History of the Cardassian Union

# Cardassia between 2375 and 2400

## Mid to end of the war

In **2371-11-3** the combined efforts of Tal'Shiar and Obsidian Order aimed at a preventive Strike against the Founders Homeworld. Part of the missions preparation was a contigency plan, Operation Dorgarik Mirdatrel ("Dorgarik" is translateable to "covered", "stealth" or "hidden", while "Mirdatrel" is a word that can be roughly translated to law or code), short "Dor'Mir" , in which a skeleton section of the Obsidian Order would stay behind and, in case the operation failed, would destroy evidence and go into hiding. After the combined fleet arrived in orbit of the Founders' homeworld and was destroyed, Dor'Mir went into action. Noticing the devestations, Obsidian Order Supreme Observator Korinas altered 'Dor'Mir' to a complete dissassemly of the Order but ordered the remaining Operatives assume alternate identities and thus coordinate the future of Cardassia.

When Damar started his rebellion, Ambassador Alethea and her companion Sadira engange in a hidden mission to gain Federation support for the Cardassian Rebellion against the Dominion. They manage to secure important steps towards a cooperation and also transmit critial intel in **2374-03-15**.

## Post War

### Aftermath

The end of the Dominion War left Cardassia Prime and the Cardassian Union severely battered. Estimates suggest a loss of at least 60% of the fleet, coupled with an equal reduction in alloy and production capability. Furthermore, the loss of manpower severely crippled both the economy and the military machine. Conservative estimates indicated that a total collapse of Cardassia's offensive and defensive capabilities was imminent following the bombardment of Cardassia Prime. Only the war's end prevented this downfall.

### Treaty of Bajor

The Treaty of Bajor, which officially ended the war, was drafted without Cardassian participation. This exclusion revealed early fissures in the Federation's diplomatic unity, as several voices advocated for Cardassian involvement but were ultimately overruled. It is believed that this hardline approach stemmed from multiple factors, including appeasing the Romulans and Klingons, as well as fostering positive relations with Bajor.

### Conference for Cardassias Future

The first Conference for Cardassia's Future (CCF) was convened by the victorious powers on Rigel V on November 15, 2375. It tool 20 days and ended in the Rigel Accords. Its purpose was to determine the fate of occupied Cardassian territories and to establish future relations with Cardassia. Although the Cardassians had no official representation, some minor factions that opposed the Dominion sent envoys. However, it was clear that the primary influences were the three great powers (United Federation of Planets, Romulan Star Empire, Klingon Empire) and Bajor. Initially, their positions were incompatible. The Klingon Empire proposed widespread occupation and possibly assimilation of conquered territories, while the Romulan Star Empire demanded substantial reparations. The Federation's stance was initially ambiguous, primarily focused on achieving lasting peace. Federation hardliners suggested that peace could only be assured through occupation of Cardassian space, a notion traditionalists deemed as unethical and contrary to Federation principles. A more pragmatic faction advocated for Cardassia's demilitarization without direct interference in its internal affairs, a proposal that gained some support from Bajoran delegates, though others favored occupation and dismantling of Cardassia. Throughout the conference, Federation diplomats and politicians worked behind the scenes to forge a compromise that ultimately shaped the outcome. This compromise involved no official intervention but linked benefits such as open borders, free trade, and humanitarian aid to Cardassia's commitment to modernization. As these modernization efforts were of little concern to the Klingon and Romulan representatives, the Federation acquiesced to their establishing occupational zones. The treaty's language ambiguously stated these areas were 'under control for an unspecified period' while nominally remaining part of the Cardassian Union. The Cardassian Union, under duress, reluctantly accepted the conference's outcomes and the treaty to avoid sparking a new war with a Romulan-Klingon alliance, a conflict even the most optimistic Cardassian admirals deemed unwinnable. The treaty was signed under protest.

## The Way to the Cardassian Republic

### Depata Council and first political moves

#### Founding of the new Depata Council

In the aftermath of the war, the Depata Council as in its composition before the coup of Gul Dukat takes over gouvernance, accompanied by local governors, generals, and admirals to replace dead members. This new heads included prominent figures such as Elim Garak, who championed a liberal agenda. Garak aimed to fulfill most of the Rigel Accords, seeking to ease tensions between Cardassia and neighboring powers. His opposition included traditionalist Akellen Macet, a cousin of Gul Dukat and a member of the resistance, as well as Gul Madred, a officer of the military secret service who also fought in the rebellion against the Dominion. From a more liberal perspective, Natima Lang also challenged Garak. Lang, pressured by the traders and artisans of Cardassia Prime, joined the committee as a representative of their interests in normalizing commercial relations with the Federation. Her connections with Federation politicians quickly elevated her status and influence within the committee. The council, even if not unilaterally, agrees to all terms placed upon it, hence also consolidating the loss of several worlds to the Klingon empire. The remaining territory is parted with around 1/3 placed under Romulan occupation. The remaining systems, including Cardassia Prime, is prown to reparation payments to the Federation, as well as minor powers. All prisoners of war in Federation territory are returned.

