martok star trek

J.G. Hertzler

IMDbPro Starmeter See rank

• Contact info
• 2 nominations

• Roy Ritterhouse
• Vulcan Captain
• 1993–1999 • 27 eps

• Alcalde Ignacio de Soto
• 1991–1993 • 38 eps

• Dr. Grossman Splicers (voice, as JG Hertzler)

• Deathstroke (voice)
• Captain Samuel Travis
• In Development

• Drookmani Captain
• Martok (voice)

• Fleet Commander Ed Kemmer (Retired)

• Admiral Samuel Travis

• Dr. Grossman (voice)

• Professor McLaughlin (as John Hertzler)

• Captain Benjamin Mathius (voice)

• Dockworker Foreman
• Scholar (voice)

• associate producer

Personal details

• Garman Hertzler
• 6′ 0½″ (1.84 m)
• March 18 , 1950
• Savannah, Georgia, USA
• Parents John .G. Hertzler
• Other works Recently wrote a two-part Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel, The Left Hand of Destiny, featuring his character, General Martok of the Klingon Empire.

Self-verified on IMDbPro

Did you know.

• Trivia When auditioning for the role of Martok for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) , the casting director told him to show more anger so he threw a chair at a wall. The display cost him a thumbnail, but won him the role. He won the role over his best friend at the time, Ron Canada .
• Quotes My dad was career Air Force, my mother career Latin and French high school teacher. Never in a 1000 years would I have ever expected to be driving to my job through the arched gates of Paramount Studios, Hollywood.
• Trademark Famous for his gravelly growling baritone voice.
• How old is J.G. Hertzler?
• When was J.G. Hertzler born?
• Where was J.G. Hertzler born?

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Published Jun 29, 2019

J.G. Hertzler Reflects on His Many 'Trek' Roles

The self-described 'blue-collar actor' sat down with StarTrek.com to parse out Martok, Kolos, and everyone in between.

This interview was originally published in January 2011

J.G. Hertzler was all over Star Trek , especially Deep Space Nine . Chances are you didn’t even realize you saw him as often as you did — in part because he used so many names (J.G. Hertzler, John Noah Hertzler, and Garman Hertzler, to name a few.) and in part because the actor tackled so many Trek roles. He appeared first as the Vulcan Captain and Prophet in the DS9 pilot “ Emissary ,” before returning several seasons later as the Changeling impostor version of the Klingon General Martok in the year-four finale “ The Way of the Warrior ,” and year-five opener “ Apocalypse Rising .” He played the “real” Martok more than 20 times across seasons five, six and seven, even surviving the momentous events of the series finale, “ What You Leave Behind .” Hertzler also portrayed the human illustrator in “ Far Beyond the Stars ,” the Changeling Laas in “ Chimera ” and a holosuite guest in “ What You Leave Behind .”

However, Hertzler’s Trek adventure was only just beginning with DS9 . The actor — whose non- Trek credits include Quantum Leap, Zorro, Pirates of Silicon Valley, Six Feet Under, and numerous stage roles — turned up as the Hirogen Fighter in the Voyager episode “ Tsunkatse .” He went onto appear on Enterprise as the Klingon advocate Kolos in “ Judgment ,” and a Klingon Commander in “Borderland." Need more? Hertzler was involved in several Klingon-themed Trek video games, penned a pair of Trek novels, The Left Hand of Destiny duology and co-starred as Koval in the fan film Star Trek: Of Gods and Men.

These days, Hertzler lives in the Finger Lakes region of New York these days and focuses his energy on teaching drama at Cornell University and raising his daughter. StarTrek.com caught up with Hertzler for the following interview.

StarTrek.com

You made your first DS9 appearance as the Vulcan captain in “Emissary.” What do you recall of the experience?

J.G. Hertzler: Well, it was pretty exciting because I think I had a little scene with Patrick Stewart . I’d spent several summers working with Patrick, because he ran a Shakespeare workshop on the lot at Paramount on Saturdays. But doing that first show, it was pretty incredible to me. This was Star Trek. The fact that I’d ever come to work on a Star Trek show and drive through the arches of Paramount Pictures to get there? It hadn’t occurred to me that, as an actor, that would ever happen. I’m a blue-collar actor, and so that was just a remarkable experience. Being a part of the big dream factory called Hollywood, I never thought I’d go there. I was just going to do theater in Washington, D.C., and the world took me to a different place.

How did Martok come along?

JGH: I’d auditioned for Trek a lot. I’d guess about 14 times. I’d come in, punch my card and people would say, “Good to see you again. What are you reading this time?” I’d say, “Oh, a Cardassian,” or whatever it was. I finally told my agent, “Don’t send me up to Star Trek anymore. They’ve seen everything I could possibly ever do and I haven’t gotten a role. Don’t waste their time or my time.” Real soon after that, I had an audition [for something else]. I was sitting outside, angry about something, and [ DS9 casting director] Ron Surma came by. He said, “Oh, John, you might be good for this. Take a look, then come in and read.” It was General Martok. I auditioned and I said to myself, “I’m not going to be your usual Klingon. I’m not going to be offensive, overbearing, self-possessed, arrogant, boorish. I’m going to be Patrick Stewart as a Klingon.”

So I did a quiet and cerebral audition and when I finished, they said, “Do you know what a Klingon is?” I said, “Oh, you want it to be loud, aggressive, abrasive, obnoxious, boorish…” They said, “Yes.” So I did it with that in mind, and I threw a chair against a wall. They had an old plaster wall and it was a metal chair, and one of the legs stuck in the wall a little bit before it fell out. And I caught my thumbnail when I tossed it. I ripped about half my thumbnail off. You must understand, I played linebacker in college, and to play football, especially linebacker, it’s a barely controlled rage. So that’s where I’m coming from in terms of life, barely controlled rage. So the linebacker welled up in me and there I was, with a chair in the wall and blood dripping from my thumb, and I ranted and roared. They said, “Well, thank you,” and they looked a little worried. I heard a day or two later that I got the role.

At what point were you told Martok would be a recurring character?

JGH: It was just a one or a two-episode part. General Martok appeared and then it was Ira Steven Behr or Robert Hewitt Wolfe or Ron Moore — I can’t remember — who said it was the original intent to have Gowron in “Way of the Warrior” and “Apocalypse Rising” shown to be a Dominion replacement, a clone, rather than the Martok figure, but they felt that was too pat or too easy. So they made Martok the clone and blew me up. Somewhere along the line, they said, “ Worf has a friend,” meaning Martok, and that potential relationship attracted them.

I had both eyes as a clone, but as the real Martok, I was a one-eyed Klingon. Ira said, “Don’t worry about that eye. We’ll give you an artificial eye so you have both eyes again.” I said, “No, no, no. Don’t do that, Ira. First of all, I don’t think a Klingon would care how many eyes he has, as long as he has one. Secondly, I just think it’s more interesting if I can be a one-eyed Klingon.” I might’ve been subconsciously thinking of Christopher Plummer as Chang.

Of your many episodes as Martok, which one or two stand out as the character’s finest hours?

JGH: One was “ Soldiers of the Empire ,” which LeVar Burton directed. The other was “ Once More unto the Breach ,” which Allan Kroeker directed. I think “Once More unto the Breach” was my favorite because I was dealing with John Colicos as Kor , which was an honor. And I got to do a tiny bit of writing in that one. I asked Ron if I could add a line to a long speech I had at the end of the episode. I added, “Unfortunately, my father did not live to see that day.” That, for me, rounded out the character’s choice to never forgive, to take his hatred of Kor and his resentment to the grave. It was important to me to not forgive Kor on behalf of my father.

They said, “People like Martok. They want to root for him.” I said, “You know, it really doesn’t matter.” As a character, as an actor, it’s a lot more exciting to play that “human failure” of never forgiving than it is to forgive. You might be a better angel to forgive, but there aren’t that many angels in the Klingon nature.

You played different characters in “Chimera” and “Far Beyond the Stars”…

JGH: I don’t know why they hired me to do “Chimera,” to be honest. I did my best to disguise my voice, but people still recognized it. Actually, some people say, “Oh, you were Laas? I had no idea.” That’s rewarding for an actor to hear. I was basically trying to do Shatner, but at a higher pitch.

I loved that piece because I got to work with Rene Auberjonois the whole time, and I’d never gotten to do much with him before, other than 'harrumph' at each other as our grumpy characters. The thing I remember about “Far Beyond the Stars,” aside from the tremendous story, is that I draw and sketch and paint. I drew everybody that was sitting around that table. I sketched all the players in their 1950s looks. I turned those sketches into the props department at the end of the shoot. That was stupid of me. I had no idea about the convention world at that point, but it would’ve been nice to have them in order to show them to people. Anyway, I thought that episode was one you could have built an entire series from.

What comes to mind about your Voyager and Enterprise guest shots?

JGH: I’d never have thought that the Hirogen on Voyager would take more makeup and appliance time than a Klingon, but it took longer. That was astounding. I did two bits on Enterprise . I was basically blown up immediately in “Borderland,” but the real thrill on that was that I got to wear Michael Ansara’s costume. My Klingon costume was the Kang costume from when Kang, Kor, and Koloth came onto DS9 . I’d been looking through things to wear and I said, “Well, what about this?” They said, “That was Ansara’s. We’re not sure it’ll fit you.” And it fit me perfectly. I grew up watching Michael Ansara as Cochise in Broken Arrow and he was one of my personal heroes. To wear his Klingon togs was fabulous.

