BOTV Episode 01

*"It is fitting that you should have this ancient mistake of a ship, don't you agree?"*
—**Ledru**

## **Plot Synopsis**

*CONTENT WARNING:* Blood of the Void *is a game about Klingons. Episodes contain acts of violence and other adult content. Unlike other areas of the website, individual sections of this article will not be tagged with content warnings.*
### **Brief Overview**

CDR B'emir gains an unlikely ally in GEN Ledru. She receives new orders to hunt down and capture the Nausicaan pirates which attacked Scrapyard 26 (which she and her crew fought off). IKS *Borqu'* proceeds to the Rinteq System. On the way, LT Qotar and CDR e'Daj duel for the Bekks, with violent results. Upon entering the system, they discover the pirates. The command staff transport aboard while simultaneously firing a shot from IKS Borqu' to disable the pirates' engines. LT Omeq attempts to retrieve the information from the pirates data core, but the damage from the attack is devastating. The crew only have time to capture the captain of the pirates (thanks to expert negotiating by LT Ra'amyan) before the entire ship explodes. They interrogate him and pursue the leads. Omeq is haunted by his failure, but manages to discover two critical pieces of information: the mysterious (and classified) word *"gugh'moH"*, and that Scrapyard 26 used to be owned by the infamous House of Chang.

### **Pre-Break**

   IKS *Borqu'* has arrived at Ty'Gokor to get new orders. It's commander, CDR B'emir, transports down to meet with GEN Ledru. Ledru greets B'emir with hostility, and she even threatens to strip B'emir of her rank and send her back to Qo'noS in disgrace. However, Ledru later admits to admiring her ambition and willingness to take what she is owed. She assigns B'emir a mission to hunt down the Nausicaan vessel which IKS Borqu' fought off at Scrapyard 26. She tells B'emir to prioritize capture over killing. The Naussicans managed to steal some classified information from Scrapyard 26 during the raid. B'emir returns to the ship and relays the information. CDR e'Daj is overjoyed. IKS Borqu' departs.

On the way, LT Qotar suggests a duel with e'Daj in order to show off for the new crewmembers. They proceed to the training room, and are soon surrounded by dozens of excited bekks. They both inflict grievous injuries, to the extreme pleasure of the crew. They proceed to sickbay to rest up. LT Ra'amyan and B'emir talk about her interaction with Ledru. She asks him to look into any connections between Ledru and Nausicaans.

   On arrival in the Rinteq System, IKS Borqu' engages the cloaking device, and LT Omeq scans the system. There are no ships on scans, but there are traces of a warp trail near the asteroid belt. Qotar identifies the most likely asteroid for the Nausicaans to hide behind. Ra'amyan navigates the ship through the asteroid belt, and he brings the ship right up behind the Nausicaan vessel.

### **Post-Break**

Omeq scans the Nausicaan vessel. He identifies 18 Nausicaan life-signs. He also determines that it is a small raider, with no shuttles or escape pods. Qotar and B'emir arrive at a plan to transport a boarding party aboard the raider, and *then* fire upon it. LT R'yeq arrives on the bridge to discuss the plan. R'yeq transports B'emir, e'Daj, Omeq, Ra'amyan, and Qotar to the bridge of the Nausicaan ship. When they arrive, they encounter six bridge crew, including the captain of the Nausicaans.

IKS *Borqu'* opens fire on the raider's engines. The power of the disruptor cannons tears off the entire back half of the raider and sends it careening into the asteroid field. Omeq and Ra'amyan are thrown off their feet and into the bulkhead. With only moments before the raider explodes, the crew of IKS Borqu' get to work dispatching the remainder of the Nausicaans. Qotar identifies a Nausicaan which had run from him during the raid on the scrapyard. He attacks, but the Nausicaan dodges and strikes back. Omeq starts hacking the ship's computers to retrieve all of the data from the computer core. The Nausicaan captain draws a disruptor and fires at B'emir at close range, but the shot goes wide. Ra'amyan steps forward and demands the captain surrender. The captain orders his crew to drop their weapons and surrender. Qotar takes one final moment to choke out the Nausicaan which had punched him. B'emir orders R'yeq to transport them off. She stars with Ra'amyan, the Nausicaan captain, and the bekks. Omeq is unable to get the data off of the ship's computer before the ship starts to come apart. R'yeq transports the rest of the crew back to the ship.

The raider explodes and IKS Borqu' is rocked by the shockwave. On the bridge, Qotar is still holding his Nausicaan by the neck. e'Daj complains about not getting a chance to fight. Qotar sets down the unconscious Nausicaan, and B'emir orders the Nausicaans sent to the brig. B'emir, e'Daj, and Qotar follow to interrogate the captain. Ra'amyan takes the ship to warp, and Omeq reflects on his failure. Before leaving the bridge, B'emir takes a moment to lead the entire ship in a victory chant.

Qotar, e'Daj, and B'emir begin "aggressive interrogation" of the Nausicaan captain. He gives up his own name, that he was tasked with attacking Scrapyard 26, and one word: *"gugh'moH"*. When Omeq searches *"gugh'moH"*, he discovers it is classified at a high level by Klingon Intelligence. Omeq does learn that Scrapyard 26, where B'emir's crew initially discovered IKS Borqu' and encountered the Nausicaans, used to be called "*muq* Station". It was owned by the House of Chang, led by GEN Chang.

## **Cast**

* Eric Campbell - Game Master
* Aliza Pearl - B'emir
* Jade Law - e'Daj
* Phillip Jeanmarie - Omeq
* Quincy Surasmith - Ra'amyan
* Christopher Eddins - Qotar

## **Non-Player Characters**

* Ledru
* R'yeq
* Nausicaan Captain

## **Locations**

* Ty'Gokor
* Rinteq System

## **Notable Lines**

*"It is fitting that you should have this ancient mistake of a ship, don't you agree?"*
—**Ledru** to B'emir

*"It is always a good day to die, but today is not that day!"*
—**Qotar**

*"Your blood is water!"*
—**Qotar**

## **Notes and Trivia**

* Eric lists the stardate of the departure of the USS Ross, which coincides with the events of this episode, as "59062.61, or January 23rd." This matches the month and date given on the Javascript Stardate Converter, among several others, which all give the year as 2382.
* GEN Chang is famous for having attempted to sabotage the first Khitomer Accords, which established peace between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. He also owned a prototype Bird-of-Prey which could fire while cloaked (something only one other ship has ever been able to do). [1]