The Klingon Art of War

by Keith R. A. DeCandido

  QhonDoq

  Like the qutluch, this is a tool favored especially by some Klingons charged with carrying out assassinations. Many warriors scorn the qhonDoq, even refusing to call it a weapon, citing its size and the thinness of its blade. These qualities, they say, suggest that qhonDoqs are of interest only to cowards and others who prefer to attack from the shadows, rather than facing their enemies in open battle, courageously and with honor.

  For a time, it was even believed that death by such a blade robbed a warrior of his honor and forbade him entrance to Sto-Vo-Kor, consigning him instead to the Barge of the Dead and ultimately to the depths of Gre’thor to suffer for all eternity at the hands of the beast Fek’lhr. To this day, noble Klingons welcome death by almost any other weapon over the qhonDoq.

  Tajtiq

  The tajtiq is another weapon with ties to ancient tradition. Longer than a knife, the short sword was ideal for ritual combat in which matters of honor were to be decided, often by the eldest siblings of rival houses. For such rituals, pairs of tajtiqs are typically commissioned based on requirements of the specific ceremony, with the weapons bearing the crests of the participating families.

  Though viewed by many Klingons as an inadequate alternative to the bat’leth or the mek’leth, the tajtiq is taken into combat by many warriors as supplements to their weapons of choice. Like those more popular blades, the tajtiq is a common target for collectors within and beyond the Empire.

  Tik’leth

  Possessing a long, wide blade similar to that of the d’k tahg, the tik’leth is preferred by those Klingons whose hands are so large as to make wielding a smaller knife impractical. Shorter and lighter than a bat’leth or even a mek’leth, the tik’leth is an elegant weapon, requiring a dexterity and grace usually at odds with the strength needed to proficiently employ those larger blades. It is commonly worn into battle in a scabbard across its owner’s back, its single grip making it ideal for use singly or in pairs.

  As with the ghIntaq, the Imperial Guards of ancient times once were renowned for their prowess with the tik’leth, devoting years to mastering the intricacies of such a refined blade. In spirited competition, guardsmen were frequent recipients of the coveted Victor Ranking trophy, which today is rivaled for prestige only by the Champion Standing award bestowed upon the winner of the bat’leth Competition held each year on Forcas III.

  APPENDIX B

  THE SIEGE OF JAT’YLN PASS: A CASE STUDY

  Seldom are wars fought with an eye toward history. This, at least, is the case for those charged with waging the actual battles, be they in space or on the ground. Leaders of military actions are focused on victory, rather than providing fodder for reflection or classroom study. Nevertheless, confrontations provide not only lessons for future generations in how to better our understanding of warfare and how to fight, but also insight into those who took part in the original campaigns. Those who lead armies into battle might not understand at the time how their actions reflect the principles and precepts of war to which we Klingons subscribe. However, as students of history we are afforded the opportunity to scrutinize and assess these leaders’ decisions as well as the resulting victories or defeats. In doing so, we are able to ascertain for ourselves how those warriors’ choices influenced their battles, and how they typify—or fail to uphold—the teachings handed from Kahless through the centuries to us.

  One battle worthy of such examination unfolded generations ago, well before we Klingons acquired the ability to travel beyond the confines of Qo’noS. This was an era when war was still largely fought face to face with one’s enemy, and not so far removed from a time when the only weapons upon which a warrior could rely were those forged by his own hands or those of a trusted brother. So successful was this battle’s execution of what now are regarded as time-honored military tactics—along with improvisational stratagems and pivotal judgment—that the events of what has come to be known as the Siege of Jat’yln Pass remain required learning for students of the Elite Command Academy.

  It was during our Second Dynasty that General Kovatch, leader of House Zin’zeQ, attempted to overthrow the reign of Emperor Reclaw and claim the throne for himself. Upon learning of this plot and Kovatch’s gathering of loyal forces in preparation for his campaign, Reclaw made the decision to launch a preemptive assault on the disloyal general’s forces before they could be organized. Though the Emperor’s advisors recommended attacks against vulnerable targets on the outskirts of territory claimed by Kovatch, this counsel was challenged by the suggestions of a younger officer, Commander Kam’pok, who instead advised a bold strike into the heart of the Emperor’s newfound enemy and against Kovatch himself.

