Worf
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
- For the mirror universe counterpart, see Worf (mirror). You might also be looking for information about Colonel Worf from the 23rd century.
 Lt. Commander Worf (2375)
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| Gender: | Male |
| Species: | Klingon |
| Born: | 2340 |
| Father: | Mogh (biological) Sergey Rozhenko (foster) |
| Mother: | Helena Rozhenko (foster) |
| Sibling(s): | Kurn (biological) Nikolai Rozhenko (foster) Jeremy Aster (adopted) |
| Other Relative(s): | Colonel Worf (grandfather) |
| Martial Status: | Widower |
| Spouse(s): | K'Ehleyr (mate, deceased) Jadzia Dax (wife, deceased) |
| Children: | Alexander Rozhenko (son) |
| Actor(s): | Michael Dorn |
 Lieutenant Junior Grade Worf (2364)
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Worf – son of Mogh, of the Klingon House of Martok, of the Human family Rozhenko; mate to K'Ehleyr, father to Alexander Rozhenko, and husband to Jadzia Dax; Starfleet officer and soldier of the Empire; bane of the House of Duras and slayer of Gowron; Federation ambassador to Qo'noS – was one of the most influential Klingons of the latter half of the 24th century.
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[edit] Early Life
Worf was born in 2340 on the Klingon homeworld, Qo'noS as the son of Mogh, patriarch of one of the Klingon Empire's Great Houses. When Worf was five years old, his father took him and his mother to live on the Khitomer colony. (TNG: "Sins of the Father") There, Mogh took Worf on a ritual hunt, along with a garrison warrior, L'Kor. Worf had not yet reached the Age of Inclusion, and was barely able to hold a bat'leth. During the hunt, Worf was mauled by a beast, leaving behind a scar and memory he kept throughout his life. (TNG: "Birthright, Part I")
In 2346, the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire were officially allied, but a conspiracy between the Romulans and the House of Duras left the Empire open to betrayal. Romulan forces attacked the Khitomer colony, killing nearly all the 4,000 Klingon colonists, including Worf's parents. (TNG: "Sins of the Father", "The Neutral Zone")
[edit] The Rozhenkos
The colony's distress call was answered by the Federation starship USS Intrepid. An Intrepid chief petty officer, Sergey Rozhenko, found Worf buried in the rubble. Sergey took Worf to his homestead on the farming colony of Gault. He and his wife, Helena, raised the Klingon child alongside their own son, Nikolai. (TNG: "The Neutral Zone", "Heart of Glory", "Family", "Homeward")
- Worf's orphaning and subsequent adoption by the Rozhenkos is seen in the The Lost Era novel The Art of the Impossible.
As the sole Klingon in a small farm culture, Worf had some difficulty adapting to his new circumstances. Soon after his arrival on Gault, the seven-year-old bloodied the noses of five teenage boys, whom Worf deemed "disrespectful". In 2353, at thirteen years of age, Worf led his school's soccer team to the championships, where, in an attempt to score, he collided with another player, Mikel. The impact of Klingon ridges against a Human skull snapped Mikel's neck, and the boy died the next day. This lesson in Human frailties made a huge impact on Worf's nascent character. His self-control, interpreted by some as a denial of his Klingon heritage, was a large factor in setting him apart from others of his species for much of his life. (TNG: "Family"; DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin...")
[edit] Coming of Age
At fifteen years of age, Worf voyaged to Qo'noS, where he stayed with cousins of the House of Mogh in 2355. Here he made the formal declaration of his intent to become a warrior and performed the Rite of Ascension. During the ceremony, Worf was presented with a well-forged knife, a gift from a Klingon who had known Mogh. Seeing the Great Domes of Qo'noS made him feel at home, but his kin rejected his marked Human taint. (TNG: "The Icarus Factor", "Rightful Heir"; DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")
Worf fasted for three days before undertaking the Rite of MajQa. After six days of meditation in the volcanic Caves of No'Mat, the legendary Klingon warrior Kahless the Unforgettable appeared to Worf in a vision and prophesied that Worf would do something that no other Klingon had ever done before. (TNG: "Birthright, Part I"; DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")
Worf became the first Klingon to enter and graduate from Starfleet Academy. This achievement seems to be Kahless's prophecy fulfilled. (TNG: "Homeward"; DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")
- Peter David's Starfleet Academy books show Worf's roommate at the Academy was a Brikar named Zak Kebron, who later becomes a prominent character in the New Frontier novel series. In a scene cut from DS9: "Resurrection", Worf mentioned that he had served as an ensign aboard the USS Hawk prior to his posting on the Enterprise-D. It is likely that this was his first assignment after graduation and his only posting before taking his position on the Enterprise as a lieutenant junior grade.
