Klingon Rule
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. What an utterly Terran concept, right? What does this have to do with being a Klingon? It has everything to do being Klingon.

Klingons do not lie. This is known fact. To lie would be to dishonor one's self. If all Klingons do not lie then no Klingon would be expected to lie. Klingon children grow up learning the tales of honor and justice, about quests, feuds, challenges and combat. Although it is unspoken as a single concept, they learn the rule.

Klingons take what they are told at face value. Klingons expect the truth and are ruthless when they do not receive it. This does not just include truth and lying, it expands to cover honor and dishonor. A Klingon will tell the truth because he expects the truth and will treat one with honor because he expects honor.

Terrans are a forgiving bunch. You can slap them on the one cheek and they will offer you the other. Slap a Klingon on the cheek and you will lose your own and probably your head as well. This is also true of conversation. Lie to a Klingon and be forever dishonored. Lie once and you will never deserve the truth again! This above all is the meaning of the Klingon proverb: Speak wisely or do not speak at all.

As a Klingon, each action you make, including speaking, holds a great prize in the balance. Your reputation, your life, your very being is at stake with every word or deed. Remember the lessons which you learned as a child and you will do well. Perhaps the aforementioned proverb could be expanded thus: Act wisely or do not act at all.

The foremost Klingon wisdom is that of honor, therefore a further extension: Act honorably or do not act at all.

Each of us must find our own honor in life. We must not foresake the honor of our most noble Klingon race. From the time we are small until the end of this existence we are surrounded by honor and the possible consequences of dishonor. It is the law that we live by, lest we debase ourselves to the level of the very beasts upon our table. Filthy and unknowing, we would lose all, even our language, without which we are nothing.

Klingons have a few different ways of attaining personal fullfillment. One way is by social or family status. A Klingon warrior who belongs to a respected family has many obligations and must meet certain requirments. Their social structure is highly ritualized and guarded and many Klingons feel that only other Klingons are worthy of honor. Another way for a Klingon to gain respect is through their work. A Klingon may redeem a dishonored house, or start a new, one through deeds of daring and honor.

The Klingon Empire is currently ruled by Shaunna Vorgath and the high council, who recently entered into a non-agression pact with the Federation.

Honor and ritual tradition play an important part in Klingon culture. Family heritage sets the pattern for generations to follow giving Klingon bloodlines' great continuity in the establishment of both private and governmental leadership structure. Rites of passage and tests of warrior skill are revered signposts of Klingon maturity often involving to-the-death combat with primitive blade and blunt weaponry. Klingons who do not have long or honorable family lines can still function effectively by pursuing their military career. Such Klingons are thought to be valuable because they are more likely to take chances that could lead to personal glory. Another way that Klingons achieve self worth, is through the reverence and study of Kahless. Klingons sometimes keep shrines of Kahless and worship him and his writing and stories almost as a demi-god.

The primary demon in Klingon mythology is the Klingon demon Fek'lhr, guardian of the dark underworld Gre'thor, where the dishonored go after they die. There they spend eternity in pointless, painful, labor, waiting to be consumed by Fek'lhr. It is important to note the lack of any kind of Klingon heaven. The closest they come is a whispered reference to some place similar to Valhalla, where they will live and fight forever, alongside the heros of their past.

When a Klingon warrior dies it is customary for other Klingons to perform the ritual of the Death Yell. This involves holding the dieing warriors eyes open and looking into them as he dies. At the moment of death the other Klingons will yell, as a warning to the after life that a Klingon Warrior is coming. After death the body of a dead Klingon is treated as an empty shell without value.

While their technological level has long since evolved toward more efficient weapon and combat systems most Klingon 'disagreements' are still settled using the ancient hand-to-hand methods of their ancestors. Among the Klingon blade weapons are several swords and knives, but the most innovative and the deadliest is the Bat'telh.

For those occasions when long-distance or wide-damage weaponry is more suitable to the task at hand Klingon science has provided a variety of high-efficiency disruptor units. These devices generally pistol-like in form lack the disintegration capability of phasers but produce a higher destructive effect per reserve energy unit used. Larger ship-mounted versions of these disruptors are the primary weapons of the Klingon fleet and can be tuned specifically to be effective against specific enemy vessel shields and hulls. Also available to Klingon vessels are variations upon the photon torpedo, but these are based not upon Federation science but upon those units acquired during the brief Klingon / Romulan alliance.