They HAVE shown a propensity to attack strategic targets of opportunity that the enemy needed for survival, denying them SPECIFIC resources they couldn't get otherwise. They blew up the Jem'hadar's ketrecel white storage facility, for example, and will sometimes take steps to interrupt their enemy's dilithium or fuel supplies. They would probably destroy entire worlds if they thought they could disrupt the Klingons' dilithium supply chain (and arguably DID, depending on how you interpret the destruction of Praxis between the prime and Kelvin universes).
See! The
Shenzhou's dilithium processing unit was a specific resource that the
Sarcophagus couldn't get otherwise for six months.
The first thing Kirk says when they've been discovered by Sybok's people is "phasers on stun!" so evidently, yes.
I see.
Assault Phaser:
Another unusual setting: a beam that cuts into the flesh it hits without cauterization, one of the few times we’ve seen what these weapons might actually do – the novelization of ST6 calls them ‘burning phasers’ and says they’re outlawed.
And if they had known where the enemy's flagship actually WAS, they probably would have done exactly that.
If Starfleet had any inkling whatsoever that the ship of the dead was that valuable, they would have destroyed IT, not the Shenzhou.
It didn't become the "flagship" of anything at all until Kol stole it, and then only for symbolic purposes.
There's nothing to consider except for the fact that the Ship of the Dead is NOT their flagship and its strategic value is miniscule AT BEST.
"The Vulcan Hello":
<the Sarcophagus decloaks>
CREWMEMBER (Narwani): Impossible.
[. . .]
GEORGIOU: The Klingon flagship has a stealth mode. It's some kind of cloaking screen, unlike anything we've ever seen, Admiral.
You were saying?
I seriously doubt it would even have been a match for the Shenzhou in a straight up fight.
The direct hit from the
Sarcophagus after the
Shenzhou boosted power to its forward shields:
<explosion on the bridge; Narwani falls out of her chair>
GEORGIOU: Ops, damage report.
<explosion at the Ops station; Connor falls out of his chair>
GEORGIOU: Ensign Connor.
<Connor is hurt on the floor>
GANT: Transferring Ops to this station, Captain.
GANT [damage report]: Direct hit. Hull breaches, decks 13 through 15. Emergency force fields in place, bulkheads holding.
GANT: Secondary tactical offline.
ETA - from the actual episode:
KOL: <Beams aboarD>
VOQ: Kol, what is the reason for your welcome visit?
KOL: The last time I was hear, on the eve of the war, I hurled disrespect. Now i come with humility.
VOQ: T'Kuvma teaches that in a united Klingon empire, no one kneels but our foe.
KOL: Wise words. But words don't win wars. Your house's ship has what no one else has. Cloaking technology that can crush Starfleet. We need you back in the fight.
VOQ: We have scavenged the dead vessels floating around us in the grave yard left by our battle with Starfleet. Six months after that fight, we are almost operational again. But we still lack a dilithium processor. We are almost out of food too. But as T'Kuvma taught us, what belongs to house T'Kuvma belongs to house Kol.
KOL: May the words of your messiah, our messiah, also sustain us. Remain Klingon!
ALL: Remain Klingon!
Seems evident that Voq didn't even EXPECT to be rescued. Kol's arrival was a pleasant surprise, and he doesn't even bother asking him for a dilithium processor OR for provisions.
It's been six months and Voq thought they were abandoned.
VOQ: T'Kuvma, my lord, it has been six months since your ship was disabled and the war began. We are left behind, in disrepair. Your followers are hungry. Help me guide them to nourishment.
And while he doesn't ask Kol for repair parts and provisions directly, he does say,
"But we still lack a dilithium processor. We are almost out of food too."
He doesn't really need the cloaking device to defeat Starfleet (or at least, he doesn't think he does, or doesn't care). He needs the cloaking device as part of a gimmick to get the other houses to fall in line behind him.
He definitely felt he needed it against the
Discovery:
KOL: Cloak us at once.
This leads me to wonder if maybe the Klingons need a SPECIFIC type of dilithium processor that is actually compatible with their own technology. It could easily be that Shenzhou is only valuable because it's old, while newer vessels like the Shepard or the T'plana'hath would be non-starters. That might explain why Kol didn't offer to give him a spare part.
Voq said,
"But we still lack a dilithium processor." He didn't specify any further. And L'Rell said,
"The Shenzhou is within range. It may have been abandoned, but it still has an intact dilithium-processing unit." It sounds more like they needed any intact dilithium processor.
At least we confirmed something again.
)
