Maarg

Will and Jory stood there watching the scene unfold as Alexei's family gathered round to show their support and love for the young Tsar. Both boys had tears in their eyes, as did everyone in the room; it was something that only the hardest of hearts would not shed a tear at. Yes, things were about to get very complicated, but for now, all that mattered was the love that was filling the room. But, as with everything, it had to come to an end.

"Jory... Will..." Daileass's troubled voice filled their heads. "I.. Uhhh.. I need you guys in Adam's office... NOW!"

They looked at each other wondering what the hell was going on now. "Okay..." Will said mentally, and before he knew it, he and Jory were standing in Adam's office, back in Utah. They looked around not knowing what was going on, when a voice spoke form behind them. "Jesus Christ... I leave for a bit, and this is what happens? The damned worlds going to war with itself.... I almost MISSED it!"

They both turned around to see a site they truly could not have expected. Standing in front of them were three Klingons.

There was a young Klingon male. He was dressed in a furred black undershirt with an armored leather vest with dorsal spines. On the front his collar was rank pins that designated him as a house General. There was a young Klingon female. She was wearing a black furred undershirt covered with an armored leather vest and dress. Like the man, she also had the insignia of a General of her house. Standing between them holding hands with both of them was a little boy of eight or nine dressed like the older male Klingon but with no rank insignia.

"Juan?" Jory asked in shock.

"Well Duh... I ain't the flippin tooth fairy!" Juan said with a grin that no one could mistake for anyone else.

"What... what happened?" Will ask breathlessly; his mind was telling him two different things. The first, this is Juan... but his eyes told him differently. The boy standing in front of them was almost as old as Adam... probably Logan's age. The second thing was the way the boy was dressed. He was dressed as if he just came from the Klingon home world or something. Of course, the other two with them were dressed similarly. The girl standing next to Juan looked to be a few years older than he was.

"Well it should be obvious." Juan started with a big smile. "This is my mate Konara, and our son Kellan."

"Mate?" Jory asked not knowing what to think.

"Son?" Will asked equally a shocked, and Juan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I didn't stutter did I?" He asked once he could speak, Konara and Kellan smiling broadly. They knew who Juan's brothers were by the stories that he had told them.

"Well no.. but... how?" Jory asked not knowing if he really wanted to know or not.

"Well... since we don't have a lot of time before the fun starts, how about we do it the way Logan showed me? Let’s do it mind to mind." The next thing that happened was all five of them were standing in an outdoor setting on a planet that was definitely NOT Earth.

Kellan immediately laughed and turned to Juan. "Father, may I go play with the fishes?"

"Sure Kellan. That’s why I brought us here first little warrior." Juan said. Both Jory and Will could see the love Juan had for the boy.

Juan looked back up to Jory and Will while he draped an arm around Konara. "The easiest way to do this is to let you see the high points of what's happened to me... well us, over the last hundredish years. It all started when Kahless came to us...."

 

---

 

"I cannot allow the last of my House to fall, nor can I allow them to remain in dishonor forever. No-one living may Dishonor my House, and no-one dead can. Rise, Korris! Rise, Koth! Rise, Chang! Rise, Juan! The Voice of Kahless Commands it; the Blood of Qo'nos Demands it; the Honor of the Empire wills it. Arise!"

An angry red-purple glow surrounded all four bodies, and the light from it grew brighter and brighter.

"When Kahless Calls, you come! When Kahless Commands, you rise!"

As the glow grew to a level of brightness that made even the Doctor and Levi cover their eyes, a chorus of loud battle cries started to build.

"Sto-Vo-Kor sends you home! Sto-Vo-Kor grants you glory! Sto-Vo-Kor does NOT Call for you yet! Arise!"

The battle cries and shouts, and songs and chants in Klingon built and rose, until the very ground beneath their feet trembled. The sky started to split, as lightning hammered into the ground just outside of the hanger bay doors. The fury of the Elements started to spill out from 'beyond', as four great spirits were returned.

The bright glow was still there, and the ground still heaved as those spirits came through the doors. And the cries of wonder from those who could only just make them out, added a counterpoint to the still on-going roars from all the Dead Klingon Warriors in Sto-Vo-Kor.

They were Spirits filled with honor, justice, glory of battle, and the most powerful thing of all:

Love!

They were the four brothers just departed... then, as they merged with the glow around the four bodies before Kahless...

"I live, Great Father," came Korris' voice, "and I answer your Command! What do you will of me?"

"I live, Great Father," Koth's voice joined in a second later, "and I answer your Command! What do you will of me?"

"I live, Great Father," Chang added immediately after, "and I answer your Command! What do you will of me?"

"I live, Great Father," came the now expected voice of Juan, "and I answer your Command! What do you will of me?... and can I make them suffer first, or is that going too far?"

"Juan..." Joel giggled happily, brushing the tears from his eyes. "My cuddly Juan!"

Janet broke down sobbing, "My boys... m...my boys..."

"Children of Kahless," the huge Klingon said as everyone saw four figures rise within the now slightly muted glow. "Stand Ready for My Commands."

