star trek online tribble breeding

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STO: Tribble Breeding

• Thread starter Trek
• Start date Mar 3, 2010

Fleet Captain

• Mar 3, 2010

For those interested, here's teh flow chart on how to breed tribbles in Star Trek: Online: http://doc-14-0c-docs.googleusercon...lNGUyMWMtY2EwNy00YzQxLWE0NTAtYjQyMzE1NTk4MjU5  

zombieChan51

Lieutenant junior grade.

• Mar 12, 2010

Trek said: For those interested, here's teh flow chart on how to breed tribbles in Star Trek: Online: http://doc-14-0c-docs.googleusercon...lNGUyMWMtY2EwNy00YzQxLWE0NTAtYjQyMzE1NTk4MjU5 Click to expand...

Bird of Prey

I have an ton of them. How do I get rid of them?  

Bird of Prey said: I have an ton of them. How do I get rid of them? Click to expand...

• Mar 15, 2010

Trek said: Bird of Prey said: I have an ton of them. How do I get rid of them? Click to expand...

• Mar 16, 2010

The link doesn't work for me  

Uploaded to my own space: http://www.alexthompson.net/Photos/STO/final20100217c2flattene.png  

• Mar 20, 2010
• Mar 22, 2010

Ooo. Nice new chart. And now I know why you can't breed a Rivera. The breeding flows the other way!  

The Rivera is the, still, exclusive pre-order one...  

• Mar 23, 2010

Yeah. Originally I thought that you could breed one, but now I see that you breed from them.  

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GuideScroll

The Internet’s Best Game Guides

Star Trek Online Tribble FAQ

Star Trek Online Tribble Frequently Asked Questions by Miuramir

Introduction

Tribbles are an iconic part of the Star Trek franchise, first introduced in the famous 1967 episode The Trouble with Tribbles, set in 2268. Subsequent references occur throughout the franchise, as both incidental background props and entire episodes revolving around the creatures.

Tribbles are formally Polygeminus grex , with a variety of sub-species, breeds, and colors. They are originally from Iota Geminorum IV, and under optimal conditions can breed astoundingly rapidly, with doubling times normally associated with microscopic organisms.

Primary FAQ Tribble Powers Tribble Breeds

Other Useful Links: IfniLuck’s Guide to Tribbles : IfnLuck was the first person to publicly organize a food and breed cross-reference chart The_MadTom’s Tribble Breeding Table : The_MadTom has a differently-organized google doc, a spreadsheet that may be more useful for certain purposes The_MadTom’s Visual Tribble Breeding flowsheet : A version of the above with the actual tribble art added, to help recognize color patterns Wolfiesden’s SQL database : Interactive tribble food and breed cross-reference database, which lists which NPCs sell any food that can be purchased

Game Representation

In STO, the differing types of tribbles represented are described as “sub-species”, which have a one-to-one correspondence to colors or patterns. Tribbles are activatable equipment, and can be placed in your character’s hot bar (“belt”), your bridge officer’s hot bar, your inventory, your personal bank, or a fleet bank. Activating a tribble provides a small bonus of some sort, and is represented in game by an animation of the character taking out the tribble and petting it, with appropriate cooing sounds. Tribbles have an official NPC sale or replicator value of 0 (zero); since breeding one requires consuming a food item with non-zero value, you are guaranteed to loose money breeding tribbles unless you can manage to sell a rare one to a fellow player.

Tribble Powers

Following are the known tribble powers. These can be used by most Federation player characters and bridge officers. It is reported that the Klingon species bridge officer of a Federation player has a mutually negative reaction to the tribble, as expected from the source material; it’s not clear if this means they cannot benefit from the powers, or is merely a humorous animation. It is possible for Federation players to unlock Klingons as a playable species (currently by purchasing in the C-Store for 240 Cryptic Points); their reaction to tribbles is unknown at this time.

Right-clicking on a tribble’s icon gives a short menu, with the option “Info”; the info screen gives details on the tribble’s sub-species and activatable power.

Healing : An out of combat self heal 1.25s activate, 6s recharge “Petting this sub-species of tribble will have the effect of stimulating the body’s natural healing capabilities.” [exact effects unknown]

Resistance Buff : A long duration out of combat self damage resistance buff 1.25s activate, 6s recharge “Petting this sub-species of tribble will have the effect of slightly stimulating the body’s natural ability to resist all types of damage.” [Adds 1% Resistance to most types of ground damage, with a duration of 1 hour. This does carry over into space combat, although it’s not clear if it affects anything useful. Overrides Damage Buff, canceling it.]

Damage Buff : A long duration out of combat self damage buff 1.25s activate, 6s recharge “Petting this sub-species of tribble will have the effect of slightly stimulating the body’s natural production of adrenoline, improving one’s damage capabilities.” [Adds ???, with a duration of 1 hour. This does carry over into space combat, although it’s not clear if it affects anything useful. Overrides Resistance Buff, canceling it.]

Regeneration Buff [Adds ???, with a duration of 1 hour]

Combat Skill Buff [???]

