Walls of fire on one side

rivers of lava on the other.

We snaked our way through
the hot, smoldering canyon

our skin
so parched and blistered

it was, it was
as thick as armor.

Kang and Koloth and I
had set out with 40 legions

and now only we three remained
to take on T'nag's army.

- Chanting a battle cry...
- You know what I like about Klingon stories, Commander?

...his eyes bulging...

Nothing.

Lots of people die

and nobody makes any profit.

... one hand,
his bat'leth in the other.

I saw him kill two dozen men.

Do you believe a word of this?

Snaking along rivers of lava,
past walls of fire... not very likely.

Three against an army?
Even more unlikely.

Yeah, but who cares?
He tells it well.

Kang took the high ground

and keeping the three suns
to his back

he forced the enemy to fight him
against the blinding light.

When Kang told the story,
you took the high ground.

Who gets the credit
is of no importance.

What matters is this:

In the end, the mountainside was
covered with dead,

so that not one square meter of ground
could be seen.

We found T'nag's body...

by the river,
its waters red with blood.

Which of us had slain him...

no one could say for certain,
so...

we cut out his heart

and all three of us...

feasted on it together.

Big heart.

You need more bloodwine.

Oh, thanks, but I've
had enough for a year.

What I need is tea.

Mr. Worf,
I didn't see you come in.

I was just about to leave.

Join us.
I'll introduce you to Kor.

No!

It might make the Dahar
Master uncomfortable.

I am considered an outcast
by most Klingons.

Kor isn't like most Klingons.

- Kor.
- Hmm?

I have someone
I'd like you to meet.

Oh?

I'd like you to meet

our Strategic Operations
Officer, Commander Worf.

Oh, Worf, the traitor.

The pariah.

The lowest of the low.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

Any enemy of Gowron
and the High Council is a friend of mine.

This is a great honor.

Oh, no doubt.

Worf is a great admirer
of yours.

Ah.

Yes, please.

Oh.

I have heard stories about you
since I was a child.

Your confrontation
with Kirk on Organia

your attack on Romulus,
your defense of the Korma Pass...

Everything I have done pales in comparison
to what I am about to achieve.

I am on a quest... a quest for
the most revered icon in Klingon history.

Kor...

An icon that predates
the Klingon Empire.

An icon more sacred
than the Torch of G'boj...

- Kor...
- more revered than Sabak's armor,

and more coveted
than the Emperor's crown.

The Sword of Kahless.

Ah....

You told me not to tell anybody.

He guessed.

I know where the Sword rests.

Think of the glory,

the honor of finding the bat'leth
of the first warrior king.

Lost for a millennium.

Its return
would change Klingon history.

If you know where it is
we must bring it back to the Emperor.

"We"?

It would be an honor
to accompany you if you will have me.

We could use another strong arm.

And a stout heart.

Besides, it will annoy Gowron.

To return the Sword
to our people.

I would give my life
for that chance.

Children will sing our names
for a thousand years.

They'll erect statues of us
in the hall of heroes.

Before you decide
on a pose for that statue

we need to find the Sword.

What makes you so sure
you know where it is?

This.

Now, you see?

See what?

The imprint on the cloth.

Yes, yes...
this held the Sword of Kahless.

Don't be so sure.

You could carpet this station with
all the "authentic" Shrouds of the Sword

that people have tried
to peddle.

No one tried to peddle this.
It was given to me.

By whom?

I'll tell you everything later.

Now I need you
to confirm its authenticity.

I'll look it over in the lab
first thing in the morning.

Why not right now?

Right now, my head
is swimming in bloodwine

and I'm going to bed
and so should you.

Oh, absolutely.

As soon as I finish
what's left in my cup.

Maj ram, blood brother.

Maj ram.

Imagine the look on Gowron's face
when we present the Sword to the Emperor.

Kor...

Open your mind.

Star Trek Community.

Oh, what?

Couldn't find the bed?

Damn that Ferengi
and his replicated bloodwine.

Worf looked a little bleary-eyed
in Ops this morning.

How late did you keep him up?

Until that toad-faced Ferengi
threw us out of his bar.

And then where did you go?

