K'Tal was a high-ranking councilor of the Klingon High Council in the 24th century.
In 2367, he oversaw the ascension of Gowron to Klingon chancellor after Chancellor K'mpec was assassinated. (TNG: "Redemption")
K'Tal was also present when Gowron gave the life of Toral to Worf, who refused to kill him. (TNG: "Redemption II")
When Captain Picard needed a cloaked ship to get to Romulus in 2368 and Gowron didn't respond to Picard's messages, Picard asked Worf to contact somebody else on the Council, and suggested K'Tal specifically. Neither K'Tal nor Gowron responded, but junior adjutant B'iJik did state that Gowron and the High Council were unable to talk to Picard. (TNG: "Unification I")
K'Tal was played by late actor Ben Slack in his appearances in "Redemption" and "Redemption II".
According to K'Tal's back story found in the script for "Redemption": "K'Tal is an older member of the Council. He follows neither Gowron nor the [Duras] sisters. He serves the Empire. A man who has been on the Council longer than anyone else and will probably still be here when the others are all gone."
K'Tal makes an appearance in the non-canon novel The Art of the Impossible. He is also mentioned in the Star Trek: Klingon Empire (formerly IKS Gorkon) series; both Captain Kargan (who appeared in TNG: "A Matter Of Honor") and his father, General Talak, belong to K'Tal's House, but are described as not sharing his sense of honor.
External link[]
- K'Tal at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works