sort of species that such cold temperatures would not harm even if they were frozen? I have heard of such variations of organic life before.” Saklara then adjusted her data pad and did several more scans before exclaiming: “It gets stranger! The life form reading keeps winking in and out, as if it was here in one moment and then not here the next. Like when a person is beamed out using a transporter system.”
Khalin touched the lid of the sarcophagus, and suddenly a booming female voice that sounded very authoritarian and strict exclaimed from some sort of recorded message system within the sarcophagus itself, in perfect modern Klingon speech: “You who approach the place of my repose! Know, that you are the first to come upon my resting place in countless centuries, in many thousands upon thousands of years beyond the count of your modern calendars. I reside in a place beyond this space, and am from a time before your time. If you do not wish to bring me forth into your time, leave this place, and do not return. Forget you ever laid your eyes upon it! But if you open the lid of this sarcophagus, know that I will be brought forth into your time once again. Into this space, from where I wait beyond. I was sealed in this way for a reason! Robbed of death, condemned to an eternal life of imprisonment for my crimes. Leave me to my fate, and do not bring me forth. I reside where I do for a reason. Let me be forgotten!” Saklara then proclaimed: “You shall not be forgotten, mother! I will bring you back to me. Whatever the cost to this world.” Then, suddenly, the child pushed the lid of the sarcophagus aside effortlessly... with an impossible degree of strength... and within the marble coffin was a shimmering wormhole of a portable and stable sort. The technology to create this was beyond Khalin's understanding, but he knew the current theories about it and that they were sound. Someone in ancient times clearly had the means to build a device capable to creating and containing this kind of wormhole, however... and now, it was exposed to the air of this present era. This was why the sarcophagus was so cold... the temperature of the wormhole was ridiculously cold, freezing in temperature. Khalin leapt back from it and averted his eyes from the shimmering blue glow of the luminous portal that was somehow bridging this space and time with another. The little girl activated several hidden buttons all along the sides of the sarcophagus, and suddenly a beam of light erupted from the wormhole, striking the ceiling high above. Out of that beam of light, stepped a tall woman wearing some kind of environmental suit. The suit was metallic, of a silvery material, and the helmet of the suit was tall and conical, with a mirror-like visor on the front of it through which nothing could be seen save one's own reflection. The woman was... at least... six feet in height, the tallest woman Khalin had ever been in the presence of. She emerged from that light, and did climb down from out of the sarcophagus, before removing her helmet. The woman herself looked just as human-like as Saklara and resembled an adult version of the little girl in every imaginable way. But for one chief difference! She had small, subtle ridges going up her forehead, and those were more akin to the style of ridges that Khalin himself had. Hers was not the face of the deity whose statue sat above in the city, and whose likeness was carved into the sarcophagus itself. But when she spoke, hers was indeed the exact same voice which had been in that message previously. She exclaimed, glaring at Khalin intently as she spoke: “Thank you, for not listening to that message I had been forced to record prior to my imprisonment on the world beyond that wormhole. This suit... it keeps me from ever aging, it was created with a great technology that no longer exists on this world today. It is also, unfortunately, linked to all of my body's functions... on down to the cellular level... and has become like a second skin since first I was forced to put it on. It replicates in liquid form pretty much everything my body needs to continue living, and as long as I wear it I do not need to eat, or drink, to stay alive. It recycles all of my bodily fluids, turns waste into water, and its' various internal mechanisms continue to provide me with the means to remain young forever. However, it needs to be replenished every century so that I will be able to continue to exist. On the other world, I was able to absorb the life energy of living beings, and it kept my suit powered all this time. But the pickings there were growing slim... soon I would have died. But you have rescued me! Allow me to repay you, by making you the first whose life force I shall thus absorb. You will die, so that I will continue to live. You will be the first victim of many... for it takes a great deal of life energy to fill my suit to capacity.” The woman then reached into the ancient coffin and pulled out from it a long staff-like device that she hooked up to a port in her suit by way of a long tube. She pressed a button on the staff, and it began to glow with a faint greenish light. “Now... all is ready!”
As soon as she said that, she lunged at Khalin with the staff, and he jumped back to avoid the strike. He reasoned that the staff was the means by which she killed others and absorbed their life energy. So, as long as he avoided being struck with it, he should be able to have time enough to draw his sword or his pistol and put a stop to this monstrous woman once and for all. He cried out to the little girl, saying: “I do not know how old you really are, child... but this woman, if she truly is your mother, is clearly an evil thing now, whatever she may have once been to you in the past. She means to kill me! And I doubt she will not seek you as her next victim once I am no more.” The little girl shrieked, and then ran to the side of Khalin, screaming at her mother saying: “Stop it, mother! This is not who you once were. Those people who sealed you away... they were corrupt, power hungry, and wrong. Do not be like them... but, please, try to remember what I once meant to you. And listen to me when I say please... do not hurt this man. Can you not take the life energy of animals instead of people?” The woman, who although adult in her body was of an indeterminable age otherwise, said coldly to her daughter: “They, claimed to be gods and goddesses... but they were tyrants. When we rose up against them, when we slew them in the great numbers in which we did, in the great battles in which they were slain by our blades... their wrath was terrible, and for those of us whom they captured, you know what our fates were. What yours was!” The little girl smiled, and bravely stated: “I know all too well! How could I ever forget? They punished us with immortality. When you slew she who should have laid within this tomb... her brother, banished you to that dark and terrible world beyond the sarcophagus' portal. And his peoples' scientists made sure I would never age, by altering my very genetic structure and mutating me until I was like them. Back in those days, I still had my ridges. But as I lived down through the ages since... even immortality could in truth not stop the ravages of the Augment Virus that made me exceedingly strong, but human looking. I must admit... they only were as kind to me as they were, because I was only a child of ten years at that time. Had I been an adult, I too would have ended up in a suit like yours and exiled to some hell world as punishment. But though I remain a child in body, I have long since eclipsed you, and all members of our ancient noble house, in terms of intellect and wisdom. Listen to me, mother! Stay your hand... and, we will find a way to free you from that suit. There has to be a way!” The woman then said to the child in a grim manner: “And then what? I would begin to age, and likely be dead within minutes! Free at the last... free only to die. And yes! I could feed on the life energy of animals... but I would need a lot more of them, than if I took Klingon lives instead. Would that not be cruel?” Khalin then exclaimed: “Hardly crueler than murder!” The woman then said in a truly sinister way: “Daughter... you, have lived longer than you should have ever had to. And grown powerful, I suspect! I think I will take your life energy at the first, and save this other person's for after. You shall be my main course, and I will have that one for my dessert. With both, I shall dine well! And drink both your blood, to begin to slake my unquenchable thirst... for vengeance against all who live. All who do not need to be bound into these accursed suits!” Khalin did not wait for the fiend to strike first... he pushed the little girl behind him and told her to get to the bottom of the dais and wait for him there. Then, he struck the terrible woman's lethal stuff with his saber, which he wielded with his right hand. With his left, he drew his pistol and fired it at her head, missing in the heat of the moment. She swung, attempting to strike, and once more Khalin leapt out of the way, feeling every bit his age as he tried to act with the catlike grace he once possessed in his more youthful years. From down below, the little girl listened to the clash above and realized she could not just stand by and wait for her mother to murder Khalin. She rushed up the steps and ran over to the old sarcophagus. She began to reactivate the wormhole, and soon the beam of light rose upwards from out of it. Whilst Khalin struggled to keep the terrible woman at bay, despite her expert attacks, Saklara saw her best chance and picked up the lid of the sarcophagus and swung it around... striking her mother with it, which sent her flying backward into the beam of light. The Augment Virus gave her strength without equal, superior strength beyond that of the mightiest Klingon Warrior. She used that now, to full effect.
