Challenge 1

Posted on Thu Oct 23rd, 2025 @ 11:22pm by Captain Mira Rodale Lance & Commander Kevin Lance

2,237 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Death before dishonor
Location: Starbase 364
Timeline: Present

On:

It didn’t take long for them to end up in the turbo lift, heading down. Mira kept her hand in Kevin’s. There were so many things she wanted to ask about the woman they had just met, but she didn’t speak. Somehow she felt, whatever that was about, it would just upset her and she needed her mind clear for the battle ahead of her.

The doors opened and she stepped out.

K’lar, her brother in law, was standing there with a black fur. Of course, she would forget it. He slipped it around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “You don’t have to answer this challenge, he isn’t worth it.”

Mira nodded then turned to Kevin.

“If I had known my second would be killed, I would have prepared you for this. There is so many rules, but to make it as simple as possible, you watch my back and your own, too. Watch for any cheating. General D’amish Kharon has changed the rules to first blood only,” she told him in a rush.

“I got the important things of the second’s responsibilities in the duel between Lurkan and D’rown,” Kevin acknowledge, referring to the incident in his mission to Klingon space, “K’lar will ensure that I don’t miss the trivial stuff.

“I’ll try to get the win quickly because in a prolonged battle I will lose.” She gave a little shrug. “I am 5 foot and a hundred pounds. He is 6’2” 180.”

“That never seems to matter in our ‘wrestling’ matches,” Kevin interjected with a wry smile.

Mira laughed in spite of the gravity of the upcoming duel and playfully punched her husband in the arm. Then she turned more serious, saying, “He has me on bone density, muscle mass and probably a few other things. I have speed and agility plus lots of training. If I lose, then let K’lar handle dealing with getting the house back. You just take me back to the ship.”

She stopped walking, taking a deep breath. “I am scared.” She whispered, “I have so many people depending on me.” Her eyes met his briefly before looking back at the hallway.

“Would it be so bad if you just lose the duel?” Kevin asked, “Honor and pride aside, it is an easy way out of this mess.” Admiral Desai would have an embolism when he learned about what Kevin was suggesting. To the Void with them all, he thought, hotly.

Giving him a sad smile and squeezing his hand one more time, Mira let go and pulled both blades, twirling them as she walked in to the fighting chamber on the Klingon deck of the base. She strolled with confidence her head held high. Then she nodded to a few people as the crowd roared their approval at seeing her.

She raised an eyebrow. “You showed up. I thought for sure you would have run home to your mommy by now.”

The other Klingon frowned. “And here I was sure you were afraid to meet me in battle.”

Mira laughed at K’tict. “Afraid, no. I am still not sure if this is worth my time. But lets get this over with. I have plans with my mate.”

“And if you spoil our date,” Kevin continued blandly, “I shall be seriously put out.”
K’lar took the fur from Mira shoulders and handed Kevin the blades. Then he stepped away to take a seat close by.

Kevin took Mira’s blades and approached Trolon K’tict’s second. The two addressed each other formally, then the Klingon launched into a long winded speech about the history of the weapons that Trolon K’tict would use. It went into painstaking detail about the origin of the blades, how the ore had been mined, the history of the bladesmith, the honorable combats and the enemies that the blades had been used to defeat.

Kevin wasn’t paying much attention to the speech. Instead he, tapped the wrist PADD controller to scan the blades. The scanner’s soft hum wasn’t audible above the bellicose pronouncements of the Klingon second but the scan revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Poison wasn’t the Klingon way, but he wanted to be certain that this fight was on the level.

The Klingon concluded his speech and looked at Kevin expectantly. Kevin was still preoccupied with the data displayed on his wrist and didn’t look up until he heard the low pitch growl that rose at the end. He looked at the second, who spread his hands in a “whatda you got” gesture. Kevin looked back at Mira and K’lar. K’lar was making an encouraging shoo-ing gesture as if to indict that Kevin should get on with it.

Kevin realized that he had no idea where the blades had come from beyond their family quarters on the Norris. Still, he could allow Mira to be disgrace by his own failing. He cleared his throat.

“Before time had bent its knee to legend,” he announced in a long voice, “before blood had its first taste of honor, there was ore—cold and sleeping, buried deep within the black heart of the Salt Mines of Kessel, that cursed world of spice and shadow. The miners who struck its veins spoke of whispers in the dark—echoes that rang like war cries yet unborn. For the ore itself hungered to be shaped, to find its destiny in the hands of a warrior worthy.”

“From that metal of the void, Hephaestus, the fire-lord of forgotten forges, descended into the flames of Mount Doom. There, in the mountain’s roaring heart, he struck hammer to anvil until sparks fell like stars across the dark. The mountain trembled with each blow, and the gods themselves looked on in awe.”

“When the forging was done, two blades lay before him—twins, yet not the same. One sang for glory. The other wept for vengeance. Together, they drank the fire and were quenched in the blood of titans.”

“He named them Kla’Vath and Mor’Dren, the Blades of Twilight and Storm. And when they passed into mortal hands, the world itself took a breath.”

He continued his soliloquy, weaving the enemies that Mira had fought into the narrative. The Gorn, the Orions, Species 8472, the Q. He included events from their time in the Matrix, from the reports that he had read, to complete the recitation. Satisfied, he turned to look at Mira and her brother-in-law.

K’Lar had covered his face with his palm.

Mira stood there; grinning at him as he walked back to her. Taking the blades she whispered, “Kla’Vath and Mor’Dren? I will need to have them engraved later.” Stretching up on her toes she kissed him.

