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BIOGRAPHY
Dominion War
Belligerents:	United Federation of Planets Klingon Empire Romulan Star Empire vs. Dominion Cardassian Union Breen Confederacy
Date(s):	2373–2375
Location(s):	Alpha Quadrant
Result:	Federation Alliance victory; Federation Alliance occupation of Cardassia; Withdrawal of Dominion forces to the Gamma Quadrant

The Dominion War was a two-year interstellar conflict fought between the Federation Alliance and the Dominion between 2373 and 2375. The war consumed the entire Alpha Quadrant in one of the most destructive and bloody conflicts in galactic history.

Contents 1 Prelude 1.1 First Contact 1.2 Cold War 1.3 Dominion Invasion 2 Total War Begins 3 End of the war 4 Aftermath 5 List of conflicts 6 Appendices 6.1 References 6.2 External links

PreludeEdit

First ContactEdit

With the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole in 2369, several of the Alpha Quadrant's regional powers began to send explorers to the distant Gamma Quadrant to seek out new trading partners and establish new colonies. Throughout 2370, rumors of a power known as the Dominion were heard from several sources, but it was not until later that year that first contact was established by Starfleet commander Benjamin Sisko of space station Deep Space 9. (DS9 episodes: "Emissary", "Rules of Acquisition", "The Jem'Hadar")

Initial contact with the Dominion proved to be disastrous for the Federation. As retaliation for claims of territorial violations, the Dominion took credit for the destruction of several ships that had gone missing in the Gamma Quadrant, and for the destruction of the New Bajor colony. Additionally, Commander Sisko was detained and held responsible for the Alpha Quadrant's alleged violations of Dominion territory. A successful rescue attempt was conducted by the crew of Deep Space 9 and the USS Odyssey, the latter of which was destroyed in the operation. However, it was determined a short time later that Sisko's capture and subsequent escape were part of a Dominion plan to place a Vorta spy in the Alpha Quadrant. (DS9 episode: "The Jem'Hadar")

Cold WarEdit

With the Dominion threat now fully realized, Commander Sisko requested that the USS Defiant be pulled out of storage and assigned to Deep Space 9. The Defiant's first assignment was to venture into the Gamma Quadrant and attempt to convince the Founders of the Dominion that the Federation posed no threat to them. To aid in this task, a special amendment was made to the Treaty of Algeron which permitted the Defiant to be equipped with a cloaking device. In return, the Federation would share all of its Dominion intelligence with the Romulan Star Empire. (DS9 episode: "The Search, Part I")

Although the Defiant was able to locate the Founders, the attempt to make peace proved to be unsuccessful. The Founders turned out to be a shape-shifting xenophobic species who believed that their survival depended on them imposing their order on the galaxy. (DS9 episode: "The Search, Part II")

Although the Dominion had made their intentions clear, the Founders had no desire to wage war on a united quadrant. To this end, the Dominion began a coordinated campaign to destabilize the Alpha Quadrant. In late-2371, the Dominion learned of a plan by Enabran Tain to combine Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar forces to attack the Founders' homeworld in the Omarion Nebula. Seeing an opportunity to put an end to the so-called "ruthless, efficient organizations," the Founders did everything they could to carry Tain's plan forward. When the combined Obsidian Order-Tal Shiar fleet arrived in orbit of the Founder's homeworld, it was quickly learned that the planet had been evacuated. At that point, a fleet of 150 Jem'Hadar fighters ambushed the fleet. The failure of Tain's plan resulted in the complete destruction of the Obsidian Order and the crippling of the Tal-Shiar. (DS9 episodes: "Improbable Cause", "The Die is Cast")

Several weeks later, the Dominion attempted to incite a war between the Federation and the Tzenkethi by having a Changeling posing as Federation Ambassador Krajensky hijack the Defiant and use it to attack a Tzenkethi colony. The attempt was thwarted by the newly promoted Captain Sisko and the Defiant crew. During this ordeal, Deep Space 9 security chief Odo became the first Changeling to ever harm another when he killed the Krajensky Changeling. (DS9 episode: "The Adversary")