Not everyone afflicted with the Augment Virus gained this great a level of physical strength, but many did... and all who suffered from it had enhanced strength to one degree or another. Along with enhanced intellect and enhanced ambition to go with it. This little girl was one of the luckiest ones of all. And she used all her enhanced strength to physically tear out the mechanisms that powered the machines that so lined the inside of the sarcophagus. It was unlikely her mother would have survived being struck with as hard of a blow as she had delivered unto her... and even less likely that she would be able to survive being thrown like she was after being struck. But there was no telling what enhancements the “gods” of old had given the woman, and her daughter was not about to take any chances. She knew exactly how it was this device was put together, how it operated, and how it could be dismantled forever. She kept on tearing out pieces and throwing them about the chamber as far as she could, until at last the beam was shut off and the wormhole disappeared as it winked out of existence entirely. Even if her mother had by some chance survived, she was now trapped on the other side of that wormhole... wherever it went... for all of time. Likely, she had a spare weapon on the other side, so now she had two of them... she would if she survived continue to hunt, to prey upon any life that remained there, until she ran out of things to hunt, to kill. In time, her suit would run out of power and she would die. In time, she would be at peace. The little girl told this to Khalin, who scrambled over to make sure the child was alright. Saklara was a bit exhausted and breathing heavily after exerting so much strength, but otherwise she was fine. “I want you to keep all of this out of your report to your guild, Khalin.” the child insisted, adding: “I will owe a great debt to you, if you see to this whole incident staying a secret. It was all my fault anyway, but even so... that device had to be destroyed. My mother, apparently in the end, was mad and had to be stopped. When I screamed before, when I detected my mother's life form reading... it was because... at first, I had hoped to find the wormhole fully deactivated, and perhaps even broken with age given how ancient that device was. Not because I was not expecting... what it was we found here. I wanted to tell you all about the whole story much sooner than this... but, you would never have believed me if I had. You had to see all of this for yourself, to know it was the truth. And now... you have seen everything.” Khalin stood as if in awe before this remarkable child, and knelt so he was more down on her level. He looked her deep in her eyes, and said to her softly: “I have seen everything indeed! The gods were cruel, and now I have a greater understanding of why they had to be killed by our ancestors. I do not blame your mother at all for what she became... that was done to her by the gods. As for you, I see your continued existence as a gift... you will get to see the next generations that come after ours, and the marvels that future eras shall see come to pass. But for at least one lifetime's span... mine... you will not be alone. I want to remain at your side, and stay with you until the day I draw my last breath.” The little girl asked him: “Why?” in a curious tone of voice, to which he answered: “All my life... I have mostly felt alone, even when I was in the arms of lovers and loved ones. I have always had an old soul, but no one who truly understood what that means. Then, I meet you and see in you a truly old soul indeed... one that could understand me, if I was so truly blessed that you had the mind and the desire to. You said you would owe me a great debt if I kept your secret! I promise on my honor and my blood to keep it... all I ask in return, is that you let me stay with you, and that in time perhaps we might become something much deeper than just friends are.” The girl said with a smile: “Friends, then? Is that what we have become...” To which Khalin so replied: “Yes! I feel that is so. But as I said... I most desperately wish for something more, something deeper if possible. Something...” and suddenly the little girl rushed forward and kissed him passionately upon the lips with all the fire and romantic intention of a grown woman. Their tongues entwined, and when she withdrew from the kiss she arched an eyebrow and asked playfully: “Something like this?” to which he nodded enthusiastically whilst smiling. The little girl with the soul of a grown woman then said in that sort of mischievous tone certain children can have when they tease someone: “Well, it is a good thing I happen to like older men, mister Khalin! And an even better thing that I find you very attractive to me.”
After that, Khalin took his sword and cut a light slash across his palm in order to swear a blood oath of loyalty and a lifetime of love and devotion to the immortal Saklara. She swore a similar oath to him, and the two did a personal binding ritual that was every bit as binding as marriage but not as formal. It did not need for them to join their houses, but was enough that they two would be joined for all of time. Age differences of this sort were never frowned upon in Klingon society... especially given just how old if one was to be accurate about it that Saklara truly was. In many ways, she was the elder partner in this particular relationship. And she had lofty ambitions yet to be realized! Khalin's house was known to be a well respected one, a venerable one, and a powerful one. Whilst Saklara's ancient house had waned in power down through the ages, until today no one even remembered it at all. This... was a chance to be a part of a noble family once again, to live like royalty once again... instead of with a foster family that in most respects was simply plain ordinary folk. How many foster families has she gone through? And just as many times... she had to move to distant lands on her home planet when the secret of her immortality was about to be revealed. She often pretended to suffer from one of those medical conditions of the sort that makes a person look like a child even though they are an adult... but even that device could be able to work for only so long before people took notice that she was not aging at all in any capacity. But now it would be different! She would not be alone... she planned to use the same elixir she had been given to bestow upon Khalin the gift of immortality that the gods had once bestowed upon her. She did not even with all her superior intellect know the science behind how the elixir worked. She only knew that it did, and that it worked quickly. She always kept the extra vial, just in case she ever met the right one to give it to. Now, her heart told her it was time... time to give it to Khalin. The couple made plans to depart for Kronos on the very next passenger freighter heading in that direction, and the first night they spent as a couple together following emerging from the ancient burial site beneath the library... that, was when the little eternal child decided to present her beloved partner with the elixir. She told him exactly all that it did, how it worked as far as she understood it, and what it basically was. All in as scientific terms as so was possible to convey. He was delighted at the prospect of sharing an eternal life with this delightful... and beautiful... little girl. Neither of them would ever have to be alone again... nor, would she ever have to mourn his passing! Not like she had so many others before him who were not worthy of the elixir she carried but who even so touched her heart. She had not been a virgin in a very long time, but this was in all her seemingly endless years of life the first time she had met a man she loved so completely. And, it was the first time she had ever met a man who loved her even more completely than she loved him! If that was even possible at all, in this case... for she loved Khalin immensely. He took the elixir from her hand eagerly and drank it down quickly. Over the next week, it would begin to do its' work and change him... halting him from aging any further, filling him with the genetic material of the ancient dead gods themselves and bonding it with his own genetic material until the two were as one. His body took to it well, and there were no side effects unlike when she had taken it back when it was given to her. It was good to see he did not suffer temporary madness or heightened aggression. She still struggled with the aggression part at times and suspected it would remain with her always. Their first night of passion was a wild one, and she left marks of love upon Khalin's flesh that he would cherish always. It is known that the Klingon race is a passionate and fierce one... in love just as in battle. With all the heart, and zealous fire, of true warriors of the Empire... a certain immortal couple would begin to move through the outer shadows of history together, and they would live to see many great and magnificent events unfold. They would outlive all the noble houses of the present era, and go on to have grand adventures exploring all manner of fabulous planets and encountering strange alien races that no Klingon eyes had ever beheld before. Space was vast, and perhaps even limitless... and they too, were equally without limits. Khalin and his beloved Saklara would have perhaps become legends of sorts, had anyone discovered the truth behind their immortal existence. But no one ever did learn of it... and so, they remained in the shadows.
