Cardassian Civil War

The Cardassian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Democratic Cardassian Republic (DCR) and the Alliance of Cardassian Systems (ACS). It lasted three years from 2382 to 2384 and ended with the Peace of Betazed, with no party reaching their strategic goal, but fortified their position. The ACS failed with their attempt to take Cardassia Prime and the Cardassia Prime Sector. The DCR on the other hand could not expand its sphere of influence and also lost Omelka-III to the DCR. The conflict gained coverage and relevance through all of the alpha quadrant for its direct and indirect involvements of various minor powers, as well as the Nyberrite Alliance.

## Constellation before the war

With the outbreak of the war, the Cardassian Republic was heavily aligned with the United Federation, who refused a direct interference, but allowed private entities to fund the Republic. Fundings were provided by Ferengina, Bajor and the Cardassia Reparation Foundation of Nalen Rix, as well as the Talarian Republic. The Orion Syndicates had military forces involved on behalf of the Republic, and the Nyberrite Alliance joined the republican side in the end phase.

The Alliance of Cardassian Systems was logistically supported by Lissepia, fearing its economic downfall after the Ferengi joined the Federation and the Son'A. Nausicaan mercenaries were incoprporated in small numbers, mostly by promise of loot.

## Reasons for the war

After the Gul Madred was imprisoned and thus banned from all political activities, the conservative forces now under Akellen Macet boycotted further involvement into the Depata Council as a protest against the voting system which was based on a combination of economical influence, traditional districts and population size and thus heavily featured Cardassia Prime, a stronghold of the liberal forces around Natima Lang. The periphery systems on the other hand, who also were less afflicted by the war, stood with the conservatives. Other parts of Cardassia were still under Romulan occupation or annexated by the Klingon Empire and could not participate in political affairs. To calm tensions, Lang granted more independence for individual systems, even forming independend migration and economic accords, but no military developement.

Rifts between the outer systems and Cardassia Prime were always present, but the final event that would escalate the conflict was the descicion of the Klingon Empire to sell worlds annexated in the Dominion War to Talaria, because the problems on those worlds (for more information see → Klingon Sector Carda'Kar). Natima Lang was pressured by the conservative forces to work into "taking those worlds" back, but after consultations with the Federation and Bajor, she only agreed on taking refugees, but not on combating the descision. The Cremar incident, in which the Republic agreed on returning cardassian rebels to Talaria was the official reason for the ACS to declare its independence.

## 2382

The Depata Council orders the republican guards to intervene and "restore order" in the peripheral worlds. Several ships stage a mutiny and deny the orders, thus switching to the side of the ACS. In the ongoing skirmishes, the Republic can claim dominance in space, but is unable to get a hole on the ground. The tide is reversed, when Inim Errat and her shadow fleet openly join the cause of the ACS and drive back the Republican Guards. The first year of war ends with a stalemate.

## 2383

Due to supperior experience and coordination, the ACS manages to take the initiative and further drove back the Republican guards. The ACS supreme command also sells mining rights in their territory in exchange for weapons and are supplied by Son'A Subspaceweapons in return, as well as more nausicaan mercenaries, financed by Lissepian entrepreneurs. The CDR on the other hand, despite having nominally the larger firepower, is not able to coordinate their forces, with the Orions, and is also unable to convert the fundings to military power due to a lack of dacilities. The better coordination of the ACS and its allies lead to a shift of balance towards the secsessionists, thus ending the second year with relevant gains, most important the Omelka system that was until then in CDR territory (→ Battle for Omelka-III).

## 2384

The ACS gathers their forces in the Rescar system for an attack on Cardassia Prime, preparing to lay siege on the homeworld. With the goal of stretching the Republic lines, the Shadow Fleet opens a second front on Celtis-III in order to stop supplies reaching Cardassia Prime. The plunder fails, when the CDR orders the orbital defenses to surrender, but not the ground forces, essentially giving up its supply lines in favor of strengthening Cardassias defense. When negotiations for capitulations of Celtis-III are drawn out, Macet refuses to give order for orbital bombardment and instead begins preparations for a ground attack. In this window of a divided ACS fleet, a relief fleet of the Nyberrite Alliance emerges in the Rescar (→ Battle of Rescar) system and is able to destroy or drive back a huge portion of the ACS forces, befor the Celtis-fleet can reposition itself. Macet orders the cancellation of the siege of Celtris-III and orders the shadow fleet to withdraw to Omelka-III. An attack on Omelka-III was planned, but utlimately refused by the Nyberrites due to the anticipated loss of live. This refusal to act further is seen as the reason for the CDR to start negotiations. For the ACS an attack on Cardassia Prime due to the recent losses and the nyberrite presence seemed impossible.

## Aftermath

The Peace of Betazed ultimately manifested the status quo. It left the former Cardassian Union divided between the Cardassian Republic which held around 2/3 of cardasian population but fewer systems then the ACS with Omelka-III as new capital, a smaller faction of the population but the majority of systems.

The Federation, formerly neutral in the war, discussed the peace deal and concluded that it is beneficial for the developement of the alpha quadrant, since it devided cardassian power and left all border-systems with Federation-friendly gouvernance.

A shift in paradigm was seen with the Romulan Star Empire, which announced to prolong its occupation indifferently "until ACS and CDR consolidated their respective claims". De facto, this resulted in a romulan satellite state, because both ACS and CDR decided against giving "one speck of spacedust" to the respective enemy.