The House of Mo'Kai is one of the Great Houses in the Klingon Empire and held a seat on the Klingon High Council.

In the 23rd century, the House of Mo'Kai was infamous for being composed of "watchers," "deceivers," and "weavers of lies" – employing tactics of espionage and subterfuge that other Great Houses considered dishonorable compared to a frontal assault.

In 2256, Ujilli, the representative for the House of Mo'Kai on the Klingon High Council, answered the signal from T'Kuvma and the Beacon of Kahless.

During the first months of the Federation-Klingon War, the House of Mo'Kai was nominally independent. In December of 2256, they and the House of D'Ghor secretly arranged a meeting with Vulcan to discuss the possibility of uniting against Kol and the House of Kor. However, the meeting was a ruse to capture a high-ranking Federation official. As reward, the House of Mo'Kai was officially welcomed into Kol's unified Klingon Empire, and furnished with cloaking technology.

When Ujilli's niece L'Rell declared herself to be the new Chancellor of the Klingon High Council, the House of Mo'Kai became her close supporters. Chancellor L'Rell considered herself part of House of Mo'Kai and the House of T'Kuvma, a loyalty which persisted among Mo'Kai members for generations.

Many Klingons saw the destruction of Romulus as an opportunity to conquer their long-time Romulan enemies. House of Mo'Kai, growing increasingly disenchanted with the rulers of the Klingon Empire, recalled the days of T'Kuvma uniting the Great Houses against the Federation.

In 2389, the Sovereignty of Kahless, an insurgency supported by many minor houses and led by the House of Ma'rek, invaded three Federation sectors and became a de facto power in both Federation and Klingon space. Agreeing with the Sovereignty's actions in returning the Empire to its conquering roots, the House of Mo’Kai began surreptitiously supporting the Klingon extremist faction. In 2391, when Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force defeated the Sovereignty, the House of Mo'Kai took in many of its survivors.

Timeline

Federation-Klingon War (2256-2257)

House of Mo'Kai aligns itself with T'Kuvma, and later Kol of the House of Kor, against the Federation. As masters of deception and espionage, House of Mo'Kai is instrumental in the capture of Starfleet Admiral Cornwell.
At the war's end, L'Rell of the House of Mo'Kai is named Chancellor of the Klingon Empire.

The Sovereignty of Kahless (2388-2389)

Ma'rek of the Sovereignty of Kahless builds a force equal to roughly a tenth of the Klingon Defense Force. They raid Klingon space and adjacent Federation sectors, especially on the coreward border. While Klingon Defense Forces were successful in repelling some small raids, their dismissive attitude towards the threat allowed for a large buildup of Sovereignty forces .

A brazen victory for the Sovereignty further eroded some Houses confidence in the High Council, leading to continued movement of Imperial Houses to the side of the Sovereignty. It was around this time that Starfleet attempted to provide aid, but those attempts were largely disastrous - and included the destruction of a small number of prominent Starfleet ships operating in the region.

The Sovereignty Invasion of Federation Space (2389-2391)

In late 2389, confident that Starfleet was incapable of fielding a response so soon after the destruction of Utopia Planitia, Sovereignty ships crossed the border and invaded Federation space in three sectors. Fifteen starships and seven orbital facilities were destroyed, and Klingon troops landed on eleven colony worlds. The Sovereignty also began harassing member and protectorate planets. Cloaked marauders dissuaded merchant and even aid ships from reaching annexed planets. Starfleet’s ability to react was limited.

Over the next two years, the Sovereignty maintained near total control of its annexed systems. Additional forces provided from unknown benefactors permitted their influence to expand. Three more Federation colonies fell, and one member world was annexed.

The Klingon High Council, recognizing this invasion as the action of an extremist faction against the wider interests of the Empire and its allies, condemned the Sovereignty and refused to accept control over Federation worlds. The Sovereignty was forced to defend its holdings against both Klingon and Starfleet ships.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the House of Mo’Kai grew disenchanted with the rulers of the Klingon Empire. Recalling the era when T’Kuvma united the Houses of the Klingon Empire against the Federation, the House of Mo’Kai sought a return to the old ways of Klingon supremacy against its enemies. Seeing a kindred spirit in Ma’rek and agreeing with the actions taken by the Sovereignty to return the Klingon Empire to its roots, House of Mo’Kai began surreptitiously supporting the Klingon extremist faction. In 2391, in an effort to further dissuade Starfleet from attempting to take back their worlds, ships loyal to House of Mo’Kai, but publicly claiming allegiance to none, attacked and destroyed the Xavier Fleet Yards.

Operation: Gatecrasher (2391)

Operation: Gatecrasher was a joint operation between Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force to liberate Federation worlds from the Sovereignty of Kahless and defeat the Sovereignty once and for all. A large portion of Task Force 93 launched an assault on several occupied colonies, while Klingon ships attacked others. This prompted the Sovereignty to reinforce the systems under attack, slightly loosening their grip on the three worlds where most of the Sovereignty’s leadership resided (Mempa, Narendra, and Occupied Faltan).