The planet named, in the language of Federation Standard, as Karklon Gamma... was considered to be a forbidden world for any star ship to approach... it was at the outermost fringes of the neutral zone that was set up between the worlds of the Federation and those of the Klingon Empire. It was owned by the Klingon Empire, technically, and was protected by the Imperial Klingon Defense Forces since as far off and back into history as anyone could remember. It was, however, not marked on any star maps that did with a good degree of accuracy depict the immense boundaries of the Empire and the Beta Quadrant in which the vastest bulk of the Empire lay. Any star ships other than those of Klingon origin that were to approach Karklon Gamma were seen as breaking the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty and shot down in order to prevent their presence being seen as an act of war. The treaty had been enforced and adhered to ever since the year 2267, when the terms of it were first imposed. And ever since, no ship had gotten close to Karklon Gamma. It was, however, not for this reason that it was stricken from every map. Each and every record pertaining to that planet which was kept by the United Federation of Planets had been meticulously erased. And to the Klingon people, it was considered a sacred world, a holy planet, a place of pilgrimage and respect. But no one ever spoke of why. It was said that, on that planet, the people of that world kept to their own calendar and did not pay attention to the goings on of the universe beyond their planet's skies. Some considered it a backward civilization that existed on it, a throwback to ancient Klingon times... when the Empire knew turmoil, and the warlike traditions of the glory days of the past saw their greatest of tests. Upon that forbidden and secretive planet, a small transport freighter bound in haste from the Klingon home world of Kronos landed at the star port of Valkalis in the region known to the locals as the Red Valley. It was a calm day in the early autumn season, and the star port was not in a particularly busy state. It never was, since visitors were rare. The landing ramp emerged outward, from the side of the transport freighter, and the doors hissed open. Out of the vessel walked a slender figure clad in a black hooded cloak trimmed with blood red embroidery. Clearly a noble from a house of some renown. An equally slender saber hung from the figure's belt, a weapon very different from that favored by most Klingon warriors. An older weapon, from a bygone time. The guards at the landing pad seemed to recognize this individual, and they parted to allow this one to pass. The landing pad was guarded, for it was needful to make certain no one set foot on this planet who was not allowed to. The guards wore a kind of antiquated armor the likes of which was a throwback to less civilized times. They spoke in their own dialect of the Klingon language, and the cloaked individual did not fully understand them. But did understand enough of what they said to realize they were obedient to their orders, and paid the cloaked person every bit of respect that was due. This was not this person's first time on Karklon Gamma. But it always seemed like a fresh experience each time! This was nothing even so remotely, like unto Kronos.
His name was Khalin, and he was beardless and feminine in his appearance as he withdrew the hood from his face and head with a graceful gesture. No one mocked him for this, for diversity of every sort was well respected in the Klingon Empire, even on a planet with such ancient traditions. His head was shaved bald, the line of ridges that ran up his head and down the back of it were small and slight when compared to the more pronounced ridges of most Klingon men and women. But some had such ridges as his, and several of the noblest of the great royal houses that he could name were as such. There were many variations of ridge patterns, and this was one of them. His entire body was mostly feminine in its' shape. He had feminine hips, small breasts, and a rather rounded buttocks that many men looked at in an approving manner that told him some men considered him beautiful to their gaze. He was born with a condition that made him this way, and though he had fully functioning male genitalia he was for most intents and purposes like unto a woman in appearance. Even so... he identified as male, and was treated as a male to honor his wishes in this regard. But he liked his feminine appearance, and so cultivated it.
