Close encounters of the tense kind

"Deploy."

The bridge of Alliance Battle Carrier K'Valk's Honor was quiet as the ship dropped out of warp. The crew knew their jobs and did them with speed and skill, the hallmark of trained professionals. That was not a normal command while traveling at warp speeds, but this was not a normal ship. Any other ship trying to drop even warp capable craft while decelerating from high warp would in all likelihood lose them (often explosively) or at the very least scatter them far and wide. Not this ship. Two B'Rel Birds of Prey slammed out of the hangars at insane speeds, matching the carrier's speed through sheer power and guts. Many engineers would curse their commanders but quietly. Many of the command staff had little use for complainers. Add to that? The ability to deploy so many Birds of Prey so quickly had decided many battles in the ship's favor. The captain kept a smile off his face through sheer force of will as he saw the icons for the hangar bays resetting fast. They would get the next pair up in moments. It looked like they would beat their best time by a whole nine seconds. He would owe the crews a round of bloodwine, but it was worth it. The force multiplier of five ships instead of one when beginning combat was almost always a good thing in his experience. As soon as all all four B'Rel class ships were in space, they blurred into cloak, ready to fight as needed.

"Multiple starships on sensor." Came the word from the side consoles and Captain R'Rollow nodded, but did not take his eyes off the screen. The Denali was badly damaged and leaking plasma, but clearly not about to explode. No one was shooting yet, but the seven Federation starships, three Klingon starships and half a dozen varied others that surrounded the damaged Denali were not a good sign. All had shields and weapons online. And… There was another ship right by the Denali. It looked Klingon, sort of.

"That is not a design I am familiar with." The captain said quietly to his XO. "Clearly Klingon, but…" He paused as he looked at his XO and the Klingon woman was frozen solid. "XO?" He inquired softly.

"You won't know that class of ship." Second Officer Amet'a said very quietly back. Was she scared? That was unthinkable! When he had met her, he had seen this Klingon female take down an Iconian Defiler armed only with her dagger! The technological monstrosity had been four times her size and she had taken it down with skill and speed. But now? She was!She was afraid! He growled at her and she jerked, giving him a tiny nod. Command had to stay in command or the lower ranks got ideas, even on this ship. She gave herself a shake. "You won't know that class of ship, sir." She repeated. She never repeated herself. She was still shaken! "It's not something we talk about."

"Good, bad or ugly?" The captain responded for her ears only. "And what kind of ship is it?"

"All three." She shook her head and moved to the sensor operator who was just as frozen as she had been. She slapped him across the back of the head and he jerked back to his work. "Yes, it is what it looks like. No, Krenn is not a god! We faced the Fek'Ihri and beat them! He can be beaten. He has been." Her glare swept the bridge and everyone bent to the tasks. "To answer your question, Captain, that is a D6 class cruiser. One of only four known to be built. The only one still in existence."

"D6." The captain in command said slowly. "That was just after the first 'official' war with Federation. When the Empire decided for a time that the D7 were too expensive to mass produce and looked for other, cheaper designs. I know D5, D7 and D9. Clearly there is a reason D6 was never put into larger scale production. Is this something that I need to know?"

"Yes, captain. You need to know." The XO repeated with a shrug. "We are looking at the reason the ship class was never put into large scale production. That is the I.K.V. Fencer." An odd, almost reverent hush swept the bridge. "At last report, the ship had no torpedoes and its speed was limited to warp 4.5." Despite the age of the ship, the lack of guided weapons and the speed deficit, she was clearly wary. Every single Klingon he could see was staring at their screen just as warily as if expecting something to jump out and go 'Boo'. That boded.

"It is not the ship, is it?" The captain asked.

"No." Amet'a said with a sigh. "The ship is, was, a known factor. Even if it has been updated, it is a known factor and can be handled. The Fencer's captain is something else entirely. He is a myth, a legend and something truly terrifying." He stared at her and she nodded. For a Klingon to say that? Even about another Klingon! "Captain Krenn was the last true Reflective Master the Empire produced. That path he trod is often translated into your English as 'war strategist' but the words simply do not do what he is justice. He thinks. He plans. Then he moves and he is always three or four steps ahead of everyone. No one can keep up. Not even an AI. Many tried to emulate the skills, the training, everything. They couldn't. Nothing worked. All the warriors who tried went mad and had to be put down. Eventually, every House stopped trying. He didn't go mad and no one knows why." She actually shuddered! "Every attempt to ask goes badly." Her tone spoke of extreme understatement. Then again? Klingons.