The following sub-species (or breeds) of tribble are known, organized for now by their activatable power. Format: Genus species sub-species “Color” (color clarification, pattern details, etc.)

Healing: ( ¯ ) Polygeminus grex susilo “White” (almost radiant white, HTML “ghostwhite”) ( ¯ ) Polygeminus grex stahl “Cream” (under magnification, may be a flecked mix of White and Tan; HTML “moccasin” (used here) or “antiquewhite”) ( ¯ ) Polygeminus grex sparkes “Tan” (a light brown, khaki; HTML “burlywood” (used here), “peru”, or “tan”) ( ¯ ) Polygeminus grex dotson “Brown” (a medium-dark brown, milk chocolate; HTML “saddlebrown”) ( ¯ ) Polygeminus grex thompson “Black” (probably actually a very dark brown, dark chocolate; HTML “black” is not a good match but there isn’t anything closer) ( ¯ ) Polygeminus grex vitales “Gray” (pale cool gray; HTML “lightgray” used here, but better match pending) Polygeminus grex tuffli “Cream with Brown Stripes” (original description, and probably the way most people think of it; under magnification, it may actually be Brown with a broad equatorial Cream stripe and several large Cream spots. One could argue that the pale color is Tan rather than Cream, but in comparison to jasperson and nix under magnification, the pale color is distinctly lighter here. This may well be the “mutt” breed result, with middling colors and a mix of stripes and spots)

(Damage) Resistance Buff: Polygeminus grex nix “Brown with large Tan spots” (spots are approximately circular, and arranged in what may be an approximately cubic (or dodecahedral) vertex pattern) Polygeminus grex stacy “Black with multiple small White spots” (from Demonical_3, confirmed by Dakirn and Nack)

Damage Buff: Polygeminus grex jasperson “Tan with single equatorial Brown stripe” Polygeminus grex mccary “Tan with Brown spots” (from Adeon_Hawkwood) Polygeminus grex cavallaro “White with Black spiral stripe” (alternatively Black with White Z pattern, the 3D pattern appears to be a white “polar cap” top and bottom, with a diagonal stripe or ring between them; from IfniLuck) Polygeminus grex vitales [sic] “Ttruncated icosahedron (soccer ball) pattern; Orange faces with Red “seams”; single medium Brown spot in each face” (Some also describe it as an “eyeball” pattern. This appears to be a bug or naming error, a very rare type with the same name as a common type. Currently being described as “vitales-snail” on the forums until we get an official name fix. Reported by Snailelin, confirmed by Profetius Eteus)

Regeneration Buff: Polygeminus grex deangelo “Black with White spiral stripe” (alternatively White with Black Z pattern; the 3D pattern appears to be a dark “polar cap” top and bottom, with a diagonal stripe or ring between them; from IfniLuck) Polygeminus grex henry “Brown with single equatorial Tan stripe” (reported on exchange by Snicker, confirmed by Dakirn) Polygeminus grex highison “Light Purple with double-zigzag Dark Purple stripes” (reported by Troglis)

Multiple Effects: Polygeminus grex mattson ” “Orange with multiple zigzag Dark Purple stripes” (alternatively vice-versa; from Demonical_3, confirmed by nmdrkangl and Troglis); Damage Buff + Regeneration Buff Polygeminus grex rivera “?golden/orange with blue halo fur?”; Resistance Buff + Regeneration Buff + Combat Skill Buff (?) (reported as the pre-order tribble; from Mockingbird)

Unknown: Polygeminus grex howe “White with multiple small Black spots” (reported on exchange by Zacuis, confirmed by Dakirn) Polygeminus grex ricossa “Orange with multiple small Dark Purple spots” (from Dakirn) Polygeminus grex griffis “Dark Purple with multiple White rings” (alternatively, Dark Purple with large White spots which each contain a small Dark Purple spot; from Dakirn)

Please post any info you have on new breeds, or further details on the above breeds.

Obtaining Tribbles

The primary way one gets tribbles is by breeding tribbles, and some types may only be available through breeding. See the following section for details. However, there are a few other ways to get a tribble:

* As a drop: Some NPC Klingon (and allies) ground enemies that you fight as a Federation character have a chance to drop a tribble as their loot. Details are currently unknown, but there are reliable reports of them dropping in ground missions as early as level 4, and possibly earlier.

* As a pre-order bonus: A tribble pet is available as a pre-order bonus from several retailers. Currently known: Best Buy (US), Game AU (AU), Gross Electronic Silver Edition (DE), HMV Gold Edition (UK), Micromania Silver Edition and Micromania Gold Edition (FR). The subspecies is Polygeminus grex rivera , unusual in both color and powers (see sub-species FAQ for details); it is believed to not be breedable.

* On the Exchange or via trading: Tribbles can be bought and sold on the Exchange, and traded directly between players.

Tribble Breeding

Tribble breeding can occur in your active power bar, in your inventory, or in your Bank. Current reports are that they do NOT breed in the Fleet Bank, although that’s not completely verified. You only need a single tribble to start, although some breeds may require multiple tribbles present. They will consume any “food item” in the same location category, replacing it with the new tribble.

