I must show you My Heart.
I travel The River of Blood.
WESLEY:
Data! Geordi! I figured out Worf's problem.
LAFORGE:
You spoke to him?
WESLEY:
No, no. I accessed the complete
Klingon cultural database. It took me some time
LAFORGE:
Okay, Wesley, slow down.
What is the problem?
WESLEY:
It's the tenth anniversary of
Worf's Age of Ascension.
LAFORGE:
His what?
WESLEY:
The Klingon Age of Ascension.
It's a ritual of great significance.
A rite of initiation marking a new level of Klingon spiritual attainment.
DATA:
And what is the significance of the anniversary of this event?
WESLEY:
It's a day of celebration and ritual spent with one's fellow Klingons.
Worf doesn't have any Klingon friends.
LAFORGE:
We're his friends.
WESLEY:
Right, but we don't practice Klingon tradition,
And we're not Klingons.
Worf is feeling culturally and socially isolated.
LAFORGE:
So, what do you suggest we do?
I'm not sure I'd like to invite a bunch of Klingons on board.
DATA:
We can programme The Ship's Computer
to supply simulations on the Holodeck.
LAFORGE:
Holographic Klingons.
Sure. Why not?
DATA:
We need only to programme The Computer
with details of the specific ceremony.
WESLEY:
The cultural database said
The Klingon's family must attend.
LAFORGE:
So? We're His Family. We'll go.
I just wonder what kind of party the Klingons had in mind.
You did all this in a day? - Yeah.
All right.
I work with some really great people.
Good job, guys. Great job.
Hey, did you hear the news?
Ben and Chris want us to go into Conference Room "C"
for a meeting.
Let's get this over with.
Happy Birthday, Ron.
Ann said you had a big party...
sombreros, karaoke.
Yeah, I did that for Ann.
Why would I throw Ron Swanson an Ann Perkins party?
What about the giant list of things April was doing?
That was just a list of ways to mess with you.
She do 'em all?
She did indeed.
So I have rented Bridge on the River Kwai
and The Dirty Dozen.
Artie from Security is outside the door,
so no one will bother you.
And a cab will be here
whenever you're ready
to take you home.
Thank you.
Do you remember what you said to me five years ago
when Eagleton offered me that job,
and I asked you for your advice?
Uh, "Do Whatever The Hell You Want.
What Do I Care?"
Right, but then, after,
when I pressed you, what did you say?
I believe I said
That I thought we worked well together
and that I might disagree with your philosophy,
but I respected you.
And I said that
You'll get a lot of job offers in Your Life,
but you only have one hometown.
Yes. That's how I remember it.
This, by the way, is a one-time-only situation.
Next year, your birthday party is gonna be a rager.
Mmm!
Mmm.
[Riker's quarters]
RIKER:
I've practised my best Academy courtesy,
now it's time for you to go.
KYLE:
It's time for us to have a talk, so lower your shields.
RIKER: I'm asking you to leave, or I'll
KYLE: You'll what? You know, it's a shame there's no anbo-jyutsu ring nearby.
RIKER: Really? There is. Deck Twelve. The gymnasium.
KYLE: We can clear the air once and for all.
RIKER: You're on.
[Doctor's office]
KYLE: Scuttlebutt says you wanted to see me.
PULASKI: That's right. I thought I knew you, Kyle.
KYLE: You do, as well as anyone.
PULASKI: Then what is this I hear about an anbo-jyutsu match with Will?
KYLE: You've heard.
PULASKI: Haven't we grown beyond the point where we resolve our problems with physical conflict?
KYLE: I think you're overreacting.
PULASKI: I'm overreacting? You're the one who's going out to fight with his own son.
KYLE: Don't think of it as a fight, Kate. Think of it as more of a contest.
PULASKI: And suppose one of you is injured?
KYLE: I know where to find a good doctor. Kate
PULASKI: Kyle.
KYLE: Will and I have been playing anbo-jyutsu ever since he was eight old, and he knows how to handle himself. And so do I.
PULASKI: Don't take this personally, but Will is in his prime.
KYLE: And I'm no spring chicken, I know. Don't worry. He's never been able to beat me.
[Holodeck]
(A forbidding setting, lit with red light. There is a channel between two raised platforms)
DATA: Computer, is this it?
COMPUTER: Correct. Klingon Rite of Ascension Chamber.
LAFORGE: Is this really necessary?
WESLEY: If we want to get Worf through his problem, it is.
DATA: Computer, please give us Klingon personnel appropriate to this event.
(Four warriors stand on each side of the channel, with metre-long painstiks)
DATA: These images are specifically programmed for Ascension rites.
LAFORGE: Cute bunch.
WESLEY: And they use those?
O'BRIEN: Those are Klingon painstiks. I once saw one of them used against a two-ton Rectyne Monopod. Poor creature jumped five metres at the slightest touch. It finally died from excessive cephalic pressures.
WESLEY: You mean?
O'BRIEN: That's right. The animal's head exploded like
PULASKI: I think that's enough, Chief O'Brien.
[Corridor]
WORF: I do not enjoy riddles, Counsellor.
TROI: You will enjoy this one.
WORF: I am in no mood for trifling or games, not today.
TROI: I know what an important day this is for you, the anniversary of your Rite of Ascension.
WORF: You know about that?