Then Kahless himself entered the glow. All that could be made out was that the four smaller bodies seemed completely fine. Those injuries on Chang and Korris were gone completely.

"Armor from Armor, made as what you once wore. All the benefits of two worlds," Kahless said as the four figures before him bulked out suddenly.

"Korris - Eldest of my House. My Bat'leth is now returned to the World of the Living. Bear it with honor," he added as he handed one of the figures his great blade.

"Koth - Youngest of my House. My Mek'leth is now returned to the World of the Living. Bear them with honor," he said more softly to the small boy at his larger brother's side.

"Chang - Bonded of my House, Adopted by my Blood. My Twin Yan is now yours. They return to the World of the Living. Bear them with honor," he said reverently as he handed the Asian boy his twined straight blades.

Then, finally: "Juan - Bonded of my House, Adopted by my Blood. My Twin D'k tahg is now yours. They return to the World of the Living. Bear them with honor." The last figure reached to receive the Klingon knives.

"My Command - Regain your Honor. Fulfill the Prophecy, and Ascend the Throne of Kahless:"

"Before the Throne shall they stand,

The Great Hall of Kahless shall tremble;

Bound by oaths and power not known,

Four boys shall call and assemble."

"Ancient Weapons shall be returned,

Eyes of Fire shall blaze and see;

Honor and Battle shall fill the Land

When my Children return there for me..."

"I claim you as my own. My blood is bound to Earth, and Earth's Blood is bound to mine. Klingon all shall you be; Mind-Walkers all shall you be; Beginnings all shall you be."

Then, suddenly - Kahless was gone. The glow was gone. The rumbling ground was calm.

And, where all that had been, stood four boys in Klingon armor. Two - Korris and Koth - looked much as ever, but their eyes were shining golden blue. Chang and Juan, however...

They were now Klingon... with golden blue shining eyes, and just slightly softer ridges...

"We are the Sons of Kahless... HEAR OUR ROAR!" They roared in unison as they raised their weapons high...

 

---

 

Juan looked over at Kahless in wonder, as he watched the four boys roar loudly with their new weapons held high. In his own hands were the twin D'k tahg that he had just received, yet the other Juan still had them as well.

"What's... What the fuck is going on... and who the fuck are you?" He said as he looked up at the huge Klingon warrior standing next to him then suspiciously at the Klingon interacting with his family.

"Mandate has been given that affects you young warrior. I am Kahless the Unforgettable even as he is also Kahless the Unforgettable." Kahless said as he gestured to his other self, stepped over, and squatted down to be on eye level with Juan. "You and he..." The man said pointing to where the other Juan now stood, being welcomed back by his family, "are the same yet different. That Juan is needed to do a specific duty. You though, you have a much more dangerous mission."

"So he is me? We are part Klingon now?" Juan asked, noticing that no one around could even see him or the large warrior. When Juan looked around, he saw that things looked slightly fuzzy. 'We're out of synch or something'. He said to himself.

"Yes." Kahless answered. "You and he are the same coin, yet different sides. You are different yet the same. You are both now a son of Kahless the Unforgettable."

"What will happen when I come back? Will there be two of us? Will... will I... Am I supposed to come back?" Juan asked hesitantly. He wasn't afraid of facing the unexpected, and with Kahless involved there was a certainty of battle, but... but he wasn't sure what would be expected from him going into the future. Truthfully being without the support of his family scared him more than anything else in life, and that was what he was facing.

"No one's future is written in stone. Things may be put in front of us, or we may be put in the middle of something. But there is one thing that never changes." Juan looked at the massive Klingon warrior expectantly. "You already know this if you think about it, but I will say it just the same. We all have the freedom to direct the events in our lives as we see fit. A path may be laid before us but how we walk it is ours to decide. If you succeed in your mission and return home, 'The One who is Above All' will already have a path in place. It is not for us to know what that path is yet though." Kahless said with a small smile.

Juan matched the smile as he ran his hand over the new ridges on his head. "You know, less than a week ago, I didn't believe there was a God, let alone one that would actually care about me. Now though... It's strangely comforting to know that ‘It's’ there and watching."

"I understand completely my son." Kahless said with a small sad smile. "There was a point in time that I was like you. A time when I did not know if there was such a thing as God, and even if there was, obviously he did not care about one such as I. But, then I came to realize one thing, deep in my hearts. There is not one religion. There are many and the One that stands above it all cares not for what way you choose to worship. It is about how you live. It is something that takes much wisdom to realize, although I understand a young one with in your Clan has already figured it out."

"Sometimes bad things have to happen..." Juan joined in to finish the mantra that had become one of the Clan's most fundamental statements. "...So that good things can happen."

"Exactly right." Kahless said with a wild and toothy grin. "So my young Warrior, are you ready to face the unknown? Are you ready to face what has been written as you're destiny? Are you ready to fight a battle which may take years to win?"

Juan stood up straight. A feral look crept over his face and his eyes flashed yellow. This was something that hadn't happened since the 'healing'. He knew he wasn't two different people now, and had never really been two people. He knew with a certainty that his mind hadn't re-split. He felt the fire that had been absent since 'the healing', burning brightly once more in the pit of his stomach.

