Cardassian Sourcebook v1
Cardassian Sourcebook v1
Cardassian Sourcebook v1
THE CARDASSIANS
STAR TREK
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I Introduction
II T h e C a r d a s s i a n P e o p l e
1
3
III C a r d a s s i a n H i s t o r y
19
IV T h e C a r d a s s i a n U n i o n
37
47
VI T h e O b s i d i a n O r d e r
VII T e c h n o l o g y
VIII S t a r s h i p s
IX C a r d a s s i a P r i m e
X Appendix A: Spacedock Ships
61
69
79
91
1 05
ii
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
HISTORICAL PARALLELS
THE
CARDASSIANS
THE CARDASSIANS
physiologically unfounded - belief. Perhaps the most conspicuous of the Cardassian features are the thick neck structure
and the upside-down teardrop-shaped feature on the forehead. Cardassian necks have less of a circular shape (as on
most humanoids); instead, they have a roughly oval crosssection created by a series of bones that are out from the
central neck towards the shoulders. (The distinctive shape
of these bones sometimes leads species ghting the Cardassians to collect one neck bone from each Cardassian killed
to wear on thongs as proof of a kill.) Thanks to this neck
structure, Cardassians have a more limited range of neck
motion than most humanoids; where a Human can turn his
neck far enough that he can see things in about 240 degrees
round him, a Cardassian only has about a 180-degree range
of motion/vision, forcing him to turn his body to view things
that a Human could see by craning his neck. A few Cardassians can forcibly disconnect their neck bones and turn their
heads through a nearly 300-degree range of motion; other
Cardassians refer to this painful (and to them, impressive)
stunt as the Cardassian neck trick. Because of the structure
of the Cardassian neck, attackers nd it very difcult to strangle or choke a Cardassian, and for a Cardassian to break his
neck accidentally is almost unheard of.
The cartilaginous, spoon-shaped forehead protuberance - the chufa - is primarily a throwback to the Cardassians cold-blooded reptilian ancestors, who needed such
features to dissipate bodily heat and regulate internal temperature. On a modern Cardassian, the chufa serves no
real purpose, like the appendix in Humans. The chufa has
a bluer color in females. Less noticeable to observers is
the Cardassian dislike of cold temperatures. While Cardassians are warm-blooded, the average temperature on their
home world is signicantly higher than that on Earth, Bajor,
Betazed, or most other species planets. Thus, Cardassians
prefer warmer environments; in fact, some studies show that
they feel better and are more likely to remain emotionally
healthy in such settings. Cardassians consider the average
starship or station temperature maintained by most humanoids uncomfortably chilly; conversely, a Human or Bajoran
visiting a Cardassian facility or vessel will quickly break into a
sweat. (Vulcans, however, can tolerate Cardassian preferred
temperatures quite well, and Cardassians who have visited
Vulcan nd it most pleasant.)
Due in large part to the harshness of Cardassia
Prime, the ancestors of the Cardassians were tough, durable
animals able to withstand injuries and periods of deprivation which would have killed equivalent animals on Earth or
Alpha Centauri. They passed this trait down to modern Cardassians, who have a high tolerance for pain. For example,
Cardassians have thicker, more durable bones that can withstand more force before they fracture than Human bones
can, and Cardassian epidermis retains scale-like qualities of
toughness that make it harder to cut than Human skin.
Cardassian Races
As a species, the Cardassians divide themselves into
three distinct races, though of course by 2376 these races
have become so intermingled that nding a pure example
of one is relatively uncommon. The primary race, from
which the majority of Cardassians descend, is the yhodan.
Yhodan Cardassians are marked by an evenly grey skin tone
and slightly smaller neck ridges. They originally come from
Okaba, Venarhond, and southern Patka. The hottest regions
of Cardassia - Rekonda, most of Sotara, and central Patka
- gave rise to the Neldan race. Neldan Cardassians have
darker skin than other Cardassians. In some cases, their skin
is so dark as to be almost black. They tend to be larger and
sturdier than other Cardassians.
Karadan Cardassians are from the northern torrid
and temperate zones of Cardassia Prime. Theres a sort
of umber-colored undertone to their skins that, to some
Vesala
Who you know, not what you know, is one of the
most important factors for getting along in Cardassian society. A Cardassians elaborate network of contacts and favors
is of prime importance to them. This network is known as
vesala. Vesala is used like a currency or commodity; favors
are traded back and forth among members of Cardassian
society for personal or political gain. This is a sort of informal
stock exchange of name-dropping and favor swapping that
gives a Cardassian personal power over other Cardassians.
Everything on Cardassia is available for a price. Vesala
can be used to purchase promotions, political ofces, titles
and benets. It is because of this that a Cardassian does not
use his vesala lightly. Calling in too many favors at one time
will deplete the resources, and could hinder dealings in the
future. Some Cardassians perform favor after favor and rarely
call in their own, thus accumulating vast amounts of vesala
for use in one fell swoop. One of the few things that cannot
be bought with vesala is a Cardassians social standing.
It does not matter that a Cardassian has never
worked with the individual they are asking a favor from;
such blind favors are made all the time. Reputation means
more than acquaintance. If a Cardassian is known as someone who does not repay in kind, their name will start to circulate as being untrustworthy and favors will be hard to call in.
But be sure the provider can actually perform the requested
favor. If they have to go through someone else, the cost in
vesala can skyrocket.
Social Structure
By the dawn of the Second Hebitian period, a class
system evolved on Cardassia. This class structure has survived for centuries, even though the government and society that spawned it did not. The social classes are, from
lowest class to highest: Scralan, Tialek, Hibalek, Amarlek,
Ramalek, and Trelek (see below).
This class system traditionally marks a Cardassians
place in their society and determines what she can achieve
in her lifetime. Only the upper classes can attend the nest
schools without someone in the upper echelons to sponsor
them. If they do manage to obtain a sponsor, they will
receive the education necessary for achieving great things
on Cardassia. See below for more information on the Cardassian school system.
In the past, the Cardassian class system was much
more hard and fast than it is today. Socializing with those
outside your class was frowned upon socially. On modern
Cardassia, however, a Cardassian can actually jump classes,
making the class distinction much more ephemeral. In
theory a modern Cardassian is marked by his service to
the state, not by an outdated and ancient class structure.
Socializing, and even marriage across class lines occurs. The
greater disparity between the classes, the less common this
is, as the higher classes cling to their titles more than the
lower classes do. A Trelek woman would probably be
ostracized for courting a Tialek or Hibalek.
The class structure has survived and ourished
despite the militarys attempt to quash it. It has evolved into
an undercurrent of subtle prejudice and superiority rather
than a class that a Cardassian is locked into. In the eyes of
the modern state, all Cardassians are equal.
Social Classes
The following section describes the six different
social classes. When the text refers to population percentages it is referring to all Cardassians in the Union, and does
not include non-Cardassians or client/servitor races.
Scralan
The Scralan class isnt really a class at all, not having
the lek sufx (which means resource in Cardassian). In
fact, the word scralan actually means useless. The Scralan
are made up of Cardassian untouchables who have fallen
from Cardassian grace as well as the non-Cardassians living
in the Union. These untouchables are generally met with distaste and disdain from other Cardassians (even those others
Tialek
The Tialek class is the lowest of all socially acceptable Cardassians. They traditionally make up the labor
class, such as janitors, ore miners and eld hands. In
modern Cardassia, this class still performs the work that
other Cardassians nd demeaning. No non-Cardassian may
progress above this class level, even through dedication
and service to the Union. The Tialeks are generally the
have-nots among the Cardassian people, living in the more
squalid of conditions on Cardassia, and make up approximately thirty-one percent of the populace.
Hibalek
The Hibalek class, next on the social ladder, is traditionally a service class. This class is usually relegated to
performing service for the other Cardassians. Housekeepers, gardeners, and waiters are all examples of jobs for the
Hibaleks. Most common foot soldiers come from this class,
as do teachers, lawyers, and small business owners. The
Hibaleks generally consider themselves lucky; while they are
not the highest class, they do enjoy a certain amount of
prosperity not being among the labor class. Most Hibaleks
view their position among society to be necessary. They
believe that without them, the state could not function successfully, so they over-glorify their place in society. While
they may not have power, they do have responsibilities and a
strong sense of duty to perform their role in society. Approximately twenty-nine percent of the population is made
up of the Hibalek class.
Cardassian Education
Education is important to the Cardassians, and all
children living within the Union are instructed via the states
education system.
Amarlek
Primary Education
At the age of four, Cardassian children are given intensive mental training. At the age of six, they are placed into the
primary school system where specialized instructors monitor the
students progress. These instructors, called Tealakesh, are
adept at nding what a particular student is apt to excel in.
During this time, a Cardassian child lives with her family.
The Tealakesh are arguably some of the most pow-
Ramalek
The Ramalek class, or Merchant class, is mostly
a holdover from the glory days of the Second Hebitians.
Wealthy landowners and businessmen made up the middle
echelon of the government for the Second Hebitians. While
the wealth has drained away for the modern Ramalek, the
families still cling to the title desperately. Even though the
Ramaleks are not as prosperous as they once were, they
still enjoy a certain amount of power and vesala from their
place and position in Cardassian society. This class makes
up most of the high-level positions within the military and
government. Approximately twelve percent of the population makes up the Ramalek class.
Trelek
The Treleks are the nobility of the Cardassian people.
They have the most sway in governmental affairs (in fact,
most of the Detapa Council, the leaders of the Central Command, and the leaders of the Obsidian Order come from this
Advanced Education
At the age of ten, a Cardassian will be placed into
their advanced schooling. These advanced schools specialize in the subjects that they teach. They are structured
around a three-term program consisting of three years
apiece (totaling nine standard years). This program will
instruct the student in whatever occupation she will eventually ll in Cardassian society with little emphasis on personal interests. There are no breaks for the student during
this time, and it is unlikely that she will see her families
during their advanced educations (though, regular contact
is kept via the comm channels and Data-net). At the end of
each term, a review of the student is held. If the student
fails review, she will either repeat the term again, or, in the
case of specialized schools (such as Intelligence school or
the Badorah Military Academy), the failed student will be
placed into less prestigious school with a different, more
mundane focus. These advanced academies are generally
unforgiving; if the student cannot make the grade, the student does not belong in that line of work and needs more
menial tasks to occupy them.
The basic layout for all Cardassian advanced education campuses is roughly the same. The school is split
into two wings, one half for the males and one half for the
females. Keeping the two sexes from co-mingling is the best
way to keep the young Cardassians attentions on their work
and off of the opposite sex. Each wing is broken down into
dormitories, where the young Cardassians live during their
tenure at their school. Each dorm is further broken down
into units with twenty young Cardassians in a unit. This
unit eats, sleeps, trains, and recreates together. Each unit
consists of both upper- and lower-classmen, and usually the
upper-classmen will lead the unit unless a lower-classman
shows uncanny ability. This structure teaches the Cardassian youth to both work as a group but keep the details of
their work secret from the others. When one member of a
unit breaks a rule, the entire unit is punished. As the upperclassmen graduate, the lower-classmen rise up in the ranks
of their unit, perhaps one day to become leader of it.
A typical day at a Cardassian Advanced School consists of rising before dawn for physical calisthenics. Morning
meal is afterwards, where the students receive a hot breakfast and can briey socialize with those outside of their unit.
Classes begin shortly thereafter, where the Cardassian is
taught their general studies. These classes are extremely challenging for the students. Midmeal is next, and more time is
Cardassian Schools
Badorah: This Military Academy represents the pinnacle of education for the Cardassian people. It is
the only school that trains its young students to be
part of the Command branch of the Central Command. It is also one of the most prestigious schools,
and only male Cardassians may attend. It also happens to be the single harshest of the schools that
a Cardassian can graduate from, and almost half of
all new students wash out in their third year. It is
located in Cardassia City.
BaKolmoir: This Military Academy teaches general
sciences, engineering, and medical sciences. It is the
single most prestigious science Academy, and only
the best and brightest young Cardassian minds will
be in attendance here. It is located in the southern
portion of the Patka continent, and has a female-tomale ratio of 20 to 1.
BaMarren: Cardassian ground soldiers are trained
at this Military Academy, located in Sotara along the
western shore of the bay.
BaGurfe: Located on Kora II, BaGurfe is the best
advanced training facility for Operations ofcers.
Aamin Marritza taught his advanced ling system
here after the occupation of Bajor.
Architecture
Cardassian architecture is respected throughout the
Alpha Quadrant, but their engineering regulations are not as
stringent as their Federation equivalent. Cardassians structures have an honesty to their design. They do not hide the
columns and beams of a structure behind elegant facades.
The fundamentals of Cardassian design are balance rather
than symmetry, ellipses rather than circles, curves rather
than right angles. Cardassian architects tend to favor the
Arts
The Cardassian people consider the arts to be less
important than many other races do. In the resource-hungry
society of Cardassia, where starvation and need are recent
memories, literature, poetry, and sculpture are of secondary importance. A career as an artist is considered slightly
shameful in a culture whose essence is duty and service.
The Cardassian State keeps a tight reign on its artists. It recognizes that art can be a powerful motivational
force. Only state sanctioned writers can be published. Only
the work of state sanctioned painters and sculptors may be
exhibited, and only in state-run galleries. Each individual
work must undergo a long and involved approval process
10
Cuisine
Mealtimes are of great importance to Cardassians. Traditionally, the main meal of the
day was a time for the whole family to sit down
together. In modern times, the evening meal is
still considered a time for family, even if modern
lifestyles make it more difcult for the family to
eat together. A meal is just as important to lone
Cardassians or those away from their family, they
will never take work to their meal table; a meal
should be a time for conversation amongst friends
or intellectual discussion between comrades.
To a Cardassian, a meal is not just food to
be consumed; it is a feast of color and artistry. The
laying of the table, the color of the dishes and the
shape of the kanar bottle are all as important as
the food itself. Even a simple act, such as pouring
a glass of wine, is savored. Typically a Cardassian
will pause to admire the color of the drink before
pouring it. Perhaps he will even caress the elaborate spiral bottle before lifting the glass and savoring the aroma. Only then will he take his rst sip.
Food is also used as a symbol of power.
With whom you share your table is a measure
of status on Cardassia. If a powerful Cardassian
eats alone, he is stating that he considers no
one else is his equal. During the occupation of
Bajor, comfort women taken from refugee camps
were rewarded with the promise that their families would be well fed.
On the surface the Cardassian approach
to food makes them seem like an over-indulgent
species, but an examination of recent history shows
there are more concrete reasons. When drastic
food and resource shortages brought about a revolution, the new military government plundered
Cardassias artistic and archaeological treasures to
fulll their promise to put food on every Cardassians plate. With much of Cardassias great art
gone and a government that restricted new art,
the Cardassians established a new form of artistic
appreciation through their food and mealtime rituals.
Cardassians are omnivores, though many
of their dishes are meat or egg based. These are
generally cooked. Meat dishes include Semhal stew
and zabo meat steak, both of which are enjoyed
by non-Cardassians. Taspar eggs and Regova eggs
can be prepared in a number of ways, similar to
Terran chicken eggs. Many dishes are avored with
yamok sauce, a condiment that is found on every
meal table in the Cardassian Union. Hot sh juice,
a broth-like drink, is highly favored for breakfast.
Kanar is the Cardassian spirit of choice.
It comes in several varieties; it can be similar to
whiskey, wine, or liqueur. It is highly intoxicating
and the strong taste takes some getting used to.
In recent years kanar has proved popular outside the Cardassian Union, but the Dominion War has made it as difcult
to nd as Romulan Ale in the twenty-fourth century. Kanar
has a tendency to spoil, so keeping a supply on-hand is difcult for bartenders outside the Union.
Family
Cardassian families are tightly knit. Usually, parents
will have between three and ten children, and sometimes
more. An only child is an anomalous occurrence. Families live
together in the Cardassian household, with the father being
the head of the house. It is not uncommon for the family unit
to be extended from unmarried aunts and uncles to grandfathers and grandmothers, all living together in the same
household. The Cardassian people venerate age, and elder
Cardassians are seen as wise to the ways of the universe.
Cardassian families share in the disgrace of one of
their members; therefore much pressure is put on the individuals to uphold the family name. If a family member stumbles, much effort is put into concealing the fact from the
powers that be. If concealment cannot be achieved or the
action is quite dastardly, then the member is usually ostracized by the family and turned into a pariah. Usually the
member will accept this disgrace to avoid having his family
disgraced in his name.
Divorce is uncommon among the Cardassians, except
in cases where the acts of the husband or wife would bring
disgrace unto the house as a whole. Generally two Cardassians who marry will do so for life, however a certain amount
of philandering is almost expected by the males of the species. While this is frowned upon by society, the people tend
to turn a blind eye toward this type of behavior among the
males. The female Cardassians do not enjoy this privilege,
as they can be outcast for such loose moral character. A disgraced woman carries a heavy social burden.
Cardassian mating is different from other species,
and sometimes those differences are very misunderstood by
outsiders. A potential mate indicates interest by expressing
a bickering, almost beligerent attitude. This bickering has
caused more than one interstellar snafu as misunderstandings spring from hot debates between diplomats. Fertility is
of paramount importance, as a mate that cannot bear children is shamed. Men prefer spirited women, and the females
of the species tend to prefer strong, dominant males.
