Characters / Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Klingon Empire

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General Martok

General Martok

"I am a loyal soldier of the Empire. I would rather die than dishonor my uniform."

Played By: J. G. Hertzler

"We keep falling back. The Dominion keeps pushing forward. I tell you, Worf, war is much more fun when you're winning! Defeat makes my wounds ache."

Another Proud Warrior Race Guy, but unlike Worf, Martok has lived in the Klingon Empire all his life, and is thus a more authentic representative of the culture. He was the chief military commander of the Klingon Empire and was usually seen right next to Chancellor Gowron. Arguably the Klingons' most Reasonable Authority Figure (if not the only one) since Chancellor Gorkon of Star Trek VI.

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• Ascended Extra: He originally was a rather minor antagonist here for a couple of episodes before his death. But Hertzler's performance was so great, the writers brought him back. Which was not difficult since the Martok who was killed as planned turned out to be a doppelganger.
• Authoritative in Public, Docile in Private: He is a Klingon warrior who fought his way past classism to earn a battlefield commission and then survived years in a Dominion POW Camp. The one thing that actively scares him, as we learn in "You Are Cordially Invited", is his wife Lady Sirella, who rules him in domestic matters and whom he actively tries to avoid antagonizing.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Describes Sirella as a cold woman with whom there is little physical love, and he's still smarting about that time she accidentally caused his beloved targ to run off into the wilds, but he still admits he wouldn't give her up for anything (and given he's a commoner and she was aristocracy, she socially outranks him, so it's evidently reciprocal on her end).
• Been There, Shaped History: It was established on DS9 that Martok was Gowron's military leader during the Klingon Civil War, personally commanding his forces during the Battle of Mempa (which was partially seen on TNG) and preventing it from becoming a complete rout for Gowron.
• Berserk Button: Kor (see Self-Made Man). When Worf tries to talk to him about it, Martok warns him to shut up before Martok "forgets that [they] are brothers."
• Big Fun: The crew of DS9 (particularly Bashir, O'Brien and Dax) seem to think of him in this manner. It helps that he's one of the more approachable Klingons in the franchise.
• Big Good: For the Klingons from his very first introduction. It helps that he's the most honorable and moral Klingon besides Worf. By the end point of the war, most Klingons look to him for leadership rather than Gowron.
• Blood Knight: As with most Klingon warriors, he revels in battling the Dominion. He is somewhat dissatisfied when his human allies lose their taste for celebration after witnessing the full extent of the carnage wrought by the final battle on Cardassia Prime.
• Capture and Replicate: During Season 4, Martok is actually a Changeling Doppelgänger, a mole inside the Klingon High Command, unmasked and killed in the Season 5 premiere "Apocalypse Rising"), while the real Martok is being held in a Jem'Hadar prison camp. Word of God is that positive fan response and Hertzler's performance induced the writers to bring him back.
• Cowardly Lion: His experiences in the Jem'Hadar prison camp left him more shaken than initially thought. On his first command afterwards, he passes up opportunities for victories and his crew starts to consider him a coward. Worf manages to find a way to restore Martok's confidence, by antagonizing him over his cowardice and then deliberately invoking The Worf Effect when Martok throws down the gauntlet.
• Dead Alternate Counterpart: In the Confederation timeline his skull is one of many displayed in Picard's trophy case.
• Death or Glory Attack: In "The Way of the Warrior," Martok keeps urging Gowron suicidally to continue the assault on Deep Space 9, despite the fact that, as Sisko points out, the Klingon fleet is decimated, the station's shields are holding, the boarding parties are contained, and the Federation's reinforcements are closer than theirs. Only a full season later is it revealed that this "Martok" is a Changeling imposter, working to wreck the Klingon Empire as well as the Federation.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: He gives an excellent demonstration of the differences between human and Klingon in the finale. When Sisko and Ross refuse to drink a toast over Cardassian corpses in burning rubble, he shakes his head over their sentimentality and swigs from the bottle with obvious enjoyment.
• Eyepatch of Power: Though unlike General Chang, he doesn't actually wear an eyepatch.
• Eye Scream: The reason he lost an eye? A Jem'Hadar punched it out in a prison camp.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Worf, after they worked together to escape a Dominion POW camp. He and Sisko also become friends after fighting side-by-side during the Dominion War.
• Four-Star Badass: He can definitely hold his own in a knock-down fight and is highly respected by his troops as a warrior.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: From Ascended Extra to Chancellor of the Klingon High Council. Now that's a character arc. And in-universe, he's a Working-Class Hero from a peasant-class family. Not a drop of noble blood in his veins.
