Chang ( General ) General Chang was a Klingon military officer and chief of staff to Gorkon , Chancellor of the Klingon High Council in 2293 . In that year , Chang was involved in the Khitomer conspiracy to sabotage peace talks between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets . Chang was extremely fond of Shakespeare , and often quoted lines from his various plays . Conspiracy . In an attempt to frame Captain James T . Kirk for the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon , Chang commanded an experimental Klingon Bird - of - Prey which had the unique ability to fire its weapons while under cloak . Chang ' s ship fired on " Kronos One " while it was under escort by the , making it appear as if the latter ship had fired upon the Klingons , violating the terms of the truce . This attack facilitated the boarding of " Kronos One " by co - conspirators from the " Enterprise " , who assassinated Gorkon . When Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy boarded " Kronos One " to provide assistance and prevent a full - scale conflict from developing , Chang ordered them arrest ed and charged with Gorkon ' s assassination under the rules of interstellar law . He also served as the prosecutor for the state at Kirk and McCoy ' s trial , where he was successful in obtaining a conviction by forcing Kirk to admit that , as captain , he was responsible for the conduct of the crew under his command . However , Chang was surprised that , due to the impending peace talks , the judge did not order the customary death sentence , but instead sent the pair to Rura Penthe . In an attempt to ensure Kirk and McCoy ' s death , Chang had the commandant arrange for the Starfleet officers to be killed while attempting to escape , therefore eliminating any suspicion as to the motive for the killings . Kirk and McCoy were ultimately rescued , however , by the " Enterprise " crew . With time running out before the Khitomer Conference , Chang ordered his Bird - of - Prey to intercept and attack the " Enterprise " in orbit of Khitomer . His ship initially had the advantage in being able to fire while cloaked , causing considerable damage to the " Enterprise " and also scoring a hit on , under the command of Hikaru Sulu , which had arrived to divert fire away from the crippled " Enterprise " . However , this advantage was eventually negated when " Enterprise " crew member Captain Spock developed a means whereby a photon torpedo could be modified to home in on the plasma exhaust of Chang ' s ship on the suggestion of Commander Nyota Uhura . Chang and the other bridge officers were killed by the initial explosion of the modified torpedo , which allowed " Enterprise " and " Excelsior " to launch more torpedoes that destroyed the Bird - of - Prey . Reflecting his love of Shakespeare , his last words were " " to be , or not to be " " , from Act 3 : I of " Hamlet " . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Chang was played by Christopher Plummer . Plummer requested that his character have more subtle Klingon makeup , giving Chang a more Human look than most Klingons in the . Plummer commented : " " I found a lot of the headgear that some of them wore rather phoney . I could see where the stitches were , so I decided I ' d be a little different " " . Plummer thought he looked like Israeli military leader Moshe Dayan . ( " " ) John Colicos commented when filming as Kor : " " I tried to get rid of my wig but they wouldn ' t go for it . I guess you have to be Christopher Plummer before they ' ll let you be a bald Klingon " " . ( ) In the , the " Villain Special of 2009 " , Chang ' s part in the Khitomer conspiracy was compared to Colonel , the architect of the failed plot to kill Adolf Hitler in 1944 ( somewhat in reverse , as Chang ' s plot was successful and was intended to continue a war ) . Chang ' s appearance , as well as his affection for the works of the Human playwright Shakespeare , may be explained in part by the Klingon augment virus that spread through the Empire in the mid - 22nd century . Among its other effects , the virus dissolved Klingon cranial ridges and gave its victims a more Human appearance ( see ) . One of Chang ' s ancestors may have been a " smooth - headed " Klingon who was exposed to the retrovirus . Also , he lost an eye and wore a eye patch similar to Claus von Stauffenberg , . Although difficult to see , a statue of Chang was present in the Hall of Warriors in . From the , Chang ' s " " demand in court that Kirk answer a question without waiting for a translation is a paraphrase of American ambassador , who made the same demand of Soviet ambassador at the United Nations during the in 1962 . " "