July 24, 2362

Having failed to find anything to wear to the wedding on any of the stations Travis and I stopped at on the way to Qo'noS, I had to shop for something appropriate there. Travis eventually convinced me to go with a leather dress in a midnight blue, open neckline, exposed shoulders, long sleeves. The shop keeper tried to guide me towards something that would have as much cleavage, but would hide most of my spots, and because I was already starting to get harassed for my mixed heritage again, I might have listened to her had Travis not been so enthusiastic for the dress I did get.

The whole family liked Travis when they met him, even if my brothers both kicked his ass when he agreed to go spar with them before dinner the first night. He even took their ribbing on his poor skills quite well, and they started to offer advice. I even found out he had passable knowledge of Klingon, though I am mildly perplexed as to why he didn't mention it until now. He especially impressed when Aunt Ba'el served up gagh the second night we were there and he dug in happily. She was utterly floored when he complemented her in Klingon (that's how we all found out he spoke it) and in such detail to imply he'd had chance to try multiple types of preparation.

He convinced me to take him around to see the sights because he hadn't had the chance to see Qo'noS before. The brothers tagged along, filling in details where I either forgot or never cared to learn in the first place. We managed to steal a little of Mara's time before the wedding, as she'd been so busy with preparations and pre-wedding rituals she hadn't been around since Travis and I arrived. She gave us time in a coffee house, but nowhere near the time I would have liked.

The wedding was beautiful, her red leather dress looked gorgeous on her. It even made her look like she had warrior woman cleavage, something that she'd never had in her life. Even a blind man could see the enthusiasm that both of them basked in throughout the whole of the event. She and I exchanged complements during the reception/party after. She loved my dress, and Travis had made a good impression on her. Korth wasn't sure what to make of him, but did admit he was surprised someone like that would do so well in a party full of so many Klingons. I received a joyous laugh out of him when I explained that Travis can't even keep the business end of a phaser straight half the time, but he handles a gaggle of Klingons as if they're kittens.

When Travis later asked me what I'd said to make Korth laugh so enthusiastically, I told him he'd be mad if I told him, but I'd make it up to him tonight. He shook his head and I couldn't tell if he wanted to laugh or if he was mad. Then he suggested that I could make it up to him now, if I wanted, and grabbed me by my hand to guide me to a private corner out of sight of the celebration.

Later when we returned to the wedding party, Kaith noticed the new bite mark on my neck and roared with laugher and congratulations. This caught the attention of Kang who punched Travis in the arm, then caught him in a “manly” hug, lifting Travis' feet off the ground. I thought I heard a mild threat along the lines of “If you hurt my sister...” but as Travis laughed, retorted something along the lines of “only when she asks for it” and punched Kang back, I decided it was harmless.

I think this managed to endear him to my brothers, as they proceeded to drag him off and I lost sight of him for a while. Mara showed up at my side as they drug him off and asked me what happened. I gave her a quick summary, to which she laughed.

When I found Travis again, apparently my brothers had been feeding him Blood Wine, as he was having trouble keeping his feet and speaking coherently. I took the partial glass he had in hand, and downed it quickly before he could get at any more of it, and told him he'd had enough. Both of my brothers objected, but gave up when I threatened to take them both on at once. I suspect they only backed down because the family would accuse them of ganging up on me.

I excused us from the celebration early, and took Travis home. The next morning was spent nursing him through the hangover, which caused him to swear off Blood Wine for good. I suspect it's an oath he won't hold to though, as he did admit to enjoying the flavor.

By the afternoon he was back to his old self, and my brothers kidnapped him for more sparing. I managed to catch them as they were making off with him and followed silently behind. They didn't even notice I was there until they handed Travis a training bat'leth and he turned to Kaith, noticing me behind my brother. As Kaith spun, noticing Travis' recognition and surprise, I snagged one of the real bat'leth sitting next to the sparing area and swung on him, knowing he'd block it with the training bat'leth he'd intended to beat Travis around with in good fun.

He accused me of being dishonorable and sneaking up on him, and I pointed out that had that been my intention, he would have not had the chance to defend himself. Growling, he pushed me away with a pure surge of strength, and made a grab for another real bat'leth, ditching the training piece.

