"....We had an Empire to protect. We needed your resources... Everything I did was for the greater glory of Cardassia!!" -Aamin Marritza

A civilisation that lives to further the glory of Cardassia by any means necessary, whether it's via sabotage, intrigue, or genocide....

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

The centre of the Cardassian Union is their homeworld Cardassia Prime, situated 'west' of the Federation (see Astrometrics for star maps). In centuries past, the Cardassians were seen to be peaceful and spiritual people, living for the land, with ideologies of cooperation and benevolence. But things were forced in another direction when much of the planet was plunged into poverty and disease. Radical action was required for survival, and all governments were unified under one single tyrannical, fascist body where masses were put second in favour of industry, expansion, and conquest.

The Cardassian genetic heritage is closely linked to the reptilian kingdom. By their nature they are cold blooded, and as such favour warm temperatures and high humidity. Prolonged exposure to the cold can result in extreme discomfort, and ultimately, death.

For five centuries, the governing authority of the Union has been the Detapa Council, which encompasses its two principal agencies The Central Command -the military, and The Obsidian Order -security. Although in practice both are administered by the Council they operate virtually autonomously, and bitter rivalries and disagreements have on many occasions arisen between the two, in matters related to both power and resources. The military employs the common structure of the chain of command, with a Legate being approximate to an Admiral, a Gul a Captain, and a Glinn a Commander or Lieutenant.

The criminal justice system in the Cardassian Union is extremely swift, and severe. A criminal must be found guilty before going to trial, which is nothing more than an informal judicial hearing to re-affirm the person's guilt. Such proceedings are presented as a fascist tribunal, spinning propaganda on State powers and the futility of opposing the system. The 'defendant' is then led away for sentencing, which in many cases is a simple, arbitrary death sentence. In such hearings the defendant is expected to 'defend' themselves, and evidence is not allowed to be presented for inspection until the hearing -after they'd already been found guilty, and the punishment decided. Such a harsh system serves to frighten the Cardassian people into obedience and to assure them that no criminal act can go unpunished. Such 'trials' are broadcast globally, so each and every citizen can fully appreciate the sagacity and effectiveness of the authorities and their legal system.

The Order makes it mandatory for each Cardassian citizen to have a molar extracted in childhood for cataloguing purposes, and all are kept on record as a means of identification, and to some degree nearly all adult citizens are scrutinized, tracked and observed. Security and control is strict, and internal surveillance is as big a part of normal operations than foreign espionage. 

In the early 24th century, first contact with a civilization bordering Cardassian space was made. The Bajorans were none too keen on Cardassian approaches, and when co-operations were not reached, Cardassian forces moved in, subjugating and enslaving the local population, forcing them to work for the Cardassian military machine by cultivating crops for them, various forms of brutal forced labour, and the endless processing of ores and other commodities, of which Bajor was richly endowed.

Of significant interest to the Cardassians were the devices of worship utilized and revered in the Bajoran religion. Called Orbs, they were believed to originate from their Gods themselves, the Prophets, and they possessed some remarkable properties. On opening the Orb box and staring into the object's incandescence, visionary and prophetic events could be witnessed. Some believed them to be actual communication devices to the Prophets who resided within the mythical 'Celestial Temple'. Various Orbs were duly confiscated and transported back to Cardassia for analysis.

One of the driving motivations behind the Cardassian psyche is to force the enemy to accept the fact that they cannot win, and that the Cardassian being is superior. This alone if not satisfied could guarantee one's execution, or at least a severe beating. To expedite this task on a global scale the Bajorans were driven into utter submission, with horrifying ethnic cleansing regimes being implemented with the loss of millions, and in many respects the Bajoran people were tortured to the degree of abandoning their Gods, and giving up on all hope of salvation. Very little could be done by the Bajorans to resist the invaders on a wide scale as they were greatly outmatched, but small and dangerous resistance cells eventually sprang up, and after a significant period of occupation lasting 30 years, and through the indirect support of the Federation which were waiting in the wings to help, the Cardassian military were forced off Bajor, leaving a broken, fragmented and dispirited people behind.

Throughout the middle of the 24th century, the Union was involved in a long drawn out conflict with the technically superior forces of The United Federation of Planets. Ever since first contact with this organization during the Bajoran occupation, mutual mistrust and disagreements over territory had been common place. The war effort cost the Union very dearly, as the fleets were severely depleted, resources became low, and hundreds of thousands were lost. 

On the verge of defeat, a truce was reached and new non-aggression treaties agreed on. It was not something the Union was happy to offer, it was little better than a surrender, but it was absolutely necessary if they were to regroup and move forward. It was a political decision that saved the Cardassian Union.

After the war was over, and the treaties were signed, a special 'Demilitarized Zone' was installed. This was analogous to the Romulan and Klingon Neutral Zones, and ships from neither side were permitted to enter the zone, and in this area the installation of military complexes, such as outposts, were prohibited. Though the treaties did not cater for the totality of each side's requirements, for, as territorial boundaries were redesigned it was found that certain colonies from both parties would end up on opposing sides. Federation citizens who found themselves on the Cardassian side refused to recognise the treaty, and in protest established a controversial 'Maquis' terrorist unit, encompassing multiple cells with ships and technology. As Federation citizens with constitutional rights they believed their requirements had been neglected by treaty agreements, and they received numerous threats of forced relocation from the Cardassian military. Their plight would prove to be popular enough to win the support and sympathy from many unlikely sources as they waged their own personal war and sabotage related agendas against the Cardassians. It would be a sustained and relentless campaign that would ultimately prove the gravest of headaches for both sides.