The Feeds
Early in Cardassian history, the Obsidian Order
learned that well-entertained masses are often too distracted to be mindful of revolution. The best way to remain
in power was to placate the citizenry with the Feeds. The
Feeds are a network of broadcast screens throughout the
Cardassian city streets that broadcast propaganda to the
masses all day long. Each home on Cardassia is required
by law to have a Feed. On the streets, huge monitors show
speeches, trials and executions. In the home, the Cardassian has a choice of ve Feeds, however all of them are
essentially the same. All extol the glory of the Union. All
insist that service to the state brings happiness. And of
Feed Hacking
Criminals who wish to go against the rule of
law and modify their Feed units must make a Computer (Hacking) versus Difcult to modify the software, and Security (Security Systems) versus Difcult
to modify the hardware. This allows them to make
the modications, but not to avoid being caught at it.
The units are intentionally quite complicated pieces
of equipment. At random intervals, the unit makes a
self-diagnostic and reports any anomalous readings
to the Obsidian Orders central computer network.
There are several checksums in place for both hardware and software. For instance, disabling the selfdiagnostic will alert the Obsidian Order, because the
self-diagnostic will not take place as scheduled. Some
unscrupulous individuals have two feed units - a
modied version that they keep hidden and off-line,
and an unmodied unit that they keep online. They
can then hot-swap the two as needed, then hot-swap
them back to prevent detection. Even this is dangerous, though, as the self-diagnostic can begin at any
moment and alert the authorities.
11
Religion
Worship is banned on Cardassia. There
is no organized religion and assembly for the purpose of a religious ceremony is a crime.
Ancient Cardassians were polytheistic and
worshipped a large pantheon of gods. The names
of these gods varied from region to region, but they
generally served the same purpose. This diversity
of gods gave rise to a large number of priests and
temples. Considerable wealth was accrued by the
priests at these temples. Mostly the wealth was used
for the purchase of sacred art and precious artifacts.
There were also lesser gods and spirits
that were worshipped. Small shrines were erected
to the spirits of particular streams or roads. Before
crossing the stream or walking the road, a small
prayer of thanks was given. It was believed that
everyone had a klaren, or guardian angel. Thanks
were given to this spirit every morning and an
offering was made every birthday.
About 5000 years ago a unied religion
arose on Cardassia. A priest named Heket traveled widely and discovered that different towns
worshipped different dieties. In one town that he
visited, Keldok (the sky god) was worshipped;
while in another town, Rhub (the god of crops
and the elds) was the primary deity. He was
disappointed that some gods were unknown in
some parts and that others went un-worshipped.
Realizing that hundreds of gods were too many
for people to remember, let alone worship, he
set about cataloguing the gods and categorizing
them into four Divine Presences. These were
Jonak Waresh (gods of the world), Jonak Mabd
(gods of the body and soul), Jonak Athela (gods
of fate and destiny) and Jonak StykAcken (gods
12
StykRakan (or SyxKrak): god who transported damned souls to the underworld.
Organized Crime
Before the Detapa Council, before the Central Command and the Obsidian Order, the Scravvan Families organized Cardassians globally. Despite famine, military coups,
wars, and the Dominion, the Scravvan Families business
prospers. Their business is crime.
History
Some historians believe that the Scravvan Families
originated in pre-industrial times, when gangs of gamblers
and racketeers protected rural townships from bandits.
While many Family members emulate the mixture of criminal activities and civic responsibility of those gangs, most
scholars agree that their origins can be traced back to early
industrial times. As towns grew into industrialized cities,
the large population masses made for easy exploitation by
those so inclined. Illegal gambling, drug dens and protection rackets were commonplace. Those who organized
13
14
Vole Racing
Cardassians enjoy gambling, and the government condones it as long as it is state sanctioned
and the Central Command earns its cut. However this
does not stop illegal gambling activities, such as
the vole races, and its even more heinous cousin,
the vole ght.
Vole races are quite popular among the
Unions soldiers and civilians. The races are outlawed
on Cardassia, so the gamblers must meet in secret to
place their bets. The house acts as bookie, and odds
are laid according to strength, tenacity and speed of
the rodent-like creature.
Many gamblers bring their own voles to the
races. Such criminals will go to great lengths raising
and training their voles to ensure their bets.
Some even go so far as to pump their vole up with
various strength and endurance enhancing drugs,
but more than one trainer has been killed by doing so
by his fellow gamblers.
With numbers painted on their back to identify them, the gate drops on the track and the voles
explode off the line. The courses can vary from gambling den to gambling den, as the illegal nature of the
so-called sport makes regulation courses impractical.
It is not uncommon for the voles to ght on their way
to the nish line, and side-bets of which vole will win
the scrap start ying throughout the den. Eventually
one will cross the nish line and the bets are paid out.
The surviving voles will race again. This will continue
for two or three hours before closing down, only to
pop up elsewhere.
What isnt generally known is that the Families control the gambling dens throughout the Union.
If a den springs up to encroach on the Familys territory, it quickly gets raided by the Obsidian Order, shut
down, and the criminals engaging in the activity are
executed. This ensures that there is no competition.
Dissidents
When any government wields its power with an iron
st, as the Cardassian government has, political dissent is
sure to evolve. A repressive government unwillingly nurtures
groups who are dissatised with the state of their society,
and Cardassia is no exception to this sociological rule.
Dissent on Cardassia Prime is a rare thing, simply
because the Obsidian Order is so watchful for this type of
treasonous behavior. Because of this, the groups have to be
Dissident Groups
Several groups of dissent are listed below. The list is
by no means conclusive.
The True Way: A violent group opposed to the peace
treaty between Cardassia and Bajor. They blame the
Federation for Cardassias economic & political troubles.
Cardassian Underground: A non-violent dissent
group who focuses on peace as a solution for change.
They want a democratic society, civil rights, and a
better life for their children. After the Dominion War,
the Underground became the Democratist Movement.
The Federation Faction: This non-violent group
actively works toward the day when the Cardassian
Union and the United Federation of Planets can one
day merge as one.
Private Citizen: This group of citizens works to eliminate the Obsidian Order and undermine their efforts of
spying. They broadcast pirate feed signals across feed
lines, hoping to infect other Cardassians with their
ideas. The Obsidian Order considers this group to be
the most dangerous.
15
16
Science
The purpose of Cardassian science is to serve the
state. The Central Command controls all research and exploration. It dictates which sectors of space are to be explored.
It decides which research projects can proceed and which
are of no value to the State.
17
18
CARDASSIAN
HISTORY
CARDASSIAN HSITORY
WRITTEN IN OBSIDIAN
The Hebitian Age
Cardassian recorded history begins in the rst Hebitian Era.
The reign of the Hebet dynasty and the subsequent prosperous and
peaceful years of the Hebitian League are considered to be a golden
age of Cardassian civilization. While it is true that this was an era of
unparalleled artistry that produced many of Cardassias most valued
artifacts and monuments; the Hebitian League was built on the backs
of slaves and the lower classes. As ever, most Cardassians were
simply struggling to survive.
19
Timeline
All years are in Terran Standard.
Circa -16000: City-states are
established. First use of metals.
Circa -10000: Several city-states
form an alliance, the Hebitian
League. First writing.
Circa -6000: First Hebitian Civilization falls.
Circa -3000: Heket, a priest, develops new religious doctrine.
Circa 2800: Julun Kassat spreads
Hekets teachings. Second Hebitian
period begins. Science and discovery mark this period.
Circa 600: Gunpowder weaponry
developed.
Circa 750: The Hebitian alliance is
destroyed by internal conict.
795: Third Hebitian Empire is
founded.
926: Third Hebitian Empire falls.
957: Sotaran-Hebitian
formed.
League
Second
Hebitian
period
20
traded for riding animals to build a cavalry. Within a generation of their rst defeats
the Sotarans struck again.
The Hebitians found themselves at war with a battle-hardened enemy that
was as well-equipped as them and determined to avenge past defeats. Wars raged
on and off for one hundred and fty years. Bitter internal divisions within the Hebitian
League caused fractures within. Nations and cities not under threat from the Sotarans refused to aid those who were. Nations in western Patka saw their opportunity
to seize territory from the hard-pressed Hebitians on the other side of the straits. One
by one the Sotarans pillaged the League cities until they reached Koralem itself.
The siege of Korlarem lasted three years. The Sotarans breached the great citys
walls one by one. When the attackers reached the heart of the city, they put every man,
woman and child to death. Fasmar Hebet, ruler of the city and head of the Hebitian
League, was executed and his headless corpse was hung over the city gate for a month.
In the following centuries, small nations were born and died all across Okaba.
The displaced Hebitian peoples built new cities and fought the Sotaran conquerors
while Sotaran warlords fought over conquered territory.
1580: Gars forces ght a limited nuclear war with Gerish. Gars
campaign ends.
1581: The rst summit between
Cardassian leaders.
1590: The rst manned rocket is
launched.
1592: The Obsidian Order is
founded.
1595: First interplanetary space
ight to Cardassia IV.
1597: Fusion power developed.
1604: Colony established on Cardassia IV.
1689: Warp drive developed.
1711: First contact with the
Zhavish. Interstellar war ensues.
1713: The Central Command is
formed.
1854: Zhavish rebels hijack the
Garamesh and try to crash it into
Cardassia Prime.
1871:
lished.
Detapa
Council
estab-
21
22
Galebra, was a Telerath Jonak fanatic. She married Xanam Hebet, and together they
expanded the alliance, through conquest and threats. Their descendents would continue to exert considerable inuence within the alliance for over ve hundred years.
At its height, the Hebitian alliance was spread across a third of Cardassia.
Art, philosophy, and religion ourished, hand in hand with science and discovery. Many signicant advances were made in metallurgy, engineering, weaponry,
agriculture, and medicine. However, it was those technological advances that
brought an end to the alliance.
The history of the Hebitian alliance was never a peaceful one. Nations
within the alliance fought amongst themselves and those states on the borders
had to constantly defend themselves from without. The development of gunpowder weaponry sparked off an arms race within the alliance. As one nation gained
bigger and better cannons, they felt compelled to demonstrate them by trying
them out on their neighbors. As artillery became heavier and musketry was introduced onto the battleeld, more and more nations were convinced that they had
superiority over their enemies. Eventually the entire alliance was at war with itself.
The former alliance nations waged war amongst themselves for several
hundred years. Several attempts were made by rulers to unite nations and
restore peace. Usually they only succeeded in achieving temporary agreements between a handful of states. Some were more successful than others.
Rifon Haradas founded the Third Hebitian Empire when he negotiated a
pact between twelve nations. Together they conquered all of Okaba and most of
Sotara. Haradas declared himself Emperor of Cardassia and ruled from Korlarem
with an iron hand. His empire lasted until the death of his great grandson, who
left no heirs. The twelve-nation pact collapsed as its signatories fought bitterly
over who would rule the empire.
The Sotaran-Hebitian League was a loose alliance of states in Okaba and
Sotara that were freed after the collapse of the Empire. They allied for mutual
defense and economic benet and brought peace and prosperity to their peoples
for over two hundred years.
Historians classify other multinational alliances in Okaba as the fth through
to seventh Hebitian eras. Some even consider there to have been eighth and
ninth eras. By the end of the thirteenth century, there were no longer any accords
between nations of any kind.
23
Eight Days
Gar adopted different approaches to Redaran to the south and Wasir to the west. The Rendarans were a belligerent and aggressive people.
Gar knew that he would not get off as lightly
as he had in the conict with Findara. Instead
of the expected attack, he chose to amplify his
policy of deterrence. He increased the number of
nuclear missiles stationed close to the Rendaran
border. His message was simple: any Rendaran
attack would be suicide. Gar knew that his solution was not permanent, but it would keep the
Rendarans out of his hair for a while.
Gar adopted a policy towards the Wasiri
that was almost the opposite of his Rendaran
one. Wasir was a semi-democratic nation whose
people considered their way of life to be superior to that of every other Cardassian nation. Gar
offered the Wasiri peace. He unilaterally withdrew
his nuclear weaponry from the Wasir border
and offered a non-aggression pact. The Wasiri
government accepted the hand of peace. However
there was some internal dissent in Wasir. A large
number of Wasiri considered the formation of any
kind of alliance with Gar to be a betrayal of
their principals.
To continue his campaign of unication, Gar
need to bypass either Wasir or Rendaran to reach
the regions of Okaba, Venarhond and Kolari. He
achieved this through the backdoor. Golun Jakat,
Gars ambassador to Wasir successfully negotiated a
trade agreement that included a paragraph allowing
the movement of men and material through Wasir.
The Wasiri did not anticipate that Gar would use this
clause to mount an invasion.
The Wasiri feared the worst when Gars
men and tanks poured across their border. However Gar was simply taking advantage of his agreement. His ofcers were under strict instructions
that no harm was to come to any Wasiri person or
property, any damage was to be paid for and any
man violating these orders was to be handed
over to the Wasiri authorities.
However the troop movement caused
uproar amongst the Wasiri populace, despite its
legality and Gars personal assurances. There were
riots and blockades of the highways preventing the
passage of Gars troops. The Wasiri head of government resigned. The troops merely waited until
the local authorities cleared the roads and passed
through without major incident.
Gars target was the small and inconsequential coastal nation of Saditir. The Saditiri army
was well aware that Gars army was coming, however they were outnumbered ten to one. Gars
navy began shelling the Saditiri capital from
offshore as his army passed through Wasir. The
24
Nuclear Conflagration
While Gars diplomats worked very publicly with their Wasiri and Rendaran counterparts,
his troops were being relocated to Elekanda. Here
they began to systematically crush the rebels that
had been plaguing his outposts for years. Hunak
condemned Gars actions in Elekanda, but Gar
knew that the Wasiri people would not support a
confrontation over a few savages in a land thousands of miles away.
Gar continued his campaign in the only
direction that was open to him into Rekonda.
Long supply routes that traversed the ocean and
thousands of miles of deserts hampered his army,
but it was ghting less technologically advanced
peoples with disorganized militaries.
Gar fortied his borders in eastern
Rekonda, and began to build his forces. Shortrange nuclear missiles were targeted on Patkan cities.
While Gars troops were preparing to
invade Patka, his diplomats were negotiating the
disarmament of long-range nuclear weapons in
Okaba and Sotara. His negotiators had strict
instructions not to agree to any inclusion of short-
25
Her motives for her actions remain unclear. Perhaps she simply sought peace, or wanted to be the rst
lady of Cardassia at Gars right hand. Most likely, she
was engaged in an elaborate scheme to seize power from
him. But any historical evidence was lost in the chaos
that followed Gars fall.
Gar announced to the world that he was planning a
summit meeting for the leaders of every nation on Cardassia. This historic meeting would be the rst step to forming a united world government, Gar grandly claimed. He
also suggested that his empire was about to begin a space
program, and that he would allow any state that participated
in the summit to join the space program.
The summit appeared to be enormously successful.
Only three nations refused to attend: Wasir, Saditir and the
government in exile of Gerish. Every leader in attendance
wanted to meet with every other. More trade agreements
and defense pacts were signed during the summit than in
the whole of Cardassian history.
26
In reality the summit had achieved little. It overran by almost three weeks, yet the heads of state failed to
collectively agree on anything except that they would hold
further regular summits. The nations that had joined up to
Gars space program had only agreed to commit small quantities of resources with no promise of anything in return.
Despite this, after the delegates returned to their respective
nations, Gar declared himself the Unier of Cardassia.
To the Planets
In the decade following Yarins rst ight, a dozen
more Cardassians were launched into orbit. But the space
program was in danger of being cancelled. Several conquered nations in Gars empire were showing the rst signs
of revolt and Gar had to devote resources to maintain control. The other nations that contributed to the program were
growing weary of supplying valuable resources for no
measurable return.
Gar knew that if the space program were to survive
it would have to have a denite goal. He decided that Cardassia must venture to the planets. When he presented
his plan to the Cardassian leaders, he put it into terms that
they would understand. Any nation that contributed to the
program would be granted resources rights on Cardassia IV
in proportion to their contributions. No nation on Cardassia
could ignore this and every nation except Gerish contributed.
The project was given a ve-year deadline. If the
team could not achieve that, they would have to wait two
more years for the planetary orbits to reach alignment again.
There would be no test launches and no test ights. Against
all odds, a gigantic ve-stage rocket was designed, constructed and launched on time.
After a three-month ight, a six-man team led by
Darin Ikarra landed on the surface of Cardassia IV. Ikarra
and his team spent several hours outside in environmental suits before they opened their helmets to breathe the
air of a new world.
After the rst successful ight to Cardassia IV every
nation on Cardassia was hankering after further missions to
establish a permanent base and begin exploiting the planet.
Two further rockets were under construction when a further technological development was extrapolated from data
gained from the Bajoran ship fusion power.
The two missions were launched to Cardassia IV
and the base was established. Almost immediately following their launch, a fusion-powered craft was launched into
orbit by rocket and traveled to Cardassia V in a fraction of
the time the two great rockets took to reach Cardassia IV.
Interstellar War
The Cardassians did not take tentative steps out
into the galaxy. Instead, there was literally a space race,
as each nation hurried to complete a starship before their
neighbors and be the rst to claim new worlds for exploration and exploitation. Hundreds of primitive starships ventured out beyond the Cardassian system and many of them
were never heard from again. At rst the Cardassians only
discovered uninhabited planets or those with primitive populations who could be easily enslaved, until they encountered
the space-going Zhavish and Cardassia became embroiled
27
28
attacks on Cardassian vessels shall cease immediately and that all captured Cardassian men and
material shall be returned to the Union. Failure to
comply will be considered an act of war and we
will respond accordingly.
The Zhavish did not respond. Instead
they sent twenty-five of their own warships
to engage the Cardassians.
In the ensuing conagration, Klinn used
his superior numbers to good effect. The Cardassian vessels positioned themselves close to
the Zhavish vessels to nullify the enemys weaponry advantage. Two or three Cardassian vessels
would co-ordinate their re onto each enemy ship,
destroying them before they could inict signicant
damage in return. The battle raged for twelve
hours before Klinn emerged victorious with nine
fully functional ships under his command.
