NPC Profile: Kinchlirah (Deceased)

[Akirapryde]

Profile: Kinchlirah Daughter of Lady Sirella
House: The Noble House of Martok
Rank: Lieutenant (Imperial Klingon Defense Force)
Race: Klingon
Place of Birth: Qo'noS
Assignment: USS Thunderchild
Position: Chief Tactical Officer

Born to the House of Martok, one of the Klingon Empire's most powerful and respected Great Houses. Kinchlirah is the youngest of seven. She had six older brothers and sisters. Because of this, she was always forced to compete for the attention of her mother. This caused her to become a well skilled warrior, but also drove her to resent the idea of being a warrior. Early in her life, she enjoyed reading the combined works of Kolos, a veteran Klingon advocate in the mid-22nd century. She often found inspiration in the Klingon Empire of the past. It was her love for science and mathematics that drove her education. Solely because of her family's influence, Kinchlirah was able to study with some of the very best teachers from across the empire and beyond.

While her family is well known across the Empire and beyond, she has taken great lengths to conceal her legacy. Allowing only very few to know the truth. Kinchlirah grew up being an extremely private person. Because of this desire to hold on to her personal life, her own mother often suggested that Kinchlirah's true birth rite might be found deep within the Romulan Empire. Regardless of the perceptions, Kinchlirah had always had a very close relationship with her mother. During her childhood and young adult life, Kinchlirah was clearly her father's favorite.

When the entire Alpha and Beta Quadrants were spun in to conflicts that would be known as the Dominion Conflicts, the call for warriors was sent out by the Empire. Despite her disgust in the idea of being a warrior, Kinchlirah followed her brothers and sisters in to war. While her bothers and sisters each commanded their own warships in to battle, Kinchlirah decided to take on a less direct role in the war. She decided put her mind to use as a engineer aboard one of the Empire's warships. While her bothers and sisters proudly made their family well known through their actions, Kinchlirah ensured that her legacy remained hidden.

With the help of her family's influence, she was able to remain in the shadows. Often her name was never even recorded aboard the ship registry. Despite this, her knowledge and skills were more than enough to make up for the efforts of her commanders to keep her secret. She served with honor and courage aboard the IKS Slivin a B'rel-class Klingon starship. Her short time as the Slivin's Chief Engineer, she played key roles in a number of brutal engagements. She never backed down from a fight, rather between her own shipmates or before the enemy. Her skill as a warrior was often tested as many engineers were. She never once allowed anyone to push her around. Her most critical mission aboard the Slivin would be a defining moment for her. She was called upon to aid in a boarding action against a Cardassian warship.

That warship was the Vetar, a Cardassian Keldon-class cruiser and flagship of the Cardassian Union. The battle was brutal as the Sivin and another Klingon warship sought to capture the Cardassian ship. Numerous boarding attempts were made and driven back by the Cardassian defenders. The last attempt, both ships sent the majority of their crews aboard the Vetar along with Kinchlirah. The battle ended victoriously for the Klingons and the trophy was presented to the High Command later that month. Kinchlirah however returned to her ship covered in the blood of a Cardassian engineer. A person who was no different than she was. That engagement shaped her perspective of war and of what she had become in the pursuit of honor.

It was Kinchlirah and her engineering team made capturing the Cardassian warship possible. The two Klingon captains gave the group of engineers the honor associated with the capture of the Flagship. Her commanding officer, Captain Ankara, had this to say about her. "Truly a daughter that would bring honor and pride to any household." After that battle, she reflected on the words of Kolos in her personal logs, "There can be no honor when the pursuit of honor is not in valor, but in bloodshed for the sake of bloodshed." She didn't agree with the war against the Cardassians and saw the coming conflicts with the Federation. Calling upon her family's influence, she requested to be reassigned back to Qo'noS in 2373.