Let’s catch up on what you’re doing now. You still make convention appearances, sometimes in costume as Martok, but you live in the Finger Lakes region of New York and you’re teaching drama, right?

JGH: I enjoy the conventions. I see a lot of Bob O’Reilly (who played Gowron). I’ve done some video games. I did BioShock and BioShock 2 and Dead Space , but I’ve never seen them. And the past four years I’ve been teaching theater at Cornell. It’s occupied my every waking hour. I just did a radio production of a recreation of Orson Welles’ 1939 broadcast of A Christmas Carol . I produced and directed that, and it aired here in the Finger Lakes. That was a huge hit and hopefully, it’s the start of something I’ll do on a regular basis.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

J.G. Hertzler is set to appear this summer at Star Trek Las Vegas 2019 .

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Martok’s star trek return doesn’t change his ds9 ending.

Martok returns in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3 and, thankfully, he's still where DS9 left him: Chancellor of the Klingon Empire.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3, Episode 2 - "The Least Dangerous Game" Thankfully, Martok's (J.G. Hertzler) appearance in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3 doesn't mean he's no longer where Star Trek: Deep Space Nine left him: Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. After the acquittal of Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) for the destruction of Pakled planet, which was revealed to be a Pakled conspiracy, life is back to normal on the USS Cerritos. The California-class starship has resumed its mission to make Second Contact on strange new worlds already explored by Starfleet. This leaves the Lower Deckers plenty of time to play Klingon desktop role-playing games starring Martok.

After Worf (Michael Dorn), General Martok is perhaps the second most beloved Klingon character in Star Trek, and it's amazing that the one-eyed warrior didn't even debut until DS9 season 5. Later on, the real Martok was revealed to be a prisoner of the Dominion, along with Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), with a Changeling imposter posing as the General. After the real Martok regained command of his ship, the IKS Rotarran, he welcomed Worf into the House of Martok and became as brothers with DS9's Strategic Operations Officer. The House of Martok also welcomed Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) when she married Worf before her tragic death at the end of DS9 season 6. Martok played a major role in winning the Dominion War. After Worf killed Chancellor Gowron (Robert O'Reilly) and briefly became the Klingons' leader, he named Martok as the new Chancellor of the Klingon Empire.

Related: Star Trek Secretly Revisits Sisko's Darkest DS9 Moment

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3, episode 2, "The Least Dangerous Game," Ensigns Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) play an ongoing Klingon role-playing desktop board game hosted by Martok. However, the real Martok is still Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. The game is a Ferengi knockoff replicating the one-eyed Chancellor, and it's all a ploy to make players buy the expansion packs. Worf named Martok Chancellor at the end of the Dominion War in 2375 , and Lower Decks confirms that Martok is still in control of the Klingon Empire about 6 years later in the animated series' timeframe, circa 2381.

How Lower Decks Season 3 Is Setting Up Its DS9 Episode

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3 is visiting Deep Space Nine, and the show has already been building towards the much-anticipated episode. Lower Decks previously showed DS9 in a flashback of Mariner at the station prior to her posting on the Cerritos, and Beckett claims she once broke Worf's mek'leth and had it repaired before the Klingon noticed. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3's premiere ramped up the DS9 homages and anticipation by showing the Lower Deckers dining at Sisko's Creole Kitchen in New Orleans. The restaurant is owned by Joseph Sisko (Brock Peters), the father of Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and grandfather of Jake (Cirroc Lofton). Sisko's restaurant also now stocks Ketacel-White hot sauce, an in-joke about the Dominion's soldiers, the Jem'Hadar. Further, the Pakleds' plan to frame Captain Freeman bears an uncanny resemblance to how Captain Sisko and Garak (Andrew Robinson) tricked the Romulans into joining the Dominion War.

Martok, and J.G, Hertzler reprising his role, is a big coup for Star Trek: Lower Decks , and it's good to know that he remains Chancellor Martok. The Klingons' leader joins fellow DS9 alum Jeffrey Combs, who appeared in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2 as the evil sentient computer, Agimus. However, the biggest names from DS9 Trekkers hope to see (and hear) on Lower Decks are still to come. Hopefully, Colonel Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), Dr. Bashir, Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer), Quark (Armin Shimerman), Jake Sisko, and other Star Trek: Deep Space Nine favorites will appear in Star Trek: Lower Decks ' DS9 episode.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Martok, son of Urthog was a Klingon hero featured on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as well as licensed Star Trek media. Martok led the House of Martok .

• 1 Biography
• 2.1 First Splinter Timeline
• 2.2 Star Trek Online
• 3 Alternate Timelines
• 5 Navigation

Biography [ ]

Martok was born a commoner in the Ketha Lowlands area of Qo'noS. His family had served the empire as soldiers for over 15 generations. Martok's father Urthog hoped that his son would be the first officer in the family. Martok took the entrance exam for officer training however Kor rejected his application on the grounds that he did not have noble blood, leading to Martok hating Kor for many years.

With "the mark of Kor" on his record even enlisting as a soldier wasn't possible. Martok took a job as a laborer on General ShiVang's flagship starting in 2345. When the Romulans attacked the flagship in 2345 Martok fought so well that he was giving a battlefield promotion, however Urthog had died before he could see his son become an officer.

Martok quickly rose through the ranks. Marrying Sirella, Martok was able to establish the House of Martok as one of the Great Houses of the Klingon Empire. He and Sirella had three children - a son named Drex and two daughters named Shen and Lazhna.

By 2367 he was a General in the Klingon Defense Force. He remained loyal to Gowron during the civil war of 2367-68, and commanded forces loyal to Gowron during the Battle of Mempa.

In 2371 Martok was kidnapped while hunting saber bear on Kang's Summit on Qo'noS. Shipped off to a Dominion Gamma Quadrant prison camp. Meanwhile a Changeling infiltrator took his place and caused the alliance between the Empire and the Federation to fail. This Changeling caused a war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire that was only stopped when he was exposed by Odo.

In the meantime Martok was forced to fight Jem'Hadar soldiers in order for the Dominion's shock troops to study and learn Klingon fighting techniques. These fights took a serious toll on Martok's body and caused him to lose an eye in the process. Also Martok was distressed about all the death and destruction his evil counterpart had caused while he was away.

With the help of Worf, Julian Bashir, and Garak Martok managed to escape the prison camp and return to the Alpha Quadrant. Captain Benjamin Sisko finally convinced Gowron to have the Empire restore its alliance with the Federation. As part of the alliance Sisko agreed to allow a permanent Klingon military presence on Deep Space Nine, with Sisko choosing the commander of the Klingon forces. Seeing how much Worf thought of the real Martok, he requested Martok take command.

Bashir treated Martok's injuries and offered to replace Martok's eye with an occular implant, however he refused that option, preferring to leave it as a reminder of what the Dominion had done to him.

After Worf helped Martok regain his drive and confidence in battling the Jem'Hadar, Martok invited Worf to join his House, restoring his honor amongst Klingons. The surviving members of the House of Mogh also joined Martok's house.

Martok was the primary leader of the Klingon forces during the Dominion War. During the closing days of the war Gowron decided that Martok was too much a political threat. Taking charge of the war effort Gowron sent Martok on poorly thought out missions that ended in a series of defeats for the General and almost cost him his life. Worf begged Martok to stand up to the Chancellor but Martok refused to do so in a time of war. After Gowron proposed another foolish mission, Worf had enough and challenged Gowron to battle. Worf was able to defeat and kill Gowron. The assembled Klingon leaders were ready to declare Worf as Chancellor of the Klingon Empire, but he refused, giving the role to Martok. Martok did not want to take the office, feeling he wasn't worthy due to his common origins. Worf told him that Kahless himself was not high born. Further Worf said that great leaders did not seek power but had it thrust upon them, and with that put the Chancellor's cloak on Martok. Martok finally agreed to become the new Chancellor of the Klingon Empire.

Martok led the Klingon forces during the final battle of the war. While Sisko and Admiral Ross didn't feel like drinking to the victory of the allied forces after seeing the genocide the Dominion had started to carry out against the Cardassians, Martok decided to throw back a bit of bloodwine anyways to celebrate the victory. Martok returned to Deep Space Nine and participated in the formal surrender ceremony of the Dominion to the Federation Alliance. After signing the instruments of surrender the Female Changeling pled guilty to war crimes and surrendered to Federation custody.

Following the war Martok returned to Qo'noS and began leading the Empire from the Great Hall in the First City.

Post War [ ]

First splinter timeline [ ].

Shortly after Martok returned to Qo'noS in 2376 he was temporaily deposed in a coup led by Gothmara and her son Morjod - who destroyed the Great Hall. Martok's wife Sirella died in the coup when she sacrifice herself to save Martok's life. Daughters Shen and Lazhna also both died in the coup. Martok vowed to kill Morjod for the deaths of his family members.