Klinn took his eet to the Zhavish homeworld and blockaded the planet. The Zhavish,
under threat of nuclear attack form orbit offered
their surrender and agreement to Cardassias terms.
But that was not enough for Cardassias leaders.
Every starship available to Cardassia was
loaded with troops from dozens of nations. Tens
of thousands of Cardassian soldiers were transported to Zhavish and landed under the protection
of Jagul Klinns missiles. Zhavish had no choice
but to submit to Cardassian occupation.
and
the
issues were often debated for months. Practical decisionmaking became impossible.
The idea of forming a unied governing body for
Cardassia was raised on several occasions, but rejected
out of hand. No national leader was prepared to surrender his sovereignty, his armed forces or his conquered
worlds to some arbitrary body. However, the events of
1854 changed this general opinion.
The Central Command was engaged in both pacifying the populace of Gartis IV and protecting Wasiri
national ships and colonies from raids by the Kressari.
When Zhavish rebels staged a revolt on their homeworld,
the Central Command found itself stretched a little thin
and requested additional ships and soldiers from the leaders of the Cardassian nations.
While the leaders debated the issue, the Kressari
saw their opportunity and mounted a full scale offensive
against two Wasiri colonies. The Wasiri leader demanded
that the Central Command should protect them. Reluctantly the Union leaders agreed to pull troops from the
Zhavish homeworld and Gartis IV and dispatch the to aid
the Wasiri colonies.
The Kressari were proved hard to deter and the
Central Command found itself engaged in an extended campaign. At the same time, the Gartisian people began to
openly resist their Cardassian conquerors and the Zhavish
rebels engaged in a campaign of terrorism and guerrilla warfare against the Cardassians.
Events nally came to a head when a group of
Zhavish rebels captured the Cardassian warship Garamesh.
They used its missiles to destroy several Cardassian bases on
their homeworld, before setting course for Cardassia Prime.
Their intention was to crash the ship into the largest city on
Cardassia, martyring themselves for their cause.
The Central Command had only two ships within
the Cardassian system, the battleship Geldag and the scout
Bokella. The two ships engaged the Garamesh as it entered
the system. The Geldag inicted signicant damage on the
captured vessel but could not disable it before the Zhavish
rebels scored a lucky hit on the battleships impulse drive.
The Bokella continued to pursue the Garamesh, until its
course became obvious. The captain of the smaller scout
ship knew that he would be unable to destroy the warship
with his limited weaponry before it entered Cardassias atmosphere. Instead he ordered his ship to ram the engineering
section of the Garamesh. The warp core of the rebels ship
was ruptured and both ships were obliterated.
The leaders of Cardassia were shaken from their
complacency. When Tapal Feresh, ruler of Findara, put forward a plan for a united Cardassian government, Cardassian
leaders suddenly sat up and took heed. It had taken the
prospect of imminent destruction to convince them to act.
It took fteen years to establish the new govern-
Democracy
For seventy-ve years, the Cardassian people enjoyed
the freedom of self-determination. While they have technically retained the right to vote since the founding of the
Detapa council, except for those rst decades, their choice
of candidate has been strictly limited to those approved by
the existing government.
After the rst ten years political reformers who were
keen to do away with the status quo dominated the Detapa
Council. The Council did its best to eradicate the power of
the tyrants, aristocrats and generals who had lead Cardassia
for thousands of years.
While the Council was busy enacting its reforms, it
failed to deal with the real problems of the Cardassian Union
the hunger and poverty of its people caused by a severe
lack of resources. Cardassias expansion into space had
failed to alleviate the resource problems face by Cardassia
Prime. Her wars of conquest had consumed more resources
than the conquered planets had ever supplied.
29
30
A Century of War
The Central Command pursued an aggressive expansion policy for almost three hundred years. As the Union
expanded, so did its requirements for resources. The vast
Cardassian military required an equally vast supply of metals,
dilithium and food in order to continue its conquests. World
after world was conquered, strip-mined and discarded. In
all that time Cardassia encountered no major threat and its
expansion went unchecked.
31
The speed of Stareets response caught the Cardassian forces by surprise. The Federations superior technology, longer weapon range and abundance of photon torpedoes gave them a signicant advantage over their Cardassian opponents. When a small number of Stareet ships succeeded in destroying almost double their number at Minos
Corva, the Central Command began to re-evaluate its position.
The Central Command had two choices: to end the
invasion or to commit further forces. It chose to commit a massive force in an attempt to overwhelm the Federations defensive forces. One million men and 750 ships were from the
Second and Third Orders were ordered into Federation space.
The massive second wave of the invasion was too
large to catch Stareet by surprise but it was unprepared for
an offensive of this scale. Stareet Command ordered its
ships away from the border to prevent their destruction. Federation forces on the ground were outnumbered and were
quickly overwhelmed by the Cardassian military. Twentythree worlds fell to the Cardassians.
The Admirals at Stareet command knew that they
must oust the Cardassians quickly, before they brought in
reinforcements to hold the captured worlds while its front line
units renewed the invasion. But Stareets ships were scattered across Federation space and beyond. It took weeks to
gather a force large enough to wage a counter-offensive.
The Cardassians struck rst. Fifty ships from the
Third Order attacked Starbase 211 and the twelve starships
stationed there.
The Stareet vessels fought a valiant
holding action for twelve hours, allowing time for reinforcements to arrive. Of the defending vessels, only the USS
Victory survived the battle.
Admiral TKora commanded the Stareet forces
charged with ousting the Cardassians. She was a Vulcan and
a grand master of three-dimensional chess. Her approach
to the conict was methodical and cautious. She studied
intelligence on Jagul Sharoc, hoping to anticipate his
actions and outwit him.
TKora rst established a strong defensive perimeter.
She waited and watched. Time and again the Cardassians
attempted to break out, but TKora always had reinforcements in place to meet Sharocs offensives.
The second stage of TKoras operation was to disrupt
Cardassian supply lines. Flotillas of Stareet escorts and light
cruisers were dispatched into Cardassian space to destroy
cargo and transport vessels. Several larger forces were used
to destroy Cardassian bases and stations close to the border.
It was six months before TKora began the nal stage
of the operation. She began to liberate one world at a time
with force of seventy ships and ve hundred thousand soldiers. It was the largest force ever raised by the Federation. Collectively, Sharocs forces outnumbered TKoras tento-one but they were spread across twenty-three worlds,
giving TKora the advantage.
Admiral TKora was too successful in countering Jagul
Sharocs moves. She thwarted his every gambit except his last.
With defeat staring him in the face, Sharoc requested that the
32
An Uneasy Peace
The peace was broken only months later
by the Federation ship USS Phoenix under the command of Benjamin Maxwell, who single handedly
attacked Cardassian stations and ships that were being
used to re-supply forces close to the border. Only
co-operation between Federation Captain Picard
and Cardassian Gul Macet prevented the incident
causing renewed conict between the two sides.
A peace treaty was negotiated with the
Federation and a demilitarized zone was established between the two powers, but both Federation
and Cardassian colonists in the zone were unhappy
with the treaty that allowed their homelands to be
ceded to the enemy. Some Federation colonists
formed a secret defensive organization, the Maquis,
in response to incidents of violence by Cardassian
colonists against them and their families and friends.
The Maquis gained unofcial support amongst
Stareets ranks while a sympathetic faction of the
Central Command, in unwitting conjunction with
some of the criminal Scravvan families, covertly
supplied the Cardassians with weapons. The situation in the zone deteriorated into open conict and
terrorism. The Central Command appeared to be
unable to contain the problem.
The Central Command suffered a further blow
to its prestige in 2371, when it agreed to a peace treaty
with the Bajorans. In less than a century the Klingons,
the Federation, and Bajor had beaten Cardassia.
The Maquis
The uneasy peace between the
United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union was strengthened when, in
2370, both parties signed a treaty that
established a demilitarized zone. This zone,
varied in width along its ten light-years
of length, contains several star systems,
some of which were originally a part of the
Union, but many that originally belonged
to the Federation. Several systems even
exchanged hands in the favor of the Union,
some of which were Federation colonies.
Naturally, Cardassia attempted to subjugate these new worlds, and when the colonists refused to relinquish their homes, the
Maquis resistance began.
The Maquis is a secret organization operating outside the boundaries of
the will of the Cardassian Union and the
Federation. Upon their formation in 2370,
their exact numbers were unknown, but
it is estimated that they never exceeded
several hundred members at any given
time. They are comprised of Humans for
the most part, a good percentage of them
having Native American heritage. The other
races are those who had sympathy for the
Maquis cause, particularly Bajorans, who
had a good deal of previous knowledge of
Cardassian resistance tactics.
Their success at driving a thorn
into the Cardassian Unions side was complete until 2373, when the Union joined
sides with the Dominion against the Federation. In several deadly and concise battles, the Jemhadar crippled the Maquis,
chasing them through the Badlands and
back to their host worlds where they were
crushed once and for all. This was a deciding factor for the Union, who joined the
Dominion only if they could prove their
might by exterminating this disgrace of the
Cardassian military.
After the Dominion War conict
ended, the Cardassian Demilitarized Zone
was re-established by the Federation without Cardassias consent, and thus certain
Federation colonies once again fell under
the rule of Cardassia. It has yet to be seen
on whether or not the Maquis resistance
will rise up once again to harass and shame
the now-crippled Cardassian Union.
33
First Strike
The Cardassians were the rst race to take action,
albeit in an unauthorized manner. Enabran Tain, the retired
head of the Obsidian Order, joined forces with the Romulan Tal Shiar and his former colleagues in the Order. A
eet of advanced Keldon-class ships was constructed and
equipped with cloaking devices at the Orders Orias shipyards. An unprecedented joint eet of Romulan and Cardassian ships headed for the Founders homeworld under
cloak with intention of eradicating all life from the planet.
However, Colonel Lovok, head of the Tal Shiar force was a
Founder inltrator. The Founders had relocated to another
planet and a force of Jemhadar ships was waiting in
ambush. The joint eet was utterly destroyed.
Revolution on Cardassia
Had the attack on the Founders succeeded, the
Obsidian Order would have been able to avoid any political
recriminations for its actions. Instead, the Detapa Council
was outraged by the Orders unauthorized action and the
Central Command was furious over the Orders secret construction of warships. The Council and the Central Command began a political battle to control the Order.
With the government in political turmoil, the dissident movement seized its chance. Sympathetic members
of the government leaked details of the Obsidian Orders
failure and the militarys defeats to the public. The dissidents began to organize strikes and protests. The Cardassian people gladly joined the demonstrations for they had
lived in fear for too long.
The Obsidian Order was engaged in a struggle for
survival and it failed to foresee the protests or quickly
uncover the ringleaders. The Central Command used troops
to disperse the protests and break the strikes, but for every
demonstration it stopped two more began.
Word of a huge demonstration to be held in Cardassia City was spread across all of Cardassia Prime. The
authorities publicly denounced the protest as illegal and
imposed travel restrictions. But millions came from all across
the planet, many nishing the journey on foot to avoid the
troops that turned back personal vehicles and public transport. Cardassia City ground to a halt.
The protest was centered as close to Imperial Plaza
as the military blockades would allow. Leading dissidents
addressed the crowd, demanding an end to the Central Commands stranglehold on the Cardassian government and the
Obsidian Orders repression of the Cardassian people. Day
after day more and more Cardassians joined the protest.
After a week the Central Command ordered its
troops to end the protest. Armored vehicles and tens of
thousands of soldiers took position around the circumfer-
34
35
36
CARDASSIAN
UNION
CARDASSIAN UNION
THE STATE
THE UNION
Technically speaking, the Cardassian Union isnt a Union
at all, and never has been. Its actually a Cardassian-ruled empire
(even some Cardassians refer to it as such). Cardassians make up
the majority of citizens in the Union, although other species such as
the Klaestron are members or allies.
In theory, for about the past 500 years, the Union was governed by the Detapa Council, which oversaw the Central Command
(the Cardassian military) and the Obsidian Order (the intelligence
agency). In truth, the Central Command held the lions share of the
power in the Union during most of that period. The Detapa Council
merely rubber-stamped the Central Commands edicts. The Union
continued to expand to acquire resources for the core worlds, and
fought to protect its territories against potential invaders, such as the
United Federation of Planets.
In recent years, the Cardassian Union suffered one
upheaval after another: the collapse of Central Commands governmental power, a Klingon invasion, the toppling of the Detapa Council,
the alliance with the Dominion, war with the rest of the Alpha Quadrant, rebellion against the Dominion, and the slaughter of hundreds
of millions of Cardassians and the destruction of much of their home-
37
Becoming a Member
Privileges of Membership
Member Worlds
38
Affiliates
A number of planets in and near Cardassian space
hold afliate status with the Union. This is an intermediate
position between independence and membership. The world
signs a mutual treaty of alliance with the Cardassian Union
and gains certain rights and privileges, in exchange for trade
concessions and agreements to respect Cardassian space
and right of passage. The inhabitants of Klaestron IV are one
example. After a Federation representative failed to mediate
their civil war some years ago, the victorious Klaestron government signed a treaty with the Cardassian Union to trade
for the materials and technology to rebuild.
Generally speaking, afliates are worlds the Cardassians desire relations with, but which they cannot (for
whatever reason) conquer or persuade to join the Union.
Klaestron IV, for example, is actually a member of the Fed-
eration. Since it could not join the Union, and the Cardassians could not annex the planet without provoking reprisals
from the Federation, afliate status provided the most mutually benecial relationship.
Afliates of the Cardassian Union receive favorable
trading status, but not the military protection of the Central
Command. Afliates maintain their own planetary defense
forces, although the Union severely restricts the operation
of those forces within Cardassian space. In most cases, an
afliate can only exercise military/security jurisdiction within
its own system or space.
Afliate status sometimes leads to a world becoming a full member of the Union at a later time. Unofcially,
the Cardassian Union has also used afliate status to create
buffer zones between the Union and other interstellar
powers, like the Klingon Empire. The Dominion showed no
compunction about turning these buffer zones into battlefields during the war, souring the Unions relations with
many of its affiliates.
Some afliates are found along the Federation/
Cardassian border. For the most part these are worlds
belonging to or allied with the Federation that, due to their
location, have been granted the right to trade with Cardassia by the Federation Council. During the Dominion War,
all of these afliates sided with the Federation, and as a
result their space was the site of frequent clashes between
Stareet and Dominion-Cardassian forces. Even more afliates exist in the areas nearest Klingon territory. Typically,
these are worlds that prefer to trade with the Union rather
than the Empire. The remainder of the Unions afliates are
scattered along the spinward border of the Union.
Client Worlds
A large number of planets in the Union are client
worlds. While these worlds are technically considered members, they enjoy none of the benets of membership. In
truth theyre not members but victims, worlds conquered
by the Central Command and incorporated into the Union
by force. In many instances they are resource-rich (at least
in the eyes of resource-poor Cardassia), and thus ripe for
exploitation to feed Cardassias needs.
The standard Cardassian procedure for annexing a
client world usually begins with a gul or other ofcer approaching the planetary government (or the largest and most powerful government on the planet) and offering membership
in the Union, including assistance from the Cardassians in
matters of technology and resource development. The standard agreement includes trade with other worlds in the Union.
Planetary ofcials are clearly informed that refusing the honor
of membership could cause them problems with their Cardassian neighbors. This thinly veiled threat has caused many
39
40
History
The original Detapa Council, founded some
ve centuries ago, was formed from a loose alliance of nobles, military leaders, and aristocrats
following the end of the Second Hebitian period.
Their world had already been unied for some
time, but under the control of dictators and autocrats. In 1871, protests over the disbursement of
war treasures led to the founding of the Council.
When it rst came to power, the Detapa
Council enjoyed an unprecedented popularity that
allowed it to enact many sweeping democratic
reforms. These changes, as welcome as they were
to the people of the Cardassian Union, were intolerable to the entrenched military elite and others
who had previously held the reins of power. Calling upon their connections and the power still
available to them, they slowly but surely began to
reverse or counteract the reforms. It took them
Composition
The Detapa Council traditionally has fteen members, although it has allowed some seats to remain vacant
at times in the past. Most members of the Council hold the
position of legate before their election (often as the result
of ancient family titles held hereditarily, or in recognition of
their service to the stateand the vesala they spent). If not,
they receive that title when they assume their seat on the
council. The law restricts the number of Central Command
ofcials on the Council to no more than ve. Despite this,
Central Command has historically exercised almost complete
control over the Council through their inuence in nearly
every other aspect of Cardassian life. If the conservative elements in modern Cardassian society have their way, any new
ruling body will likewise fall under military control.
Of the 15 members, historically at least eight represented Cardassia Prime itself and her closest, strongest,
most loyal colonies and former colonies. The remainder of
the representatives come from the rest of the worlds of the
Union. Thus, most worlds do not have their own representative; they share a Councilor with one or more other worlds
that helped elect him.
In addition to the 15 full members of the Council,
there are dozens, sometimes hundreds, of observers entitled to sit in on Council business and conduct preliminary
debate (but not to participate in nal debates, or to vote).
Just about any Cardassian with sufcient vesala and the
approval of the Central Command can obtain an observer
seat if he wants one.
Election
By Cardassian law, the general populace elects members of the Detapa Council. Five seats on the Council come
up for election every two years, theoretically resulting in
a complete change in council membership every six years.
However, since there is no limit to the number of terms a
legate may serve on the Council, once a Cardassian obtains
a position on the Council, he can often manage to hold onto
it for a long time. Many members serve four to eight terms
before they choose to retire.