[edit] Service aboard the USS Enterprise-D
In 2364, Lieutenant junior grade Worf was assigned as a command division bridge officer on the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (see Friendships: Jean-Luc Picard). Worf spent most of his first year on the Enterprise-D as a relief officer for the conn and other bridge stations. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")
Worf was permitted a variation from the Starfleet uniform dress code, and wore a Klingon warrior's sash, sometimes called a baldric by Humans, over his regular duty uniform. Worf's quarters were on Deck 7, in Section 25 Baker until 2370, when he moved to Deck 2, Room 2713. (TNG: "Rightful Heir", "Phantasms")
Following the death of Natasha Yar at the hands of the Armus entity, Worf was promoted to the rank of full Lieutenant and assumed Yar's responsibilities. In 2365, Worf transferred to the operations division and officially became the Enterprise-D's chief tactical officer and security chief. After seven years of service aboard the starship, Worf rose in rank to lieutenant commander in 2371. (TNG: "Skin of Evil", "The Child"; Star Trek Generations)
During these years of service, Worf's record was marred by a single reprimand, earned when he killed Duras in an honor duel after the latter had Worf's mate K'Ehleyr killed. Killing Duras directly affected the ascension of a new Klingon Chancellor after the death of K'mpec.(TNG: "Reunion")
[edit] Borg encounters
Worf and his security team were the first Starfleet officers in over two centuries to engage Borg drones in combat when two boarded his ship. Worf, along with Commander William T. Riker and Lieutenant Commander Data were the first officers to infiltrate a Borg cube, gathering the first real clues about the true nature of the new threat. (TNG: "Q Who")
He played a significant role in repelling the Borg invasion of the Federation in 2366. When the USS Enterprise-D engaged the Borg cube, he was unable to prevent the abduction of Picard when drones appeared on the bridge. On Riker's orders, Worf and Data boarded the cube, and were able to retrieve Picard, allowing Dr. Crusher to restore their Captain's humanity. It was one of the most dangerous missions of his career, but six years later he would liken the exploits of his companions to the sagas of ancient warriors. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds", "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"; DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")
Regardless of his optimism, in 2368 Worf was wary enough of a wounded and isolated Borg drone that he recommended killing it on sight, but his words went unheeded. The decision to rehabilitate the drone and return him to the collective nearly proved disastrous. (TNG: "I, Borg", "Descent")
[edit] Q encounters
Like so many who have encountered the trickster, Worf immediately developed a strong antipathy towards Q. During their first meeting in 2364, Worf asked Picard, "and now, sir, a personal request. Permission to clean up the bridge?" (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")
In his latter visits, Q frequently took pleasure in teasing Worf, whom Q referred to as "micro brain". When Q forced the Enterprise-D crew to play out a detailed Robin Hood fantasy scenario, Worf found himself portraying the character Will Scarlet. When stripped of his powers from the Q Continuum, Q desperately asked how he could prove to the Enterprise-D crew that he was, indeed, mortal. Worf helpfully suggested, "die". (TNG: "Hide and Q", "Qpid", "Deja Q")
[edit] Klingon affairs
Worf's exposure to Klingon society began in earnest in his time aboard the Enterprise-D. In a few short years, the forgotten orphan from the House of Mogh was a player in the highest levels of the Empire's politics.
In 2364, the Enterprise-D rescued three Klingons from a disabled cargo ship, and for the first time in nearly ten years, Worf spent time in the company of (renegade) Klingon warriors. One of the rescued was mortally wounded, and Worf joined in the Klingon death ritual for Kunivas, exposing non-Klingons to the event for the first time. The charismatic Korris tried to enlist Worf in taking the starship, but could not budge the officer's loyalty. In addition, Commander K'Nera also offered Worf a place in the Klingon Defense Forces, but was politely declined. (TNG: "Heart of Glory")
More than 20 years after the Khitomer Massacre, the honor of the House of Mogh was called into question in 2366. Worf's brother Kurn (see Family: Kurn) brought the news that Duras, of the rival House of Duras, had accused Mogh of betraying the Empire by facilitating the Romulan attack on the Khitomer colony. Worf appeared before the Klingon High Council to protest their judgment of guilt, and provided evidence that would have exonerated his father. Chancellor K'mpec dismissed Worf's defense, knowing the true traitor of Khitomer was Duras' father, Ja'rod. Considering the cost of his appeal and revelation of the truth – Duras' powerful clan inciting a civil war, and his intention to kill Kurn – Worf kept his silence and accepted a discommendation that ruined his name throughout the Empire. (TNG: "Sins of the Father")
A year later, Chancellor K'mpec was dying, and he asked Picard to serve as the Arbiter of Succession. The event coincided with Worf's reunion with K'Ehleyr, an iconoclastic ambassador and Worf's former lover, who introduced their child, Alexander (see Family: K'Ehleyr and Alexander).
