A large group of people had gathered in the main hangar-bay of the USS Excelsior, impatiently awaiting the first shuttle and for it to land. As it touched down, medical personnel rushed forward and hardly had time to wait for the airlock to open before they made their way inside. Soon enough, secured to a stretcher hovering on an anti-gravity field, they brought out commander Gars.

The chief medical officer, lieutenant commander Eckenwald, personally oversaw the transport of the commander from shuttle to sickbay. "You're going to be fine, Nathalie" Eckenwald said as he checked her vitals on a datapad. "You're in a state of chock, besides that you're fine. We'll get you to a biobed just to be sure."

"The others" Gars said and grabbed Eckenwalds arm, "they're still out there. Someone might be still alive."

"Calm down, commander" Sulu said, pushing his way through the medical staff. "We'll get them all back, I promise you."

Eckenwald and his team hurried away with the commander and Sulu turned around just as the two ensigns exited the shuttle together with lieutenant commander Karalga. The three received medical attention as well, but without any serious injury to them, they were simply ordered to log time with the ships councilor.

"Well?" Sulu said as he walked over to his chief science officer "Report."

"I'm not sure what happened, captain" the kaitian said, still a bit disorientated. "The away-team found the intruders and then the klingons attacked. Ensign Tuvok managed to destroy one of the klingon attack-craft, but more than that, I don't know what took place, captain."

Sulu was not only surprised, but also impressed. "Ensign Tuvok? You destroyed a klingon attack-vessel using an unarmed shuttle?"

Tuvok did not seem to find it impressive at all. "I merely utilized the shuttles onboard tractor-beam, captain. Once locked on, the outcome was inevitable. It was the only logical course of action."

"Third shuttle coming in!"

They all turned to face the hangar-bay entrance as yet another shuttle came in for a landing, with a security-officer secured to its roof. A fact that had Tuvok raise an eyebrow.

"Extraordinary" the vulcan commented on the sight.

Crewmembers wearing the red of Engineering and purple of Operations helped the three security-officers with getting out of the heavy and bulky parts of their spacesuits, while getting pats on the back and cheers and smiles; after all, they had come to the rescue of the other crewmembers in need.

"I am impressed, lieutenant commander" Sulu said as he walked up to the senior officer of the security-officers.

"Thank you, sir" lieutenant commander Atl said, wide smile. "But it was Shrav that gave me the anti-matter. I asked him to fix me a bomb and he sure as hell did."

Sulu nodded and allowed a smile to grow on his lips as well. "And you being tied to the dorsal of the shuttle? Was that really necessary?"

"I figured we needed a turret" Atl said, "and I am the best shot onboard, sir."

"Good work, all of you" Sulu said and looked around at all his officers being involved in the engagement with the klingons. "You showed heart today. The kind of spirit Starfleet desperately needs in the years to come." The captain then turned to address his chief of operations, "Lieutenant Angred, put together a team to retrieve our officers in the field. Once we are certain there are no more surprises out there, you will bring our friends back home."

The tellarite stood at strict attention. "Of course, captain. Leave it to me."

Sulu then raised his voice so that everyone could hear him. "And let's not forget their sacrifice. Those men and women who died today have done so because they believed in what our uniform represents. So we carry on, to honor their memory, to honor their sacrifice. As you were!"

The crew of the USS Excelsior returned to work, mainly going over the two shuttles and preparing them to return them to storage in the docking-hall. Ensign Tuvok walked over to the captain and Sulu spotted him easily enough.

"Ensign?"

"Captain" Tuvok acknowledged. "It concerns the two escapees that eluded capture."

Sulus mood took a turn for the worse as he was reminded. "Yes… I suppose their current state is unknown to us?"

"I am afraid so, captain" Tuvok was forced to report. "The klingons interfered as we were about to engage the two mystery-figures. Distracted by the klingons, we were unable to keep track of our two initial targets. There is a slight possibility that they are still out there."

