The next Star Trek show, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, can rediscover a lost Klingon relic from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4, episode 8, “The Sword of Kahless”, Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell), and Klingon warrior Kor (John Colicos) venture to the Gamma Quadrant seeking the legendary sword of Kahless, which was lost for 1000 years. Bringing Kahless’ original bat’leth back to the Klingon homeworld would repair the Federation and Klingon Empire alliance that Chancellor Gowron (Robert O’Reilly) recently severed, restore Worf’s lost honor, and earn Kor a statue.
According to prophecy, the Sword of Kahless will unify the Klingon Empire, which is no small feat since Star Trek’s Klingon Empire has long been fragmented. The noble Klingon houses of the 23rd century in Star Trek: Discovery season 1 are sharply divided. Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Klingons are still jockeying for power a century later. The Khitomer Accords broker a tenuous peace with the Federation, but Gowron’s controversial decision to break the Accords in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4 only worsens the Klingon Empire’s internal political turmoil. The Sword of Kahless could fix that, but Worf and Kor let it go for another 1000 years.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Cadets Can Find The Sword Of Kahless
The Klingon Empire Could Reunite In Star Trek’s 32nd Century
After being beamed into space in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the Sword of Kahless can be rediscovered in the upcoming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Kor and Worf hint that it might take another thousand years for worthy Klingons to come across the Sword of Kahless again, and that just so happens to be in the neighborhood of when Star Trek: Starfleet Academy takes place, give or take a few hundred years. Star Trek: Discovery avoided depicting any Klingons at all after the USS Discovery’s leap forward in time, so Star Trek: Starfleet Academy can do anything at all with the Klingons of Star Trek’s far future.
Finding the Sword of Kahless would explain what happened to the Klingons in Star Trek’s 32nd century. One such scenario might play out like this: Starfleet Academy cadets find a mysterious weapon in the Gamma Quadrant. Research reveals it’s a long-lost artifact from the ancient and possibly extinct Klingon Empire. The cadets’ quest would be a reversal of DS9’s “The Sword of Kahless”, with the sword seeking the Klingons, instead of the Klingons seeking the sword. As the discovery of Kahless’ bat’leth calls displaced Klingons out of hiding, one youth ventures forward to tell the story of the scattered Empire, and becomes the second Klingon in Starfleet.
Why Worf And Kor Let The Sword Of Kahless Go In DS9
The Klingon Empire Isn’t Ready Yet, But It Might Be In The Future
In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Worf and Kor agree to let go of the Sword of Kahless, recognizing the corrupting effect that the Sword had on both of them. The Sword of Kahless isn’t explicitly enchanted, but Kahless’ bat’leth draws out and amplifies toxic ambition in any Klingon who touches it. Worf is keen on reuniting the Klingon Empire by returning the Sword to the Emperor, a clone of the original Kahless, whereas Kor has his eyes set on becoming the new emperor, himself. Worf and Kor would gladly kill each other over different ideas, and they almost do, until an entirely fed-up Jadzia Dax puts a stop to it.
Bringing the Sword of Kahless back to Qo’noS will only exacerbate an already tense political climate.
Kor and Worf reflect the state of the Klingon Empire early in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4. Bringing the Sword of Kahless back to the Klingon homeworld of Qo’noS will only exacerbate an already tense political climate by creating deeper divides over who should rightfully wield it. The Klingon Empire of the 32nd century is almost certainly different, but whether the Empire is reduced, fractured, already united, or even still exists is unknown. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy takes place centuries after Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, so there’s another chance for the Sword of Kahless to honor the Klingon people.