Star Trek: 10 First Contacts We Need To See

Under "Parasites," the Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual places "the destruction caused by tribbles on Sherman's planet" alongside "the rabbit population explosion in Old Australia." You can only imagine the kind of similes we'd like to suggest, therefore! If left unchecked, tribbles are a menace to everyone, everywhere they go, but it's the Klingons who seem to have had the most trouble with them. Given the rampant furry duplicators' reaction to members of the warrior race, it is safe to say the feeling was mutual!

There's one more problem: we've already seen the first time Klingons and Tribbles met, technically speaking. In The Trouble with Tribbles, undercover Klingon Arne Darvin clearly states, "I never saw one before in my life, and I hope I never see one of those fuzzy miserable things again." Aboard K-7 was supposedly the first time Starfleet and the Federation had come across the fuzzballs too.

Over the years, however, the timeline for first contact has mutated more than the tribbles themselves. Doctor Phlox had a tribble in his menagerie, and so did (mirror) Captain Lorca in his big-boy collection. It now appears that the tribbles gained their propensity for proliferation via genetic manipulation, carried out by "idiot" Starfleet biologist Edward Larkin at some point in the 2250s. Having infested and overwhelmed the USS Cabot, the tribbles then made it to Klingon space. Let the great tribble hunt commence!