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HEROES OF THE EMPIRE
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF
ALEXANDER ROZHENKO
Son of Worf
by Frances B. Brock
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA:
Year of Birth: 2359
Species: Klingon (75%) – Human (25%)
Father: Worf, Son of Mogh
Mother: K’Ehleyr (deceased)
Member of: House of Mogh, House of Martok (circa 2374)
Citizenship: Klingon Empire
Current Residence: IKS Rotarran
Profession: Officer in the Klingon Defense Forces
Rank: Bek
Current Assignment: Sensor Observance
ALEXANDER, THE BOY:
Alexander was born on the 43rd day of Mak’tag, in the Earth Year 2359, to Worf and K’Ehleyr. His mother was killed when he was approximately eight years old and that image never left him. It was the first time the youngster had seen death and he lived with the image of his father mourning over his mother’s body. Worf had a hard time adjusting to the presence of his son and found it difficult to balance a family life and his duties aboard the Enterprise, while having to care for such an unruly and very un-Klingon like youngster. He was not emotionally prepared to take care of Alexander and his rebellious spirit, so Worf sent him to be raised by his foster parents, Sergey and Helena Rozhenko.
When Alexander was approximately ten years old, his foster grandmother returned him to Worf’s custody. He was becoming difficult for the older couple to control, and Alexander had developed behavior problems which the Rozhenko’s believed only his father, as a Klingon, would be able manage and change. Aboard the Enterprise, Alexander continued his disruptive ways, bullying his fellow students and lying to his teacher and his father. Worf was distressed that his wife had not chosen to teach young Alexander the Ways of the Warrior before her death. Worf finally sought help, and got it through Deanna Troi, who became very much attached to Alexander, as did Alexander to her. So much so, that she became his guardian in the event of Worf’s death.
His adolescence remained difficult for both he and his father. Alexander made it continually clear that he was not interested in becoming a Klingon Warrior. That was made abundantly clear when Worf would take him to the Holodeck and try to instruct him on the ways of the Bat’Leth other Klingon traditions. Worf seriously considered sending Alexander to a Klingon school, hoping that an environment of strict Klingon discipline would straighten the boy out. But ultimately decided against it, because he didn’t want to lose the love of his son. Alexander, too, even with his rebellious attitude, did not want to be sent away and leave his father. Worf offered him a challenge to remain on board the Enterprise with him and they would work and grow together. Alexander accepted this challenge.
In 2372, when Worf was transferred from the Enterprise to DS9, Alexander returned to live with his grandparents. Even with the pact they had made, Worf and Alexander’s relationship over those years had not changed and they were constantly battling over their many opposing principles.
General Martok
As a direct result of Kor's rejection, Martok was forced to serve as a mere civilian laborer on a
Klingon ship from 2345 to 2350. It was during a battle with the Romulans that he had acquitted
himself so well in the fighting that he was given a battlefield commission. Sadly, his father died
only shortly before he received this commission. This most probably might always have been
Martok's biggest single regret.
Military career
From there, Martok worked his way up the ranks, until he became a general. He began his steady
rise to hero status when he commanded the Klingon forces loyal to chancellor Gowron at the battle
of Mempa during the Klingon Civil War in 2368. Although Gowron's forces were sent into a full
retreat, Martok's bold leadership kept the battle from turning into a complete rout. In a way, Martok
can be described as the “Stonewall Jackson” of the Klingon empire.
In late 2371 Martok was abducted from Qo'nos by the Dominion as part of an intricate wartime
ploy, and imprisoned in an internment camp in the Gamma quadrant, where he lost his left eye
during a fight with the Jem'Hadar camp commander, leaving him half-blind.
After his escape from
this internment camp, he returned to Deep Space 9, where chancellor Gowron appointed him
commander of the Klingon detachment.
Worf and Martok during their custody in the Dominion internment camp.
