K'azahl Karrox

Ensign K'azahl Karrox is a medic on the USS Odyssey.
== Background ==
To say that Kholl, Son of K’ratak, head of the House of Kholl, member of the Klingon High Council was displeased with his posting as the Klingon Ambassador to the United Federation of Planets… was a supreme understatement. Expressing his displeasure had nearly caused his death, when he drew his blade on the Chancellor for dishonoring him with such orders. He was Klingon, and his place was either on Qo’nos, on one of the planets under his House’s jurisdiction, or on a bird of prey defending the Empire.  
When he did eventually set out for Earth, it was with a new scar on his face, and a fire burning in his chest. Kholl quickly proved himself to be quite a nuisance to the Federation government. He picked fights at every opportunity, declared insult at every perceived slight, and denied Klingon assistance whenever asked. Before long, the government was seriously considering expelling him from the planet and demanding a new Ambassador, as Kholl seemed so determined to wreck the relations between the great powers. 
Finally, he came head to head with a young Starfleet Commander sent to ask about joint training between Starfleet and the KDF. When he blew her off, thinking that the soft looking trill would wilt before his verbal onslaught, she retialited instead. It caused quite the diplomatic scuffle once word got out that Ambassador Kholl and Commander Ledra Karrox had gotten into a fist fight in the Ambassador’s office. To preserve the Ambassador’s honor, only one fact was left out of the news broadcasts. That Ledra Karrox had won. 
Once his anger abated, Kholl found himself quite smitten with the trill. Soon he found himself on his knees before her reciting love poetry. And when she laughed in response to his terrible verses, Kholl’s booming laughter filled the air with her. When the fateful day came and Kholl was summoned back home, the Ambassador was quite surprised to find that he didn’t want to go. Of course, until Ledra suggested that she go along with him.
They were married in a lavish ceremony on the homeworld that ignited conversations across Klingon society. There were still factions that disapproved of the Khitomer Accords, and allowing Trill blood into a Klingon great house was something the traditionalists couldn’t bear. But neither Kholl or Ledra allowed such disrespect to continue, as both husband and wife accepted and won challenges when dishonored by those against them. Eventually, with medical assistance, their daughter was born.
Kholl named her K’azahl, then brought her out into the night and introduced her to the universe, screaming her name to the sky. “You are Klingon,” he said, “And the stars are yours for the taking!”
But as she grew, K’azahl, daughter of Kholl, heir to the great house of Kholl, was uncomfortable with her title. Female children could not be heirs to Klingon houses. True, she did not have brothers. But even then it would take a special dispensation for her to take over the house upon Kholl’s death. Compounding that, despite her Klingon name and Klingon house, her mother was not Klingon, and she had the trill spots to prove it. The truth was, it didn’t matter how loudly or how often Kholl declared K’azahl his heir, because Klapaq was always there to disagree. 
To say that she didn’t get along with her cousin, the son of her father’s younger brother, was an understatement. Like K’azahl, he had grown up being told that he was the heir of a great house. But unlike K’azahl, Klapaq was a full blooded Klingon and male, so he believed the house was his to inherit. Klapaq was sure to never let K’azahl forget that fact.
Cursed by her genetics to be both smaller and weaker than her cousin, K’azahl endured his torments - both verbal and physical - in stoic silence. She had determined that he was a dishonorable petaQ as soon as she’d learned the meaning of honor. However, there was no honor in running and whining to her parents about him either, so K’azahl worked harder instead. From a young age, she was trained by both of her parents, the ways of a Klingon Warrior from her father, and Starfleet tricks from her mother on how to beat bigger and stronger opponents. She sharpened her mind as well as her body, putting the same amount of determination into her schoolwork. 
It all came to fruition when Klapaq challenged her one day, and K’azahl finally won. And she made sure to win soundly and definitively, with a crowd surrounding them so the word would get out. The mongrel heir to the House of Kholl wasn’t so weak and useless after all. 
