klingon star trek song

Star Trek: SNW's Subspace Rhapsody Klingon Moment Was Met With Skepticism

If "Star Trek" is about going boldly where no one has gone before, well, this latest episode of "Strange New Worlds" truly went for it. Luckily, it's difficult to imagine any other franchise feeling better equipped to suddenly drop a musical episode the likes of "Subspace Rhapsody" into the mix. ( Feel free to check out /Film's review by Witney Seibold here. ) But the thing about big swings is that they're always going to hit all the right notes for some fans (see what I did there?) while striking the wrong tone for others, leaving the creative team in the unenviable spot of having to figure out how far might be too far.

One such moment rears its cranial-ridged forehead in the grand finale of the episode, when the plot requires that as many people as possible break out into song in order to fix the subspace rift that threatens to overwhelm the entire galaxy. (Just go with it!) With the full force of the Enterprise belting it out in unison, the numbers still aren't high enough ... requiring a helping hand from the Federation's most formidable foes, the Klingons. And once the enemy ship is hailed, "Subspace Rhapsody" delivers its make-or-break moment involving the stuffiest and most stoic of all "Trek" alien races. Yes, your eyes and ears didn't deceive you: the vaunted Klingons broke out into a kitschy pop song, inadvertently helping to save the day.

If Trekkies thought that was a step too far, episode director Dermott Downs admitted that there was some behind-the-scenes trepidation about this moment, too.

The 'K' in K-Pop stands for Klingon

How many "Star Trek" fans had "Klingons break into a pop song and dance number" on their weekly "Strange New Worlds" bingo card? Well, you probably should've, because this is a show that's proven that there's simply no limit to its creativity. In an interview with  CinemaBlend , the director tasked with pulling off this musical feat, Dermott Downs (whom /Film's Jacob Hall recently interviewed, as well ), opened up about the creative team's brief moment of self-doubt about whether this Klingon scene ought to stay in the final cut:

"...there were a couple of people that were nervous that we were jumping the shark with that by having a Klingon do K-Pop. Even shooting it, we were like, 'Come on, there's no other way.' I mean, we're at the pinnacle of this battle of the bands basically as we're trying to fight this anomaly with music. So if we have to come together as one, this was kind of the crescendo. You wanted to go that extra step. So, ultimately, everybody saw the reason in that."

Yes, I know there's a disgruntled portion of the "Trek" population out there who'll swear up and down that the Klingons should've been singing classic Klingon opera, but that feels a little shortsighted to me. Just like humanity contains multitudes, Klingons aren't a monolith either! Worf might've been an avid opera aficionado, but that doesn't mean everyone has to be. And given the upbeat and peppy nature of the final song, titled "We Are One," I'd have to side with Downs that there was simply no other option here. Go big or go home! Thankfully, the "Strange New Worlds" team chose the former and aimed for the stars with "Subspace Rhapsody."

Relive the episode, now streaming on Paramount+.

• Forgiveness
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Music for Klingons, part one: Jerry Goldsmith

The track titles on Giacchino’s scores tend to be a little punny, and the newest score is no exception, as one of the tracks from his latest Star Trek score is called ‘The Kronos Wartet’. This is an amusing reference to the four-piece string quartet known as The Kronos Quartet , but it is also a reference to the Klingon home planet Qo’noS , the name of which is apparently spelled “Kronos” in this film.

Before I comment on the sample itself, I’d like to take a step back to look at how the Klingons have been treated musically in previous films, going all the way back to the very first film in the franchise, Star Trek: The Motion Picture , released in 1979.

The Klingons had often antagonized Kirk and company during the original TV series (1966-1969), but in the first film, the Klingons make no contact with our heroes; instead, three Klingon battle cruisers encounter a mysterious entity called V’Ger , and, after firing some torpedoes at it, they are quickly destroyed by it. But even though the Klingons were not the villains of this particular film, Goldsmith made it clear in an interview that he wrote the Klingon music with “bad guys” in mind.

From the liner notes to the three-disc soundtrack album released last year:

Goldsmith provides one of his most exciting pieces of music for “Klingon Battle.” Suggestions of the primary theme for V’Ger swell while crackling stings from the blaster beam accentuate the V’Ger cloud and its attacking energy bolts. But the fiery Klingon material dominates the cue with ferocious energy and avant garde, rhythmic strings. “The Klingon thing was instinctual,” Goldsmith revealed. “I knew that there was a barbaric quality about them, a primitive quality, and they were the aggressors…I did want to get that into the music, and that was the sum of the intellectual rationalization. I guessed they were the bad guys and they were attacking, so I figured we needed a battle cry for them.” Goldsmith’s repeating open-fifth figure for the Klingons revived an idea he had utilized in many scores over his career. With an accompaniment of plucked and col legno strings and angklungs, Goldsmith’s Klingon theme (played first by oboes, English horn, bassoons and tenor saxophone, and later by brass) establishes an aggressive, tribal atmosphere for the warlike characters. Goldsmith’s Starfleet motive pumps busily underneath swirling glissandi and chirping synthesizer effects to characterize the Epsilon Nine communications array before the climactic bursts of Klingon music — the overpowering blasts of the beam and a burst of chaotic material underscoring the “digitization” of the remaining Klingon ship.

Note how the Klingons were perceived at this time as “barbaric”, “primitive”, “tribal” and “warlike”. Consider also that this film marked the first time that the Klingons were depicted as the hairy, ridge-browed creatures that we now know and love; prior to this, the Klingons had been devious schemers, but were basically human to all outward appearances (so much so that one Klingon even went undercover as a human in ‘The Trouble with Tribbles’). So the film’s make-up department pushed the Klingons in a more animalistic direction, and the music followed suit.

Goldsmith did not score another Star Trek movie until William Shatner hired him for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) ten years later — and since one of the film’s main subplots involved a Klingon named Klaa who wants to kill Kirk for fame and glory, Goldsmith was able to use the Klingon theme again in a more action-oriented mode. Here is the music that ushered the Klingons into that film:

And here is how the liner notes to the two-disc soundtrack album released a few years ago describe this track:

Goldsmith’s “turbine” glissando and a blast of the Klingon theme play under the image of a decloaking Klingon bird-of-prey . As Captain Klaa (Todd Bryant) and his first officer Vixis (Spice Williams) discuss using the Pioneer 10 probe from Earth for target practice, bells and various other forms of percussion (including anklungs, and knuckles striking the bottom of a piano) pulse against the Klingon theme on brass.

