star trek vi klingons

32 Years Later, Star Trek Just Revealed Why Spock's Greatest Idea Was So Controversial

In Strange New Worlds, the future of The Undiscovered Country is still a long way off.

Guess who’s coming to dinner? In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , the crew of the USS Enterprise-A all basically freak out when they have to host Klingons for not only peace talks but dinner, too. Now, a few decades before that, well before Kirk took over the previous Enterprise , it turns out Pike and his crew had a Klingon over for dinner, too. But, the difference is clear: In Strange New Worlds Season 2, the Klingon War is only a few years in the past. In The Undiscovered Country , there hadn’t been a shooting war for at least three decades. So, with the new SNW episode, “Under the Cloak of War,” Star Trek is making it clear why Klingon peace talks in 2293 were so tricky, by showing us a major scandal back in 2259. Spoilers ahead.

Written by Davy Perez and directed by Jeff W. Byrd, “Under the Cloak of War,” scans as an episode in which the creators intentionally paid homage to Nicholas Meyer’s Trek film The Undiscovered Country . Although the Klingons (and Romulans sometimes) were often analogs for a kind of Cold War situation throughout Classic Trek; the Discovery and Strange New Worlds era has taken us back to a time when a very real, very hot war was actually waged between the Federation and the Klingons.

Discovery’s Klingon War comes to SNW

Dak’Rah (Robert Wisdom) claims to want peace. But does he?

Starting in 2017, Discovery Season 1 greatly expanded Trek canon by showing the specifics of a massive Klingon War , that started in 2256 and ended in 2257. In the recap at the top of “Under the Cloak of War,” we even get scenes from Discovery, not from Strange New Worlds , to make it clear that yes, while the Discovery was trapped in the Mirror Universe, and the Enterprise was assigned to deep space, a bunch of other people were involved in that war. In the Discovery context, Pike’s Enterprise had been intentionally kept out of the war by Starfleet, in order to preserve a few ships in deep space in case things got really bad.

In Discovery Season 2, this bit of canon tap-dancing was tricky, but now, SNW is actually making pretty good use of it. Pike and Spock didn’t serve in the Klingon War, but several Enterprise crew members who joined the ship at the start of this series did. Specifically, this means Ortegas, Chapel, and M’Benga have retroactively become the first Star Trek series regulars who have memories and experience fighting the Klingons in an actual war.

M’Benga’s story explains The Undiscovered Country

Chapel and M’Benga in a flashback to the Klingon War.

Referenced in the SNW Season 2 premiere episode , we now learn here exactly why M’Benga and Chapel had super-serum that allowed them to Hulk-out and beat-up Klingons with impunity. Called “Protocol 12,” it turns out, that at one time, M’Benga manufactured this performance-enhancing drug for Starfleet until it was banned. But, more than that, the episode fully details M’Benga and Chapel’s time in the war as physicians on the moon of J’Gal. A Klingon general, named Dak’Rah — who is now pretending to be a peace envoy — ordered the killing of civilians. This guy was a huge war criminal, and as Starfleet evacuated the moon, M’Benga got juiced up and went to kill Dak’Rah and his men. But, Dak’Rah escaped, and then later lied and told everyone he killed fellow Klingons in order to escape and defect to the Federation. This brings us to the “present day.”

Throughout the episode, Pike, Spock, and others believe that Rah is a reformed Klingon and that his work as an ambassador for the Federation is legitimate. But, Ortegas, Chapel, and M’Benga feel differently. Smartly, the episode hides one crucial detail: M’Benga knows for a fact that Rah is lying because M’Benga is the guy who killed those Klingons. The idea that Rah wants peace and acts as a peace envoy in the name of the Federation is, to M’Benga, horrible, because he knows that Rah is a coward, and capable of manipulating the truth.

In the end, M’Benga never really reveals that he was the one who fought off the Klingons as Rah escaped, but Rah is killed (apparently by M’Benga) and Chapel tells Pike that Rah started the fight. The episode ends with a defector Klingon dead on the Enterprise , (probably) killed by a Starfleet officer.

At the beginning of The Undiscovered Country Captain Kirk does not want to make peace with the Klingons. He and M’Benga probably agree on this point.

So, if you fast-forward to 2293, and the time of The Undiscovered Country , it suddenly makes a lot of sense why many older Starfleet officers wouldn’t want anything to do with a Klingon peace treaty. Spock’s most daring idea in that film — to actually make peace with the Klingons — is doubly jarring because Starfleet has a bad track record with Klingons who claim they want peace. The controversy of Rah is for Spock, in Star Trek VI , a retroactive historical precedent. If Starfleet remembers the time that the “Butcher of J’Gal” tried to bamboozle everyone in 2259, then that’s just one more reason not to trust Gorkon or his peace ideals in 2293.

In the end, The Undiscovered Country turns out, more or less, okay. But as Strange New Worlds charts the history of Star Trek before the classic crew, the reasons for, as Spock puts it, “years of unremitting hostility,” make a lot more sense.

Strange New Worlds is streaming on Paramount+. The Undiscovered Country also streams on Paramount+

• Science Fiction

How Star Trek's Klingons Evolved the Behind the Scenes

As rich as their onscreen history is, the way Gene L. Coon and Star Trek storytellers created and evolved the Klingons is an equally epic saga.

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Star trek's original series klingons were created by 'the other gene', the klingons were re-imagined for star trek films and the next generation era, how star trek: enterprise reconciled the tos and tng klingon appearances, star trek redesigned the klingons for the kelvin timeline and discovery.

There is a constant question about which alien species is the most iconic in Star Trek : Klingons or Vulcans. While Spock is the most famous alien in the universe, he's also a part of the crew. Worf is the second most famous alien in the universe, and he's still very much at arm's length. They still feel alien in Gene Roddenberry's future. This makes Klingons excellent contenders for the most famous Star Trek alien in history.

As it stands, Klingons are the only Star Trek alien race other than Vulcans to appear in every iteration of the franchise, including most of the films. Early Klingon appearances were even explained away with a particularly clever storyline in Star Trek: Enterprise . Their language -- guttural noises as improvised by James Doohan in Star Trek: The Motion Picture -- became an actual language by Star Trek: The Search for Spock . The Klingons are one of the biggest things Star Trek ever produced, and yet, they almost didn't exist.

William Shatner Joins Leonard Nimoy's Family in Remembering the Star Trek Legend

While Roddenberry gets a lot of credit for dreaming up the show in the first place, Star Trek's other Gene gets too little. Gene L. Coon was a television writer who was extremely prolific at his typewriter, churning out quality scripts and rewrites faster than any other writer. "Whenever there was something going wrong, they would call Gene Coon," Mort Zarcoff said in The Fifty-Year-Mission - The First 25 Years by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman. "He would fix scripts; he would fix pilots. He was a jack-of-all-trades." In multiple interviews, both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy credit Coon for creating much of what fans love about Star Trek , including the Klingons .

The Klingons first appeared in The Original Series Season 1's "Errand of Mercy," a clear allegory between the United States and the Soviet Union. Subsequent appearances depicted them as totalitarians, eager for combat with Starfleet. Story editor and writer Dorothy D.C. Fontana wrote some scenes depicting the Klingons as more ruthless and without honor, but those were cut according to the These Are The Voyages books by Marc Cushman with Susan Osborn. She also wanted to establish a Klingon alliance with the Romulans to explain why they sometimes used the same ships (a budget consideration). Yet, the Klingon culture was mostly undefined. For example, not a word of the Klingon language was ever heard in The Original Series .

The Klingons were depicted with dark brown makeup, beards and golden tunics over black uniforms. Roddenberry and Coon wanted to make them look more alien, but both budget and the time required to shoot the series wouldn't allow for it. William Campbell, who played Koloth in The Original Series and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , said that Gene L. Coon didn't even like the name "Klingon," in a featurette on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country's home release . It only stuck because neither he nor the other writers could think of anything better. When Star Trek came back for its second wave of films and series, the name stayed but the look of the signature heavies of the universe would change drastically.

Star Trek: Section 31 Will Debut a Younger Version of a Next Generation Character

The Klingons appeared in what was almost a cameo in Star Trek: The Motion Picture , when a small fleet of ships are the first vessels destroyed by the approaching V'Ger. Robert Fletcher, the costumer on The Motion Picture , Fred Phillips, the makeup lead, and Roddenberry each shaped the new look of the Star Trek Klingons . Roddenberry took the idea of forehead ridges that were an extension of the spine from a pilot he wrote, according to Cinefantastique. Fletcher then worked with the costume and makeup artists to develop this new look. To him, the evolution of the Klingons was just the realities of production catching up to his imagination.

The updated Klingon look persisted through the films of The Original Series era, and into The Next Generation where Hollywood makeup legend Michael Westmore continued its evolution . He created the ridges, according to the Star Trek VI home release, by copying patterns from dinosaur fossils. This was born from an idea of Fletcher and Roddenberry's concept that the Klingons evolved from reptilian ancestors. This was actually evolved further in the Star Trek: Discovery redesign that proved very controversial among the fans. However, it wasn't until the creation of Worf that the Klingons got a culture .

While developing Star Trek: Phase II the Klingon culture was meant to be examined, and early drafts and notes suggest something very different from the honor-obsessed warrior race. In both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the Klingons were shown less as totalitarians and more of a military culture focused on honor and glory. They were ritualistic and spiritual, following Kahless the Unforgettable, a pre-Federation Klingon historical ruler turned deity. The governmental structure and caste society were examined in numerous episodes of the series. However, it wasn't until the prequel series that the disparity in the Klingon appearance got a canon explanation.

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In Season 4 of Star Trek: Enterprise , Manny Coto took over the show and used the final episodes of this series to examine the history of the universe. One arc featured a crew of genetic augments like Khan Noonien Singh, but this time led by one of Brent Spiner's Dr. Soong characters. In the episode they capture a Klingon vessel, which alerts the still mostly mysterious race to genetic augmentation. A Klingon scientist tries to create augments using the advanced human DNA, creating a super virus.

The cure, created by Dr. Phlox of the NX-01 Enterprise saved the Klingons but smoothed out their ridges and made them look more human . At the end of the episode, Dr. Phlox posits the ridges could return with time or advanced sci-fi surgery. This was added to explain how John Colicos's Kor and Campbell's Koloth showed up on Deep Space Nine with ridges when they didn't have them in The Original Series . It's one of those masterful uses of disparate pieces of Star Trek canon that weave in-real-life limitations together to tell an interesting story that seems as if it was always intended by the various generations of writers.

Star Trek: Picard also, inadvertently, added the subtle notion that Klingon ridges can change . Michael Dorn's Worf returned in that series with a slightly less pronounced set of forehead ridges than in previous series. This was an aesthetic decision (and likely to give Dorn less time in the makeup chair). Yet, those sorts of decisions are always behind the evolution of the look of the Klingons. While fans accepted the upgrade from The Original Series to The Next Generation , future attempts to evolve the look of the Klingons have been met with consternation and outright fan anger.

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A key component of the Kelvin Timeline films was that everything would look different and more modern sci-fi than what was established in past Star Trek series. This meant the Klingons got an upgrade. In the 2009 Star Trek , the Klingons were only seen wearing helmets. In Star Trek: Into Darkness the Klingons were given a sleeker, hairless appearance that leaned into the Roddenberry-esque idea that they evolved from reptiles . Yet, these films never spent much time with the iconic heavies of the 23rd Century iteration of this universe.

Series creator Bryan Fuller, a veteran of Star Trek: Voyager , was the driving force behind the Klingon redesign for 2017's Discovery . Once he left the series, the producers continued to embrace the idea that Klingons evolved from reptiles and used the most advanced prosthetics and makeup to show that. The Klingon language was also extremely accurate in the series, because this was done in the same spirit Phillips, Fletcher and Roddenberry embraced for The Motion Picture .