Items considered “food items” seem to include all of the consumable out-of-combat regeneration items, including beverages in glass bottles and whatever 25th Century Field Rations are packaged in. It does not include “Provisions”, the non-consumable trade item (or at least the chance is very low). Uncommon food items (gotten from drops, or shops other than at Earth, rather than the replicator) are required or at least dramatically improve the chances of getting the less common tribble breeds. Note also that some “uncommon” food items can be purchased from vendors in various locations, such as DS9. Check before buying at inflated Exchange prices!

The timing and odds of tribble breeding is still being researched. At the moment, it appears that there is some sort of time-based check based on elapsed time increments from when you logged in; further research ongoing. It is currently reported that tribbles do not breed in the Fleet Bank, and that they seem to breed slower in your hot bar (“belt”) than in your inventory.

Stopping Tribble Breeding

Historically, one of the first questions people ask about tribbles is “How do I breed them?”. Shortly thereafter, many people come to the follow-up question “OK, now how do I STOP them from breeding?”, quite possibly followed by “Hey, that was my booze!”

While data is inconclusive, at this point it appears that tribbles only breed when there is a “food item” (see above under Tribble Breeding) in the same location category as an existing tribble. For instance, if you have a tribble equipped in your Bridge Officer’s item bar, it will not consume food in your own item bar. In general, having equipped (usable) tribbles and equipped (usable) food is not long-term compatible. However, you can have an equipped tribble in your item bar, and as long as you are careful to not have any in inventory, you can store food in your inventory. You’ll just have to equip the food and use it promptly when needed.

Trivia: the names of the breeds (officially sub-species) seem to be the last names of Cryptic developers in at least some cases.

Trivia: It is rumored that the public test server for STO will be called “tribble”.

Why do they drop from Klingons?: Based on what we know about tribbles in the franchise, it seems unlikely that a Klingon would be carrying them for buffs or cuddle factor. There have been a few suggestions made as to why Klingons drop tribbles as loot:

* Their ship or base has an infestation; the Klingon thought they were carrying some food, but it had been eaten by a tribble when they weren’t looking.

* Despite the noise and dislike, it might be a cheap way to tell a real Klingon from an Undine who is shapeshifted into a Klingon appearance; in effect the reverse of the incident from the original episode.

How to make the “ASCII tribble” as seen on the forums, ( ¯ ) : This is actually 3 characters with some vBcode, optionally colored: ([u]¯[/u]) That’s an open parenthesis, an underlined overbar (Unicode U+00AF (175)), and a close parenthesis. To color it, you can add [color=value]([u]¯[/u])[/color], where “value” is a vB recognized color. These are believed to match or be similar to HTML colors . See the listing above for some examples.

If anyone has detailed breeding tests, please post as much info as possible.

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A collection of tribbles

Edward Larkin's analysis of a tribble. (c. 2250s)

Tribble was the colloquial name for a rodent -like species with the scientific names Tribleustes ventricosus and Polygeminus grex . Tribbles were small, non-intelligent lifeforms originating from Iota Geminorum IV . Known for their prodigious reproductive rate, these round, furry creatures emitted cooing sounds while touched, which had a tranquilizing effect on the Human nervous system . ( TOS : " The Trouble with Tribbles "; ST : " The Trouble with Edward ")

• 3 Alternate reality
• 5.1 Appearances
• 5.2 Background information
• 5.3 Apocrypha
• 5.4 External links

Biology [ ]

On their own, tribbles were quite incapable of directly harming sentient beings – they did not even possess " teeth " as such. They were also fairly slow, although able to scale and cling to vertical surfaces. Nonetheless, left unchecked, they could rapidly multiply and devastate entire ecosystems on a planetary scale.

An entire half of a tribble's metabolism was solely devoted to reproduction . Born pregnant , a single tribble with sufficient food could quickly increase its number exponentially through asexual reproduction , bearing an average litter of ten and producing a new generation every twelve hours . Over a period of three days, that single tribble could account for 1,771,561 progeny . ( TOS : " The Trouble with Tribbles "; DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ") While not actively malicious or even intelligent, their tranquilizing effect in Humans can cause those who encounter them to be too enamored by their perceived cuteness to be able to properly respond to their hyper-reproduction in a timely manner.