The Klingon theme pops up a few more times during the action sequences, but one of my favorite uses of it here — because it is so brief and subtle — comes at the 3:44 mark during the track below. For the most part, this track concerns the journey that Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Sybok make towards Sha Ka Ree, the “God planet” — so the music has a sort of mystical-yearning quality — but the Klingon theme comes up very briefly when Klaa’s bird-of-prey shows up on a monitor that goes unnoticed by the Enterprise bridge crew, all of whom are watching Kirk’s journey on the viewscreen:

So, since a Klingon is out to get Kirk in this film, that must mean the Klingons are the “bad guys” again, right? Sort of. But this film was made two years after the premiere of The Next Generation , which took place roughly 80 years after the events of this film and established that the Klingons and the Federation would one day be allies, and indeed that a Klingon would one day serve on the bridge of the Enterprise itself. And so, by the end of this film, Spock persuades a disgraced Klingon general to assert his authority over Klaa, and to use Klaa’s bird-of-prey to save Kirk.

And thus, the Klingon theme appears again, in a very triumphant register (starting at the 0:37 mark in the track below), when the bird-of-prey destroys the “God” alien that has been pursuing Kirk. At this point, Kirk doesn’t think the Klingons have “saved” him, per se ; instead, he thinks the Klingons want him for their own trophy. But once Kirk is beamed aboard the ship, the Klingon general forces Klaa to apologize to Kirk, and, as the liner notes put it, “a martial take on the Klingon theme . . . yields to a lyrical, quasi-Americana variation” (starting at the 1:36 mark):

So the Klingon theme that was meant to sound so “barbaric” and “primitive” when it signified “bad guys” now takes on a “quasi-Americana” tone when the Klingons turn out to be on the side of the good guys. No doubt there’s a thesis in there, regarding the cultural stereotypes that music can sometimes perpetuate.

Several years would pass before Goldsmith scored his next Star Trek movie, but when he did, the old generation had given way to the next generation, and the Klingons — as personified by Worf — were now definitely on the side of the good guys.

And so, in Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Goldsmith brought out the Klingon theme several times as Worf helps Captain Picard and others to battle the Borg, beginning with the track below, which uses the Klingon motif when we cut to the inside of the Defiant and find Worf in the captain’s chair (starting at the 0:44 mark):

The Klingon theme makes its final, climactic appearance when Picard and a few of his crew defeat some Borg who are trying to plant some communications equipment on the Enterprise ’s deflector dish; when the dish is separated from the ship, it drifts into space, with some Borg still attached, and Worf blasts it with his rifle and a triumphant “Assimilate this !” (starting at the 6:02 mark in the track below):

So the music still signifies the “aggression” that the Klingons are capable of, but now, the aggression is no longer a sign of their “bad guy” status; instead, it is something that the viewer is fully encouraged to identify with, certainly in contrast to the eerily passive and methodical aggression of the mechanized Borg.

Goldsmith went on to score the next two films — Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) — as well, and he used the Klingon theme to accompany one of Worf’s kick-ass moments on at least one occasion that I can remember, in Insurrection . But he didn’t really do anything new with it on a musical level; he just wove it into an action sequence the way he did in First Contact .

Still, it is fascinating to chart the evolution of Goldsmith’s Klingon theme — and what it represents — over the two decades or so that he scored these films. As the Klingons were increasingly humanized within the Star Trek franchise, the music that once relied on exotic instruments and avant-garde otherness to signify their “bad guy” status eventually came to be nothing more than a sort of ethnic marker that identified the Klingons as just one culture among many: this music is what they sound like, and it can signify Klingon heroism just as easily as it can signify Klingon villainy.

Goldsmith wasn’t the only composer to create music for the Klingons, of course. Two other significant contributors come to mind: James Horner, who scored Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), and Cliff Eidelman, who scored Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). But I’ll say more about them in a later post.

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Screen Rant

Mary chieffo interview: star trek online reveals klingon song [exclusive].

Screen Rant interviews Mary Chieffo about Star Trek Online: House United and we exclusively debut her Klingon song from the game, "Steel and Flames"!

Mary Chieffo returns as Klingon High Chancellor L'Rell in Star Trek Online: House United and Screen Ran t is proud to exclusively premiere "Steel and Flames", the song Mary sings in Klingon. Chieffo originated L'Rell in Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1 and 2, but Star Trek Online brought the noble warrior back as part of its Klingon-centric trilogy, which concludes with House United .

Developed by Perfect World Entertainment, Star Trek Online: House United was released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 3, 2021. The free-to-play MMORPG based in the Star Trek Universe allows gamers to experience the finale of the epic Klingon Civil War. House United features two brand-new episodes, "Warriors of the Empire" and "A Day Long Remembered", where captains will fight with Chancellor L'Rell at their side as they amass an army to win back Qo'noS, the Klingon homeworld.

Related: Why Star Trek: Discovery Had To Leave The 23rd Century Behind

Screen Rant had the pleasure of speaking with Mary Chieffo to discuss her return as L'Rell in Star Trek Online: House United and the state of the Klingons in the current Star Trek Universe . We also delved into how she recorded the epic song "Steel and Flames" in Klingon. You can watch the lyric video to "Steel and Flames" below:

Screen Rant: You sing in Star Trek: Online House United . In Klingon. Can you tell us what went through your mind when you were asked to sing in Klingon as L’Rell?

Mary Chieffo: Well, it was such a thrilling email to get. I've always loved singing. In kindergarten, I was chased around the playground because I was singing so much they were trying to get me to stop. But I didn't and I became a big musical theatre geek and I'm still very much that. I had built a reputation for myself [for singing in Klingon]. I'd done some stuff with Klingon Pop Warrior. I did karaoke on the [Star Trek] cruise. Jason Isaacs and I did "Dammit Janet" for the final night of the cruise, which was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I'm up there on stage on a cruise in the middle of the ocean singing with Jason Isaacs. It was incredible. So I think I'd built enough of a reputation as someone who can sing and do stuff in the Trek realm. They had this song that Jason Charles Miller had created and they wanted to know if I could do a Klingon version of it. I said "Yes, I can! Or I think I can!" But what I've learned over time is [to] say yes and make it work and make it happen. It really came together wonderfully, getting the translations and making sure everything was pronounced properly. And then singing it! That part too.

How long did the song take to learn and can you give us a little English translation? And what's the title of the song?