The popular nature of the vote has been little more
than a sham in recent centuries. The citizens do cast votes,
but the Central Command handpicks the slate of candidates
they choose from. A Cardassians ability to get nominated for
the voting, or to receive an observer seat, depends heavily
on his vesala. But as long as the Central Command exerts de
facto control of the process for nominating the voting members of the Council, it controls what the Council does.
The concept of political parties as they once existed
on Earth and other planets is foreign to the Cardassians.
Each candidates vesala network constitutes his own party
to offer support and secure votes. Trading favors and forging
secret alliances is as much a part of Cardassian politics as it
is of any other aspect of society.
The Prefect
The Detapa Council selects one of its members to
act as the head of the Council and Prefect of the Cardassian Union. The Prefect runs Council meetings and serves as
a tie-breaking vote. He is also the Supreme Commander of
the Cardassian military. For generations prior to 2371, the
41
Prefect of the Union was always a member of Central Command and a military ofcer. The military would not follow
a civilian Prefect and it was well known among the Council
that electing one would lead to an outright military coup. To
keep their power and position, the Council members always
elected one of their military brethren Prefect.
After the Omarion Nebula incident, popular support
swung away from Central Command, and the civilian members
of the Detapa Council seized the opportunity to further weaken
the militarys grip on the government. Unfortunately, the Klingon Empire took their uncharacteristic act of deance as proof
that they were actually changeling inltrators. This provoked the
Klingon invasion of Cardassia, and forced the Detapa Council to
ee Cardassia Prime to avoid capture and execution.
Powers
The Detapa Council has the legislative and executive
power in the Cardassian government. It drafts and passes
legislation, enforces the laws, raises and distributes money
for the operation of the government, controls the Cardassian
economy, and sees to the defense of the Union. Although
the Council has considerable power according to the letter
of the law, it has been largely impotent for centuries. For
the past several hundred years, all of the important laws
and edicts passed by the Council have been dictated by the
Central Command (or, on occasion, the Obsidian Order).
Any Councilor or observer can draft and propose legislation before the Council (though observers can only participate in preliminary debates, not the nal debate before
the Council votes on the measure). Council members debate
and consider the proposals; the sponsoring Councilor speaks
rst. In the case of legislation already approved or denied
by Central Command, this process is largely for showthe
decision has already been made.
By law, the Council and the Supreme Prefect
exercise control over Central Command and the Obsidian
Order. Again, in practice things are quite different. Central Command and the Obsidian Order split most governmental power between them, leaving the members of the
Detapa Council as puppets to carry out their wishes. The
Order lets the Central Command handle most day-to-day
matters, but gets involved whenever it wants something.
After the Omarion Nebula incident, the power of the
Order weakened considerably. Central Command tried to
tighten its control over the populace, leading to a backlash against the military and the establishment of Cardassias rst true civilian government.
In day-to-day matters, the Prefect holds executive
power, including command over the military. The Council
as a whole must verify some of the Prefects decisions after
the fact. Usually it approves the Prefects actions without
debate, since theyre what the Central Command wants.
Frequent questioning of the Prefects decisions indicates
that his political power is shakythat powerful Cardassians
see him as vulnerable.
42
Procedures
For most matters, the Detapa Council requires only
a simple majority vote. However, in Cardassian politics, a
simple majority is almost a contradiction in terms. Technically, all members of the Council have equal authority.
In practice, each Councilors vesala determines his voting
power. The more vesala a Councilor possesses, the more
votes he can sway in favor of his position. By bringing his
inuence to bear, he can force Councilors who disagree with
him to vote the way he wants them to. The backrooms of the
Council chambers often become ugly battleelds of power
brokering, blackmail, and overt political pressure. The Central Command, with its vast amounts of vesala, can employ
that inuence to control the Council when it cannot use
easier, more direct methods for some reason.
While this system sounds simple, in practice it
becomes quite complex. Shifting webs of vesala in Cardassian society often demand that a Councilor try to be all
things to all sides. When different factions within the military
all bring their inuence to bear, or the demands of inuential
citizens conict, a Councilor may be torn between different
persons or groups to whom he owes equivalent favors. This
may cause him to temrasa horvelkliterally, split his true
vote. Since each Councilor only has one vote on any given
matter, he actually divides the effects of his vesala between
the positions of the various factions trying to inuence him
and then abstains from voting. As a result, the overall effect
of his personal inuence may diminish to little or nothing
which may have been the real goal of some of the people or
groups pressuring him.
Defense
The Ministry of Defense oversees the budgeting and
administration of the Cardassian military. Of course, it has
not exercised any actual authority for centuries. Central
Command assigns a senior or retired ofcer the position
of Defense Minister as a reward for years of loyal service.
Among the military, the job is widely known as a comfortable retirement position requiring almost no work. In the
past century or so, the Central Command has dispensed with
even the pretense of reporting its actions to the Ministry of
Defense, so the position is a mere sinecure.
Finance
The Ministry of Finance oversees trade negotiations
and treaties, sets interest and currency exchange rates, collects taxes and other moneys due the Cardassian government, and performs economic forecasts and analyses for the
Detapa Council. Because of the historically poor condition
of the Cardassian economy, the position of Finance Minister
has always been fraught with danger. More than one promising politician has seen his career dashed on the rocks of
Finance when he failed to meet the Councils too-high expectations. More than once the Council, or some prominent Cardassian, has had a rival or enemy appointed to the position
of Finance Minister as a way of ruining him.
Internal Security
The Ministry of Internal Security, or simply the Security Ministry, has from its earliest days been a puppet of the
Obsidian Order. The ministrys duties involve enforcing the
law and maintaining public order. In practice, it served as a
public arm of the Order, conducting searches and interrogations, surveilling suspected troublemakers, arresting known
or suspected criminals, and so forth. Members of Internal
Security often played the role of honest and harried public
ofcials, encouraging criminal suspects to cooperate with
them, rather than being turned over to the tender mercies
of the Obsidian Order. The ministry is riddled with barelyundercover agents of the Order, who keep watch over the
watchers themselves.
When the Omarion Nebula incident weakened the
Obsidian Order, Internal Security gained in power. Under the
Dominion, it cooperated with the JemHadar to enforce the
Dominions laws, but by end of the war Internal Security ofcers
revolted against the Dominion en masse rather than turn their
weapons on their own people. Their assistance greatly aided
the rebellion in ousting the Dominion from Cardassia Prime, but
made them a prime target for JemHadar retaliation; most of
Justice
The Ministry of Justice oversees the interpretation
and application of Cardassian laws in civil and criminal proceedings. Cardassian jurists have the title archon; the Minister of Justice also holds the position of Supreme Archon, the
nal, irrefutable arbiter of the meaning of the Unions laws.
The Supreme Archon rules from the Supreme Tribunal, the
highest court in the Union.
In many ways, being an archon is an easy job, for the
Cardassian judicial system operates on the principle of trying
only the guilty. Before the court even holds a trial, it ascertains
the defendants guilt (after all, Cardassian ofcials wouldnt
arrest an innocent man, would they?) and determines his
punishment. The government holds trials only to demonstrate
the unerring efciency of the mechanisms of justice to the
people, to give them the comfort of knowing that in the Cardassian Union, crime and evil are always punished.
In Cardassia, most serious crimes merit the death
penalty. Some would say that the executioners victims are
the lucky ones, for Cardassian prisons are infamous throughout the quadrant. From the enormous Central Prison on Cardassia Prime (where over a dozen prisoners die every day
from neglect or violence), to DelnarArok on Cardassia IV,
to the minor prisons on the outlying worlds of the Union,
the Cardassian penal system constitutes one of the cruelest
prison networks ever created.
Science
The Ministry of Science is concerned with scientic
research and the development of new technologies. Like the
other ministries, it functions as little more than an arm of
the Central Command. The ministrys prime tasks involve the
43
Allocation
Originally, a sub-ministry of Finance, Allocation
was elevated to full Ministry status after the Gharva Riots
of 2348 on Cardassia Prime. In an empire with so few
resources, the careful allocation of them becomes a matter
of some priority. Ofcials called lexors handle resource allocation on the regional or planetary level, working closely
with the military. For the past several centuries, Allocation
was so closely overseen by the Central Command that
many ofcers joked it was the civilian branch of the military. Allocations vast inuence and close ties with the Central Command encourage what a Federation citizen would
label corruption and inuence-peddling among lexors
seeking to increase their vesala or make money on the
Unions vast black market.
Local Government
Sectors
Like most other major interstellar powers, the Cardassian Union divides its space up into sectors, which constitute the largest unit of local governmental control. Sectors vary in size, generally based on how many inhabited
planets they contain; a large but relatively underpopulated
region of space might be one sector, as would a handful of
systems which all have inhabited planets, even though they
dont occupy as much space as the rst sector.
By law, a sector governor appointed by the Detapa
Council rules each sector. In practice, though, the sector
governor is a puppet; the real ruler of a sector is the chief
military ofcer appointed to it. In some sectors, these two
persons work together to present a facade of united leadership; in others, the civilian governor is a powerless gurehead, and everyone knows it. On rare occasions, a sector
governor with extensive military contacts and a great deal of
vesala actually gets to perform his job.
44
Planets
Local planetary and colonial government rulers go
by the title prefect. Historically, almost all prefects were
also military ofcers, so they had the authority of the Central Command backing them up. A prefect also has jurisdiction over the entire system his planet occupies, unless
the system has multiple inhabited worlds, in which case
the Central Command determines who has authority (usually the prefect with the highest military rank, best connections, or most vesala).
An extensive bureaucracy handles the day-to-day
matters of governing each world. Part of this governmental machine includes representatives from the major ministries of the Cardassian government. Each planet maintains
extensive records, for Cardassians are meticulous recordkeepers with an advanced science of information organization and retrieval. Most Cardassian bureaucracies are notorious for their lack of cooperation with each other, so prefects and other administrators often spend considerable
time building relationships (vesala again) with bureaucrats
so they can get things done.
In the aftermath of the Dominion War, some prefects
who survived the Dominion purge have become de facto
emperors of their worlds. Others avoided the JemHadar
only to be set upon and killed by their own people, who took
advantage of the opportunity to avenge years of oppression.
Once a new Union government arises, it will have to expend
considerable resources reining in out-of-control local governments and planets that have descended into near-anarchy.
Bajor
The Romulans
Although they admire the Romulans efciency and loyalty, Cardassians consider them
untrustworthy and sneaky. There has been little
in the way of formal relations between the two
powers, separated as they are by Federation space,
though they used to maintain embassies on each
others homeworlds. As with the Klingons, the
Romulans regard the Cardassians poorly because
of the recent war, so a warming of relations seems
unlikely at best.
The Breen
Cardassia has never had formal relations
with the Breen, regarding them as pirates and thugs.
Breen conduct during the War, including helping the
JemHadar butcher innocent Cardassians, has made
the Cardassians their bitter enemies.
45
46
CENTRAL
COMMAND
CENTRAL COMMAND
47
and maintenance of Cardassias military might; all other concernsconsumer production, environmental preservation,
citizens rightswere secondary. The Central Command protected the Union and made Cardassia a force to be reckoned
with in the Alpha Quadrant.
The Dominion alliance at once both empowered and
emasculated the Central Command. By granting it access
to JemHadar troops and technology, the alliance allowed
it to accomplish things it never could have beforedestroying the Maquis resistance, standing rm and even advancing against the combined might of the Federation alliance.
But the agreement also placed it under Dominion control,
reducing a once proud, independent military force to the
puppet of shape shifting power mongers from the Gamma
Quadrant. Many surviving members of the Central Command
are deeply ashamed that they ever allowed the Dominion to
seduce them into near-slavery with its promises of power
and glory. This feeling colors their post-War political views,
pushing some into the xenophobic camp of Gul Bernak,
others into the ranks of the reforming Democratists or Spiritualists, and still others into countless other factions.
Military Structure
The Cardassian High Command
The true leadership of the military is the Cardassian
High Command, although Cardassians rarely use this term.
The High Command consists of the commanders of the various Orders, plus certain other senior ofcers and persons
awarded High Command status (a rare event). They form a
council that dictates policy for the military and much of the
Cardassian Union. For the past several centuries, the ofcers
of the High Command have de facto ruled the Cardassian
Union. A few members of the High Command sat on the
Detapa Council at all times to ensure military control of that
supposedly independent civilian body.
The High Command has always been rife with political maneuvering and inghting, as different ofcers (and
their staffs) pushed their personal agendas for the Central
Command and the Union as a whole. In theory, authority
in the High Command, and thus over the Central Command
as a whole, is split evenly among the heads of the military
Orders. In practice, the leaders of the older or more powerful Orders, and/or ofcers with more vesala, exercise more
authority. Considerable behind-the-scenes struggling and
power brokering takes place between the military leaders
as they struggle to decide military policy (including resource
allocation) so that they can present a united front to their
troops and subjects. In times of crisis, however, the Central
Command quickly unies against any outside threat.
48
THE ORDERS
Below the level of the High Command, the Central
Command is divided into cairhailo, or Orders, each of which
serves or patrols a specic region of space and includes
both space and ground forces assigned to that region. A
soldiers Order serves as perhaps the single most important
datum for identifying him and his duties; most Cardassian
ofcers use their Order as part of their titlefor example,
Gul Jasad, Third Order. Generally speaking, the highestranked Orders (beginning with the First) are the oldest and
most prominent, wield the greatest inuence in Cardassian
affairs, and hold correspondingly greater responsibilities.
Vital Statistics
The Cardassian Central Command consists of millions
of troops and ofcers, supplied with thousands of ships. Each
Order has between 500,000 and a million personnel, and
there are several dozen Orders throughout the entire Cardassian Union (the most prominent of which are described
below). Of an Orders personnel, approximately one percent
(5,000-10,000) are gul-level ofcers, generally starship and
unit commanders. Approximately ve percent (25,000-50,000)
are glinn-level ofcers, serving as aides to the guls and commanders of smaller units, and in similar capacities.
Each of the thousands of units within the Central
Command has its own unique symbol, typically worn as a
patch or personal communicator. Many Cardassians make a
hobby of learning the various emblems, or even collecting
examples of them.
The Central Command refers to its troops as
deshataro (soldiers), regardless of whether they serve in
the Space Forces or the Army. Army personnel tend to identify primarily with their squad or other organizational unit;
Space Forces personnel with the ship or wing they belong to.
In addition to the actual troops and ofcers, each
Order employs several million more civilian or quasi-civilian
employees to help it perform its political duties, keep it supplied, and so forth. The recordkeeping requirements alone
have spawned a whole new bureaucratic science. Even the
Federation, no stranger to sophisticated data management,
studies Cardassian methods in this eld.
Although Cardassias military forces appear vast, the
millions in the ranks of Central Command are still small compared to the trillions of individuals in the Cardassian Union.
Considerable turnover occurs in the lower ranks of the Central Command, as troops conscripted for mandatory military
service leave for civilian life and ofcers who have accumulated sufcient vesala retire to enjoy the fruits of their labors
without the burden of military discipline and duty. The High
Command has historically always sought ways to make the
Central Command even bigger and better organized.
First Order
The First Order is the most distinguished of all,
but it has lost some of its glory in recent years. Stationed
throughout the central and rimward sectors, the First Order
serves to protect many of the Unions most vital and
resource-wealthy worlds. It hearkens back to the Cardassian ideal of the military as protectors of the Union and
the Cardassian people; its soldiers maintain a certain proud
and romantic attitude towards their duties.
With Cardassia Prime located so close to the
border of the Union, the First Order has many opportunities to distinguish itself in battle, often against the forces
of the Klingon Empire. First Order soldiers are none too
fond of Klingons; some have Klingon dk tahgs and other
ornaments as trophies of their kills.
Apart from their conicts with Klingon warriors, soldiers of the First Order saw little action for years. The Federation-Cardassian War never truly endangered the core worlds
of the Union, so the First Order spent most of it in drills and
training exercises. This led to its eclipse by the Second Order,
which saw considerable action against the Federation.
Best known among the units of the First Order is
the Third Battalion, which trains specialized commandos
for difcult, often suicidal missions. Their motto, Death
to All, nicely sums up their attitude toward the enemies
of Cardassia. Their ruthlessness and skill in combat are
legendary among Cardassians.
Second Order
The Second Order, or Eagle Order (Cairhail Prethok), is widely considered the most inuential in the Car-
Project Guardian
Sometimes lack of resources or the vicissitudes of galactic politics force the Cardassians to abandon space stations and similar facilities. Rather than
destroy the bases outright, Central Command prefers
to strip them of their useful components, leaving the
rest intact in case the Cardassian Union ever has the
chance to claim them again.
In order to protect these facilities from foreign powers, pirates, or other interlopers, Central Command chooses certain members of the First Order
and places them in cryogenic suspension within the
facility. Combat engineers program the sensor systems to revive the soldiers in the event of threats
to facility security. Central Command refers to this
program as Menrathu PalograProject Guardian as
roughly translated into Federation Standard.
To preserve the soldiers ability to ght even
after years of suspended animation, the Central Command developed a combat drug called kraxarin. Kraxarin preserves muscle tone and enhances a Cardassians
strength and ghting ability (in game terms, it grants
+1 Fitness for purposes of resisting damage only, +1
Strength, and +1 Reaction; a user must take a new
20 ml dose for every 12 hours of activity). However,
kraxarin has psychotropic side effects. It enhances the
native Cardassian xenophobia and racial paranoia (user
has Intolerant (All Other Species) for the duration of
the effect). It also reduces blood clotting capabilities
(increase the Difculty of all Tests to heal the character, whether naturally or with medicine, by 1 for the
duration of the effect).
Due to the destruction of Cardassia during the
Dominion War, no records exist of which facilities are
protected by cryogenically suspended soldiers.
