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HISTORY
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The Cardassian Union has been the most unstable
of the Alpha Quadrant powers. Introduced to viewers in TNG's "The Wounded",
they quickly established themselves as one of the most brutal and devious
enemies of the Federation. But they weren't always like this...
Long ago, the Cardassians were peaceful, spiritual
people. They collected some of the best works of art in the entire Quadrant,
along with Jewels and other treasures, and it was home to many legendary
ruins and treasures, but the planet itself was devoid of natural resources.
Within years, the population was starving to death and disease was rampant.
There seemed to be no end to the suffering. |
| The Military, (which would become
known as the Central Command) had grown upset at how weak their culture
had become, and seized control. They proposed that the only way Cardassia
could survive was to expand. Soon, warships were invading nearby worlds
and stealing their resources, territory and technology. The Union began
to grow stronger, as its borders expanded. The planet which suffered the
most from the Cardassian re-birth was Bajor. The Bajorans, like the Cardassians,
were peaceful, spiritual people. When the Cardassians came to their world,
the Bajorans accepted the promises of help and support from their neighbors.
The Cardassians annexed Bajor, and 50 years of occupation began, during
which an estimated 10 million Bajorans lost their lives.... |
| Sometime before the year 2347, the
Cardassians tried to expand their territory into Federation space. Soon
war broke out, to date, the exact reason why this war started has never
been stated, but the fighting continued for over 20 years. |
|
The Bajoran citizens were not content to rely
on their Prophets to see through the brutal occupation of their homeland.
Over the years Resistance Groups, like the Shakaar, had sprung up, and
conducted terrorist activities against the Cardassians. While the Central
Command was successful at taking the majority of Bajor's resources, the
constant attacks by the Resistance were slowly beginning to effect public
opinion back home on Cardassia Prime.
By 2367, the Union had become very strong, but
not strong enough to overpower Starfleet, and negotiations were called
to end the War. Eventually a peace treaty was signed, but there was a serious
lack of trust within Starfleet about the true motives of the Cardassians
- some people thought that they only signed the treaty so that they could
regroup and rearm their forces for a new assault on Federation Space. On
Stardate 44429.6, Captains Picard and Maxwell discovered that the Cardassians
were making preparations to launch an attack against the Federation, once
this was discovered by Starfleet, the Union backed down, for now. |
| On Stardate 46360.8 the Cardassians
designed an elaborate trap for Captain Picard by leaking disinformation
to Starfleet. The Union hoped that Picard would know Starfleet's defense
plans for Minos Korva, a Federation planet close to the Cardassian border
which the Union attempted to annex during the war. Their plan was partially
successful - they did manage to kidnap Picard, but were unable to gain
the defense plans. The Cardassian Interrogator ignored Interstellar law
and tortured Picard to get the information. The Captain was only released
after a Cardassian Invasion fleet was threatened with destruction by Starfleet. |
Around this time, the Cardassians
had grown weary of the Bajoran terrorists, and the leaders back home gave
the order to withdraw from Bajoran space. Some officers in the Central
Command were furious, the withdrawl not only left many remaining resources
on Bajor, but they also left a Mining Station called Terok Nor in orbit
over the planet. The Union carried out its promise however, and ended
the occupation of Bajor. The Bajoran Provisional Government, aware that
their shattered world was defenseless, asked the Federation to establish
a Starfleet presence within the Bajoran System. Starfleet agreed,
and on Stardate 46379.1 the Federation and Bajorans were in control of
the old Mining Station - which was retitled Deep Space Nine.
| Soon after the withdrawl, Starfleet officers
from DS9 discovered one end of a stable wormhole within the Bajoran
System. The other end emerged 50,000 light years away in the Gamma
Quadrant, an area unexplored by any Alpha Quadrant race, and no doubt full
of new treasures and resources. Thanks to Starfleet, Bajor was able to
claim the rights to the Wormhole - or as the Bajorans called it, The Celestial
Temple. |
 |
Just over a year later, the Cardassians were nearly
successful in forcing Starfleet to leave Bajor by helping a Bajoran extremist
group oust the Provisional Government from Power, which would have left
Bajor wide open for the Cardassians to reclaim the system, and the Wormhole. |
| About 4 months later, the Cardassians
and the Federation agreed to 'redraw' the border between the two powers.
