T ' Kuvma T ' Kuvma ( Klingonese spelling : " tIquvma " ) was a 23rd century Klingon warrior , leader of his house and a follower of the ancient teachings of Kahless . A staunch traditionalist and Klingon nationalist , he was deeply suspicious of the expanding United Federation of Planets , which he regarded as a threat to Klingon culture and identity . He believed in unifying the feuding Klingon Great House s against the Federation . ( ) By 2256 , T ' Kuvma had assembled a like - minded group of Klingons and provoked a confrontation in a binary star system between several of the Great Houses and a fleet of Starfleet vessels . In the ensuing Battle of the Binary Stars , T ' Kuvma was killed by Commander Michael Burnham , but he had succeeded in provoking a Federation - Klingon war and unifying the Great Houses against the Federation . ( ) Early life . When he was young , T ' Kuvma rediscovered the " Sarcophagus " , an old ship that had belonged to his father and been abandoned after his death . The derelict was used as a playground for other Klingon children , who attacked T ' Kuvma when he tried to chase them away . ( ) Career . Uniting the Klingon Empire . T ' Kuvma repaired the " Sarcophagus " and used it as his base of operations . He also developed cloaking device s which he installed on his fleet . ( ) T ' Kuvma believed the Federation ' s claim that " " we come in peace " " to be a lie and saw it as a threat to Klingon identity and culture . He sought to use the threat of the Federation as a means to unify the twenty - four Great House s of the Klingon Empire by focusing their attention on a common enemy . T ' Kuvma cast his movement as messianic and millenarist : he acquired the Beacon of Kahless , an ancient artifact that , according to prophecy , would unite the Great Houses when lit . He assembled a number of Klingons under his leadership . Unlike other Klingon Houses , T ' Kuvma accepted outcasts such as the albino Voq . ( ) Seeking to provoke a general confrontation with the Federation , in 2256 he placed the Beacon of Kahless in a binary star system near the edge of Federation space , and disabled the interstellar relay there to attract the attention of Starfleet . The was dispatched to investigate , and the first officer , Commander Michael Burnham , made a space walk to investigate the Beacon . While there she was attacked by T ' Kuvma ' s Torchbearer , Rejac , whom she killed in self - defense . T ' Kuvma proclaimed Rejac a martyr and named Voq the new Torchbearer . ( ) Battle of the Binary Stars . Giving Voq the honor of activating the Beacon , T ' Kuvma ignored an offer of negotiations from Captain Philippa Georgiou and declared it an example of Federation duplicity . Several members of the Klingon High Council arrived in the system with their ships in response to the signal from the Beacon , and T ' Kuvma collectively addressed them as Starfleet reinforcements arrived to support the " Shenzhou " . Rallying a number of the Great Houses to his cause , T ' Kuvma launched an attack on the gathered Federation vessels , beginning the Battle of the Binary Stars . ( ) After a significant number of casualties on both sides , the senior Starfleet commander , Admiral Brett Anderson , called for a ceasefire , T ' Kuvma accepted , and asked the Human to prepare for the arrival of his envoy . However , T ' Kuvma instead used the truce to ordered one of his cloaked vessels to ram the admiral ' s ship , the , leading to its destruction . ( ) After declaring victory over the Starfleet vessels , T ' Kuvma instructed the High Council members to return to Qo ' noS to spread news of the united Empire , and was proclaimed to be " T ' Kuvma the Unforgettable " by his supporters L ' Rell and Voq . ( ) " The Unforgettable " was the most common epithet used in reference to Kahless . ( ) Death . Remaining behind to collect and sanctify the Klingon dead , the " Sarcophagus " was suddenly disabled by the apparently - crippled . Captain Georgiou and Commander Burnham beamed aboard , seeking to capture T ' Kuvma and demoralize the Klingon war effort . Engaging Georgiou in hand - to - hand combat , T ' Kuvma slew the Starfleet captain , before being shot in the back by a phaser blast from Burnham , set to kill . ( ) Burnham escaped the " Sarcophagus " and was subsequently court martial led for the events at the Binary Stars . The dying T ' Kuvma was told by Voq that he would be remembered forever by all Klingons , and that his death would be the cause to unite the Empire . ( ) Legacy . T ' Kuvma had indeed unified the Klingon Empire against the Federation , however his followers were largely abandoned by the rest of the empire . The crippled " Sarcophagus " was left adrift in the binary star system for several months after his death , with only Voq , L ' Rell and a handful of other Klingons still aboard . Voq was subsequently overthrown by Kol of the House of Kor , who repaired the vessel and took it for his own to lead the war against the Federation . ( ) Voq and L ' Rell remained loyal to T ' Kuvma ' s memory : Voq underwent extreme surgery to pass as the Starfleet Lieutenant Ash Tyler while L ' Rell allowed herself to be captured , in order to infiltrate the and find T ' Kuvma ' s killer , Michael Burnham . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " ( in Klingonese ) They are coming . Atom by atom , they will coil around us and take all that we are . There is one way to confront this threat . By reuniting the twenty - four warring houses of our own empire . We have forgotten the Unforgettable , the last to unify our tribes : Kahless . Together , under one creed , remain Klingon ! That is why we light our beacon this day . To assemble our people . To lock arms against those whose fatal greeting is . . . ( in English ) we come in peace . