Lieutenant Commander Korath Son of Ro'thgar

Character Information

Gender		Male
Species		Klingon
Birth Date		October 3, 2347

Physical Appearance

Height		7'2"
Weight		326 lbs
Eye Color		Brown
Physical Description		Korath is tall with broad shoulders. He sports a scar across his left cheek, and one over his right brow. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

Family

Spouse		Jessica Penniston, (Deceased)
Children		Ba'el (Daughter)
Father		Ro'thGar
Mother		Surellya
Other Family		Lo'koth (uncle)

Background

Childhood/Background		Korath was born on Kronos, to the house of Ro'thGar on October 3rd 2347. As the heir to one of the 24 noble houses, Korath's early life was one of privilege. It was, however, a lonely one. His father was rarely there for Korath as a child, spending most of his time deployed with the Defense Forces. This caused more than a little strife for the two. Korath's relationship with his uncle, Lo'koth, was far closer to a father-son relationship than Korath could have wished for with his own father. Korath's mother left his father shortly before his second birthday. Korath's closest companion was his pet targ named Makjaq. When Korath was 4 and the time came to partake of the first Right of Ascension, it was his uncle that prepared him for the right. In 2351 Roth'gar's Bird of prey encountered a Borg cube. Korath's Father was assimilated and mother was killed in the incident, leaving Korath in the care of his Uncle. Korath enrolled in the Imperial War College two years later in 2353. His House’s seat on the High Council ensured him the favor of his taskmasters. Korath quickly proved himself a gifted student, though he often disliked being compared to his father. Despite his strained relationship with his father, and not knowing his birth mother, Korath turned the torrent these emotions evoked into a drive to carve his own name. His determination to succeed however left little time to develop any meaningful relationships, making his 8 years at the College an isolated one. Shortly after his graduation from the War College in September 2361, The Federation starship Hermes encountered a damaged Borg probe on a desolate planet near the Omicron sector. The Hermes crew was able to liberate three drones, one of which was Korath's father. As his father recovered aboard the Starfleet vessel, Korath was assigned to the home guard awaiting his first posting. Three months later Korath was assigned to the IKS Pegh, as Weapons Officer under the command of Durill Hod. Much to his surprise, Korath then found out his father had been assigned to the same vessel as Executive Officer. For much of the first two years of his service the Pegh was assigned to border patrol. During this time the Federation and Cardassian Union were engaged in a war. The Pegh would occasionally conduct raids against federation or Cardassian supply convoys that wandered too close to Klingon borders. During one such raid, Durill found reference to a weapon known as the Pragnistak or Devil's Heart. A weapon said to provide its wielder with great power. The Pegh would spend the next four years tracking down the shards of the Devil's Heart. During these four years, Korath's relationship with his father improved somewhat. Instead of pitying him for not dying in the Borg attack, and resenting him for his absence during Korath's early years, he instead grew to respect his father's strength and warrior spirit. In May 2367, when Durill's greed and obsession with reuniting the shards became too great, Korath conspired with his father to assassinate Durill and bring evidence of Durill's treacherous plans to seize control of the Council to the Chancellor. Each of them took one shard of the Devil's Heart so that Durill would not be able to complete the weapon. Korath's father confronted Durill by combat for the right to command. Durill killed Korath's Father after a drawn-out battle that spiraled through the confines of the ship's bridge. Outraged by his father’s death, Korath attacked Durill but was quickly defeated when another warrior caused him to lose his footing and giving Durill the upper hand. Instead of killing Korath, Durill wounded him and tossed him in the brig. It was, however, Durill that had implicated Korath and his father for his own crimes. Korath was tried and found guilty of treason based on the falsified evidence. The Magistrate sentenced Korath to 2 years on the penal colony Rura Penthe. The High council stripped his house of its status and holdings. Only his uncle, Lo'koth escaped the fallout by going into hiding within the House of ToQ, one of the vassal houses still loyal to the House of Ro'thGar, and began gathering allies and resources to secure Korath's release from Rura Penthe. Survival among the population of the Penal Colony was hard. The failure to remove Durill from power and the guilt at not being able to protect his father weighed heavily on him. On his first day Korath was ambushed twice and nearly killed. The attack would have succeeded in killing him if it was not for an unlikely ally - a serpentine creature named Pythos. Dispatching the attackers, Pythos hid and nursed Korath back to health. Impressed by his honor and skill in combat, Korath aligned with Pythos. The two developed a strong bond with Pythos acting as blood brother, guardian, and spymaster. Korath however, still plagued by guilt and anger