Where to begin! Deep Space Nine is the series for Cardassians and as a result there were so many characters to choose from. The three main recuring Cardassians, Gul Dukat, Garak, Damar and Ziyal, all have their own section so that cuts the number down a bit. And now, after much thought, I finally decided on these three as the most memorable Cardassians that we met on Deep Space Nine.
Aamin Marritza: The second last episode of the first season was one of the great episodes in all of Star Trek. And it was centered around a truely great Cardassian. The episode was "Duet" and Aamin Marritza wanted to bring to light the attrocities comitted by the Cardassians against the Bajorans. A simple filing clerk, he had himself surgically altered to make himself look like Gul Darhe'el, the infamous 'Butcher of Gallitep', in order that his arrest and trial will bring to light the horrors committed at the Gallitep labour camp. He didn't count on Major Kira's relentless search to uncover the truth.
Marittza was brought to life by Harris Yulin.
Enabran Tain: This Cardassian is the retired head of the feared Obsidian Order, a secretive unit that operated outside of the Central Command. Garak was also a member of this order as well and was unquestioningly loyal to Tain, even though he may have been responsible for Garak's exile. Tain was never happy with his retirement and when an opportunity to see action again presented itself he couldn't refuse. He secretly made arraingments with the Romulan Tal Shiar to assemble a joint fleet of Romulan Warbirds and Cardassian Keldan Class Warships, modified with cloaking devices, to make a preemtive strike on the Founders home world. Unfortunately they had been compromised and the fleet was destroyed and Tain was taken prisoner. But even as a prisoner, the cleaver operative was able to get a message out that only Garak could decipher. When Garak came to his rescue the reason for Garak's loyalty came clear when Tain, on his death bed, finally admitted that he was Garak's father.
Enabran Tain was played by Paul Dooley.
Legate Tekeny Ghmor: There is no stronger force in the universe than the bond between a Cardassian father and his daughter. We saw that with Gul Madred and Jil Orra, with Dukat and Ziyal and most poignantly with Legate Ghmor and his lost daughter Arrianna. Even after he discovered that Kira Nyres was not his daughter but had been surgically altered to resemble her in an Obsidian Order plot to flush him out as a traitor, the bond still remained. The Obsidian Order was well aware of this aspect of Cardassian fathers and used it in a complicated plot knowing full well that Ghemor wouldn't let anything happen to the one he thought was his daughter. As they expected, Ghmor used his dissident contacts to get her safely off the planet. It was Garak, Sisko and Odo to the rescue and Ghmor went into exile only to return to Deep Space 9 to be close to Kira, his surrigate daughter, when he died of Yarim Fel Syndrome.
Legate Ghmor was wonderfully protraid by Lawrence Pressman.
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