However, they pushed the limit too far, with the Klingons adopting a more familiar appearance in Discovery Season 2 and reverting to their TNG era look in Strange New Worlds. The Klingons have yet to appear in the 32nd Century future in which Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 takes place. Even if they don't show up in the series' final season, there's sure to be some Klingon encounters in Starfleet Academy , the new young-adult focused series currently in development. Just like Vulcans and starships with dual nacelles, Klingons are never far from Star Trek stories.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

• Locations (alternate reality)
• View history

Qo'noS , alternatively spelled as Q'onoS , also known as Kling or the Klingon homeworld , and transliterated to Kronos in English , was an inhabited class M planet in the Qo'noS system , the homeworld of the warp-capable Klingon species , and the capital planet of the Klingon Empire . ( ENT : " Broken Bow ", " The Expanse ", " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II " display graphic ; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; TNG : " Sins of The Father ", " Redemption "; DS9 : " The House of Quark "; Star Trek Into Darkness ; DIS : " Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad ")

The namesake of Qo'noS were poH qut, time crystals , a mineral which was also a symbol of Kahless . ( DIS : " Through the Valley of Shadows ")

• 1 Astronomical data
• 2 Planetary features
• 3.1 Mirror universe
• 3.2 Alternate reality
• 3.3 Confederation of Earth timeline
• 4.1 Geographical
• 4.2 Flora and fauna
• 5.1 Appearances
• 5.2 Additional references
• 5.3.1 Establishing the homeworld
• 5.3.2 The alternate reality
• 5.3.3 Naming the homeworld
• 5.3.4 Location of Qo'noS and the Empire
• 5.3.5 Trivia
• 5.4 Apocrypha
• 5.5 External links

Astronomical data [ ]

Qo'noS in 2151

Qo'noS in 2367

Qo'noS was located in the Qo'noS system and had one moon , Praxis . The system was in Sector 70 (the Qo'noS sector ) in block 27 , the Omega Leonis sector block, in the Beta Quadrant .

The exact coordinates of the planet were 43.89.26.05 in grid 09 , quad 68 , block 27, sector 70. ( Star Trek Into Darkness , display graphics ) Qo'noS was about four days away from Sol at warp 4.5 ( ENT : " Broken Bow ")

Planetary features [ ]

Described as a "planet of caves ", the planet was composed of a subterranean series of volcanoes , which lay dormant for centuries , to the point of being considered extinct, before becoming alive again in the 2250s . Some caves were of substantial size, including caves not connected to the volcano system. ( DIS : " The War Without, The War Within ", " Will You Take My Hand? ")

The planet's upper atmosphere was dense, preventing Starfleet from conducting long-range topographical and energy analysis , at least until the mid- 24th century . As such, the Federation went into its first war with the Klingons with Qo'nos considered uncharted territory. ( DIS : " The War Without, The War Within ", " Will You Take My Hand? ")

The planet had chaotic weather systems ; thunderstorms were frequent. ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

History [ ]

The capital city in the 2150s

A holographic recreation of the capital city in 2151

As the homeworld of the Klingons and the capital world of the Klingon Empire , Qo'noS housed the Klingon High Council and other important institutions. As claimed by Quark , warp capability was achieved sometime after 1947 and warp 6 had been achieved sometime before 2152 . ( TNG : " Rightful Heir "; DS9 : " Little Green Men "; VOY : " Day of Honor "; ENT : " Judgment ")

Humans first visited Qo'noS in 2151 , when, following first contact with the Klingons, the starship Enterprise , Earth's first deep space exploratory vessel, reached the planet using Vulcan star charts . Enterprise visited the planet again during the next decade , after which it was not visited by Starfleet for nearly a century . ( ENT : " Broken Bow "; DIS : " The War Without, The War Within ")

During the 22nd century , the Vulcans acquired a black market survey of the planet. It remained some of the only intelligence Starfleet had on the planet even a century later. ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

During the late 2250s , the volcanic system underpinning the planet was again alive, after centuries of inactivity. ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

Despite the Klingons' xenophobic views, the Orions held land on Qo'noS, which they used as an " embassy outpost ." The outpost had a hefty non-Klingon population , dominated by Orions, and even the presence of Humans was not significantly questioned. ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

In 2293 , the ozone layer on Qo'noS was severely damaged when Praxis , a key energy -production facility for the Klingon Empire , exploded after an accident involving over-mining, its destruction sending out a subspace shock wave . This event forced planning for the evacuation of Qo'noS and led to the signing of the First Khitomer Accord with the Federation . ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ) The location of Kling in the Milky Way Galaxy was labeled in a star chart that was in Captain James T. Kirk 's quarters aboard the USS Enterprise -A . ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , okudagram )

Wesley Crusher claimed that Qo'noS joined the Federation at some point between 2327 and 2365 . ( TNG : " Samaritan Snare ") The Treaty of Alliance was signed by both parties. ( TNG : " Sarek "). However, the membership of Qo'noS in the Federation was considered to be impossible, as established by Captain Carol Freeman and the Grand Nagus Rom . In the initial negotiations for Ferenginar to join the Federation, a revised agreement stipulated that Ferenginar would receive an immense bonus of latinum if they recruited one additional planet into the Federation. That planet was stipulated as Qo'nos. ( LD : " Parth Ferengi's Heart Place ")

In 2364 , Korris referred to the Klingons who allied with the Federation as " the traitors of Kling. " ( TNG : " Heart of Glory ")

In 2375 , Julian Bashir and Miles O'Brien discovered evidence that covert operations on Qo'noS were currently being conducted and monitored by Section 31 . ( DS9 : " Extreme Measures ")

Mirror universe [ ]

In the mirror universe , Qo'noS was turned into a blackened ball of dust after Terran emperor Philippa Georgiou detonated a hydro bomb in the vents of the planet's volcanic system. This triggered a phreatic eruption and rendered the planet uninhabitable within weeks . The attack didn't result in the extinction of the Klingons, although Terran ships did fire on ships trying to escape. ( DIS : " The War Without, The War Within ", " Will You Take My Hand? ") Subsequently, Georgiou held the title Dominus of Qo'noS . ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ")

Alternate reality [ ]

Qo'noS and its broken moon in the alternate reality

In the alternate reality , Praxis had been fragmented by 2259 , when Khan Noonien Singh took refuge on Qo'noS after attacking Starfleet Headquarters . The USS Enterprise was ordered to execute him using advanced long-range torpedoes , but Captain James T. Kirk elected to descend to Qo'noS in a K'normian trading ship to apprehend Khan instead. After an altercation with a Klingon patrol, Khan surrendered to Kirk once he surmised that his crew were located within the torpedoes. ( Star Trek Into Darkness )

Confederation of Earth timeline [ ]

In an alternate timeline where the fascist Confederation of Earth existed in place of United Earth and subsequently the United Federation of Planets , General Jean-Luc Picard decimated Qo'noS with a bioengineered virus . ( PIC : " Penance ")

Further information [ ]

Geographical [ ].

Orion outpost (2257)

One area of the planet was given to the Orions, who built an embassy outpost there. ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

• Caves of Kahless
• Caves of No'Mat
• Hamar Mountains
• Kang's Summit

A location in Ketha Province on Qo'noS

• Kri'stak volcano
• Lake of Lusor
• Skral River
• Central Plains Area
• Ketha lowlands
• Mekro'vak region

The First City (2366)

The residence of the House of Mo'Kai (2257)

• Bar'or Lhess
• Klingon High Council Chamber
• Klingon nightclub
• Old Quarter
• Ha'r Kling Jaa
• Lhess Taal Dax
• L'vln Lak Raal
• Lyn'Knor Tak
• T'Val K'rang
• Great Domes of Qo'noS

Flora and fauna [ ]

• Grint hound
• Grishnar cat
• Jackal mastiff
• Monster dog
• Kolar beast
• Night-Blooming Throgni
• Serpent of Xol
• Serpent worm

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " Broken Bow "
• " Unexpected " (holographic)
• " Horizon " (on PADD )
• " The Expanse "
• " Will You Take My Hand? "
• " Point of Light "
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• " Sins of The Father "
• " Redemption "
• " Redemption II "
• " The House of Quark "

Additional references [ ]

• " Silent Enemy "
• " Sleeping Dogs "
• " The Augments "
• " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II "
• " Reunion "
• " Unification I "
• " Suspicions "
• " Visionary "
• " The Way of the Warrior "
• " The Sword of Kahless "
• " You Are Cordially Invited "
• " Once More Unto the Breach "
• " When It Rains... "
• " Tacking Into the Wind "
• " Extreme Measures "
• " What You Leave Behind "
• " The Vulcan Hello "
• " Battle at the Binary Stars "
• " Choose Your Pain "
• " The War Without, The War Within "

Background information [ ]

Establishing the homeworld [ ].

During development of the aborted TV series Star Trek: Phase II , John Meredyth Lucas wrote a two-parter, called " Kitumba ", which would have featured the Klingon homeworld. The planet was described as being only marginally larger than Earth . Because of the Klingons' belief in their invincibility, the planet would have had no defense systems. The Klingon warlord, who presided over political and military decisions, resided here. ( Star Trek: Phase II - The Making of the Lost Series )

The Klingon homeworld was also to have featured in the second Star Trek film , as planned by Gene Roddenberry . Susan Sackett wrote that the movie would feature not only an extensive insight into the Klingons' way of life but additionally "an inside look at their home planet." ( The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , p. 215) This also, however, did not enter development beyond the conceptual stage.

In an interview conducted about midway through TNG Season 3 , Worf actor Michael Dorn was asked if he would like the Klingon homeworld to be featured in an episode. He replied, " That's an easy way out. " ( Star Trek: The Official Fan Club Magazine issue 72 , p. 5)

The Klingon homeworld first appeared later in TNG 's third season, in the episode " Sins of The Father ". Both "Our Brother's Keeper” by Beth Woods and "Brother to Dragons" by Drew Deighan , scripts which inspired "Sins of the Father", included the Klingon homeworld; "Brother to Dragons" was partly set on the planet and "Our Brother's Keeper" referenced it. ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray ) Writer Ronald D. Moore was pleased to be asked to script "Sins of the Father" precisely because it was to be the first installment to show the planet. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 114 , p. 58) Director Les Landau similarly relished the task of representing the planet, later enthusing, " Here was an opportunity to explore the Klingon world in depth from beginning to end. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 194)

At the outset of writing "Sins of the Father", Ron Moore provided Co-Executive Producer Michael Piller with an explanatory two-page memo about the Klingons which included the statement, " The Klingon homeworld is a world of extremes. The tilt of the planet's axis results in wild seasonal changes and there is a great deal of volcanic activity. There's a single land mass and an enormous, turbulent ocean . The race we know as Klingon was born on this harsh and brutal planet. " Presumably referring to the same planet, the memo also noted, " The Klingon Empire sprang from a single, relatively poor planet in a modest star system. " ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray ) The final draft script for "Sins of the Father" echoed some of those ideas, stating, " The planet has a single large land mass, and the world is dominated by a vast ocean. The tilt of the planet's axis has created wild seasonal changes and the atmosphere should appear turbulent and showing extremes of both warm and frigid weather on the planet. " [4]

Upon establishing Qo'noS in "Sins of the Father", the creative team opted to give the Klingon homeworld a murky green sky and make the planet, as seen from space, appear primarily green. By way of explanation, Visual Effects Producer Dan Curry stated, " I guess [it was] my homage to [Altair IV in] Forbidden Planet , which had a green atmosphere, and we just felt that there would be a degree of noxiousness on the Klingon homeworld. " ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray )

For "Sins of the Father", Syd Dutton of Illusion Arts was assigned to create a matte painting of the Great Hall and surrounding First City. ( Star Trek Encyclopedia 1st ed., p. 118; 3rd ed., p. 178) When Dutton and Dan Curry were planning this painting, Curry took inspiration from personal experience of having spent much of his youth in Asia, primarily Thailand, Laos, and Nepal. Said Curry, " I wanted the Klingon architecture to kind of be an amalgam of those architectural styles […] Syd immediately got what I was talking about and Syd's first sketch became the final sketch, and Syd would do a sketch on brown wrapping paper in oils and then […] I'd talk to [Executive Producer] Rick Berman and [Co-Producer] Peter Lauritson about it and they would go with it, so we went ahead with the final version. " The illustration was ultimately still an oil painting, though painted on Masonite, and measured about four feet wide. Purposefully making the painting very wide enabled focus on different portions of the illustration to represent different parts of the city.