over his betrayal, seemed to have a death wish. Eighteen months into his internment Korath learned that the warden and several of the guards were being paid by his former Captain to ensure that he never left the moon. Each day Korath survived meant that it brought the truth closer to light for Durill. Enraged that he had not been able to deal with Korath and also fearing an uprising by the population inspired by the continued defiance by Korath toward the warden, the warden ordered Korath killed. Once more Korath survived the assassination attempt with the help of his closest friend and ally and publically challenged the warden. The warden, blinded by rage and pride, accepted the challenge rather than simply having Korath killed. Korath faced the warden in single combat and won the battle, killing the warden on a catwalk overlooking the main holding cells. Pythos made sure the guards would not interfere by inciting a riot and setting fire to several areas. In the ensuing chaos Korath and Pythos escaped aboard a supply ship making it appear that Korath himself had, in fact, died on the moon. Knowing that he could not openly challenge Durill and the High Council without support and without honor in the eyes of his people, Korath chose to escape Imperial space and sought asylum with the Federation. The Federation, however, was reluctant to simply grant asylum and spent over a year and a half debriefing and monitoring Korath before allowing him to join the Federation if he wished.
Academy History		In September 2370 Korath officially enrolled at StarFleet Academy. His first year was rocky. While his grades and aptitude tests were exemplary, Korath struggled to develop relationships and often butted heads with his instructors and other cadets. By the start of his second year, Korath had chosen to focus on Security and Tactical studies as his major; minoring in engineering extension courses. In February of 2372 Korath had a chance encounter with Jessica Penniston, a fellow cadet and third Generation Starfleet. The encounter did not go well and the two clashed almost immediately over an argument Korath was having with one of his squadmates. However, Korath was inspired by her willingness to stand up to him in defense of her friend. It would take four months before he would be able to convince her to go out with him. That date marked the beginning of a new side of himself. He took her to the San Fransisco Marina and dinner. For reasons beyond his understanding, she brought out the man behind the "beast" she originally saw him as. By start of term 2373, Korath had asked Jessica to see him exclusively. Later that year Jessica reluctantly told Korath she was pregnant and that she decided to leave the academy. Korath refused to allow her to end her career before it even started and went to the Commandant intending to resign himself. Jessica, learning of this, made an impassioned plea to ask the commandant to reinstate Korath. She gathered several letters of recommendation from Korath's instructors noting the great strides and improvement he had shown in his interactions with his fellow cadets and his natural ability to inspire those around him. The academy admissions board agreed to reinstate Korath and Jessica convinced him not to give up on the journey he had started himself on. Jessica resigned her commission and stayed in San Francisco to care for their daughter whom they named Ba'el after his mother's sister. Korath took an engineering extension course during this time. Korath Graduated in 2374 in the top 3% of his class. Korath and Jessica were married in a small ceremony a week after the graduation ceremony against her family’s wishes, as they had never approved of her choice to get involved with him.
Career History		Korath entered service during the final year of the Dominion war. Korath worked hard to honor both the memory of his father and the faith his wife had in him when she convinced him to remain with StarFleet. Korath took part in several border skirmishes during the first several months aboard the USS Archer. His advanced tactical training proved its worth when he saved his superior officer's life from a subspace mine on AR-558. The Archer took part in the battle to retake Deep Space Nine from Dominion control. Korath, along with teams from several other ships, took part in securing the station and sweeping the aging Cardassian station for any lingering enemy forces. During the Archer's third mission, the ship was attacked by a Klingon vessel. The Akira class starship was crippled by the larger Neg'var class cruiser and boarded. During the hostage situation that took place, Korath's wife and daughter were abducted. The Klingon vessel left as quickly as it appeared without further incident or casualty. Korath spent several months spiraling dangerously into depression and post-traumatic stress, culminating in him being confined to the brig for thirty days after injuring himself in a holodeck program after disabling the safeties. In 2378 Korath, after nearly two years of searching, found evidence of where his wife and daughter had been taken. Learning that his old Captain Durill had ordered the abduction of them, Korath stole a shuttle and set a course to the compound where his family was being held. Korath succeeded in infiltrating the compound and saving his wife and daughter, trading them for the two shards