Summary

• The Tzenkethi are the new big bads in Star Trek and their reliance on “pure, savage violence” makes the Klingons seem tame.
• In Star Trek #14, fans learn about the Tzenkethi society and their structure of dominance and shifting social hierarchy.
• The Tzenkethi have no code of honor like the Klingons, creating a society based on violence, intimidation, and murder. Their survival and development of space travel is seen as a miracle.

Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #14!

The Tzenkethi are the Star Trek franchise’s new big bads, and they make the Klingons seem reasonable. The second year of IDW’s flagship Star Trek title kicked off in a grand fashion, sending Captain Sisko and the crew of the Theseus to the homeworld of the oft-mentioned, but never seen Tzenkethi. In Star Trek #14, fans learn the truth about Tzenkethi society, and the species’ reliance on “pure, savage violence” makes the Klingons look tame in comparison.

Star Trek #14, the second part of “Glass and Bone,” is written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Marcus To. Sisko and his crew have rendezvoused with Harry Kim on the Tzenkethi homeworld. Kim, who has been observing the Tzenkethi for months, gives Ensign Sato a mini-lecture on their society. Kim explains that individual Tzenkethi essentially worship themselves, and live to exert dominance over each other. Kim tells Sato that the social structure of Tzenkethi society is “constantly shifting.”

This social structure, Kim says, leads to “pure, savage violence” as well as a long trail of bodies.

The Tzenkethi Are the Greatest Star Trek Villains Fans Have Never Heard Of

The Tzenkethi, first mentioned in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, are one of the franchise’s most mysterious races. The species has never been seen in a canonical production. Instead, licensed tie-ins, such as the Star Trek Online MMO, have fleshed the Tzenkethi out further, portraying them as a savage and war-like race. It has also been established that the Federation has fought the Tzenkethi on several occasions, and each time it did not end well for Starfleet. Tensions between the Tzenkethi and other Alpha Quadrant powers have remained strained, and now the species is making moves to establish themselves as a dominant power.

Harry Kim’s observations regarding the structure of Tzenkethi society are chilling, painting a picture of a species who can give the Klingons a run for their money in the savagery department. The Klingons are another savage, war-like race: in their culture, it is not uncommon for deaths to happen upon the murder of a superior. However, they have a code of honor, laid down by the first Kahless, that binds their society together and keeps some semblance of order. This code has also allowed the Klingons to progress to a space-faring species, and guides their interactions with other species.

Related: The Klingons’ Silliest Scheme Called Out a Star Trek Franchise Trope

The Tzenkethi Are a Star Trek Miracle

Yet the Tzenkethi seem to have no such hang-ups about honor, instead creating a society based on violence, intimidation and murder. The Tzenkethi have little respect for each other, and this mistrust is amplified even more when it comes to other species. The Klingon’s code of honor allows them to respect other races, even if they rarely ever do. That the Tzenkethi ever developed space travel, let alone survived as a species, is nothing short of a miracle, and now the rest of the Star Trek universe is about to learn the power of the Tzenkethi.

Star Trek #14 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!