Koloth

"How did you get in here? I am Koloth! That doesn't answer my question. Yes it does."

- Odo and Koloth meet.

Koloth (Klingon: qolotlh) was a w:c:villains:Klingon male introduced in the Star Trek episode The Trouble With Tribbles. Originally an antagonist he later became an ally by the mid 24th century.

He was portrayed by the late William Campbell, who had earlier portrayed Trelane.

Koloth was a Quch'Ha Klingon, a descendant of Klingons affected by the augment virus nearly a century earlier. As a result for the first part of his life he had a more human appearance. Koloth felt that the Quch'Ha had inherited superior abilities, but wisely kept such opinions to himself. Koloth was friends with fellow Captains Kang and Kor.

By the 2260s he was the Captain of the D7 class IKS Go'roth. During his career he encountered a number of prominent Federation Starfleet personnel, including one Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. His 2268 encounter with Kirk left him with an engine room full of Tribbles, and he was forced to scuttle his ship.

Later, the human Cyrano Jones managed to steal a Glommer - a creature created by the Klingons to kill and eat Tribbles. Koloth was sent off in hot prusuit. Once again Koloth ended up with a engine room full of Tribbles.

Koloth would later participate in the Great Tribble Hunt, tracking the creatures back to their homeworld and destroying them. At about the same time, Klingon scientists working on a cure to the augment virus were able to successfully treat Koloth, restoring his standard Klingon physiology. When Kang and Kor rescued him he asked them if they had come for him or to find out how to get their own ridges back. Unfortunately Kang and Kor proved resistant to the initial virus, and it would take another 20 years before they were cured of the virus.

As relations between the Klingon Empire and the Federation began to improve, Koloth served as a negotiator for the Empire, meeting the young Curzon Dax for the first time. Koloth and his fellow Klingons gained a large amount of respect for the young Trill. Koloth was one of the three Klingon Captains sent to stop Qagh (aka The Albino) after the Klingon pirate attacked a peace conference between the Federation and the Klingons. This began a lifelong friendship between Koloth and Dax.

When the Albino managed to kill Koloth's first born child, along with those of Kor and Kang, Koloth swore a blood oath with his fellow Klingons and Curzon Dax to hunt down and kill the Albino.

It would take nearly a century to track down The Albino. The years of fruitless questing took a toll on the three Klingons, with the Albino escaping justice repeatedly.

In 2368 Koloth came to Deep Space Nine at Kang's request after Kang learned where Qagh was hiding. Finding his friend Kor in a cell on a public intoxication charge, he went to see Odo, managing to surprise the Changeling with his stealth. After seeing how drunk Kor was Koloth angrily told Odo to keep Kor in the cell. Jadzia Dax got Odo to release Kor, and Kang arrived a short time later.

Koloth was dismissive of the young woman who stood before them in the place of his old friend Curzon, but came to respect her as much as he did Curzon after she challenged him to physical combat.

Arriving at the Albino's compound, Koloth entered the main hall and began fighting with the Albino's men. He was seriously wounded but Kang managed to kill the old Klingon pirate, avenging the death of all the children the Albino had killed son in the process.