Warning! Spoilers for Star Trek #2 ahead!Back in the Star Trek's classic era of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy there was no more dangerous enemy to the peace-loving Federation than the warrior race known as the Klingons, but over the centuries animosities between the two great powers cooled, until now. In IDW Publishing’s latest Star Trek series, Benjamin Sisko and Worf find themselves facing the possibility of starting another war between Starfleet and the Klingons.
Animosity between humans and the warrior race of the planet Qo'noS began as early as their first contact in the 22nd century when Captain Jonathan Archer was sent to deliver an errant Klingon back to his people. However, the conflict really heated up in the 23rd century, when the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire came into conflict over several territory disputes leading to a 70 year-long cold war. Outright hostilities exploded a few times over the decades, including in 2256 at the Battle of the Binary Stars, and 2267 over a border dispute, which ended in a forced and uneasy peace initiated by the advanced race known as the Organians. Final peace between the biggest powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants did not happen until the signing of the Khitomer Accords in 2293. After those negotiations, full war only broke out one more time in 2372, though it was relatively brief as it was soon discovered that the war had been instigated by Changelings of the Dominion.
However, in Star Trek #2 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Oleg Chudakov, the actions of Sisko and Worf open up the possibility for another Klingon-Federation War. The issue sees the former captain of Deep Space Nine expressly defy the wishes of the Klingon High Council and Emperor by attempting to contact and save the Engineers of Sardakesh from the enemy that is killing all the cosmic gods of the Star Trek Universe. Sisko is on a mission from Starfleet and the Prophets of Bajor to prevent this at all costs, but that directive comes into conflict with the Klingon’s shame over their failure to conquer the god-like Engineers as their ancestral honor demands.
This Klingon-Federation War Will Be Unlike Any Other
This new layer of shame on the part of the Klingon Empire could make a new war between the Federation and the Empire that much more devastating. That is because this war would not be over territories or resources, but waged in an attempt to preserve —and cover up the lie— of the very mythos of Klingon society. This would be more akin to a holy war than a border dispute, and some of the Federations’ most famous faces are at the center of it, including Beverly Crusher and Data. This is the kind of war that would cut to the very foundation of what it means to be a Klingon, and could very well be fought down to the last warrior standing.
Though in recent years the Federation and Klingons have found a lot of common ground, and even formed a strong alliance during the Dominion War, they have seen far more bloodshed while standing on opposite sides of the battlefield rather than shoulder to shoulder. There are still many in the Empire who would welcome another chance to take on the human-led Starfleet, which some see as their most formidable and historic enemies. After all, the brief skirmishes of the 2372 war saw enough brutality on both sides that nearly crippled both the Empire and the Federation.
Though the many peace negotiations and acts of goodwill by human and Klingon alike have done a lot to douse the flames of war, it may only take the right spark to set hostilities between them ablaze again. And now that spark may be coming from none other than the Federation's Captain Benjamin Sisko and his crew of famous Star Trek figures, who are quickly finding themselves and their mission at odds with the Klingons.
Star Trek #2 is on sale now from IDW Publishing.