"New horizons, new frontiers" by Lieutenant jg T'Kang Chief Engineer - USS Intrepid It was dark in T'Kang's quarters. The lights were low and only an Erie glow of red from a wew-qut lamp illuminated the room with any intensity. The light from the Klingon glow crystal cast harsh shadows over the face ridges of the brooding warrior as he wallowed in his own frustration over loosing members of the Intrepid's crew on his away mission. T'Kang swallowed the last of his bloodwine before letting out a frustrated howl and clearing the table with a swung arm, sending the lamp to the floor in a crash of delicate glass and crystal. So many people had come and gone on board the Intrepid. Hawke. Gabrial. Hannoyh. Desmond. And now, Davis, Ktryna and Trissana all missing in action and presumed dead. T'Kang tried to tell himself that it was worth it. That the away team's mission was a success in spite of loosing sixty percent of the team. Chief Science Officer Camelia Cadan was located and safely returned to the Intrepid, and they did manage to destroy the command vessel of the Nharwek, allowing the Intrepid the first solid victory worthy of song since the Klingon came on board the vessel under Fleet Captain Hawke. But it wasn't helping. T'Kang would just remember Lieutenant Commander Davis and the time they spent on Frainar III. The Klingon couldn't help but feel there was something he could have done to prevent the tragic loss. Pulling the Klingon out of his self induced stooper and brooding, a hail came through from Starfleet Command. T'Kang glanced across the dimly lit room at the monitor on his desk. The Klingon was not the most friendly person on the ship. Most would say he had a down right grim demeanor, so having someone hail him was almost guaranteed not to be of a social nature. He pulled himself up off of the couch and went to the desk, activating the monitor. "What do you want?!" T'Kang barked in a boisterous, annoyed Klingon tone. The somewhat surprised officer on the other end of the transmission was a bit taken aback by the Klingon's rudeness. "Lieutenant T'Kang?" she asked. "That is I. What do you want?" T'Kang replied in a harsh tone typical of Klingon warriors. "I am with Starfleet Command. I just wanted to let you know that your transfer request has been approved Lieutenant. The Tempest is expecting you to report to the head of Tactical in the next few days." T'Kang's eyes narrowed at hearing this. In all of his self pity and doubt after the away team losses, the Klingon had forgotten he'd even applied for a transfer to another starship after learning of the plans to incorporate Davis' alien goo into the Intrepid's systems. ***** T'Kang finished packing the last of his things into his duffel bag. The final item he stowed was his Red Ribbon of Excellence he'd received at Starfleet Academy. It seemed like so long ago. He was a different person then. Everything was new and fresh. Space was a final frontier to be explored. Now, after all of the friends that he'd met and lost, it just seemed like a giant unforgiving desert. A vacuum that consumed all that toiled in it. Perhaps things would be different on another starship, though the cynical Klingon didn't hold too much hope in that. Still T'Kang's heart was yearning for something. . . . more than what the Intrepid had to offer. Maybe the Tempest would be it. Maybe it would not. All T'Kang knew was he couldn't stay here any longer. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, T'Kang picked up a data padd with his final orders and access codes for Lieutenant Salek in one hand, and his bat'leth in the other before giving his quarters one last glance and exiting. The doors to Engineering swished open as the burly Klingon clamored in. His presence immediately drew the attention of Lieutenant Salek. "Are you planning on taking a trip Lieutenant T'Kang?" Salek asked looking directly at the duffel bag slung over the Klingon's shoulder. The Captain had authorized shore leave to anyone who wanted it, though in his time on board the Intrepid, Salek never knew T'Kang to have taken any. Handing the padd to Salek, T'Kang shook his head. "No. Here are the access codes and reports for the Engineering department. I have recommended you to Captain Celchu to serve as my replacement as Chief Engineer on board the Intrepid. You know this vessel better than I do Mr. Salek." Salek looked at the padd with a hint of surprise (for a Vulcan) "You are leaving the ship then Lieutenant?" "That is correct." T'Kang said simply. Of everyone on board the Intrepid, T'Kang found Salek to be the most capable officer he'd served with. He had every confidence that the ship would be in good hands with the Vulcan as Chief Engineer. "Your leadership will be missed Lieutenant." Salek began, "It was a pleasure serving with you." Salek raised a split fingered hand, "Peace and long life T'Kang." The Klingon nodded as he glanced around engineering one last time. Then he slowly turned to leave before pausing, "Be sure to stay on top of the new warp core. It's more powerful than what was intended for a Prometheus class starship. . . ." Salek nodded knowingly, "I will keep that in mind Lieutenant." "And look out for the MVA latches, they have a tendency to lock up if they aren't regularly maintained." "I will keep them maintained Lieutenant." Salek again nodded. "You have taught me well." T'Kang pressed his lips together dryly while giving a gentle nod. Finally he realized it was time to go. "Goodbye Salek. I hope our paths cross again some day." Salek just nodded sagely and watched as T'Kang exited main engineering. ***** T'Kang entered the transporter room and stepped onto the pad. "Beam me over to Starbase 001." The transporter operator adjusted the controls and prepared for the transport. "Coordinates laid in sir." Reaching across his chest, T'Kang activated his comm badge. +taps+ "T'Kang to Captain Celchu." +taps+ "Celchu here. Go ahead Lieutenant." After a brief pause, T'Kang continued, +taps+ "Permission to disembark the USS Intrepid sir." +taps+ "Permission granted. Good luck with your new assignment Lieutenant." +taps+ "Thank you Captain. T'Kang out." The Klingon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. All in all his time on the Intrepid had been an adventure. And while he went on to other challenges throughout his career in Starfleet, the Intrepid and her crew's stories would always be a part of him. "Energize." T'Kang finally ordered. He then faded away in a shimmer of pale blue light as he departed the ranks of the starship named Intrepid. ********* OOC: It's been a fun six months on the Intrepid. I've enjoyed participating and reading all of your fine stories. Thank you all for providing me with hours of entertainment and allowing me to share my own stories with all of you. T'Kang will be serving on board the UCIP Tempest as a Tactical officer, so if you should need to find me, that's where I shall be. Blackhorn Aka - Lieutenant jg T'Kang Chief Engineer - USS Intrepid Assistant Tactical Officer - USS Tempest http://come.to.tkang