The black eye makeup Khalin wore, was a bit exotic looking by human standards... and his blood red lipstick made his lips look fuller than they actually were. He had a fairly small mouth, and he found this to do wonders for it. At least one of the guards winked at him as he passed by them and continued upon his way. He smiled, liking how that attention made him feel. He had a liking for men and women alike, and had lovers of both genders in his lifetime. He was not exactly young anymore, and needed as much confidence as he could get. He was forty nine years of age in human terms, one year from fifty, and felt at times as if his best days were behind him. He walked onward towards the city that was built up about the star port, with its' gleaming metal pyramids with flat tops... upon which were built immense palaces and dwellings for the city's governing individuals. Beneath and all around them were grand buildings of every sort with rough stone foundations and concrete walls decorated with elaborate murals and several sorts of mosaic designs. Some newer buildings had metal walls, but the oldest ones used antiquated sort of materials such as brick, concrete, and stone. This was the noble district, and so the most opulent. At least when compared to the other districts of the city, which were far less so. He had a look at the data pad he was carrying to review the details of his mission. Satisfied, he walked on towards the library on the far side of the city's central plaza. The plaza was easy to spot! It had in its' center a great pool filled with water artificially colored to look like blood. From it rose a statue of one of the ancient gods of the days when Klingon culture still had gods to revere, before the gods died... killed by their worshipers, if the legends were to be believed... and the people were left to their own devices. The form of the statue was feminine in appearance, the features of the deity recognizably Klingon... but, it had a pair of great, bat-like wings emerging from its' back and its' right hand was raised triumphantly, holding a globe that was probably meant to represent the planet itself. This was a guardian god, perhaps. Or an embodiment of some kind of the life force of the world. Like the human goddess Gaia was to the planet Earth. Or, as Earth was known to Khalin's people... Terra. There was a fight going on outside of a nearby tavern, but on closer inspection it was just two friends greeting each other a little too enthusiastically. Men were a bit of a mystery to Khalin, even though he identified as one. Though in Klingon society, women could be just as passionate and fierce. If not more so! And Khalin's passion and ferocity, when roused, were a tad bit legendary among those who knew him best. And some who did not know him at all. He walked up the steps of the great library's massive structure, and marveled at the columned facade that did loom above like some minor mountain. All the buildings of this city were massive like that, built to impress, to intimidate, and to be marveled at in just this way. The great doors of the library slid apart, as Khalin approached, and the young woman working at the library's main desk smiled and greeted the newcomer warmly. “Welcome to the Thalkor memorial library, stranger! I have seen you about town before, but I cannot say I have seen you here before. What brings you to the library today?” She was friendly, eager to please by the manner she put forth, and looked... whilst not pretty exactly... at least somewhat on the attractive side. She had light blonde hair, wavy and neatly combed, parted in the middle to show on full display her forehead ridges. Her eyes were dark and sparkling... her makeup natural and subdued... and her body had an athletic quality to it. She wore a long dark blue silk gown with forest green trim. It had long, puffy sleeves and a low cut front that showed off the woman's cleavage, quite nicely. She had on her feet a pair of sandals that clacked on the floor as she walked about, and by the look of her jewelry... mostly handmade... she gave a great deal of care to her appearance. But as attractive as she was, Khalin felt she was simply not his type so he decided not to turn on the charm with this one. Instead, he said in a businesslike tone of voice, his voice sounding mostly the same as it had when he was a teenager: “Ah yes! I am supposed to be meeting with someone named Saklara... I do not know what their last name is, but I do know that they happen to be a patron of this library, and that they always come by here between mostly the second hour after noon and the hour before the library closes. They do some deep research work here, from the information I have been given. And usually they work at a private table. Familiar?”
The woman put a finger to her lips, and seemed deep in thought. Then, she replied: “Yes! I think I do know the person you mean... a short girl, looks like a child if you ask me, never speaks a word. She just comes in here, goes to a private table on the third floor, and towards the back, and her name is Saklara. I met her parents once, her father was overly stern but her mother was pleasant enough. I thought, if at all, she was doing school-related work, not deep research. Strange for one so young! Does this help?” Khalin's grayish blue eyes regarded the woman approvingly, as he nodded his head saying: “It does! But I must agree... this seems strange for a girl so young as you make her out to be. Anyway... we shall see.” The receptionist found the stranger somewhat unnerving. Unlike the darker skinned peoples as native to this world, Khalin was pale with almost white skin, though with a faint yellowish tone to it. Sallow was the right word for it. And... she could not be certain whether the person was male or female, and having no desire to get their gender wrong, she simply said at the last: “Glad to be of help! Sir, or Madam. I do hope your business is successful.” To which Khalin proclaimed: “Success... and victory!”, which was as since the oldest of days a traditional Klingon parting phrase used in situations such as this. The woman said the phrase back, and clapped her palm to her chest above her left breast as she did so. Khalin then returned the gesture and set about looking for the stairs so he could reach the library's third floor. If the outside was opulent, the inside of the library was extravagant, and looked more like a palace filled with shelves of books than a library proper. Both physical books and electronic ones contained on data pads could be read and taken out here, and ancient looking scrolls and manuscripts lay behind glass cases. There were potted plants and a fountain, and even a small eating area. This place was, by the look of it, as much a social destination for people as a place of study, research, or reading. Khalin liked libraries... and oft frequented the one in his home city. But never before had he seen one the like of this! It was, as everything in this particular city, quite overwhelming. There were two sets of stairs leading up... one on the leftmost side of the library and one on the right. Choosing one at random, Khalin ascended up to the second floor. A second set of stairs on the second floor led to the third, and soon he was able to find the private areas in the back of the third floor. These were more like lounges... with soft couches and chairs of comfortable design. Very uncommon to Klingon culture, which was not known for such luxury. But then again, everything about this planet and this city was unusual. Almost contradictory in terms of all that is known about Klingon culture, society, and thinking. Anywhere else in the Empire, a statue of an ancient god or goddess would have been cast down and destroyed. But here, it was kept pristine. Khalin wondered if in ancient times the Klingon people of bygone eras indulged in such luxuries as were freely on display here. If so... it was likely to never have been mentioned in any history books or records from those times. The warrior culture of today would regard it as a sign of weakness. But Khalin had a bit of a heretical taste for such luxuries... though he never spoke of his love for such things openly. Except for in the company of humans, who always seemed to understand this side of him. Then again, he had a bit of a sneaking admiration for humans also, and always had to keep that just as quiet lest such admiration meet with disapproval from his family and peers. Reclining on the couch was a pretty little girl of about ten years of age who smiled broadly when he greeted her. She was just as pale as he was, and looked to be human in appearance although she wore her long straight black hair parted in the middle, as was the typical Klingon fashion. She had no ridges of any kind, and was clearly a victim of the Augment Virus which had rendered so many who suffered from it almost totally human in appearance. She had bright blue eyes, much lighter in color than Khalin's own eyes were, and a round face with full lips and rather sensuous features for one so young. She wore a pair of baggy black silk pantaloons tied with drawstring at the waist, and had a black sleeveless blouse of the same material tucked into it. A blood red sash was tied around her waist with a large bow behind her back, and on her feet she wore a pair of black slipper like dancer's shoes. The only jewelry she wore was a black beaded bracelet on her left wrist. The scent of her perfume was floral and pleasant. The girl was stocky of build, and looked very strong for her age.
