Federation-Klingon War I(Four Years War)

The war started when the Federation colony on Archanis IV was attacked which resulted in the death of 112 Federation citizens. It was discovered later that the Federation protectorate world of Axanar served as a base for a Klingon garrison. This was discovered when Captain Garth of the USS *Xenophon* encountered a disabled Klingon cruiser inside Federation space. Admiral Kkorhetza of the Klingon garrison declined the opportunity to surrender the garrison to Starfleet, which started the war.

**(2256-2260)**

## History

### Background

Following the formation of the Federation in the year 2161, the Klingons saw them as an opponent by the 2220s decade and were close to going to war. However, the two powers did not engage in direct contact with each other for the next century. The first time the Federation and Klingon Empire fought was at Donatu V in 2245. However, it was a stalemate and inconclusive battle. Despite that stalemate, the Klingons were able to launch a raid on Doctari Alpha. In all these encounters, no one in the Federation had seen a Klingon since Captain Jonathan Archer's mission to Qo'noS and the Empire in the 2150s.

During this time, T'Kuvma, leader of his house, planned to unite the Empire, the 24 Great houses and it's High Council by focusing their attention on their common enemy: the Federation. Using his flagship, the *Sarcophagus*, T'Kuvma equipped his house's fleet with cloaking devices.

To start this war against the Federation, T'Kuvma and his followers took the *Sarcophagus* to the edge of Federation space. The Colony of Archanis IV was attacked and the death of 112 Federation Citizens Once taken over the Klingon Garrison was placed there capturing the remaining colonists, they disabled an interstellar relay in which Starfleet unaware of the entire situation ordered the USS Xenophon Commanded by Captain Kelvar Garth May of 2256, There, the *Xenophon* XO, Commander David Stone, examined the relay, but discovered that it had been disabled by the Klingons. After Stone accidentally killed the Torchbearer Rejac, T'Kuvma decided to light the Beacon of Kahless and summon the 24 Great Houses' leaders and the High Council. Following the arrival of the Great House's leaders, They began to attack the Xenophon luckily a small Fleet of Federation ships arrived lead by Admiral Brett Anderson

Thus, T'Kuvma opened fire on the Xenophon and both fleets fought each other. Anderson was then able to establish a dialogue with T'Kuvma, but T'Kuvma used this moment to have a cleave ship destroy Anderson's flagship, the USS *Europa*, and demonstrate his fleet's ability to cloak themselves. More Klingons arrived and destroyed more Starfleet vessels. At this moment, T'Kuvma told the Great House's leaders to return home and proclaim that the Empire would fight united against its enemies.

Captain Garth and Stone attempted to capture but failed the Federation and Klingon Empire continued fighting each other for the next 4 Years. By November of 2256 year 8,186 Federation citizens had been killed in the war.

In November 2257, the Klingons attacked Corvan II's colony and dilithium mines. At the time, Corvan II supplied nearly 40% of the dilithium for Starfleet. However, the USS *Discovery* was able to destroy the Klingons' forces.

During this time, Commander Kol of the House of Kor then took command of the *Sarcophagus* away from Voq and equipped his forces with its cloaking device. Kol then became a general and established a new ruling council. However, in December, House of D'Ghor and Mo'Kai secretly approached Vulcan to discuss a potential alliance with the Federation after they were ousted by Kol. However, Ambassador Sarek sustained wounds in a terrorist attack and Admiral Katrina Cornwell decided to take his place on Cancri IV in the negotiations. However, it was revealed to be a ruse by Kol and the Admiral was captured. More of the Great Houses joined Kol and the USS *Gagarin* was destroyed.

### 2257

Nine months into the war and well into 2257, the Klingons were divided. Each house were attacking different parts of the Federation. Starfleet also was suffering major loses to the Klingons, The Klingons attacked Kelfour VI, Starbase 22, Starbase 12, Starbase 19, Nivalla, Septra, Iridin,

Late 2257, a single D-4E class cruiser traveling at warp 5 was spotted eight parsecs from Axanar by the U.S.S. *Xenophon*. Garth observed the Klingon vessel for several days, precisely plotting the ship's course: the Klingon ship's only possible destination was Axanar.