Sulu did not seem convinced. "Tell me, ensign, for arguments sake, let's say we are dealing with romulans; is it logical for them to stay on that rock?"

Tuvok did not give his answer any thought at all. "No captain" he said, "it would not be logical for them to do so. They have most likely already relocated and are awaiting to be retrieved by allies, or other romulans."

"Look out!"

The warning shouted by a crewman had everyone turn around, and as they did, a broken and seriously damaged klingon vessel came crashing in through the hangar-bays protective force-field. It slammed onto the deck, bounced and crashed into a shuttle, killing six of the Excelsiors crew in the process by sheer force of impact. Within seconds, a klingon climbed out of the craft, bleeding from several cuts and enduring a broken leg; he roared out a call of defiance as he, armed with two disruptor-pistols, began firing wildly around him, filling the hangar-bay with deadly bolts of energy.

The Excelsior crew hurried to find cover as green-glowing balls of energy started flying, rupturing matter upon impact in small explosions. Some did not manage to evade the wild barrage that filled the hangar-bay and were thrown to the flooring seriously wounded.

Covered by the first klingon, a second klingon warrior climbed out, armed with a bat'leth, and charged with his melee-weapon held high and ready to strike, howling a single word.

"Sto'Vo'Kor!"

The klingon swung his bat'leth three times and killed as many Starfleet officers before lieutenant commander Atl took aim and blasted the fierce warrior with two well placed phaser-rounds to the chest.

"Captain!"

A command-officer pushed Sulu to the side and took a disruptor-bolt to the torso that was meant for the captain. Sulu ignored the wide open and smoking hole in the mans chest, and instead retrieved the officers phaser-pistol. Sulu took a knee and took aim, his pistol discharging three times in quick succession and all three phaser-rounds struck the last klingon, sending him dead to the deck of the hangar-bay.

As the shooting stopped, crewmembers began looking up from behind cover, many in chock, some fleeing in case more klingons appeared. Sulu and Atl moved up to the two klingons and made sure they were dead.

"Get some medics down here!" Sulu demanded. "Now!"

Atl shook his head as he took another look at the bat'leth wielding klingon. "Crazy bastards."

Sulu gave Atl a glance. "We need this ship up and running, and soon, or else this will just be a taste of things to come."

XXX XXX

"They died with honor, my lord Koloth."

Koloth, having studied a large screen depicting information transmitted by the two D3 assault-craft he had dispatched, turned as the last signal was lost. The trill had poured himself a cup of breshtanti ale and drank of it before speaking once more.

"You gave them a chance for glory. But now, I urge you to listen to me."

"Listen to you?!" Korax snarled. "Our warriors have dealt a serious blow to your friends, we have destroyed much of your ship and your captain is hiding from us like a coward! Why should we listen to our beaten foe in our moment of triumph?!"

"Because if you don't, the romulans.."

"The romulans?!" Koloth growled and returned to his throne, where he sat down and grabbed his cup of blood-wine. "Where is the proof?! My patience is running out and when it does, I will place your head on a spike and mount it on my wall!"

Curzon took a deep breath before he continued his argument. "We found a pod on the hull of the Excelsior. My guess is that a similar pod is attached to your ship, my lord. I ask of you to make sure your ship is not compromised. Prove me wrong, Koloth! Or are you afraid of what you might find?!"

Koloth grabbed his dagger, but restrained himself, settling with turning deadly eyes on the trill joining him in the audience-chamber. "Either you have little understanding of your words, trill, or you are braver than most."

Curzon kept a stern face, but inside he was feeling hopeful; he was beginning to earn Koloths ear, the old klingon was listening to what he was saying. There was hope.

"Then deploy a shuttle and inspect your hull, my lord" Curzon urged of Koloth. "Only then will you find your true enemy. The enemy your blade deserves."

