by Mike Tripp

by Hauk@P-A-T-H-F-I-N-D-E-R

Location: Klingon Starbase – Stage 1

“You know there are those back on the home world that call us fools,” Mayqetlh offered as a statement of fact, not a question.

With a foot, the elder Klingon shaman kicked an empty chair back out from the table in an offer for the other to take a seat.

It was the way of Mayqetlh, leader of House Mayqetlh, to not mince words.

As he saw it, life was too short to not get straight to the point.

Hauk, leader of House Rha, accepted the empty chair with a nod, turning it sideways before taking a seat and using the chair’s back as something of an arm prop.

“I have been called far worse,” the Dahar Master returned, setting his mug down on the table between them.

“They simply lack the vision to see what’s right in front of them.”

Mayqetlh grunted before taking a swig, pausing and then answering.

“You mean the foolishness of letting the other powers of the Alliance sink their teeth into mey’elStrem?”

That being the Klingon pronunciation of the Malstrom Expanse … first named by the Norse human explorer who captained the survey ship first charting the region.

Many Klingons considered it “jev Hutlh’er’In”  … the “storm without end.”

But as more years passed, the adaptation of the Federation’s name seemed to be winning out.

“It’ll pay off … Trust me,” Hauk said with a grin.

Inwardly, he was saying to himself …. ‘at least it better.’

On the other side of the bar, the fireplace was cold and dark. 

And a lot of the normal sounds associated with such a place was just as missing.

But then this place was only just this day being made operational — operational in the sense that it could begin its operational mission even though construction of the place would last months to possibly a couple years.

The timeline depending on available funding and resources that could be funneled into the project.

The shaman took another long pull on his tankard before lifting a hand, catching the eye of one of the flesh-and-blood servers working the place.

They were quick to beam over a fresh mug from the bar even as he eyed Hauk.

“How in Grethor did I let you talk me into this? … Especially so far outside the Klingon borders?”

“It’s outside the Empire’s borders … on the frontier … that our houses AND the Empire will expand and grow.”

“And yet the High Council were set to vote down the Empire’s participation in the Alliance’s joint venture out here and would have if our houses together had not offered to fund the building of this place,” said Mayqetlh.

“And offer up the resources to help maintain not just this place, but several of the Empire’s other assets and ships … ships from our own houses … that will be operating out this far,” he continued.

Hauk trained his own mug and signaled the staff for another.

“And they are the fools if they fail to see what is right in front of them.”

Mayqetlh laughed.

“I would not consider this place to be anywhere NEAR ‘right in front of them.’”

“You know what I mean,” the dahar master snorted.

“And you heard the stories  from our Nephyri friend enough to know what his people say are inside those swirling clouds,” he said.

The Nephyri a race many had nicknamed “the dragon lords” because of they dragon-like appearance.

Generations back, their race lived on a planet somewhere inside the Malstrom Expanse.

But something happened on a global scale, wiping out most of their population and causing them to flee their home world … and the Expanse altogether.

It was something not talked about by the original survivors to where it became the stuff of forgotten legends … stories told around warm fires like the one that SHOULD be burning in that fireplace.

And maybe it someday would be told around this one as the fireplace was a work in progress and likely among the next expected upgrades about to leap from the design pads and into reality.

Hauk and Mayqetlh had grown up together in youth as their great houses … their families … had been more than allies and almost like blood kin for at least three generations back.

So the pair had known each other since both could walk, born four months apart with the shaman the elder of the pair.

Mayqetlh spun the mug in place so the handle faced opposite.

“You given them an answer yet?,” he asked finally, eyeing his friend.

“Not officially, but they know I’m leaning towards accepting.”

“You sure you want to return to that post?”

The post in question was the position of Joint Forces Commander of Alliance Central Command – one of the primary, permanent fleets within the Khitomer Alliance.

Hauk had held the position previously, but something had happened that had left the dahar master so distraught that he’d vacated it suddenly and disappeared for several months.

Truth was twofold.

One had something to do with a previous flagship of his supposedly destroyed by what was classified as a “friendly-fire accident” by Starfleet.

That ruling had led to one chair being toss through one window at Starfleet command.

All of it sparked wild imaginations that grew grander with each new retelling until there were so many versions of the “true story” that very few knew the actual truth of it.

But the second was the real reason, which the shaman knew  as he’d joined Hauk on the quest … serving as first officer aboard Hauk’s new (and current) flagship at the time for the duration of that mission.

Let’s just say temporal investigations on both sides of the “neutral zone” was not happy, but had to keep quiet as temporal agent Daniels would here nothing of their complaints.

All that will be said is that it involved Hauk’s son, who was missing at the time, and the death of Hauk’s wife.

The fact that Hauk was returning to his former position said something from both sides — it spoke of how much they wanted him back … and how much Hauk wanted to be back.

Either that or Hauk simply scared the piss out of them and it was something to take his mind off … other matters.   

Or … They could never actually find anyone that wanted the job.

So here they sat together in the first stage of a Klingon starbase located somewhere inside the swirling clouds of Malstrom … now fully (almost) operational outpost offering a safe refuge for Alliance (and peaceful) ships and travelers seeking the safe paths through the gravitational jungle of the clouds hoping to find the treasures within the great expanse of this Expanse.

An hour later, they pair watched as the consoles of station ops were brought to life as the reactors at the heart of Starbase jev’tlhop (aka. “Stormfront”) hit full power.

Respectfully,

— Hauk@P-A-T-H-F-I-N-D-E-R
aka.
Hauk
JFC, ALLCENCOM / Leader House Rha

and

Mayqetlh
KDF Task Force Commander, Malstrom Alliance

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