This realignment left some Cardassian planets in Federation Space, and
vice versa. People on both sides had to be re-located, and a buffer
zone between Cardassian and Federation space was set-up. This was
called the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). |
| Hard-liners within the Union were
unsatisfied with this agreement, and Cardassian operatives began doing
all they could to make life uncomfortable for the Federation colonists
living close to the Cardassian side of the DMZ in hopes that they would
leave their homes and allow the Union to reclaim them. This attempt to
gain new territory would eventually backfire on the Cardassians, the Federation
colonists were already angry that their own Government had betrayed them,
and the Cardassian attacks were the final straw. They created the Maquis,
a new terrorist group and began carrying out attacks against the Cardassians. |
 |
On Cardassia Prime, the Cardassian Intelligence
Service known as the Obsidian Order, was slowly gaining power, to the point
that not even the Central Command were always aware of what the Order was
up to. On Stardate 48467.3 the Maquis grew worried about reports of a secret
Cardassian fleet which was going to be used against them. A Federation
Starship was temporarily captured by During this time, and it was revealed
that the Order had a fleet of top-of the line warships under their control.
This was against an agreement made between themselves and the Central Command.
Despite this the Order appeared to answer to no-one.
The Order came to a unexpected end when it joined
forces with their Romulan Counterparts, the Tal'Shiar, and began a pre-emptive
strike against the new enemy from the Gamma Quadrant; The Dominion.
The joint attack was a complete loss destroying the Obsidian order and
severely weakening the Tal'Shiar. But the loss of the Obsidian Order
sparked new hope within the Cardassian Underground Movement which soon
pushed the Central Command out of power. A new Civilian Government
was established, the leaders of which were called the Detapa Council. |
| On Stardate 49011.4, The Klingon
Empire believed that the Detapa Council had been infiltrated by the Dominion,
and a Klingon fleet lead by General Martok, launched a full scale invasion
of Cardassia. While the invasion was eventually aborted, the after-effects
would leave a lasting impact. For the first time in decades the Cardassian
Union was in a weakened state. Several of the outer colonies had been captured
by Klingon forces, most of the fleet had been destroyed defending the homeland,
and the economy was shattered. |
All of this meant that the Cardassians
had to request help from their old adversaries, the Federation. Luckily,
the vast Alpha Quadrant alliance agreed, and soon Starfleet was escorting
Ship Convoys and giving the Union Industrial Grade replicators to replace
those lost in the Klingon invasion. However, the Maquis, who had taken
advantage of the Union's misfortune would be successful in claiming some
of the replicators for themselves.
 |
By Stardate 50013.9, the Klingons had declared
War on the Federation. Soon afterwards, it was discovered that one of the
Dominion Founders had infiltrated the Klingon Empire. This Founder had
not only been responsible for encourging the war to start, but had also
encouraged the Klingons to invade Cardassia for the Dominion's own ends.
With this discovery the Federation-Klingon War was over, but Klingon forces
still occupied Cardassian Space.
Unknown to most people, an ambitious Cardassian,
Gul Dukat, was carrying out secret negotiations which would result in the
second resurrection of his people... |
Shortly after Stardate 50560.1, news reached Starfleet
personnel on DS9 that a Dominion invasion was imminent. Captain Sisko,
the CO of DS9, prepared to close the Bajoran wormhole to prevent the Jem'Hadar
from entering the Alpha Quadrant. However, a Changeling which had replaced
Dr. Bashir sometime earlier, sabotaged the closing of the passageway, enabling
the Jem'Hadar fleet to enter the Quadrant. |
At this point, everyone
thought that the Dominion would attack DS9, Bajor, or some other planet
within the Quadrant. Gul Dukat soon made the situation clear for everyone
when he revealed that he had been conducting secret negotiations between
the Cardassian Union and the Dominion - and seven days earlier, Cardassia
had agreed to become part of the Dominion. Dukat then left the Bajoran
system in his Bird-of-Prey, along with his new friends, the Jem'Hadar.
