History Literature / TheFinalReflection

* UnfortunateName:
** [[PrematurelyBald Rogaine]], [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe the Orion concubine]] of Krenn's foster father. The name was a coincidence, as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoxidil minoxidil]] wasn't approved for topical use as a hair restorer until 1988.
** Poor Operations Master [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine Meth]]...

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Klingons' expansionist and conquest-driven culture is based on their belief that all life is divided into ''komerex'' (literally "the structure that grows") or ''khesterex'' ("the structure that declines"); any culture that doesn't continue to grow and develop is regarded as a failure and fit only to serve its betters. Underlining this, their own name for their society, though usually translated as "Klingon Empire", is ''Komerex Klingon''. They have some difficulty figuring out which of these the Federation is, as it grows, but in a way utterly foreign to the Klingon mindset.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Klingons' expansionist and conquest-driven culture is based on their belief that all life is divided into ''komerex'' (literally "the structure that grows") or ''khesterex'' ("the structure that declines"); any culture that doesn't continue to grow and develop is regarded as a failure and fit only to serve its betters. Underlining this, their own name for their society, though usually translated as "Klingon Empire", is ''Komerex Klingon''. They have some difficulty figuring out which of these the Federation is, as it grows, (by peaceful assimiliation), but in a way utterly foreign to the Klingon mindset

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Klingons' expansionist and conquest-driven culture is based on their belief that all life is divided into ''komerex'' (literally "the structure that grows") or ''khesterex'' ("the structure that declines"); any culture that doesn't continue to grow and develop is regarded as a failure and fit only to serve its betters. Underlining this, their own name for their society, though usually translated as "Klingon Empire", is ''Komerex Klingon''. They have some difficulty figuring out which of these the Federation is.

* OrangeAndBlueMorality: The Klingons' expansionist and conquest-driven culture is based on their belief that all life is divided into ''komerex'' (literally "the structure that grows") or ''khesterex'' ("the structure that declines"); any culture that doesn't continue to grow and develop is regarded as a failure and fit only to serve its betters. Underlining this, their own name for their society, though usually translated as "Klingon Empire", is ''Komerex Klingon''. They have some difficulty figuring out which of these the Federation is.

* MeaningfulRename: The protagonist of the novel-within-the-novel goes through several. One is the rename all Klingons do when they determine their life career path. Klingons entering the Klingon Navy, as Krenn does, have a name beginning with K; Marines have names beginning with M; civilian scientists and technicians have names beginning with A; and so on.

* GRatedDrug: High-sugar foods (such as fruit juices) to Klingons, as their metabolism breaks it down quickly while giving them a mild rush.

* TranslationConvention: Noted at the beginning of the story that some common ranks are translated to be more familiar. Other terminology is rendered slightly 'off' to emphasize the Klingons' alien culture. For example, rather than saying things like 'make it so' / 'yes, sir', when giving and receiving orders, the Klingons say 'Action' / 'Acting'.

* {{Fictionary}}: "Klingonaase", the Klingon language featured in ''The Final Reflection'' and the FASA role-playing game.

* BerserkButton: Calling a Klingon a "willing slave" (tohke straav) is an invitation to get viciously murdered in a hurry.

* HumanChess: Although technically the participants are all Klingons and the game is ''klin zha'', specifically ''klin zha kinta'', 'the game with live pieces'.

* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: Averted. Krenn's science officer is his first officer and he describes the Sciences as an Honourable option to the young Spock.

* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Klingon military strategy is the province of military "Thought Admirals", who hone their skills in ''klin zha'' (Klingon chess). Krenn's Thought Admiral foster-father also studies other races' equivalents of ''klin zha'', including the Human game ''chess'', to gain insight into the races that play them.

* TeleporterAccident: "Scramble cases" were noted as having occurred when Klingon personnel were beamed off a heavily damaged ship during a raid on a Romulan colony.

* TenSecondFlashlight: When they're trapped in a freezer, one of Krenn's officers adjusts their communicator's indicator to provide enough light to see their surroundings. It gives out just as they manage to break their way ought.
* TranslationConvention: Noted at the beginning of the story that some common ranks are translated to be more familiar. Other terminology is rendered slightly 'off' to emphasise the Klingons' alien culture. For example, rather than saying things like 'make it so' / 'yes, sir', when giving and receiving orders, the Klingons say 'Action' / 'Acting'.

* TwoDSpace: Krenn notices that a group of Romulan ships his ship is fighting move in a plane, then recognises the patterns in their movements and infers that their commander is visualising the battle as if it were a game of ''latrunculo'', the Romulan equivalent of ''klin zha''.

* BerserkButton / ThisIsUnforgivable: Calling a Klingon a "willing slave" (tohke straav) is an invitation to get viciously murdered in a hurry.

* CoversAlwaysLie: In the course of the book, Spock ''as a child'' plays chess against Krenn; the cover shows an adult Spock doing so.

* UnfortunateName: [[PrematurelyBald Rogaine]], [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe the Orion concubine]] of Krenn's foster father. The name was a coincidence, as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoxidil minoxidil]] wasn't approved for topical use as a hair restorer until 1988.

* SealedBadassInACan: The [[spoiler:Klingons]] have a super-soldier with an enhanced metabolism that makes him practically unbeatable, at the cost of a dramatically reduced lifespan. To get the most possible use out of him, his handlers keep him in cryogenic suspension between missions.

* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Klingon military strategy is the province of military "thought admirals", who hone their skills in ''klin zha'' (Klingon chess). Krenn's father, who is a thought admiral, also studies other races' equivalents of ''klin zha'', including the Human game ''chess'', to gain insight into the races that play them.

* VariantChess: Krenn's father studies other races through their chess-equivalents. Of the several mentioned in the novel, ''klin zha'', the Klingon game, is of particular and recurring significance.

* InterserviceRivalry: Is strong between the Klingon Navy and Marines.

* LockedInAFreezer: Krenn and two loyal subordinates are locked in his ship's walk-in freezer by a traitor. The situation is even more serious for the hero than usual because Klingon biology is keyed to very warm temperatures (he found the spaceport at White Sands, New Mexico pleasant, if a bit dry), which makes them very susceptible to frostbite.

** A subtle one – in the TOS epsiode [[Recap/StarTrekS3E7DayOfTheDove "The Day of The Dove"]], Klingon transporters are seen operating with a different color pattern and without the characteristic screeching sound. Instead of waving it off as [[SpecialEffectsFailure a mistake]], Ford took this and ran with it, indicating that the sound from Federation transporters came from a secondary carrier wave added to provide a bit more safety; the ever-practical Klingons decided a silent transporter was more valuable than a one percent decrease in errors.

* FramingDevice: The bulk of ''The Final Reflection'', the real-life tie-in novel, is the text of ''The Final Reflection'', the 23rd-century historical novel, framed by a prologue and epilogue in which the present-day ''Trek'' characters read and react to it.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/finalreflection.jpg]]

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The novel-within-the-novel has several historical figures in it, including a cameo appearance by a young Spock and his parents. (In the frame story, the real Spock is visibly unhappy about the novel, and refuses to talk about whether the scene has any basis in truth. [=McCoy=] is referred to by a relative as a baby but doesn't appear "on camera".)

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The novel-within-the-novel has several historical figures in it, including a cameo appearance by a young Spock and his parents. (In the frame story, the real Spock is visibly unhappy about the novel, and refuses to talk about whether the scene has any basis in truth. [[=McCoy=]] is referred to by a relative as a baby but doesn't appear "on camera".)