The Sonchi ceremony over the body of K'mpec was interrupted by an attempt to assassinate Gowron. The contenders were offended by the dishonored Worf presenting the result of Enterprise-D's investigation, but Worf revealed evidence that implicated Duras. Concurrently, K'Ehleyr discovered the truth of Worf's discommendation as well as the scope of the House of Duras' treachery, but Duras confronted and murdered her. The question of succession was ultimately decided by Worf. Exercising his Right of Vengeance, he challenged Duras to duel, defeating and killing him. The death of Duras allowed Gowron to become the new Chancellor. (TNG: "Reunion")
The civil war K'mpec had feared broke out in late 2367, when the House of Duras and allies rebelled against Chancellor Gowron's leadership by attacking Gowron's ship, the Bortas. Worf felt it was his place to help his people, and resigned from Starfleet to side with Gowron. His influence proved instrumental in the war when he ordered Kurn to back Gowron. Worf would serve on Kurn's ship during the civil war, and fought at the Battle of Mempa. With help from Starfleet, the Romulan involvement was stopped, thus enabling Gowron's forces to quickly end the war and solidify his position as Chancellor. In appreciation for Worf's help, Chancellor Gowron restored honor to the House of Mogh, gave his brother Kurn a seat on the Klingon High Council, and gave Worf the life of Duras' illegitimate son, Toral. Worf, unwilling to kill an innocent boy, let Toral go and returned to Starfleet without incident. (TNG: "Redemption", "Redemption II")
In 2369, while the Enterprise was docked at Deep Space 9, Worf was met by a Yridian named Jaglom Shrek. Shrek told Worf that Mogh may not have died at Khitomer after all and that he might have still been alive, living with Romulans in a remote prison camp. Worf decided to meet Shrek and guide him to the Carraya sector, where the prison camp was located.
On the surface, Worf found L'Kor, now an old man. L'Kor informed Worf that his father died at Khitomer, and that a number of prisoners were taken to this camp at the Carraya Sector. Worf attempted to free the prisoners, but instead was taken captive. Inside the main prison camp, Worf found Klingons and Romulans living together in harmony – in their isolation, the Klingons had abandoned Klingon concepts of honor and had forgotten their warrior ways. The Klingon elders laughed in disbelief at Worf's assertion that Klingons were allies with the Federation, but the younger people were fascinated by his ways and stories of Kahless. Despite attempts by Gi'ral to stop her daughter Ba'el's advances, the girl agreed to escape with Worf. However, when Worf found that Tokath, the Romulan leader of the camp, was Ba'el's father, he confronted Gi'ral about why she married a Romulan. Worf continued his influence on the camp's youth, and taught hunting to Toq. After catching an animal, they delivered it to the main hall as a feast. Tokath was horrified at the sight. Realizing that Worf would eventually sway the opinion of the other youths in the camp as he had Toq, Tokath sentenced Worf to death. However, Worf had exerted enough influence on the camp, and several members of the camp stood by Worf, willing to face execution rather than continue to live the way they had. Tokath was forced to let Worf return to the Enterprise. (TNG: "Birthright, Part I", "Birthright, Part II")
Although a profound influence on the settlers of Carraya IV, Worf's visit also forced him to challenge his beliefs. To renew his faith, Worf decided to visit the Caves of Boreth, and re-summon Kahless the Unforgettable. Kahless appears before him for real – seemingly returned to lead the Empire once more. However, Worf was skeptical of the Klingon's authenticity. Gowron claimed that Kahless could not recall any of his legendary stories, and challenged him in combat, to which Kahless lost. The loss forced the clerics to reveal that this Kahless was a clone. Despite the discovery, Worf was instrumental in getting the clone installed as emperor to the Klingon people. The ceremonial position had not been held for centuries but Worf felt that the Klingon Empire had lost its way from Kahless' original teachings, and that the new emperor could bring further stability. (TNG: "Rightful Heir")
[edit] Other notable missions
Worf's first major task was to take command of the Enterprise-D saucer module and lead it to safety, when the ship separated prior to engaging Q for the first time. The order ran contrary to his nature (i.e. fleeing while his commanding officer was in danger) and Worf briefly objected, and Picard had to remind him of his duty. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "All Good Things...")
