The Dominion (Earth-7642)

The **Dominion** was a theocratic hegemony made up of multiple alien species that maintained control over a large portion of the Orion Arm in the Milky Way galaxy. Technologically advanced and millennia old, the Dominion was founded under the absolute rule of the Dominators, whose will was carried out by the Vorta and the Badoon.

## Government

The Dominion was organized under a strict hierarchy, with the Dominators at the top, then the Vorta as administrators, and the Badoon as soldiers next. This arrangement was referred to as "the order of things" and deviation from it was punishable by death.

The Dominion held ultimate authority and their decisions could not be questioned under any circumstances. The Dominators in turn were led by a Administrative Council, who are responsible for holding legislative, executive, and judiciary powers. The Council was made of twelve Hierarchs, led by a individual holding the title of Dominator Prime. Officially, the Administrative Council votes on laws proposed by the Dominator Prime. However, the Council has little actual political power.

As the Dominators were largely apathetic towards the affairs of the Dominion and were content to leave the administration of the Dominion to the Vorta. The Vorta commanded the Badoon and disseminated ketracel-white crucial for their survival.

### Members

Below the Dominators, Vorta, and Badoon, the Dominion included numerous subjugated "member" races. These species were expected to obey the orders of the Vorta administrators. Disobedience would be punished by massive Badoon reprisals.

## Society

The species that make up the hegemony known as the Dominion come from different parts of the galaxy and take all kinds of physical forms. The Dominion is organized into a caste system with their leaders at the top of the hierarchical pyramid. The Vorta and the Badoon were both engineered to worship the Dominators; indeed, they believed that their lives belonged to the Dominators, rather than themselves.

The Dominion society is a single hegemonic culture. It is a culture that practices imperial geopolitical dominance through implied means of power as opposed to direct military force. There are three Dominion castes that make up the unity: the Religious caste, the Warrior caste, and the Worker caste.

The Karemma were an important commercial power within the Dominion, and constructed weapons for the Dominion military. Although the Dominators might seem monolithic and united, there were some internal pressures, mostly between the Vorta and the Badoon Clans. The two servant races of the Dominators regarded one another with barely disguised contempt, and a delicate balance existed between Badoon troops and their Vorta overseers.

Their shared loyalty and obedience to the Dominators kept them nominally at peace, but often, it was only the Vorta's control of ketracel-white that kept them alive, and even then, this form of control has been known to fail; Badoon killing their Vorta was rare, but not unheard of. Vorta and the Badoon tried to maintain the appearance of unity.

## Military

### Armed Forces

Like other civilizations, the Dominion maintains a permanent armed forces branch used to enforce order, conduct atmospheric and space combat operations, and generally project the Dominion's power onto others. A Dominion strategy frequently used was to not use its military might during initial contacts, but rather, to take over via influence and espionage.

The Dominion was founded on the principle of control, with the intent being to neutralize any potential threat to the Dominators by whatever means necessary. In cases involving cooperative species such as the Karemma, the extent of Dominion interference was fairly minimal and restricted to material support. However, if the target species was or became less cooperative, the Badoon were dispatched to wipe out any opposition. The fear of massive Badoon reprisals was enough to keep most planets in line.

Like other civilizations, the Dominion maintains a permanent armed forces branch used to enforce order, conduct atmospheric and space combat operations, and generally project the Dominion's power onto others. The military comprises the Dominion Navy, the Dominion Army and the Special Warfare Group containing the Special Operations Division (SpecOps). The abilities of the various component races are often exploited by the military to help push forward the ever-growing war machine of the Dominion.