By early-2372, the loss of the Obsidian Order finally allowed the Cardassian dissident movement to overthrow the Central Command and re-instate the Detapa Council. Believing that the change in government was engineered by the Dominion, the Klingon Empire dispatched a fleet to Deep Space 9 in preparation for an invasion of the Cardassian Union. When the Federation learned of the Klingon fleet's intentions, the Federation Council condemned the invasion. In response, Chancellor Gowron withdrew the Klingon Empire from the Khitomer Accords, ending the alliance between the two powers. Throughout the remainder of the year, the Klingons continued their campaign in Cardassian space, an act which left the Cardassian Union devastated. (DS9 episodes: "The Way of the Warrior", "Return to Grace")

The Dominion threat had placed the Federation into a state of high suspicion and paranoia as well. In mid-2372, Starfleet vice admiral James Leyton used the threat of Changeling infiltration to attempt to overthrow the Federation government and instate martial law. By sabotaging a relay satellite on the far side of the Bajoran wormhole, Leyton was able to make it appear that a cloaked Dominion fleet was entering the Alpha Quadrant; thus giving him support for his coup. In the end, Captain Sisko was able to stop the coup and force Leyton to resign. (DS9 episodes: "Homefront", "Paradise Lost")

In late-2372, the Klingon Empire, empowered by their war with the Cardassians, invoked "ancient claims" to the Archanis sector. Starfleet was given ten days to abandon the sector or face a war. At this time, Odo was extorted into returning to the Great Link to face judgement for killing the Krajensky Changeling a year earlier. While he was in the link, Odo realized the possibility that Chancellor Gowron had been replaced by a Changeling. (DS9 episode: "Broken Link")

By early-2373, the dispute over the Archanis sector had brought the Federation and the Klingon Empire to war. In an effort to expose the Gowron Changeling, Starfleet dispatched Captain Sisko, Lieutenant Commander Worf, Chief Miles O'Brien, and Odo to Ty'Gokor where Gowron would be presiding over the induction of new members into the Order of the Bat'leth. During the operation, it was realized that it was in fact General Martok who had been replaced. After the Martok Changeling was killed, the Klingons and the Federation returned to the negotiating table to end their war. (DS9 episode: "Apocalypse Rising")

Dominion InvasionEdit

The Klingon-Cardassian War had left the Cardassian people broken and defeated. Frustrated with this situation, Gul Skrain Dukat sought out an alliance with the Dominion. Under the terms of this alliance, the Dominion was allowed to annex the Cardassian Union and Dukat was installed as its leader. The Dominion immediately began fortifying Cardassian space with weekly convoys of warships and Jem'Hadar soldiers, giving Dukat the military force he needed to drive the Klingons from Cardassian space and to put an end to the Maquis rebellion in the Demilitarized Zone.

After the Klingons were forced from Cardassia, Chancellor Gowron re-signed the Khitomer Accords and declared that the Empire and the Federation would stand side by side against the Dominion. (DS9 episodes: "In Purgatory's Shadow", "By Inferno's Light")

Although a technical state of war did not yet exist, several skirmishes occurred near the Cardassian border over the next several months. Several ships, such as the IKS B'Moth and the USS Tian An Men were either destroyed or reported missing. Additionally, the Dominion began securing non-aggression pacts with several of Alpha Quadrants regional powers, including the Tholian Assembly, the Miradorn, the Bajorans, and perhaps most significantly, the Romulan Star Empire. This, combined with the Dominion's continued military build up, forced the Federation to act. Captain Sisko devised a plan to mine the entrance to the Bajoran wormhole, a move that was virtually guaranteed to lead to war. (DS9 episodes: "Soldiers of the Empire", "In the Cards", "Call to Arms")

Total War BeginsEdit

When the crew of Deep Space 9 mined the entrance to the Bajoran wormhole with self-replicating mines to prevent more Dominion starships arriving from the Gamma Quadrant, the Dominion launched an assault against the station. Although the minefield was successfully deployed and activated, Benjamin Sisko and his crew were forced to abandon the station to Dominion forces. (DS9 episode: "Call to Arms")