As Khalin removed his cloak and placed it on a nearby empty table, he sat down on the chair opposite of the couch on which the little girl rather imperiously reclined. She noticed his sense of fashion style... and how similar to her own it was. Her eyes went wide when she saw this about this person. For he had on a pair of silk pantaloons pretty much identical in style to her own, but with a far more draped quality about the fabric. His were crimson in color, and about his waist was a gold sash belt emblazoned with the tribal markings of his house. Tucked into the pantaloons was a sleeveless gold blouse much darker in color than the sash belt was, so as not to clash with it at all. He had it buttoned up all the way to his neck, whereas hers was a little bit more low cut. Not that with her flat chest she had anything to show off... she just liked how breathable it felt with that particular cut. On his left wrist, was a beaded style bracelet which was blood red in color. As he leaned in close to speak with her, Khalin noticed that the girl wore a silver pendant around her neck shaped like a cube with a blood red ruby set into it. She was fidgeting a bit with the cube, indicating she was feeling slightly nervous. She said to him: “Would you prefer me to call you sir, or madam?” He replied: “Sir, if it pleases you. I assume your name would be Saklara. I was sent to meet with you. My name is Khalin, of the House of Hakor'kai. I represent one of several occult guilds on Kronos that has an interest in your research.” He removed his soft leather boots and relaxed in the chair after introducing himself. The girl said to him in a friendly tone: “Long trip, or long walk to the library? Or long walk through it! Sometimes I think everything in this city is too big.” Khalin laughed, in that loud and hearty way only a Klingon can. He then remarked: “All of the above! This planet is pretty much on the edge of nowhere. We had to stop at so many planets on the way, that I stopped keeping track of the names of them all at least eight planets past.” The girl then said cheerfully: “I like your pants. And your bracelet. I hope you do not take it as an insult... if I say they look pretty on you, good sir.” Khalin smiled, and said to the girl: “No, not at all! Beauty is not something that has to be restricted to women only, I believe.” The girl replied: “Just as strength does not belong to men alone. I won the girls' arm wrestling championship at my school just last month. But my mother had to pay off my final opponent's family because I accidentally broke my opponent's arm. I was not meaning to, but it happened. Sometimes, I do not know my own strength. Yes! My name is Saklara, and I am the one who sent for you. Or rather, for someone from an antiquities association. They actually tossed it over to one of the occult guilds? Shows how much respect they have for my work!” Khalin sighed, and said in an honest answer to her statement: “Would you believe I had to practically beg the guild master to send me and take this matter seriously? He was going to toss out the case entirely and treat it like a joke. But me, I said to him 'what if there is something to this after all?' and he agreed it was worth looking into as but a curiosity, at the very least. Me... I do not know what to think. This is, after all, in the realm of magic, and superstition... rather than science. I was happy to take on this mission though, since out of all of my colleagues I am probably the only one who would treat it respectfully.” The little girl then pulled out of data pad from under the couch and showed it to Khalin, who looked it over intently. It showed a map of some ancient ruins underneath the library, with a specific phrase written in one section of the map. That phrase was what caught Khalin's attention. He glanced at Saklara, smiling and showing his teeth in a bit of a grin as he said: “You do know what this purports to be, do you not?” She nodded in the affirmative and said: “I do! The burial place of a god. If its' body is still there, entombed, we could determine if it was killed by violence or died of natural causes. That would either prove or disprove the legends that claim the old gods were killed by their own followers.” If this case had reached the government, they would have disregarded it to the public but in private sent the military to destroy the burial site. So that the truth... whatever it was... might never be known for certain. This child was wise to send for a group that would at least handle this matter more delicately. Such were Khalin's thoughts as he handed back the data pad to the girl and asked: “How soon can we get going to see the site? I am anxious!” she said in an excited tone of voice: “I am too! Let us go at once.” She sprang up and extended her strong hand.
Khalin stood up and took it... the girl had a firm grip indeed. She took him by the hand, and indicated which direction they were headed in as they descended by many stairways to the library's basement and then into its' sub levels below the basement, the levels that descended deep under the building's deepest foundations. “I got permission to access the areas closed off normally to the public. It helps, that I have at least one relative to whom the head library director owed a debt of honor to.” the little girl said, in a tone that was almost arrogant to hear coming from someone her age. Her hand was warm... and Khalin thought if felt good to be holding it. He had not held a child's hand in a very long time, and it made his mind turn to simpler moments in years gone by. As the pair passed into the dark, subterranean caverns beneath the library's deepest areas, Saklara took a small flashlight from out of a pocket of her pants and shone it before her. It illuminated the area before them quite perfectly. Khalin was thankful to have had a hearty meal the day prior... since as time stretched onward and the tunnels, caves, caverns and natural passageways went on and on, he realized that he was swiftly losing track of time. “How deep does this go?” he asked his guide, and the little girl took out her data pad and showed it to him explaining: “Okay so this data pad is custom... I built it myself, using a tricorder as the base model for it. I can have it that the map displays lifeforms in the area, and these two dots you see on the map are us. The map shows us very clearly making progress towards the burial site. But the thing is... we don't appear to be making the slightest progress at all. My guess would be that something down here is warping our whole perception of time and the passage of time, so that we think we are wandering down here aimlessly... when clearly, the map shows we are getting closer to the place we seek. Like the map shows, the whole place is a bit of a maze of identical looking tunnels. Some of this is natural, but some was made by hand and all of it was designed to confuse and keep people from disturbing the burial site itself. Then again, when it was first laid out this way... they hadn't invented things like the tricorder yet. So they likely never expected anyone to be able to find their way through this labyrinth. Especially with whatever force field or what have you that is making it appear that our progress through this place is taking longer than it really is.” The girl was clearly a genius, and Khalin smiled and remarked: “You are brilliant, girl! Much smarter than other girls your age, I would wager.” She then giggled and stated none too humbly: “Smarter than many adults your age, I would wager!” And the winked at him as she said this. He was starting to like this girl, and was glad for her company in this strange and dark place. After some time walking on and on, Saklara took a look at her data pad again. Her eyes went wide, she pressed some buttons on it, and after a bit she screamed in surprise. Khalin asked in alarm: “What is wrong! Is everything alright with you?” To which she answered: “Oh, I am fine! I am fine... no need to worry for me. It is just that I am picking up a single life form, and it is coming from inside the burial chamber. As soon as I had the data pad check to see what the life form was... it found no match in any database. No match at all! That is... it is impossible, is what it is.” Khalin put his arm around her shoulder, and said to her in a manner that was meant to be reassuring: “Take it easy, sweet girl! Take it easy... it only means it is not a known sort of life form. Hardly impossible! Whatever it is, it simply is not something known to any database. We will be the first to discover it. Consider this an adventure, of sorts.” He then showed her his sword, and reminded her: “It is not as if we were going in unarmed. I also have a disrupting pistol holstered on the other side of my belt. A small one, but it packs quite the punch.” She saw that under the man's sash was a soft leather belt and from it hung the sword on one side and the holstered pistol on the other. He came prepared, if nothing else. Just as she had prepared ahead scientifically. The part of the sash belt Khalin wore was draped over his sword's sheath like a blanket over a baby. The little girl touched the weapon, and withdrew her hand. She looked up at the man, and smiled in a relieved sort of way as she said: “So, I am a sweet girl, am I! I need to try harder at being tough, then.” Khalin laughed a bit, and remarked in a kindly tone: “Worry not! I like tough girls even better than sweet ones.” Which made the girl to blush, fall silent, and say nothing further. The pair continued on their way, ever mindful of the possible danger.
