House Arterius

***Dik*** ***Arteriyas**,* known in Federation Standard as **House Arterius**, was a secret cabal within the Cardassian Union. Organized by Legate Harrl Matan during the Dominion War, the group was named after Tririm Arterius, the first leader of the Cardassian Guard.

## History

After the Triple Alliance retook Deep Space 9 in early 2374, Matan's frustration with Gul Skrain Dukat boiled over. Matan was both older and of a higher rank than Dukat, and the legate felt severely slighted when Dukat managed to place himself at the head of the Union. No longer trusting in the leadership of the Cardassian Guard, the Union, or their supposed Dominion allies, Legate Matan gathered a few of his most trusted officers to organize a secret cabal. Named House Arterius, members of the group believed themselves to be the last true and loyal Cardassians.

Shortly after its formation, House Arterius members began stockpiling ships and materiel in the Maelstrom, a volatile region of space that had remained relatively unexplored and uninhabited. Arterius forces encountered the Kessok during that time and through fearmongering and subterfuge, established an alliance with the isolated species against the encroachment of the United Federation of Planets into the Maelstrom.

While Matan and his followers did not align with the ideals of the Cardassian Liberation Front, House Arterius covertly assisted where they could in order to free the Union from Dominion influence. When the Dominion War ended with the devastation of Cardassia Prime, Legate Matan retreated to the Maelstrom. One of his chief lieutenants in House Arterius, Gul Terbom Kentar, remained on the homeworld, embedded in the leadership of the Cardassian Guard.

Federation expansion into the Maelstrom began in earnest in 2376 and proved a threat to House Arterius efforts in the area. Matan believed that the group was unprepared at that time to take control of the Cardassian Union. Moving quickly, Matan developed a plan to destabilize the region and keep the efforts of House Arterius a secret. In April 2377, Matan ordered the destruction of the Vesuvi system's star using technology acquired from the Kessok. The destruction of the star caused chaos in the Maelstrom and allowed House Arterius forces to escalate their timetable in the Union.

The Fourth Borg Incursion in July 2377 provided enough distraction for the main forces of House Arterius to foment an uprising within the Cardassian Guard. Led by Gul Kentar and supplied by the Romulan Star Empire, the coups took control of Cardassia Prime and attacked the Federation shipyards at the Pearl Nebula. House Arterius did not count on the fierce resistance of the Klingon forces under the leadership of Chancellor Martok. Though Kentar and his forces attained some victories, they were eventually pushed back to their base in the Hurik system before being utterly destroyed. Their rebellion lasted a little over six weeks.

Enraged at the failure of Kentar's campaign, Legate Matan refocused on the Maelstrom, determined to annihilate all Federation, Klingon, and Romulan forces in the area before moving to retake all former Cardassian territory.

## Appendices

### Connections

**Notable spacecraft:** CUV *Damar* • CUV *Letau* • CUV *Taced* • CUV *Tain*

**Spacecraft classes:** *Brinok* • *Damar* • *Detapa* • *Galor* (*Keldon*) • *Ghemor* • *Groumall* (*Tuffli*) • *Hideki* (*Yukuwa*) • *Kulinor* • *Rasilak* • *Sartan* • *Thakliv* • *Vasad* • *Vidren* • *Vystan*

**Facility classes:** *Cefta* • *Nor*

### Sources consulted

* House Arterius article at *Memory Beta*.