Mary Chieffo: The title is "Steel and Flames." That's the main chorus. It's a pretty Klingon thing. Jason Charles Miller wrote the song and lyrics. Luckily, we were able to get the translation from the Klingon Language Institute and Robyn Stewart, who I worked with in the past on Discovery, who is wonderful. The whole Klingon Language Institute is such a wonderful group of people who are really passionate about the language. It was very lucky to come up with lyrics that fit rhythmically as well as translation-wise. There were a few syllables and things we had to work on, but luckily we were able to figure it out, which is one of the neat things [about Klingon] being a living language. In learning the song, my technique was listening to the English version and then going in with the Klingon version and singing the Klingon stuff on top of it. What I found interesting in talking to Jason, who wrote the lyrics, is that he was looking at Klingons overall but also specifically L'Rell's journey in the game . And what I found that the game also reflected her journey in Discovery that was about being in this intense world and fighting for what's right. "I bear the scars that you've given to me / I hold the sword and I long to breathe free." L'Rell literally got this scar and I always appreciated the metaphor that in her journey she went through so much and chose to keep the scar, which is a very Klingon thing to do. It heals up over time, but she kept it as a reminder of the sacrifice that Voq [Shazad Latif] had made and she herself had made. [There's a lyric] about a "traitorous leader", which is very much L'Rell's journey in the game. Toppling the patriarchy and the certain male Klingons who are taking up space they don't need to be taking. So yes, it's very epic. I would definitely look to find the Klingon translation [of the song] because they're very, very fun and very epic.

What I liked about the song and kind of surprised me is that it has a very hard rock 80s vibe. We're used to Worf [Michael Dorn] singing warrior songs like an opera. Listening to this song, it's like L’Rell is the Joan Jett of the Klingon rock scene. Is that what you were going for?

Mary Chieffo: Yes! Definitely. Like I said, I love singing all genres. There's another side of me and I really live the legit musical theatre kind of sound. I tend to ask, "What is needed of this song? Okay, this is the kind of rock star vibe that we need." And the Klingon vocalization caters to it as well. I just wanted it to be as badass as possible and as epic as possible and that was the way to sing it.

The song made me think about Klingon pop culture. We know they have traditional warrior songs and operas, and they read a lot of Shakespeare in the original Klingon, but they must also have different genres and pop versions of the stuff they like.

Mary Chieffo: It's funny, too, because I know they made that joke in Star Trek Beyond [about the Beastie Boys]: "Is that classical music?" In many ways, this is as if L'Rell busted out something Klingon from the past and it's like, "Who knew L'Rell liked to jam to 20th-century things?" Which is a funny idea. But certainly, I feel from our modern sensibility, this style [of rock] feels very Klingon. The lyrics are so much about traitors and honor and blood screaming [laughs]. Seeking vengeance and bearing the scars. It's all very much true for L'Rell. It all felt very much that I was channeling the Klingon energy that I've been lucky enough to channel for the past almost five years.

Obviously, you’re sworn to secrecy about any future appearance by L’Rell. But if you had your pick of the current Star Trek shows, where would you want to see L’Rell appear next and what would she be doing? And this is Star Trek so anything goes.

Mary Chieffo: Oh that's so fun. I like that question. I love the idea of what we get to see in the plot of Star Trek Online, a Klingon-centric [story] . Of course, I want to see Klingon-centric (laughs)! But I mean leaning towards the Game of Thrones sort of epic. We see flavors of her ascending into her power as the Chancellor [on Discovery] and then we meet her later when she's been Chancellor. I would be interested in seeing what that day-to-day diplomacy is like when she's interacting with non-humans. Does she have allies? Does she go to House Mo'Kai? The whole House Mo'Kai thing has always been fascinating to me. That House was very much a part of how L'Rell learned to assert her power, which is from the sidelines and from the shadows. I could always imagine that there might be a bit of a reconciliation there, perhaps. Maybe some of the women disagree with the way she's ascended into power because she's trying to work with the patriarchy - that would be interesting. When it comes to actual shows that exist, I think it would be very fun to see her emerge anywhere where the timeline made sense. What I love about The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine is there's so much crossover there with the Klingon episodes. "Here's what's going on currently. This is what Gowron is up to." I love the idea of having Klingon flavors throughout [Star Trek]. I know as a viewer I love it when we get to check-in and play around with [the Klingons]. But it would be fun to see L'Rell in any capacity. I just love her. And the plot she was given within Star Trek Online is so thrilling to me because we get to go deeper into this epic, deep storytelling. We get that overall in Trek, it's definitely epic storytelling, but the Klingons definitely cater to the type of narrative I love to sink my teeth into as an actor.

The last time we spoke, Star Trek: Discovery season 3 was just ending and there hasn’t been any Star Trek on TV until Lower Decks is back. So except for General K’orin [Jess Harnell], who was in the second episode of Lower Decks last year, you as L’Rell are still the most prominent Klingon in current Star Trek. And now with Star Trek Online: House United . You're holding it down.

Mary Chieffo: Thank you! Keeping the Empire alive, for sure. The Klingon flame, indeed.

I definitely miss the Klingons. I'd love to see more exploration in the 23rd century, if possible, in Strange New Worlds or Michelle Yeoh's [Section 31] show. L'Rell and Empress Georgiou are old friends.

Mary Chieffo: Yeah, [Michelle Yeoh] definitely gave me some sound advice that worked for her. It is surreal to me every once in a while, I'll be putting my reel together or something, and I'm like, "Oh, there's my scene with Michelle Yeoh!" I'm still so moved by the fact that I got to be covered in prosthetics and act with Michelle Yeoh, and have her character give me advice on how to be a ruler and a badass. It's just such an amazing gift. One of many, many gifts that the show gave me.

Related: Strange New Worlds Brings Back What Star Trek Has Been Missing: The Enterprise

And also, if L'Rell met the current version of Georgiou - she's a different person. L'Rell might actually be a little surprised at how she's turned out.

Mary Chieffo: Totally. She's definitely not the woman who beat her up in the jail cell. They've both grown a lot. I think there could be the start of a really interesting friendship there.

One last question about Star Trek Online: House United . In your opinion, what is the best part of this Klingon saga now that the trilogy is complete?

Mary Chieffo: Being able to inhabit L'Rell again has been such a gift. But being able to inhabit her again in a space outside of Discovery's plot. That it is more about this Klingon world, that you do get to see her come to the aid of the Empire in a way that we didn't get to see on Discovery. Seeing the leader she became, that she still honors what happened with Voq, and she honors the sacrifices they made. On a feminist level, I love these lady Klingons teaming together to take down this treacherous, slimy Klingon guy. I'm sorry, but I kinda love it! And the fact that there's once again a final moment where she claims the power that she deserves and that she maybe sometimes doesn't allow herself to have. I've always appreciated that she is extremely powerful and smart and she will do what is needed, but it comes from a place of true humility. She is very much a "greatness thrust upon her" person, which we saw with Martok [J. G. Hertzler] as well on Deep Space Nine . I just really am drawn to the types of characters who do what's right because they have to. And I felt that we really got to see that in Star Trek Online.