Before long, the natural rock and earth of these caverns gave way to a marble series of chambers that held massive columns and curved archways. Vaults of some sort, of a crude and yet somehow also very elegant architectural design. Khalin had lost track of how may side tunnels they had passed, how many forks in the passageways... it was a joy to finally be out of the maze and into this more linear area. If the city above was monumental, these vaults below were enormous and monstrous in their massive size. It almost seemed as though giants had built this place for themselves, and the air here was muggy and hot. They were not deep enough below ground to require oxygen masks, but they were deep enough that the heat was uncomfortable and making them sweat profusely. “People always think caves are cool... but a lot of them are like this, hot and miserable places.” the girl stated, happy she wore a low cut blouse for this occasion. She rolled up her pant legs to her knees so her legs would not sweat as much, and Khalin did the same and unbuttoned his blouse so it was more comfortable as well. Whilst also making certain it was not too much, so that his breasts would not be exposed in any way. What was it a certain Vulcan he met once always talked about... infinite diversity in infinite combinations? His body was proof of it, of that philosophy. He wondered what shape or form the life form in this place had or might take. As the two explorers reached the burial site itself, they beheld a gigantic raised dais with countless steps all leading up it. It had the look of a great marble hill, and there was something atop it that they could not quite make out just yet. The marble of this place was not white or light marble but black and dark. Most unusual choice, that. And clearly, a deliberate one. Whatever was down here, it was meant to remain far from the sight of those who dwell above... perhaps it was meant to remain in darkness for all eternity. A feeling of dread came over Khalin, and he decided it was unseemly that he should feel such dread in the face of the unknown. “The source of the life form reading is there.” said the little girl, and she pointed to the top of the great dais. She rushed ahead, then started the climb the steps leading up it, when all at once Khalin rushed forward and stopped her as he exclaimed: “No! I will go first. In case the life form is a hostile one, I at least am armed. You wait here, and I will call for you if it is safe.” The girl gasped a bit and said in a somewhat frightened tone of voice: “Oh, oh course! Very well indeed... I do not know, at all, what I was thinking for a moment there. Yes, this will be much safer this way.” She was nervous, and began to fidget with her cube pendant again. Khalin ascended the steps until he reached the top of the dais. Upon the dais was a monstrously sized sarcophagus and on it was a likeness not dissimilar to that of the statue of the nameless god in the city above. Clearly, this was that very same god's lost tomb.
The air all around the sarcophagus was cold, and there was no rational reason why it should be so. All manner of possibilities suggested themselves... but the one that made the most sense was that this was a cryogenic stasis sarcophagus. Such sarcophagi would have been meant to contain a person who died but whose loved ones had wanted the body to be kept frozen in stasis until a cure for death could be found. All in the hope they could be brought back to life once again. Even in this century, death had no cure as of yet... and people still sometimes resorted to these sorts of means when it came to laying a loved one to rest. “Come on up, Saklara!” called Khalin, adding: “I think I found the source of the life form which your data pad has been picking up.” Once she got to the top of the dais, she stood next to Khalin and as soon as she arrived she began to scan the sarcophagus with her data pad. “But... these sorts of cryogenic stasis containers were only meant to freeze dead people. It is impossible that one could contain a living person. The process of freezing alone, would kill them!” exclaimed the little girl. Khalin thought about that for a moment and realized the truth in the child's words. He then asked: “Could it be, then, perhaps some sort of species that such cold temperatures would not harm even if they were frozen? I have heard of such variations of organic life before.” Saklara then adjusted her data pad and did several more scans before exclaiming: “It gets stranger! The life form reading keeps winking in and out, as if it was here in one moment and then not here the next. Like when a person is beamed out using a transporter system.”
Khalin touched the lid of the sarcophagus, and suddenly a booming female voice that sounded very authoritarian and strict exclaimed from some sort of recorded message system within the sarcophagus itself, in perfect modern Klingon speech: “You who approach the place of my repose! Know, that you are the first to come upon my resting place in countless centuries, in many thousands upon thousands of years beyond the count of your modern calendars. I reside in a place beyond this space, and am from a time before your time. If you do not wish to bring me forth into your time, leave this place, and do not return. Forget you ever laid your eyes upon it! But if you open the lid of this sarcophagus, know that I will be brought forth into your time once again. Into this space, from where I wait beyond. I was sealed in this way for a reason! Robbed of death, condemned to an eternal life of imprisonment for my crimes. Leave me to my fate, and do not bring me forth. I reside where I do for a reason. Let me be forgotten!” Saklara then proclaimed: “You shall not be forgotten, mother! I will bring you back to me. Whatever the cost to this world.” Then, suddenly, the child pushed the lid of the sarcophagus aside effortlessly... with an impossible degree of strength... and within the marble coffin was a shimmering wormhole of a portable and stable sort. The technology to create this was beyond Khalin's understanding, but he knew the current theories about it and that they were sound. Someone in ancient times clearly had the means to build a device capable to creating and containing this kind of wormhole, however... and now, it was exposed to the air of this present era. This was why the sarcophagus was so cold... the temperature of the wormhole was ridiculously cold, freezing in temperature. Khalin leapt back from it and averted his eyes from the shimmering blue glow of the luminous portal that was somehow bridging this space and time with another. The little girl activated several hidden buttons all along the sides of the sarcophagus, and suddenly a beam of light erupted from the wormhole, striking the ceiling high above. Out of that beam of light, stepped a tall woman wearing some kind of environmental suit. The suit was metallic, of a silvery material, and the helmet of the suit was tall and conical, with a mirror-like visor on the front of it through which nothing could be seen save one's own reflection. The woman was... at least... six feet in height, the tallest woman Khalin had ever been in the presence of. She emerged from that light, and did climb down from out of the sarcophagus, before removing her helmet. The woman herself looked just as human-like as Saklara and resembled an adult version of the little girl in every imaginable way. But for one chief difference! She had small, subtle ridges going up her forehead, and those were more akin to the style of ridges that Khalin himself had. Hers was not the face of the deity whose statue sat above in the city, and whose likeness was carved into the sarcophagus itself. But when she spoke, hers was indeed the exact same voice which had been in that message previously. She exclaimed, glaring at Khalin intently as she spoke: “Thank you, for not listening to that message I had been forced to record prior to my imprisonment on the world beyond that wormhole. This suit... it keeps me from ever aging, it was created with a great technology that no longer exists on this world today. It is also, unfortunately, linked to all of my body's functions... on down to the cellular level... and has become like a second skin since first I was forced to put it on. It replicates in liquid form pretty much everything my body needs to continue living, and as long as I wear it I do not need to eat, or drink, to stay alive. It recycles all of my bodily fluids, turns waste into water, and its' various internal mechanisms continue to provide me with the means to remain young forever. However, it needs to be replenished every century so that I will be able to continue to exist. On the other world, I was able to absorb the life energy of living beings, and it kept my suit powered all this time. But the pickings there were growing slim... soon I would have died. But you have rescued me! Allow me to repay you, by making you the first whose life force I shall thus absorb. You will die, so that I will continue to live. You will be the first victim of many... for it takes a great deal of life energy to fill my suit to capacity.” The woman then reached into the ancient coffin and pulled out from it a long staff-like device that she hooked up to a port in her suit by way of a long tube. She pressed a button on the staff, and it began to glow with a faint greenish light. “Now... all is ready!”
