The Last Best Hope

 

Story Notes:

Rating: PG

Type: Angst, missing scene

 

             Someone cradles my head.  I can’t see you, Azetbur, but I know you by the smell of your blood, the touch of your hands, the beat of your heart.  I know you are afraid, though you are Klingon and will never admit it.  I know I am dying.

             I wish I could speak to you, but words will not come past the agony in my chest.  Have I explained everything to you?  Do you understand how necessary this alliance with the Federation is?  If the old ways do not truly become old, if war continues to consume us, then we will die out as a people, as a race.  Do you know that peace is our last, best hope?

             I tried to be an architect of that peace, as Dr. McCoy said when we dined on the Enterprise, and a herald of new beginnings.  I have often wondered how history will view me.  Will others understand what I intended?  They call it “The Gorkon Initiative” now.  Will the passage of years change it to “The Gorkon Betrayal”?  I don’t desire a notoriety as the betrayer of my people.  What you do with this peace, Azetbur, will determine my place in history.

             Stand firm, my daughter.  Peace will not come easily for us.  It never has.  They will try to convince you that we are strong, but we are not.  They will urge you to keep fighting, to die fighting.  Have I not told you that war is obsolete?  If you are swayed by their words, Azetbur, it is not the Federation who will cause our extinction.  The canker that would destroy us lies within ourselves.

             Have I warned you not to trust too easily?  I don’t care for Kerla.  He is hot of blood and loud of mouth.  But it is Chang whom I fear.  He listens well and says little.  He thinks too much.  Be wary of such a Klingon.

             I hear the Federation men now, and I feel the possessive tightening of your arms.  Do you hear the shock and confusion in their voices?  I don’t understand how this deed was done, but it was not Kirk who authorized it.  Can you not hear his outrage?

             Remember that the tales are only tales and that we Klingons are great ones for our tales.  We have a hundred insults for Kirk, but perhaps the tales exaggerate.  At the core of every tale, Kirk is a warrior.  He hates us, yes, but his hatred is honest.  He respects his enemies.  He is no coward to hire a knife in the dark or a stab in the back.  I think…I think we may have faith in him, Azetbur.

             Listen to the desperation in the doctor’s voice.  It is sincere.  They’re scared too.  Remember how I have said that the future is the undiscovered country.  The future is an unknown, a frightful place.  It will take each of us, working together, to conquer the fear and move into that future.

             It is hard to breathe.  My child, are you near?  Ancestors, warriors of the past, await me at the gates of Sto’Vo’Kor.  I come soon.

             I see a face above me.  Is it you, Azetbur?  I have so much to say, so much you must understand.

             But no, it is Kirk.  From his expression, death approaches, and trouble already threatens.  Will my death destroy the very peace I have fought to preserve?  Is it too late?

             I lift my hand.  Kirk lowers his head to meet it.  I feel the softness of his hair against my fingertips and doubt again.  Can I trust him?  Can I place the future of my people within his hands?  Do I have a choice?

             I have no more time.  I will speak.

Such pain.  It mustn’t defeat my purpose.  Kahless, give me strength.

             “Don’t let it end this way, Captain.”

             I see the answer in his eyes.  A flicker of promise.  The legacy will be fulfilled.  The hope will live.  The peace will endure.

I am content.

             The room is dim now.  I would like to rest.

             Azetbur, child, continue my work.  ¤

 

 

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Disclaimer:  The Star Trek characters all belong to Paramount Studios.  This fanfic is not intended to infringe on those rights and is meant solely for the purpose of entertainment.  All other characters, the story idea, and the story itself are the sole property of the author.