During 2373, she spent most of her time at her family's home on Qo'noS. However when the war with the Dominion broke out, she once more answered the call from her Empire. She was assigned to serve under her father aboard the IKS Rotarran. During her service she met both Lieutenant Commander Worf and Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax. During her time aboard the Rotarran, she fought with honor along side her father. In private, he mentioned to Lieutenant Commander Worf, that he was honored to have a daughter with such a heart of a warrior like Kinchlirah. After serving with honor and pride as the Chief Engineer of the Rotarran, she was transferred to the IKS Ki'tang as replacement for their Chief Engineer.

During her time aboard the Ki'tang, she noticed the speed and maneuverability of the Jem'Hadar fighters. She took notice that the current Klingon weapon systems were unable to effectively track and target these fighters. During her number of engagements, she record a wide range of sensor data about Jem'Hadar fighters. She expanded her data as the war continued. She later expanded her research to cover all classes of small craft and how easily they could avoid becoming targets of larger ships. As Chief Engineer of the Ki'tang, her modifications helped save the ship during the second battle of Chin'toka in 2375. She helped the Federation Allies in expanding her modifications to all Allied ships.

Later that year, her ship was tasked with raiding a top secret Dominion research facility. Klingon Imperial Intelligence learned that the Dominion were developing a biological weapon meant to murder Klingons. The toxin was still in the development stages when the Ki'tang was ordered the raid the research facility where it was being created. Their orders were to ensure that the toxin and all research material were destroyed. During the raid, a Dominion scientist released the toxin as a last desperate act. It was the sole actions of Kinchlirah's during that critical moment that saved the entire assault team. However her brave actions left her contaminated. While the toxin didn't kill her outright, it did cause her neurological system to become damaged. This left her with sporadically uncontrollable shaking in her hands. The worse for her was the never ending pain that surged in intensity. The best medical personnel could do nothing to save her from what was to become a long and painful death as the toxin continued to destroy her neurological pathways.

After the raid, she once more returned home. With the thanks of a grateful Empire, she was inducted in to the Order of the Bat'leth. Looking back on her childhood, Kinchlirah made a choice that caused a rift between her father and herself. She decided to leave the warrior cast all together. The action triggered a fight between father and daughter that rivaled even the four years war. It was clear that Kinchlirah was the favorite of her father's children.

Because of her actions, Kinchlirah had disappointed her father in deciding to leave the warrior cast. As a result of her actions, he ordered her to be stripped of her namesake and house. It was only by the intervention of Lady Sirella that stifled the argument between father and daughter. Kinchlirah was allowed to join the Science Cast with her family's blessings. Her father claimed that Kinchlirah was just as headstrong as her mother.

As the battles waged for the future of the Alpha Quadrant, she focused on one key issue of the war. Her fellow Klingons were being killed on the front lines thanks to the fast moving and heavily shielded Jem'Hadar fighters. The current Klingon weapon systems on the larger ships could not track the smaller craft fast enough to score meaningful hits. Fleet defense fell to the smaller more mobile Bird of Pray classes of ships. But their numbers were becoming limited. This caused the Klingons to deploy their ships in a more limiting fashion. Kinchlirah knew she could solve the problem.

Kinchlirah focused her mind and efforts on targeting the smaller faster craft. She knew that current weapon designs were simply too large to move fast enough to track the smaller targets. The answer wasn't in raw power of the weapon but in speed of the targeting system. She turned to older weapon designs and started to run simulations. She discovered that if the weapon system was housed in a fast moving turret, than the weapon as a whole could move fast enough to target the smaller fighters. However this meant that the over all power of the weapon needed to be reduced to fit the smaller housing.

Working nearly twenty hours a day, She finally came up with the right mixture of power and speed. She decided to use a set of pulse firing disruptors in her weapon systems. However the speed that the system needed to fire at proved that the disruptors couldn't keep up. She then turned to the Federation designed phaser emitters to over come the recycle rate of the weapon system. Her first prototype was ready just in time for the final battle of the Dominion War. Thanks to her mother's influence, the prototype was fitted to a older Vor'cha-class attack cruiser. While the cruiser was destroyed during the battle, the data that was returned proved that Kinchlirah's system helped the ship survive much longer than other Klingon ships in similar situations. In fact the test ship had a kill ratio that was closer match to the smaller escort ships. Much better than other larger ships during the battle.

