He came to be known as Kahless the Unforgettable, and he was the Klingon leader who united his people and formed the Klingon Empire in the 9th century in Star Trek. From their home planet of Qo’nos, the Klingon Empire extended their reach throughout the galaxy, and their aggressive colonial philosophy came into conflict with the more benevolent United Federation of Planets when they met in the 22nd century.
Given that the Klingons have a violent culture, where social clout is gained by courage and conquest, so there’s a lot to choose from in the category of shocking and brutal historical events involving their Empire. There’s always the opinion that the Klingons did nothing wrong and were defending their territory or reclaiming something that was always rightfully theirs.
5 The Conquest Of Tong Vey
The Legacy Of Emperor Sompek
- Appeared In:Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, S4E18, “Rules Of Engagement.”
This battle isn’t actually depicted in this episode, at least not as a real event, but as a holo-suite program that was part of Worf’s personal database. It was used against him in a hearing that was intended to determine whether or not he should be extradited to the Klingon Empire for the destruction of a shuttlecraft.
The lawyer for the prosecution had taken the holo-suite without permission, knowing that Worf would defer to the Klingon code of honor and allow it, even though the judge was prepared to render it inadmissible. Given that the case was presented by a representative of the Empire in this episode, their conduct at the trial itself could also be one of the worst things the Klingon Empire did.
The real event was a savage massacre that was much worse than stealing private records. The Battle of Tong Vey began as a city incursion and ended with the triumphant Emperor Sompek ordering a massacre of virtually every resident before burning every building to the ground.
4 The Invasion Of Organia
A Diplomatic Failure With Future Repercussions
- Appeared In:Star Trek: The Original Series, S1E26, “Errand of Mercy.”
There were several times when open war almost broke out between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, and this is one of them. The TOS episode “Errand of Mercy” is about how a small planet called Oragnia became a helpless gambit between the two powers after negotiations broke down.
Kirk and the Enterprise were sent to try and secure Organia and its strategic location, and they had to deal with Kor, the Klingon commander who had been sent to Organia for the same reason. In an attempt to gain leverage against the Federation, Kor not only ordered a military occupation but also ordered several hundred Organians in the process, or at least that’s what he believed.
Hostilities escalated to the point where both the Klingon Empire and Starfleet had their ships poised to attack with tiny Organia in the background. Luckily for humanity, the Klingons, and the entire universe, the powerful Organians put both sides in their place and forced each side to agree to a peaceful settlement.
3 The Attempt To Steal Genesis
Part Of A Galaxy-Wide Spy-Op
- Appeared In: Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)
The Genesis Project was a controversial one in galactic politics, with the Federation developing it under the premise of using it to create habitable planets. However, later experiments revealed that Genesis was a destructive force as much as a creative one, and the Klingons decided they wanted the secrets of Genesis and use it as a weapon.
Kruge was the Klingon captain sent to retrieve the information about Genesis and its construction, which was hidden carefully by Starfleet. Their plan would have succeeded if not for some quick thinking and some heavy losses on the part of Captain Kirk. Not only did he sacrifice the Enterprise to escape, but his son David Marcus was also killed by Klingons.
2 Poisoning The Quadro-Triticale Of Space Station K-7
Dispute Over The Development Of Sherman’s Planet
- Appeared In: Star Trek: The Original Series
If you ask Scotty about the worst things the Klingons have ever done, he would tell you about the time a Klingon called the Enterprise “a garbage scow” which also takes place during this episode.
This event also included pesky details like two hostile crews sharing the same cramped space for shore leave and a Klingon spy disguised as a human bureaucrat.
Poisoning a food source is pretty low anyway, but this Klingon plan was even worse. The Klingons were trying to earn the right to settle the nearby planet, and thought they would spike a shipment of Federation grain to get an advantage in the competition.
This plan was foiled by the Tribbles, which seemed like a sub-plot at first. However, these hungry critters save the day, even if only by a happy accident of their nature. As Dr. McCoy explains, all Tribbles do is eat and reproduce, so before the grain could be distributed to a vulnerable population the Tribbles had eaten it.
1 The Assassination of Chancellor Gorkon
An Act That Almost Doomed Klingons To Extinction
- Appeared In:Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
The beginning of the end of the Klingon Empire started in the year 2263 when the explosion of the Klingon moon Praxis threatened to make Qo’nos uninhabitable within 50 years. The royal line had already come to an end when Chancellor Gorkon assumed the position of leader of the Empire, and Gorkon planned to abandon the Klingon traditions of galactic aggression and accept the Federation’s help to save the Klingon people.
Some Klingons in the government, however, didn’t agree with his plan and decided that doubling down and either defeating Starfleet once and for all or going out in a blaze of glory were preferable to the humiliation of peace negotiations. Some humans and Vulcans actually agreed with them and preferred to see the Klingons dead than as allies.
The plan wasn’t just to kill Gorkon, but to blame Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy for the murder, and most of The Undiscovered Country includes the plan to break them out of jail. The Klingon’s plan also targeted the President of the Federation but failed, and their success would have ignited a full-scale war.
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