A History of the Klingon People

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction' started by INACTIVEUSS Einstein, Aug 2, 2014.

  1. INACTIVEUSS Einstein

    INACTIVEUSS Einstein Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Introduction

    I'm a big fan of history, and would like to try to create a possible history of the Klingon people, for the pleasure of other fans, for a bit of fun - use it however you want.

    The human cultures I think have some similarities with the Klingons are nomadic or warrior empires such as the Tibetan Empire, Mongol Empire and Viking States, colonial or mercantile empires such as the British Empire, as well as militaristic or revolutionary modern cultures such as Fascist States and Imperial Japan. Klingon music sounds kinda like Tibetan or Japanese Heian period music.

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    Part 1). The Origins of Klingon Culture: Early Civilization on Kronos (8600 BC to 900 AD)

    Origins

    Geography defines how a culture will develop, to a great extent. Especially in early pre-industrial history. One of the challenges faced by Federation historians until the Khitomer Accords, was the lack of information on the Klingon homeworld itself, which had rarely been visited by our starships in the years prior to the Klingon-Federation Cold War, and thereafter became perhaps the most foreboding and prohibitive location in all of space.

    The Klingon homeworld Kronos (Qo'noS, Kling) receives less solar radiation from it's parent star than Earth, but has a greater level of CO2 in the atmosphere, and a lower reflectivity due to smaller polar caps, meaning that it's overall climate is roughly equivalent to Earth. But this is where the similarity ends. Due to heat being stored through insulation, rather than direct radiation from the star, Kronos does not experience dramatic seasons. It is a hugely fertile planet, owing partly to this moderate climate; richer in terms of vegetation by a factor of five, when compared to Earth.

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    The terrain of the planet is very different from Earth. It has three main features; huge forests, lakes, and mountain ranges along tectonic lines. A most significant feature is the total lack of oceans. Instead Kronos has dozens of huge freshwater lakes, entirely surrounded by land. Every culture on Kronos is landlocked. In ancient times, most of the planet (with the exception of it's mountain ranges) was made up of one huge flat surface, covered by thick vegetation, ranging from tropical rainforest at the equator, to arctic forests near the poles. The implications of this are obvious; there were no geographical barriers great enough to prevent cultures from interacting, other than distance or mountains (which were partial barriers, but could be circled around - no potential for a Columbian first contact between continents, nothing preventing the spread of languages amongst the lowlands, and nothing to prevent huge land empires from forming. This resulted in most of the lowlands of Kronos sharing a common language family, and several unique mountain cultures with isolated societies developing.

    The earliest urban civilizations started in the lowlands of Kronos, near the equator, around 8600 BC in the Gregorian calendar. Klingon hunter-gatherers living on the shores of the huge lakes crafted villages from tropical wood, and build sea vessels for fishing. A staple of this early 'Krang culture' (named for their discoverer, a Professor of the Imperial Academy of Cultural Sciences) was the freshwater Dragon Eel. Unusually for an early civilized culture, no trace of temples has been found, suggesting a largely irreligious culture.

    The Tong Civilization

    These early fishing cultures, their languages now lost to time, were not to survive long. In rivers within the forests, a violent project of land clearing was under way, and by 7000 BC, a farming culture of magnificent power arose; the first truly pan-Klingon civilization; but not the one which we know today. The Tong people built huge temples out of stone, and spread throughout the entire equatorial band of Kronos. Their huge temple architecture, still visible as isolated ruins on Kronos today, resembled the huge Hindu temples of Southern India and Cambodia, but on a scale unlike anything attempted in Earth's history. Evidence suggests that contact with the lake cultures was a one-sided bloodbath, with the Tong possessing an overwhelmingly huge population of millions in comparison with the lake cultures, the largest of which may have numbered in the tens of thousands. The first written language on Kronos, a pictoraphic script, tells of how the Tong sacrificed enemies in huge pits, burying them alive, as part of their ritual system of belief, which considered Krathmord (their name for the moon Praxis) to be an egg containing a Dragon Deity. The city of Tong'Vey, chief city on Praxis, and one time seat of the Klingon Empire, was of course, named for this culture by it's first settlers, it's full and literal meaning originally being "City on the Moon the Tong Once Worshipped".

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    Over the next several millennia, Klingon history was characterised by the spread of the Tong states from their homeland in the equator, across most of the planet's river valleys, wiping out most of existing cultures of Kronos, which were quite diverse. The (now almost forgotten) Tong family of languages thus came to dominate most of Kronos's states, which were either directly Tong in origin, or consisted of regional cultures emulating their general culture to varying degrees. But within Tong success lay their downfall; the deforestation of much of Kronos, that enabled a new type of warfare to emerge - mounted cavalry, using the Klingon Steed. Nomadic tribes, living away from rivers, especially near the polar regions, had escaped assimilation by Tong culture, and now found the settled Tong to be easy pickings for their new fast style of warfare. The Tong military budget was overwhelmed as their states became harder to defend, and eventually they collapsed, despite attempts to enlist nomad cavalry in their late history. The formerly oppressed subjects of the Tong, who probably made up the majority of the Tong population, arose, and in a testament to how hated their practice of humanoid-sacrifice had been, temples were defaced and their civilization utterly devastated.