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) Witness our brother , our torchbearer , killed by the Federation interloper on our sacred beacon . I see you as you see the end . Our torchbearer honors us . . . first to die in our crusade of self - preservation . . . Our ancestors welcome our fallen brother , Rejac , to their Black Fleet . They fight with us , as we fight against our enemy . Remain Klingon ! " " " " ( in Klingonese ) I recognize you as one who has lived his life on the outside and yearns to be part of something bigger than himself . Some may see the color of your skin as nature ' s mistake . I call it a mirror . . . for I see myself in you . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) The honor of Torchbearer is yours . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) ' My presence . ' ' My voyage . ' ' My time . ' No one speaks of ' my duty ' or ' my honor . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) Show respect , T ' Kuvma . You are nothing . You have not earned a seat on this council . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) And yet , I am the one who leads the way to our Empire ' s resurrection . " " " " ' ( in Klingonese ) But there is no honor without unity . There is no home for any of us , unless it is shared by all . " " " " ' ( in Klingonese ) My house is open to all . Including those discarded by you , Kol . But my house is bonded by a single doctrine : Remain Klingon . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) We have become complacent in the time since we last battled the Federation at Donatu V . Our purity is a threat to them . They wish to drag us into the muck , where Human s , Vulcan s , Tellarite s , and filthy Andorian s mix . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) Great leaders , everything I say will come to pass . Look to the stars . Our destiny has arrived ! " " " " No ! They do not ! They come to destroy our individuality . Shall we rise up together and give them the fight they deserve ? " " " " Admiral , I am T ' Kuvma . I am pleased you are here . We have been waiting for someone worthy of our attention . Your offer of a ceasefire is accepted . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) Lest anyone doubt that I can render my own vessels invisible . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) We have suffered losses . . . but the Federation has suffered far more . Leaders , return to Qo ' noS . Declare far and wide that the Klingon race fights as a united Empire once again ! " " " " Members of the Federation , what you call your most remote borders I call too close to Klingon territory . You only live now to serve as witnesses of Klingon supremacy , to be my herald . We do not desire to know you . But you will know our great houses , standing as one under Kahless , reborn in me , T ' Kuvma . " " " " ( in Klingonese ) A warrior who dies in his sleep is no more than flesh and bone . A warrior who perishes honorably in battle is blessed . A hero ' s demise brings pride for a life given in defense of our race and comfort in the knowledge that new life awaits in Sto - Vo - Kor . Join your vaunted comrades , brothers and sisters , for you are not alone and stand watch among the Black Fleet forever . " " " " ( In Klingonese ) Whom do we seek ? " " " " Kahless . " " " " How do we find him ? " " " " Together . " " " " Give us light to see . " " " " Forever . " " " " Will he hide from us always ? " " " " Never . " " Appendices . Background information . T ' Kuvma was portrayed by Chris Obi . The young T ' Kuvma in " Battle of the Binary Stars " was portrayed by Thamela Mpumlwana . Obi compared his character to Moses , noting , " " He ' s an outsider and he has a spiritual moment where he encounters Kahless " [ . . . ] " and he is given a message " [ . . . ] " He ' s like the runt of the litter , and he transforms into this leader , with a purpose . " " ( ) At first , Chris Obi was very worried about how he would manage to learn all of T ' Kuvma ' s Klingon dialogue . However , he managed to overcome that fear with the help of Burnham actress Sonequa Martin - Green , as well as a speaker of Klingonese who prepared a tape recording for the project , and two voice coaches who Obi described as " amazing . " He recalled , " " I would go away and listen to the sounds and come back with my version of it . " " ( ) Chris Obi was highly pleased to be able to portray T ' Kuvma , as he found the character to be very consistent . " " I ' m beyond blessed to be given a character that you don ' t go , ' Ooh , God . He ' s going to say that , even in Klingon . ' Know what I mean ? " " he remarked . " " That ' s where the connection comes . Every time I speak a line , I believe the character is truly saying these lines , and it fits . You know ? " " ( ) T ' Kuvma was featured in a deleted scene extension from , in which , after lighting his " bat ' leth " on fire in an alcove on the bridge of his ship , he turned around , said something to L ' Rell , then walked past her . ( ) The prayer that T ' Kuvma and Voq recite shortly before T ' Kuvma ' s death ( ) is later used by L ' Rell to attempt to reawaken Voq ' s memories ( ) . Apocrypha . T ' Kuvma ' s backstory is explored in the IDW comics series " " .