| This news came as a great shock to most Cardassians,
and there was another surprise to follow when Gul Dukat made himself
the leader of the Cardassian Union. On his way back to Cardassia, he explained
to his people, and to the rest of the Alpha Quadrant, why he had made his
people into Dominion Citizens : "You might ask, should we fear joining
the Dominion. And I answer you: Not at the least. We should embrace the
opportunity. The Dominion recognizes us for what we are, the true leaders
of the Alpha Quadrant. And now that we are joined together, equal partners
in all endeavours, the only people who'd have anything to fear would be
our enemies. My oldest son's birthday is in five days. To him, and to Cardassians
everywhere, I make the following pledge: By the time his birthday dawns,
there will not be a single Klingon alive inside Cardassian territory. Or
a single Maquis colony left within our borders. Cardassia will be made
whole, all that we have lost will be ours again. And anyone who stands
in our way will be destroyed. This I vow with my life's blood, for my son,
for all our sons." |
 |
Once the Jem'Hadar arrived in Cardassian space, they
kicked out the Klingon forces which had occupied Cardassian territory for
the last 18 months. Dukat then attempted, along with his Dominion friends,
to trigger a supernova explosion of the Bajoran Sun, which would have destroyed
DS9, Bajor, and a large Federation/Romulan/Klingon fleet in the area at
the time. Thanks to some good timing from Starfleet personnel trapped within
the Gamma Quadrant, the Dominion's plan failed. |
The countdown to a Federation-Dominion
war had begun... 5 days after Dukat's speech, the Maquis were slaughtered
by the Dominion (DS9 Staff Writer Ron Moore has said that at this point,
the DMZ no longer exists). The Cardassian people and military meanwhile,
started the adjustment of living under Dominion rule. However, not all
Cardassians were pleased with what Dukat had done. One of them was Tekeny
Gremor, a friend of DS9 First Officer Kira Nerys and a former Legate who
had been forced to flee Cardassia when his connections to the underground
movement were discovered by the Obsidian Order 2 years ago (DS9's "Second
Skin").
 |
Kira thought that Tekeny Gremor would be able
to lead an opposition movement from DS9 for other Cardassians who were
also unhappy to be Dominion citizens (broadcasts into Cardassian space,
to correct Dominion propaganda, etc etc) However, Tekeny Gremor was dying,
thanks to natural causes. Dukat arrived at DS9 to persuade Gremor to spend
his remaining days back home, and the Gul brought with him the Dominion's
liaison to the Cardassia Union, a Vorta called Weyoun. While at the station,
Dukat attempted to kill Gremor to stop him telling Kira about Dukat's enemies
on Cardassia. Dukat's attempt failed, and Gremor was able to tell Kira
a great deal of information more before he died of natural causes. |
|
 |
Weyoun returned to Cardassian space, picked up
Dukat and a large Dominion/Cardassian fleet, and headed back to the Bajoran
system to help Dukat 'regain' Terok Nor - preferably before Starfleet had
time to finish laying the cloaked, self replicating minefield. While the
attempt to take the station was successful (Starfleet's personnel leaving
in the process), the Dominion failed to stop the minefield being activated.
Over the next three months, the Dominion and Cardassians
were winning the war to such an extent that is seemed only a matter of
time before the Federation would have to surrender - at least, that's what
Dukat thought. However, there were the odd signs of tension between the
Cardassians and their new friends - Weyoun had to stop Dukat from ordering
his forces to occupy Bajor during the retake of the station, and later
the two men disagreed about the Bajoran security forces being allowed back
onto DS9 - Weyoun won that argument as well. The Vorta, and a female Changeling
who arrived on the station shortly after Stardate 51145.3, were also displeased
at the amount of time it was taking Dukat to bring down the minefield which
was preventing thousands of Jem'Hadar ships from joining the war effort. |
It was thanks to Dukat's aide, Gul
Damar, that a way was finally found to dismantle the minefield, despite
an attempt by a Ferengi on the station to sabotage the equipment needed
for this task. Field tests for destroying the mines were successful a few
days later, and around this time, Dukat and Weyoun discovered that the
Federation were upto something. They suspected that Starfleet would attempt
to retake the station before the minefield came down, and they were right.
| A large Federation fleet was met a few light
years from DS9 by an even larger Jem'Hadar/Cardassian fleet. Battle commenced
and Dukat was still confident of victory at this point. Even when the U.S.S.
