In our exploration of what makes us Klingon, we need to explore a component that is a commonplace in many cultures, that of the art of story-telling. Numerous cultures share the traditions of gathering to hear the stories, legends and myths of great battles, a great hero’s journey, or that of a scary legend. Whether they are made up of exaggerations or 100% the truth, a good story is always worth hearing.
It is with that I wish to share my own story with you. It is a story of heartache, betrayal, the thrust for revenge and the regaining of honor.
I was born Ler’aQ, son of none, on the wasteland of a world, wandering lost amongst people not like myself. I braved this harsh world till I was able to stow away on a freighter headed to an outpost, Once aboard the station, I was able to mix amongst a group of my own kind and uncovered my true lineage, I was Ler’aQ, son of Kathos, a Dahar master, lost to his family during a battle. Upon this revelation I joined my new friends Nar’risa and T’esh as we journeyed back to Qo’nos, only a few days away. It was there I was taken to the hall of House Veqsen, the mighty house my father belonged to. 
Veqsen was an older, honorable house of the Empire. My father was a great warrior, a veteran of many battles. Now older, he served as an advisor to Jur’oth, the leader of House Veqsen.
My father during his prime had been a mighty warrior and had fought as a member of House Veqsen. As a warrior of the house, he had always given all he had on the battlefield to bring honor and glory to them. One such battle had left him without an eye, as it had been cut out of his head by his foes before he had defeated them. In another battle he lost part of his leg, which now constrained him to walk with a large club, along with a slight limp. Despite his disabilities, he embraced his lost son and began to teach me how to be a warrior. Jur’oth had seen my arrival as an opportunity to exploit a newly molded warrior; he began to teach me as well as my father and corrupt me to his wills
Fate had frowned on my return to my peoples, though, as I had the misfortune of returning during a time of turmoil. House Veqsen had just recovered from a civil war within the house, once a large and noble house; petty squabbling had torn the house in twain. Three smaller houses now vied for the power once held by Veqsen. Our once-mighty house had now fallen out of favor and was constantly being challenged. It was not long till our great house’s mighty fleet had been defeated, leaving us no recourse but to gather what warriors were still loyal and rely on our allies. We joined the crew of Jur’oth’s brother-in-law Vr’esh; Vr’esh had married Jur’oth’s sister Dretha, and the crew was brought together with warriors of our house as well as smaller houses whom we still held favor with. We were now crew of the Verox Phoenix. I was appointed as an armory officer. Vr’esh, our captain, was of another house, that of Setharin, a small but powerful house. Many of our house’s remaining warriors favored him as a leader, as it was Jur’oth’s foolish leadership that had led us to our current status . My father’s health had declined to where he could no longer serve on a starship; it had left me with Jur’oth and just two others who were still fully loyal to our house. Over the next year of service I had gotten to know my fellow crew members and observed less-than-honorable actions of Jur’oth. Regardless of his health status, Vr’esh had requested his presence on board the ship in hopes he might counsel Jur’oth, for Jur’oth had become bitter at the loss of his status and had whispered his intent to mutiny and challenge Vr’esh for captaincy. Kathos tried to counsel Jur’oth on how his alliance with House Setharin would strengthen Veqsen and help him rebuild the once-mighty house. Jur’oth saw this counsel as a sign of weakness and killed my father in return. The once-mighty Lord of Veqsen challenged Vr’esh for leadership of the Phoenix, only to fail, blaming his failure on my father. Jur’oth lied and said he acted on advice from my father on how to regain some honor. Jur’oth and his took the house name of their Captain. As for me? I was branded the son of a traitor and then exiled to an old, run-down outpost on a backward planet, days from any type of civilization. Such is the punishment for a traitor.
Fleet Captain Lee Montgomery Chief Operations Officer USS Tiburon