Martok later discovered that Morjod was his son - that Morjod had been conceived when Gothmara took advantage of him while he was in a semi conscious state. During the final battle with Morjod's forces despite everything Morjod had done Martok apologized to his son for having to kill him, and vowed to make things right. Martok confronted Gothmara and took her head off with the Sword of Kahless. Drex was seriously injured during the final battle but was later rescued. Historians would later record that the second age of the Klingon Empire had begun with that battle.

After the coup the Great Hall was subsequently rebuilt.

In 2381 the Borg invaded the Alpha Quadrant and nearly destroyed the Empire and the Federation before they were finally stopped with the assistance of the Caeliar. Qo'noS was one of the many worlds devastated, with millions of Klingons on the homeworld dying in the process. Standing in the wreckage of the First City, Martok ruefully noted that he was the first Chancellor to have the Great Hall destroyed twice during his time in office.

Martok was present on the second Deep Space Nine station in 2385 when Federation President Nanietta Bacco was assassinated at the dedication ceremonies. Angered by the murder of the Federation President, Martok immediately offered assistance in hunting down those responsible.

During the Devidian Temporal Apocalypse Martok died in battle defending the Empire. This timeline was erased when the Picard of the timeline started a temporal recursion that prevented it from ever forming.

Star Trek Online [ ]

Martok was challenged for the leadership by J'mpok in 2393, and apparently died in ritual combat. After his apparent death Drex became head of the House, with Worf acting as his Gin'tak .

It was later discovered that Martok was still alive, having been put into stasis by a medic loyal to the House of Torg after his combat with J'mpok until he could be healed. He was then held as a prisoner by Torg's people. Following his rescue by Rodek Martok did not seek to regain the Chancellorship of the Empire, but instead returned to the KDF as a General, leading the military against the Tzenkethi, Iconians, and Hurq.

Alternate Timelines [ ]

The skull of an alternate reality General Martok

In a timeline where Q interfered with human history and caused humanity to develop into the totalitarian Confederation of Earth , Martok was one of the few survivors after the Picard of that timeline deployed a bioweapon that destroyed all life on Qo'noS. Facing Picard in armed combat, Martok was defeated and killed by the human military leader. Picard then took Martok's skull back to Earth, putting it on display in his chateau along with other skulls he had collected over the years, including a Ferengi, an assimilated humanoid, and Gul Dukat .

• Martok was one of a number of Star Trek related roles played by J.G. Hertzler. Hertzler also played Martok's changeling replacement featured in the fourth and fifth seasons of Deep Space Nine .

Navigation [ ]

• 1 Yoshi Toranaga
• 2 Mariko Toda
• 3 Sung Jinwoo

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Who Is General Martok?

The Next Generation's Worf isn't the only popular Klingon in Star Trek.

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Who was general martok, martok as a prisoner of war in ds9, what happened to martok after ds9.

Commander Worf, who has appeared in numerous Star Trek projects, is undoubtedly the most popular Klingon in the franchise. However, if there were to be one in a close second, that honor would go to General Martok (J.G. Hertzler) from Deep Space Nine . He briefly appeared in two episodes of the series, only to return as a recurring character and a significant part of the ongoing story. Without Martok, Chancellor Gowron would still be leading the Klingon Empire, and Worf wouldn't be a part of the House of Martok.

Most fans know Klingons as boorish, arrogant, offensive, and overbearing characters, but Hertzler took his portrayal of Martok in a different direction that proved to work well. Martok is more intellectual than other Klingons, though he still displays those overbearing and arrogant qualities. However, his more cerebral nature made him stand apart from others and climb through the ranks of the Klingon Defense Force.

Star Trek: 10 Best Klingon Stories

Before General Martok became a well-decorated officer in the Klingon Defense Force, he came from a common family in the lowlands. His entire family served as warriors for the Empire . However, Dahar Master Kor rejected Martok from becoming an officer, believing that those with common blood shouldn't be Klingon officers. This put a black mark on the young Martok's record that prohibited him from even enlisting as a common soldier. This forced him to become a civilian laborer.

For five years, Martok served on General Shivang's flagship until a Romulan fleet attacked. Witnessing Martok's skill as a warrior, Shivang gave the commoner a battlefield commission. From then on, those within the Empire respected Martok, while those outside feared him. His experience as a laborer who proved himself to join the Klingon Defense Force and then worked his way up the ranks turned Martok into the honorable man many knew him as. It also gave him a unique perspective.

While he had two other children, Martok treated Commander Worf of Starfleet as his own, eventually inducting him into the House of Martok. Martok saw a great deal of combat, but he encountered the most during the Dominion War, where Dominion operatives captured and imprisoned him in an internment camp.

The first time audiences met General Martok, he wasn't himself. In the episodes "Way of the Warrior" and "Apocalypse Rising," Benjamin Sisko, O'Brien, and Worf infiltrated a Klingon ritual because they believed one of the higher-ranking Klingon officers was a Changeling spy. Of course, they believed the Changeling disguised itself as Chancellor Gowron, leader of the Klingon Empire, making their mission all that more difficult. However, when they confronted the Chancellor, they learned that the spy had taken on the shape of General Martok instead.

In season five's 14th episode, "In Purgatory's Shadow," Jem'Hadar soldiers captured Worf and Garak. This was the first time that the audience met the real Martok. The Dominion captured General Martok without notice while he was hunting saber bears, and brought him to Internment Camp 371 in the Gamma Quadrant. It was there that Martok lost one of his eyes. The Jem'Hadar forced all Klingon prisoners into one-on-one duels as a means for the Dominion soldiers to sharpen their hand-to-hand skills.

Martok had grown slower in his old age, proving he was no match for the younger, genetically enhanced Jem'Hadar. However, Martok managed to lead the Federation and Klingons to victory during the Dominion War at the helm of a Bird of Prey , repaying the Jem'Hadar for his imprisonment.

Martok was one of the best warriors in the entire Klingon Empire. After Worf and Garak freed him from Dominion imprisonment , he returned to active duty without hesitation. However, he didn't have the same edge he had before, and others saw that. Once Worf knocked some sense into the General, Martok became the same warrior the entire Empire told tales about.

That wasn't the only time Worf had to knock some sense into his mentor. Everybody saw the weakness in Gowron's leadership, but nobody was brave enough to say or do anything about it. When the Chancellor sent General Martok on one too many suicide missions for Worf's liking, he decided to put a stop to it.

Worf called out Gowron's ineptitude and lack of battle experience in the middle of a meeting with high-ranking officials. That kind of talk doesn't sit well with any Klingon warrior, least of all the Chancellor. It was an official challenge to Gowron's claim to leadership of the Empire. The Chancellor gladly accepted it, thinking his skill as a warrior surpassed that of Commander Worf . Spoiler alert: It didn't. Worf defeated Gowron in combat, maing him the new Chancellor. Worf promptly resigned as Chancellor to pass the title on to his mentor, General Martok. When Martok tried to decline, Worf quoted Khaless:

Great men do not seek power, they have power thrust upon them.

Martok reluctantly accepted the position. Unlike Chancellor Gowron, Martok didn't sit on a throne while his soldiers put their lives on the line. Martok sat at the helm of his Bird of Prey on the front lines, and fought in the Dominion War until the Federation and their allies were victorious.

During an episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks that takes place six years after DS9's conclusion , the USS Cerritos crew plays a tabletop role-playing game, which Martok hosts in a digital capacity. However, the game is a Ferengi creation, and Martok remains the leader of the Klingon Empire. He wasn't dishonored and related to virtual dungeon mastering.

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General Martok

Played By: J. G. Hertzler

"We keep falling back. The Dominion keeps pushing forward. I tell you, Worf, war is much more fun when you're winning! Defeat makes my wounds ache."

