Qen'aq

Born the third of six children to a pair of mid-level administrators in the governor’s office of Morska, Qen’aq had a fairly idyllic childhood, with most of his father’s extended family living in and around the planet’s capital city. Since his parents were not in direct line to take control of House Rustazh and his older sisters were competing to prove themselves worthy of inheriting their father’s position, Qen’aq took to the tales of warriors and glory, both of the heroes of the Empire and of House Rustazh, dreaming of the day that the House might again be one of the Great Houses.

Upon reaching the age of Ascension, Qen’aq declared his intent to pursue the path of a warrior and was taken in by his uncle Duhek, commander of the planetary defense force, and began his training. While not an exemplary warrior, Qen’aq was skilled enough to be accepted into the Klingon Defense Force, serving the Empire dutifully through conflict with the Romulans and the Klingon Civil war of 2367. When the Klingon-Cardassian war broke out, he was serving as a gunnery officer aboard the Vor’cha cruiser IKS LoQ’pan. His ship distinguished itself during the war and was given a place in the initial assault wave in the First Battle of Deep Space Nine.

Following the failure of Klingon forces to capture Deep Space Nine, Qen’aq’s squadron was reassigned to border space along the expansion zone and served the duration of the Dominion War securing strategic resource systems for the Empire. During this time he married Ta’q of House Quv’, securing an alliance between the two minor houses. Their first child was born shortly after and the couple had two more children as Qen’aq’s duties afforeded him the opportunity to return to Morska.

In 2376 he was transferred to the K’t’inga-class IKS Hovtay’suq and served as a senior gunnery officer while his squadron was charged with maintaining order in a remote sector of the Empire. Eventually he was promoted to First Officer when the former First Officer was killed in an uprising on a client planet. Two years later, when the captain of the Hovtay’suq refused an order to escort a convoy of transports, claiming the orders were beneath him, Qen’aq killed his captain and took command of the ship. Having proven himself as an able commander in the field, Qen’aq was transferred to the Negh’Var-class IKS Ma’tlhej as the Senior Gunnery Officer, presumably being evaluated for command of a line ship in the core systems.

Prior to this command becoming formalized, the Ashland Initiative was begun and Starfleet requested a Klingon presence due to the proximity to Klingon space. With the High Council focused on internal discontent and the situation in Romulan space, the request was ignored by the Great Houses. Since it was the nearest minor house to the area, responsibility for the delegation was given to House Rustazh, with Qen’aq to lead it.