Koloth considered his options, letting go of his d'k tahg and drank from the blood-wine instead. His officers awaited his orders and the trill was hoping to avoid being killed. Attack the enemy in plain sight, or wait and hunt down an enemy hiding in the shadows? Romulans hiding on the hull of a klingon battle-ship? Even worse; boarding and stealing the ships entire collected data. The shame of it, the dishonor, would haunt not only him but every klingon serving under him. The mere thought of it forced a cold chill to crawl along his spine.

"Lord Koloth" the intercom sounded and caught everyones attention. "Vessel de-cloaking to our portside."

"Secure him!" Korax ordered the warriors and the order was followed without hesitation, earning Curzon Dax a couple of more bruises.

XXX XXX

Koloth and Korax entered the Gr'oths main transport-chamber, and with a nod did Koloth instruct the klingon operating the controls to activate the transporter. Within seconds, orange-glowing particles filled the room and gathered in the shape of a humanoid, until it took form and took solid shape. Standing before them was a remarkable specimen of klingon physical fortitude, long hair of black falling down over his shoulders with an impressive beard covering chin and jawline. The body covered in armor and a cloak of fur, accompanied by a golden sash running from shoulder to waist.

"Greetings, Koloth" the impressive klingon said, his voice deep and commanding.

Koloth was not sure what to make of it. "Kang" he simply replied, in honor of his guest.

XXX XXX

Captain Sulu and lieutenant commander Atl entered the large cargo-hold and found lieutenant commander Karagla and Shrav present, together with ensign Tuvok and a number of other officers from both Science and Engineering departments.

"Another klingon warship?" Shrav wondered as he turned to the captain.

"Looks like it" Sulu admitted. "With our main sensors out of order, all we can determine is that a large object with significant mass appeared out of nowhere. Size and mass is roughly that of the Gr'oth, and its sudden appearance indicates a cloaking device. So we are going to treat the new object as another klingon battle-cruiser." The captain sighed. "So, what is this thing?"

In the middle of the cargo-hold, safely on the floor, stood the mysterious pod that had been discovered attached to the Excelsiors hull.

"No clue" Shrav, the chief engineer, said, folding his arms over his chest. "But to lock onto it with the transporter was no walk in the park, captain. Who ever built it used every trick in the book to make it seem as an integral part of the ship. But… I managed in the end."

Karalga was circling the pod with a tricorder with an attached enhanced sensor-dish. "You will have to give us some time, captain. At first glance we have found no trace of any biological components and the computers appears to be completely fried. At present, it is impossible to determine who, or what species, has operated this thing."

Shrav was next to speak as he guided the captain over to where Tuvok was monitoring another device; almost a meter in length and thirty centimeters in width and height. "This here, captain, is something we have managed to identify."

"What is it?" Atl wondered.

"A klingon warhead" Tuvok informed the senior officers and lowered his tricorder. "At first we thought it was the pods main source of power. But, it did not take long for us to realize it was indeed a torpedo, stripped of its impulse-drive, thrusters and targeting-system."

"The warhead is still active, sir" Shrav pointed out.

Sulu studied the device for a moment, taking in the fact that he was standing no more than a meter away from a warhead, that upon detonation, could rip the ship apart. "What was it doing on the pod?"

Tuvok put his tricorder to the side. "The warheads intended purpose was most likely to destroy our main impulse-drive, given the location of the pod, which would only give us a single means of escape; going to warp and return to Federation space."

Karalga, having joined the others, realized what that meant. "And with the klingon data onboard, we would have started a war."

"It lends credit to Dax's crazy conspiracy-theory, doesn't it?" Shrav said, looking at the others.

"I want it neutralized" Sulu sharply instructed. "It might still be detonated by remote."

"Yes, captain" Tuvok said, and then considered a thought. "Captain, if I may?"

"What is it, ensign?" Sulu wondered, no longer being so dismissive of the young vulcans input.