    The New Klingon Civilization

    The seeds of modern Klingon civilization were sown. The mounted nomads were in the ascendancy. As the previous urban civilization collapsed, and population fell due to the abandonment of Tong settlements, pictographic writing was forgotton - the Tong were consigned to the founding myths of the new culture; their temples becoming sources of folklore. Nomadic languages achieved ascendancy over most of the planet, and one language in particular; Lopok, of the Palek people, became the Lingua Franca of Kronos over the next millennia. The word for the new culture on Kronos, and for men and women in general was 'Klingon'. Many of the new lowland cultures practised mummification in burial mounds (and later mausoleums), meaning that Kronos has some of the richest burial evidence of any planet (barring the early Cardassians) - this was perhaps the only major holdover from Tong culture that survived. It became a mark of honour to reject the cultural practices of the Tong past; the new cultures built in wood alone, had a code of conduct in which prisoners would be ransomed rather than sacrificed, and wrote in their own alphabetic script - from which the modern Klingon script - pIqaD - is ultimately derived. They were also again different from modern Klingon culture and not yet as militarised as they would eventually become; first becoming traders, then settling into farming, and eventually settling into an urbane mercantile existence. They were polytheists, who believed the first two Klingons had slain their Gods; effectively bringing about ragnarok so that the Klingon people could write their own destiny. By 100 AD, these new people had reached a stage similar to medieval Europe or Asia in terms of technological advancement; written records from this time are extensive and begin to chronicle history in great detail.

    Kronos by 850 AD was divided into many countries, perhaps numbering around two hundred or so. They shared the same language family, derived from Lopok in the same way Spanish and French are descended of Vulgar Latin, and traded with each other. They also warred and competed for resources; or simply because their Kings, Tyrants and Presidents desired landed titles to pass onto descendants. Wars and factional rivalries were bloody; armour had advanced to laminate and steel plate, necessitating the forging of ever more powerful alloy swords. The only people outside the status quo, were the people of Kronos's mountains, who by now, had also adopted archaic and eccentric forms of the Lopok languages. Technology was advancing at a rapid pace; Klingon metallurgy had allowed the first early guns to be forged.

    Over the next 50 years or so, one state came to dominate all others through superior organisation; Jombek. The Jombek Empire fielded a military of unprecedented discipline and uniformity, numbering in the millions. They encouraged foreign countries to accept them as overlords by offering stability to subject people and protecting traders, but were brutal in the suppression of dissent or rebellion. In one instance, a foreign capital was besieged by having a 12 meter wide moat dug around it, and a river diverted to fill it, in only three weeks. After only two months, the defenders surrendered. Organisation has historically almost always triumphed over disorganisation, and the Jombek were one of the most organised military forces in history. The trade in slaves, especially those captured in the mountain cultures, flourished, and although the standard of living for most people increased in material terms, the plight of the poorest in Jombek society grew worse, as they abolished previous programmes of food distribution to the most famine prone regions, arguing that their citizens should move to cities.

    The Jombok Empire was a monarchy, ruled in practice by an oligarchy of the most powerful landowners and merchants. Eventually, it succeeded in conquering the entire planet Kronos, including, after a series of extremely protracted wars, the previously unassailable mountain cultures. But as it expanded, it faced instability and increased threat of rebellion, as well as a bloated military budget. One of the monarchs, not content to be a mere figurehead, had the oligarchs put to death, imposed a standardised form of the Klingon language (similar to High German or Standard Mandarin), on the population, engaged a programme of mass literacy, and attempted to eliminate all regional culture. He was also a traditionalist, reinforcing caste distinctions of warrior, religious, worker and merchant, which had been on the wane. During he reign, millions were put to death on grounds of dissent. He was called Molor.

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    Part 2). The Early Dynasties of the Klingon Empire (900 AD to 2100)

    The First Dynasty

    Kahless can be best understood as quite revolutionary, within the context of his time. Records show that he stood in opposition to Molor's practice of slavery, believed in full gender equality, and his philosophy emphasised radical individual rights, as opposed to the collective philosophy of Molor's state; in his eyes, anyone had the right to kill those who imposed themselves violently at the expense of their rights - and the establishment of a ritualised system of combat would allow the individual to find a chance of justice even when outnumbered. His radical idea was clad and worded in the culture of the time; the changes he wanted were framed in terms of a radical new type of collective warrior spirit resembling the bushido of Earth. Kahless was born in the mountains of the northern hemisphere, who's architecture and dress resembled the Tibetans of Earth. The cultures of Knonos's mountains had never practised chattel slavery for their economic needs, instead relying on a system of feudal-style loyalty similar to medieval Europe or Japan, with all citizens expected to partake in war. They had also always been gender equal, with both sexes training by necessity as warriors to defend their tiny states from superior lowland forces; detesting cultures in which women did not train to be as strong in battle as men. They did not practice the caste system that had become commonplace amongst lowland cultures - thus they were essentially a soldier nation, where soldiers were the profession of only one caste amongst lowland cultures. Although many of these influences were forgotten in the coming centuries, Kahless seems to have been an early rationalist, by the standards of his time, and desired a re-organisation of Kronos as an equitable culture, and based on a principle of warrior egalitarianism.

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    Unhappy with the domination of Molor's Empire, Kahless organised a rebellion against his rule, which was so widely successful due to the resentment of Molor's policies, which had lead to tens of millions of deaths through preventable famine and war. Molor was defeated and killed after a an epic conflict, which is still the subject of Klingon art and drama. The state apparatus was pulled down, and Kahless re-organised society into the First Klingon Empire, using some of the forms of the previous government, but not it's methods or objectives. Writing was standardised, and a single language encourged under the belief that unity is superior to disunity, but individual provinces were granted the right to retain their own dialects. A comprehensive system of standardised weights, measurements, and laws was created. A system of ritualised education was developed, and there was a flourishing of culture. But attempts to eradicate the previous order were not entirely successful, meeting with resistance from the existing aristocracy. Most of Kronos retained elements of Lowland Klingon culture in the era of Kahless's ascendancy; by necessity, many of Kahless's associates were from Lowland Klingon cultures. A new city was founded, which is today the capital city of Kronos - The First City. The dialect of Kahless's people became the standardised Klingon language, although older languages and alternative scripts survive even today.

