Firstborn ( episode ) A mysterious family friend and advisor encourages Worf ' s son Alexander to become a warrior . Summary . Teaser . In his quarters , Worf rehearses , a little nervously , how he will explain to his son Alexander what it means to be a true Klingon warrior . Alexander dashes in , pursued by his friend Eric with a fullerene water balloon . He misses Alexander and hits Worf , who is not amused . However , he continues with his explanation . He tells Alexander that there are actually two Rite of Ascension ceremonies ; Alexander won ' t be required to pass through the second rite ( the one with painstik s ) until he is older , but is old enough for the first rite now . His fighting skills and his knowledge of the teachings of Kahless will be tested , and Worf promises to help him with this . The first step is lighting a kor ' tova candle and declaring one ' s intention to be a Klingon warrior . Alexander doesn ' t want to do it , reminding Worf that his mother K ' Ehleyr told him he didn ' t have to do any " Klingon stuff " he didn ' t want to . Worf agrees that it must be Alexander ' s choice , and Alexander runs out of the room , declaring that he has no intention of becoming a warrior . Act One . The is supposed to rendezvous with another ship , the " Kearsarge " , but it won ' t arrive for another four days , so the senior staff plan extra activities . Captain Picard wants to visit the Hatarian system where there ' s an archaeological dig , and Data suggests stellar dynamics can have more access to the sensor array to examine the Vodrey Nebula . Picard notices that Worf looks distracted during the briefing , and Worf explains afterwards about Alexander . Picard suggests that the " Enterprise " detour to the Klingon outpost on Maranga IV where they ' ll be celebrating Kot ' baval and Alexander can immerse in Klingon culture and folklore ; this will also give Stellar Dynamics a chance to see the entire nebula , as the outpost lies on the other side of it . On Maranga , the festival is in full swing ; there is almost a county fair atmosphere , what with the vendors and the banners and the colorful re - enactments of Klingon history . Worf and Alexander watch one such drama , in which the story of how Kahless defeated the traitor Molor is shown . The actor playing Molor issues repeated challenges to " bat ' leth " duels , and audience members are invited to participate . Alexander is caught up in the excitement and accepts a challenge . The actor takes a fall to let Alexander win . After spending a full day at the festival and even making some friends among the Klingon children at the outpost , Alexander and Worf are about to return to the " Enterprise " when three armed husky Klingon warriors appear from the shadows , cornering them . Act Two . Before the fight starts , an older Klingon man comes out of the shadows of an alley and fires a disruptor at one of the assailants . Worf takes on the other two , shouting to Alexander to run . The older Klingon helps to defeat them and they run away . Worf recognizes the man as K ' mtar , " gin ' tak " or adviser to the House of Mogh . They beam aboard the " Enterprise " where Commander Riker wants to question them , unhappy with K ' mtar ' s reluctance to answer . K ' mtar shows the dagger dropped by one of the assailants . It bears the insignia of the rival House of Duras , indicating that Lursa and B ' Etor are behind the attack . They have not been heard from since they tried to sell bilitrium explosives to a Bajoran terrorist on Deep Space 9 . They are after the seat on the Klingon High Council now held by Worf ' s brother Kurn , who has sent K ' mtar to protect Worf and his child and put a stop to the sisters ' treachery . Riker says the next step will be to track down the sisters . Riker offers to help find them and gives K ' mtar quarters on the ship . Worf and K ' mtar leave to his quarters . K ' mtar relates Kurn ' s concern about Alexander , as he has no male heir and so Alexander may have to lead the House of Mogh someday . Kurn believes in Worf ' s ability to teach him , but it can ' t be easy being the only two Klingons on a starship full of Human s . He inquires how Alexander is doing as far as his Klingon warrior skills , and Worf says he is not as good as he should be , because he doesn ' t take time to practice as all Klingon youths do . K ' mtar promises to help , and Worf accepts . Very gently ( for a Klingon ) , he approaches Alexander ' s bedside and speaks in warm , understanding tones , telling him that learning warrior ' s skills will help Alexander to feel that not only he , but his father , are safe from harm . Worf , around the corner , is a little uneasy that there is another voice influencing Alexander , but he does