nov/dec December Winner: The mightiest warrior of them all

[Jalana]

White glittering diamonds. That was the first thought slipping through the young boy's mind when he stepped outside the new house, his father had bought on this strange planet called Earth. Last year at this time, actually not even two months ago, they had been on their home world Qo'noS, but after his mother died, his father wanted to honour her life with returning to her home world, so the boy would learn from her roots from those who knew more about it than himself.

G'Tok stood now in front of the door, looking up into the sky where soft bright flakes slowly floated down to join their brothers already spread all over the landscape like a white blanket. He had never seen anything like this before, but if his teacher was right, this was snow. He did not know Mister Finnegan that long, but he was human and therefore surely would know this stuff. G'Tok held his little hand out and watched how the flakes landed on his slightly tanned skin, a mix of his Klingon father and his human mother. The flakes were really cold and melted right away, so after just a few moments he held a small puddle of water in his palm. A curious thing, he thought to himself, this snow must be weak, otherwise it would not allow the heat of his hand to melt it.

The 6 year old boy dropped his hand, the drops trickling down his fingers until the last one met the glittering snow beneath. Crunching sounds accompanied his steps, the cool air filling his lungs as he left the front yard. Behind the hill he could see the high buildings of the city, swarmed by shuttles like a wasp nest. It would just be a few minutes to be in a complete different world. But something pulled him back into this one, something hit his shoulder and he turned around with a deep growl, just to see a girl from his class giggle, a ball of white something in front of his feet. He crouched and raised it. "What is that?"

"A snowball dummy, never seen one?" She laughed and hunkered down to make a new one, while he wondered how that weak fluffy stuff could make something that hard. His mind putting one and one together and the next moment he threw his arm back and catapulted the snowball into the girl, who fell back on her behind and looked at him with big eyes. "Whoa!" she exclaimed. And just a moment later, they both threw snowballs at each other, the air filled with laughter.

G'Tok thought that this was all going quite well for him and he would make his father proud of fighting with her like that, but then she got up from the snowy street and brushed the remains of their battle from her jacket. "I've got to go. Santa will come soon to bring presents and I shouldn't miss it." Raising her hand for a wave she turned and ran along the street to her home, just a few houses away.

Santa. That was a name G'Tok had heard before, from his teacher. But nobody had explained who that mysterious person was. Seeing the girl vanish in her house, he realized that he had no idea what her name was, but who could remember all those new things at once? Looking over the shoulder to his own house, he pushed his hands into the pockets of his jacket and stumped back to it.

Carrying the snow inside he stormed though the house into the back, where his father was cutting some wood, for a new figurine he wanted to create. His father liked to make little wooden statues of Klingon Heroes and tell stories about them to G'Tok. That taught him about his roots, well at least the one side.

"Dad! Dad!" he shouted out, the thick boots stomped over the wooden planks and slithered the last few meters, leaving wet marks before stopping in front of the tall hunk of Klingon, working on the wood turning lathe with a surprising gentleness. "Who is Santa?"

The sound of the rotating wood meeting the cutting tool stopped and Molagh turned his head to the boy. "Where did you hear that name?"

"A girl of my class, she said that he comes and brings presents and that she can't miss it!" G'Tok felt the big hand petting his small head.

"That's right boy. There will be dire consequences if she does."

The deep voice vibrated in the boy's chest and his eyes grew full of curiosity. "Why?" he barely whispered and looked up to his father, as if he held the key to all the secrets of the world in his hands.

"Come, let us sit and I will tell you the story of the mightiest warrior of them all." he grumbled in his usual voice, stomping through the door into the living room. G'Tok followed right away, peeling out of his thick coat.

"But you said Kahless was the mightiest!"

"Oh yes he is, but when the winter comes, around this day the 24th of December, even Kahless fears the judgement of Santa Claus." Sinking down into the big leather armchair in front of the fireplace he leaned back, watching his son dropping onto the ground in front of him, crossing his legs and eyeing him with such an innocence and inquisitiveness in his look that he almost could not hide his smile.