    Eventually, after his death, Kahless became an object of near-worship, as the Civic Religion he had advocated, turned into something resembling the Imperial Cult of Rome. There were also strong messianic elements introduced into his myth, especially from poor cultures in the river valleys of the southern hemisphere, who still spoke a rare non-Klingon language from the time before Kronos was united. His descendants meanwhile became more and more ineffectual as rulers, eventually being supplanted by a new political dynasty.

    The Second Dynasty

    The Second Dynasty is notable for revitalising the sciences after the stagnation at the end of the First Dynasty. By this time, firearms had become standard, and the Emperors even encouraged a space programme, with the objective of reaching Praxis, which scholars had proven via spectroscopy, bore a habitable atmosphere. Klingons reached space in the year 1312 AD, and settled on Praxis, founding the city of Tong'Vey, which was the informal name of their first settlement. Early spacecraft were showing signs that Klingons may have reached further into their solar system, but this was not to be the case, as the Empire was attacked by an alien species - the first the Klingons had ever encountered - contact was made with the Hur'q when raiders came out of warp in the vicinity of Kronos, and began a campaign of looting, rapine and destruction, that would last for several years, until they were driven off by guerilla action, organised in part by the Klingon state.

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    The ruling dynasty never recovered from the deprivations of this era, being forced to live in hiding while the Hur'q had mastery of Kronos's airspace. Eventually a general called K'Trelan killed the last Emperor of the dynasty and all other members of the Imperial Family, with the intent to trying a radical concept; an elected ruler. The period, known as the Dark Time in Klingon sources has been much maligned by subsequent official Klingon histories, but actually produced a number of positive social changes, including improvements to the rights of the poor, and a more accountable judiciary.

    The Third Dynasty

    The Third Dynasty also marks the beginning of The Second Empire. During the radicalism of the Dark Time, the First Empire, founded by Kahless, had effectively been abolished. The Hur'q had also weakened it's system fatally. The new empire, was significantly less tied to the traditions of Kahless than previous ones, instead becoming more similar to pre-Molor Empires, and warp drive was finally discovered after Kronos regained it's scientific abilities, around the year 1976 AD; partially inspired by examples found in Hur'q shipwrecks. The Klingon Empire embarked on a new colonial phase of conquest against neighbouring star systems, in search of new resources, Expeditions were sent as far as Breen space. The empire expanded rapidly, and it's only major regional rival was the Romulan Star Empire, which was distant enough to not pose and immediate threat.

    The Chancellorship

    During the second phase of the Second Empire, the position of emperor gradually became less and less important, until, by the mid 21st century, it was abolished entirely, in favour of the Chancellor of the High Council making most of the decisions formerly made by the Emperor.

    Part 3). The Modern History of the Klingon Empire (2100 to Present)

    The Colonial Period

    The Klingon Empire by the time of the 22nd century, had a huge colonial empire, larger than the next largest, the Romulan Star Empire, by a factor of two. It had been built piecemeal over the last two centuries, through mercantile adventure of individual noble houses, and organised state aggression. It utterly dominated the affairs of space in the entire east portion of the Beta Quadrant of the galactic disk, and had much influence in the west of the Alpha Quadrant. Regional powers like the Vulcans and Andorians were independent of Klingon influence, but the Klingon border represented a wall in space through which no Vulcan or Andorian starship was permitted to travel.

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    But in spite of it's vast and unprecedented size, the largest in the galaxy since the Tkon Empire, some 600,000 years before, the Klingon Empire was moribund and quite ineffectual in a number of ways by the middle of the 2100s. Corruption was rife. Klingon officials were in the pockets of Orion gangsters, or worse, were gangsters and pirates themselves. The border was virtually unguarded against illegal trade. A slave trade flourished just outside Klingon space in the unchecked Orion markets - there were even anecdotal rumours on Kronos that Klingon citizens may have even been traded. The fleet was a shambles, with most vessels being nothing more than the private tools of noble houses and renegade captains, despite a continued state-funded starship development programme. Refugees fled conquered worlds, and external aggressors such as the Suliban and Breen even tried to make inroads against the Klingon state.

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    The major change that brought about the end of this phase of Klingon degeneration, was the rise of two vast threats; the first was a red herring which faded away, but the second was here to stay. The Romulan Star Empire launched a startling campaign of aggression against all of known space; led by extreme militarists with and with no regard for any previous standards of war - for a moment in history, it looked as though they would conquer the galaxy. However, the real threat was the alliance that arose to meet the Romulan Empire - the newly formed United Federation of Planets. The Klingon Empire woke up one day to find a rival superpower had arisen along it's entire western border; a democratic union of Earth, Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, followed by a dozen other highly developed planets with huge populations and scientific capabilities. The death knell of the old ways was the release of a retrovirus into the general Klingon population, with a near 100% infection rate, which disfigured Klingon features; the leadership lost all credibility, and it was time for a new paradigm.

    The Fascist Revolution

    Elements within the Klingon military recognised that in order to counter the threat of the scientifically advanced and socially progressive Federation, the Klingon Empire would need to behave in a more unified and organised way than it had been doing under the corrupt leaders of the past. What would follow would be one of the most radical revolutions in the galaxy's history. A cadre of Klingon generals and officers seized power, deposing the entire High Council, and placing the Empire under direct military dictatorship. They then embarked on a radical campaign of social engineering - the caste system, still present since before Kahless's time was abolished, and anyone advocating it put to death without trial. All Klingons were considered the reserve forces of the military. The standing military itself was now conscripted from all former castes, and was was issued standardised uniforms. Standardised equipment including disruptor weaponry, and military tricorders were issued. The treachings of Kahless were officially denounced, priests publicly condemned, and the official cult abolished; the cadre of new leaders believed credulity for the old beliefs was part of the social problem. The military budget was increased tenfold, and a radical phase of shipbuilding produced new designs like the D7. The combined effect was to turn the Klingon Empire into an impregnable fortified military base, with Kronos at it's heart.

