Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit. Stardates were calculated with the help of the TNG Stardate Calculator available on TrekGuide .com and may be slightly out of sync with those used in the game's lore.

Part I: Survivor

Pirates

NFV Grumbak, Earth Stardate 70196

Privateer Captain Majorog's Report to Gorn Hegemony:

We slip past regular Klingon patrols by cutting through Federation space. Federation long-range science cruiser shadow us for three days, but they do not fight. They have no guramba! They still seek "diplomatic solution" to our war with Klingons. Heh! Meanwhile, we slip in behind Klingons and engage targets of opportunity…for good of Gorn Hegemony, of course!

"Report!" roared Captain Majorog, striding through the blast doors that separated the bridge from the rest of the Nausicaan destroyer Grumbak. The general-quarters alarm wailed in the background, but the big Nausicaan had not felt his ship buckle under fire on his way here. Obviously the battle had yet to begin, and that pleased him. His tusks flexed in an alien smile. "Where is Federation dog that has been tailing us?"

"They have fallen back, Captain," his second-in-command, Rokek, explained, waving his fist dismissively at their Federation foe. "We pass into Klingon space half hour ago, and they do not pursue."

"Of course they don't," Majorog said, and barked a laugh. "I told you, humans have no guramba!"

The crew guffawed. The Cochrane-class science vessel that had been tailing the Grumbak for the past three days was nearly three times its size and—unlike the Intrepid-class its design was based on—the Cochrane-class ships were armed and armored in proportion to their size. Majorog's Scourge-class destroyer would have been completely outmatched, but the Federation captain had hesitated like a coward, unwilling to create a diplomatic incident by firing on a Nausicaan ship and risking his government's supposed neutrality—even when he'd caught Grumbak taking a short-cut through Federation space on a clear mission of piracy. It had been a bold move, but it had paid off handsomely, and now they were in Klingon space undetected by their enemy.

At least, so the Nausicaan Captain assumed. "Any sign of Klingon ships?"

"None, sir," said Rokek.

Majorog ground his tusks together. "Then which of you idiots sound general-quarters?!"

"I do, sir!" said Rokek, standing up. His tusks parted in a vicious smile. "I think you like to see what we have found!" He gestured to the small square viewscreen at the front of the bridge.

There a green hulled ship hung against the warp-blurred starfield. Majorog could make out the oblong bulge of a cargo section, just forward of the ship's oval-shaped engines. "Orion corvette," he breathed. Just months ago the green-skins had allied themselves with the Klingons and started causing trouble for his Gorn backers. The chance to get back at some of them…

"Better than corvette," said Rokek, interrupting his thoughts. "It has been converted as personnel transport. It moves civilians to new Orion homeworld in Klingon space. It is slow, barely armed, and on direct course for Ter'jas Mor."

Majorog smiled himself. "Excellent." Klingon patrols could always be cloaked, but they had better things to do with their time than patrol the border of a neutral ally like the Federation, and even if they were out there the Grumbak would be more than a match for a single B'rel-class bird-of-prey. Meanwhile, the prospect of civilian passengers was exciting. "They make excellent slaves," he said to his men. "But we have no room or supplies for slaves, so we will enjoy killing them all!" He pointed a taloned finger at the ship on the viewscreen. "Lock weapons on ship! Disable its engines!" He breathed deeply, listening to the bustle as his men carried out the order, savoring the moment of the kill. Then he shouted, "Fire!"

Author's Note: Here's the first chapter of the long-promised "Becoming Klingon" story. It's finally done and I'll start posting it up here as I have time. I hope you enjoy! The story is broken up into three parts.

According to the lore of Star Trek Online's backstory, as laid out in The Path to 2409, Nausicaans acted as mercenaries and privateers for the Klingon Empire, and for the Gorn Hegemony before them. During the period when this part of the story takes place (2394) they were definitely allied with the Gorn, who were still at war with the Klingon Empire. As for their depiction, I strayed away from the sympathetic and relatable depiction of ENT: "Fortunate Son" in favor of the classic Nausicaan bad guys from TNG and DS9, complete with poor grammar. The while no in-universe explanation has been given, its possible that since the 22nd Century the Nausicaans underwent cultural as well as military decline as they became less of a threat and less civilized than their forebears (similar but different to the decline experienced by the Orions over the same period).

"NFV" is the registry used by Nausicaan vessels in Star Trek Online. According to the STO wiki it stands for "Nausicaan Free Vessel." Majorog is a Nausicaan character who appears in the game in the mission "Duties of Command." Guramba is a word vaguely meaning guts, courage, etc.

The Cochrane-class is the beefiest and boxiest of STO's Federation Long Range Science Vessel's based on the Intrepid-class (most famously represented by the starship Voyager), and is said in the lore to be even tougher and more self-sufficient than the Intrepid-class. Coming in at 336 meters long, its roughly three times the size of the 175 meter Nausicaan Scourge-class (according to the size charts available on the STO wiki). Nevertheless, as Majorog remarks, the Federation was studiously maintaining its neutrality during the Gorn-Klingon War.

The Orions, meanwhile had just recently allied with the Klingons, becoming their vassals in 2394 after being granted a new homeworld within Klingon Space on Ter'jas Mor. An Orion corvette is a small NPC vessel in STO, 200 meters long according to the size chart. In combat they're rated as tier 1 enemies, while Scourge-class destroyers are solidly Tier 2. With this ship having been further converted as a personnel transport, it would stand even less of a chance than normal.