• Happily Married: He seems a bit of a Henpecked Husband, but when he describes his marriage to Sisko, it's clear he would have it no other way... when his wife sweeps imperiously onto the station, Martok watches with clear love and admiration.
  "Magnificent, isn't she."
• Hero of Another Story: It's made clear that Martok has had trials to overcome in his life and continues doing badass things when he's not onscreen.
• Hit-and-Run Tactics: There's a reason he favors the small Bird-of-Prey over the larger battlecruisers — it lets him launch lightning-quick attacks and then get the hell out of dodge. He leads a squadron of them on a series of cavalry raids against the Dominion.
• Humble Hero: At least, as humble as a Klingon can be, mostly demonstrated by his refusal to challenge Gowron and take the chancellorship for himself.
• Hypocritical Humor: A minor example, but he once teases Worf for apparently learning modesty from The Federation; later episodes show that Martok is incredibly modest by Klingon standards.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: He follows Gowron's increasingly bad orders in Season 7 without question, despite the embarrassing defeats and rising death count. He later learns that Gowron is setting him up to fail, and he still follows orders.
• Nice Guy: It's noticeable that Martok is one of the few Klingons that Worf encounters who never tosses his Federation upbringing in his face.
• Odd Friendship: With Nog of all people. After Nog stands up to Martok and shows he's willing to enforce station regulations even to a Klingon general, they continually show respect to each other for the rest of the series. Whenever Martok shows up in Ops when Nog is on duty, Martok always acknowledges him first.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: "We are Klingons, Worf! We don't embrace other cultures, we conquer them!"
• Reluctant Ruler: Martok really didn't want to become the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire and tried his best to avoid it. In the end, he accepts the position with great reluctance solely because he has no choice in the matter.
• Scars Are Forever: Invoked. He refuses a prosthetic eye when it's offered, wearing the scars as a badge of honour from having received them in battle with a Jem'hadar. It's also possible he knows that they make him even more intimidating to his opponents.
• Self-Made Man: Blacklisted by Kor, a noble who feels his lineage was unacceptable. Serves as civilian auxiliary, wins promotion for heroism and then claws his way up to flag rank. In other words, he is a badass even by Klingon standards.
• Servile Snarker: Darok, an old hand on the Ch'Tang, and Martok's personal assistant.
  Martok: [fed up] There will come a day, Darok, when your services as my aide may no longer be required.
  Darok: I look forward to that day with great anticipation.
• Undying Loyalty: In "Tacking Into the Wind," Gowron is Driven by Envy that Martok will parlay his war success into a political grab back home. The thought never once entered Martok's mind. When Worf tells him that's what Gowron is up to, Martok completely rejects opposing him, saying he is just a loyal soldier.
  • He's also incredibly loyal, and more importantly gentle with Worf, being a close confidant and blood brother.
• Up Through the Ranks: A commoner who fought his way to flag rank, even after being blacklisted by Kor.
• Uptown Girl: Not Martok himself, but his wife Sirella claims Imperial lineage and carries herself appropriately in contrast to Martok's looser bearing.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Develops this dynamic with Worf and Sisko. They banter and insult each other a lot but being comrades-in-arms and major leaders of their respective races, they share a bond few people can understand.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Martok hates Kor not just because he was rejected as an officer, but also because by the time Martok achieved promotion on his own merits his father had died. He is so glad to rub his Self-Made Man success in Kor's face, but Kor didn't even remember rejecting his application in the first place.
• Working-Class Hero: As noted above, he was born a commoner, and was actually blacklisted from military service because of it; the only posting he could get was as a civilian laborer, and he was only able to get the chance to prove himself and earn a battlefield commission due to being in the right place at the right time. Despite this, he rose Up Through the Ranks through sheer badassery. By the time of the series, he has become one of the Empire's most respected generals, married a noblewoman and established his House as an honored one in its own right. By its end, he's the Chancellor.

Kor

Kor

Played By: John Colicos

Legendary Klingon warrior, Dahar Master (a rank for legendary Klingon Warriors) and former enemy of a certain equally-legendary James T. Kirk. Old Klingon battle comrade of Jadzia's who goes on a revenge quest with her over the loss of his friend Kang's son. Enemy of Martok's because of career rivalry. Forgiven by Martok at his death.

