Oath of Vengeance

Star Trek TOS Fanfiction
Title:	Oath of Vengeance
Author(s):	Rick Endres (aka Nomad)
Date(s):	1981
Length:
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
External Links:	Oath of Vengeance
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Oath of Vengeance is a gen Star Trek: TOS story by Rick Endres.

It was printed in Stardate #8.

Trilogy

• The Wages of Vengeance
• Oath of Vengeance
• The Cost of Freedom

Summary

Summary: "On peaceful Serenidad, the Klingons have returned. Will the crew of the Enterprise save Princess Teresa and Carlos from a horrible fate? Some mature and violent scenes."

Art from the Zine

• 

  Rick Endres

• 

  Rick Endres

• 

  Rick Endres

Reactions and Reviews

"Oath of Vengeance” - Overall, I believed this one more than "Wages of Vengeance.” A good job on the Klingon characterization. For once, I really believed these were the bad guys, instead of just cardboard cutouts with black hats. There was some interesting interplay between the characters of Kull and Klyn that made them breathe for me, and the development of Kang and the history of the Kh'myr and their takeover of the Empire are completely believable to me. I do have several complaints, though. First of all, when Kang warned Krai about Kirk early on, I expected a great confrontation later. There was none. When Kirk and his men break into the Klingon bunker, nothing happens What a lost opportunity. I also take great exception to the ending. Contrived to say the least. In the first place, Spock would never just go and meld with those two without consulting anyone. At the least he should have volunteered it to McCoy, or spoken with Teresa's uncle. And then if he had gone ahead, he would NEVER have erased those memories. Aided the bruised minds, soothed, healed, maybe even blurred, yes, but never erase. Good, or bad, whatever happens to a person in his or her life is what makes up that total person, and Spock, with his famous Vulcan reverence for life, would never take it upon himself to change even the worst part of someone else's life. Now a word about the character of Teresa. Once I get past the combination of Wonder Woman and Barbarella, I see a good strong woman, no-nonsense and capable. I like her in spite of her chest, which is a compliment to Rick's characterization talents. If he can get me past the physical, and he does, I have no problem with Serenidad's little princess. I do think a little less dwelling on her endowments and a little more on her ability to run her planet might have made a strong story and character even stronger. How much stronger she could have been

(and her husband, too) had she been allowed to deal with what had happened to her, I suppose we'll never know, as she has been magically returned to innocence, completely untouched by all that’s happened. Life ain't like that, Rick.

"Oath of Vengeance" — I like the idea of the two warring Klingon factions, and I wish Rick could have stuck with that, because the rest of the story was an exercise in the sort of get-'em stuff that gives honest

Porn a bad name. Rape, torture, nudity - and for what? So that Spock can wipe it all away with a few magic words? If you're going to have your heroine go through all of that stuff you've got to be honest and show her dealing with the after-effects, otherwise, the story makes no psychological sense. As for the Klingon Beast, that's a reversion to the old-style idea of "the Mongol Hordes with ray-guns" that has been pretty thoroughly debunked by Klingon-fanciers in fandom ranging from Paula Smith to Fern Marder and Carol Walske. The bumpy-headed "movie" Klingons are mechanical monsters, with no real dimensions to them. They are the Nazi Beasts, and they don't NEED a "ship's whore." [The Kh'myr warriors are indeed cruel and sadistic, but also berserker in nature. This stems back to the original conception of the Klingons as mentioned in The Making of Star Trek. It says that "cruelty is something admirable; honor is a despicable trait. They will go out of their way to provoke an incident with the Federation." Not to mention the obviously berserker-atyle attack on V'ger. - Ed.] Rick - next time, stick to the in-fitting among the Klingons and save the X-rated stuff for the back-room where it belongs!

"Oath of Vengeance" by Nomad -- This second story in the Serenidad trilogy was even better than the first, "The Wages of Vengeance." I thoroughly enjoyed the prologue and its glimpse into the Klingon Empire. The parallels in the careers of Kirk and Kang were intriguing. I almost felt sorry for Admiral Kang...almost. (Poor Mara!) I hope this infighting between the original Klingons and the Kh'myr Klingons will carry over into the next story. Nomad's Princess Teresa character is fascinating, and has developed a lot since the first story. She is as courageous as she is lovely. Though I would rather not have seen quite so much detailed violence, I appreciate the fact that Nomad's female characters are always portrayed as intelligent, competent and brave. Great story. I'm looking forward to "The Cost of Freedom."

Nomad's "Oath of Vengeance" -- This is one of the better stories you've published. The Klingons were suitably fiendish. However, telling in detail how the Klingons tortured their victims seemed to be the only reason for the story. Yes, I realize that the Klingons aren't your basic good ol' boys, and I understand that Nomad was graphically getting that point across. I liked the confrontation between Kang and Kral....