A Changeling obtained the detonation codes for the minefield after infiltrating Starfleet, although intervention by the Beta XII-A entity caused the death of the Changeling and those who were taking him to Terok Nor. (ST - Tales of the Dominion War short story: "Night of the Vulture")

For three months of the war, the Dominion was victorious in several battles, including in the Tyra system, when they destroyed ninety-eight out of a fleet of one hundred and twelve starships. When Starfleet discovered a Ketracel-white facility, Captain Sisko lead a successful mission to destroy it. (DS9 episode: "A Time to Stand")

Among the later Starfleet successes was an attack on a Dominion sensor array in the Argolis Cluster by the USS Defiant. (DS9 episode: "Behind the Lines")

Starfleet was also able to enlist the aid of the Gorn Empire. (TNG comic: "The Gorn Crisis")

Captain Sisko would later develop a plan to retake Deep Space 9 that was approved by Starfleet Command. However, when it was learned the minefield blocking the wormhole entrance would soon be destroyed by the Dominion, Starfleet was forced to deploy its forces sooner than expected and a fleet left Starbase 375 without Klingon forces and other fleets. (DS9 episode: "Favor the Bold")

While Captain Sisko's forces attacked a Dominion fleet that outnumbered them, Kira Nerys led a resistance movement on Terok Nor to disable the station and prevent the Dominion from destroying the minefield. The Dominion was successful in destroying the minefield although Captain Sisko was able to convince the Prophets to eliminate the Dominion reinforcements when they entered the wormhole, citing the risk to Bajor. With their reinforcements gone and their starships participating in the battle routed, the Female Changeling ordered a retreat of all Dominion forces to Cardassian space. (DS9 episode: "Sacrifice of Angels")

The Prophets later blocked the entrances to the wormhole, meaning no further Dominion forces could be sent. (DS9 episode: "The Reckoning")

With no possibility of assistance from the Gamma Quadrant, the Dominion was forced to enter into false peace talks with the Federation, putting forward a proposal to redefine the border between the Federation and the Cardassians, hoping to gain the Kabrel star system as they would be able to use Kabrel I's resources to develop large quantities of Ketracel-white. Their intentions were discovered by a group of genetically engineered Humans and peace talks failed. (DS9 episode: "Statistical Probabilities")

The Dominion later scored an impressive victory with the capture of Betazed, which threatened the safety of Vulcan, Andor, Tellar and Alpha Centauri. Faced with this stunning defeat, and with more and more Starfleet personnel being killed, Benjamin Sisko began a plan to trick the Romulans into believing the Dominion was planning an invasion of their Empire. A forged recording of a meeting where Weyoun and Damar discussed the invasion was created, although Senator Vreenak discovered it was a forgery. Elim Garak planted an explosive that destroyed Vreenak's shuttle, making it seem Vreenak had discovered the Dominion's plan and was attempting to bring evidence of it back to Romulus. The Tal Shiar determined the imperfections were due to the recording surviving the explosion. The Romulans entered the war soon after and began assaults on several bases. (DS9 episode: "In the Pale Moonlight")

Betazed was liberated from the Dominion in early 2375. (TNG novel: The Battle of Betazed)

Among the troops used by the Romulans were Remans, who were used in the most dangerous battles, often suffering large casualties. Shinzon and Vkruk were among these troops, with Shinzon leading twelve successful campaigns during the war. Among these was the liberation of the Tal Shiar base on Goloroth from Jem'Hadar troops. (ST movie: Star Trek: Nemesis, ST - Tales of the Dominion War short story: "Twilight's Wrath")

