Cardassian History

The Cardassian people are a hardy one with a history of arrogant violence. However like the Roman Empire the Cardassian Union has started to collapse underneath itself. 10 years ago the very mention of Cardassians made almost everybody fear for their lives. Now Cardassians are the Galaxy's charity case living out a meagre existence in their own small quarter of the Galaxy. How did they get like this? Thousands of years ago Cardassia Prime was home to a splendid civilisation known as the First Hebitian civilisation proof of Cardassia's former glory. 800 years ago they were visited by Bajoran explorers using primitive Solar Sail ships. They found a peaceful civilisation, spiritual like themselves. However Cardassia was weak. The planet was poor in resources and famine spread across the planet. Sickened by the weakness of their people the Cardassian military rose up and took over the government of the planet. They plundered the old archaeological sites. They founded an empire, known as the Cardassian Union. The Union captured territories and soon their attention turned to nearby, resource-ridden, Bajor. In 2309 the Cardassians offered assistance to Bajor which was struggling under its own problems. The Cardassian presence was seen as benign and constructive but slowly the Cardassians took over the planet. In 2328 the planet was formally annexed and the time known to the Bajorans as 'The Occupation' began. Huge atrocities against the Bajoran people occurred, and Bajoran resistance fighters struggled against the Cardassians. The fight was seen as hopeless but the Bajorans had faith. Sometime in the late 2340's a war started between the Federation and Cardassia, known as the border wars. In 2347 the Cardassians, fearing a major attack from Federation colony Setlik III, launched a pre-emptive strike on the colony. The USS Rutledge responded to the attack but was unable to stop the brutal massacre of hundreds of Federation citizens. During the war the USS Stargazer once had to escape from Cardassians. Captain Picard, the vessels commander, would later remember it as a horrifying experience. In 2351 the Cardassians built the mining station Terok Nor in orbit around Bajor. Little do the Cardassians know the station will become one of the most influential in Alpha Quadrant history and in a way, will herald the start of the end for the Union. Slowly the Bajoran resistance began to ebb away at Cardassian influence. As the resources on Bajor began to dry up the Cardassians began to consider leaving. In 2367 the USS Phoenix attacked and destroyed a Cardassian station in the Cuellar sector. Gul Macet attacked the Enterprise-D demanding retribution for the destruction of the station. However when Macet and Captain Picard began to talk it is realised Captain Maxwell, who had been at Setlik III years earlier, had his own agenda. Having destroyed two other Cardassian vessels Maxwell was captured and thrown in custody by Picard. Maxwell revealed that he believed the Cardassians were readying an unprovoked attack on the Federation. Picard revealed to Gul Macet that he knew this theory had a basis in fact. In 2368 the colony at Solarion IV was destroyed in a terrorist attack. The attack was blamed on Bajoran terrorists who had taken their fight to the Federation. The Enterprise investigated claims that the attack was the work of the Bajoran Resistance fighter called Orta. When they found Orta he provided compelling evidence that he wasn't responsible. It was learned that the Solarion IV incident was staged by Cardassians attempting to gain support in their fight against the Bajorans. The Cardassians fought, Bajorans died, Cardassians died but the Bajorans never lost spirit. Slowly the Cardassian hold on Bajor loosened. Gul Dukat, commander of Terok Nor and Bajor, himself sent his mistress and his daughter, Tora Ziyal, on a ship to keep them safe. However the Cardassians eye was wandering to Federation territory. In 2369 the Federation got intelligence claiming the Cardassians had metagenic weapons capable of killing all the life on a planet. A Federation crack team of Enterprise crew members, Captain Picard, Dr Beverly Crusher and Lieutenant Worf travelled to Celtris III where the metagenic weapons were supposedly being kept. They arrived on Celtris III where they discovered there were no metagenic weapons. The team was captured. Worf and Crusher were returned to Federation space. Picard on the other hand injured humiliating torture at the hands of Gul Macet who wished to know the defence plans for the Federation planet of Minos Korva. In the event of an attack on that planet the Enterprise was the command vessel. Meanwhile the Enterprise itself had discovered that the Cardassians were hiding a fleet in the McAllister Nebula. An Enterprise shuttlecraft dropped mines throughout the Nebula. Captain Jellico, in temporary command of the Enterprise, told the Cardassian officer to withdraw or he would destroy the fleet. He also demanded release of Picard. The Cardassian leader did as he demanded. Shortly afterwards the Cardassians withdrew from Bajor they wrecked command station Terok Nor, poisoned farmlands and damage Bajoran cities. The Bajoran Provisional Government feeling it needed support asked the Federation to take over running Terok