The matte painting of Qo'noS designed for "Sins of the Father" had some additional elements composited together with it, such as rear-projected footage of people walking around between columns in the exterior of the Great Hall. The painting was also to show the First City amid a lightning storm. " The lightning was composited on an optical printer, not a digital composite, " clarified Dan Curry. " Syd [Dutton] would then paint different angles of light for the reflections, so it wasn't just a flash frame but you felt that the lightning was directional. " The painting was composited by Dutton's partner at Illusion Arts, Bill Taylor . ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray )

Also for "Sins of the Father", Production Designer Richard James and Set Decorator James Mees had to devise the creation of sets for the Klingon homeworld. Les Landau explained, " [They] had to visualize [the planet] in terms of set design and set decoration. Additionally […] Marvin Rush , the cameraman, had to conceptually find a visual representation of what the Klingon world was all about [....] There were long detailed conversations about how, conceptually, we should deal with them [i.e. the challenges of showing the planet in live-action]. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 194)

Multiple sets and set pieces used to represent Qo'noS in "Sins of the Father" were reused from previous Star Trek productions. Ron Moore commented, " We didn't build anything for 'Sins' by itself, I don't think. " Circular arches on the planet were first made for TNG : " The Neutral Zone ", in which they were encompassed in the interior of the cryosatellite featured in that episode. A street in the First City was made from pre-existing set pieces which were integrated especially for "Sins of the Father". Even the Great Hall was substantially redressed from having been used as the laboratory aboard the Tanuga IV research station , shown in " A Matter of Perspective ". ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray )

The sets created for Qo'noS in "Sins of the Father" were hugely successful. " Ultimately, Rick Berman gave the final approval for each and every one of the ideas and details, " stated Les Landau, " and we showed a world that was heretofore never seen before, and which the audience craves to see more of. " As such, Landau was extremely pleased with the amount of effort that James, Mees, and Rush went to in helping depict the planet. ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 194) The interior design of the Klingon Great Hall and other sets in "Sins of the Father" actually earned James and Mees the Emmy Award for Best Art Direction. Upon viewing "Sins of the Father" many years after having written it, Ron Moore was amazed by the extensiveness of the sets for the Klingon homeworld, shortly thereafter remarking, " I was struck by how many sets we had, and this was one of the bigger pieces we did on the show, because we didn't normally have this many sets on an alien world. " ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray )

According to Ron Moore, the entirety of "What Dreams May Come" – a story by Drew Deighan that gradually evolved into becoming " Reunion " – was set in orbit above the Klingon homeworld, involving the Enterprise -D and two Klingon battle cruisers. Production changes prevented the planet appearing in "Reunion" at all, though. " You know, there were lots of sequences down on the Klingon homeworld, " said Moore. " Those got cut very early on. " In early drafts of the outing, the Klingon homeworld was to have been the location where Duras went, after killing K'Ehleyr , pursued there by Worf (who ends up killing Duras) and Riker. ("Reunion" audio commentary , TNG Season 4 Blu-ray ) However, this setting was clearly altered to Duras' Klingon Bird-of-Prey , the IKS Vorn .

For " Redemption II ", a matte painting of the Klingon homeworld on fire, during the Klingon Civil War , was done by Syd Dutton and Robert Stromberg at Illusion Arts. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 23, No. 2/3, p. 35)

Much consideration was given to whether more of the Klingon homeworld would appear in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country than does feature into that film, showing more than just a Klingon courtroom . Screenwriter Mark Rosenthal explained, " What happened was that they felt in terms of budget, recreating the entire planet would be impossible, so it became this prison concept [on Rura Penthe ]. The original idea was to go to the actual capital city. I still think it was a better idea. " ( The Making of the Trek Films , 3rd ed., p. 100)

In a deleted scene from TNG : " Firstborn ", Worf regretfully commented to Deanna Troi that he should have taken Alexander to visit "the Klingon homeworld." ( TNG Season 7 Blu-ray special features)

Ron Moore was happy that DS9 Season 3 installment " The House of Quark " provided an opportunity to revisit Qo'noS, later reminiscing, " I was glad to go to the Klingon homeworld for a change. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 90) Moore also non- canonically imagined that Qo'noS was visited by Worf in the interim between the destruction of the Enterprise in Star Trek Generations and his arrival on Deep Space 9 in DS9 Season 4 premiere " The Way of the Warrior ". ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 104 , pp. 60-61)

In an ultimately discarded line of dialogue from the first draft script of DS9 : " Sons and Daughters ", General Martok , in reference to bloodwine , commented, " I favor the autumn crop from the northern district on Qo'noS. "

In Ron Moore's first draft of DS9's final Klingon episode, " Tacking Into the Wind ", Gowron returned to Qo'noS at the end of the installment. The planet isn't depicted in such a way in the episode's final version, though, as Gowron is instead killed aboard Deep Space 9. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 691); Cinefantastique , Vol. 32, Nos. 4/5, p. 74)

Even though the regular characters on Star Trek: Voyager included half-Klingon B'Elanna Torres , the premise of the series meant the show couldn't regularly feature Qo'noS as a setting. Even references to it were strictly governed over; there was a policy that dictated the Klingon homeworld couldn't be referred to as the Klingon "home planet". ( Star Trek: Voyager - A Vision of the Future , pp. 164 & 323)

At one point, it was rumored that the next Star Trek series after Voyager would probably be set on the Klingon homeworld. Ron Moore dismissed this as "just a rumor." ( AOL chat , 1998 )

Kronos was mentioned in the series bible for Star Trek: Enterprise . In that document, it was stated that, if Hoshi Sato was given ten minutes with a Klingon, she'd soon be chatting about the weather on Kronos.

The script of ENT : " Broken Bow " specified that, in that episode, a visual effect of the Klingon homeworld was to represent the planet during one of its days. The document also detailed the view of the planet thus; " The gothic towers of the Klingon High Council Chamber rise above the smoggy yellow haze of the teeming capital city. " [5] Dan Curry recalled, " My immediate reaction [to the script] was, 'Let's contact Syd Dutton at Illusion Arts.' " ("NX-01 File 02", ENT Season 1 special features) Hence, Illusion Arts went on to create the episode's matte painting of the Klingon capital. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 10 , p. 30) Continued Curry, " We looked at reference photographs and we found a photograph of some place in Morocco or North Africa that was in Syd's library and we loosely based the terrain on it. " Since Dutton was very busy at the time, however, he brought in another matte painter, Bobby Scifo , who did the shot of Qo'noS that was finally used for "Broken Bow". It was decided that this representation of the Klingon homeworld would feature a large canyon. " Some of the staff at Illusion Arts, I think it was John Wong , built a very rough, large-scale model, maybe ten feet across, of this canyon with Klingons in it, " explained Curry. The miniature allowed the team to view the buildings from different perspectives, knowledge which they then used to decide how the final shot would look, incorporating the same buildings from the model. ("NX-01 File 02", ENT Season 1 special features)

During the filming of ENT : " Unexpected ", a green screen , on Paramount Stage 9 , stood in for a holographic view of Kronos, a perspective from "a hilltop overlooking the great city below," as stated in the episode's final draft script. Next, the green screen was replaced with a CGI depiction of that view. ( Information from call sheets )

Brannon Braga opted for the Klingon homeworld not to appear as the location of a Klingon courtroom in the Enterprise installment " Judgment ", which was instead subsequently intended to be on Narendra III . This was because the homeworld had been shown earlier in the series and Enterprise was conceived to generally be, at the point when "Judgment" was due to air, moving further out into space. ("Judgment" audio commentary and podcast)

The holographic view of Kronos from "Unexpected" was also included in an amended complaint of copyright infringement in the case of Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios Inc. vs. Axanar Productions and Alec Peters (the court document was filed on 11 March 2016 ). That document also stated that Qo'noS had first appeared in "Sins of the Father" and had subsequently "played a large role" in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

Star Trek: Discovery Production Designer Tamara Deverell noted, " We decided to go to Qo'noS, but not just the average Klingon Qo'noS. " (" Designing Discovery ", DIS Season 1 DVD & Blu-ray special features) Indeed, when Qo'noS reappeared in DIS Season 1 finale " Will You Take My Hand? ", the design of the planet, particularly the look of a black market Orion outpost in the episode, reflected the fact that the creators of DIS were putting more emphasis on exploring the emotional depths of the combative Klingon people. (For more information, see Orion outpost .) [6]

The alternate reality [ ]

A concept illustration of Qo'noS from orbit

For the planet's appearance in Star Trek Into Darkness , the filmmakers were inspired by Pripyat , the city abandoned due to the Chernobyl disaster that inspired Praxis in The Undiscovered Country . Roberto Orci commented about the planet, " Maybe its civilization was built on top of the old version of the Klingon civilization, so Scott Chambliss did an amazing job of putting the new on top of, sort of, ruins of a city that may have gone through a Praxis-like event. " [7] Chambliss himself explained, " At first, Qo'noS was going to be a super-industrialized place, where the off-product of their industry was so toxic, they basically turned the planet itself into an utter waste zone. In doing that, they altered the environment so much it became a non-stop storming planet. There was only lightning, storm, and crazy wind in the sky. You couldn't even walk the surface of the planet, because it was all oceans of toxicity. They had burrowed down into the planet, as well as built their city on top. They kept building higher and higher because the meth level got higher and higher. "

The concept of the highly polluted Klingon homeworld went on to influence the design of the place. " When it came down to dealing with it, " recalled Scott Chambliss, " the [battle] sequence wasn't fully fleshed out in the beginning, which is normal [....] Ultimately, that took us to a place of trying all different kinds of environmental pieces of this overall picture of toxified Qo'noS [....] I think I did 14 different versions of the set. Each one had a different specificity of what it was, and why it was the way it was. Nothing really landed with J.J. [Abrams .] It finally got to the point where I needed to do something a lot more abstract. " Chambliss also remarked that the area of Qo'noS featured in the battle sequence was "probably a factory" and possibly had been "a munitions factory" or "a place for building spacecraft." ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 172 , p. 67)

Scott Chambliss took classical influence for the columns in this region. " The quadrant of the city where the action takes place is sort of an interpretation of the Roman Colosseum , the warrens below the Colosseum floor, " he said. [8]

The idea of designing the set in an extremely abstract way led Scott Chambliss to propose a particular feature of the site, which he described as a "big, glowing, lensy thing in the background, the big halo." This element was based on the sculptural installation The Weather Project . " That was the thing I kept staring at, and seeing the scale of a Human being in front of it, " he reflected, " and thought, 'This is so cool. Maybe this is a way into what we're doing, playing with a massive sunburst or light source, or whatever the hell it was going to be, against our villain, who is supposed to be the baddest guy on Earth.' But the epic scale of that glow even makes this huge bad guy look tiny.' " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 172 , p. 67)

Concept artwork showing a scene amid Qo'noS

Following the set's construction, the rest of the planet was fleshed out. At Pixomondo , the look of the world was designed by CG Supervisor Enrico Damm and Compositing Supervisor Dan Cobbett . Remembered Pixomondo Visual Effects Supervisor Ben Grossmann , " The way J.J. turned it over to us was as a moody and atmospheric environment [....] For the larger planet and the flying through it, we tried to take as many design cues from the partial, destroyed set that was there as far as textures and design angles, and extrapolate from that what a city, planet, and building would look like. ” These aspects became a combination of industrial areas and ten-mile-high building spires existing in the dense, polluted air. Pixomondo also developed a toxic atmosphere from which the D4-class ships could appear. Grossmann added, “ We took reference from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and from really tall and spire-y buildings [....] What I liked was when you see pictures photographed from up there, the buildings are so tall that they peek through the clouds and you have no real sense of how far you are away from the ground. That gave us the idea to build the planet Kronos in atmospheric layers. We tried to imagine what a planet like Jupiter would be like underneath all these layers of the atmosphere. "

The upper levels of Qo'noS were based on thinking that, in the upper atmosphere of a Jupiter-like planet, there might be occasional clarity amongst the thick clouds. “ As we start to descend down through the atmosphere, " stated Ben Grossmann, " we had the idea to almost give it an underwater feel. We figured that with that much humidity and moisture to create a toxic cloud, you’d imagine there’s a lot of toxic sludge around. We ran a bunch of waterfall simulations and we allowed pretty high amounts of accumulated condensation to create these toxic waterfalls. ”