Worf was present for the first Federation contact with the Romulans since the Tomed Incident. A mysterious third-party's devastating attacks on Romulan Neutral Zone outposts alarmed the powers on either side of the border. Worf was enraged by the prospect of dealing with the race responsible for the Khitomer Massacre, and was rebuked by both Picard and the Romulan Commander Tebok, who urged, "silence your dog, captain." (TNG: "The Neutral Zone")
That same year, Worf was a member of the away team sent to investigate the Iconian gateway located at the Romulan Neutral Zone. The experience with Iconian technology would serve him well many years later, in the Gamma Quadrant. On another away mission, to Theta 116 VIII, he participated in a recreation of the pulp novel The Hotel Royale. (TNG: "Contagion", "The Royale")
Worf helped expose Ardra as an impostor trying to take control of Ventax II, despite her attempts to take the form of Fek'lhr. (TNG: "Devil's Due")
At one point, the Enterprise was caught in an energy field which threw them away from an M-class planet inhabited by the xenophobic Paxans. The energy field was designed to erase the memories of the crew. However, Worf's surgically-mended arm proved that something happened at the Paxan homeworld, and that someone deliberately erased their memories of the event. To appease the Paxans, the crew agreed to have their memories erased again, only this time, no clues would be left. (TNG: "Clues")
A month later, the Enterprise became trapped in the Tyken's Rift whilst trying to find the USS Brattain. The insanity and fear brought out by the Tyken's Rift caused Worf to nearly kill himself with a ceremonial knife. (TNG: "Night Terrors")
When Keiran MacDuff altered the memories of the crew and the computer (including Data's) with a plasma energy beam, Worf temporarily took command of the Enterprise, because his sash gave the mistaken impression that he was the highest ranking officer. (TNG: "Conundrum")
In 2369, Worf was assigned by Admiral Alynna Nechayev to infiltrate Celtris III. Starfleet Intelligence had discovered bursts of theta-band subspace emissions from the planet, indicating an illegal metagenic weapon in operation. Worf, Dr. Crusher and Picard were part of the intelligence team sent to investigate. After Picard was captured by Gul Madred, Worf and Crusher escaped back to the rendezvous point, where they informed Captain Jellico of the situation. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part I", "Chain of Command, Part II")
Worf helped Byleth understand the humanoid emotion of antagonism. (TNG: "Liaisons")
On stardate 47391.2 Worf began moving between many different alternative realities after flying through a quantum fissure in the shuttlecraft Curie. He experienced several unexplained discontinuities in events against his memory (particularly regarding his attendance and victory at the bat'leth tournament on Forcas III) and it was eventually discovered that Worf was not native to the universe he was currently in - a universe where the Federation was at war with the Bajorans, where he was a Commander & first officer of the Enterprise-D and married to Deanna Troi, where together they had two children. He was eventually returned to his original reality, apparently the only person to retain any memory of his journey. (TNG: "Parallels")
On stardate 48650.1, in 2371 Worf was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. He later assisted Commander Riker in identifying a weakness in Lursa and B'Etor's old D12 Bird-of-Prey. The ship was destroyed by the Enterprise in the battle of Veridian III. (Star Trek Generations)
[edit] Service on Deep Space 9
While awaiting reassignment following the destruction of the Enterprise, Worf took an extended leave of absence from Starfleet to evaluate his future. He returned his son to Earth to live with the Rozhenkos while he himself took refuge on Boreth. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Federation, Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew of Deep Space 9 were having trouble keeping order with the Klingons present at the station. When the treaty with the Klingon Empire was threatened during the Klingons' invasion of Cardassia in 2372 (after the Enterprise-D had been destroyed), Sisko stated, "The only people who can understand Klingons... are Klingons." It was at this time he requested Worf's help.
Worf again became a player in galactic politics as the Federation tried to avert war between the Klingon Empire and the Cardassian Union. Worf was the Federation's best link to Chancellor Gowron and a meeting between them was arranged. He was asked to resign from Starfleet and join Gowron on the Klingon campaign to invade Cardassia. Worf felt the war was wrong and that it was incompatible with his loyalties with the Federation. As a result, Gowron threatened to strip Worf and his family of their honor, confiscate their lands, and treat them as traitors to the Klingon Empire. When Worf again refused Gowron made good on his threat.
The Klingons failed to bring down the Cardassian government with the Federation protecting them and an enraged Gowron withdrew the Khitomer Accords and made an enemy of the Federation. Following the mission, Worf was considering resigning from Starfleet to take a berth on a Nyberrite Alliance cruiser. After learning this, Sisko offered Worf a position as the strategic operations officer, which Worf humbly accepted. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")
When the USS Orinoco was sabotaged by the True Way in 2372, Worf, along with Major Kira Nerys, Sisko, Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax, and Chief Miles O'Brien were lost in the transporter. However, Odo and Michael Eddington managed to save their transporter signatures on the station's computers. The character data was saved in the holosuite (where Julian Bashir and Elim Garak were running a holosuite simulation). Worf's character data was superimposed onto Duchamps, a holosuite character who played the henchman to Dr. Noah. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir")
Worf's quarters on DS9 were on Level 3, Section 27, Room 19. (DS9: "Inquisition") When Worf married Jadzia Dax, he moved into her quarters, which were located in the habitat ring, Section 25 Alpha. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited", "Resurrection")
[edit] USS Defiant missions
Whenever Sisko was not commanding the USS Defiant, Worf would get a chance to demonstrate his command. One of the first missions he commanded was the science mission headed by Lenara Kahn. The Trill science team was attempting to create Starfleet's first artificially-created stable wormhole. Worf found it hard to be excited about a science mission, claiming that his dreams were more exciting. (DS9: "Rejoined")
While beside a gas giant in the Gamma Quadrant, where the Defiant was escorting Quark to continue negotiations with the Karemma, the Jem'Hadar opened fire on the Karemma starship and the Defiant as punishment for their treason. Captain Sisko was severely injured in the incident, leaving Worf in command. Taking command in engineering (the bridge had been damaged by Jem'Hadar fire), Worf found many engineers (especially Muñiz and Stevens) unaccustomed to his authoritarian style of command. After receiving advice from Chief O'Brien, Worf undertook a more interactive approach. Better able to work under this style of command, Muñiz and Stevens were able to devise a way to destroy the Jem'Hadar attack ship. By modifying the main deflector, the Defiant successfully defeated the Jem'Hadar. (DS9: "Starship Down")
In a subsequent mission, Worf commanded the Defiant on a mission to escort Cardassian freighters across a volatile sector of Klingon space. After being fired upon by Klingon warships using a tactic of continually decloaking to fire and then recloaking, a Klingon ship decloaked directly ahead of the Defiant and Worf ordered it destroyed. However, this ship was a Klingon civilian transport ship. The Klingon Advocate Ch'Pok demanded that Worf be extradited to the Klingon Empire for punishment.