For years afterwards, Klapaq left her alone, and K’azahl was foolish enough to believe that he had accepted his defeat with honor. Those were happy years. Despite the hardships her parentage had brought upon her, K’azahl loved both of her parents dearly. They loved her, and each other, with the same devotion. Their home was never quiet, always filled with shouts, laughter, and song. Under their tutelage, the Great House they ruled prospered, growing in land and riches. 
Kholl had grown into an honorable Klingon. He made sure to train his daughter in more than just physical combat, including science, mathematics, history, art. Honor, he explained, was more than winning great battles. It was caring for the people who lived on their house’s lands, ensuring they were prosperous, fed, and happy. Strategizing for battle, instead of rushing in. Even business had a place in their lives, maintaining the account books, keeping track of what the lands produced, and ensuring they profited. 
When she was 17, K’azahl joined the Klingon Defense Force, her family name ensuring her a commission on a warbird. It quickly proved to be grewling work. She was a smart, competent warrior, which meant she was allowed on the ship, but not accepted there. Those who lived on Kholl’s lands had come to grudgingly accept their lord’s half Klingon daughter, but the wider empire wasn’t so kind. K’azahl fought tooth and nail for every bit of respect she could earn, coming to hate her trill ancestry in the process. 
It all came crashing down on her 23rd birthday. When K’azahl was home on leave, hooded men broke into their home in the dead of night, murdering Kholl as he slept. When K’azahl finally woke from her drugged sleep, eyes heavy despite the afternoon sunlight peeking through her window, it was to the sounds of her mother’s screams to find her husband’s dead body next to her. Together, they screamed Kholl’s name to the heavens, but K’azahl knew that their words would not reach Sto-vo-kor. Kholl had died in his bed, without a weapon in hand. It was not a warrior’s death, and he would not be welcomed into the honored afterlife. 
The young woman did the only thing she could, setting out to avenge her father in such a glorious manner to provide him entrance to Sto-vo-kor. It took her months to trace the drug that had taken down their household for the murder. As much as it broke her spirit to learn who killed her beloved father, K’azahl couldn’t bring herself to be surprised. He had always been a cowardly petaQ. 
She challenged Klapaq on the floor of the High Council, where they’d both come to make their case for who would inherit the House of Kholl. K’azahl had been certain she would best him again, just like when they were children, merely on a bigger stage. She had so much more to lose now, now that she was fighting for the honor of her father and her house. She could not lose, she refused to lose.
When she lost, it had nothing to do with skill, and it certainly wasn’t honorable. K’azahl never even felt the subdermic needle piece her skin, though in hindsight they knew there had to be one. How else would the poison have made its way into her system, weakening her, slowing her down, making the room spin and her sight go dark. When Klapaq brought her down, it had nothing to do with his skills as a warrior. But it didn’t matter, because K’azahl was on the floor, and she was dying. 
It would have ended there, as the rules of combat dictacted. At least she died with a blade in her hand and right on her side. She would die with honor, K’azahl knew, so Sto-vo-kor was waiting. But her father wouldn’t be there waiting, and that alone made her want to fight. But she couldn’t move. Her limbs felt weighted with lead. 
But K’azahl didn’t die. Ledra Karrox had spent 25 years in the Klingon Empire. She had fought there, loved there, and created her family there. But in her heart, the values of the Federation still rested. Her husband was dead, and she refused to stand by while her daughter died too. So she forced her way into the council chambers, fell to the ground on her dying child, and transported them both away.
When K’azahl woke, nearly a week later, she found herself in a hospital on Trill. Unable to determine the poison that was killing her, she had been placed in a medical coma and into stasis until she could be brought to a Federation medical center. Far from being grateful to have escaped death’s grasp, K’azahl immediately started fighting. Klapaq had acted like a dishonorable piece of slime, as always, but she had lost the fight, then fled like a coward instead of dying like a warrior. 
