Cardassian

The Cardassians are a humanoid species from the Alpha Quadrant. They are native to the planet Cardassia Prime, capital world of the Cardassian Union.

## Physiology

The Cardassians evolved from reptilian ancestors and they prefer a darker, hotter, and more humid environment than Humans.

Externally, Cardassians are easily recognizable by each having light-gray skin, two thick vertical neck ridges that recede back to the crown of their head and an inverted tear-shaped ridge in the center of the forehead. The ridge is thickest immediately above the eyes, protecting them and creating an especially deep-set appearance. There is also another inverted tear-shaped ridge feature in the center of the Cardassian chest. On Cardassian females, the ridge in the center of the forehead has a blue coloration, as does the second or third rung down on their neck ridges.

They have straight hair that varies in color from jet black to, less frequently, dark brown. Males typically slick their hair back, while the women have more varying hairstyles. As with Humans, their hair turns white with age. Furthermore, a Cardassian's hearing is not as acute as a Human's.

Medical conditions to which Cardassians are susceptible include Coleibric hemorrhage and Yarim Fel Syndrome.

## Society and Culture

### Philosophy

The ideal Cardassian life is one of complete loyalty and servitude to the State. The Cardassian government is assumed to be omniscient, omnipotent and benevolent. In a sense, when the Cardassians abandoned their spiritual ways and began their expansion throughout the Alpha Quadrant centuries ago, they simply applied a twisted form of their religion to their political philosophy.

A typical example of the Cardassian approach to life is found in their criminal trials, in which the verdict is always determined beforehand, and the purpose of the proceedings is not justice in the human sense but bringing the offender to recognize the power and benevolence of the State. The typical Cardassian approach is direct, simple and ruthless, uncaring about how many aliens—or Cardassians—are trampled on in the interests of the state. Cardassians pride themselves on their attention to detail and memories. They have no interest in science for its own worth, and demand that scientific projects, like everything, serve military benefits.

In the aftermath of the Dominion War, and the utter devastation it created for Cardassia, it remains to be seen whether a new philosophy may emerge. One of the greatest questions facing the Alpha Quadrant is whether Cardassia will remain entrenched in its old, bloody system or if a reform to a more Federation-style democracy is possible.

## Technology

In 2367, Cardassian technology was notably inferior to that of the Federation. A Cardassian warship was easily destroyed by the USS *Phoenix*, even when the warship had the ability to penetrate the Phoenix's shields. Cardassians on board the *Enterprise*-D made several comments about the superiority of Federation technology, notably the ship's transporter technology, as well as the vessel's sensors, which were able to detect the classification of Cardassian ships at long ranges, an ability that Cardassian sensors did not have. However, at this time, Cardassians did possess the ability to mask the contents of their supply ships from the Enterprise's scans.

Nevertheless, the Cardassians were formidable opponents. The bulk of the Cardassian Guard consisted of *Galor*-class ships, which were outclassed by *Galaxy*- and *Nebula*-class Federation ships, though they had no trouble dealing with *Miranda*- or *Excelsior*-class vessels. Furthermore, despite the Federation's superior vessels, the Federation-Cardassian War saw a stalemate between the two powers for a prolonged period of time. Admiral Haden told Jean-Luc Picard *"the Federation is not prepared for a new sustained conflict"* with the Cardassians, revealing that, despite the technological advantage the Federation had, the Cardassians were an even match for the interstellar organization.

During the Klingon-Cardassian War, the Klingons rendered considerable damages to the Cardassian Guard due to their sudden, unprovoked invasion. Nevertheless, the Cardassians were able to sustain a stale-mate after the invasion blunted. Compensating for their ships' relative weaknesses, the Cardassians were able to win many engagements against the Klingons by implementing decoys with sensor ghosts and holo-projections, before striking their confused enemies.

## History

In its ancient history, before Cardassia became a military dictatorship, the Cardassian society was known as the Hebitians. It was home to fine art and beautiful architecture. Once the Hebitian civilization fell into decay from lack of natural resources, millions of Cardassians were starving and the planet was subjected to utter anarchy. Though the Hebitian society and way of life eventually became extinct, the remaining Cardassians turned to the military to solve their problems. This began the Cardassian policy of expansion into the galaxy, to provide the much-needed natural resources to sustain its population.

During the 24th Century, Cardassians were involved in three cataclysmic wars. The first major war was with the Federation in the mid-24th Century, which ended in a turbulent peace treaty. A second war broke out when the Klingon Empire launched an unprovoked and unjustified invasion into Cardassian territory after a successful rebellion had overthrown the military's rule. The Klingons believed the coup to be a result of Founder infiltration, and therefore attempted to take over the Cardassian Union. The coup was in fact successful due to the collapse of the Obsidian Order after the Battle of the Omarion Nebula. This war devastated Cardassian infrastructure, with a great loss of life and territory.

The third and largest of these conflicts was the Dominion War. In order to drive out the Klingons from their territory, destroy the Maquis in the Demilitarized Zone and regain Cardassia's status in the Alpha Quadrant, Gul Dukat signed a treaty making Cardassia a member of the Dominion. Cardassian and Dominion forces proceeded to push the Klingon fleet out of Cardassian territory and wipe out the entire Maquis movement within a few days. While initially the alliance with the Dominion seemed to be beneficial to Cardassia, in the long run it resulted in an exponential loss of life ships. Near the end of the Dominion War, Cardassia Prime was struck by Jem'Hadar raids and orbital bombardment from the Dominion and Breen forces in orbit of the planet, which attempted to wipe out the Cardassian species entirely for their betrayal.