Tribbles were therefore outlawed on worlds by the mid- 22nd century . On their own homeworld , tribble populations were kept in check by a large number of reptilian predators . ( DS9 : " The Nagus "; TOS : " The Trouble with Tribbles "; ENT : " The Breach ")

History [ ]

Doctor Phlox shows Hoshi Sato a tribble in 2153

Tribbles were first encountered by Humans in the early 2150s when Denobulan doctor Phlox brought a small number aboard Enterprise NX-01 as an easily sustainable food source for his pets . ( ENT : " The Breach ")

In 2256 aboard the USS Discovery , Captain Gabriel Lorca had a pet tribble that he kept in his ready room . Lorca's laboratory had a dissected tribble as well. ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")

Aboard the same starship in 2257 , Ensign Tilly told Michael Burnham that she would begin to cry like " a baby tribble in the kill zone ", if Burnham asked any more questions regarding news that Paul Stamets was transferring off the ship. ( DIS : " Brother ")

During the mid- 23rd century , Edward Larkin of the USS Cabot was working with sample specimens of the species, intending to use them as a food source. Larkin, who at the resulting board of inquiry was described as an idiot, believed that tribbles would make an excellent food source if not for the fact that they bred very slowly. Against orders, he modified the tribbles with Human DNA (his own) in order to increase their reproductive rate. This caused the tribbles to multiply beyond containment, and before long, resulted in the destruction of the ship. The hybrid tribbles made it to nearby Pragine 63 , forcing its entire civilization to be evacuated, and were later reported to have made their way into Klingon space . ( ST : " The Trouble with Edward ")

In 2268 , Cyrano Jones brought a small number of tribbles to Deep Space Station K-7 to trade. He gifted a single tribble to Federation officer Nyota Uhura , hoping that an attractive woman's possession of the creature would enhance its popularity. Uhura brought the tribble aboard the Starship USS Enterprise , where it quickly multiplied. The tribbles also proliferated on the station, where they were instrumental in foiling a Klingon plan to poison a shipment of quadrotriticale intended for Sherman's Planet , when those that had fed on the grain were found dead. Despite tribbles being known to Starfleet personnel for at least a century, including being kept on at least three of its vessels, the mechanics of tribble anatomy and reproduction were still not widely known at this time, with Dr. Leonard McCoy rediscovering this information in his investigation of the animals' proliferation aboard K-7 and the Enterprise ; several other Enterprise crewmembers, such as Uhura, also indicated having never heard of them before. ( TOS : " The Trouble with Tribbles ")

Kirk buried in tribbles

At the same time, the crew of USS Defiant , transported through time by Arne Darvin , prevented him from using a tricobalt device hidden inside a tribble to kill James T. Kirk . ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

The Tardigrade " Ephraim " encountered tribbles in a Jefferies tube in the USS Enterprise , when it was being pursued by the DOT-7 robot " Dot " ( ST : " Ephraim and Dot ")

Tribbles were an ecological menace for the Klingons, to whom a tribble would react violently. The Klingons first attempted to breed a predator to eliminate the threat. The glommer was used only once, in 2269 , aboard the USS Enterprise, and proved unable to deal with the large number of tribbles aboard. ( TAS : " More Tribbles, More Troubles ")

Kirk's captain's chair overtaken by a tribble colony

During this time, Cyrano Jones attempted to genetically engineer the tribbles so that they would not reproduce. As a result of his dabbling, he deemed them to be "safe" so as to be compatible with humanoid ecologies , making them "great pets and profitable, too." Unknown to Jones, at the time, and as was later discovered by Doctor Leonard McCoy, Jones' genetic engineering was described as being "very slipshod," as the resulting tribbles appeared to grow in immense size, instead of rapid breeding. McCoy later discovered that the so-called "giant tribbles" really were not as they appeared, but rather colonies of tribbles. McCoy was able to remedy the situation by giving them "a simple shot" of neoethylene , which caused the tribble colonies to break down into their individual units with a slower metabolic rate , and finally becoming "safe tribbles." ( TAS : " More Tribbles, More Troubles ")

The Café des Artistes included tribbles as an ingredient in one of their dishes. ( TNG : " We'll Always Have Paris ")

Tribbles on Earth ( 2285 )

The Klingons' solution to the tribble menace was to wipe the species out entirely. Klingon warriors were sent to hunt them down throughout the galaxy , and the tribble homeworld was obliterated in the late 23rd century . When told of this, Odo dryly remarked, " Another glorious chapter in Klingon history . Tell me, do they still sing songs of the Great Tribble Hunt ? " ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

A graphic of tribbles

In spite of the destruction of the tribble homeworld, many Humans continued to have the small creatures as pets from the late 23rd century , well into the late 24th century , as one child aboard the USS Enterprise -D appeared to have one as a pet in 2371 . ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock ; TNG : " When The Bough Breaks "; Star Trek Generations )

Information about tribbles was displayed by the computer in Keiko O'Brien 's schoolroom on Deep Space 9 in 2369 . ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ", " The Nagus ") Tribbles were displayed in an LCARS graphic in one of the USS Enterprise -D's science laboratories when the ship crash-landed on Veridian III in 2371 . ( Star Trek Generations )

Quark is surrounded by tribbles.