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    In a poplar move designed to win prestige and fuel the pride of the Klingon citizenry, several unofficial Orion colonies along the Klingon border were attacked in a mass military assault, and reduced to ashes via orbital bombardment, devastating the Orion slave trade in the Beta Quadrant. Suliban ships within 12 parsecs of Klingon space were hunted down and destroyed on sight. A series of heavily armed border starbases were constructed along the Federation perimeter. Wars of aggression were launched against star systems containing strategic Dilithium reserves, as well as Durianium, Tritanium, Monotanium, Kemocite, Pergium and Deuterium production, in order to fuel the massive military buildup. A strategic alliance was even entered into with the Romulan Star Empire against their common enemy.

    The build-up and expansion was matched like-for-like by the Federation, which increased it's military capacity to meet the Klingon build-up, induced new members, and gained access to natural resources in a race with the Klingons. The Klingon leadership soon fell into the problem of many of it's officers becoming currupt or disinterested, especially in the wake of the Organian Peace Treaty, when open war between the two powers was prevented, and a more industrial form of competition entered into. Elements of the old ways began to seep back into the military culture, and laws were gradually relaxed.

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    The End of Hostility

    The revolution had failed to return the Klingon Empire to ascendancy, and bourgeois elements in Klingon society had begun to re-assert themselves by the end of the 23rd century. Finally, the destruction of Praxis, as a result of over-mining and irresponsible safety crippled the Klingon economy, sending shattered debris into Kronos's atmosphere and rendering several provinces, including the highly industrialised Ketha province uninhabitable. The Klingon people faced two choices; launch a final full-scale war with the Federation in a bid to claim enough resources to resolve the crisis or make unfavourable peace and ask for aid. The Klingon people could adopt masks to shield themselves from UV let in by the damage to Kronos's atmosphere and attempt to continue, or attempt to devote their entire engineering capacity to cleaning up the disaster.

    Despite the reactionary efforts of die hard militarists like General Chang, eventually peace with the Federation prevailed. The outposts along the neutral zone were dismantled, relations normalised, and a phased mutual disarmament proposed. Federation experts, led by Vulcan science teams, attempted to advice the Klingon leadership on how best to clean up the Praxis disaster.

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    In the years of peace, there has been a reactionary resurgence in nationalistic and religious beliefs amongst the Klingons, while elements of the prior revolution, such as a standardised Klingon Defence Force remain.
     
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  2. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    A beautiful piece of work.

    I personally have always imagined the Klingon homeworld, instead of a ocean-less planet, as being a largely ocean planet, even more so than Earth. The land surface would be endless archipelagos, over which the Klingon people would endlessly fight, and there would be fleet battles.


    :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2014
  3. 1001001

    1001001 Serial Canon Violator Moderator

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    Moving to Fan Fiction.
     
  4. INACTIVEUSS Einstein

    INACTIVEUSS Einstein Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Ah sorry, I guess it is fanfic now that I think about it.

    Thanks! Kronos on screen seems to have only a few bodies of water, although it's not always obvious, and seems to change from appearance to appearance - so I've always imagined it having fewer seas :)
     
  5. surak-toc

    surak-toc Commander Red Shirt

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    Absolutely amazing, i love what you have done with the history, are you going to add more
     
  6. Locutus of Bored

    Locutus of Bored Yo, Dawg! I Heard You Like Avatars... In Memoriam

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    Outstanding and very detailed. Thanks for sharing, and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. :techman:
     
  7. INACTIVEUSS Einstein

    INACTIVEUSS Einstein Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Thanks guys - yes I will try to add more - I rushed the last half a bit, so might go back and edit it :)

    I would be really interested to hear other people's speculation too :) The reason I posted it in the general forum to begin with, was because I meant to sort of ask 'how do you imagine Klingon history would have been?' :)
     
  8. INACTIVEUSS Einstein

    INACTIVEUSS Einstein Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I'll post something I posted a while ago, which was one of the reasons I tried to write this history - I think Klingon culture became a bit stereotyped - in reality, each of Kronos's provinces are probably really diverse from one another, with different architecture, etc:

    Check out the original discussion here.
     
  9. TheLoneRedshirt

    TheLoneRedshirt Commodore Commodore

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    Thanks for writing this - it's really exceptional work. You were very thorough in compiling a detailed and well-described history of the Klingons. I have worked on a shorter (i.e. more recent) history of the Klingons and Orions, envisioning a long, hostile relationship with numerous interstellar wars. Your depth and flow are extremely well done. Kudos! :techman:
     
  10. surak-toc

    surak-toc Commander Red Shirt

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    This extra bit of info makes it all exceptional, I would really like if it is expanded way more if it could be all put in e-book format, would be good if there was a colab project that enabled this info along with if say anyone has stuff like this for the vulcans, cardassians, ferengi and such into a very detailed, great to read Star Trek history book
     
  11. INACTIVEUSS Einstein

    INACTIVEUSS Einstein Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    My favourite races are the Klingons, Romulans and Vulcans, so I would certainly not be averse to writing more about them for fun - most likely the Romulans. For now, here is this:

    A History of Klingon Spaceflight

    Early Origins

    During the second dynasty of the Klingon Empire, scientists made their first foray into spaceflight by lauching atmospheric test rockets, followed by orbital test satellites, and finally manned spacecraft - including a series of 57 manned modules which transported settlers to Praxis, the first Klingon off-world colony. These capsules were roughly equivalent to the Apollo and Soyuz modules of the 20th century United States and Soviet Union, ranging in crew size between three and seven - and they were launched on a series of larger and more efficient chemical rocket. The Hur'q invasion eventually brought an end to the Klingon state's space programme. Attempts were being made toward a re-usable shuttle of some kind, perhaps using a ramjet, but records from the era were lost during Hur'q bombings and subsequent firestorms.