Nor, which the Federation rename Deep Space 9. Shortly afterwards Starfleet discovered the first known stable wormhole in the Bajoran Denorios belt. In early 2370 a Bajoran terrorist underground attempted a military coup to overturn the Provisional Government. However after extensive research from Deep Space 9 Security Chief Odo it was revealed that the weapons used by the Circle were being indirectly supplied by the Cardassians. The circle believed in getting rid of the Federation presence on Deep Space 9. With the Federation gone the Cardassians could of successfully retaken Deep Space 9 with its new importance due to the Bajoran wormhole. Later that year the Cardassian Freighter Bok'nor was leaving Deep Space 9 when it was destroyed. It turned out a group known as the Maquis were responsible. The Federation had given their homelands to the Cardassians in a new treaty and now they fought for ownership of their homelands. They especially fought the Cardassians although the Federation also attempted to stop their former citizens from harming Cardassian-Federation relationships. One of the maquis's first attempted attacks was upon a Cardassian weapons depot which was supplying Cardassians in the Demilitarised Zone. The attempt failed as waiting for them were three Starfleet Runabouts. A battle ensued and Starfleet was victorious. The maquis left the area. At the end of the year first contact with the Dominion was established. Little did the Union know how much effect this would have on Cardassia in the future. In 2371 Deep Space 9 Executive Officer Major Kira Nerys was kidnapped. She was taken to Cardassia Prime where she was told she was a Cardassian agent who had posed as a Bajoran for years. However it turns out to be part of an elaborate plan to expose Legate Ghemor as part of the Cardassian dissident movement a movement which wishes to push power into the hands of civilians, not the militia. A few months later Lieutenant Thomas Riker, by all rights the double of Commander William Riker of the Enterprise, stole the Defiant with aid from the maquis. They believed there was a Cardassian fleet in the Cardassian Orias system getting ready for an attack on the maquis. The Defiant headed for Cardassian space attacking all Cardassians in site. The vessel seemed almost unstoppable. Even when Commander Sisko of Deep Space 9 and Gul Dukat worked together in an attempt to stop the vessel it seemed hopeless. However Sisko managed to negotiate with Riker. Riker's maquis associates would go free, the Defiant would be returned to Starfleet, the sensor scans of the Orias System would be given to Dukat, as he should of known about military activity in the area but Riker would have life imprisonment in a Cardassian prison. A few months later the purpose of the fleet was revealed. A joint Obsidian Order- Tal Shiar fleet entered the wormhole and headed for the Founders homeworld once there they fired upon the planets surface to find....nothing. The Founders weren't there. All of a sudden 100 Dominion fighters ambushed the fleet obliterating it and eliminating both the Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar as significant military opposition to the Dominion and weakening the Cardassian Union and the Romulan Star Empire. At the start of 2372 the Cardassian dissident movement overturned the Central Command government with power finally in the hands of the civilians a new, more benign Cardassia began to form. The Klingons, however, feared the Cardassian uprising was due to the Dominion and believing the Detapa Council were founders prepared themselves for attack. At the start of the year a Klingon fleet based itself at Deep Space 9 under the pretence that it was to protect the position from a possible Dominion attack. However it soon became apparent that the Klingons were using DS9 for a 'last stop' before an attack on the Cardassian Union. The Klingons moved into Cardassian space, quickly breaking through the Cardassian lines of defence. The Federation disapproved of this action entirely but the Klingons broke of the Khitomer Accords, expelled all Federation citizens from their space and recalled all their Ambassadors. As the Klingons advanced to Cardassia Prime the USS Defiant under the command of Captain Benjamin Sisko flew on its way to save the Detapa Council. The council had boarded the Cardassian vessel Prakesh. When the Defiant found the Prakesh it was under heavy fire from a small Klingon taskforce. The Defiant transported the council aboard and fled from Cardassian space heading towards Deep Space 9. When at Deep Space 9 a Klingon fleet decloaked, demanding the return of the Detapa Council. When station personnel refused, the fleet attacked the Federation station. Only through the new weapon systems recently installed on the station did the Federation repel the Klingons. When Station Commander Captain Ben Sisko pointed out that the Dominion wanted to turn friend into foe the Klingons stopped. They halted their invasion but Cardassia was ruined. The Klingons held onto to the territories that they had captured and still attacked Cardassian forces in the area. Cardassia was weak, between the marquis and the Klingons the Union was dying. Later that year the Klingons destroyed the Cardassian outpost at Korma, killing Bajoran and Cardassian