With the Romulans bolstering the Allied forces, Starfleet chose Captain Sisko to plan the invasion of Cardassia. Sisko discovered the Chin'toka system was relatively undefended by Dominion starships, although the Cardassians were in the process of deploying powerful orbital weapon platforms to protect the system. The Allied forces reached the Chin'toka system just before the platforms were activated, managing to destroy several of them. However, once the platforms were activated several Allied starships were destroyed or disabled. The crew of the Defiant were able to locate the power source of the platforms on an asteroid and imprinted a false Federation warp signature on it, making the platforms fire on and destroy their own powersource, shutting down soon after. The Allies were able to secure the system and ground forces were deployed to two Chin'toka planets. (DS9 episode: "Tears of the Prophets")

Despite the capture of Chin'toka, the Allied forces were unable to fight their way further into Cardassian space as the Dominion was able to bottle them in the system. A Klingon fleet was repulsed when it attempted to destroy the Monac IV shipyards, although the crew of the IKS Rotarran were later able to destroy the Monac shipyards by using the Monac star to trigger a solar plasma ejection that engulfed and destroyed them. (DS9 episodes: "Image in the Sand", "Shadows and Symbols", "The Siege of AR-558")

To treat their soldiers closer to the frontlines, the Romulans were granted permission by the Bajorans to establish a hospital on Derna. The Romulans also installed plasma torpedo launchers to protect the hospital, although the Bajorans deemed the launchers a threat to Bajor and began a blockade. Open conflict was averted when Admiral William Ross threatened Federation intervention. (DS9 episodes: "Image in the Sand", "Shadows and Symbols")

With the war continuing, the Female Changeling, who was now dying from a mysterious disease the Dominion could find no cure for, began negotiating with the Breen to become their newest allies. (DS9 episodes: "Penumbra", "'Til Death Do Us Part")

The arrival of the Breen angered Damar, who felt the Cardassian people were becoming sidelined. The lack of assistance to the Cardassian forces on Septimus III under Klingon attack convinced Damar to form a resistance movement to free Cardassia from the Dominion. (DS9 episode: "Strange Bedfellows")

The Breen later attacked Earth, destroying Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco and also launched an offensive against the Allied forces in the Chin'toka system. The Breen used their energy dampening weapons to disable the Allied starships and soon destroyed them with conventional weapons. Among the starships lost was the Defiant. While the outlook seemed dire due to the Allies having no defenses against the Breen weapon, Damar's announcement that he had begun to attack Dominion targets made Captain Sisko remark that Damar may just be the key to save the Alpha Quadrant. (DS9 episode: "The Changing Face of Evil")

It was later discovered that the Ki'tang, a Klingon starship, had not been affected by the energy dissipators due to a recalibration to its tritium intermix before the battle. General Martok ordered all starships in the Klingon fleet to be adjusted in the same way, making the Klingons the only state able to combat the Dominion. Chancellor Gowron assumed direct command of the Klingon fleet and, instead of holding a defensive position to hold off the Dominion while the Federation and Romulan fleets found a countermeasure to the Breen weapon, Gowron prepared to send Klingon starships on offensives into Dominion territory. Meanwhile, to assist Damar, Kira Nerys, Odo and Elim Garak were sent into Cardassian territory. (DS9 episode: "When It Rains...")

Gowron proved to be a poor strategist and Klingon losses mounted, including a disastrous attack on Avenal VII. When Gowron announced he was planning an assault on Sarpedion V, a well defended Cardassian planet, Worf challenged Gowron for control of the Klingon Empire. Worf killed Gowron in honorable combat and installed Martok as the new Klingon chancellor. Elsewhere, Kira Nerys, Odo, Garak and Damar were able to steal a Breen weapon that was one of many being installed by the Breen on Jem'Hadar fighters. (DS9 episode: "Tacking Into the Wind")

Kira, Garak and Odo returned to Deep Space 9 with the Breen weapon, allowing Starfleet to study it. Odo was close to death due to the virus he was infected with, although a cure was found by Julian Bashir and Miles O'Brien after luring Luther Sloan of Section 31 to the station. (DS9 episode: "Extreme Measures")

