Imperial Klingon States

[Lancer]

I know FASA had the IKS in the Triangle as what may amount to an independent Klingon state, but that's about all I know (and even that may be off somewhat).

Can someone tell me a little more about how FASA developed this, e.g. if this was a really independent government and if so, how it came to be, how the relation betwen the IKS and the Klingon Empire worked out, etc. etc.

If that's too much to ask, could someone at least point out for me which FASA products I should look out for on ebay, if I want to learn more about the IKS?

Many thanks in advance.

[Owen E Oulton]

The IKS was a splinter off the Klingon Empire in the wake of an attempted coup during the Four Years' War. After the coup attempt failed, Admiral Kamato fled to the Triangle, taking over a planet named Patterson's Place and renamed it K'Linsann. By the movie era, the IKS numbered 5 planets.

The FASA supplement The Triangle has a writeup on the history of the IKS and an entry for each of the worlds.

[First of Two]

There was another "version" of the IKS in the Next Gen supplement that had the IKS as being renegades who broke away from the Klingon Empire after the formation of the "Grand Alliance" between the Feds and Klingons.

[Owen E Oulton]

I'm looking at the sidebar, and that's not what it says.

It explicitly mentions that the IKS predates the "Grand Alliance." What it does say is that the IKS remains hostile to the federation, that it has expanded its territory to 25 planets, and that it serves as a refuge for the large number of Klingons who disagree with the Alliance.

[Lancer]

Originally posted by Owen E Oulton
I'm looking at the sidebar, and that's not what it says.

Whoa, guys, wait a second.

I know I am the one who asked for information, but before you guys get into arguing the finer points of Klingon politics, you might want to take your time and make sure you quote your sources in a way anyone can understand.

'cause, you know, I have no idea whatsoever what kind of sidebar you are talking about here.

[Owen E Oulton]

The "sidebar" I was referring to is a half page sidebar note in the FASA Star Trek, the Next Generation Officer's Manual. There's no particularly useful info in the book, so don't bother looking for it unless you're a completist. It's relatively rare, so it'll be expensive.

Here's a brief synopsis of the history of the IKS:

The Four Years' War took place between FASA Reference Stardate 1/9409 and 1/9806 (corresponding to 2253 through 2257). The IKS was founded by Admiral Kamato in 2256, and originally consisted of two planets, K'Linsann (formerly Patterson's Place) and Kinarra. In 2259, the dilithium-rich planet of Penchan II was added to the IKS. The other two planets in the IKS are North Pasadena (obviously named by Humans) and Mattarra III.

After the Klingon Federation alliance in the 2350's, the IKS became the destination of many Klingons who disagreed with the alliance, and began to expand, until it reached 25 planets in 2364. It has a navy made largely of older surplus Klingon ships.

That's pretty much it - there's little else established. The Klingon Boxed Set has next to nothing on the IKS, other than noting that it disagrees with just about anything the Empire does, but not to the extent of allying itself with the Federation or Romulans.

[First of Two]

No argument from me, I think I was wrong before.

(Owen of course having the obvious advantage of having the book in front of him - I didn't, when I posted - makes argument rather futile. I misremembered. An extremely rare event, but it still happens. )

[Lancer]

Just one more question:
Does any of the FASA books offer an explanation why they IKS has never been swallowed-up by the Klingon Empire?

As the IKS consistes of only a few planets I would assume they never had the military power to epxand much, so wouldn't that same lack of power make them an obvious target for the Empire, especially if the IKS was formed by "renegades"? Of course there is always the possibility of more important issues getting in the way, but somehow I find the idea that the IKS could survive alongside the Klingon Empire a bit hard to swallow. OTOH I may miss some important points, simply because I am not very familiar with the Triangle setting.

[Owen E Oulton]

Nope, no explanation... The IKS is on the other side of the triangle from the IKS, along the Federation border and close to the Romulan border - it is possible that the possibility of the UFP or the Star Empire getting involved meks it riskier than the Klingons consider to be worth the trouble, or they may consider it a useful safety valve.

[Lancer]

Thanks for the information.

Even without the Trinagle book it should be enough to get the ideas flowing again.

[Snake_Plissken]

Does any of the FASA books offer an explanation why they IKS has never been swallowed-up by the Klingon Empire?

IIRC it had to do with not stirring up trouble so close to the UFP and Romulan borders and the fear that the loyal Imperial-race Klingons would switch sides against the empire overall if it came down too hard on the IKS.

What is interesting is that because of the 1st season TNG ep 'Heart of Glory' -where Worf meets a bunch of Klingons who would rather die than live in peaceful times- FASA tied that ep up with the IKS in their TNG 1st yr sourcebook. Yeah that's the sourcebook where the Excelsior could kick the ass of a Galaxy class ship