officials at a conference. Deep Space 9 XO Kira Nerys was on board the Cardassian Freighter Groumall, narrowly escaping death. The ship's commander, the newly demoted Gul Dukat, decided to gain vengeance for Cardassia. The crew fitted a Type-5 Disruptor from a destroyed space station to the Groumall. Pretending that they held valuable supplies the Groumall acted as bait for the wandering Bird of Prey. It soon came into attack range. It readied to open fire but with several shots of the disruptor the Bird of Prey was taking extreme damage. Two Cardassians beamed aboard transporting the crew of the Klingon vessel onto the Groumall and the crew of the Groumall onto the Klingon vessel. Once on board Dukat ordered the immediate destruction of the Groumall. Dukat decided to become a resistance leader when it was revealed the Detapa Council wished to resolve the conflict with the Klingons via negotiation. Dukat lead a one ship war on the Klingons and as he was using a Klingon vessel, equipped with cloak, he was able to surprise attack many Klingons. Cardassia was still ruined. Broken, destroyed the Cardassian government requested Federation assistance. The Federation kindly provided 12 Industrial replicators for the Cardassian Union on Deep Space 9. However Deep Space 9 Starfleet Head of Security Lieutenant Commander Eddington was in fact a marquis agent. Stealing the replicators he fled Deep Space 9 leaving Cardassia just as ruined as it had been. The Federation in an attempt to help Cardassia repeatedly asked the Klingon government to relinquish control of Cardassian territories they had captured. However instead Chancellor Gowron head of the Klingon government refused and further more demanded the Federation withdraw from the Archanis Sector, a sector of space that the Empire had relinquished claim to long ago. When the Federation did not withdraw the Klingons declared war. As the Federation fought the Klingons continued to advance. It seemed there was no help. However when the war ended (Note: For more information on the Klingon-Federation War see the Klingon History section or ask your local drunken barbarian- i.e. Klingon- about it.) they returned to a state of neutrality but the Klingons still refused to give up their part of Cardassia. In early 2373 the Detapa Council returned one of the Bajoran orbs as a show of trust and friendship between themselves and Bajor. The Orb was later found to be the Orb of Time. During a prophesy in that year the Emissary of the Bajoran prophets, Ben Sisko, saw a vision. In his vision he said "Locusts! They're going to engulf Cardassia! And if Bajor joins the Federation they'll be engulfed too!" Little did he know that Cardassia would join the Dominion barely a month later. In the meantime however the good old marquis had something up their sleeve. They started to hi-jack shipments which could help in the production of biological weaponry to use on Cardassians. In response the USS Defiant deployed biological weaponry on a marquis planet. Only when marquis leader Michael Eddington, gave himself up did Sisko stop using the weapons. Just two weeks later Deep Space 9 received a coded message from the wormhole. Garak, the only Cardassian still living on the station and an ex-obsidian order agent, discovered the message to be from Enabran Tain, former head of the Obsidian Order who had orchestrated the attack on the Founder's homeworld but was believed killed in the attack. Garak and Station Strategic Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Worf headed off to search for Tain. On their way they entered a nebula to find, a fleet of Dominion ships, they came to the conclusion that the Dominion was preparing for an invasion. They got word to DS9 just before they were captured and taken to the same prison as Enabran Tain, General Martok and Deep Space 9 Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Julian Bashir. Bashir had been replaced with a changeling. In an attempt to close the wormhole to stop Dominion forces attacking the Alpha Quadrant, DS9 crew attempted to close the wormhole, however the Bashir changeling changed the beam they were using to make the wormhole never close. A Dominion fleet spilled through the wormhole and all DS9 had to defend itself was it's own weapons, the USS Defiant, Gul Dukat's Bird of Prey, and three Runabouts. The fleet turned towards Cardassia barely acknowledging the existence of DS9 and Dukat's Bird of Prey flew right at it. Kira Nerys, in command of the Defiant pleaded with Dukat to turn around. Dukat revealed he had been in secret talks with the Dominion and that Cardassia had joined the Dominion. When Dukat arrived at Cardassia he made a speech to his people. In it he promised the Dominion would make the Cardassians rulers of the Alpha Quadrant and that by his Son's birthday (three days after the speech) there would be no Klingon alive within Cardassian borders or a marquis colony either. Within three days the marquis were exterminated and a battle-torn Klingon fleet arrived at DS9. Under the belief that the Dominion was going to attack DS9 the fleet and the stations crew prepared for attack. The Khitomer Accords between the Federation and the Klingon Empire were resigned, and the fleet got ready. They detected warp signatures. When they could see no ships they