Created by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane on Aug 16, 2016 @ 3:28am

THE KLINGON EMPIRE

The KLINGON EMPIRE, once a mighty interstellar power, has fallen on hard times in the 25th century and may soon pass from history. For the past sixty years their fortunes have been ebbing, and with the rise of the Orion Syndicate on their trailing border, Klingon power may have already passed its zenith and may now be in inexorable decline.

Many analysts within Starfleet Intelligence point towards the collapse of the Khitomer Accords in 2372 as the beginning of the empire's decline. The High Council had been infiltrated by one of the Dominion Founders, who manipulated the empire into invading the Cardassian Union and even engineered a brief war between the Federation and the Klingons. During the First Dominion War, Klingon forces did their fair share of the fighting, including numerous engagements planetside against the Jem'Hadar in old-style warrior-to-warrior combat. The war reawakened the old marital spirit within the Empire, and when victory came, it was a cause for great celebration across the entire empire.

When the Romulan civilian government was overthrown by their military in the coup of 2380, the Klingons began raiding the spinward systems of the Romulan Star Empire. At that stage it had become difficult for the High Council to control its fleet commanders who were determined to win glory for themselves and who were still highly confident of their own abilities following the victory over the Dominion a decade earlier. This confidence would prove to be an almost fatal mistake.

After months of border skirmishes, the Romulans declared open war against the Klingons. Launching massive fleet engagements that drove deep into Klingon territory, they pushed the Klingons back and further back, shattering Klingon martial pride and killing huge numbers of Klingon warriors. Although the Klingons fought with their usual ferocity, their aging fleet was no match for the new Valdore-class Warbirds, and the Battle of Prygus in 2382 turned the war decisively in favour of the Romulans.

By 2385, the Klingon Empire had been conquered. Its industrial worlds were reduced to slag, the High Council had fled to Cardassian space, allying themselves with former enemies in exchange for sanctuary, and Qo'noS had been occupied by the victorious Romulans. For seven long years, a guerrilla movement remained active on Qo'noS while the High Council foolishly participated in the Alliance War against the might of the Federation.

In 2390, the Romulan military government, having long pursued a policy of executing any Klingons captured under arms, decided that the only way for the quadrant to be safe from future Klingon aggression was to exterminate the species. Dubbed 'The Ultimate Solution', the Romulans planned to burn off the atmosphere of Qo'noS and irradiate the planet's surface with fusion bombs. Under pressure from the Federation, this act of mass genocide was averted, and the Romulans finally withdrew from Klingon space in 2392.

Slowly over the next few years, the surviving Klingons returned home, entering a new period in their history - the "juH'chegh chu'bov", or Homecoming Era. Their empire had been shattered and their economy and technology had been reduced almost back to pre-warp levels. In the interim, the growing Orion Syndicate colonised many empty systems that were once Klingon, expanding their own territory while the Klingons were weak. The High Council returned to Qo'noS in late 2392, and the Klingons attempted to return to their old ways of honour and martial spirit, seeking to unite again as a people instead of being torn apart by feuding great Houses. To this end, the High Council pursued a policy of isolationism, and the Klingons have remained that way for most of the last forty years.

In the Seventh War of Retribution, the Klingons suffered as much as any Alpha Quadrant race, and were present at Coriana III when the Kem D'Neel were finally defeated. In 2415, the revolt of Sovek, the False Emperor, was overcome only with the help of Starfleet. The Klingons have struggled to revitalise their flagging economy while trying to repopulate their previous colony worlds, and their fleets are now aging badly while newer players in galactic politics, like the Orion Syndicate, grow in power and influence.

In mid-2433, a Klingon warlord - Is'toQ of the House of Martok - raided the Federation farming world of Sherman's Planet, seizing over a quarter-million tonnes of quintotriticale grain. The Klingons were driven away by the starship Phoenix, but intelligence gleaned from the encounter points to the grain being seized in order to prepare for a looming war between the Klingons and the Orions. Is'toQ also spoke of a restored High Council of 24 Great Houses, and of the Klingons having returned to their old ways of martial honour, but it is unknown if he was speaking the truth.