Next: Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Gag Reel Shows Behind The Scenes Gaffes [Exclusive]

Star Trek Online: House United is available now on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

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An alternate Klingon opera and other 'Subspace' secrets from the Star Trek musical

Kay Hanley and Tom Polce, former members of rock band Letters to Cleo, discuss their work composing the music for the franchise's first full-on musical.

It may take a moment to wrap your head around the idea of rockers from the band Letters to Cleo now forever linked to the legacy of Star Trek , but perhaps it was already engrained in the DNA of its stars.

Lead singer Kay Hanley has been linked to major pop culture moments, like when she performed on the soundtrack for 2001's Josie and the Pussycats as the voice of Josie, or when she appeared as a musician on screen in 1999's 10 Things I Hate About You , as well as a 2014 episode of Parks and Recreation . Polce, now a staff producer and composer at Paramount, separately worked on music for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend . This past year, they both found themselves involved in another significant zeitgeist development: writing the music for "Subspace Rhapsody," the first-ever full-on musical in the history Star Trek for season 2 of Strange New Worlds .

"The idea that we were writing for these canon figures in pop culture history and sci-fi lore, we couldn't f--- it up," Hanley tells EW in an interview with Polce over Zoom in September. "We took it very seriously, as we do as people from New England. We are rule followers and we do things. We do our research, we do our homework."

Hanley previously composed music for animated shows like Disney's Doc McStuffins and Cartoon Network's DC Super Hero Girls . She also won an Emmy for her work on Netflix's We the People . Though, the singer-songwriter's knowledge of Star Trek comes in part from the Trekkies in her own life, including her nephew Brendan, who's "a Trekkie of the highest order," she says. Having watched the original show with her dad on WSBK-TV, which is Channel 38 in Boston, ("Shout out to '70s Boston!"), Hanley adds, "I had some knowledge of how seriously people take this s---."

"It's a Star Trek musical, so my head exploded when it came up. Kay's head exploded," Polce adds. "Can you imagine somebody who's a completist for Star Trek hearing that there is a musical? I mean, their heads went fully nuclear. And in some cases, no matter how well we did it, it's reasonable to think that some people aren't going to even be open to it. So, we needed to make extra certain that we did an honorable and forthright and virtuous swing."

Hanley and Polce break down some of the big musical moments from "Subspace Rhapsody."

A Klingon opera moment exists somewhere

Actor Bruce Horak, who previously appeared on Strange New Worlds as Hemmer, has a featured cameo in "Subspace Rhapsody" as a Klingon general named Garkog, who breaks out into a frenetic K-pop-inspired dance break within the finale ensemble number. Two versions of this moment were filmed: the one that made it to the screen and a more operatic take.

Hanley's first instinct was to make the Klingon bit in the vein of K-pop. She showed Polce her favorite K-pop music video, which she won't disclose. "It'll just lead to a bunch of, 'Well, did you copy that?'" she remarks. "What we wrote doesn't sound anything like this particular K-pop band."

"But it got us in that world," Polce notes. "She pitched it to me and my head exploded. Then she pitched it to the showrunners and the writers, which we were both a little apprehensive about. They were immediately like, 'Oh hell yes, we're going to do that.'"

As they were working on the piece, some of the higher-ups caught wind of it and wanted to put the kibosh on that plan. "To be fair, I don't believe it was the network," Polce clarifies. "I think it was some of the folks on the core Gene Roddenberry side. It wasn't so much like, 'No, no, no.' It was like, 'Maybe you do that and you have something in your back pocket and we can discuss later.' It's like when your parents tell you to get a degree in business while you also get your degree in music."

The alternate plan was an operatic song for the Klingons. "We shot both," Polce confirms. "The opera is shot, and that'll hopefully come out someday. Congrats to everybody for having the chutzpah and the audacity to make that. I mean, the whole thing is audacious. Why not just continue hedging bets on a Star Trek musical once you've already begun? You've got Spock singing for crying out loud! Just keep going."

Giving Spock his voice

The first thing the pair had to figure out was, who in the cast could actually sing? Polce found the answer when he went up to Toronto, the production's regular stomping grounds, to record the actors' vocal ranges.

There were clear standouts. Uhura actress Celia Rose Gooding, for example, could obviously handle more advanced material. Others were less confident in their abilities, like Ethan Peck, the actor behind the typically deadpan, no-nonsense Spock. "Peck came in when I met him and was like, 'Yeah, I don't sing,'" Polce recalls. "It turns out he could sing, and he sings beautifully. So, Spock ended up getting this beautiful song."

"I'm the X," sung by Peck in the episode, delves into Spock's emotional state as he grapples with his relationship with Chapel (Jess Bush) — who was another surprisingly capable singer among the bunch. "It's a Spock lament over getting broken up with," Polce explains. "As you know, Spock is half human and half Vulcan. The Spock we knew from the original Star Trek was very stoic. There was no laughter, there was no joking. What was clocking to a lot of people was, maybe that song and him getting broken up with was the moment that solidified the Spock that they all came to know and love."

"And we did in that song address the struggle between being human and [Vulcan]," Hanley says. "Searching for Y is human, I'm the X. It's a human variable that he should not have ever f---ed with and he's not going to do it again. We thought people were going to be like, 'Oh my God! It's so clever!' But they didn't. They were like, 'This is the moment Spock rejects his humanity and becomes fully Vulcan!'"

Despite whether the actors had musical skill or not, all of them were gonna go for it. "There wasn't a single moment of, 'I don't want to do this,' which can happen," Polce says.

The power ballad

Gooding made her musical talents known much earlier on in Strange New Worlds . In season 1, Uhura activates a piece of alien technology by singing specific notes. After testing the cast's vocal ranges, it became clear to even Hanley and Polce that Gooding would be a major part of "Subspace Rhapsody," ending in a magnificent power ballad, "Keep Us Connected," in which the actress showcases the true extent of her vocal prowess. "Having her vocal ability and range in our back pocket was incredibly empowering as songwriters," Hanley acknowledges.

The piece sees Uhura at first lamenting over what she perceives to be her weaknesses and succumbs to loneliness. Through song, she comes to learn all these ideas that have plagued her throughout her life are actually her strengths. "We knew that it was going to be kind of the emotional core of this musical and that it had to accomplish a lot of things emotionally," Hanley says.

Typically when writing the music for the show, Hanley or Polce would come up with a brief sample — a short riff on a guitar or a quick vocal run — as the first kernel of a melodic idea. For "Keep Us Connected," Polce remembers Hanley wanting to start with a Gregorian chant. "Then she just starts going numb, and she just starts going and I'm like, 'What's that? I don't even know what's happening.' I'm not boxing her in. Let's go."