Lower in the planet's atmosphere, the lighting shifted to seem akin to an underwater cave, with shafts of light scattering in the atmosphere and illuminating the environment. “ We realized the most effective way to nail this look and make it feel real was by rendering as much as possible the volumes of atmosphere all in one, ” Ben Grossmann recounted. “ Normally you just render lighting passes and let the compers dial in the balance [....] But when you’re shooting everything through a really heavy atmosphere, that technique doesn’t work anymore. So what you have to do is render the effects volumes properly lit from within and calculating the qualities of the light as they move through varying densities of the atmosphere. Needless to say, that was quite a render hog but gave us the look we were going for in the end. ”

The fluid simulations were done in Naiad, whereas volumetric effects – such as atmospheric swirls from wing tips – were rendered in FumeFX. Ben Grossmann concluded, " To help give a sense of scale to these volumes we ran blowing air debris and bits of ash and detritus as fluid sims rendered out with Thinking Particles. And we used Krakatoa too […] Buildings [were] rendered in V-Ray. " Minor CGI was involved even in the area used for the battle sequence, such as tattered pieces of fabric which were included as ground elements and were created as cloth sims. [9]

Naming the homeworld [ ]

It took a long time before the Klingon homeworld received a definitive name on-screen. Ron Moore later remembered, " There was a matter of great debate, within the [TNG] staff, about naming the Klingon homeworld. It was one of these tedious discussions that went on ad nauseum , far beyond its actual importance, because writers would just sort of name the Klingon homeworld and then everyone would hate it […] Memos flew around about this, and we'd sit and we would write all these Klingon names […] to try and come up with something that sounded decent and interesting and strong, for their homeworld. " ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray ) During the making of "Sins of the Father", linguist Marc Okrand was invited to name the planet. " The Homeworld was a big deal, " Okrand recalled. " I actually came up with about six names, some sounded good, some actually meant something. Paramount gave them to Gene Roddenberry and he picked his favorite. I had no further connection with it until I saw the episode and all they said was 'we're going to the Homeworld.' " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 114 , p. 58) Indeed, the writing staff went through a period, between considering names, in which they planned to refer to the planet merely as "the homeworld." Commented Ron Moore, " Then that got awkward, 'cos you were constantly saying, 'on the homeworld,' and, 'Where's the homeworld?' [and] 'Set course for the homeworld.' And so we started trying to come up with a name. " ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray )

Several names for the planet have been established on screen and in reference works. An NBC press release which was issued on 3 January 1968 and pertained to " A Private Little War ", for instance, referred to the Klingon planet's name simply as "Klingon." ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two ) As another example, the Star Trek: Phase II episode "Kitumba" referred to the Klingon homeworld as "Ultar". ( Star Trek: Phase II - The Making of the Lost Series ) According to Ron Moore, Marc Okrand suggested naming the planet either "tlhIngan" (the unofficial Klingonese name for the Klingon species) or something similar, which Moore considered "almost unpronounceable." ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray )

• Kronos : The Klingon homeworld remained canonically unnamed until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , in which it was identified as "Kronos", spelled that way in the film's script. [10] It was Marc Okrand who originally contributed this name, though he took a long while to come up with it. The writing staff of TNG were reluctant to adopt the moniker. Ron Moore stated, " Rick [Berman] or Michael [Piller] or somebody didn't want to use it in the show, like that name was not to be used, and we were just gonna call it the homeworld […] Eventually, I think, it came back around to Kronos, to the point where everyone had forgotten why they objected to it in the first place. " ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray ) The spelling "Kronos" was also used in most of the scripts of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes. [11] It was also used in the series bible for Star Trek: Enterprise and the scripts for the ENT episodes " Broken Bow " [12] , " Unexpected ", " Silent Enemy ", " Bounty ", " Home " (the latter of which can be seen in the ENT Season 4 Blu-ray ), and " The Augments ". The same spelling was also used in the call sheets and shooting schedule for "Unexpected". According to the pronunciation guide in the script of DS9 : " Tears of the Prophets ", "KRO-nos" is the phonetic spelling of "Kronos". [13] The pronunciation guide in the "Unexpected" script notated its pronunciation the same way, as did the script pronunciation guide for "Silent Enemy". The spelling "Kronos" was first seen on-screen in Star Trek Into Darkness .
• Qo'noS : According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia  (3rd ed., p. 253) and Marc Okrand's reference book The Klingon Dictionary , "Kronos" is the pronunciation and Anglicized form of the Klingonese word "Qo'noS". According to the Klingonese transcription of the Klingon death chant from the script of "Tears of the Prophets", however, "Kronos" is the way the name is spelled in Klingonese as well. [14] The alternate spelling "QO'NOS" was sometimes used instead of "KRONOS" in closed-captioning, in the official DVD releases of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes for example. On screen, the first time the spelling "QO'NOS" appeared was in Star Trek Into Darkness , displayed on the viewscreen of the Enterprise when Sulu sends a message to John Harrison. [15] The spelling Qo'noS was also exclusively used in the novelization of Star Trek Into Darkness and in the aforementioned court document pertaining to copyright infringement and Star Trek: Axanar .
• Q'onoS : The planet's name is consistently (I.e. twice) spelled "Q'onoS" on-screen in a personnel file for Hoshi Sato , which appears in ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ".
• QonoS : In Klingonese dialogue from ENT : " Sleeping Dogs ", the planet's name was spelled "QonoS" in the episode's final draft script.
• Chronos : "Chronos" was a more rare alternative spelling, used in the scripts of only two Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes. These were " Once More Unto the Breach " [16] and " Extreme Measures ". [17]

The location of Kling in "The Explored Galaxy" star chart

• Kling : The original behind-the-scenes name for the planet was apparently "Kling", thought up by Gene Coon , who also originally conceived the Klingon species. D.C. Fontana stated, " Once we asked him, 'Where do Klingons come from? What's the name of their planet?' He said [laughing], 'Kling.' " ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One ) "Kling" was additionally used as an alternate name for the Klingon homeworld during the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation . The name was first mentioned on-screen in TNG : " Heart of Glory " and depicted as a location on "The Explored Galaxy" star chart. At the time "Heart of Glory" was written, "Kling" was in fact intended as the name of the Klingon homeworld, but once the episode was filmed, it was realized that the name sounded pretty silly. ( Star Trek Encyclopedia  (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 426)) Despite this, either "Our Brother’s Keeper" or "Brother to Dragons" reused the name, with the other script using a similar alternative. Ron Moore noted, " I think one just called it 'Kling,' which felt bad, and the other called it 'Klinga,' which was even worse. " ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu-ray ) In the audio commentary for "Sins of the Father", Star Trek Encyclopedia co-writer Denise Okuda tells Ron Moore, " I'm glad you got away from 'Kling,' " and proceeds to mock the name with him. In the Star Trek Encyclopedia (3rd ed,. p. 243), "Kling" was referenced as a district or a city on the Klingon homeworld, apparently due to the name having been deemed silly following the making of "Heart of Glory". In dialogue deleted from "Heart of Glory", Worf said, " Could we speak English, sir? I am not comfortable in Kling. " with the implication being that Kling was the official name for the Klingon Language , as well. [18] . According to the reference book Star Trek: Star Charts (pp. 55 & 56), "Kling" is an alternative name for the homeworld, in common with "Kronos" and "Qo'noS". The nature of Kling was finally confirmed as an alternative name for Qo'noS during the first season of Star Trek: Discovery , of which several episodes, most notably " Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad " showed a map based on the Star Trek: Star Charts . The word "Kling" also appears in the name of the Qo'noS city of Ha'r Kling Jaa and the "data point" on the planet named Vort Kling Tuuk .
• Klingonii, Klinzhai, Kazh : Reference works that predate Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country have offered several other names. According to the Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual (released in 1977 ), the Klingon homeworld was the planet "Klingonii", also known as "Epsilon Sagittarii B". According to Star Trek Maps ' Chart B (released in 1980 ), the homeworld was the planet "Kazh" and the star it orbited was called "Klingon". In the reference book The Worlds of the Federation (pp. 45, 114, & 154), the homeworld was called both "Klinzhai" and "Kling". The name "Klinzhai" first appeared in the 1984 novel The Final Reflection . "Kling" and "Klinzhai" have also been used in the FASA RPG and various other novels, as well as in the Star Trek: Starfleet Command video game series, before the release of Star Trek VI .

Location of Qo'noS and the Empire [ ]

In dialogue, the Klingons have always been exclusively identified as an Alpha Quadrant race. The Klingon association with the Alpha Quadrant began to be established in Star Trek: The Next Generation . In " A Matter Of Honor ", the Klingons are mentioned as having had a series of skirmishes with the Romulans along their shared border. In " Reunion ", K'Ehleyr states that Klingon wars are rarely confined to the Empire. She suggests the current war might eventually spread to the neighboring star systems, and eventually to the Tholians and the Ferengi . All three were later established to be Alpha Quadrant powers, in such episodes as DS9 : " The Search, Part II " and " Call to Arms " and VOY : " Q2 ".

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes confirmed what had already been stated, additionally adding to it. In " The Die is Cast ", the Dominion identify the Klingons as a threat originating from the Alpha Quadrant. " The Way of the Warrior " was the first episode that implied that the Klingons and the Cardassians share a border. In that installment, the Klingon Empire launches an attack against the Cardassian Union for the best interest of the Alpha Quadrant. In " Blaze of Glory ", Captain Benjamin Sisko and Martok discuss a Dominion retaliation, saying that it would be not only against the Federation but also against the Klingons and the entire Alpha Quadrant. In " Tears of the Prophets ", Sisko states that the Klingons, along with the Humans and the Romulans, have one goal: to drive the Dominion out of the Alpha Quadrant. In " When It Rains... ", Chancellor Gowron envisions the Klingon Empire as the saviors of the Alpha Quadrant if they can drive the Dominion out of the quadrant.

The association between Qo'noS and the Alpha Quadrant was carried over to the dialogue in Star Trek: Voyager as well. In " Faces ", Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres boasts that Klingon females are renowned in the Alpha Quadrant for their physical prowess and voracious sexual appetites. In " Flashback ", Captain Kathryn Janeway reminisces about what it would be like to live in Captain James T. Kirk 's era, with the Alpha Quadrant still largely unexplored and Humans on the verge of war with the Klingons. In " Flesh and Blood ", Chakotay identifies the Klingon bat'leth as an Alpha Quadrant weapon.

The close proximity of Qo'noS and Earth was established in the pilot episode " Broken Bow " of Star Trek: Enterprise . Qo'noS was located only four days away for a starship traveling at warp 4.5 . " Two Days and Two Nights " established that this was at most only ninety light years away, as that was the farthest away from Earth any Human had ever gone, up to that point.

In Star Trek Into Darkness , Qo'noS' close proximity to Earth was further confirmed, as faster starships could easily reach the planet from the Sol system and return within a day. The film also includes a star chart display graphic of the Neutral Zone and the Klingon Empire seen in the offices of Admirals Pike and Marcus; while not in focus or legible in the film itself, the star chart graphic was labeled, in the lower corner, as a map of the Alpha Quadrant. All the vagueness about the homeworld was at least concluded in a targeted comm burst display graphic from the film, directly establishing the location of the planet Qo'noS to be in the Beta Quadrant . [19]

Before this, reference works that predated Star Trek: The Next Generation have depicted the location of the Klingon Empire and the homeworld in what has been, later on, established as the Alpha Quadrant. These include such works as the Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual (T0:02:07:00) and Star Trek Maps (Chart A). More recent reference works have, however, moved the Klingon Empire into the Beta Quadrant. They show that the Empire borders only the Romulan Star Empire and the United Federation of Planets . Despite the conflicting canonical dialogue references establishing the Ferengi and the Cardassians as neighbors of the Empire, they are depicted on the other side of the Federation, away from the Klingons in these graphics. Only one of these star chart graphics depicting the Klingons in the Beta Quadrant has made a brief on-screen appearance, as a display graphic on a PADD in Star Trek: Insurrection . [20] [21] The information on the PADD, though, was completely illegible on screen. [22]

According to Star Trek: Star Charts (p. 55), the capital city for the uniglobal government and for the Klingon Empire was the First City of Qo'noS. The dominant species on the planet were the Klingons . Points of interest on this world were the Great Hall , Qam-Chee , Tong Vey , Quin'lat , Temple of G'boj, Kri'stak volcano , Lake of Lusor , and Caves of Kahless. The Klingons were warp-capable in 930 AD . The planet was on the front line during the brief Klingon Civil War of 2368 . In 2378 , there were 3.84 billion Klingons living on the planet. Star Trek: Star Charts also shows Qo'nos as clearly being in the Beta Quadrant (p. 55), in very close proximity to Theta Hydrae , which is approximately 113ly from Sol, not the 90ly stated in dialogue. A Star Charts -derived chart seen in " Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad " corroborates this.