"Again, not something you talk about." The Captain shook his head as the XO did the same. "Does he follow the Klingon way of honor?" The XO paused and then she nodded.

"I have heard that Captain Krenn does and from what I understand? Rigidly even for us." The XO pause and then she smiled. "Actually, you may be the best person to talk to him, Captain." R'Rollow stared at her and she shook her head again. "He took lots of ships as prizes in his time and he respected those who did such with honor. You took this ship as your prize. You acted with honor. Before the Alliance, we followed you because you know honor and lead us to glorious battles. Now? It is legal. A word of advice: Do not try to deceive him." The captain fought not to react as every single Klingon on the bridge shook their heads in unison!

"I took this ship because you gave me no choice, you crazy Klingons." R'Rollow snapped back but it was humorous and Amet'a smiled at him. "That said, we better do something before one of those civilians gets any silly ideas and gets a photon torpedo up the butt." Amet'a just shrugged and he sighed. "You may not have to worry about lawsuits, but I do. Your people's assassins have nothing on a few lawyers I have dealt with. At least you can kill assassins."

"I have shot a few lawyers." Amet'a replied off hand and the captain bit back a chuckle.

"That does not surprise me." The captain focused and his calm swept the bridge. They trusted him and he trusted them. Well, mostly. They were all former KDF for the most part, so wariness was rarely a bad thing. "Helm, take us in, half impulse. Let's not startle anyone. I am betting everyone is on edge. Anything else I should know?" He asked Amet'a a bit snidely.

"Krenn is Augment." Amet'a said very quietly and the captain froze solid.

"Well shit." The captain said in a monotone and everyone on the bridge nodded.

Things suddenly made a whole lot of horrific sense. Augments, or 'Augmented Beings' were people who had been modified from the base stock of their races. Some before birth, some after. Also known as 'Super Soldiers', 'Great Leaders' or 'Khans', they were damned dangerous. Every single race that the captain knew of had played with such things, trying to make the ultimate soldier, the ultimate diplomat, the ultimate leader, the ultimate whatever, but almost all had found out the hard way that tinkering with some things was a very bad idea. Very, very few races he knew of had stepped back from that before the lessons got painful. He didn't know a lot about Klingon augments. He knew a little. They had existed and been very bad news. Even the legendary (and infamous) James T. Kirk had found himself playing catch-up more than once with Klingon Augments. The Klingons didn't talk about it, but he knew they had been dealt with. Somehow. He didn't think it had come to civil war like it had on Earth with Khan Noonian Sing, but he wasn't entirely sure. They didn't talk about it. It was shameful to many of them because frankly? Many that Captain R'Rollow had dealt with felt it was dishonorable to cheat in such a way. Klingons were what they were. They made no bones about what they were. They were damn dangerous, but refreshingly honest in many odd ways. To be made to be better than ones fellows was not honorable.

Augmented Klingons… As if regular ones were not bad enough at times!

"Are his crew the same?" R'Rollow asked Amet'a who shrugged again. She likely didn't know. "Okay. Code Zeta." The XO nodded soberly as a discrete alarm started sounding. 'Prepare for boarders!' Security teams with heavy weapons would be deployed to each and every critical zone and every com system would be under close scrutiny. Any deviation would sound alarms and cause an overwhelming response. They had bled learning against Iconians how to defend against insanely powerful boarders but they had learned. "I read some about such beings in my Academy days. I don't remember much of what I read about Kirk's battles with Khan, but I do remember he said that Khan was mortal. Fallible. Bad news, to be sure. Smart, fast, strong, all of that, but still human. Khan bled just like anyone else. The cost was dear, but he did fall. Augments are bad news, but they are mortal." He scoffed. "Even Heralds bleed and die as the Second Officer proved when she made that one gush that nasty smelling liquid energy all over the command deck." More than one person snickered at his wry tone.