The Federation decided to stage an extradition hearing with Admiral T'Lara as chair and with Sisko as defense, and Ch'Pok as prosecution. Had it not been for Odo's discovery that there were no civilians on the destroyed ship, Worf would have been extradited to the Klingon Empire to face execution. After the court martial, which the defense won, Worf remarked about the difficulty of command. Sisko replied, "Wait until you get four pips on your collar." (DS9: "Rules of Engagement")
Following a year of hostilities and border skirmishes between the Federation and Klingons (See: Federation-Klingon War (2372-73)), Odo discovered that Gowron may have been replaced by a Founder. In order to establish whether Gowron was a shapeshifter, Starfleet Command ordered Sisko to lead a team (which included Worf) to expose Gowron as a shapeshifter. The team would pose as Klingon warriors being inducted into the Order of the Bat'leth. The team would each plant polaron emitters that, when activated, would force a shapeshifter to lose its shape. Worf initially found it difficult to turn the team into convincing Klingons. However, Sisko helped him refocus, and with practice, the team pulled through. The plan worked out relatively well on the surface, and Sisko was ready to activate the polaron emitter. However, just before he could activate the emitters, Martok, chief military adviser and overseer of the Cardassian invasion, recognized Sisko through his Klingon disguise, and the entire team were thrown into prison. While incarcerated, the team managed to explain their mission to Martok. It turned out that Martok had always suspected that Gowron may have been a changeling, but he was waiting for the right time to expose him. With the polaron emitters destroyed, Worf decided that the only way to expose Gowron as a shapeshifter was to get him to spill blood. Once released by Martok, Worf fought Gowron in a duel. Gowron's Klingon-like honor and behavior led Odo to find it was not Gowron, but Martok who was the Dominion Changeling agent. After he was destroyed by the Klingon warriors, it was discovered that his mission was to destabilize relations between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. With Worf's help in uncovering the Dominion presence as the common enemy, he helped reunite peace between the Federation and Klingon Empire. (DS9: "Broken Link", "Apocalypse Rising")
Some months later, the Defiant was tasked with the mission of sending the Bajoran Orb of Time back to the station. However, Defiant passenger Arne Darvin had other ideas, and used the Orb to travel back to 2268, to the time of Captain Kirk and the first USS Enterprise, and the year the tribbles had invaded Klingon space. Darvin's plot was to kill Captain Kirk and eliminate the tribbles before they would have a chance to invade Klingon space. While searching for Darvin, Worf (along with Odo, Bashir and O'Brien) encountered Klingons scarred by the augment virus of the 22nd century. When Bashir and O'Brien asked how the augmented people could be Klingons, Worf could only respond with "We do not discuss it with outsiders." The crew apprehended Darvin on Deep Space Station K-7, and returned to the present. (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles"; DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")
[edit] The Dominion War
In 2373, Elim Garak had received an encoded transmission from his father, Enabran Tain. It stated that he had survived the Battle of the Omarion Nebula and was being held by the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant. Garak convinced Sisko that he could enter Dominion space but only under supervision from Worf. In order to avoid detection whilst in Dominion space, Worf decided to hide in a nearby nebula. The diversion proved to be a bad idea, as that nebula housed the first Dominion invasion fleet, on its way to invading the Alpha Quadrant. Worf knew that they were planning to enter the wormhole, and that the Dominion War was about to begin. Before they were captured by the fleet, Worf managed to transmit a message to the wormhole relay station about the impending invasion. (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow")
Worf and Garak were taken to Internment Camp 371, where they discovered Enabran Tain, the real General Martok, and surprisingly, the real Julian Bashir. Bashir had been captured for a month and had been replaced by a Changeling infiltrator. All the prisoners knew they had to escape, to warn DS9 about the Changeling. Although Tain died at the camp shortly thereafter, Garak devised a plan to modify his transmitter to contact their runabout in orbit and escape from the internment camp. The transmitter was tucked away in a cramped compartment, and Garak had to overcome his acute claustrophobia to complete it. Worf and Martok commended Garak's courage, stating that "There is no greater enemy than one's own fears." During this time, to distract the Jem'Hadar guards, Worf entered into combat with each of the Jem'Hadar guards in turn, earning the respect and admiration of General Martok in the process. Once the prisoners escaped, they managed to warn DS9 that Bashir had been replaced by a Changeling. Kira managed to destroy the Bashir Changeling before he could blow up the Bajoran sun. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")
From then on to the end of the year, the Dominion sent weekly fleets through the wormhole to fortify the Cardassian sectors. Starfleet, needing to find a way to halt the buildup, decided to block the entrance to the wormhole with a minefield. Sisko assigned Kira and Worf to deploy a field of self-replicating mines, all of which would need to be deployed before any could be activated. Starfleet forces were unable to assist in the deployment, so the Defiant and IKS Rotarran had to do it alone, and they only had one day to finish the minefield. Weyoun approached the station with 300 Dominion and Cardassian ships, and when Sisko refused their ultimatum, Gul Dukat opened fire, starting the Second Battle of Deep Space 9 and the Dominion War. While the Dominion's fire power proved ineffective to the station's shields, Worf, in command of the station's weapons array, managed to destroy fifty ships, and the Rotarran helped protect the Defiant so it could complete the minefield. With the minefield deployed, and the station vastly outnumbered, Sisko ordered all Starfleet crew members to evacuate the station. Due to the conquest of DS9 by the Dominion, Worf had been assigned to the Rotarran as first officer. (DS9: "Call to Arms")
Unlike the rest of Starfleet, first officer Worf, ever the warrior, relished the opportunity to engage in combat with the Dominion. A joint operation where the Defiant played a decoy to three Jem'Hadar attack ships allowed the Rotarran to decloak and help destroy those ships in the front line. However, both ships had been called back to Starbase 375 for retreat. By now even Worf was beginning to lose morale from the retreats from the Dominion. What the alliance needed was a victory, something that Sisko had been planning all along – Operation Return, the plan to retake Deep Space 9.
