That got what little attention pushing the doors open hadn't.
Tarul stood up from the throne he had been seated, "Who are you!?"
"I am the avatar of the IKS Synan," I answered as I crossed the chamber, walking into the middle, "The Ship you tried to have cowardly murdered. The Ship whose crew you tried to murder. The Ship whose crew you did murder!"
"Ah," He said, "The Federation machine house Worf borrowed. I heard you were destroyed."
"You tried," I answered and pulled a datacrystal from my belt, "Communication logs, recordings. Everything from the battlegroup you sent to murder me when your sabotage failed."
"Bah! Fabrication!" he said, motioning towards me, "You left Nokot'a in an ancient ship, if there was a battlegroup sent for you, you would be dead. As expected from a dishonorab…"
"No. Recordings of the battle are on this data crystal," I said, baring my teeth at him before tossing the crystal over, letting it bounce off the floor and roll to a halt, "It's all there. And if that's not enough, I am now installed on the IKS Bloodthunder in orbit. One of the ships that attacked us. You cowardly murdered members of my crew, you lack any sort of honor and I challenge you!"
Tarul grinned, "You can't challenge me, machine! You aren't a Klingon!"
"Looks Klingon enough to me," one of the Klingon council members said and looked at me. He was one of the older ones in the room, "Aliens can declare challenges. Why not this Federation machine?"
Tarul snarled, "It's not a fight!"
I spread my arms, "Come on, then… I'll limit my avatar to Klingon strength and speed. Coward!"
"You can't die!"
"No," I agreed, "But if you win, I'll leave and never return. So, what will it be, coward!?"
Tarul snarled and stepped down from the dias, shrugging off his cloak and crossing the room before taking a bat'let from the wall and approaching, "You are a disgrace! You and the House that brought you here! Traitors to the Empire!"
With that, he lunged, swiping at me with the heavy blade.
I watched him come in slow motion. I had no intention of cheating, but nobody said anything about perception speed.
Sliding to the side, I reached to my belt and pulled my dagger out as I avoided the slash by a couple of millimeters.
"Is that the best you can do, Carbonite?" I asked as I avoided another thrust, slowly circling with him.
Tarul snarled and chopped at me.
I avoided it, stepping around it and slamming my dagger up beneath his chin to the hilt. Tarul made a choking sound and fell backwards, his bat'let falling to the stone floor with a clatter.
The sound echoed through the chamber.
I scowled down at the fallen Klingon. Better than he fucking deserved.
One of the council members stepped down, carrying the cloak and settled it across my shoulders, "Hail Synan. Leader of the Empire."
The fuck is he playing at?
I just looked at him in surprise, "…You're kidding, right?"
He shook his head, "You defeated Tarul in honorable combat. His position is yours."
"Why would I possibly want something like that?" I asked as I shrugged the cloak off, catching it and holding it in my hand, "Why would I want to rule over the bloated rotting carcass of a once great empire?"
Silence.
I looked between them as I dropped the cloak on Tarul's body, "Look at you. Plotting and scheming like a bunch of Romulan senators. Preaching about honor and duty while sneaking in the shadows to increase your influence."
"You dare…"
"I fucking dare," I snorted and spread my arms, "Look at yourselves! This waste of carbon was your leader, the one you selected to lead you, represent you! Kahless… your ancestors would weep in shame if they could see you now!"
I slowly shook my head, "It's pathetic," I continued and looked down at Tarul, "This thing was the one you selected, the one you thought Worthy to rule the Klingon Empire. Someone who was meant to have great honor and skill. Someone able to increase the Empire's influence, to stand against its enemies."
"You think so little of us?"
I turned to look at Captain Wozh when he spoke up for the first time and shook my head once more, "No. Klingons have good points. Your spirit is second to none and your loyalty the same. But Klingons are not the Empire and the Empire is rotten to the core. When was the last time you remember a Chancellor or a Councilmember that you trusted and respected? General Martok? Who else? Is there someone else?"
His hand clutched the hilt of his dagger and he finally shook his head, "No."
I looked at him and then turned back to the Council, "You talk of Honor, you use it as a club against your enemies while having no idea what Honor really is," I said and kicked Tarul, sending the body rolling onto the floor between them, "This? This isn't honor. This is nothing but a waste. A waste of Life, a waste of potential. You all have the potential to be so, so much more. You could stand against the great enemies. The Borg, the Dominion… against anything else that threatens the Quadrant and the Galaxy. The great warriors of the galaxy, soldiers, protectors. But instead you do this… you squabble and sneak and when not having someone else to fight, you turn on each other and your allies. It's pathetic."
Sighing, I walked towards the doors. I had had enough of this.
Wozh hesitated but finally he moved to follow me out when I stopped and glanced back at the council, "Oh, and just in case you decide to try to twist and turn this? The evidence and everything that happened today has been transmitted across the entire sector. Don't fuck with my crew."
With that, I turned and walked out.
AN// Big thanks to FPSCanarussia for betaing this section. Also massive thanks to everyone else that have betaed earlier in this story. This is the last part for now, but we will continue this series at a later time. Next time, we continue with the only dragon that get captured as much as Peach!