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    The city of Tong'Vey on Praxis survived the deprivations of the Hur'q attacks, and became a thriving off-world settlement. Famously, during the Third Dynasty, the Emperor Sompek led an assault on the city, which had been occupied by rebels, and reportedly single-handedly destroyed the cooling system of the geothermal power plant, burning all the inhabitants - a subject of many epics. It was subsequently re-built after his death. It also briefly served as seat of the entire Klingon Empire during the Golden Way uprising of the 18th century. Today, Tong Vey is sometimes regarded as the second most important city in the Klingon Empire after The First City.

    Warp Starships of the Empire - Early History

    It is a common misconception amongst laymen, that technology follows a gradual line of progression, determined by steady scientific advancement. In reality, technology follows practical needs; form is determined entirely by what is required at the time, and breakthroughs happen in fits and starts.

    Klingon starships were first little more than warp test-beds; the first ones being little more than a crew module attached to a warp drive engine. Like the first Earth ships, they were rugged, lacked a gravitational field (necessitating crews to be strapped into chairs when at their stations), and possessed only primitive laser, nuclear and ballistic weaponry. They were unshielded, except against hard radiation, relying only on a navigational deflector at warp speeds, and on ballistic flak guns or lasers to intercept incoming objects. The Flail-class transport for example, was little more than a warp-capable space-fuselage with a capacity of around 20 beings - only six were produced, and their main function was to settle nearby inhabitable worlds and acquire technology from bustling hubs of commerce such as the Rigel system.

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    Klingon starships then rapidly evolved into transportation ships for munitions and soldiers. In an environment where there were very few warp capable species to contend with, a starship capable of carrying a chemical or nuclear payload, boarding enemy spacecraft, or landing troops on a planet's surface was sometimes enough to secure quick early gains for the Empire.

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    There was a split emerging in Klingon warp-design theory (much like the Federation's own competing design paths in our own era) between the internal warp-nacelle, and external warp nacelle - most civilizations favour one or the other, with the internal one being a greater technological challenge, but allowing for easier armouring of vessels. Klingon science favoured external warp nacelles, but the Hur'q had used internalised ones; a significant faction of scientists within the state's design bureaus wanted to emulate the Hur'q example. Early Bird of Prey type vessels increasingly attempted to internalise the warp system, while most starships, including the first Battlecruisers stuck with the more sound external design.

    Warp Starships of the Empire - The 22nd Century

    Klingon designs eventually evolved into the modern starships we know today, and by the 21st century, were some of the most advanced in the Quadrant, despite how archaic they must seem to modern readers, the ships of this era were capable of winning one-on-one engagements with the most advanced Vulcan ships of the era. Going into the 22nd century, the Klingon state maintained a strong tradition of starship design, in spite of increasing corruption in the government.

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    The Raptor-class was an especially important early design. One of the first starships in known space to carry photonic warheads, it proved to be one of the most effective war vessels in Klingon history. Typically piloted by a small crew, who would raid, engage in piracy, interdict shipping, and threaten undefended worlds, it's impact can be compared to the U-Boat of Earth's World War Two. At first, it was one of the heaviest ships in the Klingon Navy, but was eventually relegated to the roll of a scout or raider in it's long service history as starships in general grew bigger. Another early and successful series of designs included the earliest Bird of Prey craft, the most enduing of which was the small Talon-class vessel, at first a fast attack ship, and later, a mainstay scout and patrol vessel.

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    Another prominent design was the later Hatchet-class Bird of Prey, which replaced the function of the Raptor class to a great extent; although suffering from some notable design flaws as a result of attempts to internalised the warp systems. Due to the proximity of the three civilizations, there was continual seepage in scientific understanding between planets Orion, Romulus and Kronos - their ships all bearing the same green-tinged combination of alloys, and very similar warp engines - observe the Romulan, Orion and Klingon vessels below:

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    The proximity, cultural importance and economic clout of the triangle of Orion, Romulan and Klingon civilizations within the eastern Beta Quadrant is what led to that area of space becoming a crucible of starship design. A similar process had occurred in the densely populated region around Earth, Andor and Vulcan leading to similarities in sensor systems and other non-offensive technologies, but the Vulcan government had guarded it's developments more closely, owing to their general state of hostility with neighbouring Andoria - so that strategically important systems such as particle beams and warp drives were vastly different. Many civilian starship designs of the time were shared unreservedly between species, or licensed for production between goverments, accounting for the popularity of some ships based on variants of the venerable Talarian freighters. Some Klingon designs were exported, but most were purchased only by subject races within the Empire.

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    There was also shared military terminology in the region; warbird being a general interchangeable name for a battlecruiser class ship or heavier; bird of prey being a general name for a faster but heavily-armed attack ship. Both terms probably originated in the earliest days of Romulan spaceflight, and were applied by foreign observers to many ships in the region, although some historians attribute the origin of the terms to other sources.

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    Although all civilizations inevitably produce dozens of starship designs per decade, most are produced in very limited numbers, for highly specialised purposes. Those rare designs which are produced in huge numbers, inevitably become warhorses - and the starships which the Vulcans designated D4, D5, D6 and D7, all originating in this century, are perhaps some of the most recognisable designs in the galaxy - objects of fear for half the quadrant.

