By John Kammer

Captain Korthon is on his final voyage aboard the Klingon destroyer Raptor's law. A war hero, he is about to reach retirement without having been killed by any of his senior officers. Now on his final mission he must appoint a worthy successor before his ship is decommissioned and the crew transferred to the new prototype destroyer Venom’s Bite. That has the crew uneasy.

Korthon is transporting alien guests to a diplomatic conference on Regara VII. Earthers, Romulans, a Gorn no one seems able to communicate with, a Triskellion, and a Ferengi who's setting up a casino in one of the ship's storage bays. And that has the crew uneasy.

Except for disassembled weapon systems, rumors of witchcraft, picking up survivors from a Federation ghost ship, talking walls, and crew dissension this mission is sure to be a milk run. And that more than anything else has the crew uneasy.