As soon as she said that, she lunged at Khalin with the staff, and he jumped back to avoid the strike. He reasoned that the staff was the means by which she killed others and absorbed their life energy. So, as long as he avoided being struck with it, he should be able to have time enough to draw his sword or his pistol and put a stop to this monstrous woman once and for all. He cried out to the little girl, saying: “I do not know how old you really are, child... but this woman, if she truly is your mother, is clearly an evil thing now, whatever she may have once been to you in the past. She means to kill me! And I doubt she will not seek you as her next victim once I am no more.” The little girl shrieked, and then ran to the side of Khalin, screaming at her mother saying: “Stop it, mother! This is not who you once were. Those people who sealed you away... they were corrupt, power hungry, and wrong. Do not be like them... but, please, try to remember what I once meant to you. And listen to me when I say please... do not hurt this man. Can you not take the life energy of animals instead of people?” The woman, who although adult in her body was of an indeterminable age otherwise, said coldly to her daughter: “They, claimed to be gods and goddesses... but they were tyrants. When we rose up against them, when we slew them in the great numbers in which we did, in the great battles in which they were slain by our blades... their wrath was terrible, and for those of us whom they captured, you know what our fates were. What yours was!” The little girl smiled, and bravely stated: “I know all too well! How could I ever forget? They punished us with immortality. When you slew she who should have laid within this tomb... her brother, banished you to that dark and terrible world beyond the sarcophagus' portal. And his peoples' scientists made sure I would never age, by altering my very genetic structure and mutating me until I was like them. Back in those days, I still had my ridges. But as I lived down through the ages since... even immortality could in truth not stop the ravages of the Augment Virus that made me exceedingly strong, but human looking. I must admit... they only were as kind to me as they were, because I was only a child of ten years at that time. Had I been an adult, I too would have ended up in a suit like yours and exiled to some hell world as punishment. But though I remain a child in body, I have long since eclipsed you, and all members of our ancient noble house, in terms of intellect and wisdom. Listen to me, mother! Stay your hand... and, we will find a way to free you from that suit. There has to be a way!” The woman then said to the child in a grim manner: “And then what? I would begin to age, and likely be dead within minutes! Free at the last... free only to die. And yes! I could feed on the life energy of animals... but I would need a lot more of them, than if I took Klingon lives instead. Would that not be cruel?” Khalin then exclaimed: “Hardly crueler than murder!” The woman then said in a truly sinister way: “Daughter... you, have lived longer than you should have ever had to. And grown powerful, I suspect! I think I will take your life energy at the first, and save this other person's for after. You shall be my main course, and I will have that one for my dessert. With both, I shall dine well! And drink both your blood, to begin to slake my unquenchable thirst... for vengeance against all who live. All who do not need to be bound into these accursed suits!” Khalin did not wait for the fiend to strike first... he pushed the little girl behind him and told her to get to the bottom of the dais and wait for him there. Then, he struck the terrible woman's lethal stuff with his saber, which he wielded with his right hand. With his left, he drew his pistol and fired it at her head, missing in the heat of the moment. She swung, attempting to strike, and once more Khalin leapt out of the way, feeling every bit his age as he tried to act with the catlike grace he once possessed in his more youthful years. From down below, the little girl listened to the clash above and realized she could not just stand by and wait for her mother to murder Khalin. She rushed up the steps and ran over to the old sarcophagus. She began to reactivate the wormhole, and soon the beam of light rose upwards from out of it. Whilst Khalin struggled to keep the terrible woman at bay, despite her expert attacks, Saklara saw her best chance and picked up the lid of the sarcophagus and swung it around... striking her mother with it, which sent her flying backward into the beam of light. The Augment Virus gave her strength without equal, superior strength beyond that of the mightiest Klingon Warrior. She used that now, to full effect.