trust him . Act Three . The next day , on the bridge , Riker has Worf contact Deep Space 9 while Data searches records for the Duras sisters . Data does not find any more information , and so Riker turns to DS9 . He bribes information out of the station ' s bartender Quark as to what the Duras sisters are doing and where they are . Quark explains that they were going to buy some mining equipment and dig up magnesite ( which actually belongs to the Pakled s ) in the Kalla system . While the " Enterprise " travels to the Kalla system , K ' mtar comes up with a holodeck simulation different from what Alexander is used to . Instead of just going through the exercises , he proposes a re - enactment of what happened on Maranga . As Alexander goes up against one of the attackers , K ' mtar freezes the program at various points to illustrate how Alexander can take advantage of his opponent . Alexander knocks the attacker to the ground but won ' t kill him . When K ' mtar angrily insists , Alexander gets disgusted and runs away . When the " Enterprise " arrives at Kalla III and beams down an away team , they find a lone Dopterian , Gorta . In exchange for passage off planet , he tells them that the sisters have already left , taking everything of value with them ( and stranding him ) . The plan had been to sell the ore to a Yridian trader in the Ufandi system . In Ten Forward , K ' mtar meets up with Worf . He apologizes for his anger earlier and suggests that Alexander be sent to a Klingon school on Ogat . Worf dislikes the idea because Alexander is at home on the " Enterprise " , but K ' mtar says it is almost impossible to learn true Klingon ways under these conditions . He again gets heated and says he might have to invoke the ya ' nora kor , a law which can remove a child from unfit parental custody . Outraged , Worf asks if he questions his fitness as a parent . K ' mtar says that for the good of their House , yes , he is indeed . He only wants what is best for the boy . However , K ' mtar is growing increasingly angry and frustrated with Alexander , who questions traditional Klingon stories and disagrees that it is so vitally important that he become a warrior . Act Four . K ' mtar sits Alexander down to teach him Klingon ways , telling him more of Kahless and Morath . Alexander listens , but cuts him off , saying he already knows the story . K ' mtar says it ' s important to tell it even if it ' s known , but Alexander starts questioning each statement like an inquisitive Human would . K ' mtar is increasingly frustrated , saying those details don ' t matter , but rather the Klingon warrior interpretation . He then tells Alexander about the school , but he says he doesn ' t want to leave the " Enterprise " . He realizes K ' mtar is just like his father , only caring about being a warrior , and leaves . Meanwhile , Riker has tracked down the ore taken by the sisters to the Yridian trader Yog , and buys it from him for half a gram of Anjoran bio - mimetic gel . Instead of beaming it to the " Enterprise " , though , Riker blows up the ore in space with the ship ' s phaser s , and discovers a cloaked Bird - of - Prey ship nearby . He has found the sisters , and soon brings them aboard . Telling them he knows the ore was stolen , he confronts them with the assassination attempt and the dagger . They claim to know nothing about it , and Riker asks K ' mtar about his other evidence which he claims to be on the homeworld . Riker prepares to set a course and K ' mtar leaves to contact Kurn . However , after he leaves , B ' Etor notices something on the dagger which clearly shocks her and Lursa , upon seeing it , claims that what ' s she ' s seeing is impossible . Riker asks what ' s going on , and B ' Etor tells him the crest on the dagger has symbols representing the various members of the family . . . including Lursa ' s son . Lursa says she doesn ' t have a son , but she is expecting a child and only found out a few days previously and told no - one but B ' Etor who furiously demands to know where the dagger came from . Based of their reactions and the evidence , it ' s now clear that the sisters weren ' t responsible for the assassination attempt , and the officers are left astounded by this mysterious turn of events . Worf decides to go and speak with K ' mtar about the origin of the dagger . Worf immediately goes to ask K ' mtar about this , but discovers him apparently preparing to kill Alexander with his disruptor . After a brief struggle he throws K ' mtar to the ground and prepares to strangle him . But K ' mtar cries out , calling him father and that he is actually Alexander himself . Act Five . Worf demands proof and asks him what his mother ' s last words were . K ' mtar tells him of how he witnessed