Avok, son of Kurak

Rank: Captain(Imperial Klingon Defense Forces)

Species: Klingon (Spaceborn)

Position: Klingon Ambassador to Station 419

Summary:

2347: Born to Kurak, son of Kot'oth, who commanded a vor'Cha class battleship until the battle of Cardassia, where he was killed in General Martok's push to relieve the Romulan flank. As such his childhood was one steeped in military tradition, even moreso than most Klingons, and his face was a familiar sight in the halls of his father's ship. His mother died giving birth to him, and he always suspected that his father resented him for that.

2357-8: At the age of ten, instead of spending a month or two per year onboard his father's command, he began living there full-time, in a breach of regulation that all of the crew kept quiet out of loyalty for their captain. Besides, the child was endearing and had the true warrior's spirit about him; he tried to prove his manhood at 11 years old but could not lift the Tactical Officer's bat'leth.

2360-1: A Klingon is said to be a man on the day he first lifts a blade. The thought occurred to Avok on the day of the thirteenth anniversary of his coming into existence that perhaps he should try a lighter blade. He walked onto the bridge with a mek'leth in each hand, greeted by cheers and well-wishes from the bridge crew and hearty approval from his father. The Age of Ascension ceremony took place a day later, the same mek'leths present on his belt as he walked through the gauntlet of pain sticks formed by the senior staff. Less than a month after that his given name was chosen: Avok. When he enrolled in the Klingon Military Academy at 14, as everyone knew he would, there was a bit of a controversy why a diplomat's name, starting with A,would be chosen for an officer on a starship, whose names traditionally started with K. Kurak, though, insisted on the misnomer, and the name stood.

2361-5: Avok's name, while controversial, soon became well-known in the hallowed halls of the KMA. He excelled in his studies, skipping his fourth year to take a probationary cruise as a depty tactical officer on a B'rel class scout. His specialties in the martial skills did not stop with starship combat, as Avok soon proved himself to be more than capable at Mok'Bara and the use of a mek'leth. His service on the scoutship was exemplary, and he went on to serve as a tactical officer on a K'vort class destroyer, the IKV puv'Hegh (Winged Death). Extremely young for his posting, graduating at an age when most Klingons are only halfway through the Academy, he was the subject of some ridicule onboard, until word of who his father was and how he had performed on his previous posting spread.

2366: The ship participated in the border conflicts with Cardassia in 2366, and Avok was credited with three kills: Two Hideki class scouts and a Galor class destroyer (this was part of a joint effort with his father's ship, the vor'Cha class weakened it and the puv'Hegh got the killing blow.)

2367: Transferred to the vor'Cha class battleship elth'vo Qo'nos (Blade of Qo'nos) as First officer, an amazing leap due in no small part to his saving the life of the ship's captain. To this day it is debated whether or not he let the first officer die to take his position.

2368-71: The first officer served in a relatively quiet time, the five years leading up to the discovery of the Dominion. With few combat incidents to speak of, the Blade of Qo'nos mostly ferried diplomats and helped to cement the new ties between the Klingons and Federation. Avok cemented his "people skills" during this time, and helped to convince a xenophobic starbase commandant to let the ship dock despite its allegiance. The sessions under the tutelage of his CO let him take the Klingon Consulate's diplomacy certification program, and aquire diplomatic status from the comfort of his own ship.

2372-5: Avok gains command of his own ship, the IKV Daq'ghop (Warrior's Hand). A B'rel class like the one he started out on, Avok leads her to glory in the Dominion War, participating in the battles over Deep Space Nine, Trill, and numerous other skirmishes. The one battle he misses, however, was the most important: Cardassia. His father's ship goes down over that Kahless-forsaken world, in Martok's charge to relieve the faltering Romulan lines. All hands arelost, and Avok bears a deep-seated resentment towards the Romulans, feeling them cowards and weak in the ways of the warrior. Avok was in communication with his father shortly before the battle commenced, and has berated himself since his father's death for never asking about the unresolved issue of Avok's mother.

2376: With the conclusion of the war, though, Avok's old Commanding Officer, now in the admiralty, asked him to serve as the Empire's new ambassador to the jointly administered station Upsilon 419. Avok, eager for a chance to leave the Fleet in operational capacity (he never resigned his commission), accepted, and the transfer was completed in 2376.

Proficiencies/Deficiencies:

"His tongue is silvered, but his blade is dulled." -Kot'oth, Avok's grandfather

"The Ambassador leads always with his heart first. He should only hope that he does not someday find himself hacked off at the wrists and losing it." -Churas, daughter of Gr'laH

"Gr'laH is honest; Avok, I remain unsure of." -Sovar, Second Diplomatic Legate

"He is a man trapped between the culture of his people and the strictures of his office. He has not yet learned the double-speak, the beareaucratic phrasings, the temporizations, and the means of forbearance of a man such as myself. He brings to the table something that I do not. An idealism for his career and a meaning to his words that runs no deeper than their context. I bring something to the table that he does not. Cunning, experience, skill, and the means to win the battle of the conference table. Together, we make one mediocre diplomat." -Captain Gr'laH, Ambassador's Aide