• Ascended Extra : He originally was a rather minor antagonist here for a couple of episodes before his death. But Hertzler's performance was so great, the writers brought him back. Which was not difficult since the Martok who was killed as planned turned out to be a doppelganger .
• Authoritative in Public, Docile in Private : He is a Klingon warrior who fought his way past classism to earn a battlefield commission and then survived years in a Dominion POW Camp . The one thing that actively scares him, as we learn in " You Are Cordially Invited ", is his wife Lady Sirella, who rules him in domestic matters and whom he actively tries to avoid antagonizing.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other : Describes Sirella as a cold woman with whom there is little physical love, and he's still smarting about that time she accidentally caused his beloved targ to run off into the wilds, but he still admits he wouldn't give her up for anything (and given he's a commoner and she was aristocracy, she socially outranks him, so it's evidently reciprocal on her end).
• Been There, Shaped History : It was established on DS9 that Martok was Gowron's military leader during the Klingon Civil War, personally commanding his forces during the Battle of Mempa (which was partially seen on TNG) and preventing it from becoming a complete rout for Gowron.
• Berserk Button : Kor (see Self-Made Man ). When Worf tries to talk to him about it, Martok warns him to shut up before Martok "forgets that [they] are brothers."
• Big Fun : The crew of DS9 (particularly Bashir, O'Brien and Dax) seem to think of him in this manner. It helps that he's one of the more approachable Klingons in the franchise.
• Big Good : For the Klingons from his very first introduction. It helps that he's the most honorable and moral Klingon besides Worf. By the end point of the war, most Klingons look to him for leadership rather than Gowron.
• Blood Knight : As with most Klingon warriors, he revels in battling the Dominion. He is somewhat dissatisfied when his human allies lose their taste for celebration after witnessing the full extent of the carnage wrought by the final battle on Cardassia Prime.
• Capture and Replicate : During Season 4, Martok is actually a Changeling Doppelgänger, a mole inside the Klingon High Command, unmasked and killed in the Season 5 premiere "Apocalypse Rising"), while the real Martok is being held in a Jem'Hadar prison camp. Word of God is that positive fan response and Hertzler's performance induced the writers to bring him back.
• Cowardly Lion : His experiences in the Jem'Hadar prison camp left him more shaken than initially thought. On his first command afterwards, he passes up opportunities for victories and his crew starts to consider him a coward. Worf manages to find a way to restore Martok's confidence, by antagonizing him over his cowardice and then deliberately invoking The Worf Effect when Martok throws down the gauntlet.
• Dead Alternate Counterpart : In the Confederation timeline his skull is one of many displayed in Picard's trophy case.
• Death or Glory Attack : In "The Way of the Warrior," Martok keeps urging Gowron suicidally to continue the assault on Deep Space 9, despite the fact that, as Sisko points out, the Klingon fleet is decimated, the station's shields are holding, the boarding parties are contained, and the Federation's reinforcements are closer than theirs. Only a full season later is it revealed that this "Martok" is a Changeling imposter, working to wreck the Klingon Empire as well as the Federation.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance : He gives an excellent demonstration of the differences between human and Klingon in the finale. When Sisko and Ross refuse to drink a toast over Cardassian corpses in burning rubble, he shakes his head over their sentimentality and swigs from the bottle with obvious enjoyment .
• Eyepatch of Power : Though unlike General Chang , he doesn't actually wear an eyepatch.
• Eye Scream : The reason he lost an eye? A Jem'Hadar punched it out in a prison camp.
• Fire-Forged Friends : With Worf, after they worked together to escape a Dominion POW camp. He and Sisko also become friends after fighting side-by-side during the Dominion War.
• Four-Star Badass : He can definitely hold his own in a knock-down fight and is highly respected by his troops as a warrior.
• From Nobody to Nightmare : From Ascended Extra to Chancellor of the Klingon High Council . Now that's a character arc. And in-universe, he's a Working-Class Hero from a peasant-class family. Not a drop of noble blood in his veins.
• Happily Married : He seems a bit of a Henpecked Husband , but when he describes his marriage to Sisko, it's clear he would have it no other way... when his wife sweeps imperiously onto the station, Martok watches with clear love and admiration. "Magnificent, isn't she."
• Hero of Another Story : It's made clear that Martok has had trials to overcome in his life and continues doing badass things when he's not onscreen.
• Hit-and-Run Tactics : There's a reason he favors the small Bird-of-Prey over the larger battlecruisers — it lets him launch lightning-quick attacks and then get the hell out of dodge. He leads a squadron of them on a series of cavalry raids against the Dominion.
• Humble Hero : At least, as humble as a Klingon can be, mostly demonstrated by his refusal to challenge Gowron and take the chancellorship for himself.
• Hypocritical Humor : A minor example, but he once teases Worf for apparently learning modesty from The Federation ; later episodes show that Martok is incredibly modest by Klingon standards.
• My Master, Right or Wrong : He follows Gowron's increasingly bad orders in Season 7 without question, despite the embarrassing defeats and rising death count. He later learns that Gowron is setting him up to fail, and he still follows orders.
• Nice Guy : It's noticeable that Martok is one of the few Klingons that Worf encounters who never tosses his Federation upbringing in his face.
• Odd Friendship : With Nog of all people. After Nog stands up to Martok and shows he's willing to enforce station regulations even to a Klingon general, they continually show respect to each other for the rest of the series. Whenever Martok shows up in Ops when Nog is on duty, Martok always acknowledges him first.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy : "We are Klingons, Worf! We don't embrace other cultures, we conquer them!"
• Reluctant Ruler : Martok really didn't want to become the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire and tried his best to avoid it. In the end, he accepts the position with great reluctance solely because he has no choice in the matter .
• Scars are Forever : Invoked. He refuses a prosthetic eye when it's offered, wearing the scars as a badge of honour from having received them in battle with a Jem'hadar. It's also possible he knows that they make him even more intimidating to his opponents.
• Self-Made Man : Blacklisted by Kor, a noble who feels his lineage was unacceptable. Serves as civilian auxiliary, wins promotion for heroism and then claws his way up to flag rank. In other words, he is a badass even by Klingon standards.
• Servile Snarker : Darok, an old hand on the Ch'Tang , and Martok's personal assistant. Martok : [fed up] There will come a day, Darok, when your services as my aide may no longer be required. Darok : I look forward to that day with great anticipation.
• He's also incredibly loyal, and more importantly gentle with Worf, being a close confidant and blood brother.
• Up Through the Ranks : A commoner who fought his way to flag rank, even after being blacklisted by Kor.
• Uptown Girl : Not Martok himself, but his wife Sirella claims Imperial lineage and carries herself appropriately in contrast to Martok's looser bearing.
• Vitriolic Best Buds : Develops this dynamic with Worf and Sisko. They banter and insult each other a lot but being comrades-in-arms and major leaders of their respective races, they share a bond few people can understand.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy : Martok hates Kor not just because he was rejected as an officer, but also because by the time Martok achieved promotion on his own merits his father had died. He is so glad to rub his Self-Made Man success in Kor's face, but Kor didn't even remember rejecting his application in the first place .
• Working-Class Hero : As noted above, he was born a commoner, and was actually blacklisted from military service because of it; the only posting he could get was as a civilian laborer, and he was only able to get the chance to prove himself and earn a battlefield commission due to being in the right place at the right time. Despite this, he rose Up Through the Ranks through sheer badassery. By the time of the series, he has become one of the Empire's most respected generals, married a noblewoman and established his House as an honored one in its own right. By its end, he's the Chancellor .

Played By: John Colicos

• The Alcoholic : First seen in Odo's drunk tank, to the disgust of Koloth.
• Almighty Janitor : Third officer on the Ch'Tang , because Martok will wear a dress before he starts taking orders from him.
• Notable in that he was pretty much the only Klingon with this attitude in the original series; even for this era it's notably more than the Klingon norm.
• Blue Blood : The source of the quarrel between Martok and Kor. Kor didn't believe a commoner had any place as an officer.
• Boisterous Bruiser : He came from a generation of Klingons who "ate when they were hungry, fought when they were angry". They didn't stand on ceremony as politicians (Gowron) tend to do.
• Book Ends : Kor's speech to the younger Klingons before his death is reminiscent of what he said to the Organians in his first TOS appearance: "I hope you will continue to savor the sweetness of your life."
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday : Doesn't recall blacklisting Martok, but acknowledges that it's the kind of thing he'd do.
• Clueless Boss : His age and senility have made him this. Because of his legendary status and past rank, he is still given command during the Dominion War, but he bungles the operation when he comes to believe that he is fighting the Federation rather than the Dominion.
• Dying Moment of Awesome : Takes on a number of Jem'Hadar ships in one little, undermanned Bird-of-Prey as a Heroic Sacrifice .
• Grumpy Old Man
• How the Mighty Have Fallen : "The only weight I carry now, dear comrade, is my own bulbous body. I was once, if you remember, far less than you see, and far more than I have become."
• Mythology Gag : Jadzia and Worf both regard Kor highly, as the quintessential noble Klingon, compared to the current Klingon society which is rather lacking in honor. Kor was the first major, named Klingon seen on TOS, and his Genghis Khan-inspired look would serve as the basis of all future Klingons on TOS. He is the quintessential Klingon in more ways than one.
• No Hero to His Valet : Martok despised him because Kor refused to allow him into military service because Martok was low-born. After being blackballed by a Dahar master, Martok was only able to get into the military by signing up as a civilian auxiliary and proving himself in battle.
• Old Master : His farewell episode, "Once More into the Breach", draws a comparison to Davy Crockett . In space!
• Same Character, But Different : On TOS he was a stern no-nonsense leader of an occupying army. On DS9 he was a jovial alcoholic.
• Shrouded in Myth : Young Klingons are awed with the many tales of his exploits, which Kor is happy to recount and occasionally embroider.
• Villain of Another Story : As a rival of Kirk's in TOS prior to the Klingon Empire's Heel–Face Turn .
• Warrior Heaven : Promises Worf that he will say hi to Jadzia when he gets to Sto-vo-kor .
• Warts and All : Reliving his glory days (literally, his senility made him believe he was in the middle of a battle with the Federation while attacking a Dominion supply base) cost a large number of troops and several ships on what was supposed to be a simple raiding mission. The crew quickly realizes that his best days are behind him and start to shun him. But a fellow old warrior reminds him of who he used to be, and he makes a Heroic Sacrifice keeping the Dominion ships at bay.
• You Shall Not Pass! : Dies holding the rear guard for the Klingon fleet.

