Federation History

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The Federation was formed in the year 2161 after the Earth-Romulan War. The first years of the Federation were relatively uninteresting. The Federation really did not get to be a true super-power until the 23rd Century. In 2218 first contact with the Klingons was made. (Note: The new series 'Enterprise' is apparently going to change this. This is one of many continuity problems in Star Trek and if this is true it is quite a major continuity strike.) However relations between the two nations did not degenerate into cold war until C. 2223. Hostilities remained for the next 70 years. (Note: Spock said in 'The Undiscovered Country' that there had been hostilities between the two powers for 70 years, however this could be attempting to suggest that it was at First Contact and Spock could of just been 'rounding off') A major flash point in these hostilities was the battle of Donatu V between the Federation and the Klingons in 2242. In 2245 the USS Enterprise (registry number NCC-1701) is launched. The ship is commanded by Captain Robert April. It will become the most famous ship in Starfleet history and inspire a whole line of ships which still exist in the year 2377. In the year 2264 Captain Kirk is given command of the USS Enterprise and begins a historic 5-year mission of exploration. In 2266 the Romulan Star Empire sent a small Romulan Bird-of-Prey across the neutral zone which attacks and destroys several Federation outposts. The ship is armed with the first known cloaking device and plasma torpedoes. The USS Enterprise successfully disabled the Romulan ship stopping the attacks. In 2267 the USS Enterprise attempted to stop the Klingon Empire from attacking the seemingly humanoid Organians. It was later revealed that the Organians were in fact powerful non-corporeal life forms who imposed the Organian peace treaty upon the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The Organians predicted that the two powers would become friends. The Organians are surprisingly correct. In 2268 the Enterprise once again confronted the Romulans when it headed into Romulan space. Captain Kirk is successful in capturing a Romulan cloaking device, a major intelligence coup for the Federation. The Federation discovers at the same time that the Romulans are using Klingon vessels. This is because of a new Klingon-Romulan treaty where the Romulans gain the Klingons far more advanced ships and the Klingons gain the Romulan cloaking device. The treaty is possibly a way to 'protect' against their mutual enemy the Federation. In 2269 the Enterprise's 5-year mission of exploration came to an end. And so ended one of the greatest chapters of Starfleet exploration. In 2292 the Klingon-Romulan Alliance was broken up. This no doubt had something to do with a major battle led by Kor of the Klingon Empire in 2271. It had always been a shaky alliance to say the least. The alliance is broken under unknown circumstances, what is known is that the Romulans and Klingons remain blood enemies to this day. In 2293 the Klingon Empire and the Federation signed the Khitomer Accords. Although there is resistance from members of both sides, not to mention the Romulans who wouldn't like to see peace between their two greatest enemies. In 2311 the Tomed Incident occurred. The Romulan Star Empire kills thousands of Federation citizens. Afterwards the Treaty of Algeron is signed by both parties. This treaty bans Federation use or development of cloaking technology and reinforces the Romulan Neutral Zone, making entering it an act of war. (Note: Not that this stops the Federation and the Romulans crossing it every 5 damn minutes!) The Romulans enter a period of isolation which they will not come out of for 53 years. In the year 2344 the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) helped to defend a Klingon colony on Narendra III from Romulan attack. (Note: I have not placed the story of 'Yesterday's Enterprise' on here as the Federation does not know it happened and in any case this is the end result. How it all happened does not matter so much). The ship is destroyed in the process but the Klingon Empire and the Federation become allies until the temporary Klingon withdrawal from the Khitomer Accords in the year 2372. Around 2347 the Cardassian Empire declared war on the Federation. In 2347 the Cardassians attack Setlik III the USS Rutledge responds but is too late to stop the massacre of almost 100 Federation citizens. In C. 2353 the Federation began war with the Talarians. The Federation wins easily but the Talarians remain aggressive towards the Federation to this day. In the year 2363 the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) is launched. In the 2364 Captain Jean-Luc Picard is given command, on its first mission the Enterprise makes first contact with the Q continuum a powerful race of god-like beings. The Enterprise is the fifth ship in its historic line. In early 2364 the Enterprise made first contact with the Ferengi as well as