Klingon Empire (Star Fleet Universe)
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This is an article about the Klingons as they exist in the Star Fleet Universe and not in various canon Star Trek sources. If you are seeking information about mainstream Star Trek, see the above link.
In the fictional Star Fleet Universe, the Klingon Empire, sometimes called The Empire of Steel, is a large interstellar state based off the material presented in Star Trek: The Original Series. They have been at war with all their neighbors at one time or another, and are the primary power of the Coalition formed with the Lyran Star Empire and the Romulan Star Empire.
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[edit] Background Material
As the Star Fleet Universe is based off the The Original Series and The Animated Series, SFU Klingons are based off the original 'smoothhead' variety, with no use of (or license to use) the later versions seen in the movies and later series. As such, they are loosely culturally based off of cold-war Soviets, and the only ship type that had been seen on-screen was the original D7 battlecruiser.
At the time that Star Fleet Battles was originally produced, there were a set of fan-produced blueprints that showed a large number of phasers in various locations, disruptors mounted on the leading parts of the engines, and an explanation that the very similar earlier D6 class was what had been sold to the Romulans. All these facts were incorporated into the initial draft of the game, and still have an impact on many facets of the game today.
[edit] History
The Klingons were once the most favored subjects of a race known only as "The Old Kings". When The Old Kings suddenly disappeared for unknown reasons around -Y25, they left a store of ships in the Klingon's home system. Around about Y2 the Klingons managed to construct primitive spacecraft that could get them to these starships. The Klingons then set about recreating the earlier empire with themselves in the primary role, and started contacting other former subject races and making them subject races of the new Klingon Empire. An unsuccessful mutiny by the Vergarians in Y12 caused the Klingons to install security stations in all their ships (as most ships are mostly crewed by subject races, with Klingons in command positions and other areas of responsibility). As of Y17 the Klingons started producing new ships of their own.
In Y38 the Klingons first contacted another starfaring race and went to war with the Lyran Star Empire. This war continued for four years until the Lyrans had to sue for peace, to concentrate on the Hydrans, whom they had accidentally attacked durring the war. Relations with the Lyrans remained hostile for quite some time, with a second war erupting in Y87 after the Klingons and Lyrans both invaded and conquered the Hydran Kingdom. Relations would eventually improve, but the two would not start to become true allies until after the Hydran reconquest of their Kingdom in Y135.
In Y50, the Klingons first encountered (and went to war with) the Kzinti Hegemony, winning three critical systems from them. The war lasted for 32 years, and saw the introduction of tactical warp drive. During this time the Klingons also made arrangements to attack the technologically backwards Romulans when the Tholians arrived in Y82. The Tholians appeared in the area that bordered on the Romulans, and their highly-advanced ships made quick work of the fleet of older D3s that were to lead the attack. In the next decades the Klingons expended a lot of ships trying to reclaim the lost territory and colonies from the Tholians without success.
The Klingons contacted the United Federation of Planets in Y85, and, busy on all their other borders, opened diplomatic relations with the Federation, even giving military advice on fighting the Kzintis when that race attacked the Federation three years later. Relations became hostile after the Federation's Border Declaration in Y102, which laid claim to some areas the Klingons had already colonized, and an even greater area that had belonged to The Old Kings, which the Klingons considered to rightfully belong to the Empire. This led to a short, inconclusive war in Y110, and another, even shorter one, in Y156 which was halted by the Organians.
The Second Klingo-Kzinti War began in Y103 and ended in Y106 with the Kzintis reclaiming their three systems. The Third Klingo-Kzinti War began in Y123 and ended in Y131 in a stalemate. In Y135 the Hydrans attacked with new ships and new weapons from the 'Lost Colonies' and re-established most of the former Kingdom.
The Fourth Klingo-Kzinti War began in Y158. Shortly thereafter, the Lyrans were attacked by the Hydrans. The Lyrans prevailed upon the Klingon Empire to honor their treaties by helping the Lyrans against the Hydrans, and in return, the Lyrans helped the Klingons against the Kzintis, turning the two separate conflicts into the Four Powers War. The Klingons and Lyrans did well at first, but the introduction of Kzinti fighters and Hydran Hellbores shifted the strategic balance and the war ended statis quo antebellum. In the later stages of this war, the Federation attempted to intervene on behalf of the Kzinti Hegemony with a 'show of force' by pulling units off the Romulan border. The Klingons signed the Treaty of Smarba with the Romulans, giving them older, but still modern ships, and technological aid. This forced the Federation to back down, and hurriedly redeploy ships back to the Romulan border.