"Good bye my family, you are my all now and forever. You cannot hear my words, but know deep down in your souls that I shall come home to you victorious. No matter what is in front of me there is no other path that lies before me!" Then with a primal roar coming from deep inside he locked eyes with Kahless. "Show me to the enemy father of my hearts, so that they may see my face, know my name, and tremble in fear... before I slay them."

Kahless roared in response and a sound like the thunder from a thousand storms surrounded them. His face took on the wild and menacing that had struck fear in his enemies and those of his people for centuries. Things were going to be interesting. Very few people had the fire burning in their bellies the way that this boy did. He had never before seen it in one so young. His own soul never burned with a fire this intense, not even when he had faced 'The Tyrant’ Molar. Yes, it was going to be interesting. This young one was going to wage a glorious battle!

Kahless gripped Juan's shoulder firmly and with a howl that seemed to come from the entirety of the Klingon race, there was a bright flash as they vanished from the U.N.I.T. base.

 

---

 

Juan appeared in a small alley way on the Klingon home world. The first thing he noticed was that the sky was darker than Earth. He knew instinctively that it was almost full light out, yet it was still a good deal darker than he was used to. His eyes adjusted immediately. He felt different. His body was sending him signals he did not quite understand. He looked down at his arms and legs. He did not remember them being quite this large. His mind was having trouble wrapping around this strangeness. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to his reflection. His shock at what he found staring back at him stunned him into literally standing there slack jawed. It took him a while to process what he was seeing.

Staring back at him was himself. He was definitely looking at himself. He was definitely part Klingon boy, which Juan was still trying hard to wrap his head around, but older; older than Korris even. Not a late teen, but definitely a teen. Not being able to help himself, he undid the front of his pants, and looked down. Yup, 'that' had grown as well, as he giggled to himself. Damn, he even had hair, not much, but some, and his boy bits were much larger than he remembered. He couldn't help but grin at the fact. Not only had they grown back completely, but they had grown even larger!

Juan was about to investigate further when he heard some shouting coming from the street that the alley dumped into. With his enhanced hearing, he could tell that a fight was about to break out. Not being one to miss a good fight, Juan re-did his pants and moved quickly to the mouth of the alleyway. Following the sounds, Juan went to the right, and saw something that made his blood boil. Standing there was a Klingon boy about his age, and in front of him were four larger Klingon boys, late teens by the looks of it.

"Tell us where she is, and we won't kill you!" One of the teens said with a menacing voice.

"Yeah, tell us and we'll just make you wish you were dead." One of his friends said in a cold voice.

"She is safe; in a place where the likes of you will NEVER find her!" The boy said as he pulled out two small knives.

Kras, the one who had spoken, laughed at the younger boy, as he pulled his own blade, much larger than the boys was. At the same time, the other three brandished weapons of their own. "You'll die here, and then we'll find your sister. Vrenn wants her REAL bad. What Vrenn wants, Vrenn gets."

During the brief time that they boys were speaking, Juan had scanned them and gotten a sense of what was going on. It seems that at this time in Klingon history was unlike anything else he had heard about. Kahless had told him that he was sending him back to the time when he was a child. However, he hadn't told him anything about what he was supposed to do, only that things were not good during that time, and he should just follow his honor as that would never lead him wrong. He wasn't kidding. Juan wondered if all Klingons had Kahless' skill with understatements. Things were not just bad. They were broken completely.

From what little Juan had time to process from his brief scan; this 'city' was run by the head of House Kamril, who just happened to be the younger boy's uncle. Kell, as Juan now knew the boy to be called, and his sister had become part of Vrenn's household when their father had been killed by another member of the House Kamril and their possessions and standing had been taken from them. Normally this would be a death sentence for the children, but Vrenn had his own plans. He immediately decided that Kell's twin sister, Konara, would be married off to one of the important Generals in the House's army. Kell suspected that this had been his Uncle's plan all along. He had always despised their father and had been irate when the proposed marriage had been rejected by their father months previous to his death. The man that Konara was supposed to marry was known to be very violent with his mates. Neither Kell nor Konara would allow that to happen, so they fled, making their lives on the streets.

Obviously this infuriated Vrenn. It was well known that anyone who could bring Konara back to him would be rewarded handsomely. Since the Houses were run much like the Mafia of the early twentieth century Earth, the rule of law was the rule of might. The strongest lead and the weaker were used. Although from the looks of it, this place was worse than Earth ever got. Either way, Vrenn's word was law, and no one would care if Kell was killed to get his sister back.

Kell had become very good at being unseen when he ventured out to obtain food or whatever else they needed, but today he had been spotted by these four. With images of riches and being made more than just local thugs, they decided to try and find out where Kell's sister was, so they could present her to Vrenn.

Kras made a move toward Kell. Juan spoke up. "Well now, four on one doesn't seem fair... Well, of course the idea of fair would never enter the heads of pieces of trash like you four now would it? Don't bother to answer. I don't really care what you have to say unless it is 'we surrender'." He moved up and stood next to Kell, his own D'k tahg blades out and ready. "Tell me Kell. May I join you in this battle?"