One theory (relayed by Richard Arnold but effectively disproved in the Star Trek: Enterprise two-parter " Affliction " and " Divergence ") held that alternate hemispheres of the Klingon homeworld were responsible for the differences between Klingons with cranial ridges and those without. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 104 , p. 12) Since a range of white and African-American performers played Klingons on Star Trek: The Next Generation , different hemispheres of the planet were indeed given associations for the contrasts in the make-up. Make-Up Supervisor Michael Westmore explained, " We settled on this strategy: all the natural brown-toned actors were Northern Klingons [....] All the fair-skinned actors were Southern Klingons. " ( Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts , p. 68) A similar hypothesis was suggested by Brannon Braga ; shortly prior to the premiere of Enterprise in 2001 , he postulated, " Maybe there's a subspecies from a different continent on the Klingon homeworld. " [23] (X)

In reply to a Klingon-loving fan criticizing John Colicos ' pronunciations of Klingonese in DS9 : " Blood Oath ", Colicos claimed an obscure area of the planet was where his character of Kor was from. " I said, 'Oh, I come from a section of the Klingon planet |over the hills and far away – in the southern part, where it's warmer,' " the actor relayed. ( The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine  issue 15 , p. 17)

The soundtrack of Star Trek Into Darkness references this planet; one composition is titled "The Kronos Wartet", which like every track by Michael Giacchino , is also a pun, in this case referencing the Kronos Quartet .

Apocrypha [ ]

In the computer game Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and its sequel, Star Trek: Judgment Rites , the computer data bank mentions the Klingons " originate from the planet Kling. "

The short story "A Warrior's Path" in New Worlds, New Civilizations references Kling as a city on Qo'noS.

External links [ ]

• Qo'noS at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Kling at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Re-Used Planets in TNG  at Ex Astris Scientia

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published Apr 21, 2023

Klingon on the Bridge

Star Trek has demonstrated those who began as antagonists can be welcomed into the Federation and Starfleet as allies later.

StarTrek.com / Rob DeHart

In Star Trek : The Original Series , Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise face several recurring antagonists, including the Klingon Empire. First introduced in the first season episode, “ Errand of Mercy ,” Klingons often serve as the antagonists of Starfleet and the Federation of Planets in the subsequent original crew movies.

But thanks to the vantage point offered by the larger Star Trek story, we can see how these enemies will eventually become friends. One hundred years after TOS, in Star Trek: The Next Generation , the Klingon Empire is no longer the enemy of the Federation — they are allies. To drive this point home, there’s even a Klingon on the Bridge of the flagship U.S.S. Enterprise -D. Beginning with the very first episode, “ Encounter at Farpoint ,” Worf is present on Bridge duty.

StarTrek.com

How would Kirk and his crew react to knowing a Klingon is part of the flagship Bridge crew? Given the misgivings Kirk has about inviting Klingons over for dinner in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , one has to imagine, not that well ! But Worf being appointed a member of the Enterprise -D’s Bridge crew demonstrates one of the most important recurring themes of Star Trek — while we may believe a certain demographic is our sworn enemy at one point of history, these antagonistic relationships will eventually degrade.

In Star Trek: Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry by David Alexander, a letter written by Gene Roddenberry to his friend, a Paramount executive, expressed his concern that, over the course of the first three Star Trek movies, “many people” began to develop an erroneous perception of the Klingons as the “bad guys.” Roddenberry wrote that he had received letters from “the most respected of fans and SF writers, their concern being Star Trek seemed to be deteriorating into a two-dimensional ‘good guys vs bad guys’ space opera.”

To remedy this, and dispel any further “outdated preoccupation with the Klingons,” an effective method of eradicating an enemy was deployed — making them a friend. When The Next Generation arrived, the premiere episode featured a Bridge crew that includes Worf, the first Klingon to serve in Starfleet .

When considered in the context of how difficult it was for Kirk and his crew to even accept the presence of Klingons on the Enterprise in The Undiscovered Country , the significance of the fact that Worf is a member of the “inner circle” comprised by the Bridge crew of the Enterprise -D becomes clear.

The Klingon Empire no long plays the role of “antagonistic aliens” when they face Picard and his crew over the course of TNG. In fact, the first officer of the Enterprise -D, William Riker even participates in an officer exchange program to foster better understanding between the Klingons and the Federation in the episode “ A Matter of Honor .”

However, there are other extraterrestrials that play an antagonistic role over the course of TNG, including the Ferengi and the Borg, both introduced in the series, as well as the Romulans , who played an antagonistic role alongside the Klingons during The Original Series. But just as we saw a Klingon on the Bridge in TNG, subsequent Star Trek shows have demonstrated that the enemies of the TNG-era will eventually be welcomed into the fold.

In fact, for the Ferengi , this shift in perspective began before TNG had even concluded. When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine debuted during TNG’s fifth season, a Ferengi wasn’t exactly a member of the Bridge crew, but he was a member of the main cast. As Quark, Armin Shimerman played a more nuanced Ferengi than he portrayed in the TNG episode “The Last Outpost.”

As an integral element of daily life on DS9, Quark was an important part of the lives of the Starfleet officers who resided there. As DS9 progresses, we saw stories set on his homeworld of Ferenginar, learning more about its culture, government, and history.

Furthermore, Quark’s nephew Nog became the first Ferengi in Starfleet. We see how important this development is on Star Trek: Discovery episode “ Coming Home ,” when the crew of the Discovery sees the U.S.S. Nog , an Eisenberg -class starship, upon their arrival at Federation Headquarters in the 32nd Century.

The Borg repeat this pattern of enemy-to-ally. After being first introduced in the episode “ Q Who? ,” the Borg not only play a recurring antagonistic role on the series, they serve as the primary enemy in the movie Star Trek: First Contact .

In the third season finale of Star Trek: Voyager , however, Captain Janeway begins to integrate an ex-Borg into her ship’s crew — Seven of Nine . This decision faces plenty of opposition from members of the crew, including First Officer Chakotay. At one point, he suggests that Borg are intrinsically “evil,” citing the parable of the scorpion and the frog to illustrate his point.

With our removed vantage point, we can see how deeply erroneous this harsh judgment of Seven proves to be. On Voyager , we see Seven eventually integrated into the crew. Her unique knowledge, gained from her time as a member of the Collective, has a material affect on the progress of their mission, shaving years off their return voyage. One example is the astrometrics lab she constructs with Harry Kim utilizing her ex-B knowledge. Furthermore, we see how her experience helps other former members of the Borg begin to rehabilitate, demonstrated through her relationship with Icheb.

The Borg progression from antagonist to ally continues in Star Trek: Picard . Seven returns, becoming a member of the unconventional “Bridge crew” Picard assembles during the first two seasons of the series. In fact, that Bridge crew that also includes the Romulan& Elnor, who even visits The Black Mountain during the show’s second season.

Backwards to Go Forwards

In Star Trek: Enterprise , we how this formula is reverse-engineered to continue to underscore this theme. While previous shows jumped into The Original Series’ future, Enterprise returned to the origins of Starfleet. This meant the friendly being on the Bridge in TOS, the half-Vulcan Spock, might embody someone who was not so quickly considered trustworthy 100 years in the past.

On Enterprise , the Bridge crew includes T’Pol , a representative for the Vulcans . While T’Pol eventually becomes closely enmeshed with the rest of the crew and eventually joins Starfleet herself, the earliest steps into space are accompanied by a general distrust of not just T’Pol, but the role the Vulcans have generally played in humanity’s nascent interstellar exploration.

By returning to a period in which humanity is distrustful of Vulcans, Enterprise reveals that the trusting relationship between the two species is not, as it might seem, a given.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - The Gorn Reborn

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , another prequel to TOS, another species that will eventually become allied with the Federation plays a significant role — the Gorn .

In the story so far on SNW, La’An Noonien-Singh is unforgiving of the Gorn. During the first season, the vengeful wrath of La’An can be frequently glimpsed; the Enterprise ’s security officer has not hesitated to take revenge for her experiences with the Gorn as a child. In the episode “ Memento Mori ,” she states that in spite of Federation teaching to the contrary, Gorn are monsters.

But in the TOS episode “ Arena ,” we saw Kirk show mercy towards a Gorn captain, impressing the entity that has pitted the human captain against the reptilian one. Furthermore, thanks to dialogue in DS9, we know humans will eventually participate in baseball leagues on Cestus III, suggesting peace with the Gorn Hegemony (considering the planet is located in their territory). And in Star Trek: Lower Decks , we saw one manning the “Mr. Krada Leg” stand, suggesting full integration into Federation culture.

Balance of Canon

Gorn culinary skills aren’t the only facet of Star Trek canon that gets Second Contact thanks to Lower Decks . Although Star Trek: The Animated Series has sometimes been considered less-than-canonical by certain factions, by incorporating species that were first introduced in TAS, Lower Decks reintroduces these “enemies of canon” into the Star Trek landscape.

On the Bridge crew of the Cerritos , there’s Doctor T’Ana, a Caitian who serves as the ship’s Chief Medical Officer. While the Enterprise ’s Bridge crew on TAS included M’Ress, Caitians had been scarcely glimpsed since.

By including T’Ana in Captain Freeman’s Bridge crew, Lower Decks spotlights Caitians in a way that makes their inclusion in Star Trek canon hard to deny. And in “ We’ll Always Have Tom Paris ,” Tendi and Mariner’s girls' trip affords a deeper glimpse into Caitian culture, using TAS canon as a foundation for further expansion.

T’Ana isn’t the only example of Lower Decks' canonical rehabilitation. The captain of the Osler in “ Much Ado About Boimler ” was an Edosian , a six-legged species unseen since Arex appeared on the Enterprise bridge in TAS. And in “ I, Excretus ,” we meet drill instructor Shari yn Yem, a colony creature called a Pandronian , first introduced in the TAS episode “Bem.”

Pandronians, Edosians, and Caitains each have unique physiological characteristics that could prove challenging to depict with verisimilitude in live-action. This helps explain why they have seldom been seen in the decades since TAS went off-air. But the animated Lower Decks gives these characters a chance to return (and Star Trek: Prodigy is already continuing the tradition with the inclusion of another Caitian character in the first half of its first season).

Unapologetic on the Bridge

But it isn’t just inter-canonical concerns that can be addressed by who appears on the Bridge. Inclusion in the Bridge crew can also send powerful messages about life on Earth in the 20th and 21st Centuries.

One example is the appearance of Comm Officer Uhura on the Bridge of the Enterprise on The Original Series. According to an interview with Nichelle Nichols conducted in December 2003, unbeknownst to “the suits,” in advance of filming The Original Series, Gene Roddenberry switched the previously unnamed communications officer from man to woman, cast Nichols, and named her “Uhura.”

Nichols explained that when they realized “not only” was she the comm officer, but “the part was much larger than ‘yes sir, no sir;’ they said, ‘it can’t happen.’” Nichols explained Roddenberry stood firm in his resolve, “Gene said, ‘She stays or I go.’”

In a January 2004 interview with George Takei, the actor who originated Sulu expanded on Roddenberry’s philosophy, “He said that the starship Enterprise was a metaphor for the starship Earth, and the strength of that starship lay in its diversity, but in that diversity working together in concert.”

The second season of TOS doubled down on these ideas with the addition of Pavel Chekov to the Enterprise Bridge crew. Played by Walter Koenig, a child of Russian Jewish immigrants, if Chekov’s accent failed to make it obvious that the character hailed from Russia, his dialogue would (for example, in the episode “ The Apple ,” he claims the Garden of Eden was just outside Moscow).