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    The iconic D4 class battlecruiser gained a reputation similar in galactic history, to the most prolific warplanes of Earth's history such as the Mig-21 fighter jet or B-52 bomber. It's sillohette became a byword for the Klingon Empire's power and reach - star systems aligned with Klingon policy would warn their rivals of the potential for a fleet of warbirds to invade their star system - the Klingon frontier gained a reputation for being guarded by these majestic beasts. The next attempt at such a class of vessel was the D5 class, which became the front line ship of the empire by the mid-22nd century.

    Late in the 22nd century, the D6 came to prominence, largely as a reaction to the rise of the Federation - it had originally been designed at the height of the Romulan War as Kronos considered the possibility that the Romulan Praetor would turn Romulus's seemingly unstoppable military toward the Klingon Empire next - but became the Empire's mainstay against the newly born Federation into the early 23rd century (production being especially ramped up by the new Klingon state after the revolution). But as the D6 was being designed, a parallel design was being tested by the mid-22nd century, rival design teams had begun tests on a newer class of starship that would dominate the entire 23rd century - the D7.

    Warp Starships of the Empire - The 23rd Century

    The early 'Block A' variant D7s were produced in very small numbers and never saw wide service, acting as a testbed for new technologies in the late pe-revolutionary Empire. Delayed by corruption, and continually changed as newer technology arose, the D7 finally entered wide service in the early 23rd century, and it's impact was huge - the most prolific vessel since the D4.

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    Later variants of the D7 achieved greater scientific parity with Starfleet's frontline crusiers through extensive refits. During the mid-23rd century, they, like the Romulans, Orions and Gorn, adopted similar Duranium hull plating to Federation vessels of the time. Due to rapid advances in torpedo technology at the time, survivability amongst starships was exceptionally low, with more and more powerful energy shields being the only effective defence; a technology at which the Federation excelled. Thus the Empire's strategy in the event of war was to field three D7's for every one Federation battlecruiser, and use the Federation's political structure against it, by attacking poorly defending member worlds, who it was thought would then petition the Federation council to send starships to defend them (and away from strategic assets) - using democracy against This strategy was devised by General Chang, and widely taught at the Imperial Academy.

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    Later in the century, Klingons abandoned the smoother plain Duranium hull cladding for thicker Monotainium-reinforced hulls, and increased their starships' scientific capacity greatly. The new K't'inga class variant of the D7 was capable of extreme deep space survey missions lasting years, detailed catalogue of planets, and solo operation far from resupply - the Klingons having recognised the logistical advantages this presented. It was also renowned for it's toughness, able to take multiple direct unshielded hits and still retain hull integrity and propulsion. In one astonishing instance, a K't'inga which had been threatening scientific colony on the frontier past Nellapoor took 12 direct torpedo hits from a Federation cruiser and retreated to be seen again just a month later operating in the vicinity of the Azure Nebula. Along with the newer, and more formidable D12/B'Rel class of Bird of Prey, the Empire hoped to out-influence the Federation in the wake of the Organian Peace Treaty. The B'Rel, and later K'Vort, finally succeeded in fully internalising the warp systems, with the wings of the vessel containing the warp plasma in an extremely unusual design; but one which has proven quite successful. Cloaking technology also helped Klingon captains achieve their objectives without being seen to violant the Neutral Zone. In the end however, the Klingon fleet never saw full hostilities with the Federation after Organia; the explosion of Praxis put an end to the military's ambitions.

    Warp Starships of the Empire - The 24rd Century

    Although in reality, Klingon starship design continued in the wake of the Khitomer accords, the following decades are seen as a tragic time for the Klingon fleet. Designs like the D14 dreadnought and specialised D21/Suspicious-class interdiction/ECM vessel were retired from service before their time. The fleet's budget was hugely reduced. The K't'inga by necessity had to remain the front line vessel of the fleet, albeit with an upgrade programme designed to bring the technology fitted within it's ageing space frame up to par with the Federation's Excelsior and Ambassador classes.

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    The Federation peace and slow exchange of scientific information led to Klingon's eventually adopting a warp system which was closer to Federation starships, whilst the Romulans continued on a separate design path which diverged more and more from this point. This is most clearly seen from the generation of the Vor'cha onwards, with their typically enlarged red bussard collectors - a direct result of technology exchange. Intelligence suggest Romulan vessels still prefer to use warp plasma in the blue/cyan/green range of the atomic spectrum.

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    Now that the Klingon Empire has largely recovered from the environmental and economic disaster of the late 23rd century, as well as Romulan attacks such as the ones at Khitomer, Narendra III, and in the wake of worsening relations ever since the Khitomer accords, some advocates in the Klingon Defense Force advocate the design of a new class of Dreadnought, not unlike the super-heavy designs of the late 23rd century. Such a vessel is rumoured to be designated the Negh'Var class, and preliminary design is said to be under way at Ty'Gokor's cosmodromes and shipyards, but it seems unlikely that the Klingon fleet is in any rush to replace the newly introduced Vor'cha just yet.
     
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  12. INACTIVEUSS Einstein

    INACTIVEUSS Einstein Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    [​IMG]

    The Klingon Revolution

    Introduction

    The Klingon Empire in the 22nd century, was a feudal aristocratic state, wherein the landed-gentry controlled the entire apparatus of government. These private noble houses were in de facto control of the military, and could even field their own starships. With this power, the aristocracy constructed a colonial empire, subjugating other species and alien colonies. They engaged in mercantile activity with aliens, building large fortunes as industrialists and merchants.

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    Meanwhile, the poor amongst the Empire, particularly the labourer caste, were prevented from social advancement by poverty and discrimination. The most educated could expect exploitation and unemployment, lacking the social connections of the aristocratic class, and usually joined the state military as a means of escape. Within the military they would face discrimination, but could earn power. The least educated could expect hard labour, chronic disease, and an early death.

