Klingon Questions for K.R.A.D.

[marlboro]

1) The Left Hand of Destiny books shared elements of the Legend of King Arthur. Dax even pops up out of a body of water and hands Martok a bat'leth at one point. Was Martok's creation of the Order of the Bat'leth in A Good Day to Die an extension of the Arthurian theme i.e. a round table of chivalrous knights?

2) Speaking for myself, I usually only find the Klingons sympathetic when they have an even more disagreeable foe. Klingons battling the Borg is one thing, but seeing them subjugate the Halkans is another. You get around this problem in your Gorkon books ( if it is a problem for anyone but me) by having the two planets defeated by the Klingons be inhabited by a warrior race willing to accept their fate, and a generally unsympathetic race who seemed to be destroying themselves via pollution.

I'm wondering what your thoughts are on trying to balance a liberal audience's empathy with a likeable crew, with their antipathy to a violent culture whose empire is built on conquered planets. Lean too far one way, and you make the characters hard to root for, go too far the other way and you risk diluting what made the Klingons interesting to begin with.


3) There is something that I didn't understand about The Art of the Impossible. The Cardassians find a planet that contains an ancient Klingon ship. The Klingons (for multiple reasons) want that ship. Conflict ensues. The Federation steps in and initiates a mini treaty of Organia.

Here's what I dont get: why is there any conflict here? The Cardassians only want to exploit part of the planet and have no interest in the ship. The Klingons only want the ship and have no interest in the planet. Now individual members of both races have been shown to be afflicted with "hard headed alien" disease but the upper echelons of both governments are usually extremely pragmatic when it comes to realpolitik. I don't get why there wasn't an easy compromise here, or why the Federation officials didn't at least throw the idea out there.

I have a feeling I may have missed something obvious here.

4) Are there any onscreen Klingons that you would like to write about but haven't had the opportunity?

 

[KRAD]

1) Not Arthurian specifically, but I was continuing the notion of Martok's mission to bring honor back to an empire that had fallen pretty hard in the other direction. My notion was more along the lines of a Klingon version of the Knights Templar -- or, honestly, of the followers of Joshua ben Joseph, a.k.a. Jesus Christ, who spread the word of what eventually became known as Christianity after the crucifixion.

2) Everybody is the hero of their own story. The Klingons are pretty revolting by human standards, but I was trying to portray them by their own standards. Yes, I hedged my bets a bit with the San-Tarah and especially the Elabrej, but in truth Enemy Territory has two sides that both have pretty yucky worldviews by 21st-century human standards, but that's part of the fun of fiction, especially science fiction that uses alien species.

3) From the Klingon perspective, they found a holy relic, and that made Raknal V in general and the ship in particular something they should own. From the Cardassian perspective, they were at a stage where -- as established way back in "Chain of Command" -- they had sold off their art and archeological finds and history to pay for the military and to feed their people. Klingons revere the artifacts of their past, Cardassians have complete contempt for such. And both sides are more than willing to fight, the Klingons for their relics, the Cardassians for their right to expand. There was also no treaty in place, so no means by which a compromise could be made.

4) Oh, sure. Kolos (from Enterprise's "Judgment"), L'Rell, Gowron (I've written fake versions of Gowron twice, but never the real thing), Azetbur.

 

[Kilana2]

I didn't know that Leskit was an onscreen character until I rewatched the DS9 episode featuring Leskit and Worf being introduced into the House of Martok.....

 

[marlboro]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Much appreciated!

I didn't know that Leskit was an onscreen character until I rewatched the DS9 episode featuring Leskit and Worf being introduced into the House of Martok.....

It had been so long since I had watched TNG and DS9 that I didn't realize that most of the characters weren't new until specific episodes were mentioned.

 

[KRAD]

Yup. Klag and Vekma were in "A Matter of Honor," Kornan and Leskit were both in "Soldiers of the Empire," Toq was in "Birthright," Drex was in "The Way of the Warrior," Kurak was in "Suspicions," K'Vada was in "Unification," and "Rodek" first appeared in "Sons of Mogh."

 

[Mysterion]

4) Oh, sure. Kolos (from Enterprise's "Judgment"), L'Rell, Gowron (I've written fake versions of Gowron twice, but never the real thing), Azetbur.

I notice you include L'Rell from Discovery on your list of characters you'd like to write. I'm curious, as someone who has thought a lot about Klingons and how they've been portrayed, what's your take on how Discovery has handled the Klingons and their culture?

 

[Christopher]

Klag and Vekma were in "A Matter of Honor,"

For a moment I read that as "Klag and Velma," and I wondered when you'd done a Star Trek/Scooby-Doo crossover.

