Star Trek - Kahless. Part 28

"Well," Picard interjected, "Lieutenant Worf and I would love to stay and chat. Unfortunately, we have other duties-that's the way of Starfleet. And Governor Kurn has been good enough to offer us a ride to the Neutral Zone." He eyed the most powerful Klingon in the Empire. "I'm glad everything worked out, Gowron."

The council leader inclined his head ever so slightly-a sign of respect. "No more glad than I am, Picard."

With that, Gowron crossed the courtyard and exited through the gate in the wall. The captain watched him go, knowing the man still had his share of battles to fight.

One could not sit where he sat without looking over one's shoulder now and then.

Picard just hoped the pressures surrounding Gowron would never turn him against the Federation. The last thing he wanted was to cross blades with the son of M'rel.

For a moment, the courtyard was silent except for a rising wind. Then Kahless spat on the ground.

"He has the tongue of a serpent," said the clone. "If I were you in the Federation, I'd be wary of Gowron's grat.i.tude-almost as wary as I would be of his enmity."

The captain silently noted the similarity between the Klingon's views and his own. "I will remember that," he promised.

"On the other hand," said Kahless, "you have nothing to fear from my grat.i.tude. And I am grateful indeed." He turned to Worf, to Kurn, and back to Picard. "It was because of you three I was able to rescue the Empirenot to mention the ethos of honor that is its foundation.

My namesake would have been proud of you."

"I think I speak for all of us," the captain replied, when I say we were happy to be of service."

The clone eyed Worf. "I am indebted to you in particular, son of Mogh."

The lieutenant looked at him. "Me?" he echoed.

"Yes. It was you who made me see the truth-that it is not the myths that bolster belief in Kahless, but rather the idea of Kahless that bolsters belief in the myths."

Picard smiled. It was an interesting observation, all right. His security officer had developed a knack lately for coming up with the right insight at the right time.

Kahless clapped Worf on the shoulder. "I hope the majority of our people will end up hanging on to their beliefs, despite the scandals inscribed in that d.a.m.ned scroll."

"I believe they will," the lieutenant told him.

Now that he had time to think about it, the captain believed so, too. If he had learned one thing in all his years in the center seat, t was that a person's faith was often stronger than the most concrete scientific fact.

In time, he mused, this entire affair might become a historical footnote, nothing more. And while the name of Olahg would be forgotten, the name of Kahless would be revered for ages to come.

After all, he wasn't called Kahless the unforgettable for nothing.

EPILOG.

As Worf entered his quarters, he didn't ask for any illumination. It was the middle of the night, according to the s.h.i.+p's computer, and Alexander would be asleep in the next room.

The lieutenant smiled to himself. It was good to be back on the Enterprise. As much as he yearned sometimes to immerse himself in his Klingon heritage, it was here he felt most at home.

This was where his friends were. This was where his sense of duty called the loudest and was most resoundingly answered. Even Kahless had been able to appreciate that.

After all, a Klingon could be a Klingon anywhereeven all by himself, if necessary. Nor was it necessary to be raised as one to be one.

Being Klingon was a path one either chose or disdained, a way of looking at things with the heart as much as the mind. It was not always a clear path or an easy one, but it was always there if one looked hard enough for it.

Suddenly, he heard an intake of breath at the far end of the room. At the entrance to Alexander's quarters, a shadow moved.

"Lights!".sd a voice, before Worf could make the same request.

A moment later, the lieutenant saw his son standing there in his bedclothes, squinty-eyed with sleep. But when the boy realized who had come in, a smile spread from one side of his face to the other.

"Father!" he cried.

Alexander crossed the room in a leap. Before Worf knew it he was holding the boy to his chest, slender but strong arms wrapped around his neck. The lieutenant grinned as if he were a child as well.

"Alexander," he replied.

Worf said nothing more than that, just the boy's name.

But it carried all the depths and shades of emotion clamoring inside him.

"I was worried about you," Alexander confessed.

The lieutenant nodded. "I knew you would be."

Leaning away from him, the boy looked at him. "Did everything go all right? Is the homeworld okay now?"

"Yes," Worf a.s.sured him. "The homeworld is fine."

For now, he thought. As for as long as Kahless and Kurn and others like them refused to let their guards down.

Alexander's eyes narrowed. "And what about you, Father? Are you okay?"

The Klingon was surprised by the question. "As you can see," he began, "I am in good health."

The boy shook his head. "No, I mean inside. Are you okay with what it said in the scrolls"?"

Worf s first impulse was to scold his son for accessing what he had intended to be private property. Then he remembered that he hadn't left any instructions to that effect, or taken any precautions against Alexander's prying.

Based on such evidence, Deanna would have said he wanted the boy to see the scrolls. Subconsciously, at least.

And he wasn't absolutely certain she wouldn't have been right.

"Yes," he answered, putting the lecture aside for another time. "I have accepted what it said in the scrolls. I am okay."

Alexander smiled. "Good. I hate it when you're unhappy."

Worf eyed the boy. "Right now, it would make me happy to see you in bed. It is late and you have school tomorrow."

His son frowned. "Okay. But can you sit with me a while? Just a few minutes maybe, until I fall asleep?"

It was not the sort of request a Klingon child made to his parent. But then, the boy was only three-quarters Klingon.

"Actually," the lieutenant said, "I was about to suggest that myself."

As he returned Alexander to his room, Worf basked in the glow of his progeny. That was a part of being a Klingon too.

A very important part.