The *Sawyer* class U.S.S. *Gulliver* had received orders to make a routine visit to Axanar as a follow-up to an earlier visit conducted by the U.S.S. *Yardley*. The *Gulliver* wasn't heard from again after that, and although the ship had not yet been officially listed as missing, Captain Garth concluded that something had gone wrong, and that this Klingon vessel was somehow involved. Garth engaged the D-4, ordering its commander to surrender. When the D-4 attempted to raise shields and bring its weapons on line, Garth used superior tactics to disable the Klingon ship's warp drive.

the U.S.S. *Bonhomme Richard* NCC-1712 recovered the *Gulliver's* recorder buoy, and learned of the task force that had occupied the system and destroyed the *Gulliver* when it came out of warp there. The *Bonhomme Richard* immediately set course for Axanar, transmitting both its log and the *Gulliver's* to Star Fleet Command, which in turn informed the Federation Council. By this time, Garth and the *Xenophon* were already on their way to Axanar.

The Klingon task force at Axanar was immediately contacted. The Klingon commander, Admiral Kkorhetza, was given a choice between withdrawing his entire force to the Klingon border under a Star Fleet escort and outright surrender. Perhaps generously, he was given four months in which to contact his government and receive their instructions. Arriving at Axanar several hours before the *Bonhomme Richard,* Captain Garth was given overall command of a squadron whose orders were to maintain complete surveillance of the Axanar system and contain the Klingon warships. Garth's scouts detected a second Klingon task force, consisting of two squadrons of D-4E cruisers and numerous cargo freighters and assault ships, moving toward Axanar.

Garth split his squadron into three groups. One remained at Axanar, while the other two left the system at high warp. The new Klingon task force moved in, pinning the first group and crippling several of the scouts. Meanwhile, the second group conducted a massive communications counterintelligence operation, simulating the subspace radio traffic of several large Federation fleets moving to encircle the Klingons, who broke off their initial attacks and reformed for a second attack. The third group then moved into covert attack positions, and directed their fire into the unshielded aft sections of more than half the Klingon force.

Three Starfleet scouts were destroyed, and four destroyers (including the *Xenophon*) and the cruiser *Bonhomme Richard* were badly damaged. Six D-4E cruisers were destroyed and nearly all the other Klingon warships were damaged before the Klingon task force commander surrendered to Captain Garth, who was also wounded when his ship was hit. The Klingon reinforcements never reached Axanar and no supply line was established.

From October 2257 through April 2258, several Klingon squadrons passed into Federation space, attacking any ships they encountered. During this time, the Battles of Andromeda, Genmarx, Lea, and Lyclydun were fought, and Janni IV was subjugated by regiments of Klingon soldiers in the first ground action of the war. Commodore Sven van Anling recalled in a Contemporary Federation Military History lecture given to Star Fleet Academy graduate students shortly after the war that "our forces did slow the Klingons' progress, but losses were high."

### 2258

Unhappy with Starfleet's handling of the Arcannis Incident and unsatisfied with the strategic withdrawal of Federation forces in the face of the Klingon onslaught, Captain Christopher Pike, commander of the U.S.S. *Enterprise* NCC-1701 and one of Starfleets most respected captains, felt a more aggressive approach could, and should, have been taken to repel the Klingons.

February 2258, a zone-intrusion detection satellite along the Romulan Neutral Zone tracked a scout ship. Senior Starfleet officers believed it to be a prelude to military intervention by the Romulan Empire, and Star Fleet hoped that their old animosity toward the Klingons would be sufficient to get them on the Federation's side. Until the Romulans' intentions could be determined, however, forces were diverted to the Romulan border as a precaution, seriously hindering the war effort against the Klingons.