49
negotiate a peace treaty with the Federation and to withdraw from Bajor. The Second Order remained hostile towards
the Federation, and agitated for preparation for a new offensive against both the Federation and Bajor, particularly after
the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole. Other leaders in the
Central Command wisely remained skeptical about Cardassias ability to sustain a new conict, and preferred to bide
their time using the peace negotiations while continuing to
rebuild the Unions military strength.
The Dominion alliance placed the Second Order back
in the forefront of the Cardassian military (but secondary,
of course, to the will of the Dominion). Damars rebellion
against the Dominion drew many soldiers of the Second
Order with him. Many of those who survived the rebellion
now participate prominently in Cardassian politics, often as
members of the Democratist or Militarist factions.
Third Order
The Third Order serves as the rapid response eet
of the Cardassian Union. Stationed on bases and outposts at
strategic locations throughout Cardassian space, its soldiers
carry out quick hit-and-run strikes against enemy targets,
provide support and reinforcements to other Orders, and
conduct military reconnaissance and scouting missions.
Soldiers of the Third Order have seen action in nearly
every military conict undertaken by the Cardassian Union in
the past 300 years, including the war with the Federation,
border conicts with the Klingon Empire, and the Klingon
invasion of Cardassia. Third Order troops helped reinforce the
lines against the Klingon invaders, and allowed vital elements
of other Orders, along with members of the Detapa Council,
to retreat from the advancing Klingons. The Third Order reputation for coming to the rescue of other Orders gives its
soldiers a certain cachet, as well as a measure of arrogance.
Soldiers of the Fifth Order often work with the
Third Order to perform surgical strikes and commando
raids on enemy targets. They plan these attacks to look
like random raids, pirate strikes, or accidents. Personnel
in combined Third-Fifth units are often the rst to enter
a potentially hostile situation in their role as scouts and
forward observers. They gather information to take back
to the other Orders so the Central Command can act with
full knowledge of the situation.
The Third Order suffered heavy casualties during
the Dominion War, since it often supported JemHadar
forces operating along the front lines. At rst proud of
their prominent position in the war effort, the soldiers
of the Third Order quickly realized the JemHadar and
the Dominion thought of them as little more than cannon
fodder and secondary support personnel for the true sol-
50
Fourth Order
The Fourth Order patrols and protects the space
near Cardassia Prime itself, including, when needed, the
Bajor System. Its often known as the Home Guard of
the Cardassian Union, since the Central Command entrusts
it with the protection of the home system, the heart and
soul of the Union. Historically it has also been the Order
which most often deals with the Ferengi and their interests
in Cardassian space.
Following the Cardassian withdrawal from Bajor
and the establishment of the Demilitarized Zone with the
Federation, the Fourth Order reinforced positions in and
around Cardassia Prime and along the DMZ. With Cardassia located so close to the border itself, the Order could not
afford to relax its vigilance in the wake of the treaty. Fourth
Order ships and soldiers helped to blunt the Klingon thrust
towards Cardassia Prime during their invasion of the Union,
although they suffered heavy casualties.
The Dominion alliance built up the Fourth Order
again to protect Cardassia when the Dominion went to war
with the Federation and their Klingon allies. The Fourth saw
action during the war, but mostly through the rotation of
Fourth Order units to the border to reinforce the depleted
ranks of other Orders. Cardassia itself remained inviolate
until the very end of the war, when the Fourth again
endured extreme losses, at the hands of both the Federation alliance and the JemHadar.
The Cardassian rebellion presented a serious problem for the Fourth Order, which was charged with maintaining order on Cardassia Prime. Fourth Order soldiers found
themselves faced with ghting their own people. Many chose
to turn against the Dominion and join the rebellion, while
others continued to serve and obey their oaths of loyalty.
Fourth Order soldiers were stationed, along with Cardassian civilians, around Dominion bases to help protect them
against terrorist attacks from the rebellion.
When the rebellion provoked the ire of the Dominion, and they began the mass destruction of Cardassian
cities, the Fourth Order turned against their former allies
entirely, but it was too little, too late. Thousands of members of the Order died along with Cardassian civilians in the
Dominions slaughter. Many valiantly sacriced their lives in
Fifth Order
The Fifth Order, also known as the Jade Order
(Cairhail Terapha), comprises the Central Commands military intelligence division. Central Command maintains the
Fifth Order so it does not have to depend entirely on the
Obsidian Order for military intelligence. The Jade Order is
far smaller than the Obsidian Order, and has a erce rivalry
with its larger civilian competitor. (The Jade Order uses
most of the same methods as the Obsidian Order; see
Chapter Five for details.)
The Fifth Order focuses its resources almost exclusively on military intelligence. While the Obsidian Order maintains internal security for the Cardassian Union by watching
nearly everyone, and studies everything it can about Cardassias enemies, the Jade Order concentrates on targets of military and strategic signicance. Its ofcers and agents were
especially busy during the Dominion War, when the Central
Command desperately needed accurate military information
and the Cardassian Intelligence Bureau (formerly the Obsidian Order) was both weakened by the Omarion Nebula incident and mistrusted by many in the Central Command.
Agents of the Jade Order inltrated and spied on Federation
and Klingon facilities and bases, collected information on
ship and troop movements, and ferreted out the Federation
alliances strategic plans through trafc analysis. They also
create many of the encoding methods used by the Central
Command; Fifth Order encryption techniques are, at best,
devilishly hard to break.
Ofcers of the Jade Order are military personnel
rst, intelligence operatives second. They share the same
erce devotion to Cardassia and their fellow soldiers as
the other Orders, and lack the cold disdain Obsidian Order
agents often have for the military. To the agents of the
Jade Order, their work is vital because it saves the lives of
fellow soldiers, and thus aids Cardassia. There are certainly
agents more concerned with personal power and inuence,
or merely playing the great game of espionage, but for the
most part, Jade Order agents are more honest and forthright
than their Obsidian Order counterparts.
Agents of the Fifth Order are often assigned to other
Orders to act as intelligence liaisons, and to keep a close
watch for any signs of trouble. While not overly popular with
regular troops and ofcers, Jade Order agents are regarded
Sixth Order
The Sixth Order makes up part of the deep space
eets of the Union. It stations its ships throughout explored
Cardassian space in sectors far from Cardassia Prime. It,
along with the Ninth Order, undertakes the majority of military deep space exploration and observation duties. Sixth
Order ships come equipped with better sensor and science
systems than most Cardassian vessels.
Most of the Sixth Orders exploration missions take it
spinward and coreward of the Cardassian Union, away from
many of the conicts the rest of the Central Command has
become involved in over the years. Although the ofcers of
the Sixth Order are as military as any in Cardassia, they are
also explorers, seeking new worlds and new resources for
the Union, making contact with new species, and studying
51
Seventh Order
The Seventh Order patrols and maintains bases
along the Cardassian Unions coreward frontier, where it has
often dealt with raids, piracy, and other dangers of unsettled regions. It also protects Cardassian colonies and client
worlds in the area, and aids the Sixth Order with exploration
and settlement missions. The Seventh Order saw very little
action during the Federation-Cardassian War.
Occasionally, the Seventh Order has discovered evidence of Romulan incursion into Cardassian spacemost
likely small, cloaked vessels performing long-range reconnaissance missions. The Cardassians have never found proof
that Romulan spies penetrated Union territory, and the
Romulan Star Empire would certainly deny any such allegations, so nothing has come of the incidentsbut the Seventh remains vigilant.
During the Dominion War, the Seventh Order reinforced the positions of the other Orders. It was at rst
assured of no trouble from the Romulan Empire, which
signed a non-aggression treaty with the Dominion, or the
Ferengi Alliance, which remained carefully neutral. Elements
of the Seventh Order deployed along the Federation-Cardassian border and went on missions inside Federation space.
When the Romulan Star Empire unexpectedly entered
the war on the side of the Federation, the Cardassians quickly
52
Eighth Order
The Eighth protects and patrols the Iron Path, a
series of systems with signicant industrial capabilities which
runs from Cardassia itself rimward and spinward through the
Union. It focuses on the far end of the path from Cardassia
Prime. This highly defensible position kept the Eighth Order
out of most conicts with the Federation, the Klingons, and
other powers. It generally also kept it behind the lines during
the Dominion War. However, as the War took its toll on the
Central Command, more and more units from the Eighth
Order were moved up to the front lines, or assigned to
protect the Iron Path closer to Cardassia from Federation
alliance strikes deep into Cardassian territory. Eighth Order
forces ended up seeing considerable action during the War,
particularly the nal battles.
Prior to its involvement in the Dominion War, the
Eighth Order was best known for dealing with pirates and
raiders along the far end of the Iron Path. Guls and starship personnel from the Eighth Order are quite skilled at
combatting smaller, faster starships, like most pirate vessels. Its ofcers often found themselves a little out of their
element going up against large Federation, Klingon, and
Romulan vessels, and sometimes suffered heavy losses as
a result.
Ninth Order
Like the Sixth Order, the Ninth is a deep space patrol
and exploration group, focusing on the frontier regions rimward and spinward of the Cardassian Union in the Alpha
Quadrant. The Ninth Orders missions took it into sectors
often sparse in stars and Class M planets, but which still
contains thousands of systems of interest to Cardassia. Historically, the Central Command has made the nding of
sources of valuable minerals and other materials needed by
Tenth Order
Like the Eighth Order, the Tenth Order patrols the
Iron Path, protecting shipping convoys of much-needed
materials from pirates and raiders. Their involvement in the
manufacturing and shipping capabilities of the Union gives
the Tenth Order a great deal of inuence in Central Command. Some consider its members bureaucrats or military
merchants, more concerned with logistics and supply lines
than military matters, but the Tenth Order is as capable a
military force as any other in the Union. In addition to its
quartermasters and logistics ofcers, the Tenth Order is well
known for its engineers, who often assist disabled vessels
and help build new industrial facilities for the Union. Often
forced to work with limited resources and outdated equipment, Tenth Order engineers are masters of improvisation
and unorthodox technique.
The Tenth Order was vital in protecting the Iron Path
from attack and keeping Cardassias industry operating during
various conicts. During the Dominion War, the Vorta established cloning, ketracel-white production, ship construction
facilities throughout the Iron Path, and the Tenth Order was
responsible for protecting and maintaining them. These sites
were tempting targets for Federation and Klingon forces striking at the Dominions industrial capabilities, so the Tenth Order
took heavy casualtiesbut as often as not, it held the line.
Eleventh Order
Over the course of the past century and a half, the
Eleventh Order has found itself supplanted by the Second,
Third, and Fourth Orders. At one time it was charged with
the protection of Cardassian colonies and client worlds
along the Unions antispinward border. It suffered disastrous
losses during some minor 23rd century conicts, and in the
Betreka Nebula Incident. As Cardassias attention shifted
to focus more and more on the Bajor Sector, the Cardassia-UFP border, and other antispinward territories, it was
decided that stronger Orders should take command in those
regions. The Eleventh Orders responsibilities were assumed
by other Orders, and it became a reserve unit, its duties
largely ceremonial. It performed support functions for other
Orders, and handled routine missions involving colonies and
other peacetime activities.
During the Dominion War, all able-bodied Orders were
Twelfth Order
Like the Eleventh Order, the Twelfth Order began
with a charter to protect Cardassian colonies and client
worlds along the Unions rimward border. For the most
part, the Twelfth Order performed its duties with distinction, earning the respect of the Central Command and the
Cardassian people, and the fear of enemies of the Union.
The Orders headquarters is on the Cardassian planet Sarpedion V, one of the most fortied and well-protected military installations in Cardassian space.
More than any other, the Twelfth Order has seen conict with the Klingon Empire when Klingon forces chose to
attack Cardassia. This includes numerous border skirmishes
over the years, leading up to the Klingon invasion of Cardassia, where the Twelfth Order took the brunt of the Klingon assault. During the Dominion War, the Twelfth Order
won most of its early clashes with the Klingons, thanks to
JemHadar assistance. Early victories spurred the Twelfth on
to bolder strikes against the Klingons, but the erce nature
of their opponents, coupled with growing dissent in the ranks
from working with the arrogant JemHadar, led to rifts in the
Twelfths discipline. As the War continued, the Twelfth Order
took considerable damage from Klingon offensives, and more
units from the Twelfth were diverted from the rim areas of
the Union to protect the front lines. Fallen Cardassian soldiers
were replaced with retirees called back into service or young,
raw recruits, or replaced altogether with more JemHadar. This
further weakened morale in the Twelfth Order.
Many soldiers of the Twelfth joined in the rebellion
against the Dominion, and most of them were killed for their
53
Other Orders
While the First through Twelfth Orders have traditionally been the strongest and most popular, the Central
Command has several dozen other Orders in service at any
given time. Loss of personnel, shifting needs, and many
other factors may cause it to combine two or more
Orders, create a new Order, or otherwise alter its table of
organization and equipment. Narrators should feel free to
create their own Orders or rearrange the Orders as they
see t for their series.
Reservists
According to Cardassian law, all able-bodied civilians who have completed their mandatory military service
(see page XX) and are age 50 or younger belong to the
Central Command Reserves. In times of manpower shortages or need, Central Command can activate its reservists. Typically reservists ll support positionsthey maintain equipment, drive or pilot unarmed military transports,
build installations, and so forthbut they can, and sometimes do, see front line combat action.
During the latter stages of the Dominion War, millions of reservists were called up into the ranks, and tens
of thousands of them died. In many cases the Dominion
simply used them as Cardassian shields or cannon fodder,
or sent them on suicide missions to distract the Federation alliance forces while the JemHadar attained some real
military objective. Few families on Cardassia did not lose a
loved one in this manner.
FORCES
The Cardassian Central Command divides the Unions
military forces into two main branches: the Space Forces, and
the Army. Each Order includes personnel in both branches
(though the proportions vary depending on the Orders
duties), which use the same system of ranks, uniforms, and
technology. The Central Command encourages troops and
ofcers to think of themselves as part of the Cardassian military as a whole, rather than members of a branch. The Central Command refers to all troops as soldiers, even if they
serve primarily on a ship.
54
Political Officers
Most ships and Army units in the Central Command have at least one, and sometimes more,
political ofcers. These are members of the Obsidian Order assigned to a ship or unit to watch over
it, ensuring that all personnel agree with and abide
by Union political doctrine and laws, and remain on
the alert for spies and traitors. The Political Ofcer
rarely enjoys much popularity among the soldiers
hes assigned to work with. Since hes little more
than a snitch and a martinet wrapping himself in
the Cardassian ag as a way of justifying his often
arbitrary power-mongering, this dislike is not surprising. But because the Political Ofcer can place
career-ruining comments in an ofcers le, or even
have Central Command personnel dragged off to
Obsidian Order interrogation centers, his word carries a lot of weight aboard ship.
Cardassian Army
The Cardassian Army handles planetary invasions,
garrison duties, the manning and protection of Cardassian
facilities, and similar ground-based activities. It is somewhat
less glamorous than the Space Forces, but easier to get into
and, sometimes, provides more opportunities for an ambitious ofcer to advance quickly through the ranks. Cardassian
Army units saw considerable action during the Dominion War,
defending planets within the Union from invasion by enemy
Miscellaneous Branches
The other branches of the Central Command include
Medical, Engineering, Logistics & Supply, and so forth. These
branches work primarily to support the Space Forces and
the Army, and are considered far less glamorous, with few
opportunities for advancement other than heading up a
department. During peacetime, branches like Science and
Engineering engage in research, analysis of scientic data,
weapons development, and so on. During wartime all their
efforts are devoted to the development of new ships and
weapons for the Central Command and the analysis of enemy
technology and information.
The Medical branch of the military, similar to
Stareets Medical Division, maintains the health and wellbeing of military personnel. Cardassian military medicine is
similar to that of Stareet, though the Cardassians place
little emphasis on counseling and other personnel engineering techniques. Ofcers of the Medical branch often have a
somewhat sinister reputation, since Cardassian medicine has
so often advanced using studies conducted on other, often
sentient, life forms (usually without their consent).
Federation concepts of minimum force and avoiding needless killing; in fact, most Cardassian soldiers sneer at the
Federations pacist ideals, believing that such tenets clearly
show the UFPs weakness as a civilization. Nor do concepts
like the Klingons honor cripple it. The Cardassian credo is
ght to win at any cost. Cardassians only take prisoners to
torture them for information or use them as political leverage against their enemies. They do not hesitate to kill their
opponents in battle, and Cardassian soldiers typically keep
their weapons on a lethal setting, rather than a stun level.
(Cardassian troops guarding installations in peacetime keep
their weapons set on stun primarily to avoid accidents and
to leave prisoners alive for interrogation.)
Recruitment and Training
All able-bodied Cardassian citizens must enter military service at the age of 18 for two years. They receive basic
training and education, and are indoctrinated into the Central
Commands way of thinking. Most Cardassians perform their
required years of service and return to civilian life.
Others, however, go on to formal training and a military career. These recruits attend one of the Central Commands training schoolseither the prestigious Cardassian
Military Academy on Cardassia Prime, or lesser (but no less
capable) academies such as the one on Kora II. The curriculum is particularly difcult; many prospective candidates
wash out before completing their four years of training. Most
return to the ranks as soldiers, but a few leave the military
altogether. Most Cardassians see no disgrace in being just
a soldier; its an honorable and praiseworthy occupation
which can earn one much vesala.
Cardassian military training is efcient and often
brutal, especially by Federation standards (though the legendary Cardassian photographic memory makes it easy
for recruits to learn military information). Every recruit
studies basic Cardassian strategic and tactical doctrine
(both space and ground), encryption techniques, weapons
and equipment, and similar subjects before specializing
in the eld to which his academys commandants assign
him based on his demonstrated aptitudes (his desires have
little, if any, effect on the assignment).
