West Colonel West was a Starfleet officer in the late - 23rd century . In that capacity , he was a member of the conspiracy to sabotage peace talks between the Federation and the Klingon Empire in 2293 . West presented Operation Retrieve , the plan to infiltrate Klingon space and rescue James Kirk and Leonard McCoy , to the Federation President after the two Starfleet officers were convicted of the assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon . The president overruled the plan , however , choosing to respect interstellar law in the matter . Later , at the Khitomer Conference being held near the Romulan border , West disguised himself as a Klingon and attempted to assassinate the Federation President . Taking position behind a large window and taking aim at the president with a sniper rifle , West prepared to fire , but missed at the last instant as Captain Kirk pushed the president out of the way . After Captain Spock announced that another conspirator , Lieutenant Valeris , was in custody , West took aim at Valeris , intending to eliminate her to prevent her from testifying , but was stopped when Montgomery Scott burst through the door , shooting him with a phaser . West was thrown through the glass and fell to the ground , dying on impact . Examining the body , Colonel noticed that West ' s blood was not Klingon , and unmasked him , revealing West ' s role in the conspiracy . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Colonel West was portrayed by Rene Auberjonois , who later portrayed Constable Odo in . He noted , " " I did it because Nick Meyer is a personal friend and asked me to . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 23 , No . 6 , p . 39 ) Recalling how Meyer invited him to play the part , Auberjonois said , " " He called months before they started it . He said , ' It would be a hoot if you came and did a day ' s work on it . ' . . . I did it as a lark . " " ( " Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before " , paperback ed . , p . 173 ) West was named after Lt . Colonel , who participated in the . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 22 , No . 5 ) In fact , West was styled after North and was essentially a thinly veiled political jab made by Nick Meyer . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 23 , No . 6 , p . 39 ) West never actually appeared in the theatrical version of " Star Trek VI " , since his scenes were deleted . However , he can be seen on the VHS and DVD releases of the movie , but is not listed in the cast credits at the end of the VHS or DVD . Rene Auberjonois was under the impression West ' s involvement in the film had been completely cut until he learned , from an audience at a " Star Trek " convention , that it had been reinstated in the VHS version . ( " Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before " , paperback ed . , p . 173 ) In , " The Undiscovered Country " was re - released on DVD , omitting the West scenes , as it was the first DVD release of the theatrical cut . The theatrical cut is also the only version released to date on Blu - ray . While identified in dialogue as a " colonel " , West wore the uniform of a Starfleet vice admiral . His mirror universe counterpart appeared in the novel " The Sorrows of Empire " . The " Errand of Vengeance " and " Errand of Fury " novels had a character named Lieutenant Patrick West , who may or may not be the same character as Colonel West .