TECHNOLOGY

Cardassian starship technology is considered to be somewhat less advanced than their Federation and Romulan contemporaries. Their foremost Heavy Cruisers are the Galor Class warships, whilst being highly manoeuvrable, they are slower, and have less effective shielding and less efficient sensors. They possess disruptor beam and plasma weaponry, but the disruption potential is slightly lower than Federation equivalents. These shortcomings were a significant contributing factor to the less than glorious conflict with the Federation throughout the middle of the century.

Most other scientific fields are comparable to that of the Federation, though the Cardassians are skilled in metallurgy and material sciences, utilizing highly robust Duranium alloys in general construction. Cardassian transporter technology is in many cases still thought to be employing active-feed pattern buffers, being a slightly slower and less efficient method of control in the rematerialization sequence. Though it can be generally expected that the Cardassian scientific establishment have gained a fairly equal footing in recent years after allying themselves with the Dominion - such technological assistance would've been necessary in order to sustain an effective war campaign against their galactic neighbours.

Throughout the Union the Cardassians maintain a wide network of Starbases, called 'Nors'. Both Empok and Terok Nor were employed near the borders of Cardassian frontiers. Being robustly constructed with reinforced duranium alloys they served as key military strongholds, and excelled in defence due to their multiple, heavily loaded plasma torpedo turrets.

Many of the Bajoran prisoners were put into forced labour under brutal regimes aboard ore processing facilities on Terok Nor. After endless strip mining of the Bajoran homeworld below, raw materials were transported aboard the station for processing. At peak efficiency during the occupation nearly twenty thousand tons of Uridium ore could be treated and prepared for shipment in a single day, as labourers, both men and women were relentlessly worked around the clock. Failure to comply to the demands and whims of their Cardassian overseers meant certain death, for them and sometimes their families, as man power was seen as an expendable commodity. It was an irony though that after the occupation, Terok Nor went into the ownership of the Bajoran Military, and was commanded by a principally Starfleet crew, that moved in to help midwife the Bajorans out of their apocalyptic aftermath and into a new and prosperous era of interaction and possible future membership of the Federation. Terok Nor, or the renamed Deep Space Nine became a key role in diplomacy and strategic operations after the discovery of a stable wormhole in the Bajoran system. It was through this wormhole that the Dominion threat was located...

RECENT DIPLOMATIC AND MILITARY MATTERS

When it came to military matters, there was one seriously restricting concession the Obsidian Order had to abide by, and that was the unconditional prohibition of starships and certain other military hardware. But in 2371, after illegally constructing their own fleet of vessels, the Order launched a preemptive strike against the Dominion after joining forces with the Romulan security agency the Tal Shiar. It was a disastrous failure as more than 150 Jem'Hadar warships were concealed in a nearby nebula in the home system of the Founders. The resulting battle decimated forces on both sides, and both the Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order were left in ruins. This defeat seriously weakened the Cardassian Union, and was something they'd dearly regret over the coming years.

As the Dominion presence in the Quadrant grew, the Cardassians found themselves centre stage of the crisis. But it will be viewed by history that one of the severest errors made by the Union was to ally themselves with the Dominion....

After a period of political instability and public unrest, it became inevitable that something had to give. And in 2372, a civilian coup overpowered the military, and the Detapa Council ended up taking sole charge of Union affairs. It was feared by external onlookers that Dominion spies, in the way shapeshifters had taken control, and the Klingon Empire decided to act quickly and invade Cardassia to take control of the situation. Gul Dukat, an influential member of the military, and key figure of the Bajoran occupation helped the Dapata Council escape the clutches of the Klingon persecutors, and with the Federation's aid it was determined that the Council were not Founder infiltrators.

Dukat soon took the leadership of the Union upon himself and in secret forged the unholiest of alliances with the Dominion. Such a union, he thought, could only make Cardassia stronger, possibly invincible. The inevitable war which followed began well for the new alliance, but things soon started to turn sour, as the Union found themselves to be in a similar position to the Bajorans, as Cardassia was occupied and their fleets and resources were arbitrarily exploited and squandered.

Matters had also been complicated when the Romulan Empire suddenly and inexplicably abrogated their treaty agreements, and joined the allied forces in the war campaign. Suddenly the Dominion/Cardassian alliance was facing fleet upon fleet of enemy ships from all sides, and military resources were being spread very thin, for the much needed Dominion reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant, encompassing nearly 3000 ships, mystifyingly disappeared en route through the Bajoran wormhole. It turned out to be the bitterest of blows.

There was slight respite in the way of Breen involvement in the conflict, as the Founders were successful in gaining their support. But it was not long before Federation scientists gained the upper hand by developing a system to combat the Breen's advanced weapon systems.

In realising the futility of the situation, and the absence of any concern for his people by the Founders, it wasn't long before the newly appointed military leader Legate Damar (pictured) stood up to the Dominion oppressors, overseen by the Founder's Vorta representative, and inspired an uprising by the Cardassian people. The punishment for the rebellion was severe, as entire Cardassian cities fell overnight, with the death of nearly a billion, but this single action turned the war in the allies favour, and the Dominion's days in the Alpha Quadrant were ultimately numbered...

The Cardassian people now nurse the ruins of an empire left ravaged by the war. It will take a huge effort to rebuild their cities and reestablish industry with a strong economy, these are priorities that come before the reconstruction of the fleet. It may be some time until The Cardassian Union becomes a viable power once again.

Romulan Star Empire   Federation   Klingon Empire   Ferengi Alliance

Dominion   Borg   Others...