Meanwhile, the Task Force's fastest ships prepared their actual plan. Once the Sovereignty was engaged, the swift ships, with Imperial support, struck the less-defended headquarters worlds. Within hours, Ma’rek was dead and most of the Sovereignty leadership was either killed or captured. Without leadership and coordination, Sovereignty forces were left in disarray. Though casualties were heavy, the Sovereignty was defeated.

A New Threat (2391-2399)

A number of Sovereignty ships, including some leaders, survived Gatecrasher. They were welcomed and harbored on the Mo’Kai throneworld. Sensing common goals of restoring Klingon greatness by whatever means necessary, a call was stealthily put out to any and all surviving members of the Sovereignty to regroup at Mo’Kai.

The propaganda machine of the united force praised those who died defending former Sovereignty holdings. Many of the Gatecrasher survivors became radicalized and much more violent. Additional Klingons, still mostly those favouring a return to the old ways, but also a growing number of moderates, began to agree with the messages Mo’Kai put out.

Attacks against Klingon and Federation targets resumed in earnest in 2394, when a Mo’Kai raiding party, hiding its identity, attacked the annual peace conference on Khitomer. Meanwhile, Mo’Kai intelligence operatives conducted covert attacks against the Empire and the Federation, including cyber operations, assassinations, and terrorist bombings.

In 2396, members of Starfleet Intelligence found evidence that the attacks against Imperial and Federation worlds were being led by House Mo’Kai, now having largely abandoned their throneworld to operate in hiding. This information was made public and shared with the High Council, who agreed to use the intelligence to defeat what had become an internal insurgency.

Present Status Quo (2399)

The influence of House Mo’Kai continues to grow. It still operates within Klingon space and ships are occasionally seen on the Federation side of the border. Its fanatical followers continue to subvert the security of the region. Raids and attacks within Klingon space are not uncommon, and though credit is rarely taken, there is usually sufficient evidence to attribute responsibility to House Mo’Kai.

Throughout Federation fringe territories, life has become more dangerous. Though not targeted as often as worlds loyal to Qo’noS, Federation colonies, including those once occupied by the Sovereignty, are occasionally visited by Mo’Kai ships.

Seeking increased security for themselves as Klingon space destabilizes, numerous new planets near the Klingon Empire become members of the Federation. This includes the Raeyan System, a long-time strategic ally in the region.

Mo’Kai Captains operate more brutally than many of the other insurgent groups. They maintain top of the line Klingon vessels and are known to attack with a zealous adherence to the more violent aspects of Klingon law, giving them a reputation as one of the more dangerous factions operating in the region.

The Klingon Empire acknowledges that Mo’Kai is a problem, but maintains it is an internal problem that they will solve themselves. The Federation and Starfleet are applying pressure to the High Council to solve this quickly and/or accept Starfleet assistance.

Leadership

The current head of House Mo'Kai is the Lady L'kor, Daughter of T'kona, known as "Silk and Iron". With the death of her father in late 2394, L'kor ascended to the High Council as the representative of the Mo'kai. She s a patient but an ardent believer in the Old Way and truly believes that honor, glory, and tradition have taken a sideline to peace with the Federation and the Romulan Republic.

L'kor is a very capable warrior. She has already killed two High Councillors in honorable trial-by-combat when they accused her family of sedition against the Empire. What makes her doubly dangerous is that she has taken great care to guide the boys that have replaced their fathers, schooling them in the traditions of the council. She is potentially nurturing new allies in those so impressionable enough to believe the old ways of war and glory have been forgotten.

The House of Mo'Kai in Play

The Mo'Kai are committed to upholding the Old Ways

Preferring tactics of deception and subterfuge, members of the House of Mo'Kai will often use unconventional methods that ordinary Klingons would find dishonorable compared to a frontal assault.

The House of Mo'Kai does retain a traditional space fleet.
- Many of their ships were those once loyal to the Sovereignty of Kahless insurgency who survived Operation Gatecrasher. These are mostly older or smaller ship classes, including B'rel-class and K’Vort-class Birds of Prey and K't'inga-class Battlecruisers.
- The House also includes more advanced ships in its holdings, including Vor'cha-class and even one or two Negh’Var-class Battlecruisers.

The propaganda machine of the House of Mo'Kai continues to advocate for a return to the old ways. They promote expansion of the Empire and conquest of enemy space, including the Federation, whose fleet remains weaker since the destruction of Utopia Planitia, and the three Romulan successor states.

The House of Mo'Kai will often try to hide its involvement in any activities, whether by maintaining its anonymity or attempting to shift the blame to someone else. Attacks on Klingon worlds are often attributed to other Houses in order to discredit them and earn more power for their own bloc. Raids on Federation worlds are often disguised as well, attributed to Sovereignty loyalists or even the Klingon Defense Force itself.
- Starfleet Intelligence suspects that the House of Mo'Kai has acquired advanced technology capable of hiding their involvement in any provocative actions.