Tribbles were reintroduced into the 24th century when Captain Benjamin Sisko and his crew brought at least one of the creatures back to 2373 , following a time-traveling visit to the tribble-infested space station K-7 of 2268. The Promenade and Quark's on Deep Space 9 were subsequently overrun with the creatures. According to Captain Sisko, the Federation's Department of Temporal Investigations was not told about the reintroduction of the tribbles because "they didn't ask." ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

Deep Space 9's Promenade overrun with tribbles in 2373

In the first draft script of "Trials and Tribble-ations", the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations did find out about the tribbles aboard DS9, at the end of the episode. Sisko suggested about the creatures, " Think of them as… souvenirs. "

Miles O'Brien later recalled seeing the tribbles on the Enterprise with Julian Bashir when he was leaving Deep Space 9 at the end of the Dominion War . ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

A tribble was among the contraband Ensign Beckett Mariner had secreted aboard the USS Cerritos in 2380 . She claimed that it was for "personal use." ( LD : " No Small Parts ")

The key to the Cerritos captain's yacht was attached to a key chain with a stuffed tribble attached to it. ( LD : " Terminal Provocations ")

Tribbles were also for sale at Malvus' Goods on Starbase 25 in 2381 . ( LD : " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers ")

In 2384 , Rok-Tahk believed that she had figured out how to stop tribbles from multiplying, but a message from Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway interrupted her presentation on the subject. ( PRO : " Into the Breach, Part I ")

A genetically modified tribble on Daystrom Station

In 2401 , a tribble genetically modified into a vicious predator with multiple mouths and limbs was kept on Daystrom Station . It pounced at Worf when he looked into its enclosure, prompting William T. Riker to jokingly refer to it as an "attack tribble". ( PIC : " The Bounty ")

In 3191 , President of Ni'Var T'Rina quipped that her lie to Breen Primarch Ruhn of needing to prepare extradition orders seemed preferable to claims of a tribble infestation as a delaying tactic. ( DIS : " Erigah ")

The phrase "attack tribble" was first used in The Big Bang Theory tenth season episode "The Escape Hatch Identification", when Sheldon sarcastically referred to Raj's dog as such.

Alternate reality [ ]

Tribble on Delta Vega

In the alternate reality , Montgomery Scott had a tribble at his station on the Delta Vega outpost in 2258 . ( Star Trek )

It was revealed in IDW's " The Truth About Tribbles, Part 2 " that tribbles do not reproduce in cold temperatures, explaining the sole tribble in Scott's station. Additionally, it is possible that Larkin never conducted his experiment in the alternate reality.

A revived tribble in 2259

A year later , Dr. Leonard McCoy injected the blood of Khan into the necrotic tissue of a dead tribble in order to test the regenerative properties of the blood. A little while later, shortly after the death of James T. Kirk , Khan's blood resurrected the tribble in front of a stunned McCoy. McCoy then ordered Khan captured alive so that his blood could be used to the same effect on Kirk. ( Star Trek Into Darkness )

McCoy being aware of the tribbles prior to the start of the alternate universe's five-year mission would suggest the events of "The Trouble with Tribbles" either did not occur in that timeline, or occurred to another vessel. In the prime reality, Kirk's first encounter with Khan occurred well before his first encounter with tribbles.

See also [ ]

• Tribble Cereal
• Tribble Cereal Super Salon
• Tribble neuterator
• Tribble razor

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• TOS : " The Trouble with Tribbles "
• TAS : " More Tribbles, More Troubles "
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek Generations (display graphic)
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• " The Nagus " (display graphic)
• " Trials and Tribble-ations "
• ENT : " The Breach "
• " Context Is for Kings "
• " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry "
• " Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum "
• " Despite Yourself "
• " Red Directive "
• " The Trouble with Edward "
• " Ephraim and Dot "
• PIC : " The Bounty "
• " No Small Parts "
• " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers "
• PRO : " A Tribble Called Quest "

Background information [ ]

The homeworld and original scientific name ( polygeminus grex ) for the tribbles appeared on the chart in Keiko O'Brien 's classroom on Deep Space 9 . The chart artwork, contributed by DS9 art department illustrator Doug Drexler , are the same component illustrations he had originally prepared for the fan-published Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual in 1976, then reprinted in 1978 as a licensed book by Ballantine. A different scientific name, Tribleustes ventricosus , was given in " The Trouble with Edward ". Since that episode also saw the creation of a new Tribble variant incorporating Human DNA, the later polygeminus grex name might reflect this change.

The story "The Trouble with Tribbles" was intended to tell was writer David Gerrold 's re-interpretation of the rabbit population explosion in Australia . The now-apocryphal Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual refers to this event too, connecting it with the k'nurt blight on Vulcan and the destruction caused by tribbles on Sherman's Planet, in the text "quoting" the data on "Parasites" from Volume 17 of the Star Fleet Guide To Alien Life.

In the audio commentary for "More Tribbles, More Troubles," David Gerrold explains that the idea for tribbles came from a fuzz-ball keychain owned by a college girlfriend of his, named Holly Sherman (for whom Sherman's Planet is named). He also mentions that Wah Chang hired a woman named Jacqueline Cumere to make five hundred tribbles for "The Trouble with Tribbles," and explains the procedure for making them. He had previously so explained in his autobiographical book The Trouble with Tribbles: The Birth, Sale, And Final Production Of One Episode . This book also described his fears of having plagiarized the Martian Flat Cat from The Rolling Stones , written by Robert Heinlein, and noted that Ande Richardson, operational producer Gene L. Coon's secretary, had both eased that worry and relayed Heinlein's request (which was granted) for a copy of the script.

