Klingon

The Klingons (Klingonese: *tlhIngan*) are a humanoid warrior species that originate from the planet Qo'noS (pronounced *Kronos*), an M-class planet. One of the major powers of the galaxy, the Klingons are a proud, tradition-bound people who value honor and combat. The aggressive **Klingon** culture has made them an interstellar military power to be respected and feared.
 Klingons believe that they have the instinctive ability to look an opponent in the eye and see the intent to kill.

## Physiology

Klingons are known to be very strong and physically resilient. They can resist diseases and injuries much better than their human counterparts. This ability is due to a characteristic called "brak’lul." Brak’lul refers to the system of redundancies within the Klingon physiology. The most common perception of this is that Klingons have multiple organs that are redundant to each other, such as hearts, kidneys, lungs, etc. Some geneticists believe the redundancy within the organs, notably the lungs, evolved to give Klingons greater stamina on the battlefield.

Physically, Klingons have evolved over generations of living in the harsh environment of the Klingon homeworld.

### Gestation & Maturation

Klingon twins are very rare, but could be as random as any species (Unless specific intervention is the cause).

The Klingon female will most likely suffer from behavioral volatility, backaches and nausea during the pregnancy, but their stubbornness does not stop them from attending to their responsibilities.

### Aging

Initially, Klingons mature at a far greater rate than Humans; with examples of Klingon adolescents reaching adulthood, both physically and emotionally, at eight or nine Terran years old. A metabolic change appears to occur not long after puberty, in which the metabolism and ageing slow to perhaps one quarter of that of a Human until a second metabolic change in later life (around 90 Terran years) brings about the onset of old age.

### Klingon Medical Science

Klingons tend to use natural remedies such as herbal remedies whenever possible, however, space travel has forced the necessity to use technology while underway.

If a remedy fails, then the sick person is either left to die or to heal themselves through the Klingons’ naturally strong constitution, depending on the situation.

### Diseases

Though Klingons do not typically speak of diseases that may plague them, these are known:

* Gorch
* Nehret
* Rop'ngor
* Klingon augment virus

### Medical Equipment

The following equipment is used by Klingon medics. Please be aware that this is not Star Fleet equipment.

* Biosupport/Monitor System
* Agonizer

## Psychology

Klingons are a proud race. Though from other species' perspectives they may act arrogant and with a lack of humility, the Klingon mindset is not to emotionally humiliate an enemy. Klingons are humble in their own way, mainly through rituals and honorable rites. Like a religion, Klingon rituals and rites are designed to demonstrate strength and endurance.

Typically, Klingons wear their honor and the honor of their comrades and family (or "House") as a badge of achievement. Anything that tarnishes that honor, or even gives the appearance of doing so, is considered shameful and embarrassing. For this reason, a Klingon tends to be very sensitive about remarks on their House, and will react passionately and often violently to any challenge to the honor of them, their comrades, or their family. A 'House' is similar to a 'clan' or another species’ extended family unit. While all members of a house might not be blood relatives, they consider one another as brothers and sisters. An insult to one member of a house is an insult to all members of that House.

Klingons also value honesty and directness. To a Klingon, indirectness is equivalent to dishonesty and dishonor, and one will be treated as untrustworthy if they are not direct.

Most Klingons will deny any illness or minor injury until and unless they have no choice but to do otherwise. Even then, they will resist all except the most basic treatment, insisting that their body can fight off disease, illness, or injury on its own. The Klingon psychology has thus developed a very high resistance to pain and physical discomfort. They also tend to avoid and dislike medical professionals and their workspaces, as they feel little need for the doctors.

Klingon children tend to be more outwardly violent than their counterparts from other worlds. They play rough, they become injured often, and they keep going when they do get hurt.

Their violence is not intentional; Klingons evolved violent, because they come from a violent world.

As Klingons age, they tend to become somewhat less aggressive. As a warrior race, most Klingons believe it is their destiny to die in battle, and old Klingons are rarely on the front lines of battle.

## Society

Klingon society is based on a feudal system, organized around traditional Great Houses of noble lineage, to which various parts of the population owe fealty.

The Great Houses are traditionally represented in the Klingon High Council, which is led by a Chancellor.

Males have traditionally dominated public life in the Empire, assuming the leading roles in politics and the military with rare exceptions.

* A notable exception of the prohibition of women serving on the High Council came when Azetbur became Chancellor of the High Council after her father, Gorkon, was assassinated in 2293.

Women, in turn, have traditionally dominated the household and the management of the family's affairs. Klingon women are treated as equals, except in some matters of inheritance. They have been prohibited by law in the past from serving on the High Council, and could not take control of their Houses unless there was no male successor of the lineage. It is expected of Klingon women to exhibit the same physical prowess and lust for blood and honor as their male counterparts.

Klingon society functions through a system of family reputation and honor. Tradition is an integral part of their lives, and breaking from observances is considered an insult to the society itself. This shame is not easily forgotten, often bringing shame to the offender's name for several generations. Bloodlines and relations are also taken very seriously by many Klingons.

An integral part of tradition is the various rituals that mark milestones in a Klingon's life or the history of the Klingon Empire. Most notable of the rites is the Rite of Succession, which a future leader of the Empire must complete with a valid Arbiter of Succession overseeing the proceedings. Before the Rite can begin, another elaborate ceremony is needed to confirm the death of the previous leader. This is known as the Sonchi ceremony. Individual Klingon warriors are expected to go through the Rite of Ascension to be recognized as a full adult.

Klingons are extremely territorial. There is no such thing as an "insignificant corner of Klingon space".

Klingon warriors generally do not wear rank insignia on their uniforms. A Klingon would never claim to be any other rank than what they actually are, since this would be an egregious violation of a warrior's honor code. If a Klingon claims to hold a specific rank, they can be taken at their word.

