Battle of the Houses

The Battle of the Houses was the final and largest battle of the brief Klingon civil war of 2381. Chancellor Martok faced a rebellion, led by his rival, Gorka, with the renegade Federation dreadnought Theurgy heavily involved in the conflict. The conclusion of the war would have long-lasting ramifications throughout the Alpha and Beta quadrants, particularly in the clandestine war against the Infested.

The Battle of the Houses serves as the central focus of Episode 01 of Season 02 of the Theurgy story.

Prelude

The Battle of the Apertures, while a major victory for the combined Federation/Klingon forces, sent political shockwaves throughout the Klingon Empire. Dozens of Klingon vessels were destroyed in the struggle against the Borg, with several thousand Klingon warriors losing their lives. Though Chancellor Martok survived the battle, the heavy losses, notably including the celebrated flagship IKC Negh’var, severely weakened the Klingon military, which had barely begun to recover from catastrophic losses and economic ruin during the Dominion War.

Though in itself, this was not a problem for a warrior culture, Martok's radical actions following the battle stoked suspicion and alarm. He suspended the hunt for the renegade dreadnought Theurgy, despite that vessel destroying the IKS Hakkarl over a week prior, slaying Martok's own son. More, Martok ordered strict secrecy among the few survivors of the battle, flatly refusing to give even the High Council details about what had occurred. This unusual act greatly perturbed many of the fallen's families, who were unable to properly celebrate the deeds of the glorious dead, and outraged more conservative elements of the Empire. Even more bizarre, though remaining outwardly friendly, Martok suspended joint operations with Starfleet and began refortifying the Empire's border with the United Federation of Planets.

As time passed, discontent with Martok's secrecy grew, building on concerns about the Empire's slow economic recovery. Martok's absence from Qo'nos further weakened his political standing, as did odd rumours spread: that the Theurgy had been present at the battle, had escaped, that it was being secretly refitted in a distant Klingon dock, that Martok had gone mad and aligned himself with the psychotic terrorist Captain Jien Ives. Nothing made sense, and the Klingon populace grew ever more disturbed.

Though the rumors were partially true, Martok had excellent reasons for his secrecy. At the Battle of the Apertures, he had learned the horrible truth about the Infested, their control of Starfleet Command, and the Theurgy crew's struggle to stop them. The Theurgy was indeed being secretly refitted at Aldea, a distant vassal world of the Empire, as Martok made his own plans to fight The Infested and save the Empire. However, fast-moving events derailed those plans before he could act.

Retaliation

In retaliation for the Theurgy thwarting their schemes in the Azure Nebula, the Infested enacted a new strategy simultaneously in all three of the major powers. In Paris, an Earth city that housed the Federation Council and President Nanietta Bacco, the Infested detonated a thalaron bomb. Within moments, millions of people, including much of the Federation government, was dead. Though the President survived, the attack was the deadliest atrocity on Earth in over two hundred years, stunning the entire Federation.

Starfleet's investigation quickly confirmed a Romulan connection, and concurrently, as planned by the Infested, Praetor Tal'aura publically admitted to the attack, claiming that it was due to Starfleet's interference in the Romulan civil war. In response, the United Federation of Planets formally declared war on the Romulan Star Empire for the first time in the tense history of the two great civilisations. Immediately, ships and troops on both sides of the Neutral Zone began arming for war, though both Starfleet and Romulan Star Navy were taken by surprise by the sudden conflict. Skirmises began immediately, but neither side would be ready for a major offensive for quite some time.

However, the Infested had more immediate plans. Shortly after the destruction of Paris, Gorka's grandfather on the High Council publically confirmed that the Theurgy was indeed being sheltered by Martok. After numerous accusations of treason, deception and dishonourable conduct, Martok was formally challenged for leadership of the Empire. Despite broadcasting the truth of his alliance with the Theurgy and the threat of the Infested, Martok's words were met with skepticism by many, especially since he contradicted the Federation's own version of events. Battle lines were drawn.

Almost instantly, much as it had during the civil war between Gowron and the Duras, the Empire was split asunder, with various major houses declaring themselves for either Martok or Gorka. Fighting began soon after, and civil war broke out in earnest.

The Race Begins

It quickly became apparent to both sides that whomever reached Qo'nos first for the challenge would have a marked advantage, both militarily and politically. Gorka, though his grandfather on the High Council was killed in combat by one of Martok's allies, had planned his challenge perfectly, with Martok far away on Aldea, several weeks travel from Qo'nos even at high warp. He had been meeting Captain Ives for a conference on the Infested threat, but was caught out of position.

The crew of the USS Theurgy, however, had not been idle. With the ship repaired by the Klingon dockyards after the Battle of the Apertures, and equipped with a quantum slipstream drive gifted by their Savi allies, the Theurgy immediately departed for Qo'nos with Martok aboard. The race was on.

Via quantum slipstream, the Theurgy crossed the vast gulf in space far faster than anyone could've predicted. Simultaneously, their Savi allies covertly deployed Theurgy teams on other missions, ranging from the planets Breen and Andoria, where the teams worked to avert more thalaron detonations, while yet another team rescued Martok's grandson. Meanwhile, Klingon battlegroups raced to Qo'nos, while cities across the capital world were ravaged by internecine fighting.

On the third day of the war, Gorka was closing fast on Qo'nos with dozens of warships, confident that he had outmaneuvered Martok. He was shocked, however, when long-range sensors detected the Theurgy ahead of his own forces. Not understanding how the vessel had magically appeared, he nevertheless assembled a large fleet to destroy the Theurgy and kill Martok personally. Since the Theurgy's warp engines were temporarily offline after the quantum slipstream jump, the dreadnought had no means of escape. Though allied forces raced to aid them, the Theurgy was dramatically outnumbered. Dozens more Klingon warships flew to the brewing battle, their allegiances not yet known to either side, and often, not even to their own crews.

With no alternative, Captain Ives, Martok and a small team boarded the SS Sabine NX-59846 to continue on to Qo'nos, hoping that Gorka's forces would not detect the shuttlecraft. The Theurgy, meanwhile, prepared for a battle against impossible odds, now under the command of Commander Natalie Stark.