"The finale was... Man, it was really tough"

Hanley and Polce consider the Trek musical to be one of the more difficult endeavors of their careers. "In terms of the lyrics, I've never had a harder assignment," Hanley says. "It was so challenging. It was consuming for the five weeks that we wrote the basis for all the songs and then doing revisions and stuff like that." Adds Polce, "We were actually doing gigs amidst it and still having to think about them in between the shows. It was glorious work and fulfilling work, but it was a lot."

The songs only became more challenging as they got deeper into the process, making the finale ensemble piece, "We Are One," the most difficult. "Last one was absolutely the hardest because you and I were really struggling with the melody and we were disagreeing on the lyrics," Hanley tells Polce. "We had some lovely brother-sister texts going back and forth about the lyrics."

"There's so much happening and it's, who's going to sing what?" Hanley recalls. "We had to really figure out why each of them is singing. The chorus was probably the hardest one that we had to do. We just did not agree for a really long time on that chorus. A lot of times I think of songs as a jigsaw puzzle. We knew we had enough of the pieces in place that were really great anchors, but it was just how to tie them together in a narrative way that was still interesting, melodically, that was still going someplace that felt like a finale."

"There has to be a saccharin element to the finale. It needs to be very catchy, and there is this sort of sugary, super poppy element that just needs to be there. If ever there were a time for jazz hands and hat-tipping and kicks, that's the finale."

Both credit teleplay writers Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff for assisting in the creation of this number. "[The characters are] essentially all talking about what they're thankful for in their jobs," Polce recalls. "I think we would just ask [the writers], can you just give me some ammo? It doesn't work without the whole sandbox. Everybody was important at every moment of this thing."

"Subspace Rhapsody" is now streaming on Paramount+.

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Songs in Klingon

This is a page for Klingon music (and lyrics). I’m collecting all material that I can get a hold of, so you have the lyrics to a song ( any song ) in this harsh language why not send it to me for inclusion here?

I would also like to make recordings of the songs available here, so that you may hear the melody. It won’t be high quality recordings (that would eat to many kilobytes) and most likely they won’t be all that fancy either. Maybe just one unaccompanied voice to get the melody across.

If you have such a recording, or if you’re willing to make one, then send it to me !

The summer of 2001, when I went to my second qep­’a’ (this time in Brussels), I learned that there really are quite a few more songs around in Klingon than I previously thought. So, I made a list of songs that got to know the name of so that I would know the name of my prey and be able to hunt down the lyrics a bit easier. This is my list:

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Klingon Hunting and Singing

Amongst the oldest of Klingon traditions revolves around the glory of the hunt. Klingons look upon their prey with honor, respecting the beasts they hunt as they would enemies. They celebrate the victory of the hunt as they feast with age-old songs celebrating the hunter and hunted.

A Complete History of Star Trek's Klingons in The Original Series Era

Quick links, the origin of the klingon empire in star trek, the klingon empire acquires warp drive and a new level of war, starfleet and the klingons engaged in hot and cold war, the klingons vs. captain james t. kirk and how he brought peace.

Star Trek has six decades of history behind the scenes, but the aliens and characters in the narrative go back millennia. Despite being created on a whim for Star Trek: The Original Series , the history of Klingons is one of the most fully realized in the universe. Even though much of it was defined after that first show, how the Klingon Empire took shape is important.

The Klingons were created by Gene L. Coon as a surrogate power for the Soviets to the Federation's United States of America. When the Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the final film with The Original Series ' cast was in production. It told the story of how the Federation made peace with its most iconic enemies. The Khitomer Accords mark a significant point of transition in what it meant to a Klingon. Even though antagonism continued into the 24th Century, the way the Empire (as created by Kahless the Unforgettable) found a way to accept the peace-loving Federation is a remarkable Star Trek story. It's made better with Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds adding new details to this part of the timeline.

The Planned Opening for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Was a Disaster

The Klingons shared genetic markers, found in Vulcans and Romulans that point to a single humanoid ancestor more than four billion years in the past. This progenitor race seeded planets with unknown technology that encouraged the evolution of creatures with a head, two arms and two legs. Klingons, however, could trace their origins back to large reptilian or insectoid predators with exoskeletons and redundant organs .

The Klingon homeworld Qo'noS was ruled by Malor in the 10th Century CE on Earth. A common warrior, Kahless led a revolution that became the founding myth for the Klingon Empire. Legends of his battles were shared among Klingons into the 24th Century. He eventually killed Malor in single combat and founded the Klingon Empire. Kahless became a god-like figure in the culture, inspiring wars and warriors for millennia . There were a number of ruling dynasties and civil wars, continuing once Klingons took to the stars.

Four hundred years after Kahless united Qo'noS, the Hur'q species from the Gamma Quadrant sacked their homeworld. This started a period of uncertainty about war as a way of life. During the Second Dynasty, General K'Trelan killed the Imperial Family, installing more democratically minded Klingons in power. They claimed to be members of the Imperial houses to gain the respect of those bloodlines, but eventually they returned to their warlike ways.

Star Trek: Discovery's Klingons Were More Accurate Than the TNG-Era

The Klingons acquired warp drive sometime in the Earth's 20th Century, and they turned their attention on the galaxy at large. While they still warred with each other, there were new planets to conquer and people to fight. Vulcans, who also were new to warp drive, encountered Klingons who opened fire on them. Until diplomatic relations were officially opened, Vulcans would fire first on any Klingon ship, eventually called "the Vulcan Hello." Klingons traveled the stars, warring and exploring, including sending a vessel into the Delta Quadrant.

In the 2150s, a Klingon crash-landed on Earth and was shot by a farmer. Dr. Phlox, a visiting alien, saved his life, and the NX-01 Enterprise was launched taking the Klingon back to Qo'noS. Captain Archer helped this Klingon maintain his honor and relations between humans and Klingons were off to an amiable start, but this didn't last. The NX-01 Enterprise helped refugees flee the Klingons by engaging them in battle. This led to Captain Archer being wanted as an enemy of the state. He was put on trial on Qo'noS and sentenced to the Rura Penthe colony. He escaped, leading to multiple hostile encounters with them throughout the Star Trek: Enterprise series.

In 2154, tyrannical, genetically augmented humans attacked the Klingon Empire, but the Enterprise was able to avert war. However, a Klingon scientist tried to use the augment DNA to create superior Klingon warriors . Instead, a deadly virus broke out, and Dr. Phlox was kidnapped to help cure it. He was successful, but the treatment led to the Klingons losing their distinctive cranial ridges. The Klingons then withdrew from Federation territory, until the Klingon-Federation war.