After thier defeat in the Four Powers War, the Klingon Empire and Lyran Star Empire truly began to work together as allies. It was believed that if they worked together to develop the weapons needed for a strategic offensive, both the Hydrans and Kzintis could be truly defeated. In Y168 this new Coalition attacked the Kzintis in what became the ever-widening General War. Klingon forces assaulted the Kzinti homeworld, conquered the Hydran homeworld a second time, drove most of the way to the Federation capital, and assaulted the Tholian homeworld. However, the balance of the war slowly shifted, and the Klingons (along with the rest of the Coalition) were forced back to their original borders. Durring Operation Cavalry in Y182, Alliance units penetrated deep into Klingon space. The conflict ended with all sides exhausted and back at their original borders.
Immediately afterward, the ISC War of Pacification began in Y186, and the Klingon Empire struggled to maintain control of its border areas while rebuilding the Deep Space Fleet. When the main phase of the Andromedan invasion began in Y188, the Klingons had to fight off an even more dangerous enemy and eventually ally with the Federation (and the rest of the Alliance) to launch Operation Unity and defeat the Andromedans.
[edit] Klingon Military
The Klingon military is generally broken up into three divisions, the Army, Deep Space Fleet (which includes marine forces), and the Internal Security Force. Each has their stregnths, all all compete for resources, but are not overtly hostile to each other.
Despite propaganda from their enemies, the Klingons are not particularly bloodthirsty. On the other hand, they will not hesistate to attack a militarily relevant target in a civilian area. In addition, the Klingon mindset concludes that civilians working in military industries are effectively military.
[edit] Army
The Klingon Army is primarily responsible for planetary defenses. The Army has some spaceworthy assests in the form of fighters (combat shuttles), but has no warships of their own. Army units are used in most major planetary assaults.
[edit] Deep Space Fleet
The Deep Space Fleet is the force most enemies of the Empire will deal with. The fleet is a massive entity, making use of every available resorce. Klingon ships are sleek, based on the general shape of a predator in the oceans of Klinshai. The Klingons are notorious for never throwing anything away. Ships a century out of date still sit in massive mothball facilities ready to be reactivated in times of need.
Officers in the DSF hold both Marine and Naval commissions, achieving rank in each individually. It is not uncommon for an Admiral in the DSF to also hold rank as a Captain in the Marines. On some occasions, a senior officer may don the uniform of the other service, during which time he is expected to be treated as if he were of that lesser rank, allowing them to interact, at least on a surface level, with junior officers.
[edit] Ship Nomenclature
All major ship classes have a letter-number combination as their primary designation (e.g., D7, F5). Initially, these were done in a 'sliding scale' of continuous numbers and class-appropriate letters from small ships to large ships. The full line up of original classes following this pattern would be: G1 Gunboat, G2 Gunboat, E3 Escort, E4 Escort, F5 Frigate, D6 Battlecruiser, D7 Battlecruiser, C8 Dreadnought, C9 Dreadnought, and B10 Battleship. But, even by the time that all of these ships were published there were already exceptions and overlaps to the rule, such as the D5 War Cruiser (which was smaller than the D6/D7, and so got a smaller number).
As additional products introduced more classes, the nomenclature continued to become more muddled until the release of Early Years acknowledged that the numbers would have been assigned per letter series in order. Thus it shows the initial (tactical-warp) D3 Battlecruiser, which is followed (in the same product) by the later D4 Battlecruiser, the predecessor of the D6 Battlecruiser. It has been explained that the Klingons came up with two parallel designs, the D5 and D6, the latter of which was chosen for actual service; later when the war cruiser was designed, it was given the 'unused' D5 designation.[1]
Unfortunately, it would be very difficult to explain the 'C' series, which currently consists of the C4 (early years) Dreadnought (Y92), C5 Light Dreadnought (Y167), C6 Early Dreadnought (Y150), C7 Heavy Battlecruiser (Y178), C8 Dreadnought (Y167), C9 Dreadnought (Y167), and C10 Heavy Dreadnought (Y179).
'Variants' or 'specialty' ship types and refits are designated by another letter after the class number (e.g., 'D7B' for a refitted D7). Some letters have a different meaning when used for smaller ships than when used for cruisers or larger ships; for instance, 'A' can mean an Aegis-equipped escort, or a ship equipped with a Stasis Field Generator. Occasionally, a 'dual-purpose' letter might appear before the initial class letter when it is designating a function not common to that class. An 'AD6' is an Aegis-equipped D6 escort, as opposed to a 'D6A', which would mount a Stasis Field Generator (however, there are no D6s with SFGs, as they are only mounted on D7s and larger ships, but the Klingons apparently make distinctions based off of size, instead of each individual class).
Individual ships have names and hull numbers. Hull numbers are the class designation, plus the sequence number of that ship in the overall class, separated by a hyphen. The Klingons also use the 'prefix' "IKV" (Imperial Klingon Vessel) before the name. So the first D7 built was D7-1 IKV Klodode; the eighteenth was D7V-18 IKV Commodore Mak Kroree.