#### Department of Reparation

In the Orbit of Dorvan V, now again in Federation territory, the Cherokee-Space-Sation is build. It housed the Department of Reparation, a Starfleet-Section that should council rebuilding efforts and coordinate humanitarian effort. Three prominent members of the DoR are assigned: The Vulcan T'Kar for military matters, Frelia Ch'Relan for social matters and Jeremia Clark for economic issues. Next to the DoR, Cherokee-Station should house several representatives of non-gouverment agencies, lake the archeologist guild but also the Cardassian Reparation Foundation.

#### Fleet reorganisation

While the Romulans take in cardassian ships as a reparation, the klingons want to disassemble the ships they have optained in the CCF. T'Kar intervenes and buys these vessels, he deems them nessessary for rebuliding efforts and leases them to Cardassia. He also drafts the "Fleet Reorganisation program", with the goal to reuse as many military vessels as civilian ships, while simultaneously setting up a border pratrol. This creates a rift in the Depata council between members of the Cardassian fleet and the civil gouverment about the great military strategy. The discussions end with a compromise in which the military is seperated into several branches: The Cardassian Border guard, comprising mostly of light ships and strongly modeled after Starfleet, the militia which overtakes the older ships for planet securing duties, and the Fast Strike force, which is only called in when one of the other branshes requested them.

### The legitimized council

#### Split of the first Council (2376-03-14)

A key stipulation of the Rigel Accords was the pursuit of war criminals, a prime condition set by Bajor for further diplomatic openings, including mutual passage rights for ships. The Committee found itself in a precarious situation. Hardliners like Madred outright opposed the Rigel Accords, while Macet's faction sought to limit the definition of war criminals exclusively to Dominion collaborators. In contrast, Natima Lang advocated for a comprehensive "cleansing of the past" to address war crimes.

#### Reelection (2376-05-20)

To break the political deadlock, a majority of the Committee decided to hold a public vote that would also serve as an election. This decision was not without controversy, as it excluded planets under Romulan occupation. Additionally, the voting system was based on the traditional six districts of Cardassia Prime, with colonies and other planets in the Union grouped into a seventh district. This arrangement disproportionately reduced the electoral weight of non-Cardassia Prime residents. The media campaign around the vote framed the issue like it was a prerequisite for foreign aid, hence most of the population was more then willing to vote against immunity for the old elites.

The election, held on May 20, 2376, saw the progressive forces led by Garak and Lang securing victories in four of the six districts on Cardassia Prime. The seventh district, representing the colonies and other planets, largely supported the block led by Madred and Macet. The Federation Parliament discussed the election; despite recognizing its flaws, little criticism was voiced, largely due to the satisfactory outcome. The Cardassian Reparation Foundation (CRF) publicly congratulated Lang, having openly supported her as the prime candidate. Mere days after the vote's confirmation, the newly legitimized council initiated the search for war criminals, marking a significant step in Cardassia's journey towards reconciliation and reform.

#### Trial against Madred (2376-08-15)

Just two weeks after the commencement of the prosecutions, accusations were brought forward against Gul Madred for his role as chief of intelligence on Celtis-III. Madred denounced his arrest as a political coup but chose not to flee or call his followers to arms. Initially hailed as a triumph for justice and receiving high praise from Bajor, the trial unexpectedly became a source of damage for Cardassia. Following a proposal by Natima Lang, the trial was broadcast to the public using the infrastructure developed by Nalen Rix's CRF. This decision, intended to promote transparency, had unforeseen consequences. During the trial, Madred skillfully deconstructed the prosecution's strategy, portraying himself as a patriotic figure without remorse. He depicted a vision of Cardassia that was strong and unified, only to be weakened by Gul Dukat's treason and the fall of the Obsidian Order. This narrative resonated with many who felt left behind by the new political players. The prosecution's inability to prove Madred's crimes against Cardassians, focusing instead on his actions against former enemies, further undermined their case. As Nalen Rix would state later: "The public was not ready to understood that every crime is a crime against themself." In the end, Madred was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. However, he effectively positioned himself as the embodiment of the old Cardassia, gaining considerable support. He skillfully redirected the narrative of Cardassia's recent history, vilifying Gul Dukat as the "arch traitor to the Cardassian people" driven by selfish motives. Simultaneously, he glorified Damar's Rebellion against the Dominion as a patriotic duty, further solidifying his influence and legacy. Madred's trial, rather than closing a dark chapter in Cardassian history, inadvertently reignited sentiments of nationalism and nostalgia for a past era of perceived strength and unity.

