The Boy , The Warrior , and The Veteran " Kang and Sulu battle to the death . . . on the Klingon Day of Honor ! " Summary . The Boy . Young Alexander Rozhenko deals with cohorts in a school setting , the Camus Educational Center on Earth . Alexander is being questioned by his school principal about less than stellar behavior in a class , taught by one Miss Fiorentino , consisting of furniture destroying temper tantrums . Alexander indicates that he is being goaded into such behavior by a student , Darryl Futterman . The principal suspects Alexander of resenting his academic prowess . The principal agrees to overlook the incident , and refrains from contacting Worf or Alexander ' s Grandparents , if he agrees to apologize to Futterman . Alexander first refuses , but relents and seeks out Futterman at the school ' s recess area . Futterman , it turns out , was in the process of being bullied . Futterman is an overweight blonde student with glasses who appears to be a " nerd . " Alexander apologizes to Futterman , who is shocked at the gesture believing himself to be " concussed ; " he then questions the youth as to why he takes such pleasure in making Alexander look " foolish . " Alexander , who is physically more mature than his school mates due to his Klingon physiology , intimidates Futterman into saying he will never do it again . Alexander is frustrated claiming that that , in itself , was no answer . The other students , watching from a distance , assume that Alexander is going to beat up Futterman , which they refer to as " Lardo . " Futterman explains to Alexander that he knew that , after studying Klingon culture , Alexander would not retaliate because Futterman was not Alexander ' s physical equal . Taunting Alexander was one of the few ways he could appear to be tough and solicit the consideration of others ( namely and end to his playground beatings ) by standing up to the son of Worf . Alexander does not understand why Futterman is taunted so , citing that he is intelligent and should thus be " respected . " Futterman replied that due to his allergies to Retinax and other visual enhancing drugs and his genetically predisposed obesity , he is a prime target for bullies . Alexander then offers a proposition . The teachers and staff notice marked improvements of both boys in the areas of Physical Education and scholarships for Futterman and Alexander , respectively . One day , when Futterman was alone leaving the gym , he is tripped and bullied by the same group of boys that taunted him initially . They intend to rough him up , but Futterman replied with a powerful " war face " and exclaims . . . " " Today would be a good day to die ! " " Futterman and Alexander are then called before the principal . The two indicate that they have nothing to say . The outraged principal indicates that the other boys will be transferred to other schools once their " broken bones have mended . " The boys simply " smirk " and , after being asked again to speak up to their actions they reply with a " loud " Klingon war cry . The Warrior . Worf is on a moon with jungle - like environs near a crashed runabout holding a " bundle . " He quotes Kahless the Unforgettable in his personal log stating that " " There are time when duty must override all prior pledges of honor . " " Holding a phaser rifle he positions his stance as a number of Klingon s beam in around him . The leading Klingon , Keltak , praises Worf ' s skills for evading his Bird - of - Prey and safely ( somewhat ) landing the runabout on the planet . Worf then leaps to safety under a hail of Klingon disruptor fire while returning fire , hitting his mark with amazing accuracy . The other Klingons had been selective in their fire trying to avoid hitting the " package " in Worf ' s possession . Worf suffers a mild wound while lamenting that Keltak , of the House of K ' Gor , is a relentless hunter and he has no water , provisions nor method of communication . The bundle is revealed to be a small Klingon child . There is little time as Keltak ' s crew beings scans of the vicinity . Worf is spotted , but using their voices as a direction finding method , he is able to hold them at bay log enough to switch to his bat ' leth and set a booby trap ( his weapon set to a forced chamber explosion ) . The trap is successful , Worf is able to fall Keltak ' s and finish off the rest of the offending Klingon ' s with Keltak ' s weapon . Keltak is able to stab Work in the back with a d ' k tahg . Worf is able to draw a weapon on Keltak and one last of his agents ending the debacle in totality as three more Klingons beam down . The more central , and aged , of the three identifies himself as Vikoth , of whom the late B ' Etor of the House of Duras was mistress . Vikoth indicates that had Keltak captured the child , he would control the