Training ofcers put recruits in situations intended
to harden them, foster obedience, create group morale, and
encourage them to learn ruthless behavior. For example,
privileges in the military barracks are assigned to soldiers
who earn them, which promotes competition, but squads of
soldiers often receive rewards and punishments as a group,
encouraging responsibility to ones fellow troops. A Cardassian soldier who earns a punishment for his squad is likely
to suffer more at the hands of his squadmates than through
any ofcial punishment. Commanding ofcers are aware of
55
Cardassian Uniforms
All Cardassian military personnel, soldiers and ofcers, space and ground forces alike, wear the same
uniform. The uniform of the Central Command symbolizes Cardassian pride and strength to citizens of the
Union, fear and respect to foreign powers. It reects
the Unions emphasis on the military, and the Cardassian concern with protection and military might.
The Cardassian uniform is a complete bodysuit
which covers all but the hands, the neck, and head.
It has wide shoulders to accommodate the Cardassian neck ridges. The uniform is covered with armor
made of molded carbonitrium bers in a style that
evolved from ancient Cardassian ceremonial armor,
dating back to the First Hebitian civilization. A ared
clamshell cuirass covers the torso, affording protection
against melee weapons and some limited protection
from energy weapons. Flexible molded armor covers
the arms and legs, with armor often sandwiched inside
pockets of polymer cloth. In non-combat duty situations, the armor is trimmed back to just the ceremonial cuirass and shoulder armor over a standard duty
uniform. Order and unit insignia are worn on the left
shoulder of the uniform, while rank emblems are worn
on the left breast or collar.
In game terms, a Cardassian uniform provides +2
protection against physical attacks and +1 protection
against energy attacks (see page 118 of the Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine Roleplaying Game core
rulebook for rules on armor).
56
do as they please. Soldiers suffer few restriction on their offhours activities, even while in uniform. They can gamble,
visit pleasure houses, or whatever else they want, as long as
they commit no crimes.
Although minor violations of regulations are often overlooked, punishment for other violations is severe. A commanding ofcer who fails to maintain discipline and military readiness
can nd himself quickly replaced by the High Command.
Chain of Command
The Cardassian military has a strong respect for
the chain of command. The Central Command drills this
into new recruits from their very rst day, reinforcing the
Cardassian cultural respect for authority. Cardassian troops
are loyal and devoted to their superior ofcers, often to the
point of fanaticism. This affects the ofcers vesala (a popular ofcer gains considerable inuence from the support
of his troops), and sometimes the soldiers as well (serving
under a notable commander confers a certain amount of
prestige, and thus may provide some small augmentation
of a soldiers personal inuence).
The Cardassian Central Command uses the same
system of hierarchical ranks for all branches of the service. A
garresh is the lowest-ranked soldier, the rank where all new
recruits start (the Central Command does not have enlisted
personnel). Garresh make up the vast bulk of the military.
The lowest ofcers rank is that of kel, followed by glinn,
dalin, dal, gul, and jagul (see page XX for the Promotion
advantage for Cardassians).
The Central Command organizes each Order into
natorekor (battalions) of about 50,000-200,000 personnel
each, commanded by a jagul; kalnatorekor (companies) of
about 15,000-50,000 personnel each, commanded by a jagul
or gul; sharkalo (assault groups, or platoons) of 100-1,000
personnel each, commanded by a gul, dal, dalin, or glinn; and
kethasor (squads) of 10-50 personnel each, commanded by
a glinn or kel. A supreme jagul commands each Order, and
holds a position in the Central Command. For reasons of military tradition, many jaguls use the title gul in day-to-day
reference, invoking their formal title only when necessary.
Ofcers must generally hold a rank of at least glinn
to earn command of a department on board most starships or within most units. Larger vessels and units require
dalin or dal level ofcers. Guls are the rough equivalent
of Stareet captains. They are the majority of the commanding ofcers in Central Command, controlling starships
and bases, and serving as prefects and planetary governors throughout the client worlds of the Union. Many guls
are quite inuential, building up extensive vesala networks.
Jaguls are the equivalent of Stareet admirals, commanding entire battalions and Orders.
Invasion
An invasion generally involves a large region of space
rather than a single planet or system. Typically, the combat
elements of several Orders will be mobilized and sent to
participate in an invasion. Thus, many Orders end up ghting in places very far from their home territory. Having a
larger area to maneuver in, the Cardassians will seek to gain
whatever advantage they can. They achieve this by covert
57
Conquest
Conquest of a system begins with the elimination
of any local space threat. This includes the destruction of
planetary defenses, such as vessels, mines, and satellites.
Each battle wing assigned to conquest duties will usually
be associated with a corps of ground forces (all from the
same Order) and will be aimed at key strategic locations
such as core systems, military production facilities and other
high priority targets. Afterwards, the warships of the invading force move to secure a defense perimeter around the
system to prevent any reinforcement or re-supply of the
enemys local forces. After extensive planetary reconnaissance, ground troops begin to land.
These initial assault troops are tasked with taking
control of governmental and military centers, key power and
industrial production centers, and transportation hubs such
as spaceports. Any resistance is usually met with a show of
heavy force. It is a common practice to begin rounding up
portions of the population, including leaders and ofcials, for
potential execution or long-term detention in labor camps in
order to encourage the local populace to cooperate.
If all goes well the army moves outward, seizing more
and more territory until the planet is considered pacied. However, the army sometimes ends up ghting long and protracted
campaigns on worlds that their enemy considers of vital importance. After being secured, a military ofcer is chosen to function as Prefect for the new client state of the Union. Militia
forces then replace the front line army troops and serve to garrison the planet and maintain order, while Space Force vessels
keep unwanted ships away from the area. These ships also carry
fresh troops to the planet, along with whatever other materials
the occupation forces require.
Defense
The Cardassians are diligent with its borders and their
defense. It is often said that Cardassian strategy starts with
defense and ends with attack. In most cases, the Union has
resorted to the ancient idea of pre-emptive attack: attack him
before he attacks you. This was clearly shown in the start of
the Cardassian-Federation War which began in 2347. It also
shows in the beginning stages of the Dominion War.
But yet as ambush and provocation form a cornerstone of Cardassian military thinking, they have no reservations in letting the enemy make the rst move. This means
58
59
60
OBSIDIAN
ORDER
OBSIDIAN ORDER
HISTORY
Thanks to the secrecy with which the Obsidian Order shrouds
itself, the public knows very little of its history. Created in 1592
by the unier of Cardassia, Urrent Gar, it owes its existence to the
machinations of Gars lover, Dal Vetrecia, who was its rst head (the
position carries no formal title; as Vetrecia reputedly said, Power is
its own identier; titles mean nothing).
From the day of its inception, the Obsidian Order has played
a prominent, albeit shadowy, role in Cardassian life. It provides both
internal security and counterintelligence for Cardassia, and external
intelligence-gathering services for all branches of the Cardassian
government. (Of course, he who relies only on the Obsidian Order
for intelligence information is nothing but an employee of the agency,
even though he knows it not.) Although ofcially just a branch of the
government run by the Detapa Council, in truth the Obsidian Order has
historically shared ruler ship of Cardassia with the Central Command.
From 2348 to 2368, the Order was led by Enabran Tain, a
wily commander who controlled his people with an iron st and his
resources with the delicate touch of a master nancier. Responsible for
ordering the assassination of thousands and the destruction of billions
61
62
Recruitment
The Obsidian Order watches carefully for new recruits
throughout the Cardassian population. They have a special
division that monitors all students of the various primary and
advanced schools throughout the Union.
When the Order nds someone it believes has the
qualities to make a good agent, it approaches the potential
candidate covertly, testing him for suitability. Often these
tests involve events orchestrated to determine if the
candidate has conicting loyalties, or easily succumbs
to bribery or blackmail. If so, the candidate may not
make a suitable agent.
If the candidate passes these tests, the Order
approaches him and offers training and an opportunity
to join. Few Cardassians refuse this offer, since everyone
knows the power of the Obsidian Order. Furthermore, rumors
abound of potential candidate who refused the Order, only
to suffer a fatal accident shortly thereafter. No one has
ever proved that the Order assassinates those who decline
to work for it, but it is a common beliefand a true one.
Those who accept the offer to join the Order rarely
show any outward sign of it. Most go on with their lives,
perhaps taking an extended vacation or sabbatical from
time to time, but otherwise blending in perfectly with the
people around them. A few recruits simply disappear, faking
their own deaths or vanishing without a trace, leaving their
old lives behind to devote themselves entirely to their new
life in the Obsidian Order.
Training
All new recruits attend the Obsidian Orders special
training facility, the so-called Black Academy. Only the
highest-ranking members of the Order know the true
location of the Academy. All that most members know for
certain is that its not on Cardassia Prime, but is within
Cardassian space. It is located on a Class M planet with a
dry, barren surface. Animalssome of them quite hostile
inhabit the vast deserts, but no native sentient life exists.
The harsh terrain serves both as security and a resource
for training exercises.
The Academy itself is a collection of low buildings
that blends into the surrounding landscape. Inside, Obsidian
Order recruits learn the skills of espionage, inltration,
assassination, and intelligence gathering. Most agents claim
a Human wouldnt survive a week at the Black Academy;
theyre probably right. And survival is the name of the game.
The penalty for failure at the Academy is death, or exile
from the Order, which amounts to the same thing. Recruits
are tested to their limits. Those who fail, die. Those who
succeed go on to become full agents of the Order. An agent
ORGANIZATION
The Obsidian Order organizes itself into branches,
each specializing in a particular aspect of intelligence work.
The Order usually assigns an agent to the branch most
suited to his talents, though it tries to broaden agents skills
and experiences by rotating them through various branches
during the course of their careers. The individual branches
of the Order work well together for the most part, although
some occasional inghting occurs over goals or resources.
Command Branch
The Command Branch oversees and coordinates the
activities of all the other branches of the Obsidian Order. As
the leadership of the Order, it sets policy, assigns missions,
chooses priorities, and makes other command decisions.
Only the most capable and ambitious agents earn one of the
coveted appointments to Command positions.
Although individual branch administrators have a fair
degree of freedom in conducting the affairs of their branch,
the Command Branch requires regular updates, and brooks
no deance of its authority within the Order. But like so
many other aspects of Cardassian life, the branch is rife
with intrigue and political maneuvering, so administrators
and agents may nd themselves caught up in their superiors
maneuverings, which sometimes allows them to play one off
against another and obtain an advantage for themselves.
Analysis
The Analysis Branch analyzes all collected intelligence
data and prepares reports for Command and other branches,
Assassination
With their legendary abilities to reach any target and
make assassinations look like accidents, the agents of the
Assassination Branch are feared throughout the Alpha Quadrant.
Suspected of killings ranging from Federation ofcials, to
Romulan admirals, to the leaders of Klingon houses, they form
an important, if secretive, arm of Cardassian policy.
Cardassian assassins learn a wide variety of killing
63
Counterintelligence
The Counterintelligence Branch of the
Obsidian Order protects the Order and the Cardassian
Union against the intelligence operations of other
interstellar powers. Its agents carry out their duties
with extraordinary tenacity. For decades, Stareet
Intelligence has considered the Cardassian Union
the most difcult interstellar power to conduct
intelligence-gathering operations against.
When it roots out foreign spies and
operatives, Counterintelligence often works with
Interrogation to extract information from the
captives, then reprograms them for use as double
agents against their home government. At least
one of these double agents was highly placed
within Stareet Intelligence for years before the
Federation detected her. Her exposure forced
Stareet Intelligence to re-evaluate all the data it
had gathered on Cardassia for two decades.
Much of Counterintelligences success
comes from the renowned patience of its agents.
Rather than moving in to capture a potential spy
immediately, Counterintelligence prefers to bide its
time and bait him to uncover his confederates
64
Cryptography
The Orders Cryptography Branch handles the
design, implementation, and breaking of various types
of codes. They developed the recursive encryption
algorithm used in most modern Cardassian codes,
which has proven nearly impossible for foreign
powers like the Federation to break. The renowned
Cardassian memory, and a talent for mathematics,
makes the agents of the Cryptography Branch some
of the most efcient in the Alpha Quadrant. Agents
of the Cryptography Branch are often thought of
as homebodies, more comfortable working in a
lab with a computer than out in the eld. This is
sometimes the case, but most Cryptography agents
have served in other branches of the Obsidian Order,
so a wise person does not underestimate them.
Cryptography uses the most advanced
Infiltration
The Inltration Branch performs short-term
penetration and extraction missions (Undercover Branch
conducts long-term inltration of other societies and
organizations). Inltration specializes in swift, silent raids
and precision strikes against carefully selected targets.
Inltration agents, trained in stealth, escape and evasion,
security penetration, and commando-style tactics, carry out
three major types of missions: reconnaissance; theft; and
extraction of personnel.
Reconnaissance (recon) missions consist of agents
operating behind enemy lines, or outside of Cardassian space,
to gather information by direct, long-range observation. The
agents nd out what they can about an area, individual, or
organization, and report back to the Order. Recon missions
are often conducted with the assistance of an undercover
agent already in place, although the Order takes care not to
compromise the identity of its undercover agents.
In a theft mission, an agent must acquire a particular
item or datum for the Order. This includes alien artifacts,
Internal Security
The Internal Security branch of the Obsidian Order
is the best known, and most feared, arm of the organization
in Cardassian space. Its mandate is to maintain the rule of
law and order (along with the rule of the Central Command
and the Order) in the Cardassian Union. Internal Security
has historically wielded vast power on Cardassia. It works
closely with the Ministry of the same name, but behind the
scenes, using the Ministry as a public arm.
Prior to the Omarion Nebula debacle, Internal
Security held almost complete control over the Cardassian
law enforcement through its control over the Ministry. The
wishes of Internal Security could override those of any
archon or Ministry ofcer at any time, and all legal authorities
had to cooperate with (i.e., obey) the Obsidian Order at all
65
Interrogation
Few people can keep secrets from the Obsidian
Order once it has them in one of its interrogation rooms.
Agents of this branch are masters at using questioning,
manipulation, and physical and psychological torture to pry
information from unwilling subjects, and to bend their minds
in whatever way the Obsidian Order wishes.
While the Romulan Tal Shiar prefers technological
methods (such as mind probes) for interrogation, the limits of
Cardassian neural technology require the Obsidian Order to
employ more traditional interrogation techniques. Agents
consider this an advantage rather than a shortcoming, and
many Cardassian interrogators takes a perverse pride in the
art of torture and manipulation, a skill they have honed for
many years. A Cardassian interrogator can wax poetic about
the many different ways of inicting pain, or the pleasures of
slowly breaking another persons will. In fact, theyre quite
fond of doing so in front of their victims.
In addition to extracting information, Cardassian
interrogators employ their techniques as instruments of
terror against enemies of the Cardassian Union. For example,
political prisoners were often tortured to death during
the Bajoran occupation, and Cardassians commonly made
examples of those who deed them, to encourage fear
in the local population. The mutilated face of the Bajoran
terrorist Orta is only one of thousands of examples of their
handiwork. The Cardassian mistreatment of political and
wartime prisoners is legendary among the Bajorans and
Stareet ofcers who served during the rst conict between
the Federation and Cardassia.
Like many branches of the Obsidian Order, the
Interrogation Branch fell into disuse during the Dominion
alliance. The Dominion preferred its own methods and
personnel for interrogation of prisoners, so Cardassian
interrogators went virtually unnoticed during the war. The
66
Surveillance
Almost as feared as Internal Security, a branch
it works closely with, Surveillance keeps watch over ever
single man, woman, and child in the Cardassian Union. The
information it collects has always formed one of the primary
bases of the Orders political and social power.
Over the past several centuries or so, the Surveillance
branch built increasingly elaborate systems for keeping a watchful
eye on the Cardassian populace. It controls a vast information
network which includes viewing and listening devices across
Cardassia Prime and throughout the Union. Before the War,
there were few places the all-seeing eyes of the Obsidian Order
did not watch. Much of the Surveillance infrastructure was
destroyed by the Dominion; many agents feel that rebuilding it
should be one of the Orders chief goals.
Before the Dominion War, every Cardassian citizen
was required to have a tooth extracted at the age of 10
and placed in the archives of the State Identication Bureau
(which, while it masquerades as an ordinary government
agency belonging to the Ministry of Internal Security, is
really an arm of Surveillance). This gave the Order complete
genetic samples for every member of Cardassian society. The
Order could tune sensors and scanners to locate particular
individuals with astounding accuracy, and used genetic scans
as a security measure. Since the War ended, tooth collection
has become spotty at best, but will no doubt resume if
the Militarists or like-minded factions take control. The
Surveillance archives also include vast amounts of data
collected over the years, from recorded conversations to
psychological proles to forensic evidence.
Undercover
Obsidian Order Undercover branch agents are among
the most dedicated of the dedicated. They undergo surgical
alteration to make themselves look like members of other
humanoid species, allowing them to inltrate other societies
and acquire information directly. The expert Cardassian
surgeons can make agents appear as nearly any humanoid
species, although a medical examination or genetic scan will
still reveal their true species. Many Cardassian undercover
agents operated for years without being detected on, among
others, Bajor, QonoS, and several Federation core worlds
(and in fact may still be operating).
In some cases, undercover agents go a step further,
undergoing treatments to give them false memories suited
to their cover identity. This prevents the agent from
being detected by casual neural or telepathic scans, but it
also completely suppresses the agents true memories and
personality. These undercover agents are not even aware
Ranks
Agents in the Obsidian Order use the same
rank structure as soldiers in the Central Command.
Other than employing the same terminology, the
two systems have no connection; an Obsidian
Order gul cannot give orders to a Central Command
dal just because he has a higher rank.