"Many many eons ago a man wandered this planet, he was happy and content, and celebrated every day as if it were his last. His wife and children loved him and he believed to be the most blessed person alive. Then one long winter's night the enemy fell into his home town." The boy gasped and Molagh waved his arms as if fighting with his blade. "They slaughtered and murdered everyone living they could find, among them Santa's whole family. The only reason Santa was spared was that he had been in a different city to buy presents for his children. When he came back, the smell of death and blood filled his lungs, he found his wife on the living room floor just like this one, right where you are sitting now, covered in her own blood and those of her children."

Gasping G'Tok looked around the ground as if he could see her.

"His children were not to be found, and in his rage he took the big sword laying on the ground, left by the enemy to mock him and swore to himself to find his kids. He headed out, searching land in and out for the enemies who stole his life. When he found a camp he sought his revenge and killed everyone of them with their own blade. His coat of fur soaked by their blood warmed him in the cold winter night. When every single one of the murderous enemies were dead he still could not find his child and began to search the whole Earth for them. Whenever he found an enemy camp he climbed onto the roof of the assembly hall and slid in through the chimney for the element of surprise. But because he was a good and hard working man, he did not just take all their lives, because it could be that those men and women had sworn off the bad deeds. So he began to ask them first if they had been good or bad this year.."

G'Tok leaned forward, his mouth and eyes wide open, and slightly bounced up and down. "What happened if they were good?"

"Then he would reward it with a little gift. Nothing too big, just a coin to show his appreciation of their good ways. But if they were bad, they felt his blade. But after many years he had searched the whole planet, and still could not find his children, so he asked a witch to help him fabricate a vessel that could bring him to other worlds and she bewitched a sleigh, that could not only fly him anywhere he wanted but also visit all those places in one single night."

G'Tok's eyes grew and grew, every now and then he looked to the fireplace, wondering if that warrior would visit them as well and what exactly would count as bad to be punished by him. "Did he find his children yet?" he asked with a quiet voice, before looking back up to his father.

Molagh shook his head, his long wavy hair swaying from side to side. Leaning forward his face came close to his son's, so he could lower his voice. "No, my boy. He still looks for them. He once reached the end of the galaxy and for each planet he searched he put a bell on his magical sleigh. When he flies through the sky, the bell jingle can be heard through the night, and all over the galaxy this sound shakes the bones of the strongest and bravest warriors, of the most ruthless and heartless men, knowing that the warrior will come, whose blade took endless lives and whose clothes are soaked with the blood of the naughty."

The last words were merely a whisper and G'Tok swallowed hard. "Can... one fight him?" he asked and Molagh grinned, proud that his little son would ask such a question.

"You can try, but you have not been a bad boy this year, have you?"

"I think so, but I don't know what he thinks is naughty. Maybe throwing those snowballs at the girl hasn't been nice."

Molagh couldn't help but laugh and slapped his thigh before raising from his chair. He walked up to the wall at the side, decorated by his Bat'leth. In front of it was a smaller case, uncovered so everyone could have access, as it was normal in the house of a warrior. And in that case was a Mek'leth he pulled out of the holding. Turning to his son he stretched out his arm. "Take this. If he comes and you see him raising his blade, you will be able to stab it into his big belly."

G'Tok jumped to his feet and hurried to his father, taking the blade out of his hand. He looked at it with big eyes and nodded with a proud face up to Molagh. "I will make you proud father!" And the older man did not have any doubt of that.

Later this night, G'Tok put the Mek'leth under the pillow of his bed and looked out of the window. It was still snowing and slowly the lights of the houses around went off, leaving the white landscape in a peaceful glow, though he knew that this peace was only an illusion. Laying down he knew, that this night he would come, the most feared warrior of them all and he had to convince him that he'd been good.

Just when his eyes closed and he drifted into sleep, the jingle of the sleigh's bells started to fill the winter night...

Edited December 24, 2012 by Jalana

[T'Mihn]

Thia is awesome. I like the take the Klingons had..

[Hannibal Parker]

That was indeed awesome!

[Jalana]

Thank you very much. I'm happy you enjoyed