Kell looked shocked at the new comer, but quickly nodded. He had no clue who this boy was, or how he knew his name, but right now, he would take anyone's help. He was sure the stranger would expect something in return, but he would deal with that later. The few people that were on the street had either stopped to watch, or quickly moved to the other side of the street to avoided the fight entirely.

"This does not concern you." Kras said dangerously. "I am feeling generous. Leave now and we'll forget about this."

"Sorry, but I can't do that. I know Honor is an alien concept to you, but my Honor will not allow me to simply walk by." Juan said as he got down in a fighting crouch. "Come now, and see what you're honorless actions will bring."

Kras was the first to roar and charge, and he was also the first one to hit the ground, one of Juan's blades buried deep in his chest. Juan, almost casually, brought the butt of his other blade down on the Kras' ridge plate causing a sickening crunching sound as it shattered. Kras would never recover from that. Kell barely even saw the boy move, but he didn't have a chance to gawk, as the other three quickly charged as well. Juan had hoped that the shock of seeing their leader taken down so quickly would back them off. He was wrong, and the other three charged at the same time.

Juan quickly kicked the first one to reach them off to the side. At the same time, he grabbed another by the wrist and threw him into his compatriot. This left the smallest opponent, who was armed with a pipe, for Kell to deal with. Juan let the other two get up and took up positions on either side of him. They could fight, but they had no real training other than the harsh reality of living in this city. Juan felt almost sorry for them. They were already dead. They just did not know it yet.

Juan ducked as the first blow came. He lashed out with his foot and sent the boy's weapon flying. Again, he gripped the second boy by his wrist and sent him hurling into the first one with a vicious kick to his rib cage, sending them both to the ground. Then pain blossomed in Juan's chest. The first boy had managed to throw some sort of spiked ball at him before going down. It had only grazed him, but it caused him to hiss in pain. His blood boiled even faster in his chest as he went at the Klingon boys full out. Not even a Klingon could match Juan's strength or speed. His first opponent had gotten back to his feet and drew another blade while the other boy crawled off a bit and made gagging sounds as he tried to catch his breath.

With a roar of rage, Juan used all his strength, and delivered a round house kick to the charging boy's jaw. Teeth and blood flew several feet out of the boy's mouth as the bottom jaw dislocated from the top. The boy collapsed and began to moan in a low keening gurgle as blood pooled around his head. The other boy had not yet gotten to his feet so Juan wasted no time. There was no honor in letting his enemy suffer. He drove one of his blades through the boy's primary heart and his other blade into the secondary heart. Then to be thorough, and because he wanted to send a message to those watching, he stomped the boy's head crushing it to a bloody pulp.

The last teen that Juan was fighting was now coming to his feet. Juan was momentarily surprised, then remembered again that he was fighting a Klingon, and what would normally disable a human, wouldn't keep a Klingon down.

Juan grinned at the teen and spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard all over the street. "Tell me! Is it a good day to die?"

Before the startled boy could respond, Juan launched a fury of attacks, meant to drive the boy away from Kell, but also to gauge what it takes to take a Klingon down without killing him outright. Juan wanted to see just how well this kid could fight. He was rather disappointed. Finally Juan decided to stop playing with the boy, and simply grabbed the boy, spun him around, and violently broke his neck, almost tearing it off. By the time Juan was done, the boy's head was almost completely backwards.

With blood covering his body, Juan spun to see how the fight between Kell and the last of the gang members was going. He had been using a room in his mind to keep an eye on things, but had not really had time to properly absorb it. Kell was injured, having taken a few blows from the kid’s metal pipe, but the teen also had many gashed and cuts that Kell inflicted with his small blade.

Juan watched as Kell ducked inside of a mighty swing, then came up hard, the tip of the blade leading the way, as he used all of his might to bury the blade into the teens neck. The teen got a shocked look on his face as he dropped the pipe and clutched at his throat, stumbling back a few steps. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell to the ground. Kell stumbled back a few steps, eyes wide in shock at what had happened. Juan stepped over to the boy who was unconscious on the ground, blood pouring out of his neck. Juan looked up at the shocked Kell and said in a quiet voice. "Always finish what you start." With that said, Juan grabbed the handle of the blade that was still sticking out of the wounded teens neck, and twisted it violently to one side then the other, making sure to cut everything of importance. He then looked back at a now completely shocked Kell and spoke softly, "there is never reason to leave a fallen foe to bleed to death. Besides you don't want to give him the chance to come back later either."

The boy looked shocked and confused, so Juan walked over to him and said softly. "Do you really think that if we'd left them alive, they would not have just come back, this time with more friends of theirs? The next time we might not have been able to fight them all. When it comes to family, and family getting hurt, anyone who threatens your family should be shown no mercy, because they will not show any to you. Look. You can fight, but you have a lot to learn, maybe unlearn is a better way to put it. Don't fight unless you really mean it. There is never a reason to do a half assed job! A half assed job will always come back to haunt you." Juan saw him nod finally, although Juan knew the boy was still not comfortable with the idea. Finally, Juan sighed and threw his arm over the boy. "Come on, let’s gather all their weapons and anything else they have that we can make use of and then get the fuck out of here before anything else happens." Again Kell nodded a bit uneasily as the picked through the boys' belongings. When they had taken their weapons and everything else of value, they turned and walked away.

