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− | |[[Image:ktf_logo_sm.jpg|500px|Klingon Task Force]] | + | |div align="center"|[[Image:ktf_logo_sm.jpg|500px|Klingon Task Force]] |
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| |width=550px div align="center"|<h3 style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt" align="center"><b><u><font size="6">HEROES OF THE EMPIRE </font></u></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"> | | |width=550px div align="center"|<h3 style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt" align="center"><b><u><font size="6">HEROES OF THE EMPIRE </font></u></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"> |
| </span></h3> | | </span></h3> |
− | <br><br>
| + | <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; word-spacing: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"><b>by Gary Hollifield, Jr., <br> |
− | <p>
| + | Dewald de Coning, <br> |
− | <h3 style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt" align="center"><b><u><font size="6">MARTOK</font></u></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">
| + | David R. A Grate, <br> |
− | </span></h3></p>
| + | Frances B. Brock, <br> |
− | <p><h2 style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt" align="center"><b><u><font size="4">Son of Urthog: a psychological profile</font></u></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">
| + | Leslie A. Lechner, <br> |
− | </span></h2></p>
| + | and George Pimentel</b></p><div align=left><br><br> |
− | <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; word-spacing: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"><b>by Dewald de Coning | + | [[KTF/BElanna|B'Elanna Torres]]<br> |
− | </b></p><div align=left> | + | <div align=left><br><br> |
− | General Martok's life story is a typical “rags to riches” tale. In this sense, out of all the legendary
| + | [[KTF/Chang|CHANG]]<br> |
− | Klingon characters in the Star Trek universe, he's probably the one who exhibits the most human
| + | <div align=left><br><br> |
− | psychological traits to his personality, and the one Klingon character we can identify with best.
| + | [[KTF/Martok|MARTOK]]<br> |
− | Despite being by all accounts a “traditional” Klingon, he is enigmatic in the sense that at times he
| + | <div align=left><br><br> |
− | also displays remarkably “human” characteristics, such as recurring bouts of self-doubt
| + | [[KTF/Alexander_Rozhenko|ALEXANDER ROZHENKO]]<br> |
− | and
| + | <div align=left><br><br> |
− | insecurity. Students of military strategy and leadership can learn a lot from studying this warrior's
| + | [[KTF/Duras|HOUSE OF DURAS]]<br> |
− | psyche.<br><br>
| + | <div align=left><br><br> |
− | <b>Early life</b><br> | + | [[KTF/Kor|KOR]]<br><br><br><br> |
− | Martok was born in the lowlands of Ketha province on Qo'nos to a common family. The Ketha
| + | |
− | lowlands was a generally impoverished region of Qo'nos. His family had a long history of loyalty to
| + | |
− | the empire. Fifteen generations in his family before him had been warriors. His father, Urthog, had
| + | |
− | never achieved officer status himself, and had therefore harbored the hope that his son could one
| + | |
− | day become an officer. It took a great deal of effort, but Urthog found an old friend willing to
| + | {{Copyrights}} |
− | sponsor Martok for enlistment. He passed the entrance exam, but when he went before the Oversight
| + | [[Category:Klingon]][[Category:KTF]] |
− | Council, to his everlasting shame and his father's embarrassment, the legendary warrior, Kor,
| + | |
− | rejected his application, specifically because he was not of noble heritage. In all probability, Martok
| + | |
− | never forgave Kor for that. It was a blight he would carry with him the rest of his life.<br>
| + | |
− | [[Image:Martok.jpg|General Martok]]<br> | + | |
− | General Martok <br><br>
| + | |
− | 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. <br><br>
| + | |
− | <b>Military career</b><br> | + | |
− | 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.<br>
| + | |
− | [[Image:Worf_and_Martok.jpg|Worf and Martok]]<br> | + | |
− | Worf and Martok during their custody in the Dominion internment camp.<br><br>
| + | |
− | 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.<br>
| + | |
− | [[Image:IKS_Rotarran.jpg|IKS Rotarran]]<br> | + | |
− | IKS Rotarran, Martok's first starship command following his captivity.<br><br>
| + | |
− | 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.<br><br>
| + | |
− | <b>Personal relationships</b><br>
| + | |
− | 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.<br></div><div align=center>
| + | |
− | <b><u>Sources</u><br> | + | |
− | http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Martok <br>
| + | |
− | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martok <br>
| + | |
− | http://memorybeta.wikia.com/wiki/Martok <br>
| + | |
− | http://www.startrek.com/database_article/martok <br>
| + | |