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• The Alcoholic: First seen in Odo's drunk tank, to the disgust of Koloth.
• Almighty Janitor: Third officer on the Ch'Tang, because Martok will wear a dress before he starts taking orders from him.
• Blood Knight: He's really eager to come out of retirement and fears that he might not be able to die in battle.
  • Notable in that he was pretty much the only Klingon with this attitude in the original series; even for this era it's notably more than the Klingon norm.
• Blue Blood: The source of the quarrel between Martok and Kor. Kor didn't believe a commoner had any place as an officer.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He came from a generation of Klingons who "ate when they were hungry, fought when they were angry". They didn't stand on ceremony as politicians (Gowron) tend to do.
• Book Ends: Kor's speech to the younger Klingons before his death is reminiscent of what he said to the Organians in his first TOS appearance: "I hope you will continue to savor the sweetness of your life."
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Doesn't recall blacklisting Martok, but acknowledges that it's the kind of thing he'd do.
• Clueless Boss: His age and senility have made him this. Because of his legendary status and past rank, he is still given command during the Dominion War, but he bungles the operation when he comes to believe that he is fighting the Federation rather than the Dominion.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Takes on a number of Jem'Hadar ships in one little, undermanned Bird-of-Prey as a Heroic Sacrifice.
• Grumpy Old Man
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: "The only weight I carry now, dear comrade, is my own bulbous body. I was once, if you remember, far less than you see, and far more than I have become."
• Mythology Gag: Jadzia and Worf both regard Kor highly, as the quintessential noble Klingon, compared to the current Klingon society which is rather lacking in honor. Kor was the first major, named Klingon seen on TOS, and his Genghis Khan-inspired look would serve as the basis of all future Klingons on TOS. He is the quintessential Klingon in more ways than one.
• No Hero to His Valet: Martok despised him because Kor refused to allow him into military service because Martok was low-born. After being blackballed by a Dahar master, Martok was only able to get into the military by signing up as a civilian auxiliary and proving himself in battle.
• Old Master: His farewell episode, "Once More into the Breach", draws a comparison to Davy Crockett. In space!
• Same Character, But Different: On TOS he was a stern no-nonsense leader of an occupying army. On DS9 he was a jovial alcoholic.
• Shrouded in Myth: Young Klingons are awed with the many tales of his exploits, which Kor is happy to recount and occasionally embroider.
• Villain of Another Story: As a rival of Kirk's in TOS prior to the Klingon Empire's Heel–Face Turn.
• Warrior Heaven: Promises Worf that he will say hi to Jadzia when he gets to Sto-vo-kor.
• Warts and All: Reliving his glory days (literally, his senility made him believe he was in the middle of a battle with the Federation while attacking a Dominion supply base) cost a large number of troops and several ships on what was supposed to be a simple raiding mission. The crew quickly realizes that his best days are behind him and start to shun him. But a fellow old warrior reminds him of who he used to be, and he makes a Heroic Sacrifice keeping the Dominion ships at bay.
• You Shall Not Pass!: Dies holding the rear guard for the Klingon fleet.

Koloth and Kang

Koloth and Kang

Koloth

Kang

Played By: William Campbell and Michael Ansara

Peers of Kor and fellow Dahar Masters, also ex-enemies of Kirk and friends of Dax. Kang is the de-facto leader of the old trio, while Koloth is more the brains of the three.

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• Badass Boast: Koloth to Odo:
  Odo: How did you get in here?
  Koloth: I am Koloth.
  Odo: That doesn't answer my question.
  Koloth: Yes, it does.
• Bling of War: Koloth always wears his full Klingon dress uniform, covered in many, many decorations.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: They decide to subvert the Albino's Evil Plan and fight him to the death, but still die in the process.
• Grumpy Old Man: Koloth in particular has little patience with Kor's drunkenness.
• Old Master: They're both Da'har Masters, honored elder warriors in Klingon society.
• Same Character, But Different: On TOS Koloth was a Smug Snake who tried to poison a Federation colony. On DS9 he was much more stern and concerned with physical combat. (In many ways, he and Kor had essentially switched personalities)
  • Kang had changed the least, even in his TOS appearance he valued peace with the Federation and was outraged when he mistakenly believed Kirk had attacked him. The only thing that changed about Kang was that his son's murder had made him more melancholy.
• You Killed My Father: Flipped version. All three old warriors, plus Trill Curzon Dax, swore a blood oath to get revenge after The Albino killed Kang's son. Kor and Koloth because they considered Kang a blood brother, Curzon because the boy was his Godson. Jadzia feels compelled to honor Curzon's blood oath, but Kang angrily tries to relieve her of any obligation to the oath made by her symbiote's prior host. Jadzia eventually convinces him to let her do as she feels she must and the four head off to kill the Albino.