The Dominion soon moved to crush Damar's resistance movement, with Gul Revok betraying the fact Damar had approached him with the possibility of supporting the resistance. The Dominion and the Breen later destroyed all eighteen of the rebel bases, including those on Atbar Prime, Regulak IV, Simperia and Quinor VII. Kira, Damar and Garak sought refuge in Cardassia City in Enabran Tain's home, able to do very little with the resistance crushed. They soon realised that the Cardassian people had rallied behind him and that a popular uprising against the Dominion was possible. The Dominion, meanwhile, had learned that the Allies had devised a countermeasure to the Breen weapon, forcing them to fall back to Cardassian territory while they constructed more starships and breed more Jem'Hadar. The Allies later decided to make one final attack on the Dominion. (DS9 episode: "The Dogs of War")

End of the warEdit

The Allies' assault began a few days later, when a large Allied invasion fleet left Deep Space 9 bound for Cardassia Prime. Sabotage by the Cardassians, meant the Dominion leaders were unable to communicate with their own fleet. However, a punishment for the sabotage, the Dominion destroyed Lakarian City and threatened more cities with destruction should the unrest continue. Meanwhile, the Cardassian fleet turned on their Dominion allies, forcing the Dominion to pull back to Cardassia. Kira, Garak and Odo were able to fight their way into Dominion Headquarters and capture the Female Changeling and Weyoun. Odo linked with the Female Changeling, giving her the cure to the disease she was dying from. In return, the Female Changeling agreed to order the Jem'Hadar to surrender. The official surrender was signed on Deep Space 9. (DS9 episode: "What You Leave Behind")

The Dominion forces were later escorted to the wormhole by Starfleet starships and they returned to the Gamma Quadrant. (DS9 novelization: What You Leave Behind)

AftermathEdit

Both sides suffered heavy loses in the war. Following the conflict the Federation's resources were spread thin not just in reconstruction of member worlds but also in aiding independent worlds affected by the war (seeking new allies and members in the process) and even aiding enemy worlds from the war, providing substantial assistance to help Cardassia recover from the final attacks from the Dominion. (DS9 novel: Avatar)

One of the worst events of the Dominion War was the Dominion attack on New Beijing. The Dominion had faulty intelligence that biogenic weapons were being developed there that were supposedly to be used to kill Jem'Hadar. The Dominion invaded the planet and at least five thousand of the inhabitants were killed. After the war, evidence surfaced that Section 31 may have arranged the massacre to convince Ethan Locken to join them. (DS9 - Section 31 novel: Abyss)

The Allied Reconstruction Force was established to rebuild Cardassia. (DS9 novel: The Never-Ending Sacrifice)

In 2379, it was discovered that, during the Dominion War, the Federation had illegally armed the planet Tezwa with nadion weapons so that the Tezwans would be able to assist the Federation if the Jem'Hadar overran the Alpha Quadrant. (ST - A Time to... novels: A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal)

List of conflictsEdit

Battles of the Dominion War

Second Battle of Deep Space 9 (2373) • Battle of Torros III (2373) • Battle of Tyra (2374) • Operation Return (2374) • Battle of Sybaron (2374) • Second Battle of Vulcanis • First Battle of Chin'toka (2374) • Battle of Rigel (2375) • Battle of Ricktor Prime (2375) • Raid on San Francisco (2375) • Battle of Goloroth (2375) • Second Battle of Chin'toka (2375) • Kalandra Campaign (2375) • Battle of Rashanar (2375) • Battle of Cardassia (2375) • Battle of Laktar (Unknown)

AppendicesEdit

ReferencesEdit

In the span of the Dominion War numerous stories take place in the Star Trek universe, some dealing specifically with the war include:

• TNG novel: The Battle of Betazed
• The Dominion War miniseries:
  • TNG novel: Behind Enemy Lines
  • DS9 novelization: Call to Arms...
  • TNG novel: Tunnel Through the Stars
  • DS9 novelization: ...Sacrifice of Angels
• TNG comic: "The Gorn Crisis"
• DS9 anthology: Prophecy and Change
• DS9 novel: Hollow Men
• Multi-series anthology: Tales of the Dominion War
• SCE eBooks: War Stories, Book 1, War Stories, Book 2

External linksEdit

• Dominion War article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
• Dominion War article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.