The original plan of taking three Federation fleets and a Klingon contingent were scuttled when Sisko received word that the minefield was about to come down. The second and fifth fleets had to take Deep Space 9 themselves. Even so, Martok and Worf tried to convince Chancellor Gowron to send some ships to the battle. Although it took a long time Gowron realized that both an ally and enemy were telling him the same thing, so agreed to send the ships. Outside the Bajoran system, the Federation was on the verge of losing the battle (Sisko had fallen for a trap set by the Cardassians), but then Worf and Martok's Klingon forces entered at an opportune moment. They inflicted enough damage on the Dominion for the Defiant to poke through the lines. The Defiant went on to retake the station and win the battle. (DS9: "Favor the Bold", "Sacrifice of Angels")
Some time thereafter, Worf earned a second serious blemish on his service record when he abandoned an important mission for Starfleet Intelligence to rescue Jadzia Dax, who he had married shortly after the retaking of the station. Though no formal charges were leveled, due to the secrecy of the mission, Sisko said "this will go in your service record... and to be completely honest, you should know that they'll probably never give you a command of your own after this."
In 2375, Worf became disillusioned with the leadership of Gowron. Gowron feared Martok's growing popularity and devised a plan to discredit Martok and end any potential threat to his authority. Gowron began ordering Martok on near-suicidal missions against Dominion forces, hoping that a string of defeats would weaken Martok's popularity and discredit him as a military leader. Recognizing that Gowron was jeopardizing the entire war effort, Worf tried to convince Martok that he should challenge Gowron for the leadership. After Martok refused, Worf decided to challenge Gowron himself, citing his faulty battle planning, his dishonorable conduct in trying to discredit Martok, and poor strategies at the later stages of the Dominion War. After a brief battle, Worf killed Gowron; by right he was acclaimed the new chancellor of the Klingon High Council. However, Worf immediately gave his position to Martok. After the war, Martok asked that Worf be appointed Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire. Thereafter, Worf left Deep Space 9 to take his new post on Qo'noS. (DS9: "Tacking Into the Wind", "What You Leave Behind")
[edit] Service aboard the USS Enterprise-E
In 2373, Worf was ordered to take the USS Defiant and join the fleet of ships set to intercept a Borg cube in Sector 001 on a course for Earth. Along with the USS Bozeman and USS Lexington, the Defiant was heavily damaged by the cube and Worf was considering a kamikaze attack, when the USS Enterprise-E came to Worf's rescue. The Enterprise-E took on board the survivors of the Defiant, including Worf. Reunited with his old crewmates, Worf assisted in destroying the cube with the tactical information divulged by Picard. After it was destroyed, Worf discovered that a sphere was traveling back in time to 2063, in an attempt to prevent first contact between humans and Vulcans. After destroying the Borg sphere, Worf successfully helped destroy the Borg deflector array and prevented the Borg from changing history. (Star Trek: First Contact)
In 2375, Worf visited the Federation colony on Manzar to establish a new defense perimeter against the Dominion. At this opportunity, however, he visited his old friends on the Enterprise-E, which was on a diplomatic mission nearby. For a brief period Worf rejoined his old crew to reveal Admiral Dougherty's conspiracy concerning the Ba'ku relocation. (Star Trek: Insurrection)
Worf rejoined his old crewmates on the Enterprise-E on Earth when he attended William Riker and Deanna Troi's wedding ceremony. Following the Earth wedding and while en route to a second ceremony on Betazed, the second wedding was postponed as the Enterprise-E detected positronic signals from the Kolarin system. Following the discovery that the source of the positronic signals was the Soong-type android, B-4, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway of Starfleet Command assigned the Enterprise-E to Romulus to begin new peace talks with the new Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire, Shinzon, who was a human clone of Picard. The peace offer turned out to be a trap and in the end Worf, together with Romulans, had to face Shinzon and the Remans. Finally, he admitted that the Romulans fought with honor, possibly overcoming his life-long grudge against this species. (Star Trek Nemesis)
[edit] Personality
Worf's intense desire to become a part of his lost culture was matched by enduring loyalty to the world that adopted him in his darkest hour. Those impulses forged a character of indomitable courage and integrity, uncompromising idealism, and a more-Klingon-than-Klingon facade that was occasionally lifted to reveal romanticism, gentleness, and humor.
