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oldkhemaraa
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Text of the commencement address for Klingon Command Academy, class of 2409
Guest Speaker: General of the Empire Khemaraa Iron Hand.
If your cause is just, then glory and honor in battle will be yours. This is the touchstone of what it is to be a ships captain of the Klingon Defence Force. If there is no justice to the cause, and righteousness is lacking, then all you have is duty. Such duty suffered by a warrior lacks honor or grace. No celebration will await you arrival in Grethor, only the chain binding you to Malors side, a slave for eternity chained to the barge of the damded will await you.
A warrior might serve all thier days and never once find themselves in battle, yet still they might have honor measured by the results of thier duty and service. Yet out there, with the light of distance suns shining apon the hull of ones ships, in the lonely parsecs of space between worlds, warriors serve as the the shield of thier people. Keeping home and heath from harm.
Warriors are first and formost defenders. Many that serve call them selves warriors but they are no more then soldiers serving without question or from base desires for acclaim, and the roar of the crowd.
War is a terrible thing, and yet warriors must stand ready to embrace it in all its terror and magnificence. It can be glorious, but many that fight never see the face of the enemy. They battle deep with in the hull of thier ship. Thier weapons the consoles, tools, and controls they handle. Thier sword the workings of knowledge and technical excellence. Thier enemy is battle it's self and the damage it causes. And if they do not persevere then a ship and all lives abourd might perish, along with all the hopes and dreams they carry with them. They serve the ship. Yet thier honor is as great as any warrior that ever crosses blades with the enemy or directs the frightening powers of modern weapons against a foe between the stars.
For the Klingon battle is glorious. But more glorious is battles end. For only then can the tales be told, and the songs sung. Only then can the cup be raised in salute to those that did not survive. Then does the true work begin.
In the fertile soil of hundreds of worlds Klingons have battled and died giving thier blood to lands claimed for the glory of the empire.
Some say the Klingon are oppressors. Ask the Gorn. Ask the Orion, or the Lethian, or any other peoples and races that now serve beside the Klingons of the Empire how oppressed they are. Ask how it is they command ships of the Klingon Defence Force if thier people are oppressed. One never trusts what is ground under ones heel.
Klingons do not trust easily for they know the universe to be a hostile and inimicable place. But once that trust is given, it is given with few reservations at all but the very highest levels of the Empire government. At that level politics enters play, and no politician truely trusts another politician.
Yes, there are acceptions to all that is stated. That is the way of the universe. There is no black or white. Only infinite shades between them. And that is the challange of the warrior. To find the path. The road of Honor. For only then can glory be found.
Find it warriors, and your praises will be sung around the fires of the people for a thousand years. Find it, and you will be remembered with Khalass. Find it not, and only the naked stars will have a memory of you, and even that will dim and be forgotten in time.
But we of the Klingon recall the great monsters also. Those whose cause was unjust, and lack righteousness. Remember General Chang, who would have made dishonorable war in league with agents of the federation out of fear that the heart of the Klingon could not survive what was to come. Who's pride was too weak a thing to accept aid from an enemy when all was at risk. Remember Duras who accepted aid from the Tal'shiar to point a knife at the empire's naked back for mere personal power's sake.
And remember the Hero's. And those that would be hero's such as the grandson of the House of Duras who today works with singulars vigor to maintain the honor of the empire and there by return honor to his house.
We are the Klingon Defence Forces. We are warriors, and we come from a thousand worlds and hundreds of races. We battle to preserve our worlds, our peoples, and our cultures. The way of the Federation is not our way. We are fractious, we argue and battle world against world, house against house, warrior against warrior. For, if what is yours, if worthy, is it not worth fighting for? Even in defeat, a warrior can still claim victory if his opponent respects why they fight.. And such a victory carries the greatest honor of all.
Shortly this ritual, and this address will and. You will each go forth. Some to a final seasoning as a first officer under a senior captain. Others to your first command. Some to additional technical training. Some of you are caught up in politics already, and games of... power. Most are not. But heed my words. You will at some point in your career face a choice to fight when you should not, or to refuse a fight that must be fought. The Klingon Defence Forces have served this empire for centuries. There is great tradition, and much wisdon buried in the battle histoires and record of patrols and missions. It is wise to know of them. But wiser still to know your own heart and mind. It will be utterly crucial to be right, and to act from right action. Your life and the lives and honor of your ship, your crew, and the worlds we defend depend on it. Some of you may be so unfortunate as to have to face the decision to sacrifice your lives, your ships, and the lives of other to preserve and defend so much more. I trust, we all trust you will make the right decision when that time comes.