the Tkon Empire. Although the Ferengi originally see the Federation as a threat they later decide that the Federation can easily be manipulated into buying things and thus allow the Ferengi to make a hefty profit. In the same year Starfleet was infiltrated by an alien intelligence, this alien intelligence takes over the bodies of humanoid hosts. The aliens are almost successful until the Enterprise manages to kill the mother creature. Late 2364 the Borg attack Federation and Romulan colonies along the neutral zone. At the time the Federation and the Romulans do not know it is the Borg. However the incident pulls the Romulan Star Empire out of its 53 years long period of isolation. In 2365 the Enterprise made first contact with the Borg, the Borg nearly destroy the Enterprise and the Federation prepare for the inevitable invasion. In 2366 the Enterprise received a Romulan defector known as Admiral Alidar Jarok he leads the Enterprise into the neutral zone in search of a 'hidden base'. It is eventually found to be a ruse to test the loyalty of Admiral Jarok and to plunge the Federation and the Romulans into war. However with the help of three Klingon vessels the Enterprise is able to avert war. Admiral Jarok realised he could never return home and killed himself, leaving the Federation without the information they may of got out of the Admiral. In 2366 a peace treaty between the Cardassians and the Federation is signed. Yet another such treaty is signed the following year. In late 2366 the thing Starfleet feared most happened. The Borg invaded Federation territory. 40 Federation and 2 Klingon vessels attempt to defend Earth at Wolf 359. In the aftermath 39 Starfleet vessels are destroyed and over 11,000 Starfleet personnel are killed. The Borg cube is eventually destroyed in Earth conflict after the USS Enterprise transmits a command to destroy the cube. In late 2367 the Klingons started a civil war. In 2368 the Federation helped Chancellor Gowron win by stopping secret Romulan supplies getting to Gowron's enemies the Duras Family. In late 2368 the Federation discovered that aliens from Devidia II were travelling back in time to 19th Century San Francisco and killing people. The crew of the Enterprise managed to stop this happening. In 2369 the Federation was wrongfully informed that the Cardassians were creating biological weapons on Celtris III. The information later turns out to be a plot to allow the Cardassians to take over planet Minos Korva. The USS Enterprise under the temporary command of Captain Jellico is able to stop this happening. Also in 2369 the Cardassians leave the Bajoran sector and relinquish control to the Bajorans. The Bajoran provisional government asks the Federation to help them recover by taking control of ex-Cardassian station 'Terok Nor' which the Federation renames 'Deep Space 9' the Federation discovers a stable wormhole in Bajoran space. In late 2369 the Federation discovered evidence of a second Borg attack. It was later learned it was in fact an individual Borg faction under the control of Lore. The independent Borg were eventually stopped when Lore was killed by his 'brother' Lieutenant Commander Data. In 2370 evidence was exposed that continued use of warp travel was damaging sub-space. A Federation wide 'speed limit' of Warp factor 6 is introduced. Later in 2370 a Starfleet conspiracy to create an illegal phase cloak was discovered. This would of been a huge breach of the Treaty of Algeron. The first activities of the Marquis occurred in 2370 rebelling against a Cardassian treaty with the Federation which gave their homelands to the Cardassians. In late 2370 the Federation made first contact with the Dominion. In the incident the Federation loses the USS Odyssey. (Note: 2370 could be considered the year that the Federation became less than perfect. The Maquis and the USS Pegasus certainly confirm this although Star Trek won't get hugely dark until DS9's fourth and the year 2372 season with Admiral Leyton's coup.) In early 2371 the Federation discovered the leaders (or 'founders') of the Dominion were Changelings. The people which Deep Space 9 security officer Odo belonged to. The USS Defiant is attached to Deep Space 9 to defend against the Dominion threat. Later that year the Romulans attempted to destroy the Bajoran Wormhole but were stopped by the personnel of Deep Space 9. Later that year the Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order attacked the Founders planet. The attack was a failure when the fleet was attacked by 150 Jem'Hadar attack fighters. In late 2371 the Federation averted war with the Tzenkethi when a changeling impersonating Ambassador Krajensky tried to persuade the crew of the USS Defiant that the Tzenkethi were going to attack the Federation. The changeling was eventually killed by Odo. In early 2372 the Cardassians government was overturned by the Detapa Council who seized power. Cardassia now had a civilian government. Fearing the Dominion was responsible for this the Klingons invaded Cardassia. The Federation objected