Kahless - Michael Jan Friedman [97]
Finally, the clone seemed to find an opening, a gap in his opponent’s defenses. Taking advantage of it, he darted in for the kill-and Tichar was too weary to stop him in time. With a savage thukt, Kahless’s battelh buried itself deep in the conspirator’s belly, just below the sternum.
The clone snarled as he drove his point upward, lifting his enemy off the ground despite his bulk. Picard winced as he watched Tichar scream in agony. Finally, Kahless let the conspirator down.
Tichar sank to his knees, mortally wounded. Applying his boot to the conspirator’s chest, the clone pulled his blade free and let Tichar sprawl backward. Then Kahless turned to the captain and grinned through his own gore, more like an animal than a sentient being.
But then, thought Picard, that was and always had been the nature of the Klingon dichotomy. Canny intelligence mingled with the most relentlessly violent impulses. A dream of greatness floundering in a sea of blood.
Unable to contain his exuberance, the clone bellowed in triumph. He sounded like a storm, like a force of nature. The walls echoed with it and the rafters seemed to quiver.
This was joy pure and unbridled, an emotion as honest as it was repugnant to the human sensibility. It was Kahless’s answer to those who questioned his authenticity, his challenge to those who would stand against him.
Here I am, he seemed to say. Neither legend norfraud, but a Klingon in all my earthly glory. Strive to be like me if you dare.
Ultimately, that was his appeal-and his greatness.
Kahless was the Klingon Everyman, a mirror in which every last son of Qo’noSo might find the noblest parts of himself.
The captain was so taken with the passion of the clone’s display, he almost didn’t see Tichar sit up, mortal wound and all. And even when he saw it, all he could do was cry out.
“Kahless!” he roared.
But it was too late. With his last reserve of strength, the conspirator hurled his bat’telh at the clone. As it whirled end over end, Kahless saw the look in the human’s eyes and turned.
He had no time to ward the battelh off-not completely. All he could do was bring his own weapon up and hope for the best.
Unfortunately, the clone’s action didn’t slow the blade down one iota. The battelh punctured his tunic in the center of his chest. Staggered, he sank to one knee.
His face a mask of pain, Kahless gripped the battelh with both hands and tugged it free. Then, with a curse, he flung it from him. The blade scraped along the floor.
“My god,” whispered Picard.
Was it possible the Klingon had come all this way just to perish in the end? Could Fate be so cruel?
He saw Kahless find him with his eyes. For a moment, they stared at one another, neither one knowing what to expect. Then the clone’s teeth pulled back in a grin again, and he howled louder than ever.
The captain stared openmouthed. He didn’t understand. He had seen the point of the bat’telh bury itself in Kahless’s chest.
But as the Klingon approached him, caught up suddenly in the throes of laughter, he made the answer clear.
Reaching into his leather tunic, he pulled out the betrothal amulet he wore-the one modeled after that of the original Kahless.
It was badly dented. In fact, the closer Picard looked, the more it seemed to him the thing had taken the brunt of a battelh thrust.
“Apparently,” the clone boomed, “there is something to be said for tradition after all!”
Before the armory stopped ringing with his words, reinforcements arrived in the form of Worf, Kum, and Gowron. And several of Gowron’s guards, whom he had left outside at first, were there to back them up.
Relieved, the captain released Lomakh and got to his feet. At last, he told himself, it was over.
The Heroic Age Emperor Kahless looked out the window. There were endless crowds gathered on either side of the road that led from his citadel-once Molor’s citadel-to the eastern provinces. Though he hadn’t shown himself yet, they were cheering and pumping their swords in the air.
The old warchief sighed. He had intended for only his closest friends and servants to