Ledra argued that there was no dishonor for K’azahl, who had been unconscious during the entirety of the escape, but K’azahl didn’t agree. Neither did the Klingon Empire. It didn’t take long for them to hear the news. 
They had been discommendated. 
Their House had gone to Klapaq.
For the first time since that terrible night, K’azahl was glad her father was dead. At least Kholl didn’t have to live to share their shame. As soon as she was well enough, K’azahl set off on her own. She blamed her mother, who was not Klingon and could never truly understand, for her dishonor, and wanted nothing more to do with her. 
She spent the next three years roaming the fringes of Federation space. She abandoned the Klingon name she no longer had a right to use, taking up her mother’s trill surname instead. No longer considering herself a warrior, she refused to fight when challenged. Still too proud to run away, she would allow her opponents to beat her soundly every time instead. There was no honor for her in this life, and K’azahl wanted it to end. But her Klingon genetics were too robust, and she couldn’t seem to die. 
One night, she dreamed of her father, come to speak to her from the realms of the dead. When she begged his forgiveness, Kholl chastised her sternly. He didn’t blame her for his death, losing their House, or even losing to Klapaq. Her dishonor had come in the years that followed, when she’d given up. No matter what the High Council decreed, she was Klingon. Klapaq’s lies would fall one day, and the House would be hers again. But only if she lived with honor, and was ready to reclaim it. 
Hearing her failure in her father’s voice somehow made it all the worse. K’azahl fell to her knees and swore to right her wrongs - the woke with a start before her father could answer.
The next day, she went to find her mother. Ledra had never been comfortable with an idyllic life on Trill, hence her joining Starfleet in the first place. Now banned from the Klingon Empire, she had reactivated her commission and rejoined Starfleet again, rising to first officer during the years of estrangement from her daughter. Contrary to K’azahl’s previous accusations, Ledra understood the Klingons quite well, and had been patiently giving K’azahl her time and space. However, none of that composure had stopped her joy when her daughter finally reached out. 
After a few months together, K’azahl declared her intention to attend the Academy and join Starfleet. Obviously, she could not return to the Klingon Defense Force, and Starfleet was the next best option. She had always been an excellent student, and still retained Federation Citizenship from her mother, so it was a relatively simple matter of studying for the test, which she passed with flying colors, then heading off to San Francisco. 
It did come as a surprise however, when K’azahl opted for a medical track instead of security or tactical. Part Klingon, raised in a warrior culture, and even her trill half was a security officer, her choice should have been obvious. But K’azahl had a longer game in mind. 
Her father had taught her the ways of the Klingon Warrior. Her mother had taught her the ways of a Starfleet Security Officer. She didn’t need any more training in those fields. What she didn’t know was how to deal with Klapaq’s various poisons. They were steeped in dishonor, so Klingon medicine knew very little about them. Starfleet had no such restrictions. The next time she faced him, K’azahl would know how to survive. 
Thanks to her existing skill set, the Academy pushed her towards the combat medic track. Microbiology and toxicology courses weren’t part of that course load, but she managed it by testing out of the self defense and combat courses. After four years, she graduated in the top half of her class, and was assigned to her first starship, the USS Hestia. 
By this time, Ledra had been promoted to captain, and given command of the USS Asteria, but they both agreed that K’azahl needed to make her own way through the fleet, rather than serve under her mother’s command and risk favoritism. 
K’azahl kept her head down and worked hard. After a year on the Hestia, she was accepted into the post-Academy training program for her MD. She took more medical courses while working, eventually being transferred to the USS Odyssey a few years later.
== Appearance ==
K’azahl is tall and thin, considerably less bulky than the average Klingon. However, her loose clothing hides wiry corded muscles, and her Klingon physiology makes her considerably stronger than she looks. Her hair is dark and thick, often cut shorter for easy management. Her posture is always straight and proud, and her eyes seem to challenge whoever she’s speaking to. 