Why Uhura Speaks Klingon in Strange New Worlds, but Not Star Trek VI

The Klingons weren't seen in what would become Federation space for much of the late 22nd and early 23rd Centuries. They had again entered into a period of infighting and civil war, as any house sought to rule. When Starfleet did encounter the Klingons, there were open hostilities. There was a raid on a planet called Doctari Alpha and a battle at a planet called Donatu V. The Klingons resorted to spiritual studies, usually based on the Kahless myth, though a sect studied time travel at the Borleth Monastery .

In 2256, T'Kuvma, a unique-looking Klingon spiritual leader , united the great houses on the ancient Sarcophagus Ship. He provoked a war with the Federation at the Battle of the Binary Stars, dying at the hands of Michael Burnham. General Kol, who originated Klingons' use of cloaking technology, took control. The war raged for a year, with the Klingons nearly defeating the Federation . When General Kol was killed and the Sarcophagus Ship destroyed, things only got worse. Eventually, Section 31 developed a plan to destroy the Klingon Homeworld, but Michael Burnham prevented it from reaching fruition. Instead, she gave control of the hydrobombs to L'Rell.

A less war-hungry acolyte of T'Kuvma she was able to continue his mission of uniting the warring factions on Qo'noS. She even allied her fleet with the Federation to stop a rogue AI that threatened all life in the Alpha Quadrant. The Timekeepers at the Borleth Monastery also helped Starfleet solve the mystery of the "Red Angel," and helped Captain Christopher Pike fix the timeline after he tried to prevent his future debilitating accident. Time itself needed James Kirk and Spock to take the helm of the Enterprise. However, the tenuous peace wouldn't last for long.

What Made Worf a Better Klingon Warrior on Star Trek: The Next Generation?

A new war broke out between the Federation and the Klingons in 2257, but it was short-lived. When the USS Enterprise and General Kor's fleet arrived at Organia, the powerful beings that lived there forced them to negotiate an end to hostilities. The Treaty of Organia ended the war, but there were still clashes and battles throughout the sector. Klingons armed pre-warp species, as did Kirk and the Enterprise crew, albeit reluctantly. A Klingon who went by the name Arne Darvin was surgically altered to look human, and almost carried out a terrorist bombing on a starbase.

After a little more than a decade of relative peace, a rogue Klingon commander named Kruge took a Bird of Prey to the newly-created Genesis planet. There he destroyed the Starfleet science vessel studying it and killed David Marcus, the son of James Kirk. He defeated the Klingons, killing all but one of them, and stole the Bird of Prey. Another rogue Klingon Captain named Klaa tried to battle Kirk and the Enterprise, but Klingon Ambassador Korrd ordered Klaa to save him from the God of Sha Ka'Ree. With the destruction of the moon Praxis in 2293, the Klingon homeworld was threatened and peace finally had a real chance.

Chancellor Gorkon knew the Klingon Empire wouldn't survive unless it made peace and accepted help from the Federation. A conspiracy of Starfleet officers, Romulans and Klingons (including General Chang) assassinated Gorkon and framed Captain Kirk for it. He was sent to Rura Penthe, escaping with the help of Spock and the Enterprise. They arrived at the peace summit just in time to save the Federation president. Captain Kirk's heroics led to the signing of the Khitomer Accords and all-but the end to open hostility between the Klingons and the Federation . While not completely allies with the Federation, the Klingons and Starfleet were no longer at war.

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

1 hr 58 min

The Fun Zone for 03/24/2024 The Fun Zone with Brynn Lee

Episode Notes This week Brynn takes us to Hollywood where we will hear songs from our favorite movies and TV shows. So, quiet on the set, LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! Hour 1: Barney Stinson - Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit Original HD+ Simpsons - The Monorail Song Julie Brown - Earth Girls Are Easy "Weird Al" Yankovic - Money for Nothing / Beverly Hillbillies Friends - Smelly Cat The Big Bang Theory - Soft Kitty The Wedding Singer - Rapper's Delight (Ellen Albertini Dow) Bob's Burgers - Electric Love Veggie Tales - Love My Lips My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - This Day (Aria) Steven Universe - Here Comes A Thought Aladdin - Friend Like Me Animaniacs - Dot, The Macadamia Nut Simpsons - We Put The Spring in Springfield Eric Cartman - Poker Face Mean Girls - Sexy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Gettin’ Bi Star Trek Insurrection - A British Tar Star Trek TNG - Captain Picard Dancing and Singing on the Bridge Star Trek： Strange New Worlds - Klingon Boy Band Hour 2: Bluey - Lollipop Yum Yum Yum The Lego Movie - Everything Is Awesome Never Stop Never Stopping - Things In My Jeep Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Titus Lemonade Song The Dewey Cox Story - Walk Hard Jon Pertwee - I Am The Doctor curtinparloe - Doctor Who Sky Phineas and Ferb - A G L E T Extended Edition Robin Sparkles & Jessica Glitter - Two Beavers Are Better Than One (The Beaver Song) Jimmy Fallon & Lin-Manuel Miranda： Two Goats In A Boat Blazing Saddles - I'm Tired (Madeline Kahn) Weird Al Yankovic - Dick Van Dyke Theme with Lyrics Barbie - I'm Just Ken Simpsons - Flaming Moe's Dr. Doofenshmirtz - There's a Platypus Controlling Me Triumph The Insult Comic Dog - Cats Are Cunts Family Guy - All Cartoons Are Fuckin' Dicks

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Kahless the Unforgettable

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Kahless the Unforgettable ( Klingonese : qeylIS ) was a legendary mytho - historical Klingon figure. He was the first Warrior King and Emperor of the Klingon Empire , known as the "greatest warrior of them all".

Kahless was the last Klingon to unite all tribes until the Federation-Klingon War of 2256 , which was started with that purpose by a Klingon called T'Kuvma , who was concerned that his race had begun to "forget the Unforgettable". ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ")

Time crystals were a symbol of Kahless. ( DIS : " Through the Valley of Shadows ") Kahless' battle cry, " Today is a good day to die ", continued to be a popular Klingon utterance into the 24th century , including in the simpler form " It is a good day to die. " ( VOY : " Dragon's Teeth "; DS9 : " Blood Oath ", " The Way of the Warrior ")

• 2.1 Artifacts
• 2.2 See also
• 2.3 Quotations
• 2.4 The Rightful Heir
• 3.1 Further references
• 3.2.1 Kahless' lifetime
• 3.3 Apocrypha
• 3.4 External link

History [ ]

