Second Klingon Civil War

{{sidebar battle
 * battle = Second Klingon Civil War
 * date = 2456
 * result = Martok asassinated, Second Federation-Klingon War
 * combatant1 = Klingon Empire
 * combatant2 = Kahless Defence Forces
 * co1 = Martok
 * co2 = *Toral (executed)  *Kurn
 * strength1 = Klingon Defence Forces
 * strength2 = {{?}}
 * shiploss1 = [[IKS Negh'Var
 * shiploss2 = Greater portion of Starfleet
 * casualties1 = Catastrophic
 * casualties2 = Small

"My house has betrayed me, Worf. You betrayed me. Martok was weak. I am the Chancellor now", 

--Kurn to his ex-brother Worf

The Second Klingon Civil War was a one-year conflict centered primarily in Klingon space in the year 2456. It was the second most destructive conflict in Klingon history. When the conflict ended, the United Federation of Planets had lost a powerful ally and forever stained the blood of the combatants on all sides with dishonour.

Prelude
In 2375,  Chancellor Gowron was killed in honourable combat by Worf for his danger to the war effort and tactical blunders during the Dominion War. Worf inmediatley abdicated and pased the position to General Martok.

Marotk's chancellorship was very popular with the Klingons and eventually helped the Federation win the war. Martok returned home to Qo'nos to officially begin his tenure as chancellor.By the tenth month of his rule, the Empire had entered a new level of prosperity.

However, the House of Duras, now led by Toral, who had previously opposed Gowron's chancellorship, aggressively opposed Martok's rule, claiming Martok was a Federation puppet and was turning the Empire into a Federation-controlled-puppet-state. The house had become such a nuisance that Martok considered exiling Toral from Qo'nos, but backed off due to the political fallout.

When the Klingon High Council wouldn't strip Martok of his power, Toral secretly began rallying support amongst the Houses and High Council members opposed to Martok, calling his movement the Kahless Defence Forces, in honour of Kahless. One of the Houses was the House of Rodek, led by Rodek, who was previously Kurn, son of Mogh.

Toral, upon learning the truth from Noggra's diaries, took Rodek under his wing, training him to be a warrior and a assassin tasked with the murder of hundreds of anti-Duras officials.

Toral's rise to power and support in the High Council shook Martok's chancellorship to the core. Martok slowly became unpopular with the Klingon people as civil disobedience spread across Qo'nos.

Total war
Convinced of his popularity and strength, Toral unleashed a terrorist attack against the Ketha lowlands, birthplace of Martok, using his family's flagship, the IKS Duras. The assault ended in six hundred Klingons dead. Toral further disohnorued Martok's family by abducting Martok's father and starving him to death. Toral claimed the lowlands and the province as his base of operations.

Martok's forces responded, but Toral's forces had spread themselves across Qo'nos. Twelve cities had fallen within six days with very high casualties amongst Martok's loyalists.

Space superiority
Toral, despite havign a sizeable army, knew from history and experience from the first civil war that his forces needed superiority in the Klingon system itself.

The Federation's neutrality
Martok, recognizing Toral as a threat to the Empire, sent an envoy to