Arynetrek, my reasoning behind the cross-species relationship comment takes into account the society as a whole, rather than just Starfleet, stations, etc. I am assuming that it is more common for a human to marry another human, a Klingon to marry a Klingon, etc. rather than someone of another species, especially while living on their respective homeworlds. If you feel that this reasoning is flawed, I apologize, and I hope you'll pardon the comment.
Finch, I know the chapters are short. When I broke the story into chapters, I chose to keep the chapters short rather than quite long. I may post multiple chapters when they are very short.
Ch. 4: Elrond's council
The days were filled with great learning,
but they quickly grew long. Elrond's council brought a break from the boredom.
Worf was surprised when he was asked to attend. He was not a native
of the planet, nor a dignitary, and most of the people of the planet seemed
wary of him. He dressed in native clothing, a gift of the Elves, but
carried his bat'leth in its sling on his back. Some of what was said
he had heard already, but the pieces finally began to come together.
As he sat and listened, he reflected on the people present. There were
representatives of each of the free peoples of Middle Earth. The Dwarves
seemed none too happy to be in the realm of the Elves. Some ancient
feud divided the two races. The Dwarves were small, but strong, easily
capable of holding their own in a fight. The Elves were elegant, immortal,
but sad. Their kind was passing out of Middle Earth. Soon their
time would come to an end. It was as Gandalf said—the hope of Middle
Earth now rested on Men. Several human warriors were present at the
council. Noble and tall, they took great pride in their defense of
the land against the evil of Mordor. They held up the blood of their
slain as a badge of honor, for their land was near to Mordor, and the first
to be attacked.
Elrond called for the ring, and
Frodo placed it on a pedestal in the center of the room. One of the
humans, Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, stood and spoke.
He wanted to use the ring as a weapon against Mordor. He was proud,
and thought himself capable of wielding the ring and using it to defend Gondor.
Aragorn spoke and told him it could not be used, but the Man would not listen
to the heir to Gondor's throne. Gondor had long been without a king,
and the son of its steward wanted no king. Worf watched the confrontation
silently, not sure of what to think. The ring was evil—of that there
was no doubt. Only one without honor would try to use something so evil
for good. It would corrupt the good done with it. Boromir knew
who it was who spoke, but he would not honor his king—a king who had never
even attempted to take his throne. The man backed down when Elrond stepped
in, insisting that the ring must be destroyed. The Dwarf Gimli leapt
to his feet and struck it with his axe, but rather than harming the ring,
the axe was destroyed, breaking into thousands of pieces. Worf's impression
was that no weapon, not even the Sword of Kah'less (or a disruptor, for that
matter), would harm this evil thing.
When the fellowship began to
form, Worf held back, not wanting to interfere. He smiled to himself
when Sam burst out of his hiding place, followed by the other hobbits, and
at Elrond's mock anger. Worf had been aware of them the whole time,
and he was sure the Elf lord had known they were there, too. Gandalf
stood by Frodo, and Aragorn knelt before him and offered his sword.
Standing, Aragorn glanced at Worf and saw his desire to join them with a
comprehension usually reserved to telepaths. The Man motioned him
forward with a tilt of his head. Worf stood, walked over to Frodo,
and then dropped to one knee, laying his bat'leth before the small figure.
"I defended you once, and I will not turn aside now. You have my bat'leth
and my word of honor that I will do what I may to help you on your quest."
Frodo, more than a little overwhelmed, just nodded.
They were joined by the Elf Legolas,
the Dwarf Gimli, and the Man Boromir. Worf had to wonder at Boromir's
motives. As he came forward, he said that Gondor would see the task
done, but there was something that made Worf nervous—hidden behind his eyes
was a desire for the ring that would only become greater with time spent
near it. The human was strong, but Worf wondered if he was strong enough
to resist this temptation. Awkward, too, would be the interaction with
Aragorn—would he accept the man as his king, or turn away completely?
There were so many questions, but Worf's musings were soon interrupted.
Elrond spoke, "The Company of
the Ring shall be Ten; and the Ten walkers shall be set against the Nine
Riders that are evil." ¹ With that, the Fellowship of the Ring was formed.
Aragorn's ancestral sword was re-forged. Narsil, the blade that was
broken when Isildur defeated Sauron ages before, was remade into Andúril,
and carried by Isildur's heir. Other preparations were also made.
Worf was introduced to horse riding. It was new to him, but he learned
quickly. Some of the elves tried to teach him to use a bow and arrows,
and he could manage, but he still preferred the bat'leth. He found that
the weapon was well suited to fighting on horseback, but even that was of
only moderate consolation as he realized the task ahead of them. It
would take a miracle to succeed. More likely, the attempt would be
a certain death. At least it would be an honorable one. The thought
was almost comforting. Worf was ready to pass into Sto-Vo-Kor and finally
rest, but he would not take a coward's way out; the task set before them
gave him a reason to continue, even if it was hopeless. At least it
was an opportunity to live (or die) with honor.
¹ p. 330 The Fellowship of the Ring, with "Nine" changed to "Ten"