She returned to the drawing board to prefect her system. The problem with her system was power. It needed more power than even the largest of Klingon warships could produce. According to her calculations, even a Klingon station would be hard pressed to provide the power requirements of the defense system. To help answer this issue, she included a series of high yield capacitors that could store power that the system needed during combat. However she discovered in simulations that as the battle continued, the draw on the power would increase exponentially. A five minute encounter could render a warship powerless. A twenty minute conflict could render a space station powerless. She had to over come the issue of power if her system was ever to save Klingon warriors in future conflicts.

Even despite this she had another major obstacle. Despite the data, no Klingon captain would have the system installed on their ship for testing. After failing to find any suitable ships to test her next prototype on, she was forced to seek a test ship for her point defense system outside of Klingon space. She decided that if her own Empire would not support her plans to create her point defense system, she would seek that help elsewhere. Acting under the false intentions of mending her relationship with her father, she joined him on a official trip to Deep Space Nine.

During the official trip, she met with a pair of Federation scientists in secret. After they reviewed her data, they were excited by her system. After the nine hour meeting, the group saw ways of extending the power life issue of the system. It wasn't long till the suggesting that they work together on the project was offered by the Federation scientists. For Kinchlirah, it was nothing short of a dream come true. She had always idealized Federation Scientists for their cunning and intelligence. But there was a problem with the suggestion. Kinchlirah knew that for her plan to work that she had to have her father's support. Something that she knew wouldn't come easily.

When word got back to her father about her secret meeting he exploded. The cold war that had been the hallmark of their relationship had once more turned to hot conflict. The two argued so loudly and with such passion that Deep Space Nine Security Personnel were called. However the security team were unable to gain access to the area as the argument continued. The pair argued within the residence of the Klingon Ambassador on Deep Space Nine and before a group of Klingons. Regardless of the witnesses, the pair didn't hold back during their argument.

Despite the clear anger of her father, Kinchlirah stood behind her actions claiming that her system could save thousands of Klingons in future conflicts. For each verbal and sometime physical attacks her father leveled at her, she stood her ground and gave as much as she took. It would be said after the argument by the Klingon Ambassador, "that the conflict was nothing more than a simple disagreement between father and daughter. Nothing out of the ordinary in raising a Klingon child even after that child has reached adulthood. That this was not an issue for the Federation or the Bajorans."

While the argument raged between father and daughter, it was clear that neither side was going to back down. It soon became clear that this issue had little to do with Kinchlirah's taking her work to the Federation. That the issue at the heart of the argument was much deeper than that. Before members of the High Council, the Klingon Ambassador to DS9, his staff, and fellow warriors, Kinchlirah demanded that her father decide. She demanded that he admit if he was more disappointed in her for seeking to work with the Federation on her point defense system. Or if it was her desire to pursue honor in the field of science instead of on the field of battle. Instead of continuing the argument, Kinchlirah walked out of the Ambassador's quarters.

Not long after the argument, the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire official approved the joint venture between the Federation and the Klingon Empire to develop a Point Defense System. The project was dubbed a hallmark in technology that could help save countless lives in a ever changing battlefield. Admiral David Tate spoke at an official conference stating, "With this system, our allies, the Klingons and the Federation will be able to protect our ships, and our worlds from the kind of attacks that the Dominion used. This is but a single step towards growing beyond who we were and who we will become." Kinchlirah was not present at the official function to celebrate the joint project for her system.