When Chekov first appeared on-screen in 1967, the United States was entrenched in the Cold War with the U.S.S.R. By including Chekov on the Enterprise Bridge, a powerful message was conveyed; if we are going to get to the future, we can only do so together, regardless of arbitrary national boundaries.

The Undiscovered Country

In The Undiscovered Country , Chancellor Gorkon tells Kirk, “If there is to be a brave new world, our generation is going to have the hardest time living in it.” But thanks to the long chronology of Star Trek , we know that the prediction made by the Organians in “Errand of Mercy” will prove correct. The “brave new world” will come into being, and the next generation of Klingons and humans will serve alongside one another on the Bridge of the flagship.

Over the course of the larger Star Trek story, the relationship between the Federation and the Klingon Empire demonstrates delineation between “us” and “them” is less indelible than we might be inclined to think. The only thing that truly separates allies from enemies is time.

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Avery Kaplan (she/her) is the Features Editor at Comics Beat. You can also find her writing on NeoText, Geek Girl Authority, Comics Bookcase, and in many issues of the Eisner Award-winning PanelxPanel. She is the co-host of the Matrix 404 podcast and the Comm Officer at Prism Comics. Find her on Twitter @averykaplan6

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 is available to stream on Netflix outside of markets including Canada where it is available on CTV.ca and the CTV App, France on France Televisions channels and Okoo, in Iceland on Sjonvarp Simans Premium, as well as on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Central and Eastern Europe. Star Trek: Prodigy is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Star Trek: Lower Decks streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel. The series will also be available to stream on Paramount+ in the UK, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Italy, France, the Caribbean, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and South Korea.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

In addition to streaming on Paramount+ , Star Trek: Picard also streams on Prime Video outside of the U.S. and Canada, and in Canada can be seen on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. Star Trek: Picard is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In addition, the series airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave in Canada and on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

William shatner: kirk.

• Photos (70)
• Quotes (58)

Photos 

Quotes 

[last lines] 

[Kirk's final Captain's Log] 

Captain James T. Kirk : Captain's Log, stardate 9529.1. This is the final cruise of the Starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun, and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man... where no *one* has gone before.

General Chang : "To be or not to be?" That is the question which preoccupies our people, Captain Kirk. We need breathing room.

Captain James T. Kirk : Earth, Hitler, 1938.

General Chang : I beg your pardon.

Chancellor Gorkon : Well... I see we have a long way to go.

Captain James T. Kirk : Spock, you want to know something? Everybody's human.

Captain Spock : I find that remark... insulting.

[Kirk and company have prevented the assassination attempt at Khitomer] 

Azetbur : What's happened? What's the meaning of all of this?

Captain James T. Kirk : It's about the future, Madame Chancellor. Some people think the future means the end of history. Well, we haven't run out of history quite yet. Your father called the future - "the undiscovered country". People can be very frightened of change.

Azetbur : You've restored my father's faith.

Captain James T. Kirk : And you've restored my son's.

General Chang : I can see you, Kirk.

Captain James T. Kirk : Chang.

General Chang : Can you see me? Oh, now be honest, Captain, warrior to warrior. You do prefer it this way, don't you, as it was meant to be? No peace in our time. "Once more unto the breach, dear friends."

[Dictating his personal log] 

Captain James T. Kirk : Captain's log, stardate 9522.6: I've never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I could never forgive them for the death of my boy. It seems to me our mission to escort the Chancellor of the Klingon High Council to a peace summit is problematic at best. Spock says this could be an historic occasion, and I'd like to believe him, but how on earth can history get past people like me?

[on whether to help the Klingons] 

Captain James T. Kirk : They're animals.

Captain Spock : Jim, there is an historic opportunity here.

Captain James T. Kirk : Don't believe them. Don't trust them.

Captain Spock : They're dying.

Captain James T. Kirk : Let them die!

[pauses... Spock cocks his head in surprise. Kirk recoils and proceeds] 

Captain James T. Kirk : Has it occurred to you that this crew is due to stand down in three months? We've done our bit for king and country! You should have trusted me.

Captain James T. Kirk : [In a conversation with Spock]  You're a great one for logic. I'm a great one for rushing in where angels fear to tread. We are both extremists. Reality is probably somewhere in between. I couldn't get past the death of my son.

Captain Spock : I was prejudiced by her accomplishments as a Vulcan.

Captain James T. Kirk : Gorkon had to die before I understood how prejudiced I was.

Captain James T. Kirk : Valeris, know anything about a radiation surge?

Lieutenant Valeris : Sir?

Captain James T. Kirk : Chekov?

Commander Pavel Chekov : Only the size of my head.

Captain James T. Kirk : [to himself]  I know what you mean.

Uhuru : Captain, I have orders from Starfleet Command. We're to put back to spacedock immediately to be decommissioned.

Captain Spock : If I were human, I believe my response would be... "go to hell." If I were human.

Commander Pavel Andreievich Chekov : Course heading, Captain?

Captain James T. Kirk : Second star to the right and straight on till morning.

[after Kirk wins a fight against an alien twice his size] 

Martia : They'll respect you now.

Captain James T. Kirk : That's a comfort. I was lucky that thing had knees.

Martia : That was not his knee.

[Kirk looks at Martia in surprise] 

Martia : Not everyone keeps their genitals in the same place, Captain.

Captain James T. Kirk : Anything you want to tell me?

[Martia smiles at Kirk] 

Captain James T. Kirk : I'm going to sleep this off. Please let me know if there's some other way we can screw up tonight.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : I'm gonna find myself a pot of black coffee.

Captain James T. Kirk : [on the viewscreen]  Captain Sulu! You realize that just by talking to me, you're violating regulations?

Captain Hikaru Sulu : I'm sorry, Captain, your message is breaking up...

Captain James T. Kirk : Bless you, Captain.

Captain James T. Kirk : Bones, are you afraid of the future?

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : I believe that was the general idea that I was trying to convey.

Captain James T. Kirk : I don't mean this future.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : What is this, multiple choice?

[the crew enter the bridge] 

Kirk : Once again, we've saved civilization as we know it.

McCoy : And the good news is they're not going to prosecute.

Uhuru : They might as well have prosecuted me. I felt like Lt. Valeris.

McCoy : [looks at Spock]  Well, they don't prosecute people for having feelings.

Chekov : Just as well, or we'll all have to turn ourselves in.

Captain James T. Kirk : Bones, I'm wearing a veridium patch on my back! Spock slapped it there just before we went on Gorkon's ship!

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Why, that cunning little Vulcan!

Martia : Come on! We're in the clear!

Captain James T. Kirk : Now that we're outside the shield, they'll be able to locate us two sectors away.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : If they're even looking for us.

McCoy : [after Kirk and Martia kiss passionately]  What IS it with you, anyway?

Kirk : Still think we're finished?

McCoy : More than ever!

[Kirk is fighting with Martia disguised as Kirk] 

Captain James T. Kirk : I can't believe I kissed you.

Martia (appearing as Kirk) : Must have been your lifelong ambition.

Captain James T. Kirk : [dictating his personal log]  The Enterprise hosted Chancellor Gorkon and company to dinner last night. Our manners weren't exactly Emily Post. Note to the Galley; Romulan Ale no longer to be served at diplomatic functions.

Captain James T. Kirk : Names, Lieutenant!

Lieutenant Valeris : I do not remember.

Captain Spock : A lie?

Lieutenant Valeris : A choice.

Captain James T. Kirk : Spock?

[Valeris recoils as he tries to mind-meld, but he restrains her] 

Lieutenant Valeris , Captain Spock : Admiral... Cartwright.

Chekov : From Starfleet?

Captain James T. Kirk : Who else?

Lieutenant Valeris , Captain Spock : General... Chang.

Lieutenant Valeris , Captain Spock : Romulan... ambassador... Nanclus.

Captain James T. Kirk : Where is the peace conference? Where is the peace conference?

[as Valeris gasps in pain, Spock lets her go] 

Captain Spock : She does not know.

Scotty : Then we're dead.

Captain Spock : I've been dead before. Contact Excelsior. She'll have the coordinates.

Captain Spock : The lieutenant was the first Vulcan to be graduated at the top of her class at the Academy.

Captain James T. Kirk : You must be very proud.

Lieutenant Valeris : I don't believe so, sir.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : She's a Vulcan, all right.

Captain James T. Kirk : Mr. Scott?

Captain Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott : [over intercom]  Aye, sir?

Captain James T. Kirk : Did you find the engine room?

Captain Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott : Right where I left it, sir!

Captain James T. Kirk : Where's that damn torpedo?

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : It's ready, Jim. Lock and load!

Captain James T. Kirk : [clenches fist]  Fire!

Chancellor Gorkon : And this is General Chang, my chief of staff.

General Chang : I have... so wanted to meet you, Captain.

Captain James T. Kirk : I'm not sure how to take that.

Captain James T. Kirk : [Spock has beamed Kirk and Bones aboard just before they find out who framed them]  No! No! Of all the - son of a - Couldn't you have waited two seconds?

Captain Spock : Captain.

Captain James T. Kirk : He was just about to explain the whole thing.

Commander Pavel Andreievich Chekov : You want to go back?

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Absolutely not!

Captain James T. Kirk : [whispering]  It's cold.

Captain James T. Kirk : [Valeris has just engaged thrusters to take Enterprise out of Spacedock]  Thank you Lieutenant, ahead one quarter impulse power

Lieutenant Valeris : [spins in chair to face Kirk]  Captain, may I remind you that regulations specify thrusters only whilst in spacedock.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : [the bridge crew cough loudly, Chekov shakes his head, Uhura tuts softly. McCoy leans in to tease Spock]  Jim?

Captain James T. Kirk : You heard the order, Lieutenant...

Lieutenant Valeris : Aye, sir!

Martia : You're Kirk and McCoy, I presume.

Captain James T. Kirk : How did you know that?

Martia : We don't get many presidential assassins.

Captain James T. Kirk : We didn't kill Gorkon!

Martia : Of course not. But there is a reward for your death.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : That figures.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Are we firing torpedoes?

Captain James T. Kirk : I wish I knew.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Well, it sure looks like it.

Captain James T. Kirk : I'm going aboard. Spock, you have the conn.

Captain Spock : I'm responsible for involving you in this. I will go.

Captain James T. Kirk : No, I'll go. You'll be responsible for getting me out of this. We'll not be the instigators of full-scale war on the eve of universal peace.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : I'm going, too. They may need a doctor.

Captain Spock : Perhaps you're right.

Captain James T. Kirk : Uhura, tell them we're coming, and tell them we're unarmed.

Lieutenant Valeris : I did not fire. You cannot prove anything.

Captain James T. Kirk : Yes, I can. At my trial, my personal log was used against me. How long did you wait outside my quarters before I noticed you?

Lieutenant Valeris : [to Spock]  You knew? I tried to tell you, but you would not listen.

Captain Spock : Neither of us was hearing very well that night, Lieutenant. There were things I tried to tell you about having faith.

Lieutenant Valeris : You have betrayed the Federation... all of you.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : And what do you think you've been doing?

Lieutenant Valeris : Saving Starfleet. Klingons cannot be trusted. Sir... you said so yourself. They killed your son. Did you not wish Gorkon dead? "Let them die," you said. Did I misinterpret you? And you were right. They conspired with us to assassinate their own chancellor. How trustworthy can they be?

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Klingons and Federation members conspiring together?

Captain James T. Kirk : Who is "us"?

Lieutenant Valeris : Everyone who stands to lose from peace.

Kirk : [6:58]  What are we all doing here?

McCoy : Maybe they're throwing us a retirement party.

Scotty : That suits me. I just bought a boat.

Uhuru : This had better be good. I'm supposed to be chairing a seminar at the Academy.

Chekov : Captain, isn't this just for top brass?

McCoy : If we're all here, where's Sulu?

Kirk : *Captain* Sulu, on assignment. Where's Spock?

Captain Spock : Is it possible that we two, you and I, have grown so old and so inflexible that we have outlived our usefulness? Would that constitute... a joke?

Captain James T. Kirk : Don't crucify yourself. It wasn't your fault.

Captain Spock : I was responsible.

Captain James T. Kirk : For no actions but your own.

Captain Spock : That is not what you said at your trial.

