- Good morning, Commander. - Data.
- Interesting night? - I found it extremely interesting.
The lateral sensor arrays ran three spectral analyses
on the Alawanir Nebula on three frequencies.
- I'm sorry I missed it. - I will send you the report.
We are still on course for the Gariman Sector.
Our speed is warp six. ETA, 1300 hours.
Sickbay reported one minor injury in exobiology at 0420 hours.
Very well. Isn't Lt Worf scheduled to replace Ensign Torigan?
Yes, sir. I was not informed of any change to the roster.
He's never late. Riker to Lt Worf.
Computer, locate Lt Worf.
Lt Worf is in his quarters.
Something's wrong. Mr. Data, you have the bridge.
Security team, deck seven, section 25 Baker.
Aye, sir.
Computer, override security lock on this door.
Authorization, Riker Alpha six zero.
Worf, what the hell are you doing?
Space, the final frontier.
These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.
Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds,...
..to seek out new life and new civilizations,...
..to boldly go where no one has gone before.
Enter!
Captain.
On your feet, Lieutenant.
Sir.
Mr. Worf, your personal affairs are your concern
until they interfere with this ship. You have crossed that line.
As Captain, I want to know what is going on.
- It is difficult to explain. - Try.
Ever since I returned from the Carraya System, I have felt empty.
Is this to do with the Klingons you rescued from Carraya IV?
They were young. They knew nothing of their heritage.
While I was there, I tried to teach them
about their people, their culture.
I told them our ancient stories,
instructed them in our customs, explained our beliefs.
Then I told them about Kahless,
how he had united our people long ago,
how he gave us strength and honour
and how he promised to return one day and lead us again.
Is that what you're doing here? Trying to recapture those feelings?
Yes. I was trying to summon a vision of Kahless.
Better to use the holodeck than setting fire to your quarters.
Using the holodeck would not be appropriate.
Everything had to be real if Kahless were to appear.
But all this is for nothing.
He did not come to me.
I gave Toq and the others a belief in Sto-Vo-Kor,
the life beyond this life where Kahless awaits us.
When I saw the power of their beliefs, I began to question my own.
And I found it wanting.
Have you lost your faith in Sto-Vo-Kor?
To lose something, one must first possess it.
I am not sure I ever had a true belief.
But it should not have interfered with my duties.
- My behaviour was... - Inexcusable.
And understandable.
It may be that what you are looking for cannot be found here.
Perhaps you need to immerse yourself in Klingon beliefs
in order to discover if they can hold any truth for you.
Is there something you could do, somewhere you could go,
to explore your faith more fully?
Boreth. The followers of Kahless await his return there.
To Klingons, there is no more sacred place.
Boreth is only 12 days from here by shuttle.
As of this moment, you are on leave.
Thank you, sir.
But when you set foot on this ship again,
I expect you to perform your duties like a Starfleet officer.
Yes, sir.
And, Mr. Worf?
I hope you find what you're looking for.
Thank you, sir.
Kahless. I see Kahless.
He is standing before me, with a sword.
He wants something.
Me.
He wants me.
He wants me to go with him.
It is a powerful vision, Divok.
Kahless wants you to join him in Sto-Vo-Kor.
You are only 19, yet your place among the honoured dead is secure.
Take him back to his chamber. Let him sleep.
You're leaving us?
It has been ten days, Koroth.
I have had no visions. I have received no insight.
There is nothing here for me.
What is the Story of the Promise, Worf?
When Kahless had united our people and gave them the laws of honour,
he saw that his work was done.
One night, he gathered his belongings and said goodbye.
The people wept. They did not want him to go.
Then Kahless said, "You are Klingons."
"You need no one but yourselves."
"I will go now to Sto-Vo-Kor, but I promise one day I will return."
Then Kahless pointed to a star in the sky
and said, "Look for me there, on that point of light."
So, here we are, on a world circling that distant point of light.
It has been 15 centuries since he made that promise,
and still we wait.
What are ten days in the life of one Klingon compared to that?
Is the son of Mogh really so easily discouraged?
You came to us seeking answers,
but this is a place of questions.
Open your heart to Kahless.
Ask him your questions.
Let him speak to you with your mind unclouded by doubt or hesitation.
Only then can you find what you are looking for.
If you cannot do that,
then perhaps you should return to your starship.
I see Kahless.
You are real.
I am Kahless.
And I have returned.
What are you doing?
- Who are you? - It is Kahless.
I have returned.
You doubt me.
Who here knows the story of how this sword was forged?
No one knows. It is not written in the sacred texts.
I went into the mountains,
all the way to the volcano at Kri'stak.
