You know, I'm a big fan of Larry Niven's Known Space. And so were the producers of the Star Trek: Animated Series. They adapted "The Soft Weapon" into an episode, after all. But it does make me think: What if you tried to fully integrate the Kzin into Star Trek? In fanfiction, it's possible since we don't have the pesky copyright issues to think about.
What it would do to the Enterprise Era is especially interesting. According to Sulu, the Man/Kzin Wars in the Trek verse happened around 200 years before the TOS era. This means that Earth ran into an interstellar war just a few decades out of World War III.
So let's explore this. Let's say that, as in the Known Space novels, the Kzin had had an interstellar empire. One forged originally with slower-than-light vessels over a thousand years. They weren't seen as a large threat by the Vulcans because they lacked the warp drive-Probably because they conquered worlds without warp drive. However, by Earth's late 21st century, the Kzin had obtained the warp drive and were confident enough to try removing their biggest potential rivals: The Vulcans.
By the 2080s to 90s, humanity had almost fully recovered from World War 3 and were quickly expanding out into local space. Alpha Centauri, Tau Ceti, and many other systems soon became Earth colonies. Mars was terraformed, and Venus was underway to becoming habitable. They had unlocked Warp 2, and their fastest ships were nearing Warp 3.
From the Kzinti perspective however, Earth and her colonies seemed ripe for conquest. As a point to launch their invasion of Vulcan, and as a useful slave species. They thought that after a massive world war humanity would be easy to bring to heel and use their worlds as a beachhead from which to conquer Vulcan space.
Of course, it turned into an utter disaster for the Kzin. Humanity may have still been recovering from its last world war and a whole generation had grown up with a dim view of any kind of conflict after it, but when push comes to shove? The reason humanity tries to avoid going to war is because they are so very, very good at it.
At this time, the Vulcans were engaged in a massive escalation with the Andorians-Their cold war was going hot, and they couldn't afford to give humanity much more support than humanitarian during this conflict. So humanity had to largely fend for itself in this war. While the Kzin were limited to Warp 2 speeds, they certainly had a much bigger fleet. The conflict at one point got bad enough that the Earth colonies of Alpha Centauri were conquered and occupied by the Kzin. However, a breakthrough was made at Utopia Planitia. The Warp 3 engine system came online, and a new generation of antimatter reactor systems followed that provided more power not just for engines but for weapons too. The Vulcans may have helped out a bit here and there as well.
New Warp 3 (and later 4) capable Earth fleets soon decimated the Kzinti fleets, and destroyed their war machine. A smaller series of conflicts with the Kzin would have ensued, with Earth winning each time (especially once the Vulcans were able to assist). They drove them back, further and further, until they were at last reduced to only their home system under the Treaty of Sirius. This would have been a few decades before the NX-01 Enterprise's launch, of course.
So, how would Enterprise have looked in this timeline?
What would the war have been like?
What are some interesting stories that might be told about this era?
And what are the implications for the future history of Trek?
What it would do to the Enterprise Era is especially interesting. According to Sulu, the Man/Kzin Wars in the Trek verse happened around 200 years before the TOS era. This means that Earth ran into an interstellar war just a few decades out of World War III.
So let's explore this. Let's say that, as in the Known Space novels, the Kzin had had an interstellar empire. One forged originally with slower-than-light vessels over a thousand years. They weren't seen as a large threat by the Vulcans because they lacked the warp drive-Probably because they conquered worlds without warp drive. However, by Earth's late 21st century, the Kzin had obtained the warp drive and were confident enough to try removing their biggest potential rivals: The Vulcans.
By the 2080s to 90s, humanity had almost fully recovered from World War 3 and were quickly expanding out into local space. Alpha Centauri, Tau Ceti, and many other systems soon became Earth colonies. Mars was terraformed, and Venus was underway to becoming habitable. They had unlocked Warp 2, and their fastest ships were nearing Warp 3.
From the Kzinti perspective however, Earth and her colonies seemed ripe for conquest. As a point to launch their invasion of Vulcan, and as a useful slave species. They thought that after a massive world war humanity would be easy to bring to heel and use their worlds as a beachhead from which to conquer Vulcan space.
Of course, it turned into an utter disaster for the Kzin. Humanity may have still been recovering from its last world war and a whole generation had grown up with a dim view of any kind of conflict after it, but when push comes to shove? The reason humanity tries to avoid going to war is because they are so very, very good at it.
At this time, the Vulcans were engaged in a massive escalation with the Andorians-Their cold war was going hot, and they couldn't afford to give humanity much more support than humanitarian during this conflict. So humanity had to largely fend for itself in this war. While the Kzin were limited to Warp 2 speeds, they certainly had a much bigger fleet. The conflict at one point got bad enough that the Earth colonies of Alpha Centauri were conquered and occupied by the Kzin. However, a breakthrough was made at Utopia Planitia. The Warp 3 engine system came online, and a new generation of antimatter reactor systems followed that provided more power not just for engines but for weapons too. The Vulcans may have helped out a bit here and there as well.
New Warp 3 (and later 4) capable Earth fleets soon decimated the Kzinti fleets, and destroyed their war machine. A smaller series of conflicts with the Kzin would have ensued, with Earth winning each time (especially once the Vulcans were able to assist). They drove them back, further and further, until they were at last reduced to only their home system under the Treaty of Sirius. This would have been a few decades before the NX-01 Enterprise's launch, of course.
So, how would Enterprise have looked in this timeline?
What would the war have been like?
What are some interesting stories that might be told about this era?
And what are the implications for the future history of Trek?