"Whoever secured this pod to our hull" Tuvok began, "did so with the intent to force us to flee to the Federation with the klingon data onboard. It is not improbable to assume that something similar has been put in place on the IKS Gr'oth, to prevent them from pursuing us."

Sulu nodded as he connected the dots. "The agents that downloaded the data to our computer, also were responsible for destroying our impulse-engines; forcing us to jump to warp. So the agents that were responsible for stealing the data, could be prepared to destroy Koloths only chance of following us; his warpdrive."

"Correct, captain" Tuvok said. "But while our impulse-engines would have been destroyed by what would have appeared as a sudden hit from a klingon torpedo, I believe that the IKS Gr'oth would have suffered a similar unsuspected hit, but by a Starfleet torpedo instead."

"Mister Shrav" Sulu said, having listened to the vulcans assessment of the situation, "I need this ship operational as soon as possible."

The andorian simply nodded. "I'll get right on it."

XXX XXX

Eating the flesh from a freshly slain targ, Koloth and Kang drank blood-wine in the audience-chamber. The two klingon warlords said little at first and the tension between the two was almost visible in the air itself.

"Why are you here, Kang?" Koloth eventually asked.

Swallowing down some meat with the blood-wine, Kang put the cup to the side. "The Empire lost all contact with your ship. As I was returning from raiding cardassian shipping, I was asked by the Lord of War to investigate… So here I am."

"Chang sent you?" Koloth said the name without holding back on his scorn for the man.

Kang simply nodded as he took another bite of the roasted beast. "He did. He seemed to fear that you were in some kind of trouble."

"House Lorak are a bunch of lowborn tinkerers!" Koloth remarked and spat at the floor. "He would love to see House Lasshak weak and struggling."

Kang nodded. "Agreed" he said with his low and rumbling voice. "So, why was he monitoring your presence in this system?"

"I am here on behalf of Gorkon" Koloth explained. "But I have run into some… difficulties."

Kang chuckled. "That much is evident. It is Hikaru of Akira down there, is it not? You should end this now, before he finds a way to defeat you. He is crafty and a worthy opponent."

Koloth rested in his chair and drank from his warm wine. "The rings hide him well. Particle-density is too high so weapons will not work, and they have a make-shift energy-field protecting them that denies us to beam aboard."

"Why not ram them?" Kang wondered, being quite sincere and took another bite of meat.

"My pilot, Braga, insists that we do" Koloth said but shook his head. "That is how lowborns win battles."

Kang stopped eating, placed the meat on the table and drank heavily from his cup of blood-wine. As the cup was placed on the table next to the roasted targ, he spoke. "Good" he said, voice rumbling. "Hikaru deserves better. Leave this to me, Koloth; I will finish this and give Hikaru the death he deserves."

"That honor is mine!" Koloth growled and snarled. "You will not steal the honor of this battle from me, Kang. The glory is mine, not yours."

Kang leaned into the chair and rested his back. "We will see."

XXX XXX

D'jalel entered the bridge of the cardassian freighter and walked over to Director Rukat who was standing on an elevated platform in the middle of the room.

Rukat offered the romulan a glance before turning his attention back at the information provided by the main view-screen on the bridge. "We have picked up two signals of sigma-radiation pulses, as you predicted."

"Good" D'jalel said. "Where are they?"

"They emerged out from the rings just now. Or rather, we received the signal just now, so they have been out in the open for about five minutes. But do not worry, commander; they emerged below the rings and the klingons are hovering above it, unable to detect them. They are quite safe… for now."

"Lock on to them and bring them aboard" the romulan ordered.

"My men are doing the best they can" Rukat said. "We are talking about extreme ranges here, and we do not wish to provoke the klingons by flying closer."

D'jalel leaned in close to the cardassians ear. "Get my men onboard, alive… director."

And with that, D'jalel left the bridge. Director Rukat followed her with a frown up until the doors closed behind her.