[Tlhingan-hol] nuq bop bom: 'ay' wa'vatlh javmaH: wovqu'

[Robyn Stewart]

After a long recess I'm going to resume posting 
my serialized story, nuq bop bom. A recap for 
anyone who has forgotten, or hasn't been reading. 
If you'd rather read it for yourself, skip the 
spoilers below and see the whole saga to date, 
including reader corrections, at http://nuqbopbom.blogspot.ca

The Klingon patrol ship Dugh, captained by vajar 
HoD, was disabled in deep space by a nacelle 
explosion. Their vessel was detected by a 
Yelwitian merchant ship under the command of 
Captain Mahoun. Thirty three years earlier, the 
ship on which Mahoun then scrubbed decks was 
captured by the battleship lotlhwI', escorted by 
the ship on which vajar then served as a guard. 
Mahoun spent some time in a brig guarded by 
vajar. vajar called a doctor to treat Mahoun's 
gangrene and Mahoun left vajar with an 
unshakeable memory of a song he sang. Mahoun has 
enough knowledge of Klingon honour not to offer 
assistance directly, but instead gave vajar an 
opportunity to ask for a message to be carried to 
the planet gharben loS and given to a Klingon 
representative, without losing face, under the 
guise of delivering a recording of the song. The 
representative is agricultural researcher 'eSSIm, 
and despite the difference in species and 
Mahoun's previous bad experience with Klingons, 
the pair begin a relationship.  Mahoun is fluent 
in Klingon, for reasons no one can figure out. At 
first Essim believes Mahoun to be a spy and is 
leading him on in order to help the Empire and 
redeem her family for her father's dishonourable 
acts, but eventually is dissuaded of that notion 
and the relationship continues sincerely.

After an encounter with pirates and attempts to 
maintain their failing ship systems, the 
surviving crewmembers of the Dugh (vajar HoD, 
helmsman Hota'ro' and Ensign ghutar) are rescued 
by the battleship veS, under the command of 
General qImyal. She uses both implied threads and 
implied bribery to grill vajar repeatedly for 
information he doesn't have and which she doesn't 
clearly specify, and accuses him and his crew of 
various crimes. ghutar makes lots of friends--he 
has a talent for making people around him feel 
honourable and act on that sense of honour. 
Hota'ro' used to serve on this ship but left 
under circumstances not yet quite clear, and is 
reunited with her girlfriend, qaH'eng, the 
assistant chief of engineering. vajar spends his 
time being frustrated with the bureaucracy and 
his failing hearing, but they do come up with a 
scheme to prevent qImyal from taking control of 
their ship or their duty assignments.

The battleship veS arrives at gharben loS, its 
mission to resupply 'eSSIm, and they stay a day 
to grant shore leave. The battleship's doctor is 
the one who assisted Mahoun in vajar's brig, and 
he reveals to Mahoun and 'eSSIm that he hid a 
data capsule from Essim's father in Mahoun's arm, 
and offers to remove it. Mahoun refuses, but 
tells Essim he will have it removed on his own 
planet by his own doctor and give it to her. No 
one, including Mahoun, seems to be able to answer 
the question of what the song is about.

We left off vajar's story in deep space at the 
rescue site, where the veS engineers are still 
working to stabilize Dugh for transport. The 
story now picks up back in the bar where we left 
the Dugh crew and qaH'eng, and a reasonable 
quantity of beer. A slight temporal rewind for 
the parallel story, as has been my habit here.

If you encounter errors, anything that doesn't 
make sense, or just need a recap of anything, let me know.
----

nuq bop bom 'ay''a' Hut

160

wovqu'

tachDaq pay' jatlh ghutar, “pebej!” vajar 'emDaq 
SIq. bejmeH tlhe'egh vajar. Hovmey cha'taH 
Qorwagh'a' 'ach Hovmey tlhopDaq HuSlaw' *Dugh*. 
tachDaq tlham tu'lu'mo' lolHa'law' *Dugh*. 
torchu'pu' 'ej bIngHey bej 'et. tlham Hutlhmo' 
logh, ram.[241] SomDajDaq yIt wovmoHwI'mey 
qengbogh nuvpu'. wovqu' wovmoHwI'meyvetlh. 
wovmoHwI'mey motlh bIHbe' pay' 'e' tlhoj vajar. 
pe'meH Sechmey bIH. *Dugh* lulaghchoHpu' 
jonwI'pu'. pay' pur vajar 'ej HughDaq chuS tlhuH.