presumed the fleet was cloaked. As all looked lost there was the sound of decloaking ships and there stood several Romulan Warbirds wishing to join the fleet. The Alpha Quadrant was rising up against the Dominion. However the Bashir Changeling was on a Runabout full of explosives headed for the Bajoran sun. When a Runabout carrying the real Bashir came through the wormhole the Defiant chased after it. The Defiant was able to lock a tractor beam on the changeling's runabout propelling it away from the sun where it could explode safely. If the changeling had been successful he would of destroyed the Bajoran system, Deep Space 9, and damaged the Klingon and Romulan fleets. When they scanned the Dominion fleet it was revealed to be a hoax. The Dominion fleet never left Cardassia. As Sisko said to all on Ops: "Armageddon, will have to wait for another day." Dukat and Sisko soon communicated with each other. Dukat said that Cardassia would have DS9, and Sisko basically said over his dead body. Throughout the following months Dominion reinforcements built up the Dominion presence on Cardassia. However soon Legate Ghemor arrived on DS9. Kira Nerys wished him to set up a second Cardassian government on DS9 to upset the government on Cardassia. However Dr. Bashir diagnosed him as having Yarim Fel syndrome, a terminal condition with no cure. Before his death he provided intelligence to Kira about Cardassian security. In an effort to quiet Ghemor, Gul Dukat and one of his Dominion Vorta advisors, Weyoun, arrived on a Dominion Battlecruiser, demanding the immediate return of Ghemor, so that he could be buried on his homeworld. However Ghemor was finally buried on Cardassia, next to Kira Taban, Kira Nerys' father. The constant Dominion built-up of vessels were making much of the Alpha Quadrant nervous. The Dominion were making Cardassia a military strong-hold. Captain Sisko thought enough was enough, he ordered the mining of the wormhole to stop further Dominion reinforcements entering Cardassia. In a bid to secure the easiest fight possible the Dominion offered non-aggression pacts through out the Quadrant. Among those who eventually accepted were the Tholian Assembly, Bajor and the Romulan Star Empire. The Klingons and the Federation could not send reinforcements to Deep Space 9 and so the only defence was DS9 itself, the Defiant and General Martok's Bird of Prey. The battle was hard and rigorous. The Dominion forces were many and were powerful. But there was a surprise waiting for them. They fired upon DS9 and it's shields....held. No Federation shields had been able to hold against Dominion weaponry before. The battle was long, hundreds of Cardassians died but eventually the Dominion was successful in capturing DS9. Because of the political situation, Major Kira, Security Chief Odo, and Bar Keeper Quark stayed on board. As the Federation left DS9, Sisko confirmed that a Starfleet-Klingon taskforce had just destroyed a major Dominion shipyard. The USS Defiant and Martok's vessel the IKS Rotarran flew onwards towards a Federation fleet ready to give the Dominion hell. Unfortunately quite the opposite was in store for the Federation as they got battered for the next three months. Even with the anti-polaron shielding there were just too many Cardassian and Dominion vessels when compared to the Federation's policy of powerful warships. However the Federation didn't have many of these warships and the Dominion blew most of their older ships to smithereens. The Dominion seemed unstoppable. They pressed forward. When the Federation recaptured DS9 however the Dominion pulled back and regrouped into Cardassian space. Blaming the Cardassians the Dominion slowly pulled more power over Cardassia, making Legate Damar, official leader of Cardassia, a technical puppet. The true leaders of Cardassia was the Vorta Weyoun and a Founder. However the Dominion pushed forward, although they blamed every defeat on the Cardassians. However the Dominion were in for a surprise. Out of nowhere the Romulan Star Empire blamed them for the murder of a Romulan Senator. The Empire nullified it's non-aggression pact entering the war. At once the Federation Alliance began to push the Cardassians and the Dominion back. The alliance pushed forward even capturing the Cardassian border system of Chin'Toka. Unfortunately the two enemies became deadlocked. The Alliance wasn't able to capture anymore Dominion territory and the Dominion was unable to recapture Chin'Toka or anymore Federation territory. However as 2375 swept forward the Dominion began dark and sinister negotiations. Lt. Commander Worf was on board a Klingon ship when it was destroyed. Although suspected dead, Lieutenant Ezri Dax of DS9, searched for him, despite orders to the opposite. She soon came upon Worf. And the two came upon a planet where they spent the night. However they were soon captured by the Breen. Knowing little of the Breen they were surprised when they were delivered to the Dominion. And told of a new alliance between the Breen and the Dominion. Legate Damar, realising that the Dominion had conquered Cardassia without even firing a shot finally realised what he had to do. He released the prisoners, telling them they had friends on Cardassia. With the Breen alliance finally revealed, the Breen sprung into