"That they do." Amet'a smiled as the captain's calm demeanor settled everyone. "Orders, sir?"

"Let's see. I don't know the Klingon ships. Two B'Rel and a Vor'cha visible, probably others cloaked. The Federation ships all look old, but lots of old designs have been revamped with modern tech recently. We needed lots of ships quickly after the Iconian War. I know the KDF and the Romulans did the same." Amet'a nodded. "Heh." He mused. "Five Constitutions, a Galaxy and a Daedalus? The Constitution class was always tough and easy to adapt with new tech. The Galaxy class likewise. Daedalus? Not sure why that is here." R'Rollow mused as he scrutinized the displays. "Hmmm… All from one grouping? Task Force Camelot? I am not familiar with that task force, but I have heard of the commander. Admiral Y. Charrah. By all accounts, she is good."

"The Denali was coming to us, sir." Amet'a reminded him and R'Rollow nodded. "No other Alliance ships read in the area. I think it is our problem."

"Either that or they are lurking cloaked, waiting to see what happens. I wouldn't put it past half of them, Even Kagran." The Catain sighed as he sat back in his chair, ignoring a twinge from his back. "Sometimes I wish this ship had a cloak, but most of the time, I don't care." He shook his head. "Tell the Wing Commander to keep her birds clear. I am betting that there are cloaked ships all over the area." The XO nodded and started relaying the orders. There would be no response from the cloaked ships, but if anyone didn't obey, the Wing Commander would have their liver for breakfast. Maybe literally. "Especially since the residue on the Denali's damaged nacelles looks an awful lot like plasma scoring." He and the XO shared a glance. Romulans. As if this day wasn't complicated enough! "They had to see us arrive. Is anyone talking to us yet, Commander Liston?"

The communication officer was one of the few non-Klingons on the bridge. He wore the same Alliance uniform they did, but he had started in Starfleet like the Captain. Indeed, he had been with the Captain at Sol when it had all gone to hell. He had been with the captain when they had boarded this ship and taken it back from the Heralds. He had seen it all and stayed with R'Rollow after, though it all.

"No, sir." The red skinned human male had his headset on but only covering one ear. He was listening hard. "The Starfleet ships are just sitting there, the KDF ones likewise. Lots of chatter from the civilian ships." He said slowly. "Lots of angry talk, but no one wants to start anything with so many warships hanging around." He snorted. "Can't really blame them for that."

"Cowards hoping for easy prey." Amet'a scoffed. "They won't get any here."

"No, they won't." R'Rollow shared her scoff. "Hail the Denali. See if they want to talk. Helm? Take us in, but keep it at half Impulse. I really don't want to scratch our paint on someone we can't see. That said? Weapons, tight. But if anything twitches, I want to know about it. If you think you see a cloaked ship, don't shoot first this time. There are allies around and I do not want to pay Kagran for another full refit of a ship full of idiots who cannot figure out where not to decloak!" A sour chuckle came the weapons officers who bent to their boards.

Not that it mattered. A) The K'Valk's Honor had a reputation for not giving a damn and B) The slow speed gave them time to assess the situation. Not a bad thing.

"Communication from the Organia, Flagship of the Federation Task Force, sir." Liston shook his head. "They say they cannot stay much longer, they are needed in a border dispute that has turned into a shooting match."

"Always the way for Starfleet. Too many fires, not enough firefighters." R'Rollow said softly. "Send this: 'Task Force Camelot, Good luck, godspeed and may the wind be at your backs.'" Liston smiled, just a little faintly as the captain paraphrased a famous quote from James T Kirk. Amet'a gave him a look and he shrugged. Without further ado, all of the Federation ships took to warp.

"Must really be bad, that border mess." R'Rollow said softly to no one in particular but then paused as an alert blared.

"Status change!" Came from the sensor operator as he worked his boards. "Single ship dropping out of warp. Ferengi! D'Kora class."

"Figured it wouldn't be long before one of them showed up.." R'Rollow heaved a sigh as the sensor plot changed to show the new ship's name. Not that it was hard to see, since the fool had gotten it emblazoned on the side of his ship in huge, glaring purple letters. He was clearly compensating for something with Madran's Majesty. "And of course, it had to be him. I guess it was too much to hope for that they keep him in jail for any length of time. Unless he escaped and we can take him into custody?" He asked the XO who was bent over her own board. Her scowl when she looked up said it all. No. "Ah, drat. I was looking forward to shooting that rat."

