House of Duras The House of Duras was one of the Great House s in the Klingon Empire which by 2366 had become highly influential in Klingon politics , so much so that its leader Duras ( son of Ja ' rod ) was considered in 2367 for the position of Chancellor of the Klingon High Council . Outside of the view of the majority of the Klingon population , they often have a reputation for deceit and dishonorable practices . A forefather in this house was Duras , son of Toral . In 2153 , he died in battle with trying to capture Jonathan Archer at the edge of the Delphic Expanse . ( ) In the 24th century , the House of Duras was engaged in a blood feud with Huraga ' s house . ( ) In 2346 , Ja ' rod had betrayed his people to the Romulan s , providing them with the codes to lower the defenses protecting the Klingon colony on Khitomer . When evidence of this surfaced in 2366 , then - Chancellor K ' mpec sought to protect the Empire against a possible civil war by blaming Mogh , the father of Worf . Worf challenged this , but when he learned the truth he agreed to accept discommendation , for the good of the Empire . ( ) With the death of K ' mpec in 2367 , Ja ' rod ' s son , Duras , sought the leadership of the council , standing against Gowron . When Worf discovered that his mate K ' Ehleyr had been murdered by Duras , he immediately transported to Duras ' ship and challenged him . Duras proved to be no match for Worf , and was killed , leaving House of Duras without a leader as Duras had no legitimate heir , and Gowron free to take his place as Chancellor . ( ) Several months later Duras ' sisters Lursa and B ' Etor discovered that Duras had an illegitimate son , Toral . Though only a boy , Toral was made head of House Duras and inherited his father ' s claim to leadership of the council . The Arbiter of Succession Jean - Luc Picard chose to reject Toral ' s claim , causing those council members loyal to House Duras to withdraw from the council , plunging the Empire into civil war . With this , Chancellor Gowron restored Worf ' s good name and his family honor . He gave Toral ' s life to Worf , but Worf chose to spare the boy , who had merely been used as his aunts ' pawn . ( ) Although Toral was technically its leader , effectively the House was being controlled by Lursa and B ' Etor , who were in turn working in collusion with the Romulan s . Picard was able to prove this and block the Romulan supply convoys aiding the Duras ' forces . Support immediately fell away and Gowron ' s forces stood victorious . The Duras sisters continued to fight a private war against the Empire . ( ) Lursa and B ' Etor surfaced once again on Deep Space 9 in 2369 , selling bilitrium to Bajoran Kohn - Ma terrorist Tahna Los in order to fund their continuing efforts to gain control of the Empire . As they had committed no crime against the Bajorans they were allowed to go about their business and were not apprehended . ( ) An attempt on Worf ' s life in 2370 was suspected to have been the work of the Duras sisters , but this proved not to be the case . At this point Lursa revealed that she was pregnant with another heir to the house Duras . ( ) In 2371 , Lursa and B ' Etor began working with El - Aurian scientist Dr . Tolian Soran , stealing trilithium from the Romulans in order to assist him in the development of a trilithium - based weapon . They captured Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge and used his VISOR to discover the modulation of the ' s shields . The " Enterprise " was critically damaged as the Duras ' weapons fire passed through its shields , unhindered . Lieutenant Commander Data was able to force the activation of the Duras ' Bird - of - Prey ' s cloaking device . With their shields down , a single photon torpedo was enough to destroy the Duras ' ship , killing them in the process . However , the Duras sisters may have gotten the last laugh as the damage they had inflicted to the " Enterprise " was enough to rupture the magnetic interlock s to the warp core , leading to a warp core breach which completely destroyed the stardrive section of the vessel and crippled the saucer module . ( ) Toral attempted to take over the Klingon Empire again in 2372 , this time on his own . He met the Dahar Master Kor on Torna IV , where Kor drunkenly told him he had discovered the Shroud of the Sword and that it would lead him to the Sword of Kahless . Toral sent Soto , a Lethean , to probe Kor ' s mind on Deep Space 9 . Using the information Soto retrieved , and believing that if Toral could wield the sword he could take over the Empire , Toral traveled to the Gamma Quadrant . However , Kor , Worf and Jadzia Dax had already discovered and retrieved the sword and managed to escape Toral and his henchmen . The sword was later jettisoned into space , thwarting another attempt of the House of Duras to conquer the Empire . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore made attempts at making Lursa and B ' Etor ' s cranial ridges similar , indicating they were from the same house . " " Especially in later episodes of " The Next Generation " , when Worf ' s brother Kurn and their rival Duras were stirring up the Empire and Gowron took the throne , I was able to work out family facial styles , " " Westmore recalled . " " The Duras family and the terrible sisters Lursa and B ' Etor had the same general features as Duras . What worked for Duras worked for Toral , Duras ' s son . " " ( " " , pp . 66 - 67 ) Costume designer Robert Blackman was responsible for designing Lursa ' s and B ' Etor ' s Klingon uniforms . He often incorporated , in each of those costumes , a revealing bustline that was quickly referred to by fans as " Klingon kleavage " . Neither Barbara March nor Gwynyth Walsh used chest padding . ( " " , p . 169 ) Lursa and B ' Etor ' s appearance in was included on the suggestion of producer Michael Piller , as a way to tie the series into established continuity . " " The creative synergy allows you incredible opportunities , " " Piller commented . " " It ' s interesting how we used them . Essentially , we had a story and , in the case of Lursa and B ' Etor we said , ' Hey , we ' ve got a real kind of Casablanca spy story and we need someone [ to ] really be doing double dealings and bringing money and doing gun exchanges ; why don ' t we use the Klingons – and use those characters that we love so much ? ' It works out just fine to use those guys because then there ' s a connection and an identification . There ' s a backstory , there ' s a history , and all of these things make for a much richer series . " " ( " " , p . 22 ; " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " , p . 42 ) Of the Duras sisters ' DS9 appearance , Gwynyth Walsh recalled , " " I think they brought us back because it was time . It was fine [ . . . ] but we mostly worked just by ourselves in that one . " " ( " Double Trouble " , ) Apocrypha . In the computer game " " , Toral returns again to take over the Empire . In the game , he mentions that Worf " lacked the courage " to kill him twice before , referring to both and . In the Klingon campaign later in the game , it is discovered that the Romulans are behind the attempt for the House of Duras to take over the Empire . After they fail , the House retreats to Romulan space , causing Chancellor Martok to declare war on the Romulans . The game ' s Romulan campaign ends with Admiral Sela using the Borg to destroy the remnants of the House of Duras . In " Star Trek Online " the House of Duras is led by Lursa ' s child , named Ja ' rod after his grandfather . He commands the IKS " Kang " .