While coming from a species frequently regarded as aggressive and enthusiastically boisterous, Worf often gave the first impression of being a rather dour and reserved, though vaguely threatening, individual. Beverly Crusher described Worf as a tall Klingon who rarely smiled. Likewise, Jadzia Dax referred to Worf as a man difficult to get along with, but she did see him as a good person. Jadzia admitted that whenever it came to Klingon culture, Worf would always get misty-eyed with sentiment. (TNG: "Remember Me"; DS9: "Children of Time", "You Are Cordially Invited")
Worf's conservative nature and respect for tradition occasionally brought him down on the side of issues that conflicted with the views of his friends. Antipathy for his species' historical enemy made him refuse to donate tissue from his body that may have saved a dying Romulan officer in 2366. He helped Rear Admiral Norah Satie uncover treason among the crew of the Enterprise-D in 2367, leading to unfounded accusations against Captain Picard and crewman Simon Tarses. After the witch-hunt was stopped, Worf apologized for the trouble he helped cause, but Picard commended his vigilance, reminding him of the difficulty of spotting a villain. During what should have been a romantic vacation on the pleasure world of Risa, Worf joined Pascal Fullerton's New Essentialists movement, helping them to sabotage Risa's weather modification network. (TNG: "The Enemy", "The Drumhead"; DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin...")
Worf's reputation for a lack of humor inspired regular teasing from those close enough to get away with it, like Riker, or too powerful to care, like Q. It pleased Martok and Jadzia Dax to no end whenever they could squeeze a joke from the tight-lipped Klingon. Worf denied his lack of humor to Jadzia once, claiming that he was quite amusing on the Enterprise-D, causing her to theorize that "it must have been one dull ship." (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited", "Change of Heart") Lwaxana Troi occasionally called Worf "Mister Woof", initially by mistake. Worf did not appreciate the misnomer. (TNG: "Half a Life", "Cost of Living", "Dark Page")
Although shy about it, Worf enjoyed singing Klingon operas. While at a bar on Qualor II in 2368, Worf requested that Amarie play Aktuh and Maylota and briefly graced the patrons with his baritone voice. He was stranded for some time in an escape pod in 2375, and passed the time taking advantage of the favorable acoustics. Though he initially denied the private performance, Ezri Dax guessed that he had been singing Shevok'tah gish. Chagrined, he admitted to actually singing Gav'ot toh'va, a piece with rather ambitious solos. (TNG: "Unification II"; DS9: "Penumbra")
The combination of his human upbringing and Klingon taste buds made for an unusual palate. Among traditional Klingon foods like live gagh for breakfast, he loved his mother's version of rokeg blood pie. Guinan introduced Worf to a treat that he relied on with regularity for satisfaction, his "warrior's drink". He did not react well to Romulan ale, and agreed with its prohibition. (DS9: "Inquisition"; TNG: "Family", "Parallels", "Yesterday's Enterprise"; Star Trek Nemesis)
[edit] Physicality
Worf was an admirer of Natasha Yar and her martial arts skills, and joined her on the ship's parrises squares team. Three days before she died, Worf placed a wager that Yar would be victorious in an upcoming martial arts competition. (TNG: "11001001", "Skin of Evil")
Worf ran regular Mok'bara classes, of which Deanna Troi and Dr. Crusher became regular students. Worf ran several classes of varying difficulties, such as the beginning and advanced levels. (TNG: "Birthright, Part I", "Birthright, Part II")
[edit] Physical Combat
Worf was a proven expert with both the bat'leth and his personal mek'leth. He had won a bat'leth tournament on Forcas III just before his birthday. While teaching his moves to his young son Alexander, he described the bat'leth as an extension of one's body. (TNG: "Reunion", "Parallels")
That year, the fugitive Roga Danar escaped the brig of the Enterprise-D to return to Lunar V, Worf led the security staff in an attempt to recapture. Roga managed to evade phaser explosions, transporter locks, decompressions and force fields to reach the shuttlebay. Worf and Roga fought hand-to-hand but his opponent's genetic enhancements proved too powerful for Worf. (TNG: "The Hunted")
Worf's unarmed combat skills progressed to the point that, while being held in a Dominion prison camp, he defeated twelve consecutive Jem'Hadar soldiers in honorable combat, and forced the thirteenth to yield in deference to his courage. Martok promised that a song would be written of Worf's accomplishment (DS9: "By Inferno's Light").