Without fanfare, Kinchlirah was sent to Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards with all of her research material. The journey to the premier testing and research facility of the Federation was a long one for Kinchlirah. The journey had been filled with hardships and cost her nearly everything. But now she would be able to work along side some of the most brilliant minds in the Federation. Her first day at the yards, Kinchlirah recorded the following in her personal logs, "Yesterday, I was just a Klingon who choose not to be a warrior. Today, I have arrived where I will be seen as a colleague. I will finally be seen more than as a Klingon but as a scientist as well."

Sadly that would not be the case. Suspicion would follow her as she focused on her duties and studies. Taking what she learned from the first prototype and her simulations, she started to develop the Mark III version of her system. Working closely with engineers she started to build her point defense system. Despite all her research, she still needed to test her design on a real targets. She sought Commander Bonham for help. The pair originally hated each other. She saw Commander Bonham as arrogant and he didn't fully trust her. Still, the two worked closely on the system. Despite the suspicions and the stereotypes, Kinchlirah was able to prove her system could track a small fast moving target and then forward that tracking information to the next weapon in series. As the Thunderchild was under going refit to become the Federation's first official carrier, Kinchlirah's system was starting to be able to track a pair of target drones and destroy both of them.

Starfleet ordered the system to be installed aboard the USS Thunderchild for further field testing. During installation, Kinchlirah and Commander Bonham engaged in a very private relationship. The secrecy was at Kinchlirah's request, as she has always been a very private person. The relationship was explosive at times and always filled with passion on levels that neither one of them could have possibly imagined. While the pair didn't hide their relationship from Starfleet Command or the Klingon Defense Force, they did make sure that it was not easily detected aboard the ship. The pair ensured that the relationship didn't effect their professional duties. Despite her abilities, it was starting to become clear that the Engineering teams aboard the Thunderchild didn't trust her. On more than one occasion, she and Lieutenant Medart had heated arguments over power distribution and system resources. During these arguments, Commander Bonham attempted to remain neutral.

To Kinchlirah's surprise, Starfleet Command refused to allow her to take on the role of Chief Engineer or even as Chief Science Officer. Two roles that she and Commander Bonham had felt that she was more than qualified for. Starfleet instead offered the Klingon exchange officer either the position of Chief Tactical Officer or Chief of Security. Outraged at the clear profiling, Kinchlirah almost left the project all together. However it was Commander Bonham who convinced her to remain with the project.

While officially as the Chief Tactical Officer, Kinchlirah's duties had her more in Engineering then elsewhere. A fact that never set well with Lieutenant Medart. As the refit continued, Kinchlirah's Point Defense System was able to track five target drones at the same time from one point of the ship to another point. The system was able to pass along targeting data of each of the drones from one weapon mount to the next. Regardless of what the drones did, they were tracked by the weapon system. When ordered, the system was able to eliminate the correct drone at the correct time. It was a major victory for her system.

For the first time since the beginning, Kinchlirah's Defense System was starting to take shape. That night, Starfleet congratulated the officer during a reception. As the last bit of the Defense System are installed aboard the USS Thunderchild plans are bring drafted up for a major live fire field test of the weapon system. To date, the system has never been fully powered nor has the entire system been tested at the same time. With a major field test for her system scheduled in March 2377, Kinchlirah has high hopes that her system will perform as designed. She had bet her entire honor on her weapon defense system. All eyes from the Klingon Empire to the Federation Council will be watching the results of this test.

However, during the final months of installation, Kinchlirah was forced to return to Qo'noS for personal reasons. She left the final stages of her project in the hands of her hand picked Federation staff to complete. She never offered any reason to her surprising and untimely departure. To this date, she had never spoken of the reason for her departure, even to Commander Bonham. Even the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire inquired information from Starfleet regarding Kinchlirah's sudden return home. Shortly after the USS Thunderchild departed dry docks, Kinchlirah returned as promised to her beloved project and to the USS Thunderchild. Shortly after her return from the Klingon Empire, she ended her relationship with Commander Bonham without offering him reason to the end of their relationship.