Worf's quarters, l... l think.

Oh, that's right.

He... he had
a bottle of Yridian brandy

he was saving
for a special occasion.

Like meeting you.

Well, he was honored
to join our quest.

That is,
if there's going to be a quest.

What did you find?

I found both Klingon
and Hur'q DNA on the cloth

and traces of metallic compounds

that could only have been left
by a Klingon bat'leth.

A bat'leth...

1400 years old.

The time of Kahless!

Ah! I never doubted it.

Oh, when do we leave?

After I talk to Captain Sisko

and after you answer
a few questions.

Now where did you get this?

The Gamma Quadrant?

A Vulcan geological survey team

was mining bakrinium
on an uncharted planet

when they accidentally
unearthed some ancient ruins.

They brought back several artifacts
to study including the cloth.

Kor was the Klingon
ambassador to Vulcan.

When he saw the cloth,
Kor recognized the markings

and got them to give it
to him as a gift.

They didn't realize it,
but the markings were Hur'q.

Hur'q...

that's the Klingon word
for outsiders, isn't it?

Yes. The Hur'q invaded our homeworld
over 1,000 years ago.

Whatever they could not pillage,
they destroyed.

They took the Sword

and my people have been
searching for it ever since.

It is said its return will bring back
a new era of glory for the Klingon Empire.

With the Sword,

the Emperor will be able
to unite my people once again.

And if two Starfleet officers
were involved in recovering the Sword

that might go a long way toward patching
things up between the Klingons and us.

That is my hope as well,
Captain.

What about you, old man?

You want to go along
for the adventure.

Hard to pass up a good quest.

I suppose
you'll want a runabout.

The, uh, Rio Grande
is available.

Try to bring it back
in one piece.

We'll do our best.

Benjamin, thanks.

Mr. Worf, lay in a course
for the wormhole.

Course laid in.

- Ahead half...
- Wait.

Let this moment be remembered.

For on this day, we three...

Kor, Dahar Master
of the Klingons

Jadzia Dax, a joined Trill
of seven lives,

and Worf, son of Mogh

and thorn in Gowron's side...

together stepped forth
into the eye of destiny.

Now?

Now.

Ahead half thrusters.

Glorious.

Hey.

Forgive me, Commander.

It's a little crowded in here.

I would have used the aft
quarters for my exercise

but the Dahar Master is resting.

I know, I heard him snoring
through the bulkhead.

Commander.

I wish to thank you
for introducing me to Kor.

It is an honor to be here.

And I'm glad he invited you

even if it does make things
a little crowded.

Oh.

So... I slept
like an Alvanian cave sloth.

Oh, but I had
the most magnificent dream.

I dreamt the three of us
were in the Hall of Heroes

presenting the bat'leth
to the Emperor.

We stood near the statues
of Kang and Koloth

and as the crowd
sang out our names...

the most
astonishing thing happened.

Their statues came to life.

Kang and Koloth were
flesh and blood again

and we held the Sword high!

Kang, Koloth and Kor...

together again.

We have assumed
a standard orbit.

I'm reading a series of interconnected
structures and tunnels

several kilometers
beneath the surface.

And that is all that remains
of the Hur'q

the great plunderers
of the galaxy.

And now it is time for us
to reclaim what is ours.

Assuming we can find
where to look.

It's a big planet.

The Vulcan survey team
was meticulous.

They mapped the entire area
during their mining operation.

Now, the Sword should be in the chamber
that once was the Central Museum

along with all the other great
treasures looted by the Hur'q.

It's the structure
furthest north.

There is a force field
around that chamber.

The Vulcans told me
they couldn't get through it.

We'll be the first inside.

Why didn't you mention
this force field before?

Oh, it's not important.
I'll know you'll get past it.

We should be just outside
the force field.

The main chamber
must be back there.

Let's get to work.

First we need to modulate
the field destabilizers

to create
an interference pattern.

It's not working.

Try reversing the polarity.

That helped.

Now, if we can just increase the
amplitude of the interference field.

Well done, my friends.

The air.

Foul, isn't it?

This place has been undisturbed
for hundreds of years.

Come!

It's been ransacked.

