Changes

|Age=2325

|History= <b>Early Life</b>In his youth, Korok was never afforded the same level of respect at face value compared with other Klingons. Physically leaner than most, his complexion paler and his ridges less pronounced meant that every day was a struggle for acceptance in a competitive Klingon colony. Away from the ridicule of the others, Korok found solace in his father's trade and was always found wrestling with some piece of machinery that his father had given him to work out and repair. As he got older, the machines got bigger; they began to have engines, and soon enough Korok was racing the very vehicles he built and raced. It kept Korok competitive, and his warrior spirit (whilst unconventional) alive. His twin brother Yorvass, shared very little in common with Korok - larger and broader of the two, many consider Yorvass to be an older sibling and are surprised to discover that not only are they non-identical twins, but that Korok is technically the older of the two. His interests were deemed to be much more 'Klingon' - Yorvass spent much more time with his Bat'Leth than he did with a hypospanner. As the two grew up together, the natural competition between them became more fierce - the two would fight regularly, and depending on the battlefield often determined the victor - Yorvass winning any straight contests of physical strength however where ever Korok could get away with using more than just a blade he would have the upper hand - leading to accusations of fighting "Like a Romulan". Seeing his two sons tear each other apart, Grell was left with a difficult choice - find some way to separate the two, or risk the eventual collapse of his house.

Korok and Yorvass fought for over a day. Korok used every trick he knew, automated phaser fire, shield pulses and remote explosives and with each blast Yorvass soldiered through with his Bat'Leth. Neither would admit defeat, and it took an intervention in secret by their father, who sabotaged Korok 's weaponry so that Yorvass would finally gain the upper hand. Never revealing his own dishonour, Grell petitioned the Federation for a sponsor, and sent Korok to Star Fleet with honour, though the young warrior would forever feel second place to his younger brother. <b>Academy Years</b> Whilst comparatively small by Klingon standards, Korok was suddenly one of the larger and stronger members of his predominantly Human peers. His years of defensiveness became less of a necessary personality trait, and the diversity of Human culture meant that he found like minded people and a peace that he'd never experienced before. His heart was still Klingon, and he would still be more aggressive and confrontational than most, but Korok was happy enough. Joining the Corp of Engineers, Korok continued his love of speed racing throughout his time at the academy and took the opportunity to minor in piloting and ship operations. He remained in the top 25% of his class, and his reports regularly complimented him as "a capable, resourceful and resilient engineer". By the time he graduated, Korok would find his niche with anything that could discharge - a phaser, shield or warp engine tended to be his preference; non-combat systems such as Environmental, Sensors or Holography; whilst he could repair them, found little interest for him. Korok 's medical training came after a crucial racing accident whilst competing in a deep space warp circuit. The impulse reactor on his shuttle had been the recipient of a lot of overclocking, and in his determination to win Korok and his co-pilot pushed it far too much - causing an overload. Forced to abandon ship, Korok and his co-pilot (Cadet Richard Kitley) were stranded for several days on an uninhabited primordial planet in an escape pod. Whilst he was able to boost the signal of the distress call, his co-pilot had suffered a very rough landing and died from his injuries. Upon rescue, Korok was subject to disciplinary action. By pushing the impulse reactor beyond its recommended settings, he was in violation of both the racing protocols and the Academy guidelines. A formal reprimand was placed on his record, and he was banned from competing for the remainder of his association with the Academy. It also pushed his studies back, and with the extra time Korok added the third minor to his degree in Richard's honour, so that he wouldn't be left in this situation again where he couldn't fix something. An extra year at the academy was something that Korok knew would put him at a disadvantage in comparison with his brother, but what was done was done. The honourable thing to do was to ensure that the warriors around him in the future could fight on in the future. <b>USS Copernicus - Mission 1: The Waterworld</b> Korok found himself immediately assigned to the worst type of ship he could imagine - a non-combat Science Cruiser, and their mission to survey an abandoned research station on the type O planet “Avalon” proved to be more troublesome than it was worth. Eager to prove himself to his new commanders, the young midshipman nearly got himself killed on a spacewalk along the hull of the Dysprosium. His EVA suit was ruptured in the vacuum of space, and in order to prevent himself from suffocating Korok was forced to use a plasma torch to fuse the leaking suit to his leg - nearly entirely disintegrating his quadricep in the process. The repairs were completed regardless, and Korok was rewarded by several weeks of intense rehabilitation following a biopolymer muscle graft to replace the damaged tissue. It also awarded him his probation sign off and promotion to Ensign, something that Korok still finds difficult to deal with - in his mind, nearly dying and losing weeks of time on medical leave was no grounds for his sign off. <b>USS Copernicus - Mission 2: The Sabotage</b> On the next major mission, the Copernicus found themselves transporting the fleet commander to Acamar to deal with a growing schism within the Federation. The Fourth Fleet had broken away from the Federation, and had pulled much of the quadrant into chaos. Using the Sol Transwarp Gate, the journey should have been relatively straightforward; it all fell apart when it became clear that they’d fallen victim to sabotage and the Copernicus was left stranded in a remote part of the neutral zone. In one fell swoop, the ship was accosted by a Nausicaan raiding party; who were in turn accosted by an unknown assailant but not before crippling the ship with plasma explosives and a powersink that Korok interfaced with and disabled in conjunction with the engineering team. <b>Promotion to Chief Engineer</b> Korok continued to rise through the ranks, spurred forward by the competitive legacy held by him and his brother Yorvass, as well as his desire to move away from what he saw as an undeserved promotion. During the long return home from the Nausicaan ambush, Korok found department leadership thrust upon him as the the acting Chief Engineer after Lieutenant Robert Ballantyne betrayed the shp and absconded from duty. After reestablishing order in the department, Korok’s appointment was made permanent shortly thereafter.