This address ends. You are dimissed to report to your next assign duty.
Guest Speaker: General of the Empire Khemaraa Iron Hand.
If your cause is just, then glory and honor in battle will be yours. This is the touchstone of what it is to be a ships captain of the Klingon Defence Force. If there is no justice to the cause, and righteousness is lacking, then all you have is duty. Such duty suffered by a warrior lacks honor or grace. No celebration will await you arrival in Grethor, only the chain binding you to Malors side, a slave for eternity chained to the barge of the damded will await you.
A warrior might serve all thier days and never once find themselves in battle, yet still they might have honor measured by the results of thier duty and service. Yet out there, with the light of distance suns shining apon the hull of ones ships, in the lonely parsecs of space between worlds, warriors serve as the the shield of thier people. Keeping home and heath from harm.
Warriors are first and formost defenders. Many that serve call them selves warriors but they are no more then soldiers serving without question or from base desires for acclaim, and the roar of the crowd.
War is a terrible thing, and yet warriors must stand ready to embrace it in all its terror and magnificence. It can be glorious, but many that fight never see the face of the enemy. They battle deep with in the hull of thier ship. Thier weapons the consoles, tools, and controls they handle. Thier sword the workings of knowledge and technical excellence. Thier enemy is battle it's self and the damage it causes. And if they do not persevere then a ship and all lives abourd might perish, along with all the hopes and dreams they carry with them. They serve the ship. Yet thier honor is as great as any warrior that ever crosses blades with the enemy or directs the frightening powers of modern weapons against a foe between the stars.
For the Klingon battle is glorious. But more glorious is battles end. For only then can the tales be told, and the songs sung. Only then can the cup be raised in salute to those that did not survive. Then does the true work begin.
In the fertile soil of hundreds of worlds Klingons have battled and died giving thier blood to lands claimed for the glory of the empire.
Some say the Klingon are oppressors. Ask the Gorn. Ask the Orion, or the Lethian, or any other peoples and races that now serve beside the Klingons of the Empire how oppressed they are. Ask how it is they command ships of the Klingon Defence Force if thier people are oppressed. One never trusts what is ground under ones heel.
Klingons do not trust easily for they know the universe to be a hostile and inimicable place. But once that trust is given, it is given with few reservations at all but the very highest levels of the Empire government. At that level politics enters play, and no politician truely trusts another politician.
Yes, there are acceptions to all that is stated. That is the way of the universe. There is no black or white. Only infinite shades between them. And that is the challange of the warrior. To find the path. The road of Honor. For only then can glory be found.
Find it warriors, and your praises will be sung around the fires of the people for a thousand years. Find it, and you will be remembered with Khalass. Find it not, and only the naked stars will have a memory of you, and even that will dim and be forgotten in time.
But we of the Klingon recall the great monsters also. Those whose cause was unjust, and lack righteousness. Remember General Chang, who would have made dishonorable war in league with agents of the federation out of fear that the heart of the Klingon could not survive what was to come. Who's pride was too weak a thing to accept aid from an enemy when all was at risk. Remember Duras who accepted aid from the Tal'shiar to point a knife at the empire's naked back for mere personal power's sake.
And remember the Hero's. And those that would be hero's such as the grandson of the House of Duras who today works with singulars vigor to maintain the honor of the empire and there by return honor to his house.
We are the Klingon Defence Forces. We are warriors, and we come from a thousand worlds and hundreds of races. We battle to preserve our worlds, our peoples, and our cultures. The way of the Federation is not our way. We are fractious, we argue and battle world against world, house against house, warrior against warrior. For, if what is yours, if worthy, is it not worth fighting for? Even in defeat, a warrior can still claim victory if his opponent respects why they fight.. And such a victory carries the greatest honor of all.