Later that same year Martok was given command of the IKS Rotarran. But his time in the Dominion
internment camp had left a serious scar on Martok's psyche and self-esteem.
Cognizant of his
uneasiness with a command position following his confinement, he invited Worf to serve as his first
officer. This in itself shows his reasonableness as an officer and his willingness to delegate and trust
and to place the interests of the empire above his own.
IKS Rotarran, Martok's first starship command following his captivity.
Martok was initially too cautious in his command of the Klingon warship, despite the crew's already
low morale, as a result of a serious of defeats. He exacerbated the situation by deliberately avoiding
several opportunities to engage the Jem'Hadar in combat during the opening shots of the Dominion
War. To preempt a mutiny, Worf staged a challenge between Martok and himself, allowing Martok
to win. This rekindled Martok's selfconfidence,
as well as the crew's trust in him.
His brilliant leadership and near-heroic
exploits during the rest of the Dominion War from 2373 to
2375, made him very popular among his peers, as well as civilians. He was instrumental in
convincing Gowron to support Starfleet's offensive to recapture Deep Space 9 from the Dominion.
He was promoted to the position of Supreme Commander of the combined Starfleet/Klingon Ninth
Fleet in early 2374, but he resented the position because of all the paperwork and bureaucracy
involved in commanding an entire fleet. From this we can clearly see that Martok was not a
politician or bureaucrat, but more of a “hands-on”
type of commander, active amongst his troops,
not happy to be trapped in an office, nevertheless prone to self-doubt.
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Personal relationships
Martok resented his elderly assistant, Darok. He often belittled him for being elderly, in stead of
having died with honor. Darok, in turn, had befriended Kor, because he reminded him of a “Qo'nos
that once was”. Perhaps this was another motive for Martok's resentment of Darok, because he still
resented Kor for having declined his first application to the Klingon defense force at the outset of
his career.
Martok showed fierce loyalty, heroism, and incorruptibility, even in the face of treachery and
adversity. When chancellor Gowron embarked on a program to discredit Martok as a military leader,
he refused to betray his loyalty to Gowron, despite the latter's treachery. When Worf later killed
Gowron in battle and became chancellor, he abdicated in favor of Martok. Initially, Martok refused
the position, expressing his belief that the High Council would not accept him as chancellor, for
being a common man from the lowlands. Clearly he was not aware of the impact the reverence his
troops had for him would have in terms of compelling the council to accept his appointment as
chancellor.
Despite all of his “human” traits, Martok was still by all rights a traditional Klingon. He viewed
marriage in a rather cynical fashion, describing it as “just another form of combat”, and although he
had clearly become disillusioned with his marriage and the woman he was married to, he loved
Lady Sirella deeply. Sirella, together with two of his daughters, Shen and Lazhna, were all killed in
January 2376 during a coup d'etat, led by Gothmara and Morjod, Martok's illegitimate son.
Lady Sirella
Fiercely traditional and proud, somewhat stubborn, Martok preferred to keep his injured eye as is.
When an ocular implant was suggested to him, he was adamant that he did not want “an artificial
eye”.
Incredibly disciplined and stern towards his troops, he once disciplined Kretok, a member of Deep
Space 9's Klingon detachment, by throwing him off a crossway on the promenade.
Like most Klingons, Martok showed a disdain for Ferengi. However, when the Ferengi cadet, Nog,
stood up to him and directly challenged him, Martok developed a grudging respect for him.
The Ferengi cadet Nog, who courageously stood up to General Martok
Conclusion
Martok was a complex man. He could even be considered a contradiction in himself. He could be surprisingly compassionate at times, yet brutally cruel at other times. In one incident he appointed Worf as first officer on a dangerous mission to Monac IV in early 2375, so that Worf could earn entry into Stovokor for his Jadzia, who had recently passed away. In yet another incident he had Kaybok of the IKS M'Char executed in 2372 for merely disobeying orders. But he was also an excellent judge of character, caring deeply about those under his command.
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