    With the abolition of the title of Emperor at the end of the Second Empire several centuries earlier, the Klingon Empire had become a republic. But it had transformed into a bourgeois republic, as opposed to a revolutionary republic. The slow seepage of power away from the Emperor and into the High Council had been a gradual erosion of one elite in favour of another elite. It had done nothing to improve the relative position of the lower classes, and arguably their lot grew worse.

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    As time went on, the general Klingon citizenry treated the Klingon heirarchy with more and more open contempt, as it became clear the entire social order was merely a prop for the elite. There had existed a modernist tradition in Klingon society for centuries, that valued rationality over tradition, and which was particularily strong in the military. Their interests now aligned with the lower classes, and only one spark would be needed to light this social tinderbox. Their time had come.

    The Seeds of Revolution

    Although the Klingon revolution was essentially a military coup d'etat, rather than a popular uprising, the revolution was widely popular with the Klingon citizenry.

    The social failures which led to revolution were numerous. They were economic and social in nature. A noble could expect swift legal decisions on their trade portfolio. A commoner could wait months or years to be heard, as their entire property was illegally seized. Dilithium miners could expect that they would suffer chronic lung damage from aerosolised Dilithium resin and Trilithium byproducts. Treatment was possible, but aristocrats dismissed workers as spongers when they informed their employers of their situation. It is unknown how many Klingon families were driven to depression, suicide and death as mercantile fortunes were made in the trading houses of the First City.

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    In effect the priesthood supported this social order. Aside from mountain aesthetics and recluses, the majority of the professional devotees of Kahless served a specific temple, and therefore owed their existence to the patronage of the rich. The priesthood and aristocracy therefore had common interests, such as the preservation of the Empire's social order, on which their fortune relied. The Klingon citizenry were told that service to feudal superiors was what constituted an honourable life, and that their hard labour was a mark of good character, rather than an acquiescence to bald exploitation.

    The final straw which destroyed the people's faith in the Klingon government was the release of the recently-declassified Augment-virus. A failed biological weapon that had been developed in secret, it used a retroviral vector to insert alleles into the Klingon genome at several key points, altering the Klingon phenotype. Forehead crests were disfigured, along with several more minor changes. Anger grew and grew as the virus spread throughout the Empire. Military personnel watched helplessly knowing that a state-organised campaign could have isolated and quarantined the virus; but that the disorganised elites had blundered around with individual concerns, lacking the imagination to use the full might of the government's resources.

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    No Federation citizen knows for sure what happened next, but it is speculated that several prominent starship commanders and their subordinates met sympathetic nobles at an undisclosed location in the far eastern sectors of the Empire. A secret meeting was held, in which those present organised a revolutionary committee, appointed a council of leaders, and determined that they would assassinate or arrest their direct superiors. They would eliminate the High Council.

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    The Revolution Begins

    The political thinking of the Klingon revolutionaries cannot be easily compared to any of Earth's revolutionary ideologies. It shared some common elements with fascism, particularily the idea of class collaboration; i.e. a resolution to ancient class warfare that opted for radical collaboration as opposed to radical civil strife. It has been compared to the socialist Mexican Revolution in terms of it's desire to reform the plight of the poorest, or rise of fascism in Italy in terms of it's militarist ambitions. But the overall characacter was perhaps most similar to the French Revolution.

    The social order was re-written. State religion was abolished, and temples boarded up and closed. Power was centralised and the workforce re-organised along military principles. Feudalism was abolished, and troops raised through conscription rather than levies. Military academies became the only way to earn command positions. Uniforms were standardised. Modern forms of coercion such as a state propaganda and comprehensive prison system of off-world penal colonies were established. The ideal was to become the 'New Klingon'; a type of superior Klingon un-beholden to the irrationality of the past.

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    The coup began with the co-ordinated assassination of enemies of the revolution across the Klingon fleets. As the appointed signals were given, officers and nobles were surrounded and stabbed to death by crewmen - anti-revolutionary captains were shot down on the bridge of their starships - and the High Council chamber was stormed by the shock troops of the revolutionary committee. By the end of the opening days of the campaign, the revolutionaries had 70% of the Klingon military directly under their control, as well as control of the government.

    Those ships which remained in the hands of the aristocracy or loyalist forces supporting the ousted High Council were hunted down in a camapaign that lasted months, and shocked the galaxy. Sometimes crews overwhelmed their officers and took control of the loyalist ships, but more often than not, they were surrounded and destroyed by ships of the revolution. Federation policy makers and Starfleet admirals watched with detached horror from their desks in Paris and San Francisco. There was growing public concern across the Alpha Quadrant as reports came in of massacres or months-long sieges on Klingon colony worlds. A few dissidents such as the noble stage actress M'Krengha, who fled to Vulcan, escaped what they saw as a By the end of the year, the revolution had succeeded.

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    The New Society

    The first outward policy of the newly-reformed state was a campaign of huge military build-up against the Federation. Politicians recognised that the Federation's policy of treating planets as sovereign, and rendering aid to anyone who requested it, would lead to conflict with the empire, in which many alien worlds had separatist movements. Tacticians recognised that Starfleet's new classes of starship were technologically novel, and stepped up production of the D6 and D7 models. Propagandists for the first time employed the mass media to try to encourage planets to join the Klingon Empire as a protectorate.

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    War broke out with the Federation in 2245 culimnating in the retreat of Klingon forces after the Battle of Axanar. Open conflict again occurred in 2267, but this time the Organian government; a race of non-corporeal beings, intervened, resulting in the Organian Peace Treaty being imposed on both sides. The Federation-Klingon Neutral Zone was created, and both governments were allowed to compete for influence over planets in that region, but were prohibited by the stipulations of the treaty from using open military force. This did not prevent both sides from sending agents to try to induce planets into siding with one government or another.

