Cardassian History (Part Six): Cardassia and the Dominion
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 After losing (then) trademark owner Paramount's license, these unpublished writings reverted to the contracted authors.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 sixth part (of seven) on the history of the Cardassians.
Cardassia and the Dominion
In late 2370, while exploring the Gamma Quadrant, the Federation encountered the Dominion, a significantly advanced interstellar power. The Dominion’ response to Bajoran and Federation incursion in the Gamma Quadrant was an aggressive one. Their Jem’hadar soldiers ruthlessly destroyed ships and slaughtered colonists. Every Alpha and Beta Quadrant power sat up and took notice of this new threat.
First Strike
The Cardassians were the first race to take action, albeit in an unauthorized manner. Enabran Tain, the retired head of the Obsidian Order, joined forces with the Romulan Tal Shiar and his former colleagues in the Order. A fleet of advanced Keldon-class ships was constructed and equipped with cloaking devices at the Order’s Orias shipyards. An unprecedented joint fleet of Romulan and Cardassian ships headed for the Founder’s homeworld under cloak with intention of eradicating all life from the planet. However, Colonel Lovok, head of the Tal Shiar force was a Founder infiltrator. The Founders had relocated to another planet and a force of Jem’hadar ships was waiting in ambush. The joint fleet was utterly destroyed.
Revolution on Cardassia
Had the attack on the Founders succeeded, the Obsidian Order would have been able to avoid any political recriminations for its actions. Instead, the Detapa Council was outraged by the Order’s unauthorized action and the Central Command was furious over the Order’s secret construction of warships. The Council and the Central Command began a political battle to control the Order.
With the government in political turmoil, the dissident movement seized its chance. Sympathetic members of the government leaked details of the Obsidian Order’s failure and the military’s defeats to the public. The dissidents began to organize strikes and protests. The Cardassian people gladly joined the demonstrations for they had lived in fear for too long.
The Obsidian Order was engaged in a struggle for survival and it failed to foresee the protests or quickly uncover the ringleaders. The Central Command used troops to disperse the protests and break the strikes, but for every demonstration it stopped two more began.
Word of a huge demonstration to be held in Cardassia City was spread across all of Cardassia Prime. The authorities publicly denounced the protest as illegal and imposed travel restrictions. But millions came from all across the planet, many finishing the journey on foot to avoid the troops that turned back personal vehicles and public transport. Cardassia City ground to a halt.
The protest was centered as close to Imperial Plaza as the military blockades would allow. Leading dissidents addressed the crowd, demanding an end to the Central Command’s stranglehold on the Cardassian government and the Obsidian Order’s repression of the Cardassian people. Day after day more and more Cardassians joined the protest.
After a week the Central Command ordered its troops to end the protest. Armored vehicles and tens of thousands of soldiers took position around the circumference of the demonstration. An announcement was made, demanding that the protestors disperse. Buoyed by their numbers and the spirit of righteous anger, the protesters refused. The Central Command gave the order to begin. But the troops did not move.
When word of the troops’ refusal to end the protest spread, the mood of the protest changed. Suddenly the people realized that they had a chance to act. The crowd stormed the barricades that prevented them from entering Imperial Plaza. Then when they reached the centre of Cardassian government they occupied the ministries and seized the headquarters of the Central Command.
In the wake of the popular uprising the existing Detapa Council was dissolved and an entirely new council was elected. The Council proceeded to reverse the laws that gave the Central Command control over so many functions of the government. The senior members of the Obsidian Order were arrested and tried for crimes against Cardassia. They were found guilty, of course. The Order itself was renamed the Cardassian Intelligence Bureau and brought under the direct control of the Detapa Council.
The dramatic shift in power lead to the opening of a large number of senior ministerial and military positions. Anyone with ambition and a little vesala found that their career could suddenly take leaps and bounds. One such individual was Gul Dukat, who offered his services to the Detapa Council as military advisor.
The Second Klingon War
The people of Cardassia barely had time to celebrate their freedom before the Klingons attacked. The Klingons, like every other Alpha Quadrant power, feared infiltration by the Founders. Chancellor Gowron believed that the new Detapa Council must be Changelings and ordered their execution.
The Klingons strategy was not one of conquest. Instead the bulk of their fleet headed straight for Cardassia Prime. Only the actions of Gul Dukat and the intervention of the Federation ship USS Defiant saved the Detapa Council from the Klingons. When the Klingons realized that they would have to go to war with the Federation to get to the council, they ended the invasion and declared victory.
The Klingons retained several captured Cardassian worlds and continued to engage in raids against Cardassian colonies and shipping. The Detapa Council was too concerned with undoing the work of the Central Command on Cardassia Prime to be bothered with the Klingons.
When Gul Dukat captured a Klingon Bird of Prey, he used it to wage war on the Klingons. He tried to convince the Detapa Council that they must fight, but they would not listen. Determined to restore Cardassia to greatness, Dukat approached the Dominion.
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