The trial against Gul Madred, secretly brought into resistance circles in the klingon occupation zone, sparks several riots, which are struck down. This leads to a formation of a resistence cell. The Dor'Mir is able to infiltrate a number of important position and to obtain a secret network, unstopped or even helped by disgruntled members of Clan Duras with the aim to take revenge on the Empire. Korinas has taken de facto leadership of the organisation and starts to use known old Obsidian Order procedures. The Klingons, lacking the intelligence agencies to counter this, hadno answer to this.

#### Second reelection (2376-10-01)

Despite not being an ally of Madred until this point, Macet withdrew from the Comittee as a consequence of the trial against Madred, thus triggering a reelection in 2376-8-12, set for 2376-10-01. Macets campaign faced several problems, including lack of funds and negative media coverage. It remained unclear if the Dor'Mir did deliberately not support Macet, if he denied their support or if there was support but insufficient. The huge ressources channeled into the campaign of Natima Lang by the CRF, but also ferengian traders and bajoran groups showed effect. On 2376-09-15, Akellen Macet called is followers to boycot the vote, arguing that everything was "rigged against the traditions". In consequence, the new Depata Council as of 2376-10-01 saw liberal parties, spearheaded by Natima Langs reformist party, holding more then 2/3 of the Councils seats.

## Cardassian Republic, united phase (2377 - 2381)

#### Constitution and Cardassian Republic (2377-2-15)

Under the leadership of Lang and Garak, heads of the two major parties, the Cardassian Union embarked on a journey of complete transformation. With a clear majority, they spearheaded a monumental effort, supported by the Department of Reconstruction (DoR), the Cardassian Reparation Foundation (CRF), and other liberal factions, to overhaul the nation's political framework. This collaborative endeavor resulted in the drafting of a progressive constitution, presented on February 15, 2377, Federation time. This historic day marked the official transition of the Cardassian Union into the Democratic Cardassian Republic, signifying a new beginning with year zero in the Cardassian calendar.

The constitution introduced sweeping changes. It significantly curtailed the power of the military and intelligence sectors, barring officers from these branches from holding political office. It redefined military operations strictly for defensive purposes and emphasized the importance of science and progress. The abolition of the death penalty, torture, labor camps, and compulsory military service reflected a stark departure from Cardassia's authoritarian past. In a nod to conservative elements, the constitution also upheld traditional values, such as lower taxes for families, to foster wider acceptance.

A revolutionary aspect of the new constitution was the introduction of civil rights, including the right to protest, access to legal representation, and freedom of speech. However, not all Cardassians welcomed these changes. Conservative factions expressed concerns that the constitution could lead to political instability, economic decline, and rampant crime. Colonists on distant worlds, far from Cardassia Prime, feared reduced protection due to the military's downscaled operations. Most concerning to many was the potential for foreign influence: the new constitution's provisions for a free market and the right for non-Cardassians to own land in Cardassian space were seen as opening the door to external control and cultural dilution.

## First Cardassian Civil War (2382 - 2385)

See main article → Cardassian Civil War.

The first Cardassian civil war broke out as

## Divided Cardassia (2385 - 2394)

In the aftermath of the civil war, the Depata-Council of the CDR debated about the course for the future, as well as the central command of the ACS.

Since it remained clear, that the traditionalists of the ACS still sought a united cardassia with Cardassia Prime as its capital and geared their econonmy to exactly this endevour. A second civil war seemed inevitable and the CDR faced the dillema if she would join the arms race and thus delay other economic fields and developements or take a different route. This caused a rift between Garak and Lang. Elim Garak favored a participation in the arms race, hoping that the stronger economy of the CDR would be able to collapse the ACS and destabilize the latter. Lang on the other hand aimed for a membership in the United Federation of Planets, by which Starfleet would be the protector of Cardassia and hence a second war could not be won by the ACS. The economic power should instead be directed in developing the society further. As convincing Langs plan sounded, it beared three distinct risks. First and foremost, it was entirely dependend on the Federation to grant the membership. Second, even if the membership was granted, it made the CDR voulnerable or at least dependend on a temporary security. Lastly, a federation membership was not favorited by a majority of Cardassians, who still distrusted the century old enemy.

As part of the Peace of Betazed, a prisoner exchange allowed Madred to settle in the ACS where he joined the Central Command of the ACS. The central command correctly assest that if it would have any chance of capturing Cardassia Prime and thus reinstating the Union, it would have been done by force and before the CDR joined the Federation. It was assest, that even with a completely militarised economy, a full out war was not possible for the next ten years, depending on the speed or rearment of the CDR. This made it inevitable to search for allies. Connections with the Son'A, as well as the Gorn were strenghtend