"He paid for one hour." "He's been in there for three, fighting the battle of klachdachbrach or some such thing over and over." "The Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt is a Klingon victory over the Romulans." "He's been losing it all afternoon and he won't come out until he wins." "He sealed himself in." "I threatened to shut off the power, he threatened to kill me." "When did you add ancient Klingon battles to your holosuite programmes?" "The captain of a Klingon ship sold some to me." "I know, I know. lt's brutal. lt's violent." "It's bloody." "But to the Klingons, it's entertainment." " Shut it off." " He'll kill you." "No, he said he'll kill you." "Shut it off." "You dare interrupt the Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt, you Ferengi "k'pekt" !" "It is over." "The people are waiting to celebrate your victory." "They are?" "Lead the way, then!" "How did you get in here?" "I am Koloth." " That doesn't answer my question." " Yes, it does." " What are the charges against him?" " Charges?" "No charges." "He's today's guest of honour." "You must be a very brave man to attempt humour at the expense of a Klingon Dahar master." "I apologise." "No offence intended." "Kor!" "Sir, if you'll wake up I'll release you into your friend's custody." "Koloth!" ""Wij jup" , my old friend." "I knew you'd be here." "You disgrace yourself and our purpose." "I do not go into battle with one whose honour is washed away in brestanti ale." "Keep him!" "Security reassignments, Major." "It's been a Klingon afternoon." "Every time Klingons visit I have a Klingon afternoon." "But this is one I'll cherish forever." "There's a drunken Klingon in a cell, singing battle songs." "Even his best friend won't have anything to do with him." "So I get to listen to his repertoire." " Kor, Dahar master of the Klingons." " Did you say Kor?" "That's what he said after winning the Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt." "What is he doing here?" "What's his friend's name?" "Was it Kang?" "No, it was Koloth." "Come with me, Odo." "Hello, Kor." "I am thirsty." " Let him out." " Lieutenant... I'll take responsibility." "Very thirsty." "Kor, do you remember Curzon Dax?" "Curzon?" "My dear friend Curzon?" "I lift my "ghoptu" to Curzon Dax." "And I, who was Curzon Dax, lift my "ghoptu" to you." "Scorcher burn on your 14th rib." "And your left "QiVon" aches every time your ship hits warp 8." "Dax!" "My Curzon?" "After 81 years, I... I find you a "kyamo" -looking woman." " Kiss me!" " How about a hug?" "Curzon, my beloved old friend." "I'm Jadzia now." "Jadzia, my beloved old friend." "Come on." "Let's go find Koloth." "Koloth is here?" "Look at him." "He practises cuts and thrusts even with his food." "Little children do that." "A sharp knife is nothing without a sharp eye." "It's been 40 years since even his good eye was sharp." "It's luck when you hit the plate." "The Federation insults us by sending a lieutenant to greet us." "You never liked the Federation." "I used to call you "D'akturak" - "Ice man", because no proposal, no matter how reasonable, no matter how much it favoured the Klingon empire, would satisfy you." "You were the toughest man I ever faced across the negotiations table." "Do you not recognise our old friend Dax?" "Dax?" "Curzon's dead, but Dax is alive as a part of me." "This is a mistake." "Kang must not have known." "But what a beautiful mistake." " ls Kang coming?" " Of course." "He's brought us back together after 81 years." " Could it mean that he's..." " Yes." "That is exactly what it means." "I have found the Albino." "Kang, do you remember the first time we sat over "bahgol" ?" "It was the Korvat colony." "The Federation and the Klingon empire were still enemies." "I never sat with you before today." "I am Dax, godfather of your son." "You are no one's godfather." "I am Dax, godfather of your son." "So, you are the same Dax who took a blood oath to seek vengeance?" "Don't mistake a new face for a new soul." "I still feel at one with your family." "You'll embrace me as a brother again." " Brother!" " Brother, sister." "What's the difference?" "We're all here now." "Speak to us, Kang." "Where did you find the Albino?" "Seven years ago, on Dayos iv, I met one of the Albino's discarded wives." "I fed and clothed her." "I told her the story of our sons." "She still feared him, and told me nothing." "Three months ago she died." "A week afterward, an amulet she wore around her neck was delivered to me." "In it was the location of the Albino's sanctuary." "Are you certain that he's still there?" "I have confirmed it with traders who supply him." "It is on the fourth planet of the Secarus system." "He has been hiding there for nearly 25 years." "Hiding from us, no doubt." "I have been told he only has 40 men in his compound." "Evidently, he's become