Cardassian

Launching the new series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, was the pilot episode "Emissary", written by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. For this episode, the writers focused in on the aftermath of the Cardassian departure from Bajor. The premise of the series revolves around the Federation taking control of Deep Space Nine, a Cardassian-built space station orbiting Bajor, at the request of the Bajoran provisional government.[15] In "Emissary", the station's new Starfleet commander, Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) is visited by the Cardassian who formerly served as prefect of Bajor, Gul Dukat (Alaimo).[16] Alaimo had played a different Cardassian character in The Next Generation; he was brought in to replace the actor formerly cast as Dukat, whose performance had dissatisfied the creative team. Ira Behr recalled that "It was either Mike Piller or Rick Berman who finally said, 'Let's get Marc Alaimo,' who had done a bunch of TNG episodes for them in the past. Marc came in and, of course, he was Gul Dukat."[17] Deep Space Nine would go on to introduce several more Cardassians as recurring characters, including the exiled spy-turned-tailor Elim Garak, whose mysterious past and moral ambiguity made him one of the franchise's most popular recurring characters.[18]
Late in the first season, the show's creative team included another Cardassian-themed episode, "Duet". Written by Lisa Rich and Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci as a bottle episode, it featured the arrest of a Cardassian believed to be guilty of war crimes against Bajor, Aamin Marritza (Harris Yulin), and the relationship he developed with the station's Bajoran second-in-command, Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor).[19] The dialogue given to Marritza was an early example of what the writers came to call "Cardassian monologues". Behr said, "Cardassians love to speak. Garak loves to speak, Enabran Tain loves to speak. Dukat loves to speak—very slowly—and certainly Marritza loves to speak."[20]
Over the course of Deep Space Nine, the Cardassians' internal politics and their relationships with the Federation and Bajor go through many upheavals. In early seasons, the Cardassians maintain a shaky alliance with the Federation, which comes to their defense against attacks from the Maquis and the Klingons. An ill-advised attack by the Obsidian Order, the Cardassian intelligence agency, against the alien empire known as the Dominion cripples the power of the Cardassian military dictatorship and allows a civilian government to take control. Later in the series, Dukat negotiates Cardassia's membership in the Dominion in exchange for his own appointment as ruler of Cardassia, leading to a war against the Federation. When Dominion rule becomes too oppressive for the Cardassians, Dukat's successor Damar leads a resistance movement against the Dominion with the support of the Federation and Bajorans, restoring Cardassia's independence.

Cardassian history

Within the Star Trek fictional universe, the Cardassians were once a "peaceful people with a rich spiritual life".[21] However, during this period they also suffered from disease and famine.[21] Nationalistic fervour grew and a military dictatorship was established, under which the citizens became prosperous.[21] The Obsidian Order, an intelligence agency[22] and internal security police force, kept the population under surveillance.[23] The Cardassians became imperialistic, waging war with other races and occupying their territory to exploit resources.[21] The Cardassian empire is known as the Cardassian Union.[24]

Occupation of Bajor

In 2328, the Cardassians invaded Bajor, occupying it for fifty years, during which time they forced many Bajorans into slave labor, using them in their various mining operations.[23] This forced many Bajorans to flee and live in refugee camps away from Cardassian domination,[24][25] while other Bajorans became involved in the resistance movement, engaged in guerrilla warfare organising terrorist attacks against Cardassian targets.[23][24]
The Federation would not intervene in the situation, due to Prime Directive considerations.[24][26]
In 2369, the Bajoran resistance forced the Cardassians off Bajor, after which the Bajoran Provisional Government invited the United Federation of Planets to set up base on the former Cardassian mining station of Terok Nor, renaming it Deep Space Nine.[23]

Dominion War

During the Dominion War, the Cardassian Union joined the Dominion in opposition to the Federation alliance, taking a main role below the Dominion's rulers, the Founders.[22] They were supplanted by the Breen Confederacy and, after some of their territory was promised to the Breen, the Cardassians rebelled against the Dominion, and were instrumental in defeating the Dominion and ending the war.[22] Ironically, it was a Bajoran, Colonel Kira Nerys of the Bajoran Militia, who trained the Cardassians in guerrilla warfare to defeat their own occupiers.