After a few minutes of walking, Juan looked over at Kell and asked. "Where do you live? I'm not exactly from around here. Hell even if I was, I wouldn't know where you lived. So lead the way my friend."

Kell was still a bit in shock, but nodded, and took the lead. They went further away from the interior of the city which Juan could see was a fortification for Vrenn and his flunkies. Ten minutes of silence later, Juan found himself in a not very nice section of town, and Kell pointed to an abandoned building. Kell had started limping, and Juan knew the boy was hurt; of course, the cut that Juan suffered had actually already mostly healed. He put an arm under Kell's shoulder, and helped the boy as he walked.

They climbed in through a broken out hole in a wall, and then up a set of battered stairs, a few of them Juan had to help Kell over since they had to climb over a few steps that had broken out. When they got up to the second floor, it was only Juan's extreme reaction time that allowed him to catch the metal pipe that was being swung at him.

"Wooh there!" Juan said as he stood eye to eye with a girl who had her hands wrapped around the steel pipe that was aimed at Juan's head. His hand was holding it back, while his other hand was still holding Kell up. His eyes were locked with hers, the fire he saw in them that made him smile with a feral grin that showed his teeth. "Nice try, but you may want to stop long enough to help your brother. Afterwards if you really want to fight, I'm sure we can arrange something."

Konara's eyes got wide as she let go of the pipe and ran to Kell's side. "What happened?" She asked urgently as she gathered him up and pulled him into the room, and made him lie down on a makeshift bed.

Kell's only response was to moan as she tore open his shirt to reveal a few places that were already showing the bruises that would be covering his body shortly. She looked up at Juan and spat out, "What happened to him?"

"Well..." Juan said as he took off his own bloody shirt making sure everything had healed up properly. "It seems that Kell took exception to four boys who wanted to take you back to your Uncle, and he forgot how to duck."

"Oh Kell." She moaned out as she looked down at her battered brother.

"I couldn't let them get you." He said breathlessly, as she started to palpate his ribs to see if anywhere broken. From the groans he made, they were at the least cracked.

She looked back up at Juan and studied him for a moment. "You got him away from them?"

"In a manner of speaking." Juan said with his classic grin.

"What does THAT mean?" She asked suspiciously.

"I killed them, and did it in... well let’s just say that those four are now an example for everyone, as to why you don't mess with us." Juan said with a half smirk.

Konara glared at Juan with a fierceness that made Juan's blood boil again. It was different from how he had felt before battle. His body had never really felt like this before. She turned her attention back to her injured brother.

 

---

 

An hour later, Kell was resting, somewhat comfortably. Konara walked over to where Juan was cleaning his blades and sorting through what they had taken from the dead boys. She sat down beside him and silently watched as he took meticulous care in cleaning the blood off his blades, then oiling them so that they would always be in the best shape. Of course, since these were blades given to him by Kahless himself, he doubted that they needed this kind of care, but Juan could do nothing less. You never disrespect a weapon.

"Kell told me what happened..." She said finally. Juan looked up at her and nodded, waiting to let her talk. "I... I just wanted to say thank you."

"Why?" Juan asked perplexed.

"You know... for helping my brother." She said with a blush. Juan just shrugged and went back to cleaning his blade. After a few more moments of silence, she blurted out a question that Juan knew was coming. "Why?"

Juan smiled as he looked over at her. "Why what?"

"Why did you help him?" She asked getting slightly upset.

"Why wouldn't I?" He asked, turning the question back onto her. For several moments she looked at him like he was crazy, which made Juan think back to how many times people have looked at him like that.

"Well... you could have gotten hurt, or even worse." She said, the tone in her voice making it obvious she didn't understand why he was making this difficult on her.

"Yeah? And?" Juan asked now smiling knowing what this was doing to her. "Would you have preferred I didn't?"

"No! Of course not!" She said emphatically. "I'm just trying to understand why you did something that no one else would have done."

"Would you have?" He asked enjoying the torture he was putting her through.

She sat back stunned by the question. "I..." She paused and looked down blushing from embarrassment. "I don't know."

Juan sighed and put the blade down he was working on and picked up the other one to start cleaning it. After several moments of silence, he paused and looked back at her. "Okay, I want you to pay attention closely. I am not the preachy sort, nor do I teach in the normal manner. But, I feel that this one time, until you and your brother get used to me, I will have to this time, but only this time. Remember it 'cause I sure as hell ain't gonna do it again."

He worked for several more moments, silent, and concentrating on the blade he was working on. Finally he spoke, still focused on the blade. "I could do no less."

"What?" She asked now completely lost by what he meant.

He stayed silent for a few more seconds before he sighed heavily and put the blade he was working on to the side. "When I was growing up, a man taught me something called Honor." She looked at him strangely, so he sighed and continued. "I know you know the word honor, and what it means, but there is a difference between what you know, and what I am talking about. Honor is a way of life, a way of living; it dictates what actions you take, how to take them, how you behave, everything. Honor is what binds me to a course of action, no matter what the outcome may be. Yes, I could have died today, but my own code of Honor would not allow me to see four older larger teens, attacking one smaller younger teen, and simply walk on by. I live my life for something that has meaning beyond just me, or maybe it is more that I live my life in a way that gives me meaning that is more than just me. I am my actions. How could I be anything else?"