very lax in his waning years." " The fool." " l wouldn't trust traders." "The Albino might have told them what to say." "The traders may already have warned him that we are coming." "They will never warn anyone ever again." "This time, we will reach the Albino." "And when we do, I will cut his heart out and eat it while he watches me with his dying breath." " l did not know, of course." " About Curzon?" "I did not want to risk contacting you by subspace." "That's how the Albino learned we were coming to Galdonterre." "He has ears that reach across a galaxy. I don't know how." "Tell me about my good friend Curzon." "Did he die an honourable death?" "He died in a hospital room yelling at people who were trying to keep him alive for one more day." "That's a pity." "He was a good man." "He deserved to die in battle." "It pains me that I will never see him again." "Curzon was decorated many times for his diplomatic achievements but no honour touched him as deeply as yours." "For a Klingon to choose a Federation official as his son's godfather..." "Curzon Dax opened the door to peace." "He was the first Federation diplomat I ever met who truly seemed to understand the Klingon nature." "There was a bit of Klingon in Curzon." "His blood oath with you was very important to him." "Would you eat from the heart of the Albino, Jadzia Dax?" "I know about the Trills from my long friendship with Curzon." "Each new host has no obligation to past commitments." "A Klingon blood oath can never be broken." "The old Klingon ways are passing." "When I was a young man, the mere mention of a Klingon empire made worlds tremble." "Now our warriors are opening restaurants and serving "racht"" "to the grandchildren of men I slaughtered in battle." "Things are not what they were, not even the blood oath." "You don't believe that." "What I believe is no longer relevant." "You are released from Curzon's oath." "You owe nothing to any of us." "Are you still reading a plasma leak?" "I can't find it." "It's been intermittent." "Let me do a high-resolution scan." " Kira..." " Uh-huh." "How many people did you kill?" "What?" "While you were in the underground." "Too many." "Were they all faceless Cardassians, or did you know who you were killing?" "Why are we talking about this?" " lt bothers me." " l'm sorry." "Why?" "Were you thinking about killing somebody?" "Me?" " Tell me." " l don't know what you're talking about." "Tell me." "80 years ago, there was a band of depredators led by an Albino, raiding Klingon colonies." "Three Klingon warships were sent to stop him." "One of the captains was a close friend of Curzon's." "The mission was successful." "Most of them were captured, but the Albino escaped." "In his last message to the Klingons, he promised to take revenge on the firstborn of each of the three captains." "A few years later, he kept his word." "Somehow, he infected three innocent children with a genetic virus that killed them." "One of them was my godson." "I'm sorry." "But Jadzia... that was Curzon's godson." "I took a blood oath to avenge his death." "Curzon took a blood oath." "I can still remember the boy's funeral." "He was named Dax for me." " You've found this Albino?" " We know where he is." "The three Klingons came here to tell me..." "Every new life for a Trill has to be a new life." "You'd pay off old debts forever." "They can't expect you to keep this oath." "No, they don't." "That's just it." "They say I have no obligation to them." "But I do." "I know it, I feel it." "If not to them, I owe it to Curzon." "Jadzia..." "Your questions about my..." "experience with killing." "If you're wondering what it's like..." "When you take someone's life... you lose a part of your own as well." "I need another arm!" "Or am I doomed to choose between perfection and the palate?" "Let me spare you that decision." "To the rescue." "Dax, may I present these two..." "students of..." "Klingon history." "Would you excuse us for a minute?" "Only a minute, my students." "You certainly don't share Curzon's priorities." "About going after the Albino, I do." "Kang and Koloth don't want me to come." "Kang thinks too much." "Koloth doesn't feel enough." "And where do you stand?" "Of course you should come." "The splendour of killing, a bloodbath in the cause of vengeance..." " Who wouldn't want to come?" " Would you speak to them?" "It means a lot to me." "Koloth spends all his time practising in the holosuite." "He listens to no one." "And if Kang has made up his mind, there's nothing I can do." "And you call yourself a history teacher." "What of your own history?" "You are Kor, Dahar master." "They cheered you at Klach D'kel Brakt." "Your voice weighed heavily on the course of Klingon events." "You shame me." "No, please don't feel that." "The only weight l carry now, dear comrade, is my own bulbous body." "I was