Sometime in the 9th century , Kahless defeated his enemies, including Molor and the Fek'Ihri , on the field of battle and founded the mighty Klingon Empire, uniting the Klingon people and giving them the laws of honor . Upon his death , Kahless promised he would return one day and lead the Empire again. After his death, it was said that Kahless awaited all Klingons in Sto-vo-kor : the life which lies beyond this life. His teachings of honor and tradition formed the basis of modern Klingon philosophy and culture . As of 2374 , Kahless was still revered as a near-divine figure by the Klingons. ( VOY : " Day of Honor ")

Although Kahless was not high-born, those who descended from him and his wife, the Lady Lukara , were said to reside within the Klingon Imperial Court . Those members of the Court, including Dahar master Kor , were considered "of the blood ," and were regarded throughout the Empire to have been born to rule by the divine will of Kahless. ( DS9 : " Tacking Into the Wind ", " Once More Unto the Breach ")

In 2256 , the zealot T'Kuvma proclaimed that the Great Houses of the Klingon Empire would " stand as one under Kahless, reborn in me, T'Kuvma. " ( DIS : " Battle at the Binary Stars ")

Excalbian's recreation of Kahless

In 2269 , an image of Kahless was created by the Excalbians in a plot devised to better understand the concepts of " good " and " evil ". The image was considerably flawed from the original Kahless, with such notable discrepancies as being infected with the Klingon augment virus and wearing a 23rd century Imperial Klingon Fleet uniform. The Excalbian version of Kahless appeared and acted quite differently from the original, since the image had been created from reading the minds of Humans who, at that point in Starfleet history , saw Kahless as a ruthless tyrant, and had had far more contact with Augment Klingons (or their descendants) than with standard Klingons. The Excalbian version of Kahless also had a talent for mimicking voices. ( TOS : " The Savage Curtain ")

The stories of Kahless were the stories of the Klingon people. Passed down from generation to generation, these stories reminded the Klingons about who they were and where they had come from. Klingons studied these stories for all of their lives; Worf said he found new truths in them on each reading. ( TNG : " Birthright, Part II ") Many of these stories were held within the sacred texts, a few exclusively. Nevertheless, they remained an integral part of Klingon lore.

The following stories are portions and excerpts of song and lore surrounding the life of Kahless:

• Long ago, a storm was heading for the city of Quin'lat . Everyone took protection within the walls except one man who remained outside. Kahless went to him and asked what he was doing. " I am not afraid, " the man said. " I will not hide my face behind stone and mortar. I will stand before the wind and make it respect me. " Kahless honored his choice and went back inside. The next day, the storm came, and the man was killed. Kahless replied, " The wind does not respect a fool ". ( TNG : " Rightful Heir ")

Kahless and Morath fight

• …Kahless was determined to teach his brother a lesson for having told a lie, because it made him look like a coward, but Morath refused to fight his brother, and instead ran away. Kahless pursued him across valleys and over mountains , all the way to the edge of the sea . And there on the shore, they fought for twelve days and twelve nights because Morath had broken his word and brought shame and dishonor to his family. ( TNG : " New Ground ", " Firstborn ")

Kor and Worf find the Sword of Kahless

The Shroud of the Sword

The Knife of Kirom stained with the blood of Kahless

• …Kahless held his father's lifeless body in his arms. He could not believe what his brother had done. Then, his brother threw their father's sword into the sea, saying that, if he could not possess it, neither would Kahless. That was the last time the brothers would speak. Kahless looked into the ocean and wept, for the sword was all he had left of his father and the sea filled with his tears and flooded beyond the shore. ( TNG : " Birthright, Part II ")
• Kahless single-handedly fought off an entire army at Three Turn Bridge . ( DS9 : " Let He Who Is Without Sin... ")
• …The tyrant Molor was so strong that no one could stand against him. Kahless would rather die than live under Molor's tyranny… ( TNG : " Firstborn ")
• Kahless went into the mountains, all the way to the Kri'stak Volcano . He cut off a lock of his hair and thrust it into the river of molten rock, which poured from the summit. The hair began to burn, but then he plunged it into the Lake of Lusor and twisted it into a sword. ( TNG : " Rightful Heir ")

From the "drinking song":

• …and sticky-continuous and surrounded-continuous (by) blood, and the River Skral ran crimson red. On the day above all days. When Kahless slew evil Molor dead…! And after he used it to kill the tyrant Molor he gave it a name: bat'leth , "the sword of honor". ( TNG : " Rightful Heir "; DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ")

A small shrine with a statue of Kahless

The story of the sword was known only by the Klingon High Clerics , because it was never written down in the sacred texts. This was so that, if Kahless was ever to return, they could be sure it was him. ( TNG : " Rightful Heir ") When the Shroud of the Sword of Kahless was discovered, it was determined that the Sword of Kahless dated back at least 1,400 years. ( DS9 : " The Sword of Kahless ")

• With the Sword, Kahless slew Molor, conquered the Fek'Ihri, and forged the first Empire. Kahless also used the Sword to skin the Serpent of Xol , to harvest his father's field, and to carve a statue for his beloved Lukara. ( DS9 : " The Sword of Kahless ")

Molor's defeat was celebrated annually with the observance of the Kot'baval Festival . ( TNG : " Firstborn ")

• A thousand years ago, at the dawn of the Empire, five hundred warriors stormed the Great Hall at Qam-Chee . The city garrison fled before them. Only the Emperor Kahless and the Lady Lukara stood their ground. It was here that they began the greatest romance in Klingon history. ( DS9 : " Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places ")
• Kahless and Lukara were nearly killed, moments after they were married, by Molor's troops. ( DS9 : " You Are Cordially Invited ")

The wielding of Ma'Staka s, used to re-enact Kahless' and Lukara's battle at Qam-Chee, at the conclusion of a Klingon wedding was a continued tradition in Klingon culture.

Another story that mentions Kahless entering the afterlife said that he was there to rescue his brother from the Barge of the Dead and deliver him to Sto-Vo-Kor . According to the Eleventh Tome of Klavek , Kahless returned from the dead still bearing a wound from the afterlife. ( VOY : " Barge of the Dead ")

The Story of the Promise was Kahless' swan song, " When Kahless united the people and gave them the laws of honor, he saw that his work was done. So one night he gathered his belongings and went to the edge of the city to say goodbye. The people wept, as they did not want him to go. And Kahless said, " You are Klingons. You need no one but yourselves. I will go now, to Sto-Vo-Kor . But I promise one day I will return. " Then Kahless pointed to a star in the sky and said, " Look for me there, on that point of light. "

The story of "The Promise" indicated that Kahless was to reappear in the lava caves on the planet of Boreth . The Followers of Kahless , or Guardians , waited there for his return. To Klingons, there was no more sacred place. For over 1,500 years, Klingons came to Boreth to ask questions. According to the clerics, the only way a Klingon warrior could find the answers they sought was to " Open your heart to Kahless, ask him your questions, let him speak to you with your mind unclouded by doubt or hesitation. Only then can you find what you are looking for. " ( TNG : " Rightful Heir ")

Artifacts [ ]

• Beacon of Kahless
• Emperor's Crown
• Fornication Helmet
• Grail of Kahless
• Knife of Kirom
• Shroud of Kahless
• Shroud of the Sword

See also [ ]

• Order of Kahless
• Spirit of Kahless
• Star of Kahless

Quotations [ ]

• " Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory. And ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat. " ( DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ")
• " There is no victory without combat. " ( ENT : " Divergence ")
• " Great men do not seek power; they have power thrust upon them. " ( DS9 : " Tacking Into the Wind ")
• " Today is a good day to die. " ( VOY : " Dragon's Teeth ")

The Rightful Heir [ ]

A clone of Kahless

See: Kahless (clone)

Appendices [ ]

Further references [ ].

