Gralmek

Gralmek was a male Klingon in the 23rd century, distantly related to the House of Kahnrah.

Gralmek was born a mach ghoti', diminutive in stature and strength. Never the less he had strong will and trained hard to become a warrior, but despite his desires his body was not made for that life and he was forever a runt.

In 2267 to Gralmek's apparent fortune an opportunity arose for him to serve the Empire, knowing only the most minimal of details he volunteered immediately.

Gralmek was to work for Klingon Intelligence, undercover sabotaging Federation efforts to win planets, the Empire unable to engage them in open warfare due to the Organian Peace Treaty. To achieve this Gralmek was surgically altered to appear Human. His ridges were sanded down, his forehead had hair drillings implanted to simulate a Human hair line and his skin bleached to make a more Human tone. It took two months for him to heal and which time he felt he had lost his Klingonity. And to his disgust the doctors informed him due to the limits of Klingon medical technology the procedure would not be reversible. He then trained to be a Human, to eat human’s infantile food and to show restraint in his actions, keeping his voice a steady tone and being gentle to touch.

The Empire then outfitted him with a Starfleet uniform and forged credentials to get him aboard the USS Lexington which was en route to Federation Deep Space Station K-7. On the Lexington he found his target, Arne Darvin, and killed him, then disposing of the body he took Darvin's place. (TOS comic: Beneath the Skin)

On K-7 he reported as Darvin to take up the role as assistant administrator to Nilz Baris of the Planetary development core, ideally placed to sabotage the Federation's colonial endeavours. His orders were to infect a shipment of quadrotriticale for Sherman's Planet with a viral agent, dooming the colony to failure and under the Organian's terms allowing the Empire to take it.

Over the weeks as he awaited the grain shipment he gained a growing loyalty to his Human commander. Baris was discussing the Klingon threat and concluded he must issue a Priority one alert, and despite Gralmek's objections the act would land Baris in trouble he did so, bringing the USS Enterprise to the station. The increased Starfleet presence would make Gralmek's mission difficult, concerned Baris might manage to force more security Gralmek made his move, using the repair ducts to evade the security in place he accessed the grain bins and completed his mission. Three days passed without event and Gralmek relaxed content in his success, waiting for the grain to be shipped out before he returned to the Empire. And then he was called the stations commanders office. He was greeted by screaming tribbles, from which Captain Kirk of the Enterprise and his crew were able to deduce he was a Klingon. And what's more the tribbles allowed Kirk to uncover Gralmek's plan. He had failed. (TOS comic: Beneath the Skin; episode: The Trouble with Tribbles)

Gralmek spent several months in a Federation detention facility before being returned to the Klingon Empire in a prisoner exchange. After being debriefed he was taken before the Klingon High Council and discomendated for failing due to the cowardice of infecting the grain to early, and expelled from Klingon space. (TOS comic: Beneath the Skin)

Still with the appearance of a Human Gralmek spent the next century living as a Human trader called Barry Waddle. After the Klingon Empire invaded the Cardassian Union in early 2372, he was trapped on Cardassia. After becoming aware of the Bajoran Orb of Time and its possibilities, he boarded the USS Defiant and used it to travel back to 2267. He attempted to take revenge on Kirk for exposing him and destroying his career by placing a bomb in a tribble. Fortunately, Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia Dax found the bomb before it exploded near Kirk and it detonated harmlessly in space. Darvin himself was captured by Worf and Odo and brought back to the 24th century. (DS9 episode & novelization: "Trials and Tribble-ations")