She sat there for a long while digesting what he had said. "It sounds like a difficult life for one as young as you are." When he started to laugh, she got somewhat angry and confused.

"I’m not laughing at you," Juan said, "just at the words you used. Someone said that to me once, my mother. It took me a bit to explain to her that it’s not really hard once you commit to it. It truly makes what decisions you make much easier. Once you learn to live by a code, you never have to think twice about something. Besides, she lives by a code every day of her life and never thinks twice about it. It’s as natural to her as breathing. She is a mother to all of us who need her."

She thought about what he said for several minutes, before she turned towards him fully, asking a question that almost made Juan break out laughing. "Who are you anyways?"

He looked at her seriously for a few moments trying to decide how to answer this one. Finally he sighed. "For now I can’t explain who I am, or where I came from. Call me Maarg for now though."

She didn’t look happy about the answer, not happy at all. "How are we supposed to trust you if you won’t tell us who you are or where you came from?"

Juan shook his head slightly. "For now, I just ask that you trust that I have no ill intent. At least not towards you or your brother, and I will be completely honest with you though, I do have a plan forming in my mind that will involve both you and your brother; him more so than you."

"Oh…" She asked looking rather upset. "And just what plans are these?"

He grinned at her using his normal cocky grin… a look that she will learn to be afraid of in the future. "That’s simple. I plan on seeing to it that your brother takes over the House of Kamril."

She sat there shocked.

 

---

 

It had been two years since Juan got there, and it was soon coming time to give Kell and Konara some sort of explanation. He was kind of hoping he would never have to cross this bridge, since both of them seem to have accepted that he would not talk about the time before he came there. But, something that Kahless hadn't mentioned was making this explanation come much sooner than Juan would have liked. He wasn't aging.

To make matters worse, he was developing some serious feelings for Konara. At first he thought if anyone, he would fall for Kell, but love has a way of turning those thoughts on their ear. After Kell fully recovered from the fight, Juan had started to train them not only in how to fight and how to use weapons, but in combat in general. Teaching them the mindset it takes to be a warrior, the way to assess a situation and how to determine who was the stronger opponent.

The thing that shocked him though was when first Konara, then Kell started to ask him about his code of Honor. At first he was reluctant, saying that each person had to define their own code for themselves. But they wore him down, and he found himself teaching them in ways that he hadn't expected. It took him months to figure out what they were doing. By asking him scenario based questions, mostly involving combat, they were slowly able to figure out what Juan’s honor was based on; at least some parts of it.

He could also tell, from the few times he allowed himself to read the surface thoughts of his friends, that Konara was developing feelings for him; but she wouldn't allow herself to act on them. The wall created by his strange first appearance, and then the fact that he was not growing up frightened her. That, above everything else brought him to the point where he was now.

He picked the night he was going to talk with them, and made sure everything he wanted was set up. First, he made sure they had a good hot meal to sit down to, something that they didn't have very often, since Vrenn still had not stopped looking for Konara. Of course Juan was an outlaw, since he was a wanted murderer. All of which made going out to get good food that much more difficult. Of course, the 'message' he had made on his first day and several times since, kept most of the population from trying them. However, those who worked directly for Vrenn were a different matter altogether. Several times Juan had to use his telepathic abilities to make people forget they saw him.

So, Juan found himself sitting across from the twins, a small fire in between them, as they ate. They both knew something big was up, since the normal confident and sometimes cocky boy was fidgeting, and wasn’t eating much. It had been a long time since Juan was worried about others, and if they would accept him for who he was. His family back on Earth had accepted him, and he didn't give a shit about anyone else, till now.

Finally, after arguing with himself for most of the meal, Juan drew a deep breath. "Fuck it!" he said out loud, although he hadn't meant to.

"What?" Kell asked.

Juan drew a deep breath and tried to look up at the two, but couldn't meet their eyes. "I'm about to tell you guys some things, but... well I ain't sure how you're gonna take it."

"Are you finally gonna tell us who you really are?" Konara asked leaning forward. There wasn't anything accusatory in her voice, just intense curiosity.

Juan simply nodded yes, still not able to meet their eyes.

"And you're worried that we'll hate you or something?" Kell said in a voice full of disbelief.

Again Juan nodded, and after several seconds of nothing, he risked looking up into their eyes. "I'm... I haven't worried about people accepting me for who I am, since my brother rescued me. Now... well now I have friends, and I don't want to lose them." Konara was about to say something, but Juan rushed on, revealing his biggest fear. "I don't want you guys to be afraid of me."

Kell couldn't help but laugh, but quickly said, "It's too late for that. Both of us know you could kill us, and never have to work at it."

