Cardassians, Klingons and the other Bajors
Posted: 2017-02-16 02:27am
This is something that I was thinking about in regards to the Federation and the Klingon Empire
In the plot of Deep Space Nine a major point of the series brought up time and time again was the occupation of Bajor by the Cardassian Union, a 60 year period in which the Cardassians strip mined the planet, oppressed the population and killed some 15 million Bajorans (a little bit on the low side compared to some of earth's civilizations, but it still is horrible). Many Bajorans became refugees scattered across the galaxy. This was made out as a horrible ordeal for the Bajorans that they are still recovering from and a major sign of why the Cardies are the Bad Guys. At the same time there is another faction which is of a similar quality, the Klingon Empire which is often depicted as the allies of the Federation. When not, it's generally shown to be due to the influence of the Dominion. Even so, there is an unpleasant level of hypocrisy that's in the subtext.
While the Klingons at this point were on good terms with the Federation for the better part of a century what can not be overlooked is their history. For about three centuries before Khitomer they were an expansionistic power, sending out starships to conquer other civilizations and ad them into their Empire. Needless to say this would mean a bunch of planets being conquered. We see refugees fleeing the Klingon Empire in Enterprise and the policy of Klingons. As to why this is the case remember that on Organia the policy of the Klingon Empire was to kill a thousand guys in reprisal for the Death of one dead Klingon soldier and that they were enslaving the population. Even after the Khitomer Accords put a stop to their expansion, that still would leave dozens of planets under the Klingon jackboot with little sign of reform in regards to their colonial subjects. The Klingon System of government requires one to prove himself as a warrior before he can hold office, but we never see a non Klingon serving as a warrior. This means that even by the standards of a non democratic feudal warrior society the non Klingon subjects of the Klingon Empire are disenfranchised and take a look at Medieval Europe or Feudal Japan and see what it would be like for the Serfs.
Imagine if you will a scene after the Dominion War in a Klingon System where an Akira class ship is getting a refit while the crew takes shore leave on the Station. Among the crew was the child of a Bajoran Refugee who had fought hard not only to protect her new home, but to liberate her ancestral home from the oppression of the Cardassians (again). Her and her crewmates soon meet up with some Klingon Warriors who they'd fought alongside and spend some time with each other. The Klingons actually went out of their way to have a good time with their comrades in arms have replicated a decent Korean BBQ, Plomeek Soup and Bajoran Ale to go along with the Blood Pies and Gagh they exchange tales of their experiences saving the Alpha Quadrant from Dominion domination while their ship gets spare parts. Said spare parts come from the planet below, in which twelve billion people are born, raised, eat, sleep and die in large industrial complexes, but mostly work. They sleep in huge barracks, eat ration slop in mess halls, walk through sonic showers like cattle and are led to their work stations where they spend twelve hours a day building starship components under the supervision of low ranking bitter warriors tasked with the most menial of jobs: keeping the workers in line. Those who slack off get zapped with pain sticks or get a beating from their overseers, those who lash out against them get put down like diseased dogs, or if they show any particular fight are put into pits full of starved targs to for the amusement of the guards and as an example to the other slaves. This is how it has been for them for more than two centuries and only a few half remembered tales speak of the world before the Klingon masters came.
That is speculation on the extreme side of things, BUT there are plenty of milder variations of this theme which are still pretty horrible and would be consistent with canon. Always remember kids, enslavement by Reptilian Fascists is bad but enslavement by lumpy headed feudal barbarians is A-OK!
Zor
In the plot of Deep Space Nine a major point of the series brought up time and time again was the occupation of Bajor by the Cardassian Union, a 60 year period in which the Cardassians strip mined the planet, oppressed the population and killed some 15 million Bajorans (a little bit on the low side compared to some of earth's civilizations, but it still is horrible). Many Bajorans became refugees scattered across the galaxy. This was made out as a horrible ordeal for the Bajorans that they are still recovering from and a major sign of why the Cardies are the Bad Guys. At the same time there is another faction which is of a similar quality, the Klingon Empire which is often depicted as the allies of the Federation. When not, it's generally shown to be due to the influence of the Dominion. Even so, there is an unpleasant level of hypocrisy that's in the subtext.
While the Klingons at this point were on good terms with the Federation for the better part of a century what can not be overlooked is their history. For about three centuries before Khitomer they were an expansionistic power, sending out starships to conquer other civilizations and ad them into their Empire. Needless to say this would mean a bunch of planets being conquered. We see refugees fleeing the Klingon Empire in Enterprise and the policy of Klingons. As to why this is the case remember that on Organia the policy of the Klingon Empire was to kill a thousand guys in reprisal for the Death of one dead Klingon soldier and that they were enslaving the population. Even after the Khitomer Accords put a stop to their expansion, that still would leave dozens of planets under the Klingon jackboot with little sign of reform in regards to their colonial subjects. The Klingon System of government requires one to prove himself as a warrior before he can hold office, but we never see a non Klingon serving as a warrior. This means that even by the standards of a non democratic feudal warrior society the non Klingon subjects of the Klingon Empire are disenfranchised and take a look at Medieval Europe or Feudal Japan and see what it would be like for the Serfs.
Imagine if you will a scene after the Dominion War in a Klingon System where an Akira class ship is getting a refit while the crew takes shore leave on the Station. Among the crew was the child of a Bajoran Refugee who had fought hard not only to protect her new home, but to liberate her ancestral home from the oppression of the Cardassians (again). Her and her crewmates soon meet up with some Klingon Warriors who they'd fought alongside and spend some time with each other. The Klingons actually went out of their way to have a good time with their comrades in arms have replicated a decent Korean BBQ, Plomeek Soup and Bajoran Ale to go along with the Blood Pies and Gagh they exchange tales of their experiences saving the Alpha Quadrant from Dominion domination while their ship gets spare parts. Said spare parts come from the planet below, in which twelve billion people are born, raised, eat, sleep and die in large industrial complexes, but mostly work. They sleep in huge barracks, eat ration slop in mess halls, walk through sonic showers like cattle and are led to their work stations where they spend twelve hours a day building starship components under the supervision of low ranking bitter warriors tasked with the most menial of jobs: keeping the workers in line. Those who slack off get zapped with pain sticks or get a beating from their overseers, those who lash out against them get put down like diseased dogs, or if they show any particular fight are put into pits full of starved targs to for the amusement of the guards and as an example to the other slaves. This is how it has been for them for more than two centuries and only a few half remembered tales speak of the world before the Klingon masters came.
That is speculation on the extreme side of things, BUT there are plenty of milder variations of this theme which are still pretty horrible and would be consistent with canon. Always remember kids, enslavement by Reptilian Fascists is bad but enslavement by lumpy headed feudal barbarians is A-OK!
Zor