Worf
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- For the waterfront construction, see wharf. For the American linguist, see Benjamin Whorf.
| Worf | |
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| Species: | Klingon |
| Gender: | Male |
| Eye color: | Brown |
| Date of birth: | Stardate: 17938 Earth Date: December 9, 2340 |
| Home planet: | Khitomer (raised on planet Gault by adoptive human parents) |
| Affiliation: | Starfleet, Klingon Defense Force |
| Posting: | USS Enterprise-D relief conn officer (1st season), tactical officer, chief of security IKS Hegh'ta executive officer Celtris III special operations Deep Space Nine strategic operations officer USS Defiant first officer IKS Rotarran executive officer Ambassador to Qo'noS USS Enterprise-E tactical officer |
| Rank: | Lieutenant Junior Grade, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Ambassador |
| Portrayed by: | Michael Dorn |
Worf (Klingon: wo'rIv) is a Klingon Starfleet officer in the Star Trek fictional universe. This character appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and in movies based upon The Next Generation series. Worf is played by actor Michael Dorn. He was the first regular Klingon character to appear in Star Trek and has also appeared in more Star Trek episodes than any other character (TNG years 1–7, DS9 years 4–7, Star Trek movies 7–10). Dorn is the only actor to be a regular character in two Star Trek series (Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien appeared in both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but he was not a regular on The Next Generation), playing Worf in both. Furthermore, Dorn played Worf's grandfather, Colonel Worf, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
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[edit] Biography
Worf is the son of Mogh. When Worf was a child, his parents and family were killed by the Romulan attack on the Khitomer outpost; Worf and his nanny Khalest survived the attack, as well as his brother Kurn who was off-planet at the time. Worf was then adopted by a human couple, Sergey and Helena Rozhenko, who raised him both in Minsk and on a small farm colony on the planet Gault, a world of about 20,000 inhabitants, almost all of them humans (DS9, "Let He Who is without Sin..."). Worf did not take the Rozhenko's last name, preferring to be addressed by the Klingon designation "Worf, son of Mogh". (However, his son by K'Ehleyr, Alexander Rozhenko, was raised for a brief time by the Rozhenkos, and does use their surname.)
It was during his time on Gault that the 13-year-old Worf, captain of his school's soccer team, accidentally killed another boy named Mikel during a championship game by throwing himself at him as the two children went after a ball that flew into the air. This resulted in Worf's head colliding with Mikel's, breaking the boy's neck. Worf would later explain to his then-girlfriend and future wife Jadzia Dax in the fifth season episode "Let He Who is without Sin..." that up until this event, he was the biggest, strongest and most fearless boy on the planet, uncontrollable, and that he did as he pleased; following this event, overcome with guilt, he realized that he must always practice restraint due to the fragility of humans. This sense of caution became a part of his personality, and at times prevented him from enjoying himself.
Worf became the first living being to undergo a surgical procedure involving a genitronic replicator. After an injury in a cargo bay, Worf's spine had been severed—even normal 24th century technology was unable to completely repair the damage. Normal 24th century treatments would have allowed Worf to walk, but would have restricted his mobility. Dr. Toby Russell, who invented the genitronic replicator suggested that she use it to give Worf a new spinal column. Despite opposition from Dr. Crusher, Russell was allowed to proceed when Worf made it clear that he would rather die than live paralyzed. Crusher and Russell were able to give Worf a new spinal column; he suffered complications after surgery and even appeared to die, but the redundancies in Klingon anatomy allowed Worf to be revived and make a complete recovery.
One of the emblems on Worf's sash is the crest of the House of Mogh, which he continued to wear even after Klingon Chancellor Gowron stripped the House of its title and properties in retaliation for Worf's refusal to join in the Klingon invasion of Cardassia ("The Way of the Warrior"). During the buildup to the Dominion War, Worf developed a rapport with then-General Martok ("Soldiers of the Empire") after escaping together with Dr. Julian Bashir and Garak from a Dominion detention center. Martok invited Worf to be a part of his family; Worf then replaced the old crest with that of the House of Martok. From this point forward, Worf was regarded as Martok's brother, and as much a member of his family as a biological one.
During the Dominion War, Worf was assigned as first officer to the Rotarran, the Klingon Bird of Prey under the command of General Martok. His son, Alexander, was assigned to the Rotarran after he joined the Klingon Defense Force. Though Worf was initially skeptical of his son's desire to serve the Empire, he eventually reconciled with him.