Defiant (Captain Sisko commanding) broke through the Jem'Hadar/Cardassian
fleet, a Dominion victory still looked likely, as the minefield was finally
dismantled and 2,800 Jem'Hadar ships prepared to enter the Alpha Quadrant.However,
Dukat's hopes were shattered when Captain Sisko managed to use his influence
as the Emissary of the Prophets to persuade the wormhole aliens to make
the Dominion's reinforcements disappear. Worse was to follow for Dukat
when Damar killed his daughter, Tora Ziyal, for helping a resistance group
led by Major Kira to escape from custody. Gul Damar, Weyoun and the rest
of the Dominion and Cardassian forces withdrew back to Cardassian territory
as Terok Nor was left to the Federation to reclaim as DS9. Dukat suffered
a mental breakdown thanks to the events leading upto this defeat and he
stayed on the station as a prisoner of war. |
 |
Damar quickly settled into his new role as the leader
of Cardassia, but Weyoun was the person with the real power behind the
throne, and he was the driving force behind the Dominion's attempt to gain
some more Ketracel White for the Jem'Hadar. With the Prophets preventing
any further ships passing throuth the wormhole, the Dominion met the Federation
for 'peace talks' which were eventually called off. Dukat escaped
from Starfleet custody while being transported to Earth for trial. |
| Later on, a Cardassian defector contacted
Starfleet - the defector had information regarding the whereabouts of the
Founders throughout the Alpha Quadrant. He was killed by the Jem'Hadar
while waiting for two Starfleet Officers to meet him in Cardassian space.
The Cardassian dream to rule the Alpha Quadrant
then suffered another setback when the Romulans broke the non-aggression
pact they had signed with the Dominion towards the end of last year. Romulan
Warbirds attacked 15 outposts along the Cardassian border, and joined the
Federation and Klingon war effort.
 |
The war changed once again when the Breen joined
the Dominion side and once again pushed the Federation allied forces back,
and destroyed the USS Defiant in the process. Damar, upset at being
a Dominion puppet, and now having to take a back seat to the Breen opted
to defect to the Federation. The UFP and it's allies once again pressed
forward to re-take the lost areas. Dukat once again turned up on
Bajor, in disguise, and seduced Kai Winn. He convinced her to renounce
the Prophets and embrace the Pah Wraith. With her help they planned
to travel to the Bajoran Fire Caves to release the Pah Wraiths and destroy
the Celestial Temple. At the same time, Damar, Kira and Garak began
plotting a revolution on Cardassia. |
The Federation, Romulans and Klingons planned for
a final assault as the Cardassian and Breen forces fell back within Cardassian
space. Damar, Kira and Garak began stirring up problems on Cardassia
by staging a series of "visible" attacks against the Jem'Hadar. Damar
became a hero, backed by the general public. As the final attack
on Cardassia drew near, a new "Defiant" was delivered to Captain Sisko
to command, and as the alliance pressed into Cardassian space Damar and
his revolutionaries cut the communications to the Dominion fleet.
With the Cardassian people now in revolt, the Federation and it's allies
pressing foreward, and no way to control her fleet, the Female Changeling
ordered the genocide of the entire Cardassian race, but before it could
be completed, the revolutionaries (minus Damar, who was killed in the last
attack) broke into the Dominion Control room and captured the Changeling.
The attacking forces were suddenly surprised by the Cardassian ships suddenly
turning about to fire on the Breen and Jem'Hadar. With the added
forces the alliance was able to reach Cardassia, and contact Kira.
With Odo's assistance, the Female Changeling ordered the remaining Dominion
forces to stand down. The war was over, but not for Bajor. |
| Dukat and Kai Winn reached the Fire
Caves and began to release the Pah Wraiths. The Prophets, sensing
what was to happen, sent Sisko to stop them. He arrived in the Fire
Caves just as The Pah Wraiths were about to be released. Dukat attacked
him immediately as Kai Winn suddenly had a change of heart, and tried to
prevent the ritual from finishing. Dukat vaporized her as a result
of her interference. Taking advantage of Dukat's distraction, Sisko
lunged at him and threw both of them into the Fire Pits where Dukat was
imprisoned forever with the Pah Wraiths. Sisko, having fulfilled
his mission, was returned once again to the Celestial Temple to meet the
Prophets. He was informed that his work was done and he must now
join them to learn their ways. |
| Date |
Activity or Occurance |
| 2167 |
Burial vaults of the Hebitians uncovered on Cardassia. |
| 2328 |
Cardassia annexes Bajor. Bajorans form resistant
cells to fight against the invasion. |
| 2351 |
Terok Nor was built in the Bajoran system. |
| 2352 |
Cardassian ships pursue the USS Stargazer when
the Federation sent it to open truce talks. |
| 2357 |
Bajoran terrorists attack the Gallitep Labor
Camp on Bajor. |
| 2362 |
Federation settlement on Setlik attacked by Cardassian
forces. |
| 2366 |
War between the Cardassian Empire and the Federation
is ended in the uneasy signing of a peace treaty. |
| Apr 2367 |
Cardassian science station in the Cuellar system
was destroyed by the USS Phoenix, a Nebula Class Cruiser, commanded by
Cpt. Maxwell. This attack was in clear violation of the peace treaty. Cpt.