action. Almost immediately the Breen captured huge amounts of space even attacking Earth, before launching an attack upon Chin'Toka. At Chin'Toka the Breen revealed their secret weapon. An energy dampening weapon. The weapon rid the attacked ship of energy rendering it defenceless against any weaponry. The Federation lost a lot of good ships in that battle including the USS Defiant. However there were two pieces of shining hope. The Klingons discovered that through a small modification to their warp cores they were immune to the Breen weapon. Although the Klingon Empire, could not defeat the Cardassians, Dominion AND the Breen it did bring time. Secondly a message was broadcasted across the Quadrant by Legate Damar. In it he said that Cardassia had been conquered by it's so called allies. Without even firing a shot Cardassia had become occupied territory, Cardassia was full of Jem'Hadar, Vorta and now, Breen. He encouraged his fellow Cardassians to rise up against the Dominion to form a resistance. The Dominion wanted Damar dead, but the Federation decided to help him. Giving Colonel Kira a Starfleet commission and making her a Commander the Federation sent her, Odo and Garak to help the resistance. The Cardassians in the resistance often disapproved of Kira, although she did a good job, because of her Bajoran origin. However the resistance did a good job of being a small thorn in the Dominion's side, even though the Dominion never truly took them seriously. The resistance began to plan to help the Federation Alliance. The Dominion had recently begun planning to refit their vessels with the Breen energy weapon. The resistance was to capture a Dominion vessel, with such an energy weapon onboard, and deliver it to the Federation. In an epic plan the resistance was successful. And using it the Federation was finally able to defend themselves against the energy weapon. Hearing this had happened the Dominion once again pulled back into Cardassian territory. As Legate Damar went to meet Gul Rovok who claimed to want to join the resistance. This meant he had to get to Cardassia Prime. Using the Dominion fighter the Cardassians had stolen for the Federation the resistance neared Cardassia Prime. They were surprised by Breen vessels which wasted the fighter. Fortunately Damar, Garak, and Kira had beamed down to the planet whereas Odo was being cured for the disease infecting the Founders. The group moved to the house of Mila, the housekeeper of Enabran Tain, the father of Garak. The resistance was in ruins. However the resistance came to new power when Damar stood in the Cardassian streets preaching to the Cardassian people asking them to rise up against their Dominion overlords. And so it began. On the day of the final attack on Cardassia there were mass-power outages across Cardassia as the Dominion planned their attack. With no way to contact their fleet the Dominion was left without a means to defend against the Alliance which threatened them. In retaliation the Dominion destroyed Lakarian City. The city held 2 million Cardassian citizens. Hearing that Damar was in the House of Mila the Dominion sent a squad of Jem'Hadar and Cardassian soldiers to kill Damar and his friends. Just before the Jem'Hadar fired the Cardassian soldiers turned and fired on their Dominion counterparts but Mila was dead. The remaining Cardassians turned to attack the Dominion headquarters. Back at the battle all looked lost for the Federation when suddenly the Cardassians switched sides. With the Cardassians on the side of the Federation the Alliance had the upper hand and the Dominion and Breen retreated quickly towards Cardassia to make their final stand. Back on Cardassia Prime the Dominion angry that the Cardassians had betrayed them threw the new Cardassian leader, Legate Broca, onto the streets, killing him in the process. The resistance fighters outside used the open doors to their advantage. With a call of "FOR CARDASSIA!" the fighters killed the Jem'Hadar. However Damar was also killed in the crossfire and Cardassia lost the greatest leader which never truly lead. The remaining fighters stormed inside killing everybody but the Female Founder. Up above the Cardassians joined the Romulans in the attack upon the Jem'Hadar forces. Odo beamed down to the planet. He linked with the Female Founder, curing her disease and giving her his impressions of solids. The Founder surrendered and the war was over. There are no winners in war, only losers but no one lost as much as Cardassia. Their civilisation was destroyed. Cardassia was a wreck. Truly the Cardassians had lost more than anybody. Chancellor Martok of the Klingon Empire said "Remember these are Cardassians! There are Bajorans who would call this poetic justice!" But truly the Cardassians didn't deserve this. Garak remained on Cardassia to build a better Cardassia. Commandant Terry expects to see the Detapa Council reinstated and Cardassia become more Federation like. The Union needs Federation support in order to survive. However with the Dominion gone, and the maquis exterminated there are truly no major threats to the Union, Cardassia should be able to recuperate. However Garak echoed the sentiments of many Cardassians when he stated that Cardassia will be back, it will never be what it was, but it will be back.