"True Warriors Go to StoVoKor"
By Jason Andrew

Koloth was not a klingon known for his great sentimentality. It was rare for even his closest friends to hear word from him. When the message reached Kang and Kor asking them to meet him at Space Station K-9, they knew that great deeds were in the making. Koloth never discussed or mentioned that station. In fact, he killed one of his first officers that had dared to taunt him with the very name of that cursed place. Space Station K-9 was the location of his first defeat at the hands of James T. Kirk.

They had expected Koloth to meet them at the docking bay, but instead found him at the station bar. Kor was stunned. Koloth actively disapproved of drunkenness and therefore often disapproved of him. As Koloth was one of his oldest friends, Kor often forgave him. "By Kahless, I've waited years for you to relax, Koloth. Why the last time I saw you drunk was the day that we discovered that the Demon had died."

Kang's eye narrowed. "You would not have summoned us here unless the need was great. Did you find the Albino?"

"It is with regret that I have not." Koloth struggled stand before his brothers. "But there is another oath, we can fulfill this day."

Kor scoffed. "The wine had made your brain soft, Koloth! There is no other oath, except. . ."

Koloth drained his flagon. "He did not die, Kor. He disappeared. Like Kahless.

Kang growled. "It is not possible. He disappeared decades ago."

Koloth nodded. "And just three days ago, he returned upon a backwater world called Veridian III and died a hero's death."

Kang shook his head. "He would have been ancient by human standards. They do not age as well as well do. It must have been an impostor."

Kor grabbed one of the empty flagons and poured himself a draught. He was glad to see his old friends, even if it were on a fool's quest. "Yes, but was there not speculation that he had klingon blood? At the time it was very difficult to tell such things. He could have aged well."

This was a very old argument. "He was not a klingon, Kor!"

"How else could he defeat all of us?"

Koloth smiled. It was a rare occurrence. "I have the Federation intelligence report here." He pulled a data pad from the table and presented to them. Kor and Kang scrolled through the medical reports and stopped when they reached the scanned images of the body of the Demon; the human captain known as James T. Kirk. "Did we not swear to find out? The Federation has left his body on the planet where he died."

"He saved my life twice," Kang admitted. "But it will be difficult to reach Veridian III. According to the report, the Federation had quarantined the area."

Kor laughed. "Bah! What is such a thing to three Dahar Masters?"

"Do you know what the afterlife is like for humans?" Koloth asked. "They are clad in white and forced to sit upon clouds and play musical instruments!"

Kang was horrified. "No! Not even the humans deserve that."

Kor nodded, feeling very sympathetic for the humans. He poured Kang a flagon of bloodwine. "I understand now why they fear death."

Koloth nodded, absolute. "We can not let this happen! If he does not go to StoVoKor, we will never again have the chance to defeat him!"

Kor agreed. "Children will sing songs of this day that we saved our greatest enemy from dishonor so that we might have all of eternity to defeat him!"

The very thought of facing the Demon again cheered Kang's heart. "Then let us leave this night."

Kang had been very disappointed that stealth and cunning was not required for this journey. Captain Morg explained that the Duras sisters had helped a renegade Federation scientist destroy the newest version of the Enterprise. The Empire was actually quite embarrassed that a rogue vessel had attacked their new allies and had planned to send an envoy to personally offer their regards. It took every bit of political pull that Kang, Kor, and Koloth could spare to arrange for the honor to be laid upon Captain Morg's ship.

Much to their surprise, the three klingons were not the only pilgrims seeking to say good-bye to Kirk. By the time that they had arrived, most of the crew of the new Enterprise had been retrieved from this barren world and only a skeleton crew of salvage engineers remained. Captain Morg beamed them down to the specified coordinates from the Federation liaison officer. They were greeted by a squadron of Federation armed security guards.

Kor laughed. "Ha! It is like the old days."

Koloth felt oddly nostalgic. "I haven't killed a Federation officer in years."

A voice with a familiar Scottish brogue boomed at them. "Hold it right there!"

Kang's instincts were to attack, but the voice was familiar somehow. "Who speaks to Kang?"

"It's alright lads. I recognize that one. They are who they say they are."

The Starfleet Security officers parted so that the klingons could see their leader. He was an old, rotund man wearing an ancient Starfleet uniform. Kang knew that there was something familiar about this man. "I know you, human."

Montgomery Scott shook his head. "We crossed swords once. On the Enterpise. Kirk's Enterprise."

Kang recognized him. "Yes, you were the ship's engineer! You fought bravely."

Scotty usually didn't like klingons as a general rule. Still, it felt good to be around people that remembered the glory days. "So did you, as I recall."

Koloth's eyes narrowed and growled. "You were the one that put those creatures on my ship!"

Nervous, the Starfleet Security Officers raised their weapons. "That was a long time ago, lad."

Koloth agreed. "It was a worthy maneuver. We had to redesign our shields to prevent that from ever happening again."

Scotty was very glad this wasn't turning into a shooting conflict. "Glad to hear it, Captain Koloth!"

Kor laughed and patted his belly. "We haven't been captains for many years. The years have not always been kind. Though you have aged well for a human."

"I was in stasis for a number of years in an accident," Scotty explained.

Koloth waved at his companions. If he let Kor start telling stories, they would never reach Kirk's body. "We can drink and exchange stories afterwards. We must prepare the way for Kirk."

Scotty didn't like the sound of that. "I don't understand."

"Kirk was a warrior. A klingon at heart, if not deed. The dead must be warned that he comes or he will not get into StoVoKor," Kor explained.

"Yes, he must not be allowed to sit upon clouds and play musical instruments," Kang added, earnestly.

Koloth nodded. "And our own afterlife will be quite dull without the chance to defeat Kirk."

Scotty didn't quite know what to say. When he heard that Kirk had died, he had moved heaven and earth to get this assignment. It was his job to finish excavating the remains of the Enterprise. More importantly, it was his job to build the final tomb of James T. Kirk. He had wanted to mark the passing of an era that would never come again. He certainly didn't expect the klingons to wants to pay their final respects.

He wasn't certain that he wanted to explain to the klingons that their version of the human afterlife was a child's story. They had traveled hundreds of light years to honor an honored enemy's memory. Perhaps, this was their way of saying goodbye to an era long past and treasured. "Sure thing, lads. Have you ever tried Scottish whiskey?"