There I cut off a lock of my hair
and thrust it into the molten rock that poured from the summit.
The hair began to burn.
Then I plunged it into the Lake of Lusor,
and twisted it into this sword.
And after I used it to kill Molor, I gave it a name.
Bat'leth.
The sword of honour.
You know!
The story of the sword is known only to the high clerics.
It was never written down, so that if he returned,
we could be sure it was Kahless.
I have returned because there is a great need in my people.
They fight amongst themselves in petty wars
that corrupt the glory of the Klingon spirit.
They have lost their way.
But it is not too late.
I have returned and I will lead my people again.
Kahless.
Kahless.
What is it you are doing?
I was getting my tricorder.
Tricorder? Is it a weapon?
No. It is a tool.
- I intended to use it... - To see if I was real.
Proceed. Use your tricorder.
Well?
You are Klingon.
What else could I be?
There are many possibilities. A shape shifter.
- A holographic projection. - You are a sceptic, Worf.
I like that.
- How do you know my name? - We have met before.
I appeared to you in a vision in the caves of No'Mat.
You were just a child then.
I told you that you would do something
that no Klingon had ever done before.
You still do not believe it is me, do you, Worf?
I want to believe.
That is a beginning.
Gowron is the leader of the Council and the defence force.
- If he opposes you... - Do not worry.
We are on the threshold of a new era.
Klingons from all over the Empire will flock to my banner.
Yet something still weighs heavy on the brow of the son of Mogh.
Are you contemplating yet another question for me?
After three days, I wonder if you know how to do anything else.
Questions are the beginning of wisdom, the mark of a true warrior.
Do not forget that a leader need not answer questions of those he leads.
It is enough that he says to do a thing and they will do it.
If he says to run, they run. If he says to fight, they fight.
If he says to die, they die.
If the commander is worthy of trust.
What is wrong?
Is there only anger and bloodlust in your souls?
Is that all that is left in the Klingon heart?
We do not fight merely to spill blood,
but to enrich the spirit.
Look at us. Two warriors locked in battle, fighting for honour.
How can you not sing for all to hear?
We are Klingons!
Yes.
Let it out. Let the joy in your heart be heard.
We are Klingons!
We are Klingons.
We are Klingons.
Captain's log, stardate 46852.2.
The Enterprise is to proceed to Boreth
to take aboard a very unusual guest.
Did you take any other tricorder readings,
an anatomical profile or a neurophysiology scan?
No.
It's going to be difficult to eliminate possibilities now.
He may be a coalescent being taking Klingon form,
or a bioreplicant or a Klingon who has been surgically altered.
There is another possibility.
He could be the real Kahless. He may have returned as he promised.
The appearance of Kahless is consistent with the sacred texts.
Worf, no offence,
but I have trouble believing the man on deck eight is supernatural.
I did not say that he is.
I merely think that we should not reject the possibility.
Look, we have no reason to rule out anything.
We are not ordered to investigate the origins of our guest,
nor to tell anyone what to believe.
We are simply to transport him to the Homeworld.
And while he's here with us,
he will be treated as an honoured guest.
Lieutenant?
May I ask a question?
In the absence of empirical data,
how will you determine if he is real?
It is not an empirical matter. It is a matter of faith.
Faith? Then you do believe Kahless has supernatural attributes?
As an android,
I am unable to accept that which cannot be proven.
I would appreciate hearing your insights.
Perhaps some other time, Commander.
I do not believe I can provide much insight at this moment.
- Welcome aboard, Gowron. - Where is he, Picard?
I assume you are referring to Kahless.
I am referring to the filthy pahtk who is using his name.
Well, the person in question is in his quarters at the moment.
What have you learned?
What medical analysis have you made? Any theories about his origin?
- We haven't done any analysis. - What fools work for you?
The impostor has been aboard for a day.
If you wanted tests, you should have sent a ship.
And have him spread his lies through a ship of Klingons? Never.
If he really is an impostor, don't worry.
Kahless has been dead for 1,000 years.
But the idea of Kahless is alive. Have you ever fought an idea?
It has no weapon to destroy, no body to kill.
The idea of Kahless's return must be stopped here
or it will travel through the Empire like a wave,
and leave nothing but destruction behind.
So Gowron has come on board to test your claim.
Gowron knows that his days are over.
He comes crawling aboard with some test.
- We don't have to prove anything. - What test?
He has a knife,
a knife that is stained with the blood of Kahless.
Gowron has the Knife of Kirom?
No one should remove it from the sacred vault.
Gowron does not care what is sacred.
He wants to run a genetic analysis on the blood and on you.