[edit] Internal Security Fleet
Performing duties similar to Coast Guards and Border Patrols, the ISF is a large enity in its own. The ISF uses warships from DSF designs that have had their weapons slightly downgraded. The ISF's fleet is larger than it's equivants in other empires, but this is in part due to the fact that they also act as one of the many checks and balances preventing another factor from seizing power.
[edit] Empire Security Services
While not as large as the other services, the ESS is everywhere in the Empire. Concerned with Internal Security, ESS officers serve (overtly and covertly) in every other branch of Klingon government and military. It is the ESS that mans the Security Stations on Klingon ships/bases and ensures that the subject races do not rise above their station.
[edit] Culture
Due to the stresses of having enemies, or at least potential enemies on every border, much of the Klingon economy is dedicated to military functions. As a result, the lifestyle of the average Klingon is much more austere than their Federation counterpart. One result is that Klingons do not have many 'luxuries' or 'frivolous' possessions. For example, most Klingon citizens eat most of their meals in cafeteria like establishments run by their employers, but may visit others for variety. Most do maintain a personal kitchen at home for times that they want to do something special. A Klingon wishing to do 'home improvement' projects and such would not buy their own power tools and such, but would check out needed tools from community centers.
Klingons prefer group activities for recreation, and sports are very common. Visual entertainment ranges from historical plays, opera, slapstick comedy, and if so desired, even hardcore pornography. Crafts and collecting are also common, though collectors tend to trade and barter more than a Federation collector. In individual sport competitions, many times the competitors do not vie against each other, but against set standards of excellence. A marathon may have several 'winners' who all beat a certain mark.
While not codified by law, Klingons operate on a three tier system when interacting with others. Kligons born on Klinshai or one of the other core worlds look down on those born on the colony worlds, who all look down on the subject races.
[edit] Government
The Klingons operate a layered feudal system for civil government. Planetary governors report to regional Barons who report to the powerful Dukes who report to the Emperor, Council and Military High Command. Each position has three subordinates, an industrialist, a military man and a civil servant. Typically, one of those three will replace his superior when the time comes. Despite stories to the contrary, Klingons do not seek promotion by assassination. It would not do to have a young killer with no practical knowledge to kill off his less bloodthirsty, but very capable superior.
Klingon law enforcement and courts are quick and harsh. While the Klingons do accept that under their system, the occasional innocent is incarcerated, they feel that this is better than letting the guilty out on technicalities. That said, the Klingons try their best not to wrongly convict somebody for the simple reason that it means that the truly guilty is still out there unpunished. Courts work quick and justice can be simple. Corporal punishment is common for lesser offenses when a lesson is sought without removing a possibly still useful citizen from society. Prisoners often do hard labor (slave labor according to the Federation) in order to continue serving society. Capital punishment is available for many crimes, but only implemented when the convicted is not worth trying to work to death.
[edit] The Emperor, Council and High Command
The head of Klingon government is the Emperor. Unlike other such monarchs, this is not a hereditary position. Instead, like his subordinates, the Emperor has three Princes, an industrialist, a military commander and a senior civil servant. The Emperor has the right to name his Princes, but each must be approved by the Council and High Command. When it is time for a new Emperor, these bodies choose one of the three Princes who then choses his replacement (with the afore mentioned approval). The Emperor and Princes all serve for life, or until they choose to step down (or are convicted of High Treason, not an easy task). It is possible that one or two of the Princes might have been appointed by the previous, or even earlier, Emperor.
The High Council is a body of economic leaders who choose themselves who sits with them. Some are corporate heads, other are feudal lords of strong economic regions. The head of the council acts as the Prime Minister of the Empire for most duties, notably not for military command.
The High Command is the top leadership of the Army, DSF and ISF.
[edit] Subject Races
Not all Klingons are Klingons. Those sentient races found by the Klingons within their space are given rights and duties, but not quite to the same level as ethnic Klingons. While treated as second-class citizens, most are quite loyal to the Empire and simply hope for the day that the Empire will raise them up alongside the Klingons themselves. The Empire does not fully trust the subject races, especially after one revolted early in the post Old-Kings era. As a result, one of the main duties of the ESS is to monitor them for rebellious activities.
A majority of the military forces of the Empire are members of the subject races, but few achieve high rank. The only vessals with Subject Race commanders are those which normally act as planetary guardians over their homeworlds, and even these ships have a sizable ESS contingent on them. Only once was one given Flag Rank, and this was because the dying Klingon general on a planet being overrun by Kzinti forces had no more ethnic Klingon officers available. It should be noted though that when Klingon forces relieved General Kobal's successful resistance, he retained his rank and was treated as a hero.
The Federation (and other nations) regard the subject races as near slaves to the Klingon war machine, and often offer assistance. They are often surprised when a given member refuses their offers.