"We could 'accidentally' discharge the Isokinetic cannon." Amet'at offered. Not at all joking, She liked that Ferengi almost as much as R'Rollow did. Not at all. It said something about the sheer frustration that the dratted Ferengi had caused everyone in Starfleet and the KDF with his myriad schemes that R'Rollow actually contemplated that for a moment. The Isokinetic cannon was an insanely powerful piece of hardware and would blow a hole clean through even Madran's fancy ride.

"Tempting, so very tempting. But no. Alliance High Command doesn't like it when we do that. Not unless he completely loses his mind and shoots at us again." R'Rollow slowly shook his head and the weapons officer sighed as he retracted his hands from the console. No one aboard liked that Ferengi. "I am sure you will get the chance to shoot at him sometime, warrior. That is usually the way it works when that Ferengi shows his lousy face." The warrior nodded, but was focused on his tasks. "I am assuming he isn't talking to us?"

"I can't imagine why." Amet'a actually joked a joke and R'Rollow stared at her. "You did threaten to strangle him with his own intestines if he ever crossed you again after that mess with the spores." Her smile was wide. She approved!

"He got two of our escorts destroyed with all hands, and the other two badly damaged because he couldn't even pick reliable mercenaries. If we hadn't had Federation witnesses, I might have taken your advice and destroyed his silly excuse for a ship right then and there." R'Rollow growled. "What is he doing?"

"Just sitting there, sir." The sensors warrior said after a moment. "There was a burst of encrypted com traffic from his ship, but no way to see who it was meant for. Not for us."

"Considering that Second Officer Amet'a will do if she catches another spy aboard?" R'Rollow smirked as Amet'a tried to look innocent and failed. "I do not 'officially' know what she did. Unofficially? Try not to make such a mess next time and maybe leave them able to talk for a bit? Alliance intel was not happy that they had no one to interrogate."

"No promises." Amet'a said with a smile.

"Com from the Fencer, sir." Liston said with a hiss. "They… They want it secured. They have our current encryption! Our codes! How the hell? Uh... They are asking for you by name."

"Of course he is." R'Rollow said heavily. "Secure it." Liston nodded, clearly upset by this massive breach of security. No one at Alliance HQ would be happy about this. "On screen."

The main viewscreen lit up with a form that did not look Klingon. The being looked human, but his attire screamed 'Klingon' even if it was archaic. Everything about him spoke of poise and an odd curiosity. His hair, beard and mustache were trimmed in an ancient style. His uniform was armored but also archaic and the symbol on his sash was an old icon of the Klingon Empire. Not the modern one.

"Captain Krenn." R'Rollow said mildly. "Your infamy precedes you."

"As does yours, Captain R'Rollow." The Augment Klingon on the screen matched his mildness. "I don't think the Ferengi expected you to be here. He all but wet himself in his message to his spy aboard the Denali." R'Rollow's eyes narrowed and Krenn nodded. "His encryptions were good, but my decoders are better. He did not name any names, more is the pity, but we need to move soon. Several have tried for the girl already and these fools will try their luck soon. They don't care what it will cost if they can hurt what they think is an Iconian. The Ferengi probably thinks he can make a profit on this mess like his kind always try to do."

"And what does the Reflective Master think?" R'Rollow inquired carefully. Krenn stilled and then nodded, his posture changing to taut readiness.

"We need to get the girl out of here and we need to do it now."

Clarification- Reflective Master Krenn is NOT my character. He is from The Final Reflection by John Ford, published in 1984, one of the best books about Klingons ever written. Even today, it mostly stands up with Star Trek canon and bits have been used in several different shows. Krenn was scary dangerous but honorable. He was the reason that Klingons in Star Trek shifted from being stereotypical mustache twirling, cackling villains with no depth at all to actual characters in their own right and he is also most of the reason that Michael Dorn's character Worf in The Next Generation and Deep Space 9 (And Star Trek Online!) turned out how he did. As a protagonist and hero in his own right. What is Krenn doing here? We shall see.