“Qo'!” jatlh Hota'ro'.

jatlh qaH'eng, “peleS. poS HanDogh luchev neH. 
qaStaHvIS yaH poHwIj peQchem lIngwI' 
wIngaDmoHta'. nubmo' bIQSIp ngaSwI' *veS* SomDaq 
wIHIjbe'. *veS* pIrmuSDaq 'uchchugh luHwI' 
tIHmey, *Dugh* ngaSlaH *veS* pIvchem. cha' rep 
pIq gharben cha' wIghoSchoH. chorgh rep pIq 
wIpaw. pa' tejvaD luch wIHIjlI' ghIq Qo'noS wIghoS.”

“chong!” jatlh ghutar. "wo' vergh vI'av."

“maj,” jatlh vajar, 'ach DujDaj lupe'lI'mo' 
loghSutmey tuQtaHbogh nuvpu' bItbej. yajHa'be' 
qImyal DaH 'e' Sov vajar. vajar tojpu' 'ej buQpu' 
'e' nID. jonwI' ghaHmo' Hota'ro' bang'e' *Dugh* 
Dotlh ja' 'e' Sov qImyal. vaj Hota'ro' ghaH je 
voqHa' vajar 'e' chup. wanI'vam rurbogh 
wanI'meymo', loghDaq yIntaH vajar 'ej Duj mach 
ra'taH. woQ Quj muSchu'. Suv neHchugh vay' vaj yISuv!”

ja'chuqlaw'taH Hota'ro' qaH'eng je. latlh raSDaq 
taghlaw'pu' mu'qaD veS, jeStaH ghutar 'ach mu'mey 
QoylaHbe'mo' vajar 'ovlaHbe'. mogh 'ej qejchoH. 
tachDaq ratlh neHbe'. QumwI' ghajbe' 'e' tlhoj. 
tatlhlu'be'pu'. jatlh, “Hota'ro', QumwI'lIj DaghajtaH'a'?”

jatlh Hota'ro', “ghobe'. jIchechtaHvIS 
vIchaghlaw'pu', 'ach *Dugh*Daq vISambe'pu'.”

jatlh qaH'eng, “naDev Qapbe'.” Hung pat bopbogh 
mu'mey jatlh ghIq QumwI'Daj lel. vajarvaD nob.

nobHa' vajar. jatlh “jIHvaD Hung yIrI'. DorwI' vIpoQ.”

rI' qaH'eng, ghIq jatlh, “ghoSlI'.” 
chuSqu'choHpu' mu'qaD veS. Soj lujaDtaH 'op 
jeSwI'pu'. qejmo' vajar tIvbe'. Hu' 'ej tachvo' 
yIt. tugh chol be'. wuSDaj rIQmo' ghov. be'tlhar ghaH.

“vajar HoD,” jatlh, “DorwI'lI' jIH. nuq wIghoS?”

SuchwI' chaw'Daj much vajar. jatlh, “pa'wIjDaq. 'oHtaHbogh Daq vISovbe'.”[114]

SuchwI' chaw' nuDbe' be'tlhar. jatlh, “QongwI' pa' mIch cha'Daq tu'lu'. Ha'.”

pa'Daq vajar Dor 'a lojmIt lupawpu'DI' mevbe'. 
QongDaqDaq tlhej. tugh qejbe'choH vajar.
---
SKI: vajar is grumpy, and then the security 
commander named be'tlhar cheers him up.
---
[114] This might not make any sense, but then 
vajar has been drinking and is cross and grouchy, 
so I'm not too worried about mangling the line. 
jIHtaHbogh naDev vISovbe' – “I don't know the 
here where I am.” So 'oHtaHbogh Daq vISovbe' -- 
“I don't know the place where it is.”
[241] By request of someone who was tired of 
ships having to be right-side-up in space. It 
still doesn't break the Star Trek universe rules, 
though, because seeing as Dugh is disabled, it's expected to be taH or yoy.