  The generals scoffed at this notion, but Kam’pok pressed his appeal. A student of military history and of the Empire’s conquests from his earliest days as an officer, Kam’pok was known and regarded for his unusual, even novel, views on warfare. So convinced was the commander of the merits of his plan that he volunteered to lead the assault, citing the extensive, unforgiving training to which he had subjected himself and the soldiers under his command in preparation for such a battle. While he and his staff finalized their preparations, Reclaw and his generals continued refining their own battle plan, readying it for action should Kam’pok fail. On the face of it, Kam’pok’s approach to the coming battle can easily be accorded with the Fourth Precept: Seek adversity. In point of fact, and only through the luxury of retrospection, do we know that the commander’s daring strategy would come to embody the wisdom of the First Precept: Choose your enemies well.

  In an age before transporters, sensors, orbital bombardment or even transport vessels capable of ferrying hundreds of soldiers, Klingons marched to war over land, emerged from the sea, or descended from the air, bat’leth or crossbow at the ready. So it was that Commander Kam’pok, under cover of darkness, led a contingent of fewer than six hundred warriors against Kovatch and what later was determined to be several thousand soldiers, these but a fraction of the forces the general was assembling for his planned offensive against the First City. Given the Emperor’s reluctance to fully embrace Kam’pok’s plan, only the barest of resources were allocated to deliver the commander and his troops to the point of the intended assault. In short order, Kam’pok found himself having to split his own forces into smaller groups, each to be ferried in rapid succession to the targeted area using the limited number of aircraft at his disposal.

  Hampering Kam’pok’s efforts was the focal point of his assault proposal. Given the code designation “Jat’yln Pass,” his target was little more than a small clearing amid dense jungle where Kovatch and his main forces were believed to be massing. Though it was the only open area for several kellicams in any direction, its size ensured that only a three transport aircraft could be accommodated at any one time. While lesser leaders might have balked at this apparent hindrance, perhaps electing to wait until more favorable conditions presented themselves, Kam’pok rejected such thinking, having already committed himself to the campaign. This decision personifies what we now revere as the Seventh Precept: Leave nothing until tomorrow.

  On the day of the attack and following a concentrated artillery bombardment of the surrounding jungle, the initial trio of transport craft landed at Jat’yln Pass. Kam’pok was the first to enter the combat area, armed as was his penchant with his pistol, the d’k tahg given to him by his father, and the bat’leth which had been carried by the warriors of his family for more than a dozen generations. Their arrival was not unanticipated or unnoticed, and within moments of landing, Kam’pok and his initial group of fifty warriors found themselves under fire from the surrounding jungle. Still, the level of resistance was light enough for Kam’pok to conclude that they were being engaged only by a small force. Not content simply to hold their positions while waiting for the reinforcements coming to him from the next wave of transports, Kam’pok knew that his enemy also would be augmenting their own numbers in short order.

  Having foreseen thi
s contingency, he deployed his soldiers across the clearing, establishing a defensive perimeter while sending reconnaissance parties into the jungle to seek out and close with their enemies. It was this action that allowed for the suppression of the small number of opposing combatants firing on them. This included the capture of several enemy soldiers, who in turn provided valuable intelligence about the location of Kovatch and his larger attack force, as well as the information that more enemy troops were on the way. With a choice to wait for more reinforcements while securing his own position, Kam’pok instead opted to send his warriors deeper into the jungle, continuing to push the defensive perimeter outward from the Jat’yln Pass. In this, the commander and his soldiers embraced the Third Precept: Always face your enemy.

