| “ | Trust is built, not freely given. Respect is earned, not bought. | „ |
| — Kardok 2409 ("Past Imperfect") |
Kardok – son of D'Ghor and patriarch of the House of Kardok – was a Klingon captain and former Zenith Alliance operative. He was banished from Qo'noS in 2380 for misconduct and treason. By 2409, however, he had been reinstated in the Klingon Defense Force.
Biography
Early life
Kardok was a Klingon male born to D'Ghor, a member of the Klingon High Council, and Tavana in YoK 991 (Earth year 2265) in the First City on Qo'noS. Kardok's father was overjoyed to have a male heir, but his mother was less than enthused, due to her husband's apparent lack of honor. For this reason, she nicknamed him "quvHa' puqloD," or "dishonored son."
In 2368, at the age of 6, he fought two older Klingon boys, injuring one of them. He knew from then on that he was destined to be a warrior.
A year later, Kardok's mother gave birth to another child, a daughter, named Kalara.
Following his father's discommendation and subsequent ejection from the Klingon High Council in 2371, Kardok determined to regain his father's lost honor.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Early career
In 2374, Kardok enlisted in the Klingon Defense Force. He served on a Bird-of-Prey for two years. In the years ensuing the Dominion War, Kardok continued to grow discontented with the state of the Klingon Empire. He began searching for others who shared his concerns for the future of the Empire.
As a Zenith operative
He joined the Zenith Alliance in 2378, under the impression that they would assist him in restoring the former glory of the Empire. He soon learned, however, that Klingons were not the only species operating within the organization.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have contentCite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
He was assigned command of the IKS GhIqtal in 2380. Later that year, he was tasked with destroying the Federation's flagship, the USS Enterprise-E, and capturing Captain Jean-Luc Picard. He succeeded in capturing Picard,Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content but Picard soon convinced him that his master, Xolor, was not interested simply in conquering worlds, but in causing total annihilation, using a new prototype weapon called red matter.
The duo then devised a plan to inform the Enterprise of Xolor's strategy, while Kardok convinced his crew that he was actually leading the Enterprise into a trap. One of Kardok's officers, Vana Aleksandrov, however, saw through his guise, and turned on him after one of her informants brought her word of what he and Picard were planning. She subsequently took command of the GhIqtal, telling Kardok that Xolor was waiting for them.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Aleksandrov brought Kardok and Picard before Xolor, who intended to kill Kardok for his disobedience. Kardok humbled himself and sought forgiveness, however, and Xolor had mercy on him. Aleksandrov was furious, and returned to the GhIqtal. She concluded that both Xolor and Kardok's judgments were clouded, and that she, and she alone, would have to "cleanse" the galaxy and build their empire. Meanwhile, Kardok was able to recruit Maglus and Nen to join him in overthrowing Xolor, having them send coded messages to the Enterprise. Upon leaving Zenith Prime, Kardok and Picard determined to halt Xolor's reign, and bring about the end of the Zenith Alliance, by using the red matter device contained on the GhIqtal. Once aboard the GhIqtal, the duo began loading the device, aiming it at the system's star. The plan worked, and the red matter created a black hole, consuming everything in the system. The Enterprise was able to beam everyone off the GhIqtal, except for Aleksandrov.
After the battle, Picard informed Kardok that he had been banished from Qo'noS. Kardok knew that his actions had brought dishonor to him and his house, but Picard told him that some of his honor had been restored due to his choice to aid them. The Enterprise set course for the nearest starbase where Kardok would be dropped off. He did not know where he would go next, but he was hopeful that one day he would be allowed to return to his home.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Later career
Return to the Klingon Defense Force
By stardate 83446.1, Kardok had returned to the Klingon Defense Force and gained command of the IKS SuvwI'. The SuvwI' was sent with a small group of Klingon ships to the Donatu system to investigate the reason for the True Way's presence there. When the USS Leviathan entered the system, one of the ships from his group attacked them, but he ordered them to stand down. He hailed the Leviathan, telling Lieutenant Jason Fredricks to continue his mission there. Jason wished to speak face-to-face, but Kardok would not allow it.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Devidian crisis
Kardok later took an away team over to the True Way's flagship, the Axon, and fought the Devidian leader, killing it with the assistance of Jason's team. His ship then towed the Axon back to Klingon space.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Following the incident at Donatu, Kardok went to Drozana Station in search of more clues as to the Devidians' reappearance. Upon the arrival of Jason and his away team on the station, Kardok chose to reveal himself to them. He told Jason that he should not ask too many questions, in order to avoid unwanted attention. Jason asked if they had met, but Kardok denied it. Jason asked him what he knew about the Devidians; Kardok told him that they were extremely dangerous and would kill anyone who could give them what they wanted – neural energy. Jason was unsure about getting help from an enemy, but Kardok insisted that they were not enemies. At that moment, Jason realized that Kardok was in fact the Klingon captain who he had met at Donatu.
