bIrel toQDuj 'oH'a' <Karagga>'e'?

[Steven Boozer <sboozer@midway.uchicago.edu>]

quljIb:
>  Okay, now I KNOW someone is researching Klingonaase and inserting it here
> and there in recent episodes. In this week's DS9 episode ("Penumbra") Worf
> was in command of the K'Vort class BoP "Karagga". 
 
quljIb again:
: I just checked my notes; based on the number of escape pods, the "Karagga"
: was probably a <bIrel toQDuj>.

I wondered about that.  Something didn't seem quite right to me.

The Karagga had 12 pods, one of which held Worf.  Since the crew complement
{wey} of a B'rel is about 12 officers and men, there is one pod per
crewman.  At first glance, there's no problem.  But... that's pretty darn
luxurious for the Klingons - both the concept of everyone having an escape
pod or the idea that Klingons wouldn't cram 2-4 crewman in each one.  (As
K'Ehleyr remarked after crawling out of her torpedo-sized high-warp coffin
in TNG "The Emissary", Klingons aren't supposed to worry about comfort.)
It's almost what you'd expect on decadent Federation ships.  

But if the Karagga was a K'Vort, there wouldn't have been nearly enough
pods for everyone.  (Isn't the crew complement of a K'Vort around 200?)
Perhaps they are reserved for the bridge crew and command staff, or just
the officers {yaS}, leaving the troops {QaS} and assorted civilian crewmen
{beq} to Sto'Vo'Kor and/or the Black Fleet {yo' qIj}.  Even though

	DujDaj HubtaHvIS Hegh 'e' tul Hoch tlhIngan.
	To die defending his ship is the hope of every Klingon. [TKW p74]

rank may still have it's privileges, especially among Klingons.  In fact,
before this I don't believe we've ever heard of Klingon ships even having
escape pods - {narghmeH bobcho'mey}?  There are none listed on the recent
cutaway BoP poster.  

Of course without them, the writers would have been forced to figure out
another way for Worf to be rescued.



_____________________________________________________________________ 
Steven Boozer   University of Chicago Library   s-boozer@uchicago.edu