The subject races include:
- Dunkars: A relatively passive and accepting race who hold a position just shy of their Klingon superiors, some serving as officers.
- Slidarians: A race of huge ape/bear beings who excel at ground and hand-to-hand combat. It is notable that the Slidarian homeworld was never conquered by the Klingons, who, after their attempts at pacification, co-opted and absorbed them.
- Hilidarians: Bipedal (though cable of quadapedal movement) lizards, they were the backbone of the Klingon ground forces prior to the rise of the Slidarians. The resulting rivalry was severe enough that normally the two races do not serve together.
- Cromargs: The dwarf-like survivors of a world devastated by nuclear war, the Cromargs are excellent engineers.
- Zoolies: Literally four-eyed, Zoolies are equally capable of operating in bright sunlight and dim starlight. Zoolies make up the backbone of Klingon recon units.
- Vudar: A lizard-like race from near the galactic edge, their space is saturated by dangerous ionic radiation. Because of the hazards and difficulties of non-Vudar living in the area, they were given certain leeways allowing them to self govern. This would come back to haunt the Klingons as the Vudar would make a bid for independence at the height of the General War.
- Bargantines: Looking superficially like shorter Klingons, the Bargantines are adamant that they are related and seek to become more like their 'cousins.' Unfortunately, the Bargantines are utterly inept as a species to be warriors as that they tend to be timid, easily spooked, and rather small. On the other hand, they are superior farmers and Bargantines are the leading agriculturists on most Klingon worlds. Besides, the Bargantine's attempts at organizing military units provides amusement for the Klingons themselves.
- Vegarians: Spider-like insectoids, the Vegarians were the first former Old Kings subjects contacted and absorbed by the Klingons. Unfortunately, the Vegarians felt that they should have an equal status with them, and eventually rebelled against the Empire. The Kligons were able to quickly put down the rebellion and bombarded Vegaria back to the stone age. Vegarians were allowed to leave their world for over a century, but were brought back at the height of the General War to act as shock troops.
[edit] Relations with neighbors
- The United Federation of Planets: While many consider the Klingons and Federation to be mortal enemies, the truth is that there is little true hatred between the two powers. The Klingons actually respect their neighbor, but are puzzled that the humans have not taken charge of the Federation considering their numbers and political power. The main point of contention is that the Federation is such an economic powerhouse that if the Klingons tried to compete on the same level, they would be practically bought out.
- The Romulan Star Empire: While not technically neighbors, the Klingons work with the Romulans as a balance against the Federation. When the Klingons first encountered the Romulans, they stood ready to conquer the other race before it could develop tactical warp technology, but the arrival of the Tholians disrupted that. The Empire sees the Romulans as useful allies, but not necessarily friends.
- The Kzinti Hegemony: While having no racial hatred for their enemy, the Klingons and the Kzintis have been fighting since the time they first meet. Most of these conflicts have resulted in stalemates, though the Kzinti nearly fell during the General War.
- The Tholian Holdfast: The Klingons would probably never taken any serious notice of the Tholians if it were not for the fact that when they arrived, they conquered/destroyed three Klingon colony worlds and wiped out the small fleet being prepared for the invasion of the Romulan Empire. As it is, the Klingons would love to wipe the Holdfast off the map, but the Holdfast has superiour defensive technologies and the Federation would certainly intervene. Even so, the Klingons have maintained a 'harassment squadron' on the Tholian border as a proving ground for new captains and ships.
- The Hydran Kingdom: While it is possible that the Klingons and Hydrans could co-exist in overlapping territory due to their different environmental needs (the Hydrans are Methane breathers who colonize smaller gas giants), the Empire has very little respect for the Hydrans. On two occasions, a Klingon/Lyran force has conquered most of Hydran space, but the Hydrans have managed to liberate themselves each time.
- The Lyran Star Empire: While these two fought a number of wars with each other, by the time of the Four Powers War, the two had become strong allies. Both respect each other's culture and they are willing to work together to build boths fortunes.
- The WYN Cluster: The Klingons would love to conqere the Cluster for its economic wealths, but know that the Lyrans and Kzintis feel the same way. As a result, any attempt to conqure the Cluster by one power would result in the Cluster getting at least background help from the others.
- Lyran Democratic Republic: While the Empire has no real respect for the renegade Lyran county, they know that the presence of a neutral state at that region is useful. In addition, the Klingons know that any attempt to take the LDR for themselves would certainly ignite a full war with the Lyrans, who still claim LDR space.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The 'original' D5 is presented in Star Fleet Battles: Module R8
[edit] References
- GURPS Kingons, 4th Edition.
- (R3.1) Klingon Background. Star Fleet Battles Basic Set/Master Rulebook
- Star Fleet Universe Timeline: The Early Period. Star Fleet Battles Module Y: The Early Years
- A Brief History of the General War
