Karemma

The Karemma or Karemman were a spacefaring humanoid species native to the planet in the Gamma Quadrant. They were members of the Dominion. 
==History==
The first relations between the Karemma and the Alpha Quadrant were established in 2370 by the Ferengi. As the Dosi were not able to meet Grand Nagus Zek's request for 100,000 vats of tulaberry wine, they referred his chief negotiator, Quark, to the Karemma, a more prominent member of the Dominion. ()
The Ferengi subsequently began importing tulaberry wine from the Karemma. Through this relationship, Quark arranged a meeting in early 2371 between the Karemma official Ornithar and Federation representatives aboard the , who were seeking to contact the Founders. Ornithar admitted that he knew nothing of the Founders, but did direct the Defiant crew to a subspace relay on Callinon VII. ()
Later that year, a Karemma visited Deep Space 9 and strolled along the upper level of the Promenade. ()
By 2372, the Karemma had begun trading goods such as Karemman fleece with the Federation, through Ferengi intermediaries. Though no Ferengi vessels had been stopped by the Jem'Hadar, the Karemma were frustrated at their profits being sapped by a series of taxes and tariffs contrived by the Ferengi without Federation approval. At the behest of the Karemma Commerce Ministry, a Karemma ship met the Defiant at a remote Gamma Quadrant star system so that Minister Hanok could discuss the issue with Captain Benjamin Sisko and Quark. The meeting was interrupted when two Jem'Hadar fighters attacked; all four ships descended into the atmosphere of a nearby Class J gas giant, where the Defiant was able to destroy the Jem'Hadar craft and rescue the crew of the Karemma ship. The experience led to a breakthrough in negotiations. ()
The Karemma believed that they had nothing to do with the Dominion War, though they were astonished that the "Alpha savages" emerged victorious.
In 2381, Trade Minister Korzak led a delegation to Deep Space 9 to discuss resuming trade with the Alpha Quadrant. The Karemma were skeptical of the talks, and prepared a contingency plan to disable the station's power system in case they needed to evacuate. This came into play when the Karemma discovered that the Quark 2000, an advanced replicator central to the success of the Quark's franchise, incorporated stolen Karemma technology. The Karemma seized Quark and headed for the Bajoran wormhole, but their ship was stopped by Ensign D'Vana Tendi. Once their grievance against Quark came to light, Captain Carol Freeman of the brokered a deal by which the Karemma would receive 76% of the Quark's franchise profits, in exchange for allowing Quark to stay out of prison. Satisfied, the Karemma agreed to renew trade relations. ()
Vice Admiral Les Buenamigo later revealed that he had purposefully set Freeman up by making her handle the Karemma trade negotiations, expecting her to fail which would give Buenamigo the excuse that he needed to discredit the ships and unveil his new automated ship. ()
==Biology==
The Karemma were tall and slender humanoids with thin skin folds around the eyes, nose, and mouth, and a prominent midline ridge extending upward from the forehead. They had dark hair that was combed back. ()
==Society and culture==
The Karemma were an important economic power in the Dominion. They engaged in trade with non-Dominion races, which was overseen by the Karemma Commerce Ministry, housed in the Ministry of Trade on Karemma. Their exported products included tulaberry wine and fleece, and they sold torpedoes to the Jem'Hadar. Their unit of currency was the dirak, and they also accepted latinum. ()
Officially, the Karemma believed that all merchandise had a set fair value, determined by the raw materials and labor involved in its creation, transportation costs, and a reasonable profit margin. They took a dim view of underhanded business practices, believing that greed led to misjudgement and reduced profits. Nevertheless, in actual practice the Karemma have been known to sell substandard goods. ()
The Karemma interacted with the Dominion only through Vorta agents, with the understanding that any disobedience would be punished by the Jem'Hadar. They had no knowledge of who the Founders were or if they even existed. The Vorta had instructed them to direct all further inquiries to an unmanned subspace relay on Callinon VII. ()
== Technology ==
The Karemma maintained their own fleet of Karemma ships and unique technologies. (; )
== Individuals ==
;Named
*Hanok
*Korzak
*Ornithar
;Unnamed
* Unnamed Karemman
==Appendices==
===Appearances===
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===Background information===
"CAR-em-ma" was the pronunciation for the name of this species from the script pronunciation guide for . 
The teleplay of "Starship Down" referred to most Karemma as being "elegant in bearing." The script further commented: "Although the Karemma are mercantilist by nature, they're classy about it: think fine gem appraiser, not used car salesman." 
Karemma characters also appear in the Pocket DS9 s Rising Son and Sacraments of Fire, as well as in the Pocket TNG novel .
===External link===
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Category:Dominion
Category:Species