- For the mirror universe counterpart, see Madred (mirror).
Gul Madred was a Cardassian male in the Cardassian Military Intelligence.
Personality
Madred was an aristocratic, cultured and serious man, who favoured the military within Cardassian society. As befitting of his background, Madred lived in the Coranum Sector. As a member of the Cardassian Guard, Madred would work in military intelligence and insisted that they did not want any involvement by the Obsidian Order in military operations. His dislike of the Order reflected the acrimony between the military and state intelligence organisations, which contributed to a breakdown in communications between each. (DS9 novel: A Stitch in Time)
History
Military Career
In 2347, he encountered Elias Vaughn, Ruriko Tenmei and T'Prynn on Kora II while he was a Glinn. (DS9 - Mission Gamma novel: Lesser Evil)
Sometime prior to 2368, the Obsidian Order planned to turn over the captured Bajoran terrorist Orta to Madred, but he was rescued by his resistance cell before the transfer could take place. (DS9 novellas: The Brave and the Bold, Book One, The Second Artifact)
Between stardates 46357.4 and 46360.8 (2369) Madred was assigned as an interrogator at a Cardassian Guard prison on Celtris III, tasked with breaking the captured Captain Jean-Luc Picard. He tortured him for several days until Captain Edward Jellico secured Picard's release. (TNG episode: "Chain of Command")
The incident with Picard would mar his distinguished service record. Madred fell out of favour with central command circa 2368, the same time as Elim Garak was exiled. (TNG episode: "Chain of Command", DS9 novel: A Stitch in Time)
Fittingly, in 2372, Madred's militaristic family would be one of the key supporters of Skrain Dukat's coup d'etat against Meya Rejal's failing civilian government and Dukat's alliance with the Dominion. (DS9 novel: A Stitch in Time)
After the Dominion War
In the aftermath of the Dominion War, in 2375, Madred would emerge as one of the key initial agents of politics in the ruins of Cardassia Prime, involved in the Directorate. He, alongside several surviving military and intelligence figures, favoured a return to the controlled state of old Cardassia, and was aghast at the spread of "Federation methods for determining our new leadership structure". Madred saw the future of the state at threat, noting that in a democracy everyone would have an equal say, and that the emergent politicians disgusted him:
"Who are these people? Alon Ghemor? A family of traitors. Korbath Mondrig, a rabble-rouser from the service class. I wouldn't have these people clean my shoes, let alone make decisions that determine our future!"
Madred would approach Elim Garak to support his movement, both as a powerful voice and a "skillful operative". Garak had been one of the key leaders of the Damar resistance at the war's end, and a man, who as a key aide to Enabrain Tain, Madred thought would surely wish a return to the ordered society of pre-war Cardassia. He also hoped to appeal to the old exile by suggesting his "cause" might be improved. Garak had also formed a working relationship with key figure's in the nascent democratic movement on Cardassia, especially Kelas Parmak. In reference to Garak's necropolis, Madred would see in the former spy a similar desire for order and correct societal management. At first curious about Madred's vision and troubled by the extent of democratic change, Garak would agree to meet with the other leaders of the Directorate. Upon meeting them at the remains of Madred's house in Coranum, Garak would see both familiar faces and divided agendas:
- Legate Parn, who had administered the Cardassian colonies in the Demilitarized Zone after the treaty with the Federation, a treaty he and Evek had believed was the beginning of the end when Cardassia signed it. He believed himself the leader of the Directorate when meeting with Garak.
- Gul Hadar, who had been one of Skrain Dukat's aides on Terok Nor
- Gul Evek, who had administered the DMZ and fought the Maquis.
- Gul Malyn Ocett, the only resistance leader who had survived when the cells were betrayed by Gul Revok.
- The Obsidian Order's former head, Pythas Lok, and his aide Nal Dejar.
- Korbath Mondrig, who was, in the words of Garak, "Parn's propagandist and puppet".
Madred's meeting would fail to turn Garak to the Directorate's cause. Indeed, Garak would convince Lok to support Ghemor's, Parmak's, and now Garak's, Reunion Project. Emerging from the meeting, Garak would reflect of Madred:
"Madred had the same privileged forebears, but his mask was sharper than Hadar's because he still had the passion of his beliefs: he desired to maintain the old ways at all costs because anything else was inconceivable. He would even associate himself with Mondrig, a man he'd said he wouldn't let "clean his shoes," if it meant the old order could be restored. There was fear in his mask: the fear of change."
After the meeting, and in anticipation of the elections, the Directorate would form the "Restoration Cadre" was established in each sector, serving to intimidate supporters of change. However, in the Paldar Sector, failing to incite violence with Ghemor's Reunion Project, Madred and the other Directorate leaders would ask to meet with Ghemor and discuss the future. When the first election was over, the Directorate had won two of six sectors. (DS9 novel: A Stitch in Time)
In 2389 Madred acquired mineral rights on several planetoids in the Septimus System and began building a large mining operation. In an interview with Jake Sisko that year, Elim Garak stated that he believed Madred's faction, the True Way, to be advocating a return to the prior military dictatorship. In 2390 the True Way began holding demonstrations to this effect.
In 2392 Madred offered jobs in his Septimus operations to military officers left unemployed by the conversion of the Cardassian Guard to the smaller Cardassian Self Defense Force. He began exporting kelindide and uridium to the Romulans via the Ferengi.
In 2393 Madred allied with Lamat'Ukan, leader of the Jem'Hadar remaining in the Alpha Quadrant, saying that the CDF could not adequately protect his workers against raider attacks. Over the protests of the Detapa Council Lamat'Ukan sent troops to guard Madred's mines.
In 2402 Cardassian Intelligence reported to Castellan Natima Lang that Madred was likely in possession of several warships reported missing from post-Dominion War inventories. (STO website : The Path to 2409)
In 2409 Madred, now acting openly as the leader of the True Way terrorist organization, was captured at Empok Nor by a starship crew operating out of Deep Space 9. (STO - Cardassian Struggle mission: "The Long Night")
- "The Long Night" was removed from the game with the October 2015 revamp of the "Cardassian Struggle" episode for Season 11: New Dawn, and Madred no longer appears in the game.
Personal Life
Madred had a daughter, named Jil Orra. She once confronted him about his torture room in which she saw Jean-Luc Picard in 2369. (TNG novel: Ship of the Line)
Appendices
Background
| This section is written from the Real World point of view. |
 |
Madred was played by David WarnerWP in "Chain of Command". He is unvoiced in Star Trek Online and his in-game model bears no resemblance to Warner. Cryptic Studios likely does not have the rights for Warner's appearance.
Appearances
- TNG episode: "Chain of Command"
- DS9 - Mission Gamma novel: Lesser Evil
- ST - The Sky's the Limit short story: "Four Lights"
- DS9 novellas: The Brave and the Bold, Book One, The Second Artifact
- TNG novel: Ship of the Line
- DS9 novel: A Stitch in Time
- STO website : The Path to 2409
- STO mission: "The Long Night"
External link
- Madred article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Madred article at The Star Trek Online Wiki.