of the Devil’s Heart he had kept safely away from Durill. He was, however, ambushed before he could escort Jessica and his five-year-old daughter to his waiting shuttle. In an act of cruelty, Durill killed Jessica in front of Korath and Ba'el. Realizing Korath's intentions, the USS Archer pursued him to the same compound, in direct contradiction to orders from Admiral Wolfe. Security teams beamed down to find Korath and Durill in fierce combat meters away from the frightened Ba'el. Teams from the Archer cleared the compound, tended to the frightened child, and prevented the escape of Durill's crew. By the time Captain Regan Ivanova arrived on the scene, Korath was standing over a defeated Durill ready to strike him dead with his bat'leth. Bloodlust filling his eyes, Korath nearly ended his career right there, but Regan was able to talk him down at the last moment. Instead of satisfying honor with the death of his former Captain as would be the right of any Klingon, Korath agreed to turn Durill over to Federation custody for crimes against the Federation including attacking border colonies during the search for the Devil's Heart. A formal reprimand was placed on Korath's file and he spent six months in a Federation rehabilitation colony in lieu of a Court Martial. Korath's relationship with his daughter suffered somewhat following his rehabilitation. The trauma of the kidnapping and the murder of her mother left Ba'el scarred. Korath's own guilt of losing his wife rather than being able to protect her made it difficult for him to relate well to his daughter. Despite her attempts to reach out to her father, and his love for her, Korath found it difficult to share his true feelings for her. Korath spent the next nine years working to gain the trust of his fellow officers and StarFeet. The reprimand made it nearly impossible to attain a rank higher than Lieutenant, much less hold a department head posting. That remained the case until November 2386, when an encounter with a Borg cube threatened a Federation colony on Theta Sigma. The Archer was able to protect the colony long enough for the colonists to escape, however, the ship was badly damaged in the combat action and boarded by Borg. Korath was instrumental in giving several officers the time to reach escape pods. As the crew abandoned ship, Korath remained behind to retrieve the Captain who had stayed behind in a last ditch effort to destroy the Borg Cube. Korath reached the bridge and held off drones long enough for the Captain to program the stricken Starship to ram the cube. Korath was gravely wounded during the battle and woke up in a biobed aboard the USS Tempest. Following the Board of Inquiry after the loss of the USS Archer, Captain Ivanova's testimony and those of other officers satisfied StarFleet Command that Korath had acted with bravery and selflessness in defense of others and promoted him to Lieutenant Commander and he was assigned as the Chief of Security and Tactical Officer aboard the USS Dominion, later renamed the USS Archer. In May of 2392 Korath requested a transfer to the USS Ajax under recommendation by Captain Ivanova. Feeling it was time to expand his career options, Korath applied for the Second Officer's posting aboard the Ajax. It was during his two years aboard the Ajax that Korath began to finally find the needed push to show his feelings for Ba'el after she contracted a potentially fatal disease that caused her Klingon DNA to begin to overwrite her Human DNA. Doctors were able to cure the disease with the help of modified gene therapy. The fear of losing Ba'el, however, posed his greatest challenge of his career - being a father. In 2394, Korath was transferred to the USS Malinche as Executive Officer.
Service Record		2370-2374 StarFleet Academy 2374-2376 USS Archer, Security Officer, Ensign 2376-2378 USS Archer, Asst Tactical Officer, Lieutenant.JG 2378-2386 USS Archer, Asst Tactical Officer, Lieutenant 2386-2392 USS Archer, Chief Security/Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander 2392-2394 USS Ajax, Second Officer, Lieutenant Commander 2394-Present USS Malinche, Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander

Personality & Traits

Personality		Korath is a warrior, stoic and private. He has suffered extensively throughout his career to balance his baser instincts and aggression with the ideals of the Federation. This conflict has not only posed significant challenges for him, it has also become one of his greatest strengths. Korath has learned to challenge himself by reinventing himself instead of seeking battle inherent to Klingon culture. Korath is extremely loyal and has shown a wisdom not seen in himself during his early career. Korath is dedicated and hard working. Patience is, however, not a skill he has mastered.
Hobbies & Interests		Korath has a great interest in military history and enjoys recreating historic battles from across the galaxy. He believes that an individual's true self is brought to light during a conflict and studying the conflicts of others is the first step in truly understanding another species. Korath is an avid Martial artist, having studied many forms including Terran Ju Jitsu, Kenjutsu, Taijutsu and Vulcan Suus Mahna. He is also a master of the Mok'bara. Korath is a master at both the Bat'leth and Mak'leth. He is an expert at a variety of melee and ranged weapons.

OOC Info