against this and Chancellor Gowron cut of diplomatic relations with the Federation as well as attacking Deep Space 9. The war with the Cardassians stopped when the Federation threatened to join on the Cardassians side but Klingon/Federation tensions became almost as bad as before the Khitomer Accords. Later on that year Starfleet Admiral Leyton created a military coup on Earth to 'protect' it from the Dominion. However the coup had the ethical problem in creating marshal law in 'paradise' meaning that paradise wasn't paradise anymore. At the end of 2372 Gowron of the Klingon Empire declared war on the Federation. (Note: For no particular reason.) Odo, security officer of DS9, was being judged by the great link for having killed a founder and is given the mistaken idea that Chancellor Gowron is a changeling impersonator. When Captain Sisko of DS9 lead a crack team in 2373 to stop the war by revealing this. Odo realised than Gowron wasn't in fact the changeling, General Martok was. The Martok changeling was killed by Klingon disruptor fire. A cease fire was called although it didn't last very long as a small skirmish occurred on Ajilon Prime. However after that war was stopped. Later that year the Borg attacked Earth again and tried to interfere with Zephram Cochrane's warp experiment. However the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) was able to stop it. Soon after the incident Cardassia, battle scarred by Marquis attacks and the Klingons joined the Dominion. The Federation and the Klingons resigned the Khitomer Accords so that they could defend against the Dominion. It is ironic that fear of Cardassia being under Dominion control took them apart from one another but knowledge of Cardassia being under Dominion control thrust them back together. (Note: Ironic? I think so.) The Maquis were slaughtered and the Klingons were driven back into their own space by the Dominion fleets. The Federation fearing war prepared for the worst. The Dominion knew war was coming and offered non-aggression pacts to most of the Alpha Quadrant. Among those that accepted were Bajor, the Tholian Assembly and the Romulan Star Empire. In late 2373 the Dominion attacked and captured DS9, however the Federation managed to destroy a key Dominion shipyard in the process and cut of Dominion access to the Gamma Quadrant by mining up the Bajoran Wormhole. Despite this the war was hard on the Federation/Klingon alliance and during the first three months they were pushed back more and more. Even when the Federation destroyed the Dominions main ketracel white supply facility the Dominion kept pushing. However the Federation managed to retake DS9 prompting the Dominion to retreat and regroup. Despite this the Dominion began to gain ground again and eventually took key Federation member Betazed. To be able to win Starfleet Captain Ben Sisko tricked the Romulans into thinking the Dominion were about to attack them. The Romulans who up to now had stayed out of war managed to push the Dominion back once again and in the Battle of Chin'Toka the Federation/Klingon/Romulan alliance managed to capture a key Cardassian system despite the presence of some nasty defences. The Federation/Romulan/Klingon alliance continued on to the end of the war. As the end of the war drew near the Breen joined the Dominion. The Breen retook Chin'Toka and even attacked Earth. However the Dominion could not realise the implications of this. The Cardassians felt they were no longer Dominion partners and started a resistance group headed up by Damar. The Federation sent Major Kira Nerys to help with this but the Dominion always regarded it as something of a joke. Eventually however the Federation/Klingon/Romulan alliance managed to attack Cardassia Prime. In the final battle the Cardassians realised they should not be attacking the Federation but that they should attack the Dominion. On Cardassia Prime Damar's resistance group managed to cut of communications with the surface but the Founder Leader, when communications were restored ordered the deaths of all Cardassians. In the crossfire Damar was killed and the Cardassian Union lost the best leader they never had. Odo linked with the Founder leader curing the disease inflicted upon her by covert Federation authority, Section 31, and also giving her his view of solids. The founder saw that solids were not her enemy and surrendered agreeing to stand for war crimes. With the Cardassian fleet helping the alliance managed to win the war. Although there were many casualties no one power lost as much as Cardassia, in the aftermath it is unlikely that Cardassia will ever be a true superpower again. Ex-Obsidian Order member Garak stayed on Cardassia to help bring it out of its horror.

In 2377 the USS Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant after being stuck in the Delta Quadrant for 7 years. The ship brought much with it, including maps of the Delta Quadrant, information on various races and scientific anomalies, new technology including stuff from the Borg and many other things.