As a result of his parents' death, Worf has a deep and lasting suspicion of the Romulans. Following his excommunication from the Klingon Empire by Chancellor Gowron in "The Way of the Warrior", his brother Kurn's memory was erased, in order to provide with a new identity as a way to escape the dishonor and prescribed ritual suicide that would have resulted from this event. Kurn is currently living with the family of his father's friend Noggra; Kurn now has the identity of Rodek, believing, as Noggra told him, that he is Noggra's son, and lost his memory after being hit by a plasma discharge, as depicted at the end of the fourth-season episode "Sons of Mogh".
After the conclusion of the Dominion War, Worf was made the Federation ambassador to Qo'nos in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode What You Leave Behind.
[edit] Relationships
Worf avoided romantic attachments with non-Klingons during his first few years on board the Enterprise. As Worf explained to Guinan, he felt that non-Klingon females would be too fragile, and that he would have to restrain himself too much. (Guinan responded that, to the contrary, some non-Klingon women would find him tame.) His reticence is no doubt connected to the self-restraint he practiced after the accident on Gault mentioned above.
Prior to his posting on the Enterprise, Worf was involved with a Klingon-Human hybrid named K'Ehleyr. She had conceived and borne Worf's son, but kept this a secret from him. During the second season she came onboard the Enterprise to help track down a Klingon ship whose crew had been in hibernation for 75 years, and who were unaware of the current alliance between the Klingons and Federation. Two years later K'Ehleyr died at the hands of Duras, who was subsequently killed by Worf shortly afterwards.
While travelling between parallel universes in the episode Parallels, in several of the universes Worf learned that he and Deanna Troi had become close after his spinal injury, and eventually married. Upon returning to the real universe, Worf and Troi soon became romantically involved, and had gone on several dates by the ending of Star Trek: The Next Generation television series.
Worf and Troi ended their romantic affiliation following the destruction of the Enterprise-D at Veridian III and Worf's reassignment to Deep Space Nine. He then fell in love with fellow officer Jadzia Dax, and the two were married during the sixth season of Deep Space Nine, shortly after the Federation had retaken the station from the Dominion. Jadzia began treatments which would've allowed her and Worf to conceive a child. In the episode "Change of Heart", Worf prematurely ends a mission to contact a Cardassian informant inside the Dominion in order to save a threatened Jadzia. The informant is subsequently executed by the Dominion, causing Benjamin Sisko to caution that Starfleet might not grant Worf another command after this, but added that had he been in the same position, he would have done the same thing.
Worf and Jadzia were married less than a year when tragedy struck—Jadzia was attacked by the Pah-Wraiths when Gul Dukat came onboard the station to destroy an Orb of the Prophet. Julian Bashir was able to save the Dax symbiont, which was sent back to the Trill homeworld to be rejoined with a new host, but Jadzia died shortly afterwards. The Dax symbiont was eventually implanted into a new host named Ezri Dax. She was also posted to Deep Space Nine, and this led to a number of awkward moments between her and Worf. Eventually the two settled into a comfortable friendship, and Dax began a relationship with Julian Bashir.
[edit] Duels
Worf had great skill with the bat'leth, having won at least one tournament (in the TNG episode "Parallels"), and his skill helped to shape the leadership of the Klingon empire on two separate occasions. While serving on the Enterprise (in the TNG episode "Reunion"), Worf killed Duras in a duel to avenge the death of his mate K'Ehleyr. This guaranteed the chancellorship of Gowron, as Duras was Gowron's only rival for the position.
A further duel occurred when the Deep Space Nine crew learns that a founder has taken over one of the Klingons in the high council. It ends up being General Martok but the crew along with Worf suspected Gowron. As such Worf duels Gowron and was about to kill him when they find out it was Martok.
Later, during the Dominion War (in the DS9 episode "Tacking Into the Wind"), Worf became concerned with the futile and dangerous assignments being given by Chancellor Gowron to General Martok, in an attempt by Gowron to counter Martok's growing prestige. Motivated by a conversation in which Ezri Dax asks Worf to name the last Klingon leader he could truly respect, Worf challenged Gowron to a duel and killed him. With this act, Worf becomes the rightful chancellor, but he declines the honor, and with his encouragement General Martok becomes Chancellor of the High Council.
[edit] Timeline
- 2340 (stardate 17938): Born into the House of Mogh on December 9
- 2346: Parents die in a Romulan attack on Khitomer. Worf is rescued by Starfleet crewman Sergey Rozhenko and is adopted by Sergey and his wife Helena. (TNG: "Heart of Glory")
- 2357: Becomes the first Klingon to enter Starfleet Academy. His roommate is Zak Kebron, who later becomes a prominent character in the Star Trek: New Frontier book series.