His attempt at humor fell flat, and Konara punched him hard on the shoulder for it. Kell actually let out a hiss of real pain. That got Juan to smile slightly. When she looked back at Juan, her eyes softened and her voice spoke to her sincerity. "Maarg... I'll be honest, you do frighten me somewhat, but I know your heart now. That doesn't frighten me. Tell us your secret, and get this burden off your chest."

Juan nodded and started to speak, his voice a far ways off; Earth to be precise. "The name I was originally given was Juan..."

It took most of the night for him to get through his story, even though he wasn't very old, his life's story took several hours. Throughout it, the twins spoke little, save for asking for explanation to things they didn't understand. He told them specifically that he could not talk about what had led him here, or how he was turned from a human into a Klingon, since it might complicate things that they had to do in the future. He told them he did not fully understand it himself, but he was certain that it was not something to talk about lightly. They both seemed surprisingly accepting of that fact.

He was also sidelined when he started to explain about his mental abilities. They had asked for several demonstrations of them. He was scared for a moment that they might think he had used his abilities on them. Konara showed just how in tune she was to Juan when she spoke up after he demonstrated his telepathy. "Maarg, you're worried that we think you may have used that on us aren't you?" When Juan nodded sheepishly, she scooted over and put her arms around him. "Don't worry, we know you well enough to know that you wouldn't use them on us unless you had to. The one thing we learned very well is that your own sense of Honor wouldn't allow it. Hell we joked about it sometimes, thinking you had to be reading people’s minds before. Now... well now we know you were."

Juan felt like crying in relief then, but he held them back as he finished the rest of his story. When he was done, Konara had really only one thing to say. "So.. nothing you've told us explains why you're not aging. Did this person who brought you here do something to make that happen?"

Juan shrugged. "Honestly I don't know for sure. I guess so, since I was aging fine before I came here, but he never told me anything of what I was going to do here, or even why he brought me to this time. All he said was for me to do what I do best, and things would work out fine."

"So he never told you that I was supposed to challenge my uncle for control of the house?" Kell asked seriously.

"Nope," Juan said equally as serious. "It just makes sense. I mean things are pretty bad here, and your Uncle is the cause. Well, on second thought, he is more like a symptom. Things need to change, and you are obviously the one that can do it."

"Okay... I can accept that." Konara said then asked her final question. "So what's your plan now?"

Juan grinned; glad they were off the sensitive topics. He pointed at Kell and spoke... the cocky Juan back. "My plan? It's not my plan. It's your brother's plan. He has been telling me what he sees that needs to be done. I am just helping him with the how part. Kell told me he needs an army to really change things, and that is just what we are going to create."

 

---

 

Juan strolled up to the man who sat alone, looking out the window at the clear cold night. It had been twenty years since the night he told Kell and Konara about who he really was, and all there planning and hard work would come down to this night. All the fighting, all the training, the thousands of people who now followed Kell, all of it would come down to this one night a night of change. War had been declared twenty years ago, and tonight, the war would be decided.

Eight years ago, Kell had stood up and publicly declared war on his Uncle's house. They had been opposing him at every turn, but they had built their own fortress, and had the means to protect themselves publicly. That was when Kell had gone to the people. He had declared war on the ruthlessness, and brutality that his Uncle bore upon the people of this city. Kell at that point had hundreds of followers, but they were still outnumbered three to one facing Vrenn's forces. The biggest thing they had to their advantage was training. These kids, because most of them were just that, kids; were being trained by Juan.

Most of Kell's warriors were homeless, outcasts, or some other title that Vrenn and his people found undesirable. They were the kids from families that tried to resist Vrenn. They were the people who did all the shitty jobs and got next to nothing for their efforts. Some of Kell's warriors were simply second, third, or whatever children that were ignored and abused by their families and were not important in the eyes of those who were loyal to Vrenn and his policies. Kell had told Juan of this second class society days after they had begun discussing things and they had been a major factor in all their plans from the start.

However, the one thing that Juan could not do, the one thing Juan had no control over was Kell. Was he someone that could lead? Was he someone that the others would be willing to follow to their deaths? No matter what Juan did, if Kell could not instill loyalty into the others, there was nothing that he could do. Thankfully Juan had read Kell's personality right, and the boy, now a man, had that sort of personality. Kell was a natural leader. He cared about his people and it showed in all he did. Juan simply let Kell do what he did well and filled in wherever he could with his training and expertise. Juan was so proud of what Kell was building. In many ways, Kell reminded him of Adam but with a bit of Cory thrown in for good measure.

They had declared War on Vrenn, they had declared the city a safe zone, and even though they lost their fair share of fights, they also won many. It was a hit and run style of war from Kell's side. Sure they had their own stronghold, and Vrenn with all his other enemies could not spare enough men to mount a frontal assault against them, but neither did they have the people or the equipment to take Vrenn on in a frontal style assault. So they nipped at his flanks. They started to whittle away at those who supported him, they intercepted supplies and generally made things as difficult as they could for the tyrant. They used his enemies against him by tipping them off to his movements and plans and generally made Vrenn's life a nightmare.

