DIPLOMATIC IMPLAUSIBILITY

by Keith R. A. DeCandido

  tik’leth(tIqleH)

  An edged weapon, similar to an Earth longsword. [First seen in “Reunion” (TNG).]

  toDSaH

  Insult with no direct translation. Sometimes Anglicized as tohzah. [First used in “The Defector” (TNG).]

  Ty’Gokor(tay’ghoqor)

  A planet where the inductions into the Order of the Bat’leth take place. [First seen in “Apocalypse Rising” (DS9).]

  zilm’kach(tlhImqaH)

  Food made from something orange. [First seen in “Melora” (DS9).]

  Warrior’s Anthem

  The Warrior’s Anthem sung by the Gorkon crew in Chapter 8 is generally translated into English thusly:

  Hear! Sons of Kahless.

  Hear! Daughters, too.

  The blood of battle washes clean

  The warrior brave and true.

  We fight, we love, and then we kill.

  Our lives burn short and bright.

  Then we die with honor and join our fathers

  In the Black Fleet where we battle forever,

  Battling on through the eternal fight.

  Love Poem

  The love poem Leskit gives Kurak in Chapter 6 is subliterate, and cannot possibly be translated into English.

  Acknowledgments

  There are several people who are responsible for making this book happen, not the least of whom is Trek editor John J. Ordover at Pocket Books, who thought the idea of doing an Ambassador Worf novel was such a good one in the first place. John steered me right at the beginning and kept me on course thenceforth. Gratitude must also be foisted upon the other good folks at Pocket: Jessica McGivney, Marco Palmieri, John Perrella, Scott Shannon, and Margaret Clark.

  Thanks also to: Carol Greenburg, Editor Extraordinaire; Paula Block, the unsung hero of Trek licensing, and her noble cohorts John Van Citters and Carol Carpenter; Gene Roddenberry, for getting this whole schmear started; and the folks who’ve written Klingon episodes over the years, particularly Klingon creator Gene L. Coon, Ronald D. Moore, René Echevarria, Ira Steven Behr, and Robert Hewitt Wolfe. Thanks also to the actors who brought many of the characters inside these pages to life: Brian Thompson, Obi Ndefo, Tony Todd, Tricia O’Neill, David Graf, Sterling Macer, J.G. Hertzler, and the others—not to mention Stewart, Frakes, Spiner, Burton, McFadden, and Sirtis.

  I employed several invaluable references while writing, primarily The Star Trek Encyclopedia by Mike and Denise Okuda, with Debbie Mirek—it is my not-so-humble opinion that people should not be allowed to write a Trek novel without a copy of this book or CD-ROM within reach at all times. Other references used include Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future, also by the Okudas; Marc Okrand’s The Klingon Dictionary; the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, and Star Trek: Klingon CD-ROMs; and The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson. Helpful people included Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen and his cronies at the Klingon Language Institute and the aforementioned Marc Okrand, who kept my linguistics straight and vetted the glossary; Elizabeth Braswell, Kim Kindya, and Glenn Hauman of Simon & Schuster Interactive, who supplied useful reference; Peter David, who provided needed assistance for a particular part of Chapter 1 (you can probably guess which part); Laura Michelle Hale and her close, personal friend Mary Sue Whipple for verse aid in Chapter 6; Hilary J. Bader for writing the Warrior’s Anthem used in Chapter 8; James Macdonald for allowing me to use his expertise in the ways of violence; Sarah Beth Durst and Roy L. Post for tremendous assistance in developing the al’Hmatti; Terri Osborne, for an immensely helpful beta-read; and CITH, the best writers group in the whole entire world, who reached into my brain and wrested a much better book out of me than I would’ve written otherwise.

  I also must thank my parents, GraceAnne Andreassi DeCandido and Robert L. DeCandido, who had me watching Star Trek from birth and kept watching with me for all the years afterward; John S. Drew, Orenthal V. Hawkins, and Andrea K. Lipinski, fellow members of the self-proclaimed Geek Patrol and some of the best friends a guy could ask for; the Malibu Diner lunch crowd, for a decade of joyous obsessing; the numerous denizens of the Trek novels bulletin boards at Simon & Schuster’s web site, PsiPhi.org, and the Trek BBS; Helga Borck, Jeff Mariotte, Peter Pachoumis, John E. Peters, and Erin Sittler, for general aid, comfort, and wonderfulness; and my wife, Marina Frants.

  But most of all, a big ol’ thank you to Michael Dorn. Worf was a last-minute add-on to the Next Generation cast, but Dorn’s tremendous presence and excellent acting skills turned a glorified walk-on role into arguably the most compelling character in Trek’s long and varied history. Bravo, sir, and I hope I did justice to the part. . . .

  About the Author

  Rocketed to Earth as an infant to escape the destruction of his homeplanet, KEITH R.A. DeCANDIDO was raised by a pack of feral librarians. As a teenager, he was bitten by a radioactive editor, and given powers far beyond those of normal wordsmiths. Swearing to use his powers only for personal profit, he became a writer, editor, and book packager.

  He scripted the Star Trek: The Next Generation comic book miniseries Perchance to Dream, co-developed Star Trek: S.C.E. and wrote the S.C.E. eBook Fatal Error, and is the author of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel in the Gateways crossover (due Fall 2001) and the cross-series duology Star Trek: The Brave and the Bold (due some time in 2002). His other books include the best-selling Buffy the Vampire Slayer tomes The Watcher’s Guide (with Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder) and The Xander Years, Vol. 1; the Farscape novel House of Cards; the Spider-Man novel Venom’s Wrath (with José R. Nieto); and two Young Hercules novels.

  Keith is the percussionist and backup vocalist for the Don’t Quit Your Day Job Players, an acclaimed rock/blues/country band that released its second CD, Blues Spoken Here, in 1999. Keith also maintains the band’s web site at www.dqydjp.com.

  Learn more than you could possibly want to know about Keith at his web site: www.sff.net/people/krad.

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  #1 • The Fall of Terok Nor

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