The Vulcans may not
have gotten in here

but someone did.

Whoever did this
has taken everything.

I'm sorry, Kor.

Don't be sorry for me.

Be sorry for the Empire.

If we could find out who did this
we might be able to track them down.

For all we know, the Sword is halfway
across the galaxy by now.

Sounds like a worthy quest.

For you and Worf, perhaps,
but not for me.

My last chance for glory
dies here.

Commander, take a look at this.

The dust... it does not
reach the wall.

Something must be repelling it.

I'm getting a faint electrostatic
charge along this section.

Another force field?

Masked by
a holographic projection.

Are you saying there may be
another chamber behind it?

If there is, I don't know
how we can get into it.

This shield has completely different
harmonics than the one in the entrance.

This...

this is a sensor focused on the area
directly in front of the force field.

It must be keyed
to read life signs.

Why?

So only the Hur'q can enter?

If you're right, we're going to need
a Hur'q tour guide to get us through.

We may be able to fool the sensor
into thinking that we are Hur'q.

We can reconfigure the tricorder
to emit Hur'q life signs.

Exactly.

I still have the DNA readings
we got from the cloth.

I feel like a Hur'q already.

I cannot believe it.

For a thousand years

our people have dreamed
of this moment.

The age, the composition,
the design...

everything's right.

How can you doubt it?

Look at it!

It's more beautiful
than I imagined.

You should be
the first to hold it.

How does it feel?

Good.

Very, very good.

To think, Kahless himself
once held this bat'leth.

With this he slew Molor

conquered the Fek'lhri

and forged the First Empire.

And now, I hold it in my hands.

We should go.

The field destabilizers
won't hold for long.

Stop where you are!

Well, Kor, seems you were right.

You did find the Sword.

Who are you?

Ask your friend.

This is Toral
from the House of Duras.

It is good to see you, too,
Worf.

Seems you were too drunk
to remember me

or the tavern on Torna IV?

You held us all spellbound
with a tale of a Hur'q cloth

and how it was going
to lead you to the Sword.

I was so intrigued

that I sent my friend here
to see what else you knew.

What do you want?

What we all want.

The Sword.

The Sword is for the Emperor.

Who will be so grateful
he'll give Kor his statue

and perhaps even forgive
your dishonor?

I'm afraid I have different
plans for the Sword.

You think that if you give
the Emperor the Sword

he will restore your family's
seat on the High Council.

I'm not giving
the Emperor anything.

With the Sword in my hand,
I'll be leading the Empire.

I can see from your face, Worf

that you regret
having spared my life.

Now give it to me.

No.

Then I'm afraid
we'll have to take it.

If he wants it...

give it to him.

Let's go!

We need to stop the bleeding.

We better get you
up to the ship.

Dax to Rio Grande.

That is a Klingon
jamming signal.

Can we override it?

Maybe from the surface.

Kor, go make sure no
one's following us.

Did you see the look on the face
of that Klingon that I killed?

It was as if he understood
the honor bestowed upon him.

The first man in a thousand years
to be killed by the Sword of Kahless.

I'm sure he was very proud.

We should keep moving.

Toral will find a way
past the force field.

Why did Toral say
that you had spared his life?

When it was discovered
that the House of Duras

had conspired to destroy
my father's honor

Gowron offered me Toral's life.

Under the Right of Vengeance.

I declined.

Why?

He was a boy.
He had done nothing.

That's beside the point.
It was a matter of honor.

It was Worf's right to decline.

It was a mistake.

Perhaps what they say about you
is true.

You've been around humans
too long.

Kor!

If he hadn't spared Toral's life
we'd be on the way to Kronos.

And if you had not been drunk

and told a tavern full of people
what you were planning

Toral would not have followed us
here in the first place.

I told them nothing
of consequence.

How could I know that Toral was going
send a Lethean to steal my thoughts?

You should have been
more discreet.

And you should have been
more of a Klingon.

Kor, what was that all about?

Hmm?

Worf admires you.

You have no idea how much it meant
for him to be invited on this journey.

Tell me, Dax, how well
do you know him?

Well enough. Why?

I'm beginning to think
I was too lenient in my judgment of him.