Koloth and Kang

Played By: William Campbell and Michael Ansara

• Badass Boast : Koloth to Odo: Odo: How did you get in here? Koloth: I am Koloth. Odo: That doesn't answer my question. Koloth: Yes, it does.
• Bling of War : Koloth always wears his full Klingon dress uniform, covered in many, many decorations.
• Dying Moment of Awesome : They decide to subvert the Albino's Evil Plan and fight him to the death, but still die in the process.
• Grumpy Old Man : Koloth in particular has little patience with Kor's drunkenness.
• Old Master : They're both Da'har Masters, honored elder warriors in Klingon society.
• Kang had changed the least, even in his TOS appearance he valued peace with the Federation and was outraged when he mistakenly believed Kirk had attacked him. The only thing that changed about Kang was that his son's murder had made him more melancholy.
• You Killed My Father : Flipped version. All three old warriors, plus Trill Curzon Dax, swore a blood oath to get revenge after The Albino killed Kang's son. Kor and Koloth because they considered Kang a blood brother, Curzon because the boy was his Godson. Jadzia feels compelled to honor Curzon's blood oath, but Kang angrily tries to relieve her of any obligation to the oath made by her symbiote's prior host. Jadzia eventually convinces him to let her do as she feels she must and the four head off to kill the Albino.

Played By: Robert O'Reilly

"I decide what can and cannot be done."

• Action Politician : He is a Klingon , after all. He's gung-ho about leading space battles and fending off attempts at a Klingon Promotion with his own bat'leth. However, toward the end of things he becomes too much Politician and not enough Action.
• Anti-Villain : Generally villainous, but not without redeeming characteristics.
• Became Their Own Antithesis : Despite starting out as an honorable, reasonable leader on TNG, by the time of DS9 Gowron has essentially become no better than Duras, his political rival and opponent for the chancellorship of the Klingon Empire. Both men let the power of their position go to their heads. Both strip Worf of his family honor for wrongful reasons. Both try to use dishonorable means to destroy their political rival. Both men are hardliners of the Klingon Empire, bent on returning the Empire to old days of conquering and pillaging their neighbors. Gowron even leads the Empire into a war against the Federation, something that Duras was predicted to do if he became chancellor. Both men die in honorable combat against Worf, leading to their rival being appointed chancellor.
• Big Bad : Gowron takes on this role in Season 4: The Cardassians have been broken and the Dominion have taken a back seat, leaving the Klingons as the biggest threat to the Federation as Gowron leads them into war against the other Alpha Quadrant powers. Subverted in Season 5, when it turns out he was an Unwitting Pawn in a Dominion plot.
• Corrupt Politician : Ezri singles him out as an example of what's wrong with the Klingon Empire. He wasn't so bad in TNG (certainly compared to his rival, Duras), but his growing paranoia - fueled by Martok's popularity - leads him to put the entire war effort in jeopardy.
• Inverted as far as the Federation are concerned, as they regard him having been a power-hungry moron who drove the Cardassians into the Dominion's hands when he originally declared war on them, then nearly crippled his own forces out of spite, with the fact that Worf had to kill him only being more proof that Gowron was never really the shrewd leader they originally took him to be .
• Driven by Envy : His undoing. He gets jealous of the attention and glory heaped on General Martok in the Dominion War and pushes him aside to take command and that glory for himself. Disaster ensues.
• Even Evil Has Standards : For all his faults, he refuses to execute an unarmed and surrendering opponent. When D'Ghor attempts to murder a surrendering Quark even without the pretense of ritual combat, a disgusted Gowron has him excommunicated. Gowron: I didn't want to believe the things they said about you, but if you can stand here and murder this pathetic little man, then you have no honor … and you have no place in this hall.
• Evil Virtues : He's not above stripping opponents of their honor for petty reasons and is willing to use a Uriah Gambit against Martok to prevent a challenge to his chancellorship. However, when it comes to actual physical combat, Gowron's no slouch. He personally leads the invasion and later retreat from Cardassia and dies in honorable combat against Worf. Worf himself acknowledges this by performing the traditional death rite over Gowron's body.
• Honorable Warrior's Death : No matter what else can be said about him, Gowron met Worf's challenge without fear and very nearly won. Worf acknowledges this by performing the traditional death howl over Gowron's body, to let Sto-Vo-Kor know that a warrior will be arriving.
• Improperly Paranoid : Of Martok killing him and seizing control of the Klingon Empire, which is actually the last thing Martok would do.
• Insane Troll Logic : The reasoning he's running on against Martok is that he suspects Martok might be disloyal in the future, and therefore orders him into suicide missions knowing Martok is too loyal to say "no".
• This actually started on TNG . After the Klingon Civil War, Gowron literally rewrote Klingon history to make himself the sole hero and remove any credit due to the Federation.
• He was fighting tooth and nail to ensure that Martok didn't get enough fame to challenge him for the Chancellorship. This leads directly to his death and Martok being appointed Chancellor by Worf.
• Large Ham : As his actor put it, you're not acting like a Klingon til you're getting spittle on other people from your shouting.
• The Napoleon : At 5'10", he's above average for a human, but a runt by Klingon standards. As a result, he tends to be louder and more bombastic than most others of his race. He also favours the IKS Negh'var as his flagship: an enormous battleship bristling with armament but generally impractical for most engagements . This stands in contrast to Martok, who favours the IKS Rotarran : a small Klingon Bird-Of-Prey capable of performing a wide variety of missions.
• Not Me This Time : Everyone gets very suspicious when the head of the Klingon Empire starts getting a bug up his rear about Klingons needing to fight, starting a war with Cardassia and threatening to break the Khitomer Accords after several decades. Odo gets information claiming Gowron is a Changeling infiltrator... except he isn't. General Martok had been replaced. All that posturing and conflict-seeking? All Gowron, baby.
• Pet the Dog : Despite his less than charitable flaws, it's shown that before their falling out, he does genuinely consider Worf a friend and a close ally. He makes a detour to DS9 after breaking the peace treaty with the Federation specifically to recruit Worf and he's entirely forgiving of Worf having exposed the Klingon plans to invade Cardassia. It's only when Worf spurns him again that things sour and he discommends him and his house.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking : He's on the flagship of the invasion force to Cardassia and doesn't back away from duels to the death.
• Reasonable Authority Figure : Played with. He is corrupt and reckless, but also smart and cunning, and can give sound judgments in disputes between houses. Tends to be more reasonable when his own ambition and self-interest aren't on the line. Nor is he a coward, being willing to face Worf in a duel to the death with the Empire at stake.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy : Gowron was afraid that Martok would kill him and take his place as Chancellor . His resulting actions against Martok led to this trope via a more indirect approach: Worf challenged and killed him, then passed the mantle to Martok.
• Tempting Fate : In "Apocalypse Rising", after Worf is stopped in the nick of time from killing him, Gowron remarks Worf should have finished the job as he won't get another chance. Well, Worf does get another chance near the end of the series...
• This Is Unforgivable! : Gowron's continuing ill treatment of Martok (who Worf has come to regard as a surrogate father) finally bites him in the ass when Worf calls Gowron out on it in front of his advisors . Worf: What I say now, I say as a member of the House of Martok, not a Starfleet officer. ( *lays Starfleet insignia on table* ) You have dishonored yourself and the Empire, and you are not worthy to lead the council. Gowron: There can be only one answer to that!
• Took a Level in Jerkass : While TNG had already implied that he was just the better of two bad options next to Duras, here he ends up starting a war against the Cardassians, thereby driving them into the arms of the Dominion, also starts a war with the Federation when they oppose him, and later on deliberately screws up military operations in the latter stages of the war — when the allies are already on their ropes thanks to the Breen energy weapons being able to One-Hit Kill Federation and Romulan ships — just to discredit Martok. It's honestly enough to make you wonder whether Duras could really have been much worse.
• Ungrateful Bastard : He repeatedly backstabs Worf and the Federation despite owing his chancellorship to their covert assistance during the Klingon Civil War.
• The Uriah Gambit : He pulls this on Martok, fearing that the general's skill and growing popularity will be a threat. Gowron orders him on impossible missions with the intention that he will either get killed, or that his repeated, inevitable losses will disgrace him.
• Villain Respect : He shows genuine respect for Quark after his ballsy gambit to discredit D'Ghor by leaving himself unarmed and open to be killed. Gowron: A brave Ferengi. Who would've thought it possible.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist : His invasion of Cardassia would have been somewhat vindicated if the Detapa Council had been replaced by changelings. But they weren't, and the invasion quickly bogs down into an excuse to try and rebuild the Empire's fading glory.

Played By: Mary Kay Adams

• Abduction Is Love : Or friendship, at least. To Quark, with her as the abductor and him as the abductee.
• Amicable Exes : Klingon divorce proceedings aside, she and Quark part on good terms, and the two are clearly happy to see each other again when she returns to the station in "Looking for Par'Mach".
• Arranged Marriage : To Quark. Arranged by her. Rather forcefully.
• Bothering by the Book : Klingon law doesn't quite say a Ferengi can't rule a Klingon house.
• Interspecies Romance : With Quark in "Looking for Par'Mach," though given that she does not return again it looks like it was only a Friends with Benefits thing.