During off hours, K’azahl normally wears loose clothing in neutral colors, accented with gold Klingon jewelry on her arms, neck, and fingers. 
== Personality ==
K’azahl is half Klingon, and had a temper to match. Over a decade in Federation space and nine years in Starfleet have taught her to curb her tongue - provided she has not been dishonored in such a way that it’s worth losing her commission to right the injustice. Her natural instincts tend towards Klingon values, and she often fights herself when those instincts contradict Starfleet regulations. Aside from one instance early on in the Academy, K’azahl has never lost her temper while on duty. She understands that Starfleet is not the KDF, and acts accordingly. 
As a medic, she views injuries and illnesses as another battle to be fought. Unlike many Klingons, she sees no dishonor in accepting medical treatment. Her hypospray is as much of a weapon as a bat’leth. She is curiously free of scars for a warrior, preferring to mend her skin fully as she will be at her best the next time she goes into battle. K’azahl doesn’t have the best bedside manner, but she fights hard for the life of every patient.
K’azahl rarely speaks about her past, which she considers to be her own personal problem. Aside from that, she makes friends quickly and easily. Her trust is easily earned, since she will always default to the belief that everyone strives to live an honorable life - in their own ways. She has often been discriminated against in her life, so she tries hard not to judge anyone and to accept them as they are.
In spite of her circumstances, or perhaps because of them, K’azahl is proud. Proud of her family, proud of her heritage, and proud of the Great House she hopes to one day reclaim. 
== Psych Evaluation ==
K’azahl has a lot of unresolved emotions towards the Klingon Empire and her cousin, most of which she has no intention of dealing with. She views that hurt and anger as a weapon fueling her towards righting the wrongs against her. She keeps it under tight wraps, and normally it doesn’t bother her work. However, if a Klingon aware of her discommendation comes on board the ship, she’ll probably need some counseling... 
She has a lot of unsettled emotions towards her own trill ancestry. The spots are dark against her skin and quite prominent, the only thing she hates about her appearance. Over a decade in the Federation - and more interactions with Trills - has given her some peace, but her Klingon heritage is still obviously preferred.
== Medical ==
K’azahl is healthy with no medical issues.
Her partial Klingon ancestry has given her multiple organ redundancies in her anatomy: twenty-three ribs, two livers, an eight-chambered heart, three lungs, two urinary tracts, a redundant neural function, and multiple stomachs.
Additionally, during her stay in a trill hospital, they discovered that her brain also produced adequate levels of isoboramine to support joining, as well as space in her abdomen where a symbiont could rest comfortably. 
== Facts ==
* Likes: Martial arts, Bloodwine
*Dislikes: Her cousin, dishonor, unfair fights
*She has vowed that she won’t use her birth name ‘K’azahl, daughter of Kholl,’ until she regains her honor among Klingons and regains her father’s house and titles. 
*Discommendation is a legal penalty in the Klingon Empire in which an individual was ceremonially shunned, stripped of honor, and severely reduced in social status with few rights in Klingon society. Seven generations of her descendants are also automatically discommendated. 
*K’azahl doesn’t speak of her dishonor with anyone. In this respect, her trill blood is quite helpful. Since her mother is a Starfleet captain and K’azahl uses her surname, most people automatically assume that she was raised in the Federation instead. 
*However, she is duty bound to tell other Klingons, so they don’t dishonor themselves by speaking to her.
== Photos/Art ==
File:K'azahl Karrox.png
File:K'azahl Karrox2.png
File:K'azahl Karrox3.png
File:K'azahl Honor.jpg|Art by Lavender
File:Kazahl Artbreeder.png
Category:Characters
Category:Odyssey Crew
Category:Medical
Category:Ensign
Category:Junior Officer
Category:Klingon
Category:Trill
Category:Unjoined Trill
Category:Female
Category:Rae