Any Klingon who denies himself the
Right of Vengeance is no Klingon at all.

He dishonors the Sword
with his presence.

I don't trust him.

I should have let him stay on that
space station where he belongs.

Worf.

What is it?

Lunch.

Delicious, isn't it?

A hunt builds the appetite.

It's disgusting.

Ah, but it'll make
a good part of the story...

how we slew the beast?
Remember?

It attacked us from the dark,
five meters long.

Oh, ten at least.

Eyes ablaze, fangs like daggers.

Breathing great plumes of fire.

Oh, it seems the son of Mogh
is not amused.

A true warrior has no need
to exaggerate his feats.

You'd better hope
that I exaggerate

or else when they start
singing songs about this quest

and come to your verse, it will
be "and Worf came along."

This is the Sword of Kahless.

It is not something to shovel
food into your mouth.

It must be treated with honor.

Hmm, hmm, hmm, look at him.

He's like the Hur'q.

He thinks it's a museum piece.

Why, Kahless himself used it
to skin the serpent of Xol

to harvest his father's field, to carve
a statue of his own beloved.

It's a sword!

But Worf doesn't know
what to do with it

except bow before it

and then hand it over
to his precious Emperor.

And when we do, you will get
your precious statue

and after they have sung songs
about you

and you have passed out
from too much drink

the Emperor will use the Sword
to unite our people.

If Gowron allows him.

The Emperor
is merely his puppet.

The Emperor is no one's puppet.

He condemned Gowron's invasion
of Cardassia.

And the invasion went ahead
despite his objection.

That is why the Emperor
needs the Sword.

It will allow him to unify
the Houses against Gowron.

The Emperor is a pretender,

a clone of the original Kahless
cooked up in a vat by ambitious clerics.

And if you hadn't supported him,

he'd be right back in that vat
where he came from.

I supported him
because we need him.

He can unite us.

The Sword will unite us

if it's held
by a true Klingon

not a politician like Gowron

or some toothless figurehead
like the Emperor.

The Sword must rest in the hands of
someone who has been hardened by battle

pure of heart

who understands loyalty
and honor.

A warrior like Kang and Koloth.

Someone like you?

The Empire could do far worse.

We should get moving.

Are you saying it is your intention
to lead the Empire?

Ah...

I'm saying it's my intention
to lead us to the surface.

We have to change your bandage.

No. We must keep moving.

You're hemorrhaging.
We have to stop the bleeding.

That cave-rat was all bones.
I need another one.

Find a nice fat one.

We all could use
something to eat.

He never answered my question
about his plans for the Sword.

I noticed.

He is a hero to many.

If he brings it back
with him to Kronos

and decides to seize power,
many will follow him.

But you wouldn't?

He is not all I thought he was.

Maybe not.

Sorry.

But I've known him a long time

and his heart's
in the right place.

He drinks too much.

He exaggerates his feats.

He blames others
for his own mistakes

but he could be right
about one thing.

The Emperor may be too weak
to stand against Gowron

even with the Sword.

I thought you believed
in the Emperor.

I do not know
what I believe anymore.

All I know is when Kor asked me
to help him find the Sword,

I knew we would succeed.

I knew we would find it.

I can't say I felt the same way.

I had no doubt.

I felt as if my life
was finally coming into focus.

What do you mean?

For as long as I can remember,
I have always been an outsider.

I was raised by humans

but I was too Klingon
to be one of them.

I did not belong.

I begged my foster parents to allow me
to visit the Klingon Homeworld.

They arranged for me to stay
with my cousin's family.

When I first set eyes
on the Great Domes of Kronos

I felt that I had
finally come home.

But my own cousins wanted
nothing to do with me.

You were too human
to be one of them.

I ran away into the mountains.

I was without food or water
for three days.

But there,
in the caves of No'Mat

Kahless appeared to me
in a vision and told me

I would do something
no other Klingon had ever done.

After I returned to Earth

I pondered the meaning of his words
and wondered what lay ahead for me.

When I was old enough,
I joined Starfleet.

Something no Klingon
had ever done.

For a time I thought that I
had fulfilled my destiny

but now I see Kahless had
something else in mind for me.