That should tell us if there is a match.
If you agree, I will ensure that it is conducted impartially.
Perhaps it is time to settle the doubts
of those who still do not believe.
I will allow this test.
There, that should do it.
Computer, run a genetic comparison on this blood sample
and the tissue belonging to Kahless.
The genetic patterns are identical.
But how? How can this be?
It is true.
Kahless has returned.
I am sorry. Our replicator does not do justice to warnog.
It's been so long since I have tasted any food or drink.
There are many things I have forgotten.
Kahless.
May I ask you about death and Sto-Vo-Kor?
Tell me, what awaits us beyond this life?
I do not have those answers.
I am merely a traveller
who has journeyed back and forth between this world and the next.
While I am in this form, I know only about this world.
And there is much work for me to do in this world.
And you will be part of it, Worf.
Me?
It was your purity of heart that summoned me back from Sto-Vo-Kor.
Koroth has told me about the respect you've earned
in the Federation and the Empire.
I want you at my side as we restore honour to our people.
Let me tell you about this new empire we will forge.
- It will be glorious! - It will be war!
No.
You are not a fool.
Do you really think that every Klingon will grovel before this man,
just because Koroth says he is Kahless?
He is Kahless.
Your own test proved it.
I will not hand over the Empire to Koroth because of one test.
- This is not Koroth. - Of course it is!
Open your eyes.
Koroth and the other guardians have always opposed me.
This is nothing more than a ploy to seize power.
Even now, there are warriors on my own ship who want to see Kahless.
There are others who believe he is an impostor.
The divisions are already forming.
But it does not have to be this way.
We could join together and welcome Kahless as a united people.
Don't you see? This is exactly why they want you to join them.
Because your brother sits on the Council,
and your voice carries weight in the Empire.
They want you to influence others to follow them.
Worf.
We fought together once, side by side,
to keep the Empire from being torn apart.
Will you stand by and let these impostors
destroy all that we fought so hard to protect?
Renounce him, Worf.
Stand with me and we can hold the Empire together.
You do not understand. Kahless is our future.
Only with his help can we revive the pure warriors within ourselves.
Listen to him, Gowron. Open your heart. Hear his words.
He will restore your faith as he has restored mine.
Give him a chance to lift your spirit
and cleanse your heart before you take up arms.
Koroth.
I see that not all fools die young.
Kahless.
Kahless, may I present Gowron, leader of the High Council?
Kahless.
Long ago, a storm was heading toward the city of Quin'lat.
The people sought protection within the walls.
All except one man who remained outside.
I went and asked what he was doing.
"I am not afraid," he said.
"I will not hide my face behind stone and mortar."
"I will stand before the wind and make it respect me."
I honoured his choice and went inside.
The next day, the storm came and the man was killed.
The wind does not respect a fool.
Do not stand before the wind, Gowron.
What was his name?
What?
If you were really there,
you should be able to tell us the name of the man outside the walls.
Describe him to us.
What was he wearing? How tall was he?
- What colour were his eyes? - I do not remember.
It was long ago and in another lifetime.
What matters is, I have returned to restore faith and hope to my people,
to lead them back to the way of honour,
and the glory that once was theirs and can be again.
- Is that what you oppose, Gowron? - I oppose you.
I say you are not Kahless.
And I will not bend my knee to you
as long as I can draw breath or pick up a blade.
- No. - Koroth.
A good try, Gowron. But not enough.
You have no joy, Gowron.
Is your heart so full of suspicion
that you've forgotten what it means to be Klingon?
Kahless. The greatest warrior of them all!
Everything will be alright.
We will say that Gowron used a dishonourable tactic.
- He cheated. - That is a lie!
We do not need to hear from you. You brought them together!
I am Kahless, the strongest, bravest warrior.
Do not think about what happened. You must think of the future.
There is no future here. No glorious new era for our people.
Gowron was right.
You did not know the name of the man who faced the storm.
You do not know what real warnog tastes like.
And you certainly are not the greatest warrior.
Whoever you are, you are not Kahless.
You have said enough. Get out!
You are using the name of Kahless for some twisted game.
For that alone, you should die.
If you do not tell me what you have done, I will kill you right here!
The problems with your memory
are the result of the way you returned.
What do you mean?
We, the guardians, have been awaiting your return for centuries,
but we did not have the technology to bring you back. Until now.
We used an organic sample of the first Kahless to give you life.
The first Kahless?
A clone.
He is a clone.
What is a clone?
A being created in a laboratory
by using genetic material from another being.
- You are a copy. A fraud! - You are not just a copy.