• ENT : " Divergence "
• " The Vulcan Hello "
• " Battle at the Binary Stars "
• " Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum "
• " Despite Yourself "
• " The Wolf Inside "
• " Vaulting Ambition "
• " The War Without, The War Within "
• " Will You Take My Hand? "
• " Point of Light "
• DS9 : " When It Rains... "

Background information [ ]

The "real" Kahless never appeared on Star Trek , outside a painting of his depiction as portrayed by Kevin Conway , who also appeared in " Rightful Heir " as Kahless' clone . The original depiction, and introduction of Kahless, appeared as an Excalbian recreation in " The Savage Curtain ", who was portrayed by Robert Herron .

The name "Kahless" has been pronounced in various ways throughout Star Trek , such as the commonly used "Kay-less" and "Kaw-less" by Worf in " New Ground ". The Okrandian Klingon language spelling of his name was qeylIS . ( The Klingon Dictionary 2nd ed., p. 58)

Among the inspirations for Kahless as portrayed in TNG were King Arthur , Jesus Christ , and Viking lore. ( AOL chat , 1998 )

The original script for " Birthright, Part II " included a number of additional tales about Kahless that were not included in the final version of the episode (some of these unaired tales were later contradicted by other episodes):

• …Kahless held his father's lifeless body in his arms. He could not believe what his brother had done. Then, his brother threw their father's sword into the sea, saying that, if he could not possess it, neither would Kahless. That was the last time the brothers would speak. Kahless looked into the ocean and wept, for the sword was all he had left of his father and the sea filled with his tears and flooded beyond the shore. The people begged Kahless to stop his weeping, and he did and walked into the water to find the lost sword. He searched and searched the murky ocean bottom, holding his breath for three days and three nights when he would eventually find his father's sword.
• Kahless later invented the forms of what would become the Mok'bara when he went to the Underworld in search of his father. Kahless showed him the forms, and his father was able to remember his body and return to the world of the living.
• Kahless was condemned to die by the tyrant Molor, who was angered that Kahless had incited the people against him. The night before his execution, Kahless asked that he be allowed to go out into the night and say farewell to the moon and the stars, for he knew that, in the Netherworld, he would not see them again. Kahless gave his word that he would come back, and Molor let him go. Kahless had given his word and Molor understood what that meant. The next day at dawn, Kahless returned and was put to death (this story is contradicted by "The Promise").

In the first draft script of DS9 : " When It Rains... ", Kahless was said to have stood before his warriors, cut his own hand with a knife so that blood dripped out of his palm, and instructed those present, " Do this… in memory of me. "

Kahless' lifetime [ ]

The exact time period in which Kahless lived has repeatedly been described with differing numbers. In "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places", taking place in 2373 , Worf enthusiastically mentions Kahless' battle against Molor's troops to have happened "a thousand years ago." This would appear to be somewhat of a contradiction, as TNG : " Rightful Heir " states that the monks on Boreth have been awaiting Kahless' return for fifteen centuries , i.e. five hundred years longer. Either Worf "rounded" the number of years in his enthusiasm, or Molor and Kahless were at least five hundred years old, which, while the maximum life span for Klingons has never been clearly defined, seems to be without precedent. Another solution would be that Worf counted in Klingon years, as DS9 : " Soldiers of the Empire " established 2373 to correspond to the Year of Kahless 999. This would also be in accord with the Sword of Kahless being dated to an age of 1,400 years in "The Sword of Kahless". Furthermore, a scene cut from "Rightful Heir" had Data specify Kahless' death as 1,547 years prior, which would place it in 822 AD.

Apocrypha [ ]

The novel Kahless showed a different take on the legend. The novel asserted that Kahless, son of Kanjis was a soldier within Molor's army who refused to burn down a village and who was forced to slay Molor's eldest son. This turned Kahless and his band into outlaws, but their goal was not to topple Molor but to simply hide. Rumors spread, however, that they planned to overthrow Molor's tyrannical empire. After the death of his love, a woman known as Kellein, Kahless despaired and fled the group, but was followed by his loyal friend Morath, son of Ondagh, who wrestled with Kahless for six days and nights. After this wrestling match, Kahless yielded to Morath and dedicated his life to destroying Molor. The novel also mentioned the Mok'bara ; in the novel, Kahless had never heard of the practice. The book also suggested that the blood used to create the clone of Kahless was not Kahless' blood but rather Morath's.

The comic book Star Trek: Klingons also uses the name Kahless, son of Kanjis but is otherwise much more true to the legend of Kahless as a messianic figure. The story begins with Kahless slaying his brother Morath and continues with Kahless defeating the armies of the three warlords of Three Turn Bridge and freeing the people from their tyranny. In this story, Molor is implied to be an alien rather than an actual Klingon, since he had a spaceship and was worshiped by some Klingons as a deity.

In the FASA role-playing game, Kahless lived during a time when Klingons had already invented warp drive and died fighting against the Romulans. His full name was Kahless epetai-Riskadh.

In the DC Comics line, a descendant of Kahless, Kahless IV, served as emperor during the movie era. This conflicted not only the details of "Rightful Heir", but also a statement that the Klingons had not had an emperor in three hundred years.

In Star Trek Online , the clone of Kahless seen in TNG and DS9 appeared prominently in early missions available to Klingon players, and fought alongside them battling Fek'Ihri forces intent on conquering the Klingon Empire. He later was killed in single combat against an Iconian named T'Ket during The Iconian War.

In the miniseries Star Trek: Prey , a group of con artists fake the public execution of the Kahless clone with the goal of studying him so that they can attempt to fake the return of the true Kahless, but Kahless is able to outsmart them and escape captivity, and the plan is brought to a halt when the gang betrays each other before they can put it into practice.

External link [ ]

• Kahless the Unforgettable at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 3 Ancient humanoid