June 2258, a convoy of Orion merchant ships heading for a Federation manufacturing facility on Alphosa was intercepted by a Klingon destroyer task force near Laxala. The convoy, which carried supplies of partially refined dilithium, was vital to the Federation's war efforts. The Klingons were likely aware of this, and demanded the cargo be turned over. As one merchant ship closed in to make the transfer, the Orion captain deliberately overloaded his warp drive, totally destroying his ship and one Klingon destroyer, and severely damaging a second, ending the attack. Shortly afterward, the Orion government stated that all shipments of dilithium would be treated as "sacred cargo, not to be captured, diverted, or destroyed by any government until after reaching its declared destination." The Rigel XII dilithium mining complex, which was under Orion jurisdiction, was said to have been equipped with enough antimatter to vaporize the planet, which they threatened to do if anyone interfered with future shipments. Neither side was willing to test the Orions, and their conditions were unanimously accepted.

### 2259

The Battle of GR-1 and the Assault of Nozseca occurred on June 2259 and were significant setbacks for Federation forces. Nevertheless, marines on Nozseca under Andorian General Shruth put up a valiant defense as they attempted to engage orbiting spacecraft with their limited surface-based, anti-space weapons. The defending Starfleet squadron of destroyers and scouts had been eliminated, giving the Klingons uncontested ground attack capability from orbit. The defending forces were annihilated by ship-based disruptor attacks, and Klingon soldiers landed.

The Attack of Convoy Y-16Z in July was considered to be the first genuine Federation fleet victory. A large Federation convoy under the command of Commodore Jarv Maxwil was en route from Dueteronomy III to a front-line repair outpost, when they were discovered by a small Klingon task force. The U.S.S. *Defiant* and a cover squadron of *Baton Rouge* class cruisers destroyed or captured the entire Klingon force.

Although designed primarily for exploration, the *Constitution* class cruisers were the most powerful ships in service at the time. Despite this, after the Potential loss, they were reassigned away from the combat zone, and only served in their prewar roles of survey, exploration, and planetary contact.

At the same time as the *Constitution* class cruisers were reassigned, and General Order 7 was established under heavy security classification, the Defense of Rudgur III marked the first use of chlortheragen, a Klingon-designed nerve agent. Starfleet marines landed on Rudgur III, near Klingon space, in a surprise attempt to make inroads into the Empire. This marked the first time Federation forces actually landed on Klingon soil, but the landing was, as the official briefings of the time put it, "not entirely successful." Klingon High Command, learning that Rudgur had been taken, sent in large numbers of ground troops. Unsatisfied with their progress, the Klingons used clortheragen for the first time. The chemical, a lethal nerve agent, was designed to inflict agony on its victims as it killed them, demonstrating a new level of brutality in Klingon tactics. A Federation recovery ship moved in to recover the few survivors. Many marines were killed, and most of the survivors were captured and later killed by the Klingons. Colonel Wilhelm Mann'dela, commanding officer of the Fifth Marine Regiment and one of the few high-ranking survivors, summed up the conflict with a grim pun on the planet's name, calling the battle "The Ruddy, Gore War."

Klingon Forces reached SOL system and captured Starbase 1.

The Federation poised to loose Earth in the battle released the unfinished NX Poseidon a experimental new Class of vessel, along with a Reserve Fleet set to protect Earth and the Klingon invasion was stopped before reaching Earth.

Now with the Federation nearly tasting Defeat they began mass production of the Poseidon class and also the new Apache class Vessels, The Federation also finally placed it's entire Constitution class vessels into the war.