We gave you more than the body of Kahless.
We found a way to imprint information in your neurosynaptic patterns.
We gave you memories, not any memories.
We gave you the experiences of Kahless, as written in sacred texts.
So, I did not do any of the things that I remember.
I was never in the city of Quin'lat.
I never went to the Kri'stat volcano.
You were not awakened until we transported you
into the cave and you appeared to Worf.
Before then, you were in a laboratory where we accelerated growth,
corrected any genetic anomalies,
gave you the wisdom and memories...
They grew you in a test tube like some kind of fungus.
And programmed you like a machine.
- You are twisting the truth. - You talk to me of truth?
You who brought to life this lie and called it Kahless.
It is not a lie. Genetically, he is Kahless.
And he is needed by our people.
You know that corruption and dishonour are destroying the Empire.
- They need him. - They do not need a false god.
How do you know this is not the prophecy?
Who is to say that what we did was wrong?
I am. I will not let this fraud continue.
Worf.
You cannot tell Gowron.
Do not give me orders.
Alright. But consider this.
If you tell Gowron what we have told you, it will destroy him.
And with him, the last chance to restore hope to our people.
It's your choice.
They have been sitting here for three hours, 17 minutes.
They refuse to return with the rest of Gowron's men.
They insisted upon waiting here until they see Kahless again.
Their faith is unaffected by his inability to defeat Gowron.
They still believe.
Then they are fools.
Does that mean you no longer believe it is Kahless?
- Yes. - I am curious.
Do you still think the real Kahless will return?
Or has this experience only deepened your spiritual crisis?
- I do not know. - I understand your dilemma.
I once had what could be considered a crisis of the spirit.
You?
Yes. The Starfleet officers who activated me on Omicron Theta
told me I was an android, nothing more than a machine with human form.
However, I realized that if I were simply a machine,
I could never be anything else.
I could never grow beyond my programming.
I found that difficult to accept.
So I chose to believe that I was a person.
That I was more than a collection of circuits and subprocessors.
It is a belief which I still hold.
How did you come to your decision?
I made a leap of faith.
The man who appeared to me on Boreth is not Kahless.
He is a clone.
- A clone? - Yes.
Did you really think you could get away with this fraud?
You and this abomination will be put to death.
It does not matter, Gowron.
You will not be able to stand against him.
What? He's not real. You just said so.
I said he was not Kahless.
But in the minds of our people, he can be just as powerful.
Even now, two members of your own crew
are sitting on our holodeck waiting for him.
- I do not care what they think. - They are not alone.
Like many of our people, they need something to believe in, like I did.
Something larger than themselves, that will give their lives meaning.
They need Kahless.
- When they find out the truth... - It does not matter.
Despite the facts, they will still believe.
They will make a leap of faith.
There will be others like them. Not everyone.
But enough to plunge the Empire into civil war if you oppose them.
What are you saying? I should hand over the Empire?
No. That would be unwise, as well.
Then what are you proposing, Worf?
You were right about one thing, Koroth.
Our people are becoming decadent and corrupt.
They need moral leadership.
Kahless can be that leader, as emperor.
There hasn't been an emperor in three centuries.
The political power will remain with the High Council.
Kahless would be a figurehead,
but he will have the ability to rally the people,
to lead by example, to guide them in spiritual matters.
The title is meaningless without power to back it up.
Real power comes from within the heart.
You would have the power to mould the Klingon heart.
You could return them to honour
according to the teachings of Kahless which are within you.
It would be a great challenge,
if you have courage to accept it.
And what will we tell the people about their emperor?
That he appeared in a cave or a laboratory?
We will tell them the truth.
All of the truth.
But we will tell them that even if he is not the real Kahless,
he is the rightful heir to Kahless.
And if I refuse to go along?
My brother, those who support him, and I will fight you.
And the Empire will fall back into civil war.
- What do you say about this? - What I say is unimportant.
It is acceptable.
Join with me, Gowron.
Let us usher in this new era together.
Kahless.
- Farewell, Worf. - Goodbye.
What's wrong? You should be proud of what you've accomplished.
I went to Boreth to find my faith.
For a time, I thought I had.
But my heart is empty again.
I do not know what to believe.
You doubt the real Kahless will return one day?
You doubt that he is still waiting for you in Sto-Vo-Kor?
Kahless left us, all of us, a powerful legacy.
A way of thinking and acting that makes us Klingon.
If his words hold wisdom and his philosophy is honourable,
what does it matter if he returns?
What is important is that we follow his teachings.
Perhaps the words are more important than the man.
Qapla', son of Mogh.
Qapla', Kahless.