She turned back in time to see her opponent narrow his eyes. Then, without warning, he came at her. Their blades clashed the sound of baakonite clashing against Baakonite rang out in the large room. He really was good, Mira thought and she took a few moments to get the feel of his fighting skills without giving her training away. Mira danced around, moving her opponent to where she wanted. She continued to meet his blows with well timed blocks. She found his slight opening in his fighting stance. His arms were too wide and he leaned forward too much. When he performed the same lunging move, Mira gave slight twist of the blade in her right hand to deflect his strike. As he moved, his face came closer towards her with his lunge. She twisted it back ever so slightly to cut the man’s face. Mira jumped backwards. “First blood.” she called out.

That should be that. Her eyes briefly met the judge, he hit the table calling the match. Mira turned to leave but heard a swift intake of air from a woman sitting in front. Mira turned back in time to see a blade had been thrown at her. Bring up her Mek’leth, she deflected it then narrowed her eyes. It was all she could do to not lunge after him to continue the fight. Her body was in a fighting stance, ready to continue the fight when pandemonium broke out in the fighting ring.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist pulling her backwards. It was Kevin. He was saying something, but she couldn’t make it out over all the yelling

“Coward!”

“Dishonor!”

Then, she was being wrapped in the black fur, K’lar giving orders to get her out of there just as a small explosion went off.
Mira buried her face against Kevin’s chest. She looked back out to only see the backs of too many people. “What’s going on?”

Before Kevin could answer, the base's alarm klaxon began screeching. The blast door began closing on the near side of the room.

"GO! Get her to safety!" K'lar shouted, "I will handle this."

Kevin picked Mira up in his arms and began racing towards the closing blast door, sliding through just before it sealed with a resounding thud.

{Starbase 364 Command Center}

"Where is she! What's happening!" Proll shouted at the hapless duty officer.

"It's unclear Admiral," the woman responded nervously, "Captain Rodale was declared the victor in the duel but then there was an explosion."

"I know that," Proll growled, "What caused the explosion? Is Mira alright?"

"We don't know, sir," the woman continued, hoping that she wouldn't get clawed, "The explosion was small and contained to the Klingon assembly hall where the duel was held but given the proximity to the base's hull, it triggered an automatic compartmentalization routine." She hesitated, not wanting to delivery additional bad news, "The explosion also knocked out communications and sensors on that level."

Proll felt a pain forming in his head, behind and above his eyeballs. Was this what Mira felt when she complained of getting a "headache", he wondered. "Where is Captain Rodale?' he asked in a more controlled manner."

"Again, we don't know," the duty officer gulped, "The sensors..."

"You should be getting a location from her comm badge," Proll pointed out.

"Her comm badge is aboard the USS Norris but she couldn't have gotten there since the explosion."

Proll let a hiss of frustration escape. Of course Mira had left her comm badge behind. It wasn't part of the Klingon dueling attire. "Where is Commander Lance?"

The duty officer relayed the command to the computer. "Commander Lance is no longer aboard the base," was the computer's reply.

{Outside the Klingon Assembly Hall}

Kevin set Mira back on her feet. The blast doors had sealed them in a corridor along the outside of the base near an escape hatch. The connecting blast doors at both ends of the corridor were also sealed, their control pads unresponsive.

"By all that is holy, Kevin, what is going on?" Mira asked.

Kevin shook his head, "I am guessing that someone wasn't satisfied with the results of the duel."

"It was fairly won," Mira declared, "The attempt on my life after the match wasn't entirely unexpected but still. Was he so determined to have House Rausmehlier that he would blow me up?"

Kevin considered the scant evidence that was available to him. "The explosion wasn't close to you or K'lar," he determined, "I don't think that you were the target."

"K’tict was defeated, his honor compromised even before he threw the blade," Mira wondered, "No one could have gotten an explosive into the Assembly Hall during the duel. It must have been planted before. But by who? And why?"

"There is not enough information to form a logic answer," Kevin replied.

A smile touched Mira's lips. "You sound like the ship's computer."

Kevin's laugh was cut off by the cycling of the escape hatch. Kevin took one of Mira's Mek’leths and gentle pushed her behind him such that he was between her and the hatch. Holding the blade reversed in his left hand, his adopted a pugilist's stance.

The escape hatch opened and Captain Karrelsdotter stepped through followed by her blonde shieldmaiden. "Be easy Lancesson," she said holding her hands up and well away from any weapons, "Ve mean youse no harm."

Kevin relaxed slightly but kept his guard in place, "What are you doing here?"

"Rezcuing youse of kourze," Astra replied, "Hy didn't hexpect Hy vould need too but eet iz best to be prepare for hany kontijency."

"How did you find us," Mira asked.

"Hy tracked youse, lettle vone," the Odinkus Captain beamed happily, "Hy couldn't lets youse miss youse viktory zelebration."

"How did you track me?" Mira continued, "I don't have my comm badge."

"Hy planeted a vee device in youse haar during de zeremonial tugging of de braids," Astra confessed, "Vhich you sadly didn't participates in."

Mira ran her hand down her single plait and sure enough, about halfway down, she found a long pin.

"Und now vee must gets you back to youse sheep zo youse can properly prepare for youse viktory zelebration," Astra stood to one side and gestured toward the escape hatch.

Mira hesitated but Kevin handed her back the the Mek’leth and said, "It's okay. We can trust her."

:off

Commander Kevin Lance
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris

and

Captain Mira Rodale Lance
CO USS Chuck Norris

 

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