Gowron

Gowron

"Glory to you and your house!"

Played By: Robert O'Reilly

"I decide what can and cannot be done."

The Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. See here for tropes applying to him in TNG.

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• Action Politician: He is a Klingon, after all. He's gung-ho about leading space battles and fending off attempts at a Klingon Promotion with his own bat'leth. However, toward the end of things he becomes too much Politician and not enough Action.
• Anti-Villain: Generally villainous, but not without redeeming characteristics.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: Despite starting out as an honorable, reasonable leader on TNG, by the time of DS9 Gowron has essentially become no better than Duras, his political rival and opponent for the chancellorship of the Klingon Empire. Both men let the power of their position go to their heads. Both strip Worf of his family honor for wrongful reasons. Both try to use dishonorable means to destroy their political rival. Both men are hardliners of the Klingon Empire, bent on returning the Empire to old days of conquering and pillaging their neighbors. Gowron even leads the Empire into a war against the Federation, something that Duras was predicted to do if he became chancellor. Both men die in honorable combat against Worf, leading to their rival being appointed chancellor.
• Big Bad: Gowron takes on this role in Season 4: The Cardassians have been broken and the Dominion have taken a back seat, leaving the Klingons as the biggest threat to the Federation as Gowron leads them into war against the other Alpha Quadrant powers. Subverted in Season 5, when it turns out he was an Unwitting Pawn in a Dominion plot.
• Corrupt Politician: Ezri singles him out as an example of what's wrong with the Klingon Empire. He wasn't so bad in TNG (certainly compared to his rival, Duras), but his growing paranoia - fueled by Martok's popularity - leads him to put the entire war effort in jeopardy.
• Death Equals Redemption: Ultimately, despite his callous actions and cavalier attitude to the lives of his men, Gowron dies an honourable death in combat, meaning his people remember him as a brave warrior. Worf even performs the customary Death Wail that is only given to honorable warriors just after killing him.
  • Inverted as far as the Federation are concerned, as they regard him having been a power-hungry moron who drove the Cardassians into the Dominion's hands when he originally declared war on them, then nearly crippled his own forces out of spite, with the fact that Worf had to kill him only being more proof that Gowron was never really the shrewd leader they originally took him to be.
• Driven by Envy: His undoing. He gets jealous of the attention and glory heaped on General Martok in the Dominion War and pushes him aside to take command and that glory for himself. Disaster ensues.
• Even Evil Has Standards: For all his faults, he refuses to execute an unarmed and surrendering opponent. When D'Ghor attempts to murder a surrendering Quark even without the pretense of ritual combat, a disgusted Gowron has him excommunicated.
  Gowron: I didn't want to believe the things they said about you, but if you can stand here and murder this pathetic little man, then you have no honor… and you have no place in this hall.
• Evil Virtues: He's not above stripping opponents of their honor for petty reasons and is willing to use a Uriah Gambit against Martok to prevent a challenge to his chancellorship. However, when it comes to actual physical combat, Gowron's no slouch. He personally leads the invasion and later retreat from Cardassia and dies in honorable combat against Worf. Worf himself acknowledges this by performing the traditional death rite over Gowron's body.
• Honorable Warrior's Death: No matter what else can be said about him, Gowron met Worf's challenge without fear and very nearly won. Worf acknowledges this by performing the traditional death howl over Gowron's body, to let Sto-Vo-Kor know that a warrior will be arriving.
• Improperly Paranoid: Of Martok killing him and seizing control of the Klingon Empire, which is actually the last thing Martok would do.
• Insane Troll Logic: The reasoning he's running on against Martok is that he suspects Martok might be disloyal in the future, and therefore orders him into suicide missions knowing Martok is too loyal to say "no".
• It's All About Me: Once he sees how popular Martok is getting, he's willing to throw away any semblance of strategy at a point when the Klingons are literally the only people able to fight the Dominion, just to make Martok look worse and himself look better.
  • This actually started on TNG. After the Klingon Civil War, Gowron literally rewrote Klingon history to make himself the sole hero and remove any credit due to the Federation.
• Karmic Death: Worf kills him because he abuses his position as Chancellor; he only got the job in the first place because Worf killed his corrupt rival during the election.
  • He was fighting tooth and nail to ensure that Martok didn't get enough fame to challenge him for the Chancellorship. This leads directly to his death and Martok being appointed Chancellor by Worf.
• Large Ham: As his actor put it, you're not acting like a Klingon til you're getting spittle on other people from your shouting.