### Religion and Tradition

Ritual is an important element in Klingon society. The Klingons believe that deities existed at one time, but that the Klingons of the time killed their gods, as they were considered to be "more trouble than they were worth." The belief is that once a Klingon dies, the spirit exits the body, leaving behind a worthless shell to be disposed of. In the Klingon death ritual, it is traditional for those on hand to bellow into the sky, as a warning to the afterlife that a Klingon warrior is about to arrive. In some cases, a funeral dirge is sung in memory to the deceased, or friends will sit with the body to protect it from predators, a practice known as *Ak'voh*.

A Klingon who is unable to fight, hence is unable to live as a warrior anymore, has the traditional obligation of committing *Hegh'bat*, the Klingon ritual suicide. Tradition dictates that a close friend, or eldest son must assist. The person's role is to hand the dying Klingon a knife so that he can plunge it into his heart, remove it and then wipe the blood on his own sleeve.

The Klingon afterlife is divided into two branches; the dishonored are taken to Gre'thor aboard the Barge of the Dead, a vessel captained by Kortar, the first Klingon. Kortar was the one who originally killed the gods who created him, and was condemned to ferry the dishonored to Gre'thor as a punishment. Once in Gre'thor, the dishonored are watched over by Fek'lhr, a vaguely Klingon-esque figure.

Those who die honorably go to Sto-vo-kor, where Kahless was said to await them.

Other Klingon rituals include the R'uustai, a bonding ceremony which joins two people together in a relationship similar to brotherhood. Klingon tradition holds that "the son of a Klingon is a man the day he can first hold a blade."

If a Klingon warrior strikes another Klingon with the back of his hand, it is interpreted as a challenge to the death.

Klingon warriors speak proudly to each other; they do not whisper or keep their distance. Standing far away and whispering are considered insults in Klingon society.

When going into battle, Klingon warriors often sing the traditional warriors' anthem, which is essentially an invocation to Kahless and a pledge to win a good death in battle.

## History and Politics

The Klingon Empire was founded sometime in the ninth century CE by Kahless the Unforgettable, who performed many heroic feats including the unification of the Klingon people when he killed the tyrant Molor. Kahless came to be revered in Klingon society to the point of near-deification, and many aspects of Klingon culture came to revolve around emulation of Kahless's life.

The warrior ethos has been an important aspect of Klingon society since the time of Kahless, but the warrior aspects became much more dominant beginning in the early 22nd century. Previously, Klingon society was regarded as socially balanced, but over time the warrior caste gained greater prominence, to the point where the Klingons widely came to be regarded as a "warrior race."

Due to their aggressive outlook, the Klingons have generally had poor relations with other species after they began to move out into space. Because the worlds of the Klingon Empire are resource-poor, the Klingons have developed an intense belief in the need for expansion and conquest in order to survive (not unlike the Cardassians). Klingons' relationship with Humans and the United Federation of Planets has been rocky at best. Following the disastrous First Contact between Klingons and Humans, tense rivalries and unavoidable conflicts often developed between the two species.

In 2154, Klingons gained access to the genetic material of human Augments, and tried to adapt this genetic engineering to improve themselves. An unanticipated side effect was that the Augment DNA caused Klingon cranial ridges to shrink, and dissolve. The test subjects did gain increased strength and intelligence, but then their neural pathways started to degrade and they died in agony. One subject suffered from the Levodian flu, which was modified by the Augment genes to become a deadly, airborne plague that spread rampantly among the Empire, from world to world. In the first stage of this plague, Klingons lost the ridges on their foreheads and began to look more human-like.

* With the help of a Klingon scientist named Antaak, Dr. Phlox of the Earth starship Enterprise NX-01 was able to formulate a cure that halted the genetic effects of the virus in the first stage, retaining the changes in appearance along with some minor neural re-ordering, but with no development of stage two characteristics, such as enhanced strength, speed, or endurance. This left millions of Klingons, mostly in the warrior caste, without their ridges. These alterations were even passed on to their children.

Klingons became embarrassed by the fallout from their failed attempt at genetic enhancement, and they refused to discuss the incident with outsiders. Due to the secrecy of the Klingon Empire, knowledge of the change became lost over time to the general population of the Federation. By the 24th century, the reason for smooth forehead Klingons was not widely known outside the Empire, and questions were generally met with a brusque answer along the lines of "we don't discuss it with outsiders".

In 2218, an incident occurred between the Federation and the Empire which caused the two powers to become adversaries. By 2223, relations between the two powers had degenerated to a point of unremitting hostility, which would last for several decades.

Lingering tensions between Klingons and humans continued to rise, eventually leading to the Battle Of Donatu V in 2245, later erupting into what was considered the first Federation-Klingon War in 2267, quickly ended by intervention by the Organians after only four days of fighting. Over the next several decades, an uneasy peace developed that was broken by brief but fierce skirmishes and conflicts. A true and lasting peace finally came in 2293 with the signing of the Khitomer Accords, thanks to the efforts of Chancellor Gorkon and the Human Star Fleet officer James T. Kirk. Since then, despite several periods of rocky relations, the Federation and the Empire have been steadfast allies, especially in the face of Dominion aggression in the 2370s.

The Klingon relationship with the Romulan people has also been historically unstable. A short-lived alliance and technology exchange notwithstanding, the Romulan Star Empire has been typically regarded by the Klingons as a "blood enemy" since at least the 23rd century. Sporadic Romulan attacks against Klingon colonies, such as the Khitomer Massacre, and interference in Klingon affairs, such as the Klingon Civil War, have continued to sour relationships between the two peoples.