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Thread: The Klingon Wars - A History

  1. #1
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    Post The Klingon Wars - A History

    revised and expanded 11-28-2000

    (As I was awaiting the release of the Klingon sourcebook before undertaking this project it has been on the back burners now for most of the year. Now with no Klingon book forthcoming I feel feel to write on the subject and to share it with all of you. While the argument to put this in the General Trek Chat area could be made I think most history as it would effect the game should be placed in the narrators area. )

    CHAPTER ONE: PREPARING FOR BATTLE

    I: FIRST CONTACTS/ FIRST CONFLICTS
    It is still hard to believe that in 2218 the Klingon Empire only consisted of Qo’nos and a few colonies largely founded thanks to the wide spread use of Ion driven sleeper ships. Unknown to the Federation and Starfleet at the time the Klingons had contacted many of the races which the Federation traded with including the Orions and even some merchants of Federation members.

    As the USS Ranger approached Klingon space there was nothing to suppose the Klingons were anything but a normal medium size power of little note or importance to the future of the Federation. The Ranger received early radio signals that the Klingon were an advance civilization with space-flight capability. Eventually The ship made contact with a few Klingon trade ships and was escorted to the Klingon Homeworld of Qo’nos. To the officers and crew of the Rangeranother friendly race had seemed to be encountered.

    At first, according to the record marker of the Ranger, things went well relations seemed to be proceeding along text-book lines then an event still left unknown occurred. Some have speculated that the crew and ship become somehow mired in the vicious circle of Klingon House politics (the fall of the monarchy was still very fresh from 50 years prior.) but whatever it was it proved final.

    The first victims of the change were the Ranger's highly specialized diplomatic-Xenological team that was massacred at the table of a feast supposedly called in their honor. Soon after Klingon guests aboard the ship seized it in a vicious fight. What was not apparent to the Federation at the time was that it was the ship and its technology that the Klingons coveted and not the idea of good relations. (1)

    A Few days later the USS Sentry, an Advance class escort, while patrolling in the Gamma Demetrius sector encountered a small craft of Orion origin, onboard were several Klingons who said they had fled for their life when the Klingons had slaughtered their House. Soon after a Klingon warship, now believed to have been the IKS Devisor (a D4 class Cruiser), under command of one Captain Korall, appeared demanding the return of the refugees. The Sentry refused and returned fire when the Klingon ship opened fire. (2)

    The Klingon ship, outgunned and out-teched, retreated and the Sentry’s Captain Francis Benoit announced that he had made first contact with the Klingons (He did not know of the Rangers contact as of yet). He also published several reports based on the extensive use of interviews with the refugees and gave the first account of exactly who the Klingons were to Starfleet and the Federation.

    While much of what he later reported prove incorrect such as his misinterpreting of Chancellor to Emperor and thus a faulty understanding of Klingon government. He basically under stood that the Klingons were warriors in the mixed mold of Vikings and Japanese samurai with an enforced code of conduct and honor. The Benoit Reports dispite their errors where the underpinnings of Klingon Policy for the next thirty years. (3)

    What is even more amazing to the average spectator to these affairs is the amount of time it took for the Federation to make contact with the Klingons at all. The Romulans had fought a war with them one hundred years previously an event alluded too but not expanded upon in the Eridium papers. In those famous papers the war, which was mentioned as in the tone of barbarian raids on the border, never mentioned the name Klingon. But those papers where still to be found

    But at the time the only source other than the Benoit Reports on Klingon Society was what the Orions suddenly came forth with. It was very surprising to the Federation and Starfleet command that the Orions had actually be in contact with the Klingons for nearly 70 years previously and that some independent Federation traders had come in contact with and done business with Klingons and Klingon surrogates for nearly 50 years. Further study revealed that countless reports and sightings had indeed been on file in numerous Federation agencies and with Planetary governments all not acted on or followed up.

    This effort and resource was unknown to Starfleet or to the Federation as a whole due to the fact no centralizing agency was responsible for the gathering of such information. (4) Further for some time voices had been advocating a firm policy to be adopted by the Federation in regards to contacting races and a formal adoption of a Federation wide interstellar policy rather than the separate policies of its members.

    A case in point was embassies. Each non-federation member was host to a number of embassies from single individual members of the Federation. In some case’s worlds had for example embassies from Terra and Andor but none from the other members. While Starfleet did have a diplomatic service which the founders of the Federation had assumed to be sufficient for such matters it was proving not to be.

