resulted in the eyepatch that he is seen wearing in The Undiscovered Country. The second conflict broke out after the Chancellor died. Kalnor's brother, Melkor, blocked the accession of Gorkon, the former chief of staff who was the legitimate successor. Melkor declared himself emperor and touched off a brutal civil war that had devastating consequences for the Klingon Empire, largely due to the usurper's treacherous and cowardly tactics. At one point, Melkor had a whole star system destroyed, rather than surrender it. He also had help from the Romulan Star Empire, another major power. Chang fought Melkor, but he did not support Gorkon. The two men were friends, but the general was wary of Gorkon's desire for a lasting peace with the Federation. As a result, Chang hoped to keep Gorkon from becoming the next leader of the Klingon Empire. However, Chang was eventually forced to accept help from Gorkon's forces. This led to a key victory against Melkor and his Romulan allies. It also meant that Chang was honor-bound to accept Gorkon as the new Klingon leader. Melkor was not finished. His supporters tried to trick Chang into thinking the Federation were invading. When the ruse was discovered, Chang had to make a choice: fight the fight he had waited for his whole life, or defend his people against the threat Melkor posed. He chose the latter, and Melkor was finally killed. During the events depicted in The Undiscovered Country, the Klingon Empire faced a momentous ecological disaster in 2293, when its key energy facility exploded and polluted the homeworld's atmosphere. This crisis had the potential to put an end to the Klingon Empire. Chang's worst fears came to life when Gorkon turned to the Federation for help. The Klingon Chancellor proposed putting an end to the cold war between the two powers and dismantling several outposts in the neutral zone between both powers. Rather than see this happen, Chang joined a secret conspiracy (which would be known as the Khitomer conspiracy) of Klingon, Federation and Romulan officials to stop the peace process by any means necessary. The first step involved the creation of a secret warship (a Bird of Prey) with a unique ability; unlike other Klingon warships, it could fire its weapons while its cloaking device was enabled. As Gorkon's new chief of staff, Chang accompanied the Chancellor and his daughter, Azetbur, to meet with the Federation