I think you can safely presume that, given that her name was mentioned.

There's some exploration of that in the story this is a piece of, actually.

>You know, I actually lost track of B'Elanna awhile back. Curious as to
>the circumstances that could ever get her to serve on a Klingon ship,
>as if I recall correctly she wasn't precisely all that enamored of the
>Empire.

She explains her reasoning fairly well in the scene back in Prelude in A Minor wherein she signs up:

        The door to his quarters chimed.  "Come in," Zargh called,
expecting to see his adjutant - but instead, he found himself facing
B'Elanna O'Brien.
        "What do you want?" he asked - not belligerently, just by way
of greeting.
        He was mildly surprised when she replied in Klingonese, <I've
come to join your fleet, General Thalekh.>
        Zargh frowned.  <You?  Whatever for?  You renounced your
Klingon citizenship years ago.>
        <My uncle forced that course upon me,> she replied.  <I was
young and powerless; I fled the brutal tyranny under which he ran my
family because it was my only option.>  Her dusky face darkened as she
went on, <I am no longer powerless, and now his fist holds half the
Empire.  I would do my part to end that.>
        <An admirable sentiment,> Zargh said.  <Not all my warriors
may see it that way, though.  With your human blood and your
Earthman's name, you won't have many friends in the fleet.>
        <I don't need more friends,> B'Elanna said with a cold little
smile.  <My goal isn't to be loved, it's to help the Empire throw off
my uncle's yoke.>
        <To what purpose?> Zargh wondered.  <Will you fight out of
love for the Klingon people or hatred of your uncle?>
        <Both,> she said without hesitation, surprising him again with
her forthrightness.  <Yes, I fled the Empire and denied my Klingon
heritage.  I was a child and I made a child's mistake: equating my
uncle's savagery with the Klingon way of life.  Since then, others -
you, Captain Krontep, Professor Kraalgh - have taught me that the
Klingon way is not my uncle's mindless brutality.  I've learned to
appreciate the beauty and honor of my mother's culture.  But if he is
not deposed, my uncle will -make- the Klingon way his way within a
generation.>  She shook her head.  <I can't stand by and allow that.>

That, too, connects to the experience of serving with Commander Jurdak, who is... rather not one of the "beauty and honor" Klingons she has lately come to appreciate.

As an aside, Chief of Staff Krattak sort of stole the scene he's in for me, because he's sort of the Klingon converse to Maximilian Chin XVII - the master bureaucrat and logistician, indispensable to those he ostensibly serves, calm, unflappable, always polite... and incredibly dangerous within his own native context. (Which Chin totally is too, it's just... less obvious.)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

I'll be interested to read it! One of my favorite scenes in DS9 was when Ezri straight up tells Worf "the Klingon Empire is dying, and I think it deserves to die."

Times have been tough for old-guard Klingons in UF lately, one imagines. There was the whole Klingon Republic thing, and if I recall correctly the Empire had to accept a number of reforms as a condition of reunion that moved it away from the whole "rule by the strongest and most brutal" thing Klingons are known for. And then Klayvor's attempt to undo all that in one fell swoop didn't precisely work out either.

>>You know, I actually lost track of B'Elanna awhile back. Curious as to
>>the circumstances that could ever get her to serve on a Klingon ship,
>>as if I recall correctly she wasn't precisely all that enamored of the
>>Empire.
>
>She explains her reasoning fairly well in the scene back in Prelude
>in A Minor wherein she signs up:

And there she is! Thanks, Ben. Now I'm caught up.

(It can be tough to keep track of your cast. :)

>As an aside, Chief of Staff Krattak sort of stole the scene he's in
>for me, because he's sort of the Klingon converse to Maximilian Chin
>XVII - the master bureaucrat and logistician, indispensable to those
>he ostensibly serves, calm, unflappable, always polite... and
>incredibly dangerous within his own native context. (Which
>Chin totally is too, it's just... less obvious.)

Oh man, now I totally want to read about this guy, because I just love that breed of character.

-Merc
Keep Rat

OK, sorry to bring this up after so long, but I just noticed it: Who is Maximilian Chin XVII? Google has been very unhelpful, and Wikipedia, likewise.

"They planned their campaigns just as you might make a splendid piece of harness. It looks very well; and answers very well; until it gets broken; and then you are done for. Now I made my campaigns of ropes. If anything went wrong, I tied a knot; and went on."
-- Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington

as noted, Chin is an OC, and a perfect example of how if a bureaucrat LIKES you, things become so much easier. OF course, the converse of this is you really really don't want to get him upset at you either.

His first appearance is, appropriately, in the first movement of the Diqiu Suite, when he is instrumental in finishing up paperwork for Serge's arrival in Diqiu with Kate

This accuses the Honorable Master Chin of favoritism, which would be unprofessional, if it were true. It would be better to say that Maximilian Chin XVII, much like those before him, is the perfect example of a bureaucrat who likes his job, and who understands that the wheels of government must spin freely and cleanly and efficiently in order for things to be done in the best possible time and manner. Ergo, he does everything in an upright, forthright, and efficient fashion, because to do otherwise would be to cause friction and, well, we knows what happens to a machine that experiences undue friction in its mechanisms, yes?

This is not to say that Master Chin does not like the Avatar, or indeed any of her friends from the Big Universe. He clearly does, but even if he did not, all of his bureaucratic duties would be performed with no less efficiency, speed, and appropriateness. He just wouldn't be as pleasant a person to talk to.

Ebony the Black Dragon

"Life is like an anole. Sometimes it's green. Sometimes it's brown. But it's always a small Caribbean lizard."

She'll probably avoid dismemberment. B'Elanna did promise not to kill too many of them.

Peter Eng
--
Ad'jur Duras woke up, attempted to sit up, and tried to remember what happened.