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    Problems with the new social order became more and more apparent to the Klingon population. While the social reforms of the revolution were lauded, it's ideals were being used as justification for increasing crackdowns and brutal suppression, such as on the colony of Hrakkour IV, where the military irradiated the planet in order to put down an uprising.

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    The End of Revolution

    Ultimately, by the end of the 23rd century, the new order had begun to lose support amongst the citizens who had once been it's enthusiastic supporters. This was due in part to the summary justice that the government had handed out against supposedly anti-revolutionary revolts and public disorder. A new bourgeoisie had also begun to emerge; comprised partly of the old aristocracy and partly of the new officer class. Laws were insufficient to prevent the rise of a new elite, as they did not address questions such as the private application of influence in government, as comprehensively as they had reformed other elements of Klingon society. Aristocratic houses had been allowed to continue relatively freely, as long as they abided by the rules of the new state, and simply re-emerged.

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    But the period of the revolutionary republic was comprehensively ended with the explosion of Praxis and the negotiation of the Khitomer Accords in 2293. One of the stipulations for working with the Klingon Empire has been demilitarisation, but another has been the extension of some Federation-like rights to Kronos. In the years since then, the Klingon Empire has enjoyed the continuation of many of the positive aspects of the revolution, but has seen a re-emergence of private houses, mercantile wealth, and credulity for archaic supremacist cultural notions. It remains to be seen whether the current period of peace is an interlude or a , but the Klingon citizenry of today are more
     
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  13. surak-toc

    surak-toc Commander Red Shirt

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    Again just amazing information, I look forward to more, as things progress will we see ought from the far klingon future
     
  14. INACTIVEUSS Einstein

    INACTIVEUSS Einstein Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Thanks surak, your feedback means a lot. I will perhaps try to write some historical fanfic, set in different times within Klingon history. For example I quite like the idea of setting something at the dawn of Klingon warp-drive when they were first exploring the cosmos :)
     
  15. surak-toc

    surak-toc Commander Red Shirt

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    Your very welcome, that sounds like something I'd most definitely like to read, in Ebooks form of course, I look forward to it
     
  16. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    Lovely work. I remember the name Kazh for some reason.
     
  17. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

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    One bit of "Fanon" I've always leaned towards re: The Kinglons is that the story of Klingons killing their gods makes perfect sense as a mythologized version of overthrowing a powerful interstellar empire that had colonized them. I'm not entirely sure if I based this on something I read years ago or if it just arose in me piecing together what little hints we got from the various shows.

    These "gods" may have performed some level of genetic engineering or eugenics on the original Klingon population, creating a more intelligent caste that was able to learn and use their superior technology to better serve their masters. An eventual alliance of this new caste/subspecies with the original Klingons (now used primarily as front line troops and slave labor) allowed them to overthrow their conquerors and use their weapons and ships to destroy every sign of them in the galaxy so as to never be reminded of the shame of their warrior culture being slaves.

    From these ruins of this civilization, the first interstellar Klingon Empire would have risen to replace it. Using the same tools with which they were conquered they had a clear technological advantage over their galactic neighbors, but lagged behind other powers in the coming millennia due to lacking the superior intelligence and drive for innovation that first gave it rise (in addition to an over-reliance upon the martial traditions that evolved into a strict religious order of family and honor.)

    Just throwing it out there.
     
  18. INACTIVEUSS Einstein

    INACTIVEUSS Einstein Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I've always been uncomfortable with those old non-canon stories about genetic engineering or different races of Klingons and the like, just because I feel it comes close to early 20th century racial theories. Can't the Klingons be civilized AND not look like us? Why do they need an elite genetic caste? Has this ever been the case in human history? It's a bit simple, like something out of 1960s Marvel Comics, rather than how a nation really develops.

    I don't accept the idea of 'Imperial Klingons' and 'Non-Imperial Klingons' (precluded by on-screen evidence now anyway). I also believe that the infection rate of the Augment virus was close to 100%, as this explains TOS better than the idea that there were ridged Klingons hiding somewhere in Kirk's era but none of them commanded starships.
     
  19. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Well the myth says that their gods created a second Klingon and that the two united were the gods' doom.

    You have to admit that a lot of what we see of the Klingons does not appear to be a society that dedicates a lot to the advancement of knowledge and science. It makes more sense that their technology would primarily be appropriated from their conquests or demanded as tribute from weaker neighbors. Did we ever see a Klingon scientist, or really any Klingon that wasn't constantly going on about Honor this and Tradition that, until they specifically included one in Enterprise?

    The "second heart" Klingons may well have been where the foreheads come from, rather than from the unaltered population. That kind of detail isn't important. It isn't about what they look like, but how they behave. How long is a thoughtful analytic mind going to survive in Klingon society once they start challenging the norms or arguing with their superiors about some project they're on?
     
  20. INACTIVEUSS Einstein

    INACTIVEUSS Einstein Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Thats the thing I dont like about TNG/DS9/VOY's portrayal of Klingons. In another thread we managed to pin down the exact moment when this problem first arose, and it was after the episode 'Heart of Glory'. In Heart of Glory, the narrow minded Klingons were portrayed as obsessive anarchonisms - they were never meant to be mainstream Klingons, but rather atavistic reactionaries. But afterwards, they were taken by some of the writers as a sort of template for the more one-dimensional portrayals of later eras.

    I refuse to think they are all inept - I choose to think we came across a string of bad examples. This fits better with the more intellectual TOS Klingons (including those from The Undiscovered Country).

    I don't accept the barbarian portrayal, as it makes little sense. No culture could survive in space if it didn't even understand the technology it was using; and if it understood the technology, it could develop said technology. We don't see alien engineers on Klingon ships or anything. Tribute might make sense in an ancient context, but not in an era when concepts as complex as state espionage are a regular feature of war.