10 Events That Changed Star Trek Forever

"Shields! Shields!"

Who here can point to Praxis on a map? Raise your hands! What do you mean my material's out of date? You really must be kidding!

Oh, the Klingons! Some of us love them, some of us loathe them more than a moribund tribble after a meal of poisoned quadrotriticale. Klingon-Earth relations were certainly tempestuous from the outset when Archer and the crew of the NX-01 had the first run-ins with the species. Things hadn't gotten any better about 100 years later when tensions erupted into open warfare at the Binary Stars, and nearly led to defeat for the Federation but for some last minute heroics from Michael Burnham.

During Kirk's five-year mission in command of the Enterprise, major conflict with the Klingons once again reared its (much smoother) head. By 2267, war seemed almost inevitable until the god-like Organians stepped in to prevent it. Despite the involvement of the Organians, however, the Federation's relationship with the Klingons remained tenuous at best, and the Enterprise was involved in multiple altercations with the warriors in the years that followed. The Klingons were also responsible for the death of Kirk's son, David Marcus.

It wasn't until some dodgy mining practices caused an explosion that obliterated the Klingon moon of Praxis, risking total environmental collapse on Qu'noS, that things changed forever. War had become too expensive for the Empire, and so the Klingons sat down at the negotiating table instead.

After a lot of conspiring on both sides, and a good deal of Shakespeare, the Khitomer Accords were signed in 2293: a step towards a lasting peace with the Federation. They remained continuously in force until Chancellor Gowron, not without a tiny bit of nudging from a changeling infiltrator, reneged on them temporarily in 2372.

It is also worth noting that the alternate future lieutenant, mother of that one character who definitely won't be appearing in Star Trek: Picard season three (*wink* *wink*) played a crucial role in solidifying relations between the Klingons and the Federation (after Khitomer) aboard the Enterprise-C at the Battle of Narendra III in 2344.