Duras , son of Toral Duras , son of Toral , was a Klingon soldier and commanding officer of the in 2152 . In that year , Duras was commanded to locate and retrieve a group of rebels which had fled the Klingon protectorate at Raatooras , but was prevented from doing so by the intervention of Captain Jonathan Archer of . For his failure to apprehend the rebels , Duras was reduced in rank from captain to second weapons officer and assigned to the Ty ' Gokor defense perimeter . Later , at a tribunal being held to determine the disposition of Archer for his role in assisting the rebels , Duras distorted the truth during his testimony , claiming that Archer was the aggressor in the conflict , and that he was attempting to instigate a rebellion against the Empire . Archer was eventually condemned to a life sentence on the penal colony Rura Penthe , although he was subsequently able to escape . ( ) Later that year , after the failure of a Tellarite bounty hunter to re - capture Archer , Duras was granted command of a Bird - of - Prey by the Klingon High Council for the purpose of apprehending Archer . Duras attempted to ambush " Enterprise " as it returned to the Sol system in the wake of a devastating attack on Earth , but was driven away by the intervention of three Earth starship s which arrived to assist " Enterprise " . Duras later attacked " Enterprise " en route to , but found himself unprepared for a series of upgrades " Enterprise " had received in preparation for its impending mission into the Delphic Expanse , including enhanced hull plating and the installation of photonic torpedo es . ( ) Duras ' next attempt to capture Archer occurred seven weeks later , as " Enterprise " was traversing the perimeter of thermobaric cloud s surrounding the Expanse . Along with two other Birds - of - Prey , Duras attacked " Enterprise " within the clouds , but was eventually abandoned by the other ships , whose crews were unwilling to enter the Expanse . Unable to penetrate Duras ' shields with their photonic torpedoes , Archer had his helmsman , Travis Mayweather , execute an L - 4 maneuver to approach the Bird - of - Prey from aft , where Duras ' shields were weakest . Duras was killed when Archer had his tactical officer fire a series of torpedoes , destroying the Bird - of - Prey . ( ) Appendices . Appearances . < div class = " appear " > Background information . Duras was played by Daniel Riordan . The script of " Judgment " introduced Duras as " a classic Klingon warrior , fierce and stoic . " " Judgment " writer David A . Goodman was instrumental in casting Daniel Riordan as Duras . " " Very big , [ he ] seemed like a perfect guy to play a Klingon , " " remembered Goodman , " " and I got him the audition . " " ( " Judgment " audio commentary podcast ) Duras was an ancestor of TNG ' s Duras family , which includes Ja ' rod , Duras , Lursa , B ' Etor , and Toral . This is supported by the fact that both this Duras and his namesake ( as well as his namesake ' s kin ) have the same pattern of forehead ridges . In the audio commentary podcast for " Judgment " , David A . Goodman commented on this connection , saying , " " Of course , Duras is a reference to the Duras family that we see later in " Next Generation . " Presumably , Duras had already fathered at least one child by the time of his death ( most likely a son , given the patriarchal structure of Klingon society ) in order to carry on his family into the 24th century . Once Daniel Riordan was cast as Duras , many of his associates remarked on the historical importance of the character . " " I knew who Duras was , " " Riordan later explained , " " but when I got the role , everybody was telling me – friends , agents , people in the show – ' This is Duras ! The House of Duras . Bad seed , the beginning . This is " it " ! " " ( ) Rather than feel intimidated by the legacy of this role , Daniel Riordan was excited to assume the part . He believed that the key to the character was not in its " Star Trek " heritage but in its tragic foundations . Shortly after playing the role for the final time in " The Expanse " , Riordan mused , " " I understand Duras . He ' s fallen aristocracy , seeking a way to redeem himself and his family name . It ' s a desperate but still noble cause for someone who ' s partially broken . It ' s very operatic . " " ( ) Daniel Riordan additionally wanted his portrayal of Duras to reflect his thinking of the Klingons as having violently excessive emotions but also high intelligence . " " So you choose your time to snap – but when you do it , you really go for it , " " the actor related . ( ) The role of Duras ( which Daniel Riordan described as " a really full role " ) was adopted with such eagerness by Riordan that this enthusiasm and his intense performance often spilled over onto the set . For instance , there were times when he growled for fun at members of the production staff . " " They seemed to enjoy it when I got really into it , " " noted the actor , who also initially thought Duras might return after appearing in " The Expanse " . ( ) Production . Michael Westmore ' s design of Duras ' forehead ridges , specifically the prominent ring of bone along the side of the head , is consistent with the makeup he designed years earlier on for Duras , son of Ja ' rod . This defining feature is apparent on all Duras family members including Toral , son of Duras , Lursa , and B ' Etor . Its appearance here establishes that forehead ridges may be a genetic family trait that can be passed on by fathers with little change through the centuries . This may suggest that Klingon mothers ' genes for ridges are recessive . ( Or , given that the ridges of Worf and his grandfather bear resemblance but are not virtually identical , perhaps the Duras family was merely incestuous over the intervening centuries , thus preserving the familial ridges . ) ( ) This episode further shows the choice of some of Klingon families to reuse names previously established in by the appearance of a 23rd century Col . Worf as a distant ancestor of the 24th century Worf . Here , this 22nd century Duras is son of a Toral , and their descendants include 24th century Duras and his son , Toral .