Tribbles are made from a piece of "figure-eight shaped" fake fur, sewn up to make a ball about five inches in diameter. The ball is filled with foam rubber; some tribbles were made by sewing a decapitated walking toy dog inside the fur skin, and the toy activated to make the tribble crawl, as revealed in a DVD text commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda for "The Trouble with Tribbles." Gerrold's aforementioned book, in the chapter "Tribble-Making," had previously described the procedure.

Sound Editor Douglas Grindstaff was involved in creating the noises made by the tribbles. Producer Gene Roddenberry first showed Grindstaff a tribble prop and they discussed how they should tackle the creation of the different sounds made by the creatures. There had to be sounds for their various moods, such as for a very comfortable tribble as well as a fearful or disapproving tribble, rearing up and away from someone it didn't like. There also had be sounds for different quantities of tribbles. " I found a dove 'coo,' I flipped the track over, and shaved off part of it with a razor blade, " Grindstaff recollected. " I then made a loop out of it, put it on a variable speed machine, and changed the pitch of it to different frequencies. Then I chose those frequencies I liked the best and decided which ones I would use in each spot. I then went to a screech owl for the sound of the tribble rearing up, took the screech owl and played with it and got variations of it. Then I took a bunch of little balloon sounds, where you'd get a balloon and rub it, and we mixed that with other little squeaky sounds that we had in the library, playing with all these at variable speeds, mixing them and making new sounds out of them, and putting them all together until we came up with the various composite sounds used throughout the whole show. " ( The Star Trek Interview Book , p. 236)

During filming of "The Trouble with Tribbles", one of the better-known Star Trek "bloopers" occurred when guest star Ed Reimers , at the time best known for his commercials for Allstate Insurance, which ended with him cupping his hands and saying the catchphrase " You're in good hands with Allstate, " was tossed a tribble prop during a take of his scene, prompting him to make the same gesture with his hands while holding the tribble and proclaiming, " You're in good hands with tribbles. "

Following the making of "The Trouble with Tribbles," tribble props were repeatedly found around the set of Star Trek 's original series . Commented DeForest Kelley : " We'd had these tribbles everywhere. They had them in the prop room and they kept showing up here and there for weeks after we filmed the episode. A tribble might show up as an extra breast on Nichelle [Nichols] or something like that. I guess everybody was still kind of tribble happy and every time we got to work a tribble in somewhere, we were working them in. Instead of pulling out a communicator , somebody would pull out a tribble. They'd continually pop up somewhere. Pull out a drawer and somebody would reach for something and there'd be a tribble there […] It took weeks to get all the tribbles off the set. " Kelley also remembered that – in a scene of an episode that he reckoned was "probably" " Journey to Babel ", where his character of Dr. McCoy was meant to be making a surgical incision in another character – he (as Dr. McCoy) apparently removed a tribble from the patient after making the incision, an action that provoked much laughter on the set. ( The World of Star Trek , 3rd ed., p. 86)

Having appeared as Klingon captain Koloth in "The Trouble with Tribbles," actor William Campbell was made aware of how extremely popular the tribbles were with fans. " The actors weren't really the stars of the show, those little animals were, " Campbell opined. " They really intrigued whoever watched it. One little girl even made a tribble and sent it to me. " ( The World of Star Trek , 3rd ed., p. 121)

Another homemade tribble was created for Terry Farrell by her grandmother, during her childhood, long before she portrayed Jadzia Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ; a frequent viewer of TOS, Farrell kept her tribble toy in her bedroom, by a television set. ( The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine  issue 2 , p. 56)

Director Joseph Pevney once speculated that, if tribbles had been proposed to make their debut appearance during the third season of the original series rather than the second , the idea would have been rejected, due to the regular cast becoming increasingly concerned about being seen as the heroes of the series. Pevney argued, " The hero of the show was a little fuzzy animal, and they don't want that. They want to constantly be the heroes. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 48)

In "More Tribbles, More Troubles," the tribbles appear pink in color. Unknown to the rest of the production staff, the director, Hal Sutherland , was color-blind, so to him, pink was light gray. Given that the plot of the episode involved the creatures being genetically reengineered, this had little impact on continuity.

According to the audio commentary for " How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth ", David Wise mentions that for Kukulkan's zoo , " If you were to read the original script, we had animals, various life forms from earlier episodes of the live action Star Trek . There was a tribble, a couple of tribbles in one cage, there was a Horta from "Devil in the Dark" [sic] in another cage, they were supposed to be reference, the various menagerie of characters who had appeared in earlier Star Trek s. "

Harve Bennett once characterized the tribbles in Star Trek III as "Christmas stocking presents to the fans " and went on to say, " That's, 'Hey, kids, you came to see the movie, here's a treat, it's our joke.' " ( The Star Trek Interview Book , p. 271)

In the first draft script of TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", " Oh, tribbles " was an exclamation uttered by Wesley Crusher . ( Creating the Next Generation , p. 69)