Captain James T. Kirk : That was as captain of the ship. Humans beings...

Captain Spock : But, Captain, we both know that I am not human.

Captain James T. Kirk : Signal our surrender.

Uhura : [shocked]  Captain?

Captain James T. Kirk : We surrender!

Uhura : [to Gorkon's ship]  This is Enterprise. We surrender.

Captain James T. Kirk : [Spock volunteered him to escort the Klingon Chancellor to Earth for peace talks]  How could you vouch for me? That's arrogant presumption.

Captain Spock : My father requested that I open negotiations...

Captain James T. Kirk : I know your father is the Vulcan ambassador, for heaven's sake, but you know how I feel about this.

Captain James T. Kirk : Some people are afraid of what might happen. I was terrified.

McCoy : What terrified you, specifically?

Captain James T. Kirk : No more Neutral Zone. I was used to hating Klingons. It never even occurred to me to take Gorkon at his word. Spock was right.

McCoy : Try not to be too hard on yourself. We all felt exactly the same.

Captain James T. Kirk : No. Somebody felt a lot worse. I'm beginning to understand why.

McCoy : Well, if you've got any bright ideas, now's the time.

Captain James T. Kirk : Time's the problem. You and I are nothing. But you heard the judge. The peace conference is on again. Whoever killed Gorkon is bound to attempt another assassination... unless we can get out of here.

Captain James T. Kirk : Where is the peace conference? They're going to attempt another assassination.

Captain Hikaru Sulu : The conference is at Camp Khitomer, near the Romulan border. I'm sending the exact coordinates on a coded frequency.

Captain James T. Kirk : I'm afraid we're gonna need more than that. There's a Bird of Prey on the lookout for us, and she can fire while cloaked.

Captain Hikaru Sulu : Surely not.

Captain James T. Kirk : Hold on. How many of those things are there? Come on, Lieutenant.

Lieutenant Valeris : Just the prototype.

Captain James T. Kirk : You hear that?

Captain Hikaru Sulu : I'm getting underway now, but we're now in Alpha quadrant. The chances of our reaching the conference in time are slim.

Captain James T. Kirk : When does this conference start?

Captain Hikaru Sulu : According to my information, today.

Captain James T. Kirk : Thank you, Captain Sulu.

Captain Hikaru Sulu : Don't mention it, Captain Kirk.

Captain Spock : You were right. It was arrogant presumption on my part that got us into this... situation. You and the doctor might have been killed.

Captain James T. Kirk : The night is young. You said it yourself; it was logical. Peace is worth a few personal risks.

Captain James T. Kirk : [Fighting Martia who has changed to look like him]  Isn't it about time you became something else?

Martia (appearing as Kirk) : I like it here.

General Chang : There we have it, citizens. We have finally established the particulars of the crime. And now we come to the architect of this tragic affair: James Tiberius Kirk. What would your favorite author say, Captain? "Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings." Tell us your sad story, Kirk. Tell us that you planned to take revenge for the death of your son.

Captain James T. Kirk : That's not true.

Klingon Defense Attorney : Objection! Captain Kirk has not been identified as the assassin.

Klingon Judge : Sustained.

General Chang : I enter into the record this except from the captain's personal log.

Captain James T. Kirk : [voice recording]  I've never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I have never been able to forgive them for the death of my boy.

Klingon Translator : [clamoring from the Klingon gallery]  Again! Again!

General Chang : [the recording repeats]  Are those your words?

Captain James T. Kirk : Those words were spoken by me.

Klingon Defense Attorney : Objection! My client's political views are not on trial.

General Chang : On the contrary! Captain Kirk's views and motives are indeed at the very heart of the matter! This officer's record shows him to be an insubordinate, unprincipled, career-minded opportunist with a history of violating the chain of command whenever it suited him!

Captain James T. Kirk : [after Kronos One is fired on]  Torpedo bay, did we fire those torpedoes?

Captain Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott : Negative, Captain. According to inventory, we're still fully loaded.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Chancellor Gorkon.

Captain James T. Kirk : My god. What has happened here?

General Chang : You dare to feign ignorance?

Captain James T. Kirk : What happened?

General Chang : With a direct torpedo hit, you crippled our entire gravitational field! And two of your Starfleet crew beamed aboard wearing magnetic boots and did this.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Aren't you carrying a surgeon?

General Chang : We were until this disgrace.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Well, then for god sakes, man, let me help.

Captain James T. Kirk : Chancellor, we've been ordered to escort you through Federation space to your meeting on Earth.

Chancellor Gorkon : Thank you, Captain.

Captain James T. Kirk : Would you and your party care to dine this evening aboard the Enterprise with me and my officers, as guests of the United Federation of Planets?

Chancellor Gorkon : We would be delighted to accept your gracious invitation.

Captain James T. Kirk : We'll make arrangements to have you beamed aboard at 1930 hours.

Chancellor Gorkon : I shall look forward to that.

Captain James T. Kirk : [heading for the turbolift, he passes by Spock]  I hope you're happy.

Captain Spock : I find this curious.

Captain James T. Kirk : Spock, I'm really tired.

Captain Spock : We are reading an enormous amount of neutron radiation.

Captain James T. Kirk : [his interest piqued]  Where?

Captain Spock : Strangely enough, it appears to be emanating from us.

Captain James T. Kirk : The Enterprise?

Brigadier Kerla : Captain Kirk, I thought Romulan ale was illegal.

Captain James T. Kirk : One of the advantages of being a thousand light-years from Federation Headquarters.

Captain James T. Kirk : On occasion, I have disobeyed orders.

General Chang : And were you obeying or disobeying orders when you arranged the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon?

Captain James T. Kirk : I didn't know about the assassination until we boarded the ship.

General Chang : You still deny the Enterprise fired on Kronos One?

Captain James T. Kirk : Well...

Klingon Defense Attorney : Your Honors, please!

General Chang : And you still deny your men beamed aboard and shot the chancellor?

Klingon Defense Attorney : Objection!

Captain James T. Kirk : I cannot confirm or deny actions I did not witness.

General Chang : Captain Kirk, are you aware that as the captain of a starship, you are required to be responsible for the actions of your men?

Captain James T. Kirk : I am.

General Chang : And if it should be proved that members of your crew did in fact carry out such an assassination...

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Jim, they're setting us up. Your Honors...

Klingon Defense Attorney : Do not answer!

Klingon Judge : Captain Kirk, you will answer the question.

Captain James T. Kirk : As captain... I am responsible for the conduct of the crew under my command.

General Chang : Your Honors, the State rests.

General Chang : Have you not a shred of decency in you, Kirk? We come in peace, and you blatantly defile that peace. For that, I shall blow you out of the stars.

Captain James T. Kirk : We haven't fired.

Captain Spock : Captain. According to our databanks, we have. Twice.

Admiral Cartwright : To offer Klingons safe haven within Federation space is suicide. Klingons would become the alien trash of the galaxy. And if we dismantle the fleet, we'd be defenseless before an aggressive species with a foothold on our territory. The opportunity here is to bring them to their knees. Then we'll be in a far better position to dictate terms.

Captain James T. Kirk : Sir?

Chief in Command : Captain Kirk.

Captain James T. Kirk : The Klingons have never been trustworthy. I'm forced to agree with Admiral Cartwright. This is a terrifying idea.

Captain Spock : It is imperative that we act now to support the Gorkon initiative, lest more conservative elements persuade his empire that it is better to attempt a military solution and die fighting.

Chief in Command : You, Captain Kirk, are to be our first olive branch.

Captain Spock : We have volunteered to rendezvous with the Klingon vessel which is bringing Chancellor Gorkon to Earth and to escort him safely through Federation space.

Captain James T. Kirk : Me?

Chief in Command : Well, there are Klingons who feel the same way about the peace treaty as yourself and Admiral Cartwright. But they'll think twice about attacking the Enterprise under your command.

Captain Spock : I have personally vouched for you in this matter, Captain.

Captain James T. Kirk : You have personally vouched?

Chief in Command : You will extend Chancellor Gorkon full diplomatic courtesy, Captain Kirk.

Captain James T. Kirk : But a full ambassador would be better equipped...

Chief in Command : If there's no further business, I wish you and your crew godspeed.

Captain James T. Kirk : Reverse engines. All astern. 1/2 impulse power. Back off! Back off!

General Chang : [in Klingonese, watching the Enterprise reverse course]  What's she doing?

Captain James T. Kirk : What's she waiting for?

Captain Spock : Probably attempting to ascertain why we are reversing. Wondering whether we detect her.

Kirk : [after kicking an alien in its genitals during a brawl]  Bones, why don't you see what you can do for him. Let him know we're not holding a grudge.

McCoy : Suppose he's holding a grudge?

Martia : We're outside the shield. Now it's your turn, Captain.

Captain James T. Kirk : If you say so.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : [watching Jim punch her]  Are you crazy?

Captain James T. Kirk : She didn't need our help getting anywhere. And where'd you get these convenient clothes? And don't tell me that flare is standard prison issue. It's to let them know where we are. Ask her what she's getting in return.

Martia : [wiping blood from her mouth]  A full pardon, which doesn't cover this.

Captain James T. Kirk : An accident wasn't good enough. Come on, Spock.

Martia : Good enough for one. Two would have looked suspicious.

[shifting into Kirk as she talks] 

Martia (appearing as Kirk) : Killed while attempting escape. Now, that's convincing for both.

Martia : When whoever it is makes their move, you won't be here to ask if he's the one. Do you want to get out of here?

Captain James T. Kirk : There's gotta be a way.

Kirk : [coming across an alien that towers over him]  Oh, my god.

[the alien says something in its native language] 

Kirk : Uh, the, um, universal translator's been confiscated.

[the alien says something again] 

Kirk : I'm sorry.

McCoy : [it continues to growl]  He's definitely on about something, Jim.

Kirk : [the alien picks him up]  If this is your spot, we'll move on.

Martia : He wants your obedience to the Brotherhood of Aliens.

Kirk : He's got it.

Martia : And your coat.

Kirk : I'm afraid not. Besides, it wouldn't fit.

Captain James T. Kirk : [of the prototype Bird of Prey]  She's out here somewhere.

Chekov : But if she is cloaked...

Captain James T. Kirk : Then all we have is a neutron radiation surge, and by the time we're close enough to record it, we're ashes.

Captain Spock : 2:09. 2:06. 2:03.

Captain James T. Kirk : Close enough to beam down?

Captain Spock : Not yet, Captain. In two minutes.

Martia : No one has ever escaped from Rura Penthe.

Captain James T. Kirk : Except us.

Martia : It is possible. I know how to get outside the shield.

Captain James T. Kirk : How do we fit in?

Martia : Getting outside the shield is easy. But after that, it's up to you to get us off the surface before we freeze. Can you?

Captain James T. Kirk : It's possible.

Martia : I can't make it alone, and you're the likeliest candidate to come in this hellhole for months.

Captain James T. Kirk : Candidate for what?

[as she kisses him, Bones rolls his eyes] 

Martia : Go to lift seven in the morning for mining duty. I'll see you there. Don't disappoint me.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Would you mind explaining that little trick you do?

Martia : I'm a chameloid.

Captain James T. Kirk : I've heard about you. Shapeshifters. I thought you were mythical.

Martia : Give a girl a chance, Captain.

[shifting into her normal appearance] 

Martia : It takes a lot of effort.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : I don't doubt it. Stop me if I'm wrong, but do we have any way of knowing whether this is the real you?

Martia : I thought I would assume a pleasing shape.

Klingon Commander : No witnesses.

Captain James T. Kirk : Killed while trying to escape.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Damn clever, if you ask me.

Captain James T. Kirk : It's a classic.

Klingon Commander : That's what he wanted.

Captain James T. Kirk : Who? Who wanted us killed?

Klingon Commander : Since you're all going to die anyway, why not tell you? His name is...

[Kirk and Bones are beamed away] 

Captain Spock : The Klingons have a new weapon: a Bird of Prey that can fire when cloaked. She torpedoed Gorkon's ship.

Captain James T. Kirk : So that's it.

Captain Spock : Not entirely. I have reason to believe that Gorkon's murderers are aboard this vessel.

Captain James T. Kirk : I have a thought about that. Has the peace conference begun?

Chekov : Who knows? They're keeping the location secret.

