Martok, a character in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a Klingon portrayed in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine by actor J. G. Hertzler .

Young Martok

When Martok first tried to get officer status, Kor denied it to him because Martok came from a "common" house. With the mark of Kor on his record he couldn't even become a common soldier. He served five years as a civilian laborer on some General's ship until the Romulans attempted to board the ship and he finally got a battle field commission (Once More Unto the Breach).

General Martok

Around 2372, Martok was abducted by the Dominion and replaced with a shapeshifter. The exact date of this is unclear. The shapeshifter inadvertently revealed himself to Odo (who had been mislead into believing that Gowron was the shapeshifter) at a Klingon award ceremony, and was quickly killed by the Klingons attending the ceremony.

In By Inferno's Light, Martok escaped and returned to the Alpha Quadrant with Garak, Worf, and Julian Bashir, and was made commander of the Klingon forces on Deep Space Nine. Martok is an excellent judge of character, caring deeply about those under his command. Martok took command of a Klingon cruiser, the Rotarran, and made it his personal flagship. Initially, the Rotarran's crew were beaten and fatalistic, but Martok and Worf helped rally their warrior spirit.

Shortly before the end of Dominion War (When It Rains...), Gowron came to Deep Space Nine to honor Martok by inducting him into the Order of Kahless , and then announced that he would be taking control of the Klingon forces from Martok because it was time for him to "take a more active role in the war." However, it became clear that Gowron was simply worried about Martok getting too powerful politically, and intended to lower Martok's standing by sending him into battles that he could not win. Worf tried to convince Martok to challenge Gowron but he refused, so Worf killed Gowron himself and, rather than accept the title of Chancellor, gave it to Martok. (Tacking Into the Wind)

Chancellor Martok

The Dominion forces suddenly withdrew into Cardassian territory. The Allies realized that the Dominion was withdrawing in order to gain time in order to lick their wounds, so that they could come back stronger a few years later. Martok said that the Empire voted to attack right away, and convinced the Federation and Romulans to attack as well.

Martok, leading the Klingon fleet; Sisko, leading the Federation fleet; and the Romulans attacked and defeated the Dominion. (What You Leave Behind).

Despite the refusal of Admiral Ross and Captain Sisko to drink bloodwine with Martok in the halls of Cardassian Central Command, the Federation and Klingons remained allies. Martok was happy to receive Lt Cmdr. Worf as the Federation Ambassador to Qo'noS. He commented that he had an Ambassador that he could go targ hunting with.

J.G. Hertzler – who played Martok – wrote two books on the future of Martok. While these books are not canon, they do paint an interesting picture of Martok's future after he became Chancellor.

See also : Star Trek

External links

• Martok at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek WikiWiki