Alternative Title(s): Klingon Empire

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The Complete History of the Klingons in Star Trek's TNG Era

Quick links, the next generation introduced the klingon-federation alliance, deep space nine changed klingon and federation dynamics in an explosive way, the klingon and federation go to war against the dominion, the end of the 24th century brought a return to klingon and federation peace.

While Klingons are thought of as the biggest antagonists in the history of the Federation, the majority of Star Trek stories take place when they are at peace. The end of Star Trek: The Original Series era of films included the beginnings of an alliance initiated by Spock and Captain Kirk, though reluctantly. While peace was never easy or all that long-lasting, the Klingon Empire and Starfleet are just as often allies as enemies. Making peace with the Federation was always something controversial among the war-obsessed Klingons. Through multiple versions of treaties, alliances and agreements, some Klingon ship and its crew were always hassling some Starfleet or Federation target. However, the Romulan Star Empire's reemergence helped bring them closer together.

In 2344, a Klingon outpost on Narenda III was attacked by the Romulans. The USS Enterprise-C under Captain Rachel Garrett tried to help and was destroyed after a brief time-travel excursion changing Star Trek canon. This sacrifice led to very productive peace talks, which themselves came under attack by Romulans two years later. Ja'rod of House Duras betrayed the Klingons, but he blamed Mogh (Worf's father), whose son was sent away and was raised on Earth. Another prominent Klingon, Martok was given a field commission while fending off a Romulan attack. The most solid alliance between the Federation and Klingons came in 2349 when Riva (whose name came to mean "peacemaker") negotiated a lasting peace with Federation leaders, including Sarek, father of Spock.

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The treaty Riva negotiated led to a powerful political alliance between the Federation and the Klingons . The Empire was even described as being a tertiary part of the United Federation of Planets. However, errant Houses continued to attack Federation targets, and anti-alliance leaders like Korris emerged because they believed their leaders were traitors. Still, Starfleet and the Klingons participated in officer exchanges, and they even fought in some battles together, mostly against Romulans. Klingons assisted the USS Enterprise-D in trying to help Admiral Jarok defect, and provided a Bird of Prey for Picard and Data's covert mission to find Spock on Romulus.

Still, there were Klingons who chose the Romulans over the Federation. Ambassador Kell who worked with Sela (the daughter of an alternate timeline Tasha Yar ) to frame the Federation for the murder of a Klingon governor. While the peace with the Federation was maintained, it wasn't so for the Klingons themselves. A civil war broke out in the Empire deposing the longest ruler in Klingon history, K'mpec. Duras, son of Ja'rod, led a faction that wanted to break ties with the Federation and make the Klingons more warlike. He was killed by Worf in revenge for Mogh's death around 2367. After this, Worf's half-brother, Kurn, had to live in hiding as "Rodek"

Klingon women could not lead a house, so Duras's sisters Lursa and B'Etor put forth their half-brother Toral to stand against the more Federation-friendly successor to K'mpec, Gowron. However, the previous chancellor named Captain Picard as the "Arbiter of Succession," rejecting Toral's claim. The ensuing Civil War was fanned by Sela and her new Klingon Ally, General Movar. As the Enterprise and Starfleet tried to maintain a blockade of Romulan and Klingon space, quick-thinking by Data revealed the cloaked Romulan ships providing aid to House Duras. Gowron won the Chancellorship, and he was mostly friendly to the Federation .

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Under Gowron, the Klingons helped to engage the Borg, though it is unclear if they were aiding Starfleet or being attacked themselves. Also, in 2369 clerics at a monastery in Boreth cloned Kahless the Unforgettable , the legendary Klingon leader. This was to fulfill the prophecy that he would return from Klingon Heaven, Sto-va-kor. However, he became a "moral" leader while Gowron retained his position. When the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant was discovered near Bajor and Deep Space 9, relations grew tense, especially once the Dominion became a threat.

Before the outbreak of open hostilities, the Changeling Founders replaced General Martok with an imposter, who forced Gowron to antagonize the Federation, even ending the alliance. At the same time, the Klingon Empire invaded the Cardassian Empire, which Starfleet and the Federation opposed. Captain Benjamin Sisko convinced Gowron to end his campaign, but the alliance was not restored. The phony Martok's influence created tension between Starfleet and the Klingons, but Gowron's desire to appear in complete control made them think he was the Changeling imposter.

Eventually, the Klingons declared war on the Federation over territory on the shared galactic border. The two forces battled for weeks until Starfleet revealed the Changeling infiltration and return the true Martok. At the same time, the Cardassian Empire joined the Dominion. These reinforcements almost decimated the Klingon Fleet. Gowron and the survivors travel to Deep Space 9, where he rejoins the Khitomer Accords and allies with Starfleet to fight the Dominion in 2373.

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The Federation and Klingon alliance was effectively based out of Deep Space 9, with Captain Sisko and General Martok leading the forces . Each had to answer to their respective superiors, but the two leaders formed a bond. A year later, the Romulan Empire joined the alliance , after Sisko aided the Cardassian spy and tailor Garak in framing the Dominion for the death of a Romulan ambassador. The three-way alliance turned the tide of the war and put the Dominion on the defensive.

Eventually, the Dominion recruited the elusive Breen species into their Empire, and with them a weapon that drained power from starships. The Klingon fleet was the first to adapt to this weapon. However, instead of helping their allies, General Martok led these forces on an ill-fated offensive against the Dominion. This was a ploy by Gowron to sully Martok's reputation, lest he become a political rival. If he won the war without the help of Starfleet or the Romulans, it was Gowron's plan. If he failed, then Martok took the blame and Gowron's position was safe. Martok didn't fail.

Gowron eventually took over the command of the Klingon forces at Deep Space 9, sidelining Martok. Worf, an adopted member of Martok's house and the first Klingon in Starfleet, challenged Gowron in a fight to the death for leadership of the Empire . Worf won the battle and named Martok as the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. Under his leadership, the alliance defeated the Dominion in a decisive battle on Cardassia Prime.

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Since the end of the Dominion War, the Klingons have kept mostly to their own territory . Starfleet intelligence estimated the Klingons would take a decade or more to recover from their losses of people and material from the Dominion War. Worf took a leave of absence from Starfleet to work with Martok, though he did return for select missions on the USS Enterprise-E until it was destroyed. By the first years of the 25th Century, Worf was both a member in good standing of the Klingon Empire and working as an intelligence contractor for Starfleet.

In the late 24th Century, a group of Klingons was part of former Starfleet cadet Nick Locarno's plan to create his own fleet, complete with Genesis Device. Beckett Mariner and the crew of the USS Cerritos were able to stop him. Otherwise, the Klingons have kept mostly to themselves. If they are still traveling space and picking fights, but not with Starfleet. In the 32nd Century ( where the USS Discovery time-traveled to from 2258), the galaxy had been decimated by "The Burn." This cataclysm destroyed most of the dilithium in the galaxy, which powered warp drives for all species.

The crew essentially found a planet made of dilithium, and the space-faring civilizations of the Federation and its adjacent territories returned to normal. However, the USS Discovery has not encountered any Klingons in that time period. It's possible after the Burn, they resorted to war, both with other species and within the Empire, again decimating their population. If not, the Klingon Empire continues to keep to itself and stay out of galactic affairs .

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek: Nemesis

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Cast Nichelle Nichols, Scott Bakula, Kate Mulgrew, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Avery Brooks, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

TV Show(s) Star Trek: Animated, Star trek, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks

Martok is a general of the Klingon Defense Forces. He served as the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire during Dominion War.

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• Klingon military personnel
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• Political leaders
• Klingon chancellors
• 2393 deaths
• 24th century births
• House of Martok
• View history

Before his accession to Chancellor, he was a decorated and popular General during the Dominion War . He fought at the Second Battle of Deep Space 9 , Operation Return , the First and Second Battles of Chin'toka and at the Battle of Cardassia . ( DS9 episodes : " Call to Arms ", " Sacrifice of Angels ", " Tears of the Prophets ", " What You Leave Behind ")

• 1.1 Early life
• 1.2 Early service to the Empire
• 1.3 Capture by the Dominion and imprisonment
• 1.4 Dominion War
• 1.5 Chancellor
• 2.1.1 Gothmara's coup d'état
• 2.1.2 Tezwa
• 2.2 Temporal anomaly crisis
• 3.1 Connections
• 3.2.1 External links

Biography [ ]

Early life [ ].

Martok was born in the Lowlands of Ketha Province on Qo'noS . ( DS9 episodes : " Once More Unto the Breach ", " Tacking Into the Wind ")

Fifteen generations before him had been warriors, although his father Urthog wanted him to be an officer. Martok managed to find someone to sponsor his entry, however Kor opposed him, destroying Martok's hopes of becoming an officer.

The "Mark of Kor" also held him back from warrior posts and Martok later joined the civilian crew of General ShiVang's flagship. The Romulans attacked that ship soon after and Martok was given a battlefield commission for his effort in fighting them. ( DS9 episode : " Once More Unto the Breach ")

Early service to the Empire [ ]

Capture by the dominion and imprisonment [ ].