Captain James T. Kirk : There's always something.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : [learning Martia is a shapeshifter]  What kind of creature is this? Last night, you two were...

Captain James T. Kirk : Don't remind me.

Scotty : Captain! Oh, Mr. Spock! I found the missing uniforms with the Klingon blood on them.

[a door opens, revealing two crewmen dead on the floor] 

Scotty : But the uniforms belong to these two men: Burke and Samno.

Commander Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : [inspecting a wound]  Not anymore. Phaser on stun at close range.

Captain James T. Kirk : First rule of assassination: kill the assassins.

Scotty : Now we're back to square one.

Captain James T. Kirk : [to Spock]  Can I talk to you?

[they walk a few feet away to talk privately] 

Scotty : I wonder why they weren't vaporized.

Chekov : It would set off the alarm.

Release Dates | Official Sites | Company Credits | Filming & Production | Technical Specs

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Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ( Paramount Pictures , 1991 ) is the sixth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series . It is the last of the films based solely on Star Trek: The Original Series cast and it presents their final mission together.

• 1 James T. Kirk
• 2 General Chang
• 5 External links

James T. Kirk [ edit ]

• Captain's Log, Stardate 9522.6: I've never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy. It seems to me our mission to escort the Chancellor of the Klingon High Council to a peace summit is problematic at best. Spock says this could be an historic occasion, and I'd like to believe him. But how on Earth can history get past people like me?
• [last lines] Captain's Log, Stardate 9529.1: This is the final cruise of the Starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man - where no one - has gone before.

General Chang [ edit ]

• Tickle us, do we not laugh? Prick us, do we not bleed? Wrong us...shall we not revenge?
• [Paraphrased, The Merchant of Venice, Act III , Scene i.]
• [at Kirk and McCoy's trial] Indeed, the record shows that Captain Kirk once held the rank of admiral, and that Admiral Kirk was broken for taking matters into his own hands in defiance of regulations of the law! Do you deny being demoted for these charges?! Don't wait for the translation! Answer me now!
• [Similar words were originally spoken by Adlai Stevenson to Valerian Zorin in an emergency session of the United Nations during the Cuban Missile Crisis .]

Dialogue [ edit ]

Cast [ edit ], external links [ edit ].

• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country at StarTrek.com

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Star Trek 3 Is Finding Its Way Back to Theaters

Paramount is celebrating search for spock' s 40th anniversary with a return to the silver screen..

Between now-classic movies like the Spider-Man films and the 1999   Mummy flick, it’s been a spring of re-releases. Most of them have been from studios like Sony and Disney, but now Paramount is making a play by returning Star Trek III: The Search for Spock to the silver screen.

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To commemorate the film’s upcoming 40th anniversary—it hit theaters June 1, 1984—the film will be playing in theaters June 14. At time of writing, it’s not clear if it’ll be just June 14 or if it will stick around longer, something that’s happening more now with re-releases; The Phantom Menace had a two-week run. What is known is that Matt Ferguson, who drew a special poster for Phantom and other re-released Star Wars films, has crafted a special poster for Search for Spock, which you can see below.

Search for Spock was the middle chapter in a three-part story arc that began with 1982's Wrath of Khan . Spock died at the end of that film, but his living spirit (or katra) was transferred into McCoy’s mind. Disbanded by the Federation after beating Khan, the Enterprise crew reunited to return Spock’s body back to Vulcan as a way to possibly bring him back from the dead. The only thing in their way is a group of hostile Klingons (led by Christopher Lloyd) who want to steal the Genesis terraforming device that Khan tried using.

Spock was fittingly directed by Leonard Nimoy, and it was his first time behind the camera. He’d become the first Star Trek cast member to get a shot at directing for the franchise, and would later be followed by Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, and Patrick Stewart, and plenty more. When it released, it got fairly solid reviews and made $87 million, a response that meant Nimoy got to be involved in more films beyond just being the ever-stoic Vulcan: he directed and conceived the story for 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and wrote 1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . (Outside the franchise, he also directed movies like Three Men and a Baby, The Good Mother, and Holy Matrimony .)

Between this, the almost-ended final season of Star Trek: Discovery , and the recent 15th anniversary of the 2009   reboot film , among other Star Trek news of late , it’s an eventful time for the franchise.

[via Empire Magazine ]

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel , Star Wars , and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who .

Screen Rant

Strange new worlds hints ortegas fought in discovery’s klingon war.

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The Doctor Is Officially Not Doctor Who Season 14's Main Character

Knight’s exit starts ncis' unavoidable gibbs erasure (3 years after mark harmon left), rick and morty’s highest-rated episode perfectly settles an old fan debate about the show.

The trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 hints that Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) fought in Star Trek: Discovery 's Klingon War. Strange New Worlds is a spinoff of Discovery , which changed eras and jumped 930 years forward to the 32nd century in season 3 after the wildly successful reintroduction of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn). Strange New Worlds has been boldly carrying on in Discovery 's wake, chronicling the five-year mission of Captain Pike's USS Enterprise in the mid-23rd century.

Star Trek: Discovery season 1 centered on the Klingon War of 2256-2257. The conflict began at the Battle at the Binary Stars, and the instigation of the war led Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) of the USS Shenzhou to commit mutiny in order to stop the Klingons. But the feared warrior race was intent on asserting their identity and sparked a devastating conflict with the United Federation of Planets. Thousands of Starfleet personnel and Federation citizens died before the Klingon War was ended by Burnham, the USS Discovery, and the Klingon L'Rell (Mary Chieffo), who became the first female Chancellor of the Klingon Empire upon the conclusion of the war.

Related: 12 Things You Missed In Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Trailer

Strange New Worlds Hints Ortegas Fought In Star Trek: Discovery’s Klingon War

Strange New Worlds season 2's trailer begins with a tacit reference to the Klingon War from Lt. Erica Ortegas when the USS Enterprise's hotshot helmsman is piloting a shuttle down to a planet. Sparking understandable fear from Captain Pike, Ortegas assures him, "Don’t worry! I did this a hundred times during the war!" before she lifts her plummeting spacecraft back into the air as promised. Ortegas is at her cocky best in the scene, which shows Erica off as one of Starfleet's best pilots . Meanwhile, her reference to "the war" is a clue to Ortegas' backstory.

It's entirely likely (though not yet confirmed) that Lt. Ortegas is a Klingon War veteran. After graduating Starfleet Academy, where Erica bragged she would become the best pilot ever to graduate, Ortegas served on the USS Palenque. Erica wore a pin of the Palenque on Starfleet Remembrance Day in Strange New Worlds season 1, indicating she lost comrades from her previous ship. The Klingon War is the only known conflict Starfleet fought in the immediate years before Strange New Worlds . It also confirms Erica was not yet the helmsman of Pike's Starship Enterprise if Ortegas is a war veteran. Star Trek: Discovery season 2 established Pike was ordered to keep the Enterprise out of the Klingon War.

Strange New Worlds Season 2 Will Finally Reveal Ortegas’ Backstory

Every dollop of new information about Lt. Erica Ortegas is gobbled up by fans of the Enterprise's cocksure helmsman. Ortegas was one of two Strange New Worlds main castmembers, along with Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush), who didn't receive season 1 spotlight episodes. Thankfully, Erica was the focus of the Strange New Worlds season 2 clip that debuted at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, where she was apparently denied her wish of joining a landing party mission. Strange New Worlds season 2 trailer kicks off by showing Ortegas piloting a landing party shuttle, so it's already exciting to know her wish is granted,

It's clear there's more to Lt. Erica Ortegas than meets the eye and the abundance of her story is begging to be told by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. Numerous questions surround Erica about her snarky relationship with Captain Pike, her capacity for pranks, and her friendships with Nurse Chapel and many of the other Enterprise crew. If Ortegas is, indeed, a Star Trek: Discovery Klingon War veteran, she may be harboring some trauma that has yet to be addressed. It's also interesting to consider how Erica would feel if she ever learns the truth about the disappearance of the USS Discovery, which played a crucial role in the Klingon War.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 premieres Thursday, June 15, on Paramount+.

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
• Star Trek: Discovery (2017)

Star Treks Tech That Brought Scotty To TNG Just Got A Discovery Upgrade

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 9, "Lagrange Point"

• Moll uses a portable pattern buffer to preserve and resurrect her Breen lover in Star Trek: Discovery.
• Transporter pattern buffers have saved lives in various Star Trek series.
• A portable pattern buffer is a next-level upgrade to one of the oldest Star Trek technologies.

Star Trek: Discovery just updated the technology that allowed Captain Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) to make an appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation . In Discovery season 5, Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the USS Discovery find themselves on an interstellar quest in search of the powerful technology of the Progenitors. First introduced on TNG, the Progenitors were ancient humanoids responsible for creating all humanoid life. The technology of Discovery's 32nd century is already more advanced than that of any other Star Trek series, but the Progenitors' technology could literally hold the keys to creation.

Written by Sean Cochran and Ari Friedman and directed by Jonathan Frakes, Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 9 , "Lagrange Point," sees Captain Burnham find the structure containing the Progenitors' technology only for it to be snatched away at the last minute by the Breen. As Moll (Eve Harlow) and the Breen investigate the strange structure, she uses the key made up of the different clue pieces to open some kind of portal held within the structure. Moll realizes it will take time for the Breen to figure out how to access what's in the portal, so she preserves the body of her Breen lover, L'ak (Elias Toufexis), in a portable pattern buffer.

Jonathan Frakes On Directing His Final Episode Of Star Trek: Discovery

Screen Rant interviews Jonathan Frakes about directing the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery and his own Star Trek future.

Star Trek: Discovery Upgraded The Transporters Miraculous Pattern Buffer

Moll saved l'ak's body in a portable pattern buffer..

Now seemingly in charge of the Breen previously ruled by Primarch Ruhn (Tony Nappo), Moll is determined to resurrect L'ak using the Progenitors' technology. Although the Breen acquired the structure presumably containing the Progenitors' treasure, they have not yet figured out how to use it. After Moll opens the structure, a portal appears, but it remains unknown what is on the other side. As Breen scientists work to figure out what lies within the portal, Moll uses a small portable pattern buffer to preserve L'ak's body until she can resurrect him.

During her mindscape journey at the Eternal Gallery and Archive, Captain Burnham learned of another part of the clue that Moll doesn't have.

The transporter has been an iconic piece of Star Trek technology since Star Trek: The Original Series, and later Trek series have further explored the science behind the transporter. During the transporting process, the pattern buffer temporarily stores the matter stream before sending this stream to the intended target. A malfunction with the pattern buffer was one of the main causes of transporter accidents, but the buffer could also be used to temporarily store a person's matter stream in an emergency. Although matter streams could usually only be stored for a short time, Scotty's pattern remained in the transporter buffer of the USS Jenolan for 75 years.

Every Star Trek Character Saved By The Transporters

Transporters are not only safe for travel, but the pattern buffer has been the key to saving the lives of some of the biggest Star Trek characters.

Star Trek Characters Transporter Pattern Buffers Saved

Scotty wasn't the only star trek character saved by a pattern buffer..

Star Trek's transporters have saved numerous lives by beaming Starfleet officers to safety at just the right time, but the pattern buffers have also proved to be life-saving. In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 4 , "Relics," Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) rematerializes Scotty's pattern, welcoming the former USS Enterprise engineer to the 24th century. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) once used the transporter buffer to hide a group of refugees fleeing their oppressors on Star Trek: Voyager . Most of the crew members from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were once suspended in the transporter buffer, too, and ended up in a holosuite living out Dr. Julian Bashir's (Alexander Siddig) James Bond -style fantasy.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) secretly stored the pattern of his daughter, Rukiya (Sage Arrindell), in the medical transporters after she was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The entire crew of the USS Discovery (minus Captain Burnham) were also once stored in the pattern buffer while the ship traveled through a particularly dangerous subspace rift. Star Trek: Discovery's new portable pattern buffer serves as a nice upgrade to a classic Star Trek technology that has saved many lives.

Every live-action Star Trek is currently available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Cast Blu del Barrio, Oded Fehr, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Eve Harlow, Mary Wiseman, Callum Keith Rennie

Release Date September 24, 2017

Showrunner Alex Kurtzman

Where To Watch Paramount+