Something... something greater.

That is why I had to endure
so much pain.

Why I was forced to choose between
the Federation and my own people.

I was being tested.

Prepared for some...
some greater purpose.

Like finding the Sword.

More than that.

When I held the Sword in my hand

I felt the spirit of Kahless
himself had guided me to it.

Don't you see?

He wants me to have it.

He wants me to lead his people!

You sound like Kor.

Kor is an old man.

His greatest days are behind him

and mine are still ahead.

Then we have a bit of a problem.

There's only one Sword,
and you both want it.

How much further?

The way these caves wind around,
this could take forever.

Or longer.

We can't get across.

We'll go back
and find another way up.

Wait.

There.

Kor, there's a ledge
right below you.

I don't see it.

It is less than one meter down.

Let go and you'll land on it.

Dax, can you see it?

I can't see anything.

I can't hold you.

You'll have to let go!

There is no ledge!

It is there!

Then you let go.

No.

We cannot risk losing the Sword.

Let go!

I'll take the Sword to my grave
before I give it to you.

Just hold on.

We'll pull you up.

You call that a ledge?

It would
have been sufficient.

For a Degebian mountain goat
not a Klingon warrior.

You were going to let me fall.
You wanted me to die.

So you can keep
the Sword for yourself.

And you were willing
to take the Sword to your death

and rob our people
of their future.

Give it to me!

That's enough, both of you!

I will not give him the Sword.

Then give it to me.
I'll carry it.

Kor, put away your dagger.

Are you siding with him?

Put away your dagger,
so he can give me the bat'leth.

You see? I was right.

He's not to be trusted.

His mind has been poisoned
with bloodwine and age.

He was right about one thing.

You wanted him to fall.

That ledge would have never supported him
and you knew it.

I did not force him
off that cliff.

He is old and clumsy.

If he'd have fallen

it would have been
his own fault.

I'm exhausted.

Commander.

We can rest in here
for a few hours.

I'm so tired
I think I might be able to sleep.

I will take the first watch.

How generous of you.

And we'll just curl up like trusting
children under your vigilant gaze.

Sleep or do not sleep.

It makes no difference to me.

You're wounded.
I should take the first watch.

You get some rest.

You close your eyes.

I am not tired.

I understand.

It's hard to sleep in the presence
of something so magnificent.

Someone might try to steal it.

You reveal your own intentions.

Enough.

I have the Sword,
and it's not going anywhere.

What was that?

I heard nothing.

A voice.
I hear it again.

It's the spirit of Kahless.

He's talking to you, Worf.

He's telling you
to bide your time.

Let them sleep

and then slit their throats
and claim your destiny.

I have had enough of your
drunken ramblings, old man.

And I have had
enough of both of you.

I don't care
if you sleep or not.

But I'm going to.

So be quiet.

Go ahead and sleep, Dax.

I'll keep an eye on him.

I have had enough!

What!

His eyes.

He has been staring
at me for three hours.

And what have you seen
reflected in my eyes?

Your own guilt gnawing at you.

All right.

If you're not going
to sleep, then let's walk.

I'm not going anywhere
with this traitorous p'tak.

This ends here.

Agreed.

I am not going to stand here...

You stay out of this.

This is between us.
We'll settle it in our own way.

We've got to get out of here!

MaH Hlv DaH!

He's going
to get himself killed.

No, no, he has the Sword.

Hlv DaH!

It's mine!

Kor!

Commander!

Worf!

Stop!

Dax, I knew in the end
you'd choose me.

- We're blood brothers.
- Be quiet!

Now, about that jamming device
you're using to block our communications.

Are you sure of this, Worf?

Yes.

Yes, it is the only way.

Do we have the right?

This Sword belongs
to all Klingons.

But are we ready for it?

This Sword turned you and me
against each other.

Imagine how it would
divide the Empire.

Just let me hold it
one last time...

The Sword is not meant for us.

It was never
our destiny to find it.

You're wrong.
It was our destiny to find it.

It just wasn't our destiny...

to keep it.

It is done.

Good. It's for the best.

I hope you're right.

It could be lost
for another thousand years.

When it is
destined to be found...

it will be.