### 2260

A major setback for the Klingon Empire occurred with the Battle of Kesse, when the Federation's fast-moving 84th Special Task Force of *Poseidon and Apache* class got behind enemy supply lines and ambushed a vital Klingon convoy headed for a forward supply installation. The Battle of Webirty In December 2259 and the attack on Zal Vhros in February 2260 highlighted the growing Klingon frustrations and desperation in fighting against the Federation. As the Klingons continued to push deeper into Federation territory, their lines of supply grew longer and more tenuous, resulting in a major diversionary tactic in March 2260 A new class of ship with a nonstandard design, the K-23 class escort entered service, and the Klingons claimed to have a new ally. Monitored communications seemed to indicate that the crews were not speaking any known, understandable dialect of Klingon, and the ships would not surrender under any circumstances, preferring self-destruction over capture.

A Klingon thrust toward Adhara, which the Klingons believed to be a major Federation military center, was met by Starfleet forces at Thranstor, which had been selected as a potential future shipbuilding facility, in April. The Battle of Thranstor was notable for the fact that, in a rare instance, the Federation actually had a larger available force to meet the Klingons. As the Klingons maneuvered in their standard V-formations, squadrons of Federation ships turned in formation and flanked the Klingon cruisers, wreaking havoc and causing the Klingons to scatter among the system's asteroid belt. This led to dozens of smaller encounters, and with most of the asteroids containing high concentrations of metals, it became difficult for either side to detect opposing starships due to confused sensor readings. When the battle was finally over, more than 100 warships were permanently disabled, nearly as many more were seriously damaged, and the disorganized Klingon survivors were forced to withdraw to their own territory.

Several days later, and about 40 parsecs away, a similar battle occurred near Argelius. The Engagement for Argelian Approaches, as it became known, "was not won by the Federation as much as it was lost by Klingon forces," according to Admiral Sebastian Westervliet in his book *An Informal History of the Four Years War.* Many of the Klingon vessels, having to operate so far from their supply bases, had not been repaired from previous conflicts. Numerous odd formations were the result of Klingon commanders attempting to protect damaged systems; an entire squadron of D-7s was even reported to have gone into battle *in reverse,* as their damaged forward shields had not yet been repaired. Federation losses were light, and Argelius itself never saw hostile combat or heard the sound of disruptors.

the destroyer U.S.S. *Aramis* intercepted a K-17 class scout ship, which was traveling from the rapidly shifting front lines to a Klingon fleet massing at Grank. Klingon Admiral Komex, who was aboard the K-17, hailed the *Aramis* and demanded to speak with "the highest-ranking available official with Starfleet." The *Aramis* boarded the scout vessel and took it in tow before contacting Admiral Devon aboard the U.S.S. *Aquila*, a command courier in use as a mobile operations center. Komex declared that the Klingon Empire could not win the war, and he believed that the war must end as soon as possible to allow his government to rebuild in order to fight at another time. He swore that he was acting in the best interests of the Klingon Empire with a convoluted chain of logic that was not easily understood by any but himself, and described the location and defenses around Kolm-an, the main center of Klingon operations. The last battle of the war, Operation Argus Redoubt, was fought on May 2260 at Kolm-an, using the detailed information provided by Admiral Komex, and the remaining Klingon forces, despite fighting valiantly, were routed.

### Axanar Peace Mission & Aftermath

The Axanar Peace Mission convened on June 12th 2260), after a number of Klingon delegates were rushed to Axanar. The Treaty of Axanar was signed on June 13 2260, and its terms, which included the mass evacuations of several Klingon worlds in what was now neutral territory, were carried out from July 20 2260 through April 2 2261. Several classes of ships were deemed no longer necessary by Starfleet, and they were decommissioned or destroyed at the Centauri and Arcturus Test Ranges. Other ships were refitted and assigned to peacetime missions. Axanar officially became a Federation protectorate, and the Federation Council approved funding to construct Starbases 12 and 27 in the newest region of space to come under Federation jusrisdiction. Much larger due to the gains made during the Four Years War, the Klingon Empire established a new base at Mastocal and proceeded to consolidate their territorial gains. The Neutral Zone was now much smaller, as the two powers expanded into the previously unclaimed territories between them.