T'Kuvma

"We have been waiting for someone worthy of our attention."

- T'Kuvma

T'Kuvma was the primary Klingon antagonist of the Star Trek: Discovery pilot The Vulcan Helo and the second episode Battle of the Binary Star.

He was portrayed by Chris Obi.

For nearly a century the Klingon Empire had been in a fractured state, with the 24 noble houses fighting incessantly with each other. In addition to feeling that the Federation would take away their individuality and identity, T'Kuvma also felt the Klingons had lost their way.

T'Kuvma called for Klingons to put honor and duty at the center of their lives. He opened his House to Klingons who were looked down upon by other Klingons, welcoming them into his forces. Summoning the 24 hours of the Empire to meet him, many of the houses gave their support to T'Kuvma, who attacked the Federation fleet sent to intercept the Klingons after their incursion into Federation space. The Klingons soon began to see T'Kuvma as a second messiah after Kahless, granting him the title of Unforgettable.

T'Kuvma then attacked the Starfleet ships arrayed against them. The Starfleet forces were severely damaged in the attack. After most of the fleet was damaged or destroyed, T'Kuvma sent the 24 Houses back to Qo'noS to rally the people to war.

Starfleet officers Michael Burnham and Philipa Georgiou attempted to capture T'Kuvma, knowing that simply killing T'Kuvma would make him a martyr, but that if he was captured they might be able to force the Empire to stop the war they had declared against the Federation. They were unsuccessful in capturing T'Kuvma, and Georgiou was killed by T'Kuvma, who was in turn shot and killed by Burnham.