House of Duras with all its holdings . He is also amazed that Worf , son of Mogh , would fight for and defend the child of his enemy . Worf states that he fights for the honor of the innocent . He had intercepted the distress call of the child ' s nursemaid , who was transferring the child to a safer location , as he was returning to Deep Space 9 . Worf will not " make war " on defenseless children . Vikoth states that the child will not make war on him , to which Worf retorts that future events will demonstrate if the honor is satisfied based on the child ' s own decisions . The Veteran . Kang , warrior of the Klingon Empire and recently promoted Colonial Governor , questions the honor in his recent posting as an " Administrator . " He does accept the position , but has accumulated some leave and intends to have " one last hunt . " The hunt is of unusual prey . . . there are rumors that James T . Kirk is still alive . Kang questioned the events revolving Kirk ' s accidental death aboard the , believing that such men as Kirk , forged of the same fires as himself , do not die in accidents . The rumor , and desire for one last clash , was too great to ignore . Meanwhile , Captain Hikaru Sulu of the materializes on the same planet intending to take a vacation of sorts . Sulu instructs Ganymede of said vessel , to recover him after three days as the " Excelsior " surveys a red giant star . Sulu makes his way through the terrain and is stalked by Kang . The two tussle despite Kang ' s demands for Sulu to fight him with more vigor . Kang and Sulu fall off an escarpment only to land in the relatively soft lush foliage near an oasis . They ponder if they are too old for such antics as they recognize one another addressing themselves by their titles . After some time and discussion , Kang informs Sulu that he feels he is treated differently by his age and sought to challenge the only man who had ever bested him , Kirk . Sulu puzzles why Kang would attack him . . . Kang replies that the sight of a Starfleet uniform filled him with the range of Kahless . Sulu scoffs at the idea as idiocy and Kang remarks that Human s " do not understand . " Sulu acquiesces and the two decide to combine efforts , Kang to find " an old rival " and Sulu to find " an old friend . " They will decide , upon his discovery , " who will keep him . " After a considerable search , of mutual assistance which clearly taxes both of them to varying degrees , they are confronted and taken aback by none other than James T . Kirk . However , this is a much younger looking Kirk clad in the green captain ' s wrap - around tunic as he appeared during the original five year mission of the . Kang discovers it is a holographic illusion just as Sulu knocks him to the ground to dodge a bolt from an energy weapon . It seems the hologram was a booby trap . Sulu takes some readings with a tricorder as the two take cover from intense , yet apparently automated fire . The duo is able to disable it with phaser and disruptor fire . Once the barrage is ended , Sulu encounters four images of James T . Kirk ; one dressed in the standard Starfleet command tunic of the 2260s , another dressed as Kirk appeared as a captain of the wearing the red uniform of that area , yet another dressed as his position as Chief of Starfleet Operations during the early - 2270s and the last dressed in the red braided uniform he wore as an admiral in the late - 2270s and 2280s . Shocked , Sulu is unprepared for a phaser blast and is hit in the arm dropping his phaser . Kang tries to provide cover fire and attend to Sulu , but is assaulted by a Gorn . The Gorn attacks Kang . . . but Kang is much swifter and is able to wrest his bat ' leth from his equipment . Kang puts up a fight , but the Gorn is able to turn the tables . . . Sulu dispatches the Gorn with a phaser blast . Sulu identifies the Gorn as S ' alath , whom Kirk had fought years before on Cestus III during a test conducted by the Metron s . Sulu describes the incident to Kang , he had been the helmsman of the original USS " Enterprise " at the time . Kirk had spared the Gorn ' s life , which Kang remarked as a typical Human fallacy . A message left on a " message node " indicates that S ' alath has succumbed to a mental illness that resulted in madness and was given this as a traditional warrior ' s death , to be left along at a place of his choosing . His people programmed the illusions to satisfy his lust for battle with Kirk . Kang discovers that the Gorn is dead from Sulu ' s stun blast – his advanced age and the shock of battle did him in . Sulu and Kang bury the Gorn . This leaves them pondering their age , in the end they agree that the better glories to be had are those yet to come . After some parting words , Kang returns to govern his colony and Sulu returns to the " Excelsior " .