In 2371 , Martok was hunting sabre bear on Kang's Summit , when he was captured by the Dominion and taken to Internment Camp 371 . A Founder assumed his form and took his position as Gowron 's chief of staff. ( DS9 episodes : " The Way of the Warrior ", " In Purgatory's Shadow ")

During his imprisonment, Martok would fight the Jem'Hadar guards who used him for practice for the time they would engage other Klingons in battle. While fighting Ikat'ika , he lost his left eye. ( DS9 episode : " By Inferno's Light ")

When Worf arrived in the camp in 2373 , Martok began to coach him. ( DS9 episode : " By Inferno's Light ")

Dominion War [ ]

Following his escape from Internment Camp 371, Martok was assigned to command the Klingon detachment at Deep Space 9 , and the IKS Rotarran . ( DS9 episodes : " By Inferno's Light ", " Soldiers of the Empire ")

After the Second Battle of Deep Space 9, Martok would participate in several early battles during the Dominion War over the next three months with many of them alongside Benjamin Sisko and the USS Defiant . After receiving a minor injury to his left arm during a reconnaissance mission, he beams over with Worf to the Defiant to exchange greetings with the crew and ask for help from Dr. Julian Bashir . However, after hearing the report of the near destruction of the Seventh Fleet , Martok puts off checking into the Defiant 's sickbay and instead consults privately with Sisko about what they should all do next. At first, Martok is uneasy when Sisko begins to concoct a long-term plan to re-take Deep Space 9 but is eventually in full agreement with what needs to be done. ( DS9 episodes : " By Inferno's Light ", " Soldiers of the Empire ", " Favor the Bold ", " Sacrifice of Angels ")

Later in 2374, Martok led Klingon ships at the First Battle of Chin'toka , with responsibility for sending ground troops to the captured Chin'toka planets. ( DS9 episode : " Tears of the Prophets ")

When Gowron took control of the Klingon military towards the end of the Dominion War, Martok was initially pleased with the opportunity to be a soldier again. However, Martok was gravely injured in a failed attack on Avenal VII that Gowron had ordered. Worf opposed Gowron and killed him in ritual combat, naming Martok as the new chancellor. ( DS9 episodes : , " When It Rains... ", " Tacking Into the Wind ")

Chancellor [ ]

Martok led the Klingon forces during the Battle of Cardassia and, after victory, relished the destruction of the Cardassian Central Command . Martok called it "poetic justice". Later, Martok accepted Worf as the new Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire . ( DS9 episode : " What You Leave Behind ")

As his reign approached the end of its second decade, Martok's decisions were increasingly challenged by hardliners within the High Council, led by the brash J'mpok . When he refused to give in to the hardliners' demands to invade Gorn space, Martok was scorned as old and weak, and accused of being a Federation puppet. Enraged at J'mpok's continued challenges, Martok expelled J'mpok from the High Council and seized his title and lands, dissolving J'mpok's House. This had the effect of polarizing the High Council behind either Martok or J'mpok, and fighting broke out on the streets of Qo'noS between those who supported either side. Martok, seeking to avoid a repeat of the Klingon Civil War that began after K'mpec 's demise, invited J'mpok to the Great Hall in 2393 to discuss a potential resolution to the conflict, ordering his Yan-Isleth bodyguards to guard the doors and allow no one to disturb them. By the end of that meeting, Martok was dead, and J'mpok declared that he was now Chancellor.

Martok's eldest son Drex attempted to avenge his father, accusing J'mpok of murdering the late Chancellor in dishonorable combat. When B'vat , the Arbiter of Succession and an ally of J'mpok, rejected the claim, Drex invoked the Right of Vengeance and attacked J'mpok. The Chancellor defeated him with ease but spared his life. The two Great Houses would remain enemies for decades. ( STO website  : The Path to 2409 )

It later turned out, however, that Martok did not die at J'mpok's blade. After being impaled, Martok fell unconscious and began to die, but the medic who confirmed Martok's death was loyal to The House of Torg , and on Torg 's order, placed Martok into stasis covertly, and declared him dead. With J'mpok now installed with Torg's backing, Martok was taken, in stasis, to a secret prison facility run by Torg and the Son'a in the Briar Patch . Using the metaphasic radiation, Martok was revived and kept as Torg's prisoner, regularly being beaten to the point of death and then healed using the radiation. During his time there, Martok became friends with a Jem'Hadar prisoner.

In late 2410, General Rodek learned from a former member of the House of Torg, that Martok was still alive. Rodek took this information to the High Council, and with full approval including Chancellor J'mpok's, he hatched a plan to rescue Martok. After a difficult prison break, Rodek and an Alliance Captain and their crew broke Martok out of Torg's prison, but not before learning Torg was in league with the Tzenkethi and had planned to deliver Martok to them. After the escape, Martok boarded Torg's ship and killed him in a duel. ( STO mission : " Brushfire ")

Martok returned to the Empire and chose to not pursue a return to the Chancellorship. Martok was once again General Martok, and as such, assisted in the Tzenkethi Campaign. Martok was present during the Battle of Bajor in command of the Rotarran when Tzenkethi forces attacked Bajor and DS9. It was then revealed that the Tzenkethi, who had been destroying entire planets with protomatter , were in fact, doing so to eliminate hibernating Hurq ' vessels. ( STO mission : " Scylla and Charybdis ")

Martok returned to QonoS' after the battle to talk to J'mpok about the resurgent Hurq threat. J'mpok had decided that the Klingon Empire, recently ravaged by the Iconian War , was in no shape to face their ancient enemies. Martok was able to privately convince J'mpok to allow members of the Klingon Defense Force volunteer to fight the Hurq. ( STO website  : qa'wI' 'oy'Hey )

Martok was present for the Alliance conference on the Hurq threat, condemning J'mpok's view of not including the entirety of the Klingon Defense Force to fight the Hurq. When another Hurq fleet appeared from the wormhole, Martok fought the Hurq on board the Rotarran . ( STO mission : " Storm Clouds Gather ")

Following the Hurq attack on Bajor, Martok and Kurn (having had his memories restored) regularly had lunch in Deep Space 9's replimat . ( STO mission : " Victory Is Life ")

Alternate realities [ ]

First splinter timeline [ ], gothmara's coup d'état [ ].

Soon after returning to Qo'noS as Chancellor, Martok was deposed by Morjod and Gothmara . Martok led the resistance against the pair and was victorious at Boreth . ( DS9 novels : The Left Hand of Destiny, Book One , The Left Hand of Destiny, Book Two )

In late 2379 , the Tezwan Prime Minister Kinchawn claimed sovereignty over the Klingon border colony of QiV'ol . Unknown to Chancellor Martok, Federation President Min Zife had installed six nadion-pulse cannons on the planetary surface for a potential tactical ambush against Dominion forces, a situation that never became necessary. As the weaponry was a clear violation of the Khitomer Accords , President Zife and chief of staff Koll Azernal , via Ambassador Worf, requested that the USS Enterprise and Captain Jean-Luc Picard attempt to negotiate a peaceful outcome, with a Klingon Defense Force fleet acting as military backup, offering the Mirka colonies as a supposedly unrelated gesture.

However, Kinchawn refused to negotiate, and opened fire with the cannons, destroying the Klingon fleet and damaging the Enterprise . Martok swore that revenge must be taken for the 6000 lives lost in the assault, and prepared a second fleet of nearly forty vessels. However, Worf was able to obtain the Fleet Command Codes and delivered them to Captain Picard, who used them to neutralize the Klingon fleet and claim batyay'a - complete control over a conquered foe. Martok realized that it could have only been Worf who would have accessed and delivered the codes, but refused to bring charges against his housemate. ( ST - A Time to... novel : A Time to Kill )

In early 2381 , the Borg Collective launched a brutal invasion of the Alpha and Beta quadrants, which the Klingon High Command deemed a purely internal Federation matter, despite Martok's willingness to aid their allies. However, Khitomer fell victim to an attack by a Borg cube , which was successfully defended by the Starfleet vessels USS Arimathea , USS Constant , and USS Ranger , although all three ships were lost. Using sensor data transmitted by governor Talgar and Colonel Nokar of Khitomer City , Martok organized the Great Houses and pledged the support of the Klingon Defense Force. ( ST - Destiny novel : Gods of Night )

As Khitomer and Beta Thoridor fell to the Borg, Martok boarded his flagship , the IKS Sword of Kahless and gathered a fleet of nearly five hundred Defense Force vessels to intercept a Borg armada of roughly the same size; Captain G'mtor declared it an advantage, as they were warriors of the Empire. Martok gave a rousing address to the fleet before they set to warp speed. Upon arriving, they engaged the Borg forces, and the shortest battle of Martok's life rapidly became the costliest. A slab of metal knocked the command chair from its bolts, and Martok was slammed brutally to the deck and pinned under debris, breaking bones in his rib cage and the femur in his left leg. General Goluk gathered several Bridge crew to lift the debris and help the Chancellor back to his feet. Despite their bravery, sixty one Borg ships broke through, and Martok was forced to hail the homeworld and alert the home guard. Councilor Kopek answered from the High Council chambers in the Great Hall, and pledged to fight on behalf of the Empire, not for politics.