An edible tribble was designed to be ripped open as a snack by one of the Klingon guards on Rura Penthe in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , filled with gummy worms and tapioca "guts," but it was not seen in the movie, as it was thought to be too disgusting. A scepter that Rura Penthe's commandant carries has fur that was scripted to be from a tribble. ( The Making of the Trek Films , 3rd ed., p. 129)

Some of the most memorable ways in which tribbles are featured in " Trials and Tribble-ations " were devised by DS9 writing staffer Ronald D. Moore . These ideas included tribbles being tossed out of the storage compartment bin from "The Trouble with Tribbles" by one of the DS9 crew – hitting Kirk on the head with them – and another tribble actually being what is more-or-less a disguised bomb. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion , p. 384)

In the first draft script of "Trials and Tribble-ations", a hypothetical evolutionary link was made between tribbles and Trill symbionts , as some xenobiologists had apparently theorized that tribbles were "distant evolutionary cousins to Trill symbionts. "

Gary Monak with some motorized tribbles from "Trials and Tribble-ations"

The tribble props for "Trials and Tribble-ations" were obtained from Lincoln Enterprises before it became the "Store" section of Roddenberry.com. Prop master Joe Longo later recalled, " We bought 1,400. … [They] only had about 600 there and had to make up some more – it took two weeks. And then we had to make up some in Drapery; we didn't have enough of the large ones. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 110 , p. 55)

DS9 special effects supervisor Gary Monak and his team of live effects artists at Paramount were tasked with matching the actions of operable tribble props in "Trials and Tribble-ations" with the equivalent props of thirty years beforehand. This was despite the fact that the DS9 episode features more moving tribbles than there are in "The Trouble with Tribbles". Reported Monak, " We're having about 50 different moving ones made up; they're all pretty much like crawlers or wigglers, the one that's supposed to jump when it sees Klingons is a remote control one we've made. " The workings inside the latter prop consisted of a variable-speed wheel with an off-center gearing. ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 110 , p. 58)

Worf actor Michael Dorn hated tribbles, much like how his own Klingon character felt about the species. " It's just this whole cute thing, " Dorn expressed in disgust. " It just drives me up a wall. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 32, Nos. 4/5, p. 93)

Tribbles were mentioned in a 2004 treatment in which J. Michael Straczynski and Bryce Zabel outlined their plans for a reboot Star Trek TV series that ultimately went undeveloped. In the document, the tribbles were once again depicted as encountering the Enterprise , Captain Kirk, and the rest of the ship's crew, though in a new story. The treatment also pondered about the creatures, " What if they came equipped with an agenda, an attitude…and teeth? " [1]

Writer/producer Roberto Orci once claimed that, at least to Humans, tribbles are "potentially poisonous, like blow fish (a common reference to the fishes properly called "puffers," some species of which are toxic)." [2]

The tribble in the film Star Trek was operated by remote control, used by a production staffer standing just out of the camera's line of sight. ( Star Trek  Special Edition / Three disc Blu-ray documentary featurette "To Boldly Go") Similarly, the tribble in Star Trek Into Darkness was a puppet operated by Director J.J. Abrams , from under a table which the tribble sat on. ( enhanced commentary , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek: The Compendium DVD special features)

A tribble was included in Star Trek: Discovery at the request of Akiva Goldsman . [3]

A prop book called The Trouble with Tribbles , part of a set named after iconic Star Trek: The Original Series episodes, was also created for Captain Philippa Georgiou 's ready room . While some of these books appear to have made it on screen, it is unclear if this one did.

Two tribble fur balls were sold together in the 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection auction for US$4,800. The lot had been estimated to bring in only between US$800 and US$1,200. These tribbles were made for the DS9 outing "Trials and Tribble-ations" and were also used in the bazaar scene in ENT : " Rajiin ".

The condition of being born pregnant occurs in some existing Earth species through the phenomenon of telescoping generations .

During the scene in "The Trouble with Tribbles" in which McCoy describes how tribbles reproduce, he describes them as "bisexual". Although the meaning was different than that usually ascribed to the word today, it was one of the first times the word was uttered in a US network TV series. From context, it seems he is actually suggesting the tribbles are hermaphroditic , with each individual carrying aspects of both biological sexes.

"The Trouble with Edward" establishes that there are at least two varieties of tribbles, and that only the genetically-engineered variety reproduces rapidly. While it can be expected that this version dominated the population between the destruction of the Cabot and the completion of the Klingon extermination campaign, any on-screen instances of tribbles which are not seen to be overrunning their environment may be the non-engineered, safer version.

Apocrypha [ ]

According to the Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual , the mutual dislike between Klingons and tribbles has to do with the fact that both species have keen senses of smell, and apparently, each found the "stench" of the other extremely unpleasant. Tribbles also found food using their sense of smell.

A promotion for the photonovel The Trouble with Tribbles in the back of the previous book, Where No Man Has Gone Before , describes tribbles as being between three and seven inches long.

According to FASA 's The Federation sourcebook, tribbles are native to the planet Jorindas, which is the fourth planet in the Beta Vertis system.