• The Napoleon: At 5'10", he's above average for a human, but a runt by Klingon standards. As a result, he tends to be louder and more bombastic than most others of his race. He also favours the IKS Negh'var as his flagship: an enormous battleship bristling with armament but generally impractical for most engagements. This stands in contrast to Martok, who favours the IKS Rotarran: a small Klingon Bird-Of-Prey capable of performing a wide variety of missions.
• Not Me This Time: Everyone gets very suspicious when the head of the Klingon Empire starts getting a bug up his rear about Klingons needing to fight, starting a war with Cardassia and threatening to break the Khitomer Accords after several decades. Odo gets information claiming Gowron is a Changeling infiltrator... except he isn't. General Martok had been replaced. All that posturing and conflict-seeking? All Gowron, baby.
• Pet the Dog: Despite his less than charitable flaws, it's shown that before their falling out, he does genuinely consider Worf a friend and a close ally. He makes a detour to DS9 after breaking the peace treaty with the Federation specifically to recruit Worf and he's entirely forgiving of Worf having exposed the Klingon plans to invade Cardassia. It's only when Worf spurns him again that things sour and he discommends him and his house.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: He's on the flagship of the invasion force to Cardassia and doesn't back away from duels to the death.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Played with. He is corrupt and reckless, but also smart and cunning, and can give sound judgments in disputes between houses. Tends to be more reasonable when his own ambition and self-interest aren't on the line. Nor is he a coward, being willing to face Worf in a duel to the death with the Empire at stake.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Gowron was afraid that Martok would kill him and take his place as Chancellor. His resulting actions against Martok led to this trope via a more indirect approach: Worf challenged and killed him, then passed the mantle to Martok.
• Tempting Fate: In "Apocalypse Rising", after Worf is stopped in the nick of time from killing him, Gowron remarks Worf should have finished the job as he won't get another chance. Well, Worf does get another chance near the end of the series...
• This Is Unforgivable!: Gowron's continuing ill treatment of Martok (who Worf has come to regard as a surrogate father) finally bites him in the ass when Worf calls Gowron out on it in front of his advisors.
  Worf: What I say now, I say as a member of the House of Martok, not a Starfleet officer. (*lays Starfleet insignia on table*) You have dishonored yourself and the Empire, and you are not worthy to lead the council.
  Gowron: There can be only one answer to that!
• Took a Level in Jerkass: While TNG had already implied that he was just the better of two bad options next to Duras, here he ends up starting a war against the Cardassians, thereby driving them into the arms of the Dominion, also starts a war with the Federation when they oppose him, and later on deliberately screws up military operations in the latter stages of the war — when the allies are already on their ropes thanks to the Breen energy weapons being able to One-Hit Kill Federation and Romulan ships — just to discredit Martok. It's honestly enough to make you wonder whether Duras could really have been much worse.
• Ungrateful Bastard: He repeatedly backstabs Worf and the Federation despite owing his chancellorship to their covert assistance during the Klingon Civil War.
• The Uriah Gambit: He pulls this on Martok, fearing that the general's skill and growing popularity will be a threat. Gowron orders him on impossible missions with the intention that he will either get killed, or that his repeated, inevitable losses will disgrace him.
• Villain Respect: He shows genuine respect for Quark after his ballsy gambit to discredit D'Ghor by leaving himself unarmed and open to be killed.
  Gowron: A brave Ferengi. Who would've thought it possible.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: His invasion of Cardassia would have been somewhat vindicated if the Detapa Council had been replaced by changelings. But they weren't, and the invasion quickly bogs down into an excuse to try and rebuild the Empire's fading glory.

Grilka

Grilka

Played By: Mary Kay Adams

Klingon noblewoman in "The House of Quark" and "Looking for Par'mach in all the Wrong Places". She abducted and married Quark to save time while she gets a dispensation to rule as a female, and meets him again in "Looking for Par'mach".

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• Abduction Is Love: Or friendship, at least. To Quark, with her as the abductor and him as the abductee.
• Amicable Exes: Klingon divorce proceedings aside, she and Quark part on good terms, and the two are clearly happy to see each other again when she returns to the station in "Looking for Par'Mach".
• Arranged Marriage: To Quark. Arranged by her. Rather forcefully.
• Bothering by the Book: Klingon law doesn't quite say a Ferengi can't rule a Klingon house.
• Interspecies Romance: With Quark in "Looking for Par'Mach," though given that she does not return again it looks like it was only a Friends with Benefits thing.

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