Despite the efforts of the home guard and the timely reversal of the Borg fleet back to the Azure Nebula, seven major cities were wiped from the surface of Qo'noS, and the damage reminded Martok of historical reports following the destruction of Praxis . Many of the councilors had perished with the attack fleets or were missing, and Martok had no idea which would turn up alive or dead. Despite the possibility of acting as the sole representative of the High Council, he held himself in check, vowing not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor, Gowron . Martok received a casualty report from Goluk, who informed him of an estimated seventy seven million dead just on the homeworld. Despite the severity of the moment, Goluk and Martok shared a humorless laugh when the Chancellor pointed out he might be the only sitting ruler to have survived the destruction of the Great Hall twice. ( ST - Destiny novel : Lost Souls )

Martok attended the dedication ceremony of the second Deep Space 9 in 2385 . ( ST - The Fall novels : Revelation and Dust , The Poisoned Chalice )

Temporal anomaly crisis [ ]

In an alternate timeline affected by the Q Continuum 's temporal anomaly crisis , versions of Martok appeared in local space around 2380 and joined Starfleet to help resolve the crisis and related events. Among them was a Martok who had been born in the 23rd century and so lacked cranial ridges , an effect of the Augment virus . ( ST video game : Timelines )

Appendices [ ]

Connections [ ], appearances [ ], external links [ ].

• Martok article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• Martok article at Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia.
• 1 Achilles class
• 2 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 3 USS Voyager (NCC-74656-A)

• Very Rare items
• Rear Admiral, Upper Half items
• Items that Bind on Pickup
• Ship Weapons

House Martok Skirmisher Configuration

• VisualEditor
• View history

The House Martok Skirmisher Configuration is a set of space items that are available from the “Brushfire” mission.

• [ Console - Engineering - House Martok Defensive Configuration Mk XII ]
• [ House Martok Transphasic Torpedo Launcher Mk XII ]
• [ House Martok Omni-Directional Disruptor Beam Array Mk XII ]
• 1.1 Game Description
• 1.2 Obtaining
• 1.3 Upgrades
• 2.1 Game Description
• 2.2 Obtaining
• 2.3 Upgrades
• 3.1 Game Description
• 3.3 Obtaining
• 3.4 Upgrades
• 4 Set Powers

Console - Engineering - House Martok Defensive Configuration [ | ]

Game Description [ | ]

This console's Defensive Configuration was proven during Martok's engagement with the Tzenkethi. It boasts increased survivability and mobility, while also boosting power towards Shields and Engines.

Obtaining [ | ]

This item is obtainable from the “Brushfire” mission.

Upgrades [ | ]

House martok transphasic torpedo launcher [ | ].

House Martok Torpedo launchers fire specialized projectiles that deal heavy kinetic damage and have additional armor penetration. Shields drastically reduce the effects of kinetic damage. Transphasic projectiles deal average damage with long recharge and have increased shield penetration.

Torpedo Launchers can be upgraded using the Projectile Weapons Tech Upgrades or assorted Universal Tech Upgrades. This item will receive an additional modifier on successful quality improvement:

House Martok Omni-Directional Disruptor Beam Array [ | ]

Beam Arrays are the most common and versatile weapons available. They fire a series of average damage beams across a wide arc. Beam weapons are equally effective against starship shields and hull.

Notes [ | ]

• Renamed from House Martok Disruptor 360-Degree Energy Weapon to its current name with the August 31, 2021 patch.

Beam weapons can be upgraded using the Beam Weapons Tech Upgrades or assorted Universal Tech Upgrades. This item will receive an additional modifier on successful quality improvement:

Set Powers [ | ]

For each item added after the first, an additional power is available.

Set 2: Precision Instruments

Set 3: Explosive Shearing Torpedo Modification

Gallery [ | ]

• 1 List of canon starships
• 3 Playable starship

Sonequa Martin-Green back at helm of ‘Star…

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Breaking News

Memo outlines state’s strict new hiring rules; healey insists there’s no ‘freeze’, things to do, sonequa martin-green back at helm of ‘star trek: discovery’.

As “Star Trek: Discovery” begins its 5th and final season with “The Final Adventure,” Sonequa Martin-Green knows she leaves having made history.

Although as with all things “Star Trek” — is there ever a final anything? With conventions, personal appearances, maybe a not-so-distant future spin-off series?

“That’s exactly right,” Martin-Green, 39, began in a Zoom interview. “We’ve talked about this a lot — that there’s so much opportunity here for more connection with the franchise at large. Connecting with even the alumni from other iterations.

“The mothership of ‘Discovery’ was able to lay the groundwork for the expansion of the franchise from this point forward.  I do think that we all know that that is available to us and it makes us very happy. It’s bittersweet, but it’s exciting.”

Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, the Star Trek captain, was specifically modeled on Nichelle Nichols in the original “Star Trek” series. That was the inspiration: To have Burnham’s breakthrough as the first starring Black woman.

How, she was asked, were the repercussions of that historical step for her personally?

“Oh man! I love that you use the word repercussions. Because there were repercussions to making television history in this way.

“Nichelle Nichols was a major inspiration for me. I remember learning that first of all, ‘Star Trek’ was coming back to TV and they were adamant about a Black woman at the helm of the show.

“I remember having to keep it to myself that this was a journey to the Captain’s chair.  Here I was, the first Black female lead of a ‘Trek’ — and then I had to make history again, as the first Black Captain.  So, it’s not just Nichelle’s shoulders that I stand on. It’s also Avery Brooks. It’s also Kate Mulgrew. It’s also LeVar Burton, Whoopi Goldberg. There’s so many people!

“But very few people in the entire ‘Trek’ franchise made as much impact as Nichelle did. So I just appreciate her.”

In the first episode, the Captain tells a character, “Find your purpose.” How does she feel that applies to her own life?

“I mean, that’s everybody’s journey, isn’t it? We see that with Burnham. We see her evolving from pain to purpose, from fear to faith.

“We see this woman find her true womanhood and find the leader inside her.

“I know for me personally, God really used ‘Discovery’ to teach me a lot about being a leader. About being a woman. About being a wife and a mother.  So my purpose, I believe, is a God-given right. And I take it very seriously.”

“Star Trek Discovery: Season 5 The Final Adventure” streams the first two of 10 episodes on Paramount+ April 4.

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• View history

Drex was a Klingon , the son of Martok and Sirella , the leaders of the House of Martok . His maternal grandfather was Linkasa . ( DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ", " You Are Cordially Invited ")

In 2372 , Drex was one of a large number of Klingon warriors sent to Deep Space 9 under the pretense that they were there to stand beside the Federation against the Dominion .

Drex had a reputation for belligerence, and frequently harassed station personnel and civilians while he was at Deep Space 9. He and two accomplices were responsible for accosting Elim Garak in his shop . Garak declined to press charges, noting that he got off several remarks that caused "serious damage to their egos".

Suspicious of their motives, Captain Benjamin Sisko ordered Lieutenant Commander Worf to investigate. Seeking to gain Martok's attention, Worf assaulted Drex in Quark's and took his d'k tahg . ( DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ")

Appendices [ ]

Background information [ ].

Drex was played by Obi Ndefo .

The name "Drex" was coined by Ira Steven Behr after reading the nickname on production staffer Doug Drexler 's crew jacket, and which was a source of pride for Drexler, " I got a Klingon named after me! There was a Klingon named Drex. Michael Dorn always loved my last name for a Klingon; on TNG , he would yell across the stage, 'Drexler, Drexler, Drexler.' He'd say, 'It's a great Klingon name.' And I think I told Ira that. Also, I had Drex on my jacket. Ira always used to see that. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 1, Issue 22 , p. 88)

Drex was mentioned in the pronunciation guide of the script of the sixth season episode " Sons and Daughters ". It is possible that Drex appeared or was mentioned in an early version of the script. Ultimately, much like Zek 's son Krax , Drex was never seen or directly mentioned again after his first appearance. Ronald D. Moore commented that the writers discussed bringing back Drex in the final season. [1]

In " You Are Cordially Invited ," Martok describes his wife Sirella as the mother of his children, so Drex must have had at least one sibling.

Apocrypha [ ]

Drex appeared as first officer of the IKS Gorkon in the novel Diplomatic Implausibility , the first book of what later became a series of novels about that ship by Keith R.A. DeCandido . The captain of the Gorkon , Klag , was of the belief that Drex had inherited none of his father's honor, and was a detriment to the ship and its crew; he was replaced by Tereth shortly before The Brave and the Bold, Book Two .

Drex also appears in The Left Hand of Destiny, Book One and The Left Hand of Destiny, Book Two , which are set prior to his assignment on the Gorkon .

In the story of Star Trek Online , Drex has become head of the House of Martok after Martok's apparent death and Worf serves as gin'tak for the House, advising Drex on how to successfully lead the House. Drex's son, M'ven, is the heir to the House, until he is murdered by the House of Torg and the Tal Shiar at the bat'leth competition on Forcas III . A Tal Shiar report from much later in the game heavily implies that Drex is intimate with, and thus being manipulated by, one of the matriarchs of the Orion Syndicate , but he does not appear at any point in the game.

External links [ ]

• Drex, son of Martok at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Drex at StarTrek.com
• 2 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)
• 3 Star Trek: The Next Generation