In the novelization of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan , when McCoy gives Kirk a birthday present, Kirk (under the influence of Romulan ale) asks, " ...is it a tribble?! "

In the TOS short story "The Trouble with Borg Tribbles" from the anthology book Strange New Worlds V , the crew of the Gr'oth tried many methods to rid themselves of the Tribbles, but none fully successful. They then attempt to pack hundreds into life pods and eject from the ship. One of the pods goes through a micro-wormhole and ends up in the Delta Quadrant , where it was discovered by a Borg cube . This was the Borg 's first contact with life from another part of the galaxy. The Borg assimilated the surviving Tribbles, only to find that their instinctive drive to eat and procreate was starting to overwhelm the hive mind, causing a widespread series of malfunctions.

In the Pocket TNG novel Q-in-Law , Q taunts Worf by offering him a tribble as a present. Worf shares most Klingons' instinctive loathing of the creatures, a fact later confirmed in " Trials and Tribble-ations ".

In the Pocket DS9 novel The Big Game , Odo does not allow a tribble to be brought onto Deep Space 9 until it is confirmed to be sterile. The novel takes place well before the events of "Trials and Tribble-ations" in which DS9's Promenade is briefly overrun by them.

In the DS9 comic Nobody Knows the Tribbles I've Seen set after the events of "Trials and Tribble-ations", the senior staff sat around a table at Quark's during the cleanup effort on DS9 and discussed their various theories and supposed experiences regarding the origin of Tribbles, how the Klingons got their head ridges, and why the Klingons and Tribbles hate each other so much. Their speculations included the Tribbles being the cause of the ridged-forehead Klingons, among others.

In Star Trek Online , the tribbles' tranquilizing effect on the nervous system is used as a healing factor during gameplay. They can also be bred by introducing them to various foodstuffs, giving the player access to different subspecies of tribbles that bestow different benefits. They also seem to spontaneously breed if there is at least one in the player's inventory and a food source is available. Special tribbles have become a common reward for either testing major updates (called seasons) or, more recently, logging onto the game near the beginning of a season. These tribbles typically give buffs against a major enemy of the season. The game's test server is named Tribble.

The virtual collectible card battle game Star Trek: Rivals has a tribble from Iota Geminorum IV as card #1.

In the 2013 video game Star Trek , tribbles are found in various places that Kirk and Spock travel. Scott also recounts a story in his commentary about an outbreak of tribbles at Starfleet Academy .

External links [ ]

• Tribble at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Tribble at Wikipedia
• 2 Bell Riots
• 3 Daniels (Crewman)

Star Trek Online

Originally posted by x1Heavy : I just throw them into the floor of the common space inside Fleet Space Dock. I dont bother with them anymore.

Originally posted by Clarimonde : Don't KDF characters have optional duty officer assignments on their ships to make tribble kebabs and baked tribble consumables?

Originally posted by x1Heavy : I saw the Original back in the black and white TV days as a child. We all did. It was such a wonderful fun little episode.

Originally posted by delta : I was looking on the wiki about tribble breeding...when it lists a bunch of food items to breed the next tier tribble, does it mean I need all of those items or just any one of them?

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Tribble Farming

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Summary [ | ]

Tribble Farming is a phrase which commonly refers to certain methods of finding or growing Tribbles , usually for purposes of gaining Gold-Pressed Latinum . Not to be confused with Tribble Breeding done to gain higher tier Tribbles for increased buffs.

Details [ | ]

Tribble Farming is normally done on characters that are part of the Klingon Empire to take advantage of the Tribble Bounty assignment available from Klingon Security Officers on Ganalda Station, Deep Space Nine and Qo'nos First City.

Typical Tribble Farming requires the following:

• At least one Cannibal Tribble , available from the Exchange or by feeding any Tribble a Baked Tribble or Tribble Kebab .
• Food and/or drink consumables, available from the Exchange, the Replicator or dropped randomly by ground enemies.
• Tribbles, both for the Cannibal Tribble to consume and for purposes of breeding more Tribbles. (For breeding purposes, specialty Tribbles such as the Gamma Quadrant, Triolic, Cryo or other such Tribbles are recommended as they will not be consumed by the Cannibal Tribble)

Every hour on the hour, when Tribbles breed, Cannibal Tribbles feed and consume one Tribble per Cannibal Tribble, producing the item Tribble Carcass . Once a player has ten (10) Tribble Carcasses in their Inventory, they can take them to any of the aforementioned Klingon Security Officers and use them in the Tribble Bounty assignment, success in which rewards 1000 Gold-Pressed Latinum.

Notes [ | ]

• Baked Trible and Tribble Kebab are available through the Exchange or by supplying Tribbles to the Cook in the ship's Mess Hall or through the Duty Officer Console.
• Players using the playable Federation Klingon C-Store species will find that, despite their faction, Tribbles react to them as they would as a KDF Klingon and provide no buff, but that they are unable to access the Tribble Bounty assignment at Starfleet Security Officers.
• 2 Playable starship
• 3 Lobi Crystal Consortium