TROI: All your friends on board do.
WORF: That is impossible. It is a secret known only to Klingons.
TROI: And certain resourceful young Ensigns.
WORF: Wesley Crusher. What does he know about it?
TROI: Just bear with me.
WORF: Where are we going?
TROI: The holodeck.
WORF: This is truly trying my patience, Counsellor.
TROI: I think you will approve.
WORF: You're not coming in?
TROI: No.
WORF: Open.
[Holodeck]
WORF: An Ascension ceremony.
LAFORGE: Happy anniversary, Worf.
DATA:
Shall we begin?
WORF:
I am ready.
(He steps between the two lines of warriors)
WORF:
DaHjaj SuvwI''e' jIH.
tIgwIj Sa'angNIS.
'Iw bIQtIqDaq jIjaH.
Today I am a Warrior.
I must show you My Heart.
I travel The River of Blood.
(The first two warriors apply their painstiks to his sides, and he screams in pain)
DATA:
The True Test of Klingon Strength
is to admit one's most profound feelings
while under extreme duress.
WORF:
jIbechrup may' vIlos.
(The second pair apply their painstiks)
WORF:
The Battle is Mine.
I crave only The Blood of The Enemy.
HIHIvqa'.
(Third pair. He falls to his knees and O'Brien holds Pulaski back)
WORF:
The Bile of The Vanquished
flows over My Hands.
May'pequ' moH.
(The fourth and final pair use their painstiks twice and he collapses in front of His Family)
WORF:
Thank You.
[Observation lounge]
TROI: Is Lieutenant Worf all right?
PULASKI: He's never been happier.
TROI: So it was a good ceremony?
PULASKI: Let's just say that I was not about to stay for refreshments.
TROI: Klingon culture is not in your taste?
PULASKI: I'm just glad that humans have progressed beyond the need for barbaric display.
TROI: Have they? Commander Riker and his father are in the gymnasium, about to engage in barbarism of their own.
PULASKI: Don't remind me. It's something of which I do not approve.
TROI: In spite of human evolution, there are still some traits that are endemic to gender.
PULASKI: You think that they're going to knock each other's brains out because they're men?
TROI: Human males are unique. Fathers continue to regard their sons as children, even into adulthood. And sons continue to chafe against what they perceive as their fathers' expectations of them.
PULASKI: It's almost as if they never really grow up at all, isn't it?
TROI: Perhaps that's part of their charm, and why we find them so attractive.
PULASKI: Particularly men like Commander Riker.
TROI: And his father.
PULASKI: I hope they don't hurt each other.
[Gymnasium]
KYLE: Anbo-jyutsu. The ultimate evolution if the martial arts.
(They are wearing plastic suits of armour and carrying staffs with a large knob at one end. They are standing on a raised circular ring, decorated with oriental characters)
RIKER: I remember my early lessons.
KYLE: You could never get used to the sightless factor, or to losing.
RIKER: True, but I've had fifteen years to practise.
KYLE: Well, let's see if you've learned anything.
(They lower their opaque visors)
BOTH: Onegaishimasu.
(They circle, the small ends of the staves making a noise when they come close. Riker takes the first swings with the padded end, then Kyle. Then they return to trying to locate each other by the noise. Riker hits Kyle on the back, disarms him and sends him flying out of the ring)
KYLE: Well, you've been practising.
RIKER: And remembering. You should have been the one to die, not her. Yoroshiku-onegaishimasu.
KYLE: Good. Get it all out. Yoroshiku-onegaishimasu.
(This time, Kyle gets in the first hit, and Riker has to defend himself by holding his staff over his head)
RIKER: Matta! (Kyle backs away) I had you.
KYLE: Listen, Will. You were too young to understand and I was too hurt to explain.
RIKER: You were never too hurt for anything.
KYLE: She was your mother, but she was my wife. And when she died all that kept me going was you.
RIKER: You had a strange way of showing it.
KYLE: I came here thinking we could talk this out, but maybe you're right. Maybe I am no father, and you're no son. And this this fight is all we have left.
(Another round, and Kyle knocked Riker on his back)
RIKER: Wait!
KYLE: What is it now?
RIKER:
You can't do that.
KYLE: What?
RIKER:
Hachidan kiritsu!
It's illegal.
KYLE:
You're kidding?
RIKER:
All those years.
That's why I never won.
You were cheating.
KYLE:
It worked, didn't it?
Kept you coming back for more.
RIKER:
Incredible. You cheated me.
How'd you get away with it?
KYLE: You were just a kid. By the time you were twelve years old, I knew I couldn't take you but I had to keep you interested, I had to keep you challenged, didn't I?
RIKER: I always hated you for that.
KYLE: Damn it, Will. You were barely out of diapers when she died. You hardly knew her! I'd loved her. Of course you carried the pain. So did I. I should have explained this to you a long time ago, but it hurt too much. Then the wall grew up between us. And living there, you and me, the wall got bigger. You know, it's funny. I can talk to a whole roomful of admirals about anything in the galaxy, but I can't talk to you about how I feel.
RIKER: How do you feel?
KYLE: How do you think? I love you, son. I've got to get back to the Starbase.
RIKER: I know. I'm glad you came.
(They finally embrace)
KYLE: Be careful now, okay?
No comments:
Post a Comment