Kardok accompanied Jason's away team to the lower levels of Drozana where the group discovered not only more Devidians, but a malfunctioning, murderous maintenance hologram named Gein. Gein attacked the team, pinning Lucas Wells to the wall. Jason set his phaser to a wide-beam setting which temporarily stunned the hologram. Gein fled, and Kardok made chase. By the time the rest of the team caught up to him, the Devidians had opened a portal in the main room and began flooding in. They engaged the Devidians while also firing upon the portal to weaken it. Gein, used the pandemonium to his advantage, throwing Tala Jones into the middle of the room. Jason managed to reach her, but Gein took notice and fired at them, causing them to fall next to the Devidian portal and be sucked in. Kardok and the remaining away team members then destroyed both Gein and the portal. Elisa Flores strongly objected to destroying the portal, as she felt they were abandoning Jason and Tala. Kardok assured her that there was likely another portal on the computer core level. Elisa then told Dylyp Azeli, who had made the decision to destroy the portal, that if Jason was lost, she would never forgive him.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Dylyp called another team down to the maintenance levels to assist them. When they reached the computer core level, they managed to stabilize another portal, and he, Lucas, Elisa, and Th'vol Olethla entered it. Hannah Freeman stayed behind to ensure that the portal remained stable, and Kardok chose to stay with her as protection in the event that more Devidians showed up. The two of them were accompanied by security officers Kevin Briggs and Walter Bozeman. While they waited for the others to return, Kardok attempted to relax his mind and "feel" the environment around him. Kevin compared Kardok to a Vulcan, but Hannah was intrigued and joined Kardok. After a few moments of silence, the two of them heard something emerging from the portal. It turned out to be the rest of the away team, along with Jason and Tala. Kardok asked what they had found on the other side of the portal, and Jason told him that the Devidians were focused on the 23rd century, necessitating their return to the past.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Traits
Appendices
Background and trivia
- Kardok was first created as the main antagonist for CaptFredricks' 2010 story, Lego Star Trek. He was also featured in [unknown story], in an alternate timeline involving Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise. Neither of these stories, however, are considered "canon" in terms of the Federation Legacy timeline, on which most of CaptFredricks' stories are based.
- In all incarnations, Kardok was always subservient to a mysterious alien being who wished to destroy the Federation, who, in the most recent installment, is known as "Xolor".
- Kardok is also the second character to be created on CaptFredricks' Star Trek Online account, after Jason Fredricks.
- CaptFredricks has given no indication of where he derived Kardok's name, simply stating that it "sounded Klingon."
- Kardok's birth year was originally 2358, but was later changed to 2365 (YoK 991), meaning in 2380 Kardok is 15, and in 2409 he is 44.
- CaptFredricks stated he chose Kardok's birthday to be the 18th day of QIn because he was 18 years old when he first planned out the chapter "QuvHa' PuqloD". The chapter still remained unpublished two years after this.
- With appearances in five stories (Lego Star Trek, Star Trek Out of Reality, Star Trek: Federation Legacy, Star Trek: Final Voyages and A Matter of Honor), Kardok has been in more of CaptFredricks' stories than any other character.
- Kardok made his debut appearance in Federation Legacy in its 13th chapter, "Skirmish". He is not mentioned by name in the chapter, but in the following chapter, "What Lies Beneath", it is revealed that it was in fact him.
- He was originally meant to only appear in "What Lies Beneath", but his role in the Spectres (*) arc was further expanded upon during its writing, with him appearing in all four chapters.
Appearances
- A Matter of Honor – "QuvHa' PuqloD" (Upcoming content)
- Star Trek: Final Voyages – "Zenith" (First appearance)
- Star Trek: Final Voyages – "Zenith, Part II"
- Star Trek: Final Voyages – "Zenith, Part III"
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Skirmish"
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "What Lies Beneath"
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Everything Old Is New"
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Night of the Comet"
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Past Imperfect"
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "The Lost City of Paradise"
Notes and references
| v - e - ? | IKS SuvwI' | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Command crew | Kardok • M'Rel • S'lade Zdanas | ||
| Duty officers | Natanu Sei • Tlaszh | ||
| v - e - ? | IKS GhIqtal | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Command crew | Vana Aleksandrov? • Dagan • Graal • J'dan† • Kardok • Maglus • Nen | ||