- Late 2350s: Becomes romantically involved with K'Ehleyr (TNG: "The Emissary")
- 2361: Graduates from the Academy and is commissioned as an ensign (TNG: "Conundrum")
- 2364: Assigned to the USS Enterprise-D as relief flight control and tactical officer with the rank of lieutenant junior grade (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")
- 2365 (Between Stardates 41986 and 42073.1): Promoted to lieutenant and made permanent security chief following the death of Natasha Yar. (TNG: "Skin of Evil")
- 2366: His and K'Ehleyr's son, Alexander, is born, without his knowledge.
- 2366: Brings the orphaned Jeremy Astor into the House of Mogh through the rite of R'uustai (TNG: "The Bonding")
- 2366: Learns that he has a brother, Kurn (TNG: "Sins of the Father")
- 2366: Accepts discommendation – ritual loss of honor – from the Klingon High Council in order to protect the Empire from a scandal (TNG: "Sins of the Father")
- 2367: K'Ehleyr informs Worf of their son's existence. (TNG: "Reunion")
- 2367: K'Ehleyr is murdered by Duras, whom Worf then kills. (TNG: "Reunion")
- 2367 (stardate 44995): Resigns from Starfleet to fight on Chancellor Gowron's behalf in the Klingon Civil War. (TNG: "Redemption, Part I")
- 2368 (stardate 45020): Gowron restores Worf's honor (TNG: "Redemption, Part II")
- 2368 (stardate 45020): Starfleet commission reactivated, no change in rank (TNG: "Redemption, Part II")
- 2371: Promoted to lieutenant commander (Star Trek: Generations)
- 2371: Put on detached leave following the Enterprise's destruction (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")
- 2372: "Excommunicated" by Gowron for refusing to support the Klingon attack on the Cardassians (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")
- 2372 (Stardate 49011.4): Transfers to command division and made the strategic operations officer aboard Deep Space Nine (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")
- 2372: "Loses" Kurn when Kurn's mind is altered to think he is Rodek, a member of another family (DS9: "Sons of Mogh")
- Early to mid-2370s: Assigned as first officer of the USS Defiant
- 2373 (Between stardates 50712.5 and 50814.2): Joins the House of Martok (DS9: "Soldiers of the Empire")
- 2374 (Stardate 51247.5): Marries Jadzia Dax on April 1 (DS9: "You are Cordially Invited...")
- 2375: Jadzia is killed, although the Dax symbiote survives, ending Worf's marriage. (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets").
- 2375 (shortly after stardate 52645.7): Becomes the United Federation of Planets ambassador to Qo'noS (DS9: "What You Leave Behind")
- 2378/2379: Leaves his ambassadorial duties and joins the crew of the USS Enterprise-E as tactical officer (Star Trek: Nemesis)
- See also: Timeline of Star Trek
[edit] Apocrypha
In the 2000 PC game, Star Trek: Armada, Worf is an Ambassador temporarily in command of the USS Avenger, a Defiant-class starship. He confirms Martok's suspicion that the Romulans are helping the House of Duras again.
Non-canonical references include scenes cut from Star Trek: Nemesis, which established that Worf remained aboard the Enterprise-E while the ship was repaired in spacedock, implying that he is staying aboard the ship permanently. Worf will appear in the post-Nemesis TNG novels from Pocket Books; in the post-Nemesis novel "Captain's Glory", Worf is Captain Picard's first officer aboard the Enterprise-E. In the TNG relaunch novel "Resistance", Worf is also promoted to first officer.
[edit] External links
- Worf article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
- Michael Dorn at the Internet Movie Database
| Regular characters on Star Trek | |||
| The Original Series | Kirk | Spock | McCoy | Scott | Uhura | Sulu | Chekov | Chapel | Rand | ||
| Animated Series | Arex | M'Ress | ||
| The Next Generation | Picard | Riker | Data | La Forge | Worf | B. Crusher | Troi | W. Crusher | Yar | Pulaski | ||
| Deep Space Nine | B. Sisko | Kira | J. Dax | Odo | Bashir | O'Brien | Worf | J. Sisko | Quark | Rom | Nog | E. Dax | Garak | Martok | Damar | Dukat | Weyoun | Winn | ||
| Voyager | Janeway | Chakotay | Tuvok | Paris | Torres | Kim | Doctor | Neelix | Seven | Kes | ||
| Enterprise | Archer | T'Pol | Tucker | Reed | Phlox | Sato | Mayweather | ||