Field Teams
Many missions require more than the skills
of agents assigned to just a single branchtheyre
team efforts, requiring operatives from many
different areas of expertise. The Order refers to
groups of agents assembled for a specic mission
(usually a short-term one) as eld teams.
The typical eld team consists of three to
ve agents specially picked for a given task. The
Order tries to include agents of different genders,
levels of experience, ages, and backgrounds, to
provide as many viewpoints on the problem as
possible (a young agent might, for example, be
aware of a relevant cultural trend which an older
one would not; a woman is more effective at
inltrating some areas than a man). Field teams
use a cellular structure; even when working on
the same mission as other teams, a team doesnt
know whos in any other eld team; only the team
leader (the highest-ranking agent on the team)
knows the names of other team leaders and how
to contact them.
RESOURCES
At its height, the Obsidian Order could call
upon nearly the entire resources of the Cardassian
Union. Following the War, the Orders resources
are considerably more limited, but still formidable.
Bases
The Obsidian Order has bases and facilities
throughout Cardassian space, and some resources
outside the Union as well. These bases range from
the extensive archives maintained on Cardassia
Prime to simple safe houses hidden on planets in
the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Bajor
Sector. The Order conceals most if its facilities as
government ofces, trading companies, or other
innocuous structures. It keeps the location of its
bases as secret as possible; even the Detapa Council
and the Central Command know the locations of
only a fraction of the Obsidian Orders facilities.
The Order also has several space stations
located in isolated systems in Cardassian space.
Most of these stations are small, used primarily
for surveillance and as safe locations to conduct
espionage-related research (including weapons
development projects which the Order should not,
by law, engage in). Most of these stations were
kept out of JemHadar hands during the War thanks
to the veil of secrecy which hid them, and remain
viable assets today.
Treasures
The Obsidian Order possesses a
considerable collection of Cardassian artifacts,
some dating back to the First Hebitian civilization,
along with latinum and other valuable materials.
When necessary, it uses these to fund its activities.
Although it does not, at present, have the
government support it once did, the Obsidian
Order has sufcient wealth to maintain itself for
a very long time.
67
Political Influence
One of the Orders greatest resources has always
been its political inuence. Before the Omarion Nebula
incident, the Orders power was challenged only by the
Central Command. It existed entirely above the law, even
the laws that supposedly governed it. The Orders inuence
guaranteed cooperation from the government and the wary
respect of the Central Command in most matters.
ESPIONAGE
RUBBLE
AMIDST
THE
68
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Power Systems
Cardassians use many different methods of generating power.
There is no standardized method of power generation on Cardassian
69
Security
The Obsidian Orders looks over the shoulder of
every Cardassian citizen and watches every movement
of Cardassias enemies. It cannot achieve this without
sophisticated technologies. The most obvious of these is
the Feed in every Cardassians home, which surreptitiously
monitors the occupants while supplying them with
information. Information retrievable from the Data-net is
strictly limited. Even tricorders and PADDs can be protected
with explosive booby-traps.
To ensure the government of Cardassia is unhindered
by its people, the populace is kept uninformed. The Feeds
provide ve channels of upbeat and extremely biased visual
entertainment for Cardassian citizens. However, each Feed
screen contains audio and visual monitoring devices. Each
Feed unit contains sophisticated word and phrase recognition
Difculty
Routine (5)
Moderate (7)
Challenging (11)
Challenging (11)
Nearly Impossible (17)
70
Personal Equipment
Most Cardassian personal devices are similar to
their Federation equivalents, although they lack some of
the functions of Federation equipment. These items run
on isotolinium ampoule power cells that provide energy
for a shorter period.
If you need a specic item of equipment that is not
listed here, use information provided for similar devices in
the Technology chapter of the Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine RPG. Use the same basic abilities for the device, but
reduce the Duration.
Tricorder
The Cardassian tricorder is more limited than the
Federation device. It has only eighty sensors compared to
over three hundred in the Federation version. It is intended
for use as either a battleeld or emergency scanner. There
are also medical and engineering tricorders in addition to the
standard model. Neither medical nor engineering tricorders
have detachable sensors. Subspace and RF transmitters are
not standard equipment in Cardassian tricorders but they
can be added as necessary.
Medical tricorders have only a limited medical
database. They are designed primarily as a scanner to assist
battleeld medics. Their usefulness as an aid to pathology
is strictly limited. Use on non-Cardassian subjects is not
recommended, due to the lack of physiological data.
Cardassian engineers, frustrated at the lack of
adaptability in engineering tricorders, often recongure
them to suit their own needs. While there is a standardissue engineering tricorder, no respectable engineer uses
one. Engineers often regard tricorders as personal property
because of the time and effort they have spent on them.
A tricorders with sensitive information in its
memory may be equipped with a trilithium explosive as
an anti-tamper precaution.
Range: 1,750 meters for long-range scans, 20 meters for
short-range scans.
Size: 16 cm x 10 cm x 5 cm
Mass: 0.25 kg
Duration: 12 hours
Anti-tamper charge Damage: 6+1d6
Equipment Terminology
The equipment and weapons descriptions include the
devices size and mass. Additional game statistics
include:
Damage: The amount of damage a weapon inicts.
Duration: How long a device will function before its
power cell must be replaced. Weapons list Energy,
which is the number of charges contained in its power
cell. These charges are used up depending on the
setting that the weapon is red at. Unlike Federation
devices, Cardassian devices cannot be recharged.
Range: A beam weapons limit for ring at point
blank/short/medium/long ranges in meters. A sensors
range is the maximum distance at which it can detect
and gather information on energy or objects.
Medical Kit
Cardassian medical kits are in reality eld trauma
kits. They assist eld medics and starship medical ofcers
to get wounded men back into combat as quickly as
possible. A medical kit is equipped with a hypospray,
auto suture, dermal regenerator, and neural stimulator.
It includes drugs and medicines such as antitoxins,
analgesics, and hyronalin but does not include more
complex medicines. Also included are additional power
cells for the medical instruments.
The instruments in A Cardassian kit perform the
same functions as those in a Federation one. For further
details, refer to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine RPG
rulebook, pages 232-233.
Size: 25 cm x 25 cm x 8 cm
Mass: 1.5 kg
Personal Communicators
The Cardassian military have communicators that
attach to the left wrist of their uniforms. Enlisted men have
only radio transceivers, while ofcers communicators have
subspace and radio transceivers and universal translators.
Cardassian military communicators are designed to
enable transporters to readily lock onto their signal, for rapid
71
Phaser Damage
Setting
1 Stun
2 Lethal
Damage
(6+4d6)
30+9d6
Charge
3
40
Size: 6 cm x 4 cm x 1.5 cm
Mass: 0.02 kg
UT Library: 141 languages
Duration: 800 hours
Phasers
72
Phaser Pistol
Settings: 1-2
Range: 5/20/50/100
Size: 23 cm long, 0.5 L in volume
Mass: 0.5 kg
Energy: 800 charges
Phaser Rifle
Settings: 1-2
Range: 5/40/80/150
Size: 50 cm long, 1.5 L in volume
Mass: 1.1 kg
Energy: 1,250 charges
Melee Weapons
Cardassians troops do not generally use melee
weapons either in combat or as part of ceremonial uniforms.
There are several tools issued to infantrymen that double as
weapons when required.
Sharuul
The sharuul is a short curved cutting tool.
The serrated blade curves back towards the handle
making it ideal for downward cutting motions. The
blade is one-sided and this makes it difcult to use
as a weapon.
Size: 15 cm handle with a 12 cm blade
Mass: 0.2 kg
Accuracy: 9
Block: +1
Damage: 2+2d6
Sharuul-ka
The sharuul-ka is a double-edged blade
used for clearing forest or jungle. Soldiers preparing
to engage Klingons often arm themselves with a
sharuul-ka for close combat.
Isotolinium Explosives
Size: 75 cm
Mass: 2.5 kg
Accuracy: 7
Block: +2
Damage: 5+2d6
Espionage Equipment
73
Cosmetic Surgery
Intelligence agents often have their appearance
altered to appear to be members of another race. Obsidian
Order surgeons are capable of reproducing the appearance
of another individual exactly so an Order agent may have
immediate access to that individuals work and secrets.
While the surgery does include modication of the
vocal cords to alter the voice, it cannot match the victims
voiceprint, so voiceprint mimicking units are often required.
It also cannot change the color of blood, DNA, or internal
organs. A surgically altered agent cannot replicate behavior
or skills, making long-term replacement difcult.
Rather than replace a specic person, surgical alteration can be combined with deep mental conditioning to
create a deep cover agent.
To surgically alter a Cardassian to appear to be an
exact duplicate of an individual from another race requires a
Difcult Medical Science (Cosmetic Surgery) test. To simply
change the appearance of a Cardassian to that of another race
74
STARSHIP TECHNOLOGIES
Most systems aboard Cardassian vessels are similar
to those of other Alpha Quadrant powers. Cardassian tech-
nology is approximately ve to seven years behind its Federation equivalent. Many Cardassian engineers nd that
reverse engineering other races technologies is often more
efcient than developing the same systems by themselves.
However, by the time these technologies are employed, they
are often outdated.
Signicant differences in Cardassian starship
design are the weaponry and embedded warp nacelles.
Other differences include spacecraft construction, shields
and navigational deectors. These are primarily caused
by lack of resources.
Cardassian starships are more robustly designed
than their Stareet equivalents. The spaceframe is simpler
and more compact, requiring less power for structural integrity elds. The materials used to construct different ships
of the same class can vary considerably, depending on the
availability of raw materials.
The bridge on a Cardassian starship is similar to the
bridge on any Klingon, Federation or Romulan vessel. There
is a central Guls chair and primary control stations are at
the front of the bridge. Only the Gul has a seat, all other
stations are manned standing.
Matter-antimatter reactors power Cardassian vessels and impulse engines provide sub-light propulsion.
All Cardassian ships use embedded warp nacelles. These
reduce the efciency of the warp eld but allow a smaller
deector-shield radius, making the shields comparatively
more efcient.
The primary weapon on a Cardassian warship is the
spiral-wave disruptor. The poor availability of large LiCu
crystal of sufcient purity forced the Cardassians to use disruptors rather than phasers as their main starship weapon.
To maintain beam-coherence, the emitters include a magnetic constriction coil that forces the disruptor beam to spin,
this acts in a similar fashion to the riing in old-fashioned
projectile weaponry. With true Cardassian efciency, redundant disruptor emitters are used as the primary component
in navigational deectors.
Spiral-wave disruptors are a less powerful than disruptor wave cannons. These use a compression oscillator
in the pre-re chamber that imparts a transverse component to the disruptor beam. However baryon particles
emitted by the warp nacelles of warships cause rapid depolarization of the beam. For this reason, disruptor wave
cannons are only mounted on the stern of warships. This
has lead to a common joke amongst Klingons that Cardassians only need weapons on the rear of their ships because
they are always running away.
Most Cardassian ships do not have torpedo tubes.
The Union can only manufacture 54,000 photon torpedoes
per annum and they are generally assigned to stations and
orbital weapons platforms. This can leave Cardassian ships
a signicant disadvantage if an enemy chooses to stand off
Developing Technologies
The resources devoted by Cardassia to research and
development of new sciences and technologies pales in comparison to the Federation or Romulan Empire. However, the
projects under development are not insignicant.
The emphasis of the research is entirely military.
The benets these developments create takes years to lter
through to the Cardassian populace. Some of these projects
represent the potential for Cardassia to gain a signicant
advantage over its enemies, so the research is a tightly kept
secret. Often only those at the highest levels of the Central
Command know of such research.
75
Project Soldier
Some Dominion technology became available to
Cardassian scientists when Cardassia joined the Dominion.
Some of this was made freely available by the Dominion and
some was stolen and studied by Cardassians. In particular,
the Cardassians acquired a signicant amount of data about
the genetic engineering of the Jemhadar.
The Ministry of Science deemed that it would be too
long and involved a process to build a Cardassian supersoldier from the DNA up. Instead volunteers from the Third
Battalion of the First Order underwent genetic re-sequencing. The aim was to create a Cardassian stronger, faster
76
Cardassian soldier, who required less sleep and whose loyalty could be guaranteed.
Initial attempts failed and were immediately fatal
to the test subject. As a result, the level of genetic manipulation was reduced. The second batch of subjects did not
die during the process, however rapid cellular degeneration set in after only a few hours. One volunteer went
berserk after seeing several of his fellow subjects die. He
smashed the laboratory and killed three scientists before
security ofcers shot him down.
The third generation of soldiers has proved to be
more stable. Cellular degeneration has been delayed. The
expected lifespan of an enhanced soldier is now six to eight
weeks. It proved impossible to genetically engineer loyalty
in the soldiers, so they have been treated with the same
psychotropic drugs used in Project Guardian. The result is a
stronger, tougher and faster Cardassian soldier with a paranoid hatred of non-Cardassians, who must be kept in stasis
until required for combat.
77
78
STARSHIPS
STARSHIPS
CHARIOTS OF MIGHT
79
Cardassian Shipyards
The major starship construction facilities of the Cardassian Union are:
Altenek Nor: All Keldon-class warships are built here. Galor, Dakar and Aberax-class vessels are also built here.
Kregak II: This shipyard was located in what became the Demilitarized Zone between the Federation and the Cardassians. In
2370 it was decomissioned under the Cardassian/Federation treaty and abandoned. The Maquis nished the job by destroying it
in 2371.
Monak IV: Galor and Kalen-class battle cruisers, Durgor-class warships and Vidren-class frigates were constructed here before
the shipyards were destroyed by the Klingons in 2375.
Omekla III: Several classes of Cardassias largest warships are produced here, including the Kagor-class battleship.
Orias: The Obsidian Order built its Namuul-class scouts here. It also secretly constructed improved Keldon-class ships in order
to attack the Founders home world. The fate of the Orias yards remains a mystery. The Cardassian Intelligence Bureau may
control them or they may be a stronghold of loyal Obsidian Order agents. Whether they can still produce warships is unknown.
Tivak: Hundreds of smaller vessels, such as Hideki-class ghters and Guran-class fast attack ships, were constructed here until
the Cardassian resistance destroyed them with sabotage.
Torros III: The Dominion built a shipyard here in 2373. The Federation attacked and destroyed it later in the same year.
Sulenn Tok: The largest shipyard in the Union. It orbits Cardassia Va. See page 102 for more information.
80
Chintalka-Class Destroyer
Class and Type: Chintalka-class destroyer
Commissioning Date: 2315
Hull Characteristics
Size: 5 (200 meters long, 6 decks)
Resistance: 3
Structural Points: 100
Operations Characteristics
Crew/Passengers/Evacuation: 100/20/500 [4 pwr/round]
Computers: 2 [2 pwr/round]
Transporters: 2 personnel, 2 cargo, 2 emergency
transporters [3 pwr/round]
Tractor Beams: 1 av [2/rating used]
Propulsion and Power Characteristics
Warp System: 4.9/6.9/8.1 (6 hours) [2/warp factor]
Impulse System: 0.50c/0.70c [5/7 pwr/round]
Power: 130
Sensor Systems
Long-range Sensors: +0/12 light-years [6 pwr/round]
Lateral Sensors: +0/1 light-year [4 pwr/round]
Navigational Sensors: +0 [5 pwr/round]
Sensor Skill: 3
Weapons Systems
Spiral Wave Disruptors
Range: 10/30,000/100,000/300,000
Arc: All (720 degrees)
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Damage: 12
Power: [12]
Disruptor Wave Cannon
81
Range: 10/30,000/100,000/300,000
Arc: Aft (360 degrees)
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Damage: 18
Power: [18]
Weapons Skill: 3
Defensive Systems
Deector Shields
Protection: 40/47
Power: [40]
Description and Notes:
Fleet data: The Chintalka-class destroyer is an older vessel,
now ending its useful service history. It is the forerunner
to the modern Galor-class ships in many respects. These
vessels were used as escorts, explorers, border patrol craft,
scouts, and general utility craft.
They have moderate weaponry, although their shields
and warp speeds are limited. Smaller hull sizes and crews
made them quick and cheap to construct. The main section
of the hull housed all crew quarters and control sections, with
impulse engines at the rear. The trailing column supported
the warp engines and fuel tanks. A small cargo hold and
shuttlebay were located at the front of the craft, though only
2 small utility shuttles were carried.
By the 2360s, Chintalka-class ships were being replaced by
Galor-class cruisers and those remaining were transferred to reserve
eets. After the initial battles of the Dominion War, many Chintalkaclass ships were restored to front-line units to replace battle losses.
Noteworthy vessels/service records/encounters: Chintalka,
prototype; StykRakan, part of the battle group that launched
a pre-emptive strike on Setlik III (2347); Chinych, defeated
the USS Stargazer but failed to destroy her (2351); Baladu,
valiantly defended Aschelan V against Klingon attackers
(2371). Also in service: Aravash, Terkganon.
