R’Kala was born on Qo'noS in 2362. She was born to two Klingon parents. her father, T'Surak was a commander in the House of Noggra. R’Kala was born right in the middle of her father being out in space and her father died in a battle in 2374 during the Dominion War. She was 12 years old. It was her mother, V'Pol who told R’Kala the narrative of her brave father and how he died in battle fighting for the Klingon Empire and was now living in Sto'Vo'Kor. She fell in love with her father purely from the stories that her mother told her. Eventually, when R’Kala and her brother were old enough they both wanted to start their lives. Her brother, Rakar, wanted to be just like his father, fighting and dying for the Klingon Empire in battle, but R’Kala wanted to be involved in the sciences, which severely disappointed her mother, but R’Kala was allowed to pursue these studies.
While her brother joined the Klingon Defense Force, R’Kala attended the Science Institute on Mempa V in 2380 to study science. R’Kala’s superiors wanted her to study astrophysics to help aid in building weapons for the Klingon Defense Force, but she wanted to study culture and societies. She got around her “weapons creation” duties by informing her professors she was studying “the sociology of war,” which would help aid them in battle. For the most part, her professors believed her. In 2384 she graduated from the Institute and set off to be a “scientist.”
In 2384 she decided she wanted to leave Qo'noS and go "exploring," which her mother did not at all understand. She left Qo'noS on a civilian trade freighter, to the much disagreement of her mother and brother--practically disowning her. There she met a cultural anthropologist who taught her about alien cultures, politics, and philosophy. The starship was mostly for a group of space nomads who had nowhere else to go. For a year, R’Kala traveled on it in the Alpha quadrant, exploring places on her own.
In 2386 R’Kala wrote her first book, 'IHI'Ijqu'!: mach tlhIngan tej paq (in English: Listen to Me!: A Klingon Scientist Manifesto) which was a memoir/autobiographical work about her life as a Klingon scientist and all that she had endured on her 5-year journey on Qo’noS and aboard the SS Zenith, learning about different aliens and cultures and societies.
In 2387, R’Kala decided to get some experience working in an archeological expedition with Federation scientists to search for Iconian gateways. She met several other historians, sociologists, and anthropologists from different species and planets. The expedition proved to be incomplete, but she was able to get enough field experience with talented researchers to get a research fellowship at the Felker Institute. In 2388 she was studying under a cultural anthropologist while also teaching Starfleet cadets about Klingon culture and basic sociology. Her fellowship only lasted 2 years and when it ended, in 2390, she decided again to continue her own personal research on Earth, taking advantage of Federation archives, but unbeknownst in 2389 the Klingons invaded the Romulan Empire. After obtaining a Ph.D. in sociology, she moved to Earth, just after the Klingon Invasion.
In 2390, R’Kala remained on Earth and found a job at the Federation News Service. She only worked part-time for the FNS as a political commentator because most of her time was spent teaching at the Daystrom Institute as a part-time lecturer. At the Institute she taught courses such as “the sociology of space,” “Klingon love poetry,” and “intergalactic crime.” She gained a reputation though from her annual “war and politics” course which several students complained about her being a “ruthless professor” and treating her students like “Klingon warriors in training.” She remained at the Daystrom Institute for three years as a part-time lecturer until she decided to apply to Starfleet Academy.
In 2393, R’Kala enrolled at Starfleet Academy, wanting to officially become a Starfleet officer. She majored in Science, with a specialty in history and sociology. She minored in philosophy. During this year, she got word from her mother that her brother, Rakar had been killed in action, just like her father. While her mother was pleased with Rakar’s accomplishments, she was still displeased to learn that R’Kala had chosen to go into science at Starfleet Academy rather than security, tactical, or even the marines.
While taking courses at the Academy, she published her second book, veS: tlhIngan Dev nugh HaD (in English: War: The Klingon Guide to Studying Society) in 2396. In 2397 she took her cadet cruise after four years of study and was placed on the USS Juneau as a science officer.