This went on for years, slowly escalating, until they reached the point where they were now. With several thousand behind him, Kell could now confront Vrenn. Kell had challenged the tyrant to a one on one combat, winner take all. He had actually challenged the man several times, and had always been laughed at, but now, with the city on the verge of being torn apart, Vrenn was under incredible pressure to end this rebellion, or lose his house anyways. Physically, Kell was as ready as he could be. He'd been training with Juan for twenty three years, there was nothing left really for Juan to do.. there hasn't been for a long time.

"It's nearly time." Juan said softly.

"I know." Kell said and sighed. "I've been dreaming of this time for years, and yet, now that it is upon us, I feel like a child again, afraid of his big bad uncle."

"It's natural. Hell, no matter how many times I have gone into combat, I've always felt the feeling deep in my stomach, as if something is crawling around inside. But tell me brother. What is it that I have told you from the first day that I started training you?"

Kell turned and looked down at the boy who had been his friend, brother and mentor for many many years. He recited Juan's mantra easily from memory. It was the thing that Juan made them say every time he was about to train them. "A True Warrior is not without fear, a True Warrior acts in spite of his fear."

Juan smiled at the man and nodded. Kell reached down and picked up the sword that Juan had made for him many years ago. It had shed much blood, and it would do so again this evening. "Say goodbye to your family, then we must be off. As I said earlier, do not worry about others trying to interfere, they will not. This fight will be between you and Vrenn only."

Kell had seen Juan's mental abilities in action on several occasions. He knew the boy could do things that Kell could only dream about, but he also knew that Juan was very disciplined in his use of them. Kell clapped him on the shoulder, and stepped around, to go up to where his mate, Manda, was standing with their three children.

Manda had been rescued from a rape gang over ten years ago. She and Kell fell in love, and became mates. The fact that Kell's eldest son was a result of the rape that Manda was rescued from never entered into the man's mind. All three of the children were his.

Juan watched as Kell spent time with his family, and smiled. He felt an arm snake around his shoulder, and couldn't help but lean into the familiar figure that stood next to him. Konara had not aged since they made love for the first time, three nights after he came clean; however, Juan's two children were aging normally. Their eldest a sixteen year old boy named Koplo, was already a well accomplished warrior, and rising in the ranks of Kell's army. Their youngest, Kellan was almost nine, and showing a lot of promise as well.

Juan had wondered how much of his genetic enhancements and mental abilities would show up in his children. Koplo seemed to inherit many of his physical traits. The boy was faster, stronger, smarter, and healed incredibly fast for a Klingon.

Kellan had some of those same properties, but not as much as his elder brother got. However, Kellan got something that Koplo didn't. Kellan had Juan's mental abilities. He wasn't an N-Gen obviously, but he was psionically strong.

Konara, now she was another matter. If Kell took to Juan's training, then Konara was born to it. It was one of the things that Juan loved about her...

Since that first day Juan had seen her, Konara held a fire in her soul that nothing had been able to dampen. Hell, every time something had gone wrong for them, that fire seemed to get stronger. She and Juan were both Generals in Kell's army, and bluntly, Juan would not want to face her, army to army. He was almost positive he could win, but she would give him a hell of a run for his money. In single combat, she was as good as Kell was, and that was saying a lot. Kell could best her, but only because they were evenly matched except that he was physically stronger.

The one thing Juan loved about her the most though was the fact that she was just as fierce in the bedroom as she was on the battle field. Often, their celebrations after a battle were just as vigorous as the battle itself. Some might laugh at Juan when he explained this to them, but he didn't care; to him it showed that she craved life as much as she craved battle. It all came back to Bushido... Live each moment as if it were your last, for it just might be. Konara was the embodiment of that ideal.

Juan and Konara watched as Kell hugged his mate once last time, received a hug from each of his children, and then turned towards Juan with a nod. "It's time..." Konara said obviously.

Juan nodded, turned, grabbed her by the hair and kissed her passionately. When he broke the kiss, he kept his head close to hers and growled. "That's just the warm up for our victory celebration this evening."

She grinned and knocked her forehead against his somewhat gently. "It better be. Go and finish this war."

Juan grinned and nodded, turned and took his spot by Kell's side. This night would be the turning point in their lives, either they would all loose them this night, or by the time the sun rose, Kell would control his house, and begin to bring Honor back to the name of Kamril. As they walked out of the building, surrounded by hundreds of Kell's supporters, the man looked down at the boy and grinned. "Today IS a good day to die! I hope he appreciates that it is I who brings it to him!"

"That it is my Lord, that it is." Juan said happily.

 

---

 

As the scene faded from their view, Jory and Will looked at Juan and blinked, waiting for the next scene, when it didn't come Will turned fully to Juan and said "Well?"

"Well what?" Juan asked innocently.

"Well did Kell win?" Jory exclaimed.

Juan looked over at Konara in confusion, and she just shook her head. "What is that saying you taught me my love?" She asked softly, then grinned as it dawned on her. "Oh yeah.. I remember now!" She looked at Jory and Will and said in a very serious voice. "Well DUH!" She turned to Juan and shook her head. "Like we'd ever lose."

---

Editor’s notes:

Now that is a story worth telling!!! I can’t even put into words how good that was and all the emotion, depth, and fierceness that was put into this chapter. Roland has out done himself, again. Now, what happens next?

Boxerdude