once, if you remember, far less than you see... and far more than I have become." "I'm sorry." "My memories are still of Kor, a great warrior." "Quark, you devious little "ha'dibah" !" "Bring wine." "Nice of you to stop." "I'm coming with you." "Curzon Dax was a politician." "It was a diplomatic ploy for him to bond himself to us." "That's a lie." "Are you... I am practising here." "Leave while you can." "I will fulfil my part of the oath." "Your presence will jeopardise the rest of us." "Leave me!" "Computer, I want a Klingon "bat'leth" - tip to tip 116 centimetres, weight 5.3 kilos, with an exterior handgripping diameter of five centimetres." "Blades composite baakonite." "A warrior's configuration." "What are you going to do with it?" "I'm going to fight you." "And if my hand should slip, and you should die?" "Your hand would never slip, unless you've become feeble." "Surely you can take me down." "There is tension on your face, Koloth." "You ought to drink more." "Stand up." "Your presence against the Albino... will do honour to our cause." "That's a surprise from the great stoneface." "I can see releasing you from Curzon's oath is not enough." " lt is agreed." " No!" "You will not be part of the quest." "Why do you dismiss her like some useless "t'ooho'mirah" ?" "We cannot go to the enemy with your chest announcing us." "There is nothing wrong with my chest." "Nothing that won't get us all killed." " Come." " l need no nurse's hand." "You can't deny my right for vengeance." "You try to speak like a Klingon but the words do not suit you." "You said that to me before." "I do not wish to discuss it any further." "The Korvat colony." "First day of negotiations, I walked out on you right in the middle of that long-winded speech of yours." "You should have seen your face." "Nobody had ever had the "kajunpak't"" "to show their back to the great Kang." "I almost killed Curzon that day." "I knew I had to get you very, very angry, or my mission wouldn't succeed." "Getting you angry with me was the only way to create a bond between us." "Curzon understood Klingons." "He also understood the Klingon blood oath." "You can't expect me not to avenge my own godson's murder or ask me to live with that dishonour." "I cannot dishonour myself by allowing you to die in Curzon's place." "Who's talking about dying?" "I have no intention of dying." "You dishonour yourself already by placing your honour above mine." "No Klingon would leave a comrade while he goes to battle." "Perhaps you're right." "Klingon honour isn't what it used to be." "Are you trying to anger me?" "Do you think it would work twice?" "I understand Klingons." "All right then. lt worked." "Come and fight with us and be damned." "Come in." " l was about to come see you." " No." " No?" " No leave of absence." " Kira told you." " She is my first officer." "You know what this oath meant to Curzon." "Jadzia Dax took an oath to Starfleet." "You're subject to orders." "Don't make me disobey a direct order." "I never understood this." "I mean, whatever else Curzon was, he did have a fundamental morality." "He wouldn't condone murder, yet he swore to kill this Albino." " What about Federation law?" " The Klingons have laws." " lt's justice to them." " To you?" "I respect their codes of honour in this matter." "You think you're capable of doing this?" "I don't know." "There's only one way to find out." "Let's say you are." "Let's say you even survive this insanity." "You expect to resume your duties as though nothing's happened?" "I guess that'll be up to you." "The compound is made of riddinite." "Several walls separate the main house from the grounds." "The main power source is here." "There is an armoury." "Any information about the positioning of the sentries?" "They are posted at standing intervals 75 metres apart along the perimeter." " Standing?" "No patrols?" " That's what I'm told." "Perhaps he thinks we've stopped chasing him." "Or made his defences look weak for our benefit." "She may be right." "The guards must patrol the perimeter." "They're out of eye contact with each other." "He wouldn't be that stupid." "We must expect them to be no farther than...50 metres apart." "Fine, it makes no difference." "Doesn't it?" "If we assume he has adequate defences, then we should use a "N'yengoren" strategy." "No!" "I will not sneak in and murder him like a "kah'plakt" ." "I want him to see us coming." "I say we make a direct attack boldly through the threshold." "The guards can't defend against us." "We will overwhelm them to glorious victory!" "Or a glorious death." "It is a good day to die." "It is a good day to die." "Come on, comrade, for the last time, let's sharpen our blades." "So, we talk about dying again." "A Klingon warrior is always prepared to die." "Yes, but to invite death with a direct assault against a superior