Maxwell claims that the station was a military transport facility. The
CSV Trager attacks the USS Enterprise in retaliation for the attack on
the science station in the Cuellar system. |
| Jan 2368 |
A terrorist attack destroys a Federation settlement
on Solarion IV. A Cardassian diplomat requests the Federation's help
in tracking down the terrorists. The Empire claims that it is a Bajoran
attempt to draw the Federation into the conflict. The USS Enterprise
claims to have uncovered a plot proving that the Union conducted the raid.
During the confusion Federation Command allowed the Cardassian Empire to
destroy a Bajoran Antares class cruiser. |
| Mar 2369 |
With increased tensions with the Federation,
the Cardassian Union mobilizes a fleet in the McCallister Nebula. |
| Mar 2369 |
Federation infiltration team, from the USS Enterprise,
attacks an installation on Celtris III to confirm reports of biogeneic
weapon manufacturing facilities. Cpt. Picard of the USS Enterprise
was captured and released after questioning. |
| Mar 2369 |
Cardassia withdraws from the Bajoran System,
leaving Terok Nor behind. |
| Apr 2369 |
Gul Ocett of the Science Ministry, uncovers possible
proof that the galaxy was genetically seeded by an ancient race. |
| Aug 2370 |
Federation/Cardassian treaty signed. The
treaty laid out the transfer of control of several planets between the
two empires. A buffer zone was created and designated as the DMZ. |
| Aug 2370 |
In retaliation against the Federation/Cardassian
agreement. Ex-Federation colonists in the DMZ begin to conduct attacks
on Cardassian vessels. |
| Sep 2370 |
Federation forces the move of settlers off of
Dorvan V in the DMZ |
| Apr 2371 |
Federation requests help from the Cardassian
Empire to deactivate a dormant security program on Terok Nor. |
| May 2371 |
USS Defiant stolen by Lt. T. Riker, of the Maquis,
due to a security breach. The Defiant then entered Cardassian space
and engaged several targets. Lt. Riker surrenders to the Cardassians
in a bargain with Captain Sisko of the Federation. Lt. Riker is imprisoned
for crimes against the Cardassian Empire. |
| May 2371 |
Peace talks open between Cardassia Empire and
Bajoran Provisional Government. |
| 2371 |
Joint Cardassian/Rihannsu task force travels
through wormhole to try and destroy the Founders. |
| Jan 2372 |
Klingon warships attack Cardassian space thinking
that the Cardassian Civil War was caused by a Founder take over.
Ends with Cardassia badly beaten and loss of several sectors. Rebuilding
begins... |
| Mar 2373 |
Cardassia closes borders for one year.
NO ships allowed to enter or leave. All diplomats recalled for this
year. No reason given. |
| Mar 2374 |
Cardassia reopens borders, allowing trade ships
to travel. Rumors of what happened in the past year begin to spread.
Several sectors of Cardassian space still remain closed for unknown reasons.
Diplomats return to their posts. |
| End 2374 |
Cardassia / Dominion pact. Dominion War
begins. |
| Early 2375 |
Several races sign non-hostility pact.
Rihannsu begin diplomatic talks with the Dominion. |
| Mid 2375 |
UFP mines entrance to the Bajoran Wormhole.
Dominion take control of DS9. |
| 2376 |
UFP re-takes DS9, Dominion withdraws to Cardassian
space. War ends, Dominion representatives return to Gamma Quadrant. |