 

[Mysterion]

^^^
"And it woulda worked if it wasn't for those darned Klingons!"

 

[Christopher]

^jInqIS!

 

[DEWLine]

 

[JD]

For a moment I read that as "Klag and Velma," and I wondered when you'd done a Star Trek/Scooby-Doo crossover.

With all of the crazy crossovers happening in comics these days, I wouldn't put it past them to actually do a Star Trek/Scooby-Doo crossover.

 

[JD]

L'Rell

I would love to see what you would do with the Discovery Klingons.

 

[KRAD]

I notice you include L'Rell from Discovery on your list of characters you'd like to write. I'm curious, as someone who has thought a lot about Klingons and how they've been portrayed, what's your take on how Discovery has handled the Klingons and their culture?

I'm liking it. I've been reviewing the show for Tor.com as each episode comes out, so you can see my thoughts there (I put a guide to the reviews on my blog at https://decandido.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/guide-to-my-reviews-of-star-trek-discovery/), but short version is that it's a good look at their culture. I think it's completely consistent with past portrayals, and I particularly like the retcon that Klingons hate the very concept of the universal translator, thus explaining why Worf kept having to translate Klingon language stuff for the crew.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

With all of the crazy crossovers happening in comics these days, I wouldn't put it past them to actually do a Star Trek/Scooby-Doo crossover.

Well, Scooby-Doo Team-Up is still being published, but DC would have to co-publish any Trek crossover with IDW, since they hold the comic book rights to Trek right now.

 

[Tuskin38]

I'm liking it. I've been reviewing the show for Tor.com as each episode comes out, so you can see my thoughts there (I put a guide to the reviews on my blog at https://decandido.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/guide-to-my-reviews-of-star-trek-discovery/), but short version is that it's a good look at their culture. I think it's completely consistent with past portrayals, and I particularly like the retcon that Klingons hate the very concept of the universal translator, thus explaining why Worf kept having to translate Klingon language stuff for the crew.

I just started reading these reviews, and I'm really enjoying it. You bring up some interesting points that I never considered when watching myself.

 

[Mysterion]

I'm liking it. I've been reviewing the show for Tor.com as each episode comes out, so you can see my thoughts there (I put a guide to the reviews on my blog at https://decandido.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/guide-to-my-reviews-of-star-trek-discovery/), but short version is that it's a good look at their culture. I think it's completely consistent with past portrayals, and I particularly like the retcon that Klingons hate the very concept of the universal translator, thus explaining why Worf kept having to translate Klingon language stuff for the crew.

Thanks for the reply! Appreciate your insight, and will be checking-out your reviews.

 

[Little_kingsfan]

Speaking of Klingon questions, was it ever established which Company QaS DevwI' Wol was in charge of in 2381 (during A Singular Destiny) and who took over for her as 15 Squad Leader? Also, given just how many changes in officers and crew the I.K.S. Gorkon went through in the span of a year between Diplomatic Implausibility (late 2375) and A Burning House (November 2376), how many crew members do you think are still aboard as of 2386/Star Trek: Prey (other than Captain/General Klag)?

Oh, and will we ever see a meeting between Rear Admiral Riker and General Klag, now that they're both flag officers in their respective services?

 

[David cgc]

^Oddly, turnover seems to reduce considerably when ships aren't having book-worthy adventures (and, conversely, increases for space stations when we aren't looking at them).

 

[JD]

Well, Scooby-Doo Team-Up is still being published, but DC would have to co-publish any Trek crossover with IDW, since they hold the comic book rights to Trek right now.

Sure, and they've already worked with DC on Star Trek/Legion of Superheroes and 2 Star Trek/Green Lanter miniseries, The Spectrum War and Stranger Worlds. They also worked with Boom! Studios for Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive.

 

[KRAD]

Speaking of Klingon questions, was it ever established which Company QaS DevwI' Wol was in charge of in 2381 (during A Singular Destiny) and who took over for her as 15 Squad Leader?

She's in charge of First Company. Because Wol is the best, dammit. As or who's Leader of the Fifteenth, no idea. Probably somebody we haven't met yet. Or G'joth.

Also, given just how many changes in officers and crew the I.K.S. Gorkon went through in the span of a year between Diplomatic Implausibility (late 2375) and A Burning House (November 2376), how many crew members do you think are still aboard as of 2386/Star Trek: Prey (other than Captain/General Klag)?

Very few.

Oh, and will we ever see a meeting between Rear Admiral Riker and General Klag, now that they're both flag officers in their respective services?

I'd love to write that. That would, however, require someone at Simon & Schuster actually hiring me to write Trek fiction.