[edit] Ailments and injuries
During a diplomatic mission to convey delegates from the Beta Renner system to Parliament, Worf was temporarily possessed by an energy being, displaced from its natural environment by the passing of the Enterprise-D. The being passed on to Beverly Crusher and eventually, Captain Picard, before the incident was resolved. (TNG: "Lonely Among Us")
Later in 2364, Q had transported Worf and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise down to the surface of an unknown planetoid, possibly created by Q, where they were attacked by a group of musket-wielding aliens wearing 18th century French army uniforms. Unarmed, Worf charged the aliens and defeated some of them but was eventually stabbed in the abdomen with a bayonet by one of the aliens and died moments later, only to be revived by William T. Riker, who was temporarily in possession of Q powers. (TNG: "Hide and Q")
The ship had picked up a Zalkonian in the final stages of an evolutionary change. Since he had suffered memory loss, the crew just referred to him as John Doe. When Worf tried to stop him from stealing a shuttlecraft, John Doe emanated an energy bolt in self-defense. Unfortunately, that bolt proved to be fatal to Worf, who had been declared dead by the medical crew. However, John Doe's strange transformations allowed him to heal Worf's injury and restore his life. (TNG: "Transfigurations")
Worf never really liked doctors ("Any Doctors"), however, there was one Doctor that has earned Worf's respect more than any other. In 2365, Dr. Katherine Pulaski discovered Worf suffered from rop'ngor, normally a childhood disease, and protected his dignity by keeping his illness secret. In gratitude, Worf invited Pulaski to participate in a Klingon tea ceremony, where he beguiled her with Klingon love poetry. (TNG: "Up The Long Ladder"), (DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume")
One day, while performing an inventory check, a cargo container fell on Worf, injuring his back and leaving him paralyzed. Unwilling to live on as a paralyzed Klingon, Worf asked his commanding officer Riker to perform the hegh'bat. Riker refused to aid such a ritual, quoting "that right falls to the eldest son". Opposition from Riker, Troi and Dr. Crusher, in addition to Alexander's lack of knowledge of Klingon culture led Worf to change his mind. He permitted Dr. Toby Russell to perform a dangerous and experimental procedure to replace his spinal column. The surgery was a failure, and Worf was declared dead. However, due to the redundancies of Klingon physiology, where every organ in the Klingon body had a backup organ that activates whenever damage occurs to the first, his internal backups were initiated and Worf woke up. It took time, but with the help of his son and Troi, Worf made a full recovery. (TNG: "Ethics")
While the Enterprise was upgrading its sensor array, Worf, along with Riker, Kaminer, Edward Hagler, Sariel Rager, and La Forge, was abducted by mysterious solanagen-based lifeforms for strange experiments. Since they were abducted in their sleep, many began to experience afterimages of the experiments. Worf experienced one such flashback when he went to get his hair cut by Mot. When he saw the scissors Mot would be using, it reminded him of the blade used to probe him. In order to discover the location of the aliens, Worf suggested planting a homing device on Riker so when his next abduction came, they would locate him and the aliens. (TNG: "Schisms")
Later that year, when the Enterprise became affected by Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome, Worf was one of the first crew members to devolve. He de-evolved into a Klingon prehistoric venomous predator, and after he sprayed Beverly Crusher with venom, he went on a rampage and terrorized the entire ship, killed Ensign Dern, and tried to mate with Deanna Troi, who had devolved into an amphibian creature. (TNG: "Genesis")
While the rest of the Enterprise-E crew enjoyed the age-reversing qualities of exposure to metaphasic radiation on the planet of the Ba'ku, Worf suffered the indignity of an affliction normally suffered by Klingons half his age, a gorch. (Star Trek: Insurrection)
[edit] Family
[edit] Alexander
Worf was unaware of Alexander's existence for the first years of the boy's life, until K'Ehleyr introduced their child in 2367. Under the Empire's discommendation at the time, Worf hesitated to acknowledge his son and thus perpetuate dishonor into the next generation of the House of Mogh. As K'Ehleyr lay dying from the stabs of Duras, her last act was to bring the pair together. Worf raged the Klingon death ritual, terrifying his son, but he brought Alexander to his mother for the last time, telling him, "You have never seen death... then look – and always remember." After avenging K'Ehleyr's death, Worf confirmed to Alexander that indeed he was his father (see also: K'Ehleyr). (TNG: "Reunion")
K'Ehleyr held little regard for Klingon traditions, let alone indoctrination, conflicting with Worf's theories of Klingon child-raising . Despite trying to teach Alexander about the Klingon artifacts located in his quarters (including a bat'leth), Alexander seemed to show no interest. After K'Ehleyr's death, Alexander was sent to live with his grandparents, but the Rozhenkos found that raising a Klingon child was now more than they could handle in advancing years. Helena returned the boy within a year to be with Worf. Lwaxana Troi's influence added to Worf's headaches, but father and son settled in to a home life aboard the Enterprise-D. (TNG: "New Ground", "Cost of Living").
Worf and Alexander played sheriff and deputy pursuing a dangerous criminal in an ancient-west theme holodeck program. One of Data's experiments accidentally turned all the