  With the initial opposition thwarted and the short-term advantage now belonging to him, Kam’pok continued to expand his growing perimeter as more of his own soldiers were delivered into the Pass. At the same time, early reports from his reconnaissance scouts told him that more of Kovatch’s soldiers were moving into position in an attempt to envelop and divide the infiltrating force, while overwhelming the Pass itself in the hopes of denying further reinforcements access to the landing area. Kam’pok had trained his warriors well, empowering his subordinate officers and soldiers with the authority to analyze and adapt their own tactics to evolving situations without waiting for him to provide instructions or approval. Though his tactics are well-known and highly regarded by today’s accepted principles of combat, at the time Kam’pok’s unconventional methods succeeded in catching Kovatch almost wholly unprepared. Vulnerabilities quickly were exposed, which Kam’pok’s warriors exploited to devastating effect. Many of the general’s soldiers fell during these numerous, swift and surprising engagements as Kam’pok’s warriors adhered to the Sixth Precept: Destroy weakness, targeting their enemies’ deficiencies.

  As dictated by the acknowledged doctrine and leadership philosophies of the time, the officers under General Kovatch’s command were operating under a more standard, unified hierarchy, in which orders were communicated from the highest levels down through the ranks. It was a time-tested approach that had proven effective for overseeing most typical ground campaigns of the era, as large contingents faced off against one another on a designated field of battle.

  On this day, such traditional thinking proved a major impediment for Kovatch, who soon found himself unable to respond in timely fashion to the rapid maneuvering of Kam’pok’s smaller forces, which were moving independently of one another and pursuing their own mission objectives rather than focusing on a single identifiable goal. In many instances, this resulted in short, intense skirmishes that yielded numerous casualties among Kovatch’s troops, while Kam’pok’s soldiers avoided significant losses. The constant, intensive training to which the commander had subjected his soldiers was vindicated by his warriors’ ability to proceed from engagement to engagement without tiring, all while giving Kovatch’s soldiers no quarter. To an individual, the Klingons under Kam’pok’s command exuded the spirit of the Second Precept: Strike quickly or strike not.

  Kam’pok’s nonconformist scheme was quick to garner rewards. After defeating the initial resistance and obtaining valuable information with which to augment his strategy, his subordinate officers began claiming their own victories. First was the attacking and securing of an artillery weapons emplacement, which quickly was put to use harassing Kovatch’s forces and circumventing their attempts to trap the Jat’yln Pass in a flanking maneuver. The opportune acquisition of the artillery would prove to be a turning point in the battle.

  Kam’pok, himself a warrior who had advanced through the ranks of the infantry to his current post, was not content to oversee or coordinate the developing battle from a central location. Instead, he led his own charges against Kovatch’s forces. According to one of the many stories, songs, and legends inspired by the Siege of Jat’yln Pass, “Kam’pok fought as though possessed by the very spirit of Kahless. He spat into the face of the enemy and dared it to vanquish him, and that enemy could only tremble in fear.” His courage not only stirred the warriors who followed him into battle but also demonstrated his personification of the Fifth Precept: Reveal your true self in combat.

  It was this bravery that ultimately brought Kam’pok face to face with Kovatch himself. In the middle of the steaming jungle, the two warriors brought their bat’leths to bear against one another in mortal combat only one could survive. Though Kovatch delivered a deadly strike, the point of his bat’leth sinking deep into his rival’s chest, Kam’pok remained on his feet and was able to inflict his own killing blow, severing the general’s head and denying him the opportunity to witness his opponent’s passing. Only then did he allow death to claim him. With the final beats of his warrior’s heart, as the last breath left his lungs, Kam’pok showed those who followed or opposed him the true meaning of the Ninth Precept: Die standing up.

  In the wake of their leaders’ deaths, both sides of the battle at Jat’yln Pass reacted in remarkably different ways. With Kovatch’s soldiers still reacting to the increasing number of enemy soldiers in their midst, the warriors trained by Kam’pok continued to take the fight to their adversaries. As they pressed their attacks, their tenacity more than compensating for their inferior numbers, Kam’pok’s executive officer, Lieutenant Mortas, took command of the seized artillery weapon and used it to keep Kovatch’s soldiers at bay. This in turn acted as a signal to reinforcements, who were able to direct aerial bombardment on the targeted area, all but crushing the opposing force and sending it retreating into the jungle.