Kang and Travis both cheered and shouted as they watched Kaith and I face off. I was glad I'd talked Blue into sparring with me regularly while on runs, as I probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with my younger brother had I not been in practice. Having sparred with Blue possibly even gave me a mild advantage, as I'd picked up some unconventional techniques from him since he wasn't bogged down with Klingon tradition when I asked him to pick a bat'leth up.

Gradually the rest of the family found themselves gathered around the sparring area as Kaith and I continued to face off. My uncles started making comments about how far I'd come since they'd last seen me spar, and they made some good natured teasing comments about how he shouldn't have so much trouble with his smaller and weaker, even if older, sister.

Kaith started getting angry and sloppy, but as I was not used to going this long, as Blue and I usually stopped at 10 minute intervals and I could usually extract myself from a bar fight in less than that, I decided to relax my attacks to regain my wind, instead of simply finishing him off. He finally caught me when I made a stupid mistake, and had me pinned to the ground and disarmed.

I grinned up at him, thanked him for the good work out and held out my hand to get help back up. He growled something back that I didn't catch and stalked off. Travis stepped forward to give me a hand up, and the rest of the family looked after my brother. I asked Kang what was up with him, and I got a vague answer about species-ism, being stuck on this planet and jealousy. Kang also added he was happy for my finding a way out of here, but he could understand Kaith's jealousy. Where they'd mixed in relatively well compared to me while in school, once they'd graduated and had to start looking for work, things had gotten worse.

Kaith thrived in school because he could just pretend to be yet another Klingon male out for glory and battle, but once out of school the older adults tried to insist he could never be a proper warrior because of his half breed status. Kaith continuously lost jobs where he was better qualified, a better warrior and all because the other person was a full blood and he was a half breed. Kang managed better because he took jobs that the full bloods didn't really want, and having grown up the youngest, was used to making due with what came to him.

When we finished talking, he asked me about some of the things I'd done while sparring with Kaith, and I explained that there are advantages of learning fighting techniques from multiple cultures. I told him one of these days I'd have to introduce him to Blue, and he could learn some of it himself. I asked Kang if he could keep Travis busy so I could try talking to Kaith, and Kang soon had Travis going with the training bat'leth.

I managed to find Kaith at the edge of the family property, and made a point to call out to him before I was close enough to surprise him. He didn't acknowledge me, but he also didn't discourage me from approaching, so I came up along side him. I reminded him I knew what he was going through, and when he acted as if he didn't know what I was talking about, I explained what Kang had told me.

After a moment of silence, he said that I couldn't understand anymore, I've been off world for a couple years now. I pointed out that they probably would have gone after me with a mob if I hadn't gotten out of here when I did, after all, not only was I a half breed, but I didn't even have the courtesy to get mostly Klingon traits like he had. So he asked me if I was suggesting he run away like I did.

I took a moment, trying not to get mad at my brother for the verbal slap. I explained that I had not run away, I just decided to pick my battles. Sacrificing myself somewhere that it would not make a difference was pointless when I could regroup and win on other fronts. The best way to win against people who look down on you for who you have no control over being is to be successful. I had to leave Klingon society to do that, he may not have to.

He also pointed out that it hurt Mama very much when I left. I hadn't realized this, as she had been supportive of me from the moment I started talking about flight schools. I pointed out there were ways to be successful without having to leave Mama behind like I did. I pointed out Kang seemed to be doing fine, and that the Military certainly doesn't discriminate based upon mixed species backgrounds or upbringing.

He pointed out that the xenophobia can still hurt a military career, and he'd probably be off on military assignment, Mama would be losing another child. She'd be losing her child to a very honorable career, I pointed out, something that may even get her people to forget she did the unthinkable and had children with another species. Besides, pull enough thrilling heroics and honorable victories, they'll forget you're anything other than one of them.

He told me he'd think about it. I asked if he was coming back into the house, and he said he'd be back in a bit. Apparently he's taken to hiding back here lately to think. I considered talking to Mama, but I wasn't sure if it would worry her needlessly.

Travis and I are leaving tomorrow, we'll have a couple days after we get back before the next run. I'd originally planned it that way because I expected things to not go well with him while we were here. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It will also be nice to not have to play that sneaking around and pretending we're not having sex thing, even though it's clear to the most casual observer.