- "You know, Harga, I actually do like you. You remind me of the stories of our old Earth, the samurai of the Tokagawa Shogunate. Trained killers, but killers educated in the arts, music, poetry. I only wish all you Cats were that way."
- ― Abram
Harga was an old Kilrathi warrior of the Vakka clan, friend of Lord Vakka and his most loyal retainer.
By the time of the Kirlathi crisis, his mane had become almost white, and no muscle could be seen on his limbs.[1]
Biography[]
He was not of the royal blood, but he was a renowned warrior for the clan, and even nobles deferred to him. Vakka saved his life during the Battle of Turing in the Varni War.[1] He fought in the Battle of Karing where he lost his cubs, and then started questioning the policies of the Empire of Kilrah.[2]
Although a warrior, Harga was also known to like books and also served as tutor for young Jukaga nar Vakka. As he had no young of his own, he put his dreams on him. He saw in the young an intelligence even beyond his father's.[1]
Around 2634 he was based on Fawcett's World running the outpost world keeping the human captives. With Vakka, he even admired the humans.[2] Despite its alienness, he liked that world, and although he missed being on Vakka's side, he agreed that he could serve better there. He became friends with a captive, Dr. Abram and allowed him to study Kilrathi language (even the Imperial Court dialect) and culture. Harga reminded to Abram of the samurai of the Tokagawa Shogunate on Earth: trained killers educated in the arts, music, poetry.[1]
Indeed, Harga loved knowledge, a thing considered suspicious and un-warriorlike in the Empire, and found conversations with Abram stimulating in his loneliness and spent whole nights exchanging stories of our cultures, finding similarities and differences. Avoiding discussing about military things, his company was an intellectual exercise for Harga, outside his official purpose to figure humans out. Harga realised that the humans would be no weak prey as the Crown Prince believed, and the campaign he was preparing, would last for generations.[1]
Welcoming Jukaga[]
He welcomed his old pupil Jukaga on the planet, sent by his father to study and understand the humans better. He laughed when one of the human slaves called him a "bastard" and realised that the young understands some of their standard speech. Jukaga asked to execute whoever said the insult, and Harga said that doing so would exterminate all of them. He served him the ceremonial cup of jirak for welcome, and learned about the Prince's campaign against the Terrans.
He let Abram sit with them and exchange words, much to Jukaga's surprise and annoyance, and to his own amusement. He said that Jukaga thinks that he lost his mind, and Abram said that he did, compared to the other Kilrathi. Harga pointed out that the colonists were lucky that Vakka saved their lives, but Abram lamented for those taken prisoners to Kilrah. Harga looked at him without replying about their fate. He silenced Jukaga telling him that he and Abram are somehow friends, and ensured Abram that they were under his protection. Jukaga said he found all this pointless, prompting Harga to take again his serious tutoring face, reminding him (in front of their enemy) that they are preparing for war that, unlike how the Prince thought, will go on for generations, and Vakka wants him to know what they will fight, as the next ruler of the clan. Jukaga didn't stop to be surprised about how much Abram knew, and Harga admitted that they exchanged a lot of information, as Abram was the only creature who stimulated his knowledge.
In his speech Abram said that he expects from them a jak-tu, troubled Jukaga who looked at Harga, who was also bemused. Abram went on saying that Kilrathi practices are considered cowardly by humans; with that Jukaga began to stand up to punish this insult, but Harga ordered him to let him speak. Abram explained that humans were a prey species before developing tools, admitting it without humiliation, and Harga confirmed that Jukaga was starting to learn new things. Abram gave a lecture about the psychology of hunter and prey and how humans are different, and will destroy the Empire. Harga interjected to Jukaga that Vakka already knew it, and wanted the same for Jukaga before fighting.[1]