force..." "Kang, what are you doing?" "What's really going on here?" "Loyalty blinds Kor and Koloth, but not me." "This is not a plan for battle." "It's a plan for suicide." "If it weren't you I might think you were paid to lure us here." "I took a blood oath with you!" "You didn't want me to come because you knew you were coming to die." "When the amulet arrived with the location of the Albino... I went to the Secarus system to see if it was true." "Somehow, the instant I arrived, the Albino knew I was there." "He contacted me." "He sent an invitation... for one last glorious battle." "He said he was tired of this lifelong pursuit." "He swore to send 40 of his strongest, most skilled men against us in honourable battle." " And I agreed." " But why?" "Because this is our last chance." "If we cannot reach the Albino we can at least die an honourable death trying to reach him." "A death a Klingon Dahar master deserves." "You know what, Kang?" "You Klingons embrace death too easily." "You treat death like a lover." "I think living is a lot more attractive." "I think an honourable victory is better than an honourable defeat." "I know the Albino's defences." "There is no chance of victory here." "What if they had no phasers?" "That might make the odds a little better." "How would you disarm them?" "When we establish a low orbit, we modulate your disruptor banks to bombard the compound with tetryon particles." "Every directed energy weapon would be neutralised." "You're certain that could be done?" "If Curzon were here, no, but Jadzia Dax is a science officer." "We would also be unable to use our disruptors." "But who among them could match our skills with a "bat'leth" ?" "Not many." "We're about 40 minutes from the Secarus system." "We should cloak and then we should sharpen our blades too." "Perhaps...it is a good day to live." "You say they promised you an honourable battle." "Hand-to-hand combat at the main threshold." "Take a look at this." "This shows a mine buried at the main threshold." "He plans to detonate it the moment we enter." "You made a deal with the devil, Kang." "On the other hand, this gives us an advantage." " He's expecting us at the front door." " How do we know he's inside?" "Good question." "Wait here." "I'm going to find out if he's inside." " How will you do that?" " l'll ask somebody." "We should shut down his sensor array before we attack." "It's controlled from this power station." "But a power failure would signal our presence." "When you shut down the sensors I'll create a diversion to misdirect their response." "Good, but whoever creates a diversion will have to run across this field to escape." "None of you are as quick as you were." "I'll do that job." "Agreed." "It seems this is the best place for entry right here." "I encountered a helpful lookout." "The Albino is inside." "His overconfidence will be the death of him." "He's in there, but when we attack he will move to a secured command post here." "It will be midday in about an hour." "Can you create the diversion by then?" " l think so." " We will be at the powerhouse." "May Kahless guide us on this day of vengeance." "Excuse me." "Could you tell me where the tennis courts are?" " Report." " l've moved patrols to the armoury." "Move all guards to the inner defence line." " Check the power station is secure." " Go." " None of the phasers are functioning." " Not functioning?" "We're running diagnostics." "Check for interference from a cloak ship in orbit." "Have the guards fix kuttars to their rifles and prepare for hand-to-hand combat." "I can't contact the power station." "They've broken through the defences." "Move the guards into the house." "Sir, without power, we have no communications." "Then get out there and tell them yourself." "I don't want that Klingon filth to get in this..." "Look upon your executioners, killer of children." "Get them!" "Koloth!" "I didn't see him coming." "You cannot have eyes in the back of your head." "Quiet now." "Rest." "I still have work to do." "I will not die before you do, you thunderous bulk." "The story of your courage will never die." "I will sing the story." "The children of all Klingons will know of this day." "You'll die far quicker than your son did, Kang." "No vengeance today, Kang." "And who are you, girl?" " You knew me as Curzon Dax." " The Trill." "Of course." "You're far too young and lovely to sport such a deadly weapon." "All right then..." "Use it if that's what you came to do." "Kill me in cold blood." "Run me through and cut out my heart." "Isn't that what your blood oath promised?" "Or have you lost your appetite, my dear?" "Thank you for saving the death blow for me." "You have honoured me one last time... godfather to my son." "Where is Koloth?" "He is dead." "I was right, Dax." "It is a good day to die." "It's never a good day to lose a friend."