There
is likely to be a Klingon group near you, so if you want to pop
along and see what it is like, then feel free to do so. At these
meetings, you can participate in a number of Star Trek and Klingon
related activities, including quizzes, videos and competitions. They
also provide a good opportunity to meet new friends, and like-minded individuals.
If
you find that there is no Klingon Group near you the IKEF can help
you start up our own, please contact us for details.
What
is the Klingon Empire
The
Klingon Empire was founded about 1,000 years ago by the legendary
"Kahless The Unforgettable". Before this time,
Klingon were a savage and warring race split into many different opposing
factions, but Kahless united these clans to form the now legendary
Klingon Empire.
The
entire Empire is ruled by the High Council, who are situated in the
Great Hall, in the planet's capital city, known as the First City.
Strictly speaking, as an Empire, it should be ruled by an Emperor,
but there has not been one for centuries and the real power lies in
the High Council itself. The Great Hall serves as effectively neutral
ground between the many feuding political parties within the Empire.
Who
are Klingons
Physically,
the Klingon are a most imposing race of beings. Males and females
have a much greater muscle mass than most humanoids. They also grow
taller and faster than Humans. Their most striking feature is the
ridged forehead that adorns their skull. Only seen in genetically
pure Klingon, the cranial pattern, like the human fingerprint, is
unique to each individual.
The
Klingon were first encountered by Human explorers in 2218, and the
meeting was disastrous. The Humans mistook the Klingon naturally
aggressive attitude literally and there followed decades of conflict.
At the time, Humans and many other races did not understand the
Klingon ways, and they were naturally viewed as being a domineering,
blood thirsty culture. In many respects, this is not far from the
truth, but Klingon are not mindlessly violent. Klingon are a
warrior race - proud and aggressive, and they have a very deep sense
of tradition and honor. Their military is amongst the strongest in
the Alpha quadrant. They have been warriors for Centuries, and this
has made them a race to be feared and respected. The
Klingon'
culture is very similar to Earth's ancient Samurai, who followed very
similar conducts of honor and tradition.
For
many years after they were first encountered, the true appearance of
Klingon was not known. The Klingon originally encountered along
Federation borders were a Human/Klingon fusion designed to make
infiltration easier. When a distress signal was received from a
Klingon warship under attack by V'Ger, the true appearance of
Imperial Klingon was discovered, and the level of Klingon genetic
engineering amazed Federation scientists.
Skirmishes
and conflicts continued between the Federation and the Klingon
Empire for years until 2293, when a Klingon moon called Praxis was
destroyed. Praxis was the Klingon's key energy facility, and it's
loss had a detrimental effect on Klingon politics and economics. With
their major energy output facility gone, the Klingon Empire could no
longer afford to keep it's economy together. The destruction of the
moon also caused the oxygen in the atmosphere of Qo'Nos to deplete
rapidly, meaning that the planet itself would only be capable of
supporting life for approximately 50 more years. Realizing
their
hopeless situation, the leader of the Klingon High Council for the
time, Chancellor Gorkon, initiated a historic peace deal between the
Federation and the Klingon Empire.
Despite
many attempts to unbalance the peace talks, resulting in the death
of Chancellor Gorkon himself, the peace deal went ahead and was
successful. Now the two greatest space fleets in the Alpha Quadrant
were no longer enemies, more energy and resources could be put into
furthering mankind's projects of exploration, while at the same time
helping to rebuild the Klingon economy.
Decades
of peace have since followed with only minor upsets to the
co-operation that exists between the Federation and the Klingon
Empire. On numerous space missions, the Klingon Empire has proven
time and again to be a most valuable ally, and although Federation
and Klingon crews still only serve within their respective fleets, it
is hoped that one day the Klingon Empire and the Federation fleets
will unify into one space fleet.
