CARDASSIA PRIME

The People and the Culture

A humanoid civilization from Cardassia Prime. Originally a peaceful and spiritual people, they became a military state when resources on the homeworld ran low. The Cardassians were able to acquire new worlds and technologies by force. Eventually, their strength would lead them to become a force to reckon with in interstellar politics. Utilizing a tripartite government whereby the ruling body, the Detapa Council, consisted of civilian politicians, and under their jurisdiction were the military, the Central Command and the intell service, the Obsidian Order. But when the civilization expanded, and the planet was stripped of resources, starvation and disease drove the people to desperation. The military rose in power and eventually took over the governing of the Cardassian people. This lead to violent and aggressive acquisition of resources, technology and territories, at great cost to the people. The Cardassian people became known for being ruthless and militaristic.
The turning point came when the Cardassian Union annexed Bajor in 2328. They strip mined the planet for their own people, enslaving the Bajoran people in the process. During this time, the Cardassians also built orbiting ore-processing facilities, including Terok Nor (now known as Deep Space Nine), to increase production. During this period, the Cardassian Union was involved in an extended conflict with the United Federation of Planets (UFP). Casualties on both sides were high and the Cardassians could not get the upper hand. An uneasy truce was reached in 2366, though both the Federation and the Cardassian Union violated this treaty. In 2367, negotiations for a peace treaty were started and in 2370, the Federation-Cardassian treaty was signed between the two adversaries. Part of the treaty provided that captives of either government would be allowed to a neutral representative following incarceration. Also a demilitarised zone was set up, which contained both Federation and Cardassian colonies. But discontent among the colonists has led to further skirmishes in the DMZ.
In 2369, the Cardassians were forced to withdraw from Bajor mainly through the actions of the Bajoran underground terrorist groups and also the intervention of the Federation. In their retreat, they also abandoned their orbital space facility Terok Nor which was then taken over by joint Bajoran-Federation personnel. A historic peace treaty was signed in 2371 between Cardassia and Bajor, facilitated by Legate Turrel, Kai Winn and Vedek Bareil. In the next year, a civilian uprising overthrew the Central Command's control of the government, restoring power to the Detapa Council. This political instability allowed the Klingon Empire to invade Cardassian territories, on the presumption that the coup was engineered by the Dominion. This invasion destroyed the industrial capability of many Cardassian worlds and depleted their resources even further, devastating the Cardassian economy. The Federation, in light of its new treaty, aided Cardassia.
However secret negotiations with the Dominion have been taking place and in 2373, Cardassia declared its alliance with the Dominion. The negotiator of this pact, Gul Dukat, became the new leader of the Cardassian Union. Strengthened by her new alliance, Cardassia entered into conflict with the Federation alongside Dominion troops. Terok Nor was retaken for a brief period. The Dominion Alliance continued to extend it's hand in the Alpha Quadrant mainly due to the Cardassian involvement. In 2375, the Brren joined the Dominion Troops, and the Alliance looked unbeatable. One of the greatest factors in the Dominion defeat, was the underground movement created by Gul Damar, in an effort to return the Cardassian people to their rightful place. A race of proud warriors.
The Cardassian people are distinctive for their unique appearance. They are usually tall, powerfully built with a broad neck. Theyhave a greyishcomplexion and an armored appearance with thick scales covering parts of their body and a series of facial ridges. Add to this the trademark teardrop shaped scale in the middle of their forehead. (This is sometimes known as a "spoon" as in the derogatory term "spoonhead") This feature has a blue pigment in females along with the middle scale on their neck ridges. Their hair is usually dark and straight and lies flat. In military males it is cut blunt at the back of their head. Military females wear their hair in long braids. Civilian females wear it simply tied back or in an elaborate fashion. Their eyes may be any colour but ice blue is common and is most striking and unnerving.
Cardassians are as unique in personality as they are in appearance. They are considered to be highly intelligent, devious, cold, ruthless and cruel. This mostly stems from the fact that they are xenophobic and consider all alien races to be inferior to themselves. But that's only how they appear to others. To those who have a chance to get to know them they can be warm, friendly and charismatic. Although it is still best not to trust them too far. Family is most important to a Cardassian but even this seemingly positive trait can be taken to a disturbing extreme. In Cardassian society orphans have no rights and are usually outcasts. Illegitimate children, especially of a mixed race, are not tolerated are to be disposed of to protect the legal family and the purity of the race.