Shortly this ritual, and this address will and. You will each go forth. Some to a final seasoning as a first officer under a senior captain. Others to your first command. Some to additional technical training. Some of you are caught up in politics already, and games of... power. Most are not. But heed my words. You will at some point in your career face a choice to fight when you should not, or to refuse a fight that must be fought. The Klingon Defence Forces have served this empire for centuries. There is great tradition, and much wisdon buried in the battle histoires and record of patrols and missions. It is wise to know of them. But wiser still to know your own heart and mind. It will be utterly crucial to be right, and to act from right action. Your life and the lives and honor of your ship, your crew, and the worlds we defend depend on it. Some of you may be so unfortunate as to have to face the decision to sacrifice your lives, your ships, and the lives of other to preserve and defend so much more. I trust, we all trust you will make the right decision when that time comes.
This address ends. You are dimissed to report to your next assign duty.
"I aim to misbehave" - Malcolm Reynolds
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R.I.P
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
One question - "War is a terrible thing"? It provides us an opportunity to expand our boundaries, crush our enemies, and if our cause is just - bring honor and glory to our Houses and Empire!
P.S. "But wiser still to know your own heart and mind. It will be utterly crucial to be right, and to act from right action. " This almost sounds Buddhist!
http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-action.htm
Swap out compassion with honor and there are interesting similarities at a high level...
Addicted: January 2012
batlh QIH 'ej!
10 chars
Just proves I'm not afraid to pull inspiration from where ever i can! :_)
The parallels to the ethos of the Samuri, the crusader military orders, and yes, Buddism is definatly there. And Klingons do agree war for wars sake is a terrible thing. There is no honor in it, and glory only to the shallow, the venel, and the vain. and when that happens you end up with Gowron's, and the Worf's that have to take them down. Oh, and war.. is very very messy. It sends trade and commerce to perdition. Klingons prefer to get the wars over in a hurry so they can get back to the important stuff like fighting, drinking, telling great stories, and greater lies (in an entertaining way) and drinking vast amount of blood wine, loving ones mate, and raising up the NEXT generation of warriors.
It is the Klingon Defence force after all, not the Klingon expeditionary force. (though, they do form those from time to time as needed, witness the dominion war because sometime the best defence is a whopping great offence!)
Qa'pLa
Khemaraa sends
Thank you for expressing the soul of the Klingon so well!
Ni'tokor bak'to!!
Ni'tokor bak'to!!
Ni'tokor bak'to!!
Qapla' Khemaraa!!!
"Not a bad speech, for a hairy ridge-headed mammal. Qapla'!"
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
Qapla' !!!
Psst Khemarra is an Orion not a ridgehead...
Khemaraa is a Klingon (and a damd handsome example of Klingon man hood if i don't say so myself.. and I do..) his adaptive daughter, Dame Kuiama del Solima, however is an Orion..
and still looking mighty fine for a Orion lady in her 50's. But the "speech" was give'n by Khemaraa Iron Hand.
When the forum merge happened a couple years back I wasn't able to use Khemaraa as my avater on the forums (le Bugalicious..uhg), so I used Kui instead..
Historical note: He recieved the Honorific of Iron hand from the hand of the Chancellor of the Empire in the alternate universe that he comes from for outstanding heroic performance again Starfleet and it allies. To quote the then Chancellor Dogmatix, "He is the Iron Hand that smites the ememies of the empire without mercy or remorse". At the time of his disapearence he had been credited with over 1000 ship kills (in PvP) and over 200 ship captures (also in PvP)
His home reality known for some obscure reason as the Franz Joseph reality due to a time paradox that happened during the original 5 year mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise commanded by Jame T. Kirk that resulted in the creation of an entirely new parallel universe. In that universe there was a General War that lasted for a period of over 20 years involving all the known power of the Galaxy and includes several races and specie that are unknown in the prime universe, or known by other names. In that unverse the Borg do not exist, Thier counterpart is the Andromedans (Kelvin) which launched a massive invasion of the galaxy during the mid 24th century. A temporal rift landed him in the hands of the Borg in 2389. He was recovered by a federation ship from the remains of a Borg cube, and after massive rehabilitation and treatment was transfered to the prime universe's Klingon Empire where he has served with honor since. In 2408 he was elevated to Dahar master. Due to politics, this recognition has since been removed. He now serves honorably, if obscurly out on the empires frontiers away from federation space where his out spokeness is on occasion viewed with some official embarrasment.
(the "history" above is a mashup from play of Starfleet Command 2 Empires at War Dynaverse play.. and I really did pull that many PvP kills and captures.. And all of it in D-5 light war cruisers and varients...I really miss my D-5..*sigh*)