  Now convinced that Kam’pok’s plan had worked as the commander had envisioned, Emperor Reclaw directed even greater forces to continue what Kam’pok and his warriors had begun. In the wake of Kovatch’s death, the planned overthrow of the Emperor fell apart. Those soldiers who had pledged to him their loyalty and who survived the Siege of Jat’yln Pass were stripped of their rank and honor, banished forever from service to the Empire. By imperial decree, the surviving members of House Zin’zeQ were imprisoned and the house itself dissolved, allowed never again to tarnish the honor of the Great Houses.

  In the aftermath of the failed rebellion, Emperor Reclaw posthumously awarded Kam’pok the Star of Kahless and elevated his rank from Commander to Brigadier. A statue of the honored warrior now stands in the Hall of Heroes. His courage and devotion not only to the Empire but also to the warriors he commanded is a standard every leader strives to meet, and the tactics Kam’pok devised continue to influence military strategy—and strategic thinking—to this day.

  APPENDIX C

  THE SEARCH FOR THE HISTORICAL KAHLESS

  BY ANNABELLA FALCI

  Professor Falci gave this talk on the search for the historical Kahless at McKay University on Mars, during a Day of Honor celebration at the university in 2383. Falci is a tenured professor in the Cultural Anthropology department at McKay, with a focus on Klingon studies. She’s one of the Federation’s leading experts on Klingon culture and lived within the Klingon Empire for a time. Born on Cestus III in 2318, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Cultural Anthropology at Doragon University on Berengaria and her doctorate in the same at Fordham University on Earth. She moved to Qo’noS in 2364, and lived on various worlds in the Empire until 2372, when Chancellor Gowron expelled all Federation citizens and diplomats and the Empire temporarily withdrew from the Khitomer Accords. Returning to the Federation, she joined the teaching staff at McKay, receiving tenure in 2379. She has occasionally served as a consultant to the Federation Diplomatic Corps and to the administrations of Presidents Zife and Bacco.

  Throughout the Galaxy, we have found that many species have some manner of spiritual beliefs that involve paying homage to unseen, powerful beings imbued with a level of divinity. The basic pattern is remarkably similar on many worlds. Sentient beings all have a tendency to ascribe supernatural origins to phenomena they cannot explain.

  In some cases, those
origins lie with beings who are further (or at least differently) evolved and who are considered powerful god-like creatures. For example, the Greek pantheon on Earth was revealed in the 23rd century to be made up of alien beings with unusual control over matter and energy. They came to Earth and became the basis of one group of people’s mythology. There are the Prophets of Bajoran myth and legend, who were revealed to be the aliens living inside the Bajoran wormhole. There is the Demiurge of the Aenar on Andor, which was discovered recently to be an actual being of energy who created the genetic code for the Aenar millennia ago. And then of course there are the Founders of the Dominion, who claimed divinity and genetically bred the Vorta and the Jem’Hadar to spread their word, as it were.

  Some religious beliefs are centered on historical figures who are either divine or who are said to have a connection to the divine: for example, Jesus Christ on Earth, the Emissary on Bajor, and the Speaker of Death on Nasat. Most of those personages—including the three I just named—can be considered messengers for a divine being. Jesus is the son of the Christian monotheistic God and a human woman, the Emissary is the messenger of the Prophets, the Speaker of Death is a conduit for messages from the afterlife, and so on. One can even argue that Surak of Vulcan holds a similar place as that culture’s mytho-historical figure; Surak’s role in Vulcan history is revered due to his bringing the concepts of logic and order to the fore in a chaotic world. Even there, though, Surak is not the divine figure—indeed, most Vulcans would scoff at the very notion, viewing divine beings as part of the pre-Surak barbarism that nearly destroyed their world. But one could argue that Vulcans revere logic with the same intensity (I almost said fervor, but that word would be inappropriate) with which many other species revere their divine beings.