    The first move to fix the situation was the creation of the Interstellar Affairs committee of the Assembly (Council) which was appointed late in 2218 to look at solutions to the problem. Their recommendations announced 18 months later fundamentally changed the scope and purpose of the Federation. Its first recommendation was the creation of a new Department of Interstellar Affair’s in the Secretariat, which was to become the formal and official source of Federation Interstellar policy; this was quickly accepted.

    The second recommendation was the creation of the First Contact Commission in the office of the president, which was to be responsible for the forming of policies in regards to low tech societies. The committee also granted the commission power of oversight and review in such matters. One of its first tasks was the forming of an all-purpose mission statement. This directive would lead to the creation of the Prime Directive, the lasting rock foundation of Federation interstellar policy, in 2221. (5)

    1. Issacs, (Amb.)Ross; First Contact, Worst Contact: Vol. II of The Federation Diplomatic Services Offical History, Starfleet Printing Office, p.102-112.

    2. The Idenity of the Klingon Ship had remainded a mystry for over one hundred years until 2321 when on his death bed IKDF Admiral Korall confessed it was in deed his ship which the Sentry had encountered in 2218.

    3. Benoit, Adm. Francis; To Have Served, Littleton and Brown inc. p. 235-249.

    4. This state of affairs would later lead to the misunderstandings between the Federation and the Vulcans, (who, with the changes too come remained indepentent minded), over such matters as the origin of the Romulans and Vulcans prior contact with the Tholians.

    5 Issacs; pp 457 - 469

    [This message has been edited by Eric R. (edited 11-28-2000).]

  2. #2
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    I believe I had read that the Ranger spent some time translating radio signals from them before going down with blind optimism about spreading the word of the great Federation.

    And if the universal translators weren't around... Does anyone speak Klingon well? Perhaps one of the commonly held beliefs by Federation scholars involves a phrase that was mispronounced by one of the crewmembers during that dinner, becoming a harsh insult.

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    I forgot to mention that any commentary here on the boards will be taken under advisement and if liked well enough incorporated in to the work with proper Source notation added if of an extensive nature.

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    Smile

    Doing this to send it to the top of the list after expanding and revisions

  5. #5
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    Originally posted by Protius:
    And if the universal translators weren't around... Does anyone speak Klingon well? Perhaps one of the commonly held beliefs by Federation scholars involves a phrase that was mispronounced by one of the crewmembers during that dinner, becoming a harsh insult.
    "could you pass the gu'mok sauce"
    "you dare insult KorVaas of the House of TuLumbar, with such lies; prepare to die"

    ------------------
    SIR SIG a Aussie TREK Narrator

  6. #6
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    The info i have and is quiet detailed is teh first Known contact with the Klingons was the USS Sentry, against the IKV Devisor
    "Final Reflection by John M Ford" also known as the Klingon Bible, because so many base what was written as the way Klingons should be or are. Stardate was 2202
    First Klingon Ship to reach earth IKV Fencer a D4 Commanded by Capt Kreen.

  7. #7
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    Arrow

    Quite right but my goal is to form a unified story between canon, FASA (aka John Ford) and LUG material hence I moved the Sentry story forward a tad bit (15 years!) and as I wrote I decided to suggest that other members of the Federation had already come incontact with them. Which of course has to be the "real" story if anyone accepts the closeness of the Empire to Romulan space.

    While I am on the subject does any body have a copy of the Klingon Timeline from FASA They can send me real quick by E-mail. I don't have it and I am working from Dixons "beast" concerning that mateiral that angle.

  8. #8
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    Originally posted by Eric R.:
    Quite right but my goal is to form a unified story between canon, FASA (aka John Ford) and LUG material hence I moved the Sentry story forward a tad bit (15 years!) and as I wrote I decided to suggest that other members of the Federation had already come incontact with them. Which of course has to be the "real" story if anyone accepts the closeness of the Empire to Romulan space.

    While I am on the subject does any body have a copy of the Klingon Timeline from FASA They can send me real quick by E-mail. I don't have it and I am working from Dixons "beast" concerning that mateiral that angle.
    Thats cool, I'll get the timeline to you tommorrow or as soon as i can get it transcribed

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