Not everyone afflicted with the Augment Virus gained this great a level of physical strength, but many did... and all who suffered from it had enhanced strength to one degree or another. Along with enhanced intellect and enhanced ambition to go with it. This little girl was one of the luckiest ones of all. And she used all her enhanced strength to physically tear out the mechanisms that powered the machines that so lined the inside of the sarcophagus. It was unlikely her mother would have survived being struck with as hard of a blow as she had delivered unto her... and even less likely that she would be able to survive being thrown like she was after being struck. But there was no telling what enhancements the “gods” of old had given the woman, and her daughter was not about to take any chances. She knew exactly how it was this device was put together, how it operated, and how it could be dismantled forever. She kept on tearing out pieces and throwing them about the chamber as far as she could, until at last the beam was shut off and the wormhole disappeared as it winked out of existence entirely. Even if her mother had by some chance survived, she was now trapped on the other side of that wormhole... wherever it went... for all of time. Likely, she had a spare weapon on the other side, so now she had two of them... she would if she survived continue to hunt, to prey upon any life that remained there, until she ran out of things to hunt, to kill. In time, her suit would run out of power and she would die. In time, she would be at peace. The little girl told this to Khalin, who scrambled over to make sure the child was alright. Saklara was a bit exhausted and breathing heavily after exerting so much strength, but otherwise she was fine. “I want you to keep all of this out of your report to your guild, Khalin.” the child insisted, adding: “I will owe a great debt to you, if you see to this whole incident staying a secret. It was all my fault anyway, but even so... that device had to be destroyed. My mother, apparently in the end, was mad and had to be stopped. When I screamed before, when I detected my mother's life form reading... it was because... at first, I had hoped to find the wormhole fully deactivated, and perhaps even broken with age given how ancient that device was. Not because I was not expecting... what it was we found here. I wanted to tell you all about the whole story much sooner than this... but, you would never have believed me if I had. You had to see all of this for yourself, to know it was the truth. And now... you have seen everything.” Khalin stood as if in awe before this remarkable child, and knelt so he was more down on her level. He looked her deep in her eyes, and said to her softly: “I have seen everything indeed! The gods were cruel, and now I have a greater understanding of why they had to be killed by our ancestors. I do not blame your mother at all for what she became... that was done to her by the gods. As for you, I see your continued existence as a gift... you will get to see the next generations that come after ours, and the marvels that future eras shall see come to pass. But for at least one lifetime's span... mine... you will not be alone. I want to remain at your side, and stay with you until the day I draw my last breath.” The little girl asked him: “Why?” in a curious tone of voice, to which he answered: “All my life... I have mostly felt alone, even when I was in the arms of lovers and loved ones. I have always had an old soul, but no one who truly understood what that means. Then, I meet you and see in you a truly old soul indeed... one that could understand me, if I was so truly blessed that you had the mind and the desire to. You said you would owe me a great debt if I kept your secret! I promise on my honor and my blood to keep it... all I ask in return, is that you let me stay with you, and that in time perhaps we might become something much deeper than just friends are.” The girl said with a smile: “Friends, then? Is that what we have become...” To which Khalin so replied: “Yes! I feel that is so. But as I said... I most desperately wish for something more, something deeper if possible. Something...” and suddenly the little girl rushed forward and kissed him passionately upon the lips with all the fire and romantic intention of a grown woman. Their tongues entwined, and when she withdrew from the kiss she arched an eyebrow and asked playfully: “Something like this?” to which he nodded enthusiastically whilst smiling. The little girl with the soul of a grown woman then said in that sort of mischievous tone certain children can have when they tease someone: “Well, it is a good thing I happen to like older men, mister Khalin! And an even better thing that I find you very attractive to me.”
After that, Khalin took his sword and cut a light slash across his palm in order to swear a blood oath of loyalty and a lifetime of love and devotion to the immortal Saklara. She swore a similar oath to him, and the two did a personal binding ritual that was every bit as binding as marriage but not as formal. It did not need for them to join their houses, but was enough that they two would be joined for all of time. Age differences of this sort were never frowned upon in Klingon society... especially given just how old if one was to be accurate about it that Saklara truly was. In many ways, she was the elder partner in this particular relationship. And she had lofty ambitions yet to be realized! Khalin's house was known to be a well respected one, a venerable one, and a powerful one. Whilst Saklara's ancient house had waned in power down through the ages, until today no one even remembered it at all. This... was a chance to be a part of a noble family once again, to live like royalty once again... instead of with a foster family that in most respects was simply plain ordinary folk. How many foster families has she gone through? And just as many times... she had to move to distant lands on her home planet when the secret of her immortality was about to be revealed. She often pretended to suffer from one of those medical conditions of the sort that makes a person look like a child even though they are an adult... but even that device could be able to work for only so long before people took notice that she was not aging at all in any capacity. But now it would be different! She would not be alone... she planned to use the same elixir she had been given to bestow upon Khalin the gift of immortality that the gods had once bestowed upon her. She did not even with all her superior intellect know the science behind how the elixir worked. She only knew that it did, and that it worked quickly. She always kept the extra vial, just in case she ever met the right one to give it to. Now, her heart told her it was time... time to give it to Khalin. The couple made plans to depart for Kronos on the very next passenger freighter heading in that direction, and the first night they spent as a couple together following emerging from the ancient burial site beneath the library... that, was when the little eternal child decided to present her beloved partner with the elixir. She told him exactly all that it did, how it worked as far as she understood it, and what it basically was. All in as scientific terms as so was possible to convey. He was delighted at the prospect of sharing an eternal life with this delightful... and beautiful... little girl. Neither of them would ever have to be alone again... nor, would she ever have to mourn his passing! Not like she had so many others before him who were not worthy of the elixir she carried but who even so touched her heart. She had not been a virgin in a very long time, but this was in all her seemingly endless years of life the first time she had met a man she loved so completely. And, it was the first time she had ever met a man who loved her even more completely than she loved him! If that was even possible at all, in this case... for she loved Khalin immensely. He took the elixir from her hand eagerly and drank it down quickly. Over the next week, it would begin to do its' work and change him... halting him from aging any further, filling him with the genetic material of the ancient dead gods themselves and bonding it with his own genetic material until the two were as one. His body took to it well, and there were no side effects unlike when she had taken it back when it was given to her. It was good to see he did not suffer temporary madness or heightened aggression. She still struggled with the aggression part at times and suspected it would remain with her always. Their first night of passion was a wild one, and she left marks of love upon Khalin's flesh that he would cherish always. It is known that the Klingon race is a passionate and fierce one... in love just as in battle. With all the heart, and zealous fire, of true warriors of the Empire... a certain immortal couple would begin to move through the outer shadows of history together, and they would live to see many great and magnificent events unfold. They would outlive all the noble houses of the present era, and go on to have grand adventures exploring all manner of fabulous planets and encountering strange alien races that no Klingon eyes had ever beheld before. Space was vast, and perhaps even limitless... and they too, were equally without limits. Khalin and his beloved Saklara would have perhaps become legends of sorts, had anyone discovered the truth behind their immortal existence. But no one ever did learn of it... and so, they remained in the shadows.
Published 28th Jan 2024
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27th Feb 2024 1:38am
Oh wow, cool! I wasn't expecting something Star Trek among your writings, and this is great stuff babe, super great stuff for sure. Klingons are awesome, so this is like doubly cool. I'm gonna add this one to my reading list, cuz I wanna go over it some more later but I loved what I read reading it through the first time around tonight, so I totally had to let ya know I enjoyed it. You're one heck of a great writer, my lovey dove! I doubt there's any subject you can't do well when you put your mind to it. Kisses and hugs for ya! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
27th Feb 2024 2:13am
The Klingons are my favorite alien race in all of Star Trek, I've always said if I was a Star Trek character I would be a Klingon, which is why I found it so easy to write about them in this particular story. For sure, feel free to add it to your favorites at your convenience and read it any time you like! I try my best with my writings, my pretty magical princess... and I am pleased to see that you enjoy them so much. I don't think there is a genre I have not delved into yet, but I like to experiment a lot, so you never know what I'll be posting next. Just have to stay tuned to find out! Kisses and hugs for you as well, my beloved. xoxoxoxoxo