the death of K ' Ehleyr , and that all she said was his name , and she put his hand in Worf ' s . " " And then you howled in rage , and said ' Look at her . Look upon death , and always remember . ' And I always have . " " He reluctantly lets him go and picks up the disruptor . Alexander explains that he has come back from forty years in the future , with the assistance of a man that he met in the Cambra system . Alexander did not want to end his own life , but rather to change things , to influence his younger self to follow a different path . He explains that he never became a Klingon warrior , but a diplomat and peacemaker , who sought to put an end to the centuries of struggle and feuding between the Great Houses . He had declared that the House of Mogh would no longer engage in vengeance or blood feuds . Worf warned him that this was a show of weakness , but Alexander insisted this was the way of the future . Almost immediately thereafter , Alexander witnessed Worf ' s murder in the Great Hall of the Klingon High Council . He thought that , if he had become a warrior , he ' d have been able to stand with his father and defeat the assassins . So he came back to persuade his younger self to follow that ancient path , first by staging the assassination attempt on Maranga , then by trying to awaken young Alexander ' s interest in being just like all the other Klingons , as well as in protecting his father . He despaired when he saw that he had failed . Worf says that Alexander has already changed history by coming back in time , and that things may not at all happen the way he fears . Worf explains that he must die with honor , and he cannot do that unless his son is true to himself and his beliefs . This means that Alexander must return to the future and continue to work for peace . Even a Klingon can see that peace is a worthy cause , and Worf believes Alexander has a noble future . K ' mtar says that he has failed , because the boy he was remains the same . Worf says that Alexander is the same , but Worf has changed , and now he understands that Alexander will have a noble future even if he is not a warrior . K ' mtar embraces him and says , " I love you , father . " Worf replies , " And I you , Alexander . " Later , young Alexander is waiting for Worf and K ' mtar in the holodeck to begin " bat ' leth " practice . Worf explains that K ' mtar had to leave suddenly , but asked him to say goodbye , and that he will always respect Alexander no matter what he decides to do . Worf , too , has come to respect Alexander , and suggests that they simply spend time together as father and son . Memorable quotes . " " Sorry . I didn ' t mean to hit " you ! " " " " As time passes , a boy inevitably becomes a man but what is not inevitable is that a man becomes a sword . " " " " What ? " " " " No , I meant . . . warrior . " " " " The path of a warrior begins with the first rite of ascension . . . " " " " Is that when they hit you with pain sticks ? " " " " No , that is the second rite . " " " " Oh . " " " " Is , um . . . that what this is about ? You ' re on your way and you ' re calling to reserve a holosuite program ? " " " " What are you doing on this planet ? " " " " I . . . crashed here . " " " " Then you are denying involvement in illegal mining activities ? " " " " Mining ? So " that ' s " what all this equipment is here for . " " " " We know you ' re dealing in stolen ore but I want to talk about the assassination attempt on Lieutenant Worf . " " " " What assassination attempt ? This is the first I ' ve heard of it . " " " " Too bad it didn ' t succeed ! " " " " Ha ! " " " " Yes , Lursa and B ' Etor . . . big talk , small tips . " " " " I love you , father . " " " " And I you , Alexander . " " Links and references . References . advisor ; Age of Ascension ; Alexander ' s cousins ; Anjoran bio - mimetic gel ; assassination ; Bar ' el ; bilitrium ; Cambra system ; code of conduct ; Corvallen ; " d ' k tahg " ; dabo ; darsek ; Deep Space 9 ; Dopterian ; Duras sisters ' Bird - of - Prey ; Federation ; fullerene ; " gin ' tak " ; Hatarian system ; Hitora colony ; holoprogram ; House of Duras ; House of Mogh ; Ja ' rod ; K ' Ehleyr ; " K ' mtar Alpha - One " ; K ' Nor ; Kahless the Unforgettable ; Kalla system ; Kalla III ; " Kearsarge " ; Klingon ; Klingon bird - of - prey ; Klingon Civil War ; Klingon Council Chamber ; Klingon Empire ; Klingon opera ; Klingon training academy ; Klingonese ; Kot ' baval Festival ; kor ' tova candle ; Kurn ; latinum ; magnesite ; Maranga IV ; mining ; Molor ; Morath ; Ogat ; Pakled ; Qo ' noS ; Quark ' s ; Rom ; Starfleet ; Stellar Dynamics ; swimming ; tempering ; tip ; tyrant ; Ufandi III ; Ufandi system ; Vodrey Nebula ; voucher ; " Ya ' nora kor " ; Yridian ; Yridian freighter