Cardassian History (Part Seven): Cardassia and the Dominion (continued)
In 2000, Last Unicorn Games, the publisher of the Icon-based Star Trek role playing games, was bought by Wizards of the Coast, with a number of titles under production. After losing (then) trademark owner Paramount's license, these unpublished writings reverted to the contracted authors. The editor of one collaborative effort, Kevin Thomas, has granted his permission to re-present selected materials from The Cardassians (Book 1), self-published in 2001.
The following is the final part (of seven) on the history of the Cardassians.
Cardassia and the Dominion (continued)
The Coming of the Dominion
In 2373 a large Dominion Fleet emerged form the wormhole. Most of the Alpha Quadrant thought the invasion had finally come. But on Cardassia Prime, Dukat’s allies were preparing the way for Cardassia’s return to greatness. Members of the Detapa Council were placed under house arrest and Dukat’s supporters in the military ensured that any resistance to the coup-d’etat was swiftly dealt with.
Dukat met with the Dominion force and lead it to Cardassia Prime. He proclaimed himself to be the new leader of Cardassia, a Cardassia proud to be a member of the Dominion.
The old regime was ruthlessly swept away by the Dominion. Jem’hadar troops were used to destroy the Maquis in the Demilitarized Zone. Dukat and his Vorta counterpart, Weyoun, began preparing for war. Dominion facilities were constructed to breed Jem’hadar and build ships. Cardassian vessels were refitted and equipped with Dominion munitions.
The Dominion negotiated non-aggression pacts with several interstellar powers including Bajor and the Romulans. The Federation and the Klingons were excluded. They were the Dominion’s choice of opponents.
The War Begins
For months Dominion reinforcements continued to come through the wormhole. The Federation knew that they could not allow this to continue if they were to withstand a Dominion attack. So they began construction of a sophisticated minefield at the entrance of the wormhole.
The Dominion could not allow completion of the minefield, so they attacked the USS Defiant as it laid the mines. While Dominion Fleet was engaged, Starfleet ships destroyed the Dominion shipyards on Torros III. Although undeclared by both sides, the war had begun.
The Dominion/Cardassian alliance had seized Terok Nor after it had been abandoned by the Federation. It was here Dukat and Weyoun established their headquarters, while their engineers attempted to bring down the minefield.
For three months, the Cardassians and their allies scored victory after victory. Dozens of worlds fell to their troops. But the minefield remained in place, preventing the arrival of vital Dominion reinforcements and essential Ketracel White.
When Stafleet learned that Cardassian engineers had discovered how to bring down the minefield they mounted a desperate attack. The Federation failed to breech the alliance’s lines until their Klingon allies joined the fray. The USS Defiant entered the Bajoran wormhole, where Captain Benjamin Sisko convinced the entities that resided within the wormhole to destroy the Dominion ships in transit.
Terok Nor was once again abandoned to the Federation. Gul Dukat’s daughter Tora Ziyal was a casualty of the withdrawal. He himself was captured, apparently mad with grief.
During a brief lull in the conflict, Legate Damar, became ruler of Cardassia. He was Dukat’s former secondin- command, so to outsiders his rise to power seemed natural. However the Dominion ensured that his succession went smoothly, for they believed he could be easily manipulated.
Cardassia and the Dominion again pressed their advantage. Their offence took them close to the Federation core worlds. When Betazed fell, the alliance was within in striking range of Vulcan, Tellar, Andor, and Alpha Centauri.
Back and Forth
When the Romulans joined their old adversaries Federation and the Klingons, it gave the beleaguered Starfleet ships and crews chance to recuperate. The fleets of Romulan battleships, all fresh and undamaged, stopped the Cardassian/Dominion alliance in its tracks.
For several months the outcome of the war seemed to be balanced on a knife-edge. The Federation and Klingons took the Cardassian world of Chin’toka, while the Dominion seemed ever closer to capturing Vulcan.
After months of secret negotiations, the Breen joined the Dominion/Cardassian alliance and the war seemed to be won. Starfleet and the Klingons were powerless in the face of the Breen energy-dampening weapon.
The End of the War
When the Klingons counter-attacked at Septimus III, the Dominion refused to send reinforcements. The entire Eleventh Order, over half a million Cardassians, was wiped out. Damar realized that the Cardassia and the Dominion were not allies. In fact, Cardassia was a member of the Dominion and would be used to further the Founders’ ends.
Damar began a resistance movement. Initially his operations failed, but with the help of a former Bajoran resistance fighter, Kira Nerys, he learned how to conduct a guerrilla war. One of the first successes of his resistance movement was to capture a Breen energy-dampening weapon for the Federation.
When the Federation/Klingon/Romulan fleets were protected against the Breen weapon, the Dominion pulled back behind Cardassia’s original borders. But the three races began a massive offensive. Their aim was to destroy Cardassia’s and the Dominion’s ability to wage war.
When the fleets clashed in the Getha system, the Cardassian ships turned on their Dominion allies. Furious, the Founder leader ordered the extermination of the entire Cardassian population. Following her orders, the Jem’hadar massacred 800 million Cardassians and razed two-thirds of the cities on Cardassia Prime.
Damar himself led the assault on the Dominion headquarters. This resulted in his death, but not before he enabled the renegade Changeling Odo to beam down and convince the Founder leader to surrender.
Armistice and Beyond
The terms of the Treaty of Bajor meant little to Cardassia. For a nation brought to its knees, there is little prospect of waging war. For a people mourning for their slaughtered race, reparations are irrelevant. In the aftermath of the destruction of their homeworld the Cardassians face the monumental task of rebuilding their civilization and their empire. But a greater challenge faces them, too. They must rebuild their society.
Several groups vie for power and influence on Cardassia Prime. Whether the Democratists have their way and revive personal freedom, the Militarists restore the power to the armed forces, or others rise to prominence, the most successful faction will determine the course of future Cardassian history.
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