Chintalka-Class Destroyer
82
Cardassian Vessels
Battleships
Kagor-class Battleship
Gulat-class Battleship (proposed)
Warships
Durgor-class Light Warship
Gural-class Warship
Keldon-class Heavy Warship
Kurgat-class Heavy Warship
Thalon-class Warship
Cruisers
Belshan-class Cruiser
Dhaval-class Incursion Cruiser
Durnat-class Assault Cruiser
Galor-class Battle Cruiser
Kalen-class Battle Cruiser
Kurnor-Class Incursion Cruiser
Promet-class Cruiser
Tiamar-class Assault Cruiser
Sholec-class Assault Cruiser
Valkar-class Light Battle Cruiser
Frigates
Dorneg-class Frigate
Kheras-class Light Frigate
Ragar-class Incursion Frigate
Thalkar-class Heavy Frigate
Vidren-class Strike Frigate
Destroyers and Fast Attack Ships
Aberax-class Destroyer
Berak-class Perimeter Defense Ship
Chintalka-class Destroyer
Dakar-class Heavy Destroyer
Guran-class Fast Attack Ship
Hideki-class Fighter
Rathat-class Fast Attack Ship
Escorts and Scouts
Emred-class Armed Scout
Mithras-class Destroyer Escort
Namuul-Class Scout
Nuras-class Heavy Scout
Sugren-class Heavy Escort
Sulor-class Escort
Thurak-class Scout
Specialised and Auxiliary vessels
Shovash-class Medical Ship
Voreska-class Research Ship
Salgar-class Military Freighter
Gorvall-class Orbital Troop Transport
Bok Vala-class Military Shuttle
Tharbalt-class Warp Shuttle
Veras-class Armed Courier
83
Weapons Systems
Spiral Wave Disruptors
Range: 10/30,000/100,000/300,000
Arc: All (720 degrees)
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Damage: 10
Power: [10]
Disruptor Wave Cannon
Range: 10/30,000/100,000/300,000
Arc: Aft (360 degrees)
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Damage: 12
Power: [12]
Plasma Bombs
Number: 18
Launchers: 1 fv
Spread: 4
Arc: Fwd (self-guided)
Range: 1/30/1000/30000
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Damage: 10
Power: [3]
Weapons Skill: 3
84
Defensive Systems
Deector Shields
Protection: 36/45
Power: [36]
Description and Notes:
Fleet data: The Gorvall-class ships are troop transports, used
to ferry ground troops from larger ships in orbit. Each transport
can carry up to 30 troops, their light artillery and an APC. They
are quite basic craft, with no warp drive or long-range sensors.
They operate well in planetary atmospheres and are designed
to land in rough terrain. They are relatively well armed and each
craft carries a number of self-guided plasma bombs, used to
clear the target area before landing. These are crude weapons
by modern standards but do their job effectively.
Star Fleet referred to these craft as Boomerangs during
the Federation-Cardassian conicts, due to their basic shape and
continuous trips to and from orbital ships. At least one is usually
carried onboard Galor class ships & other larger warships.
Noteworthy vessels/service records/encounters:
Gorvall, prototype; Shargat briey landed troops on Vulcan
before being destroyed (2375).
Mithras-Class Escort
Class and Type: Mithras-class Escort Destroyer
Commissioning Date: 2365
Hull Characteristics
Size: 4 (147 meters long, 4 decks)
Resistance: 3
Structural Points: 80
Operations Characteristics
Crew/Passengers/Evacuation: 20/2/100 [4 pwr/round]
Computers: 2 [2 pwr/round]
Transporters: 1 personnel, 1 cargo [1 pwr/round]
Tractor Beams: 1 av [2/rating used]
Propulsion and Power Characteristics
Warp System: 6.0/8.9/9.1 (11 hours) [2/warp factor]
Impulse System: 0.70c/0.90c [7/9 pwr/round]
Power: 165
Sensor Systems
Long-range Sensors: +1/15 light-years [6 pwr/round]
Lateral Sensors: +1/1 light-year [4 pwr/round]
Navigational Sensors: +1 [5 pwr/round]
Sensor Skill: 4
Weapons Systems
Spiral Wave Disruptors
Range: 10/30,000/100,000/300,000
Mithras-Class Escort
Arc: All (720 degrees)
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Damage: 16
Power: [16]
Disruptor Wave Cannon
Range: 10/30,000/100,000/300,000
Arc: Aft (360 degrees)
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Damage: 20
Power: [20]
Photon Torpedo Launchers
Number: 100
Launchers: 1 fwd
Spread: 6
Arc: forward, but are self-guided
Range: 15/300,000/1,000,000/3,500,000
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Damage: 20
Power:[5]
Weapons Skill: 4
Defensive Systems
Deector Shields
Protection: 50/66
Power: [50]
Description and Notes:
Fleet data: The Mithras-class was designed as a direct
response to the Klingon Brel-class ships which conducted
repeated raids and were agile enough to elude pursuit. As
well as proving effective against Klingon attacks, the Mithras
demonstrated itself to be a exible and capable ship as a
scout, an escort or on raids and patrols.
The Mithras has equivalent weaponry but a better
85
NAMUUL-Class Scoutship
Class and Type: Namuul-class scout
Commissioning Date: 2372
Hull Characteristics
Size: 3 (86 meters long, 2 decks)
Resistance: 3
Structural Points: 60
Operations Characteristics
Crew/Passengers/Evacuation: 3/9/30 [2 pwr/round]
Computers: 2 [2 pwr/round]
Transporters: 1 personnel, 1 emergency transporter
[1 pwr/round]
Tractor Beams: 1 av [2/rating used]
Propulsion and Power Characteristics
Warp System: 7.0/9.2/9.9 (12 hours) [2/warp factor]
Impulse System: 0.60c/0.80c [6/8 pwr/round]
Power: 165
Sensor Systems
Long-range Sensors: +3/17 light-years [6 pwr/round]
Lateral Sensors: +3/1 light-year [4 pwr/round]
Navigational Sensors: +2[5 pwr/round]
Sensor Skill: 5
Weapons Systems
Spiral wave disruptor
Range: 10/30,000/100,000/300,000
Arc: All (720 degrees)
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Damage: 12
Power: [12]
Disruptor wave cannon
Range: 10/30,000/100,000/300,000
Arc: Aft (360 degrees)
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Damage: 16
Power: [16]
Weapons Skill: 3
Defensive Systems
Deector Shields
Protection: 51/71
Power: [51]
86
NAMUUL-Class Scoutship
Description and Notes:
Fleet data: The Namuul-class scout, is a modied
Hideki-class patrol boat used by Obsidian Order agents for
special operations. These ships act as monitoring vessels
near borders, inltration craft for agents on missions and
couriers for senior member of the Order.
Outwardly it resembles a normal Hideki-class ship,
but all major systems have been upgraded, making it slightly
faster, more powerful and better armed. Shields have also
been improved. Most of these upgrades occupy the original
crew quarters and facilities, so it is very cramped inside, with
only basic life support. The internal layout gives additional
space to sensor analysis stations and communication recording
equipment, and at least one crewmember will always man
this position. It carries a variety of stealth probes to gather
information at long range. The class VIII probes can also be
used to deliver an agent to the surface of a planet, although
the re-entry and landing are uncomfortable. It is quite
common for these craft to use stolen technology, including
stolen cloaking devices (salvaged from Klingon Birds of Prey)
and energy-absorbing hull coatings to reduce the sensor
echo produced (see Raiders, Renegades, and Rogues,
page 88). All Namuul-class ships can operate in planetary
atmospheres and are capable of landing on the surface.
Noteworthy vessels/service records/encounters:
Namuul, prototype; Tagfhur, transported saboteurs to
SPACE STATIONS
The Cardassian term for a large space station is Nor.
This is often incorporated into a stations name.
The Cardassians do not have nearly as many
stations as the Federation has starbases, but those it
does have are still impressive structures. The graceful yet
functional appearance of Cardassian stations makes them
easily identiable. With true Cardassian efciency, the same
station exterior design can be contain a number of different
internal congurations for a variety of purposes.
87
88
Damage: 18
Power: [18]
Weapons Skill: 4
Defensive Systems
Deector Shields
Protection: 60/90
Power: [60]
Description and Notes:
Station Data: These large ore-processing stations are
intended for long-term, high-yield mineral extraction, such
as the systematic strip mining of a planet. Local labor is
often used for manual processing.
The station has a vertical central core which houses
the operations center, the fusion reactors and other vital
systems. The inner ring is the Habitat Ring, which has spartan
quarters for laborers and larger quarters for Cardassian
ofcers and crew. The weapons towers protrude above and
below the Habitat Ring. The Docking Ring is the outer ring.
All cargo is stored in the docking ring. The six large docking
pylons can receive ships as large as Kagor-class Battleships.
The ore processing machinery is in the base of each pylon.
Once these stations reach the end of their working
life, they are abandoned or destroyed. They are considered
too large to relocate.
Notable stations: Terok Nor, used to strip mine Bajor
(2351-2369); abandoned and claimed by the Bajorans,
administered by Stareet (2369-2373), discovered the
Bajoran Wormhole (2369): fought off Klingon attack (2372);
recaptured by the Cardassians and the Dominion (2373),
retaken by Stareet (2374). Empok Nor, abandoned and
guarded by soldiers from Project: Guardian (2372), the site
of a Ferengi/Dominion hostage negotiation (2374). Attok
Nor, Gamok Nor and Kamok Nor; part of the Sulenn Tok
shipyards over Cardassia Va.
Other stations: Stations using the same external
structure are rare but they can serve many purposes e.g.
science, hospitals or prisons.
REPAIR STATION
Type: Supply
Commissioning Date: varies
Hull Characteristics
Size/Structure: 6/Mushroom with docking arms
Resistance: 8
Structural Points: 600
Docks: 42 small craft docking bays (up to size 3)
18 docks for ships up to size 4
6 docks for ships up to size 8
Personnel Characteristics
Crew/Inhabitants/Capacity: 400/12,000/20,000
[8 pwr/round]
Entertainment: 9 [27 pwr/round]
Systems Characteristics
Computers: 3 [3 pwr/round]
Transporters: 36 personnel [18 pwr/round]
Tractor Beams: 6, one at top and bottom of
each docking arm, maximum strength
10 [2/rating used]
Power: 450
Sensor Systems
Long-range Sensors: +1/16 light-years [6 pwr/round]
Lateral Sensors: +1/1 light-year [4 pwr/round]
Sensor Skill: 4
Weapons Systems
Disruptor Wave Cannon
Range: 10/30,000/100,000/300,000
Arc: All (720 degrees)
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Damage: 22
Power: [22]
Weapons Skill: 4
Defensive Systems
Deector Shields
Protection: 80/100
Power: [80]
Description and Notes:
Station Data: These stations are intended for repair
and upgrading of the Cardassian eet. While they
do not posses the same facilities as a shipyard they
have excellent engineering workshops and carry a large
quantity of spare components. In times of war, these
stations can support up to twelve thousand engineers.
This signicantly reduces repair times, although assigning
the engineers can be a logistical nightmare.
These stations are mushroom-shaped with six
docking arms extending from the body of the station ad
curving underneath like the tentacles of a giant octopus.
There are small shuttle bays and docks for smaller ships on
the outside of the arms. Larger docks are on the ends of the
arms, well within the protection of the stations shield bubble.
Larger bays are located in the top of the mushroom.
Notable stations: Kelvas Repair Station. This facility was
used by the Dominion to install the Breen energy-dampening
weapon in its attack ships (2375).
Other stations: Four of these stations are located in orbit
around Cardassia Prime.
89
90
CARDASSIAN SYSTEM
CARDASSIAN SYSTEM
91
Cardassia Prime
give an idea of what this world is about, its highlights and low points, and
in combination with the rest of this work, some indication of what drives
the Cardassian need for expansion.
92
Wasteland
Cardassia Prime is technically a Class M world, although it sits at the
extreme edge of the classication. At 19,000 kilometers in equatorial diameter,
it is huge for a world with a gravity of only 1.2 G, a situation brought about by
the low density of ferrous and other metals in its planetary make-up.
Although the world bears many supercial similarities, the climate
is markedly different from those of Vulcan, which is extremely dry, and
Ferenginar, which is merely wet and cold. The humidity often takes the
unprepared by surprise, as from orbit (through gaps in the heavy cloud
cover), Cardassia Prime looks a dead, arid world, orbiting at the inner
extreme of its suns biozone (the region in which the carbon-based humanoids
so common in the galaxy can evolve). The vast majority of the planets landmasses appear to be covered in grayish-brown desert, with relatively small
bodies of water (only two of which are large enough to qualify as oceans),
and little in the way of rivers. Most of the planets moisture beyond this is in
the form of vapor locked into the dense atmosphere, and while precipitation is common in the coastal regions, surface water evaporates or runs
away into the rock surprisingly fast.
Unlike many Class M planets, there is little in the way of climatic
variation on Cardassia Prime. The heavy cloud-cover acts like a thermal
blanket to ensure that divisions between climatic zones are extremely
fuzzy. Cardassian environmentalists tend to categorize by terrain rather
than temperature. There is some variation by latitude of course: at the
poles, temperatures approach those of the subtropical regions of Earth,
averaging around 26o Celsius; while the equatorial regions, favored by
the natives, regularly reach temperatures in excess of 36o.
Levels of rainfall tend to be fairly constant across the world, despite
Federation stereotypes of a parched world. Moisture tends to be retained
in the air, however, and then released in short, heavy bursts. Heavy showers (dropping in excess of 56mm of rain at a time, and accompanied by
spectacular lightning displays) strike around dusk on most days in the highlands, while many of the coastal regions get heavy monsoon-like downpours
lasting several hours every 3-5 days. With little axial tilt, there is little variation in seasons, although the equatorial regions experience a small rise in
temperature, coupled with doubled rainfall for about a quarter of the year.
The apparently sere terrain, located mostly in the highlands, is
actually barren rather than desert. The precipitation is there, but the soil
has been leached of all nutrients. Rainwater also has a tendency to run
off the surface rather than soak in, or just evaporate back into the atmosphere. What vegetation there is clusters around the dense population centers, where effort can be made to provide articial nutrients in the barren
soil. This is largely for recreational use, as Cardassia has been unable to
feed its huge population for several centuries, and relies on bulk imports of
foodstuffs from Kaldok.
This sorry state of affairs has arisen from past heavy industrial and
agricultural processes that wrecked the ecology while stripping the world of
its already scant minerals. As the population expanded, more and more of
the world was taken up providing food through industrial-scale farming, and
Kilometers
ELEKANDA
10000
REKONDA
PATKA
1
SOTARA
KOLARI
VENARHOND
OKABA
HANNARAD
CARDASSIA PRIME
10000m
Cardassia City
Ruins of Korlarem
Ehuch
Mt. Sherur
Garethia
Hebitian Tombs
-10000m
-5000m
0m
5000m
ELEKANDA
1
2
3
4
5
6
94
High Guard
Cardassia Prime boasts one moon, Endera,
around half the size of Luna, which orbits its primary
in about 26 local days. Like most such satellites, it
is an airless ball of rock, and is largely ignored by
the population of the world below. It is not even big
enough to provide much nighttime illumination when
it is full, and is only infrequently seen as a thin slice
of silver through rare nocturnal gaps in the clouds. It
does carry vast amount of folklore, built up over millennia of speculation about this rare visitor from the
sky. The modern name, Endera, derives from one of
the ancient goddesses of the Yhorandi city-states of
central Venarhond. In the days of the First Hebitian
Period, Enderas was the hidden guardian of the hard
working, and only rarely showed her face to those
she protected. For a long time, it was said that to
see her face when working late in the elds at night
was to have gained her special favor. There are a few
military and scientic bases on Endera, but no effort
has been made to establish any kind of permanent
colonies on the satellite.
Like most homeworlds, Cardassia Prime is
orbited by a plethora of articial structures, although
unlike those in orbit about Earth or Betazed, all
are fully active - the Cardassian resource shortage
means that nothing would be abandoned just
because it stopped working. Nearly all such structures are military in nature: staging posts for shipping troops off-planet; ship construction facilities,
although most of these are in orbit around Cardassia V; and of course, orbital defense platforms,
of a dozen different varieties. Pre-war dissidentinspired rumor has it that half of the orbital weaponry is pointed at various population centers to
quell potential rebellions (that theory seems to be
proved after the Jemhadar attened several cities
during reprisals for Damars rebellion). Some civilian scientic and trade facilities exist, but are heavily monitored by both the Military Orders own intelligence units and the Obsidian Order, to ensure
nothing happens that does not benet the Union.
Okaba
The centrer of modern Cardassian civilization lies in
the region of Okaba. Cardassia City, the vast governmental complex built upon the orders of the Detapa Council,
immediately following its incorporation, stretches for nearly
fty kilometers around the Bay of Selay on the west coast
of this sea. The site was picked for several reasons, but
primarily because it was no-mans land between several of
the most powerful of the warring city-states.
Cardassia City houses nearly half-a-billion citizens, all
of whom either work in or support the various governmental
institutions. The Detapa Council has its main meeting buildings and ofces sited around the Imperial Plaza, a vast semicircular paved area on a cliff overlooking the City of Heroes,
a park dedicated to those who have fallen in the service of
Cardassia. The Central Command maintains its primary council liaison ofces nearby, but keeps its main facilities in the
northern quadrant of the city, away from the civilians. The
vast bureaucracy of the Civil Service is based in a large complex of buildings to the south, where the civil servants do their
best to avoid the notice of both the Central Command and the
Council. Popular consensus has it that the Obsidian Orders
headquarters are in Cardassia City where they can keep an
eye on the Council, but opinion differs as to whether they are
based in the Central Commands complex, the Council buildings themselves, or somewhere in the warrens of the Civil
Service. In times of peace, foreign embassies are scattered
between the Imperial Plaza and the Central Command buildings, otherwise, the buildings are used to house extra command centers for the war effort.
The buildings of the city are prime examples of the
preferred Cardassian architectural style, found in large communities across the planet and the Union. The majority of
buildings are low, sprawling complexes of wings and galleries, built around carefully cultivated gardens, often lled
with exotic plants from across the Union. The decorative
half-arches and spire-like towers favored by the Cardassian
aesthetic dot the skyline at almost regular intervals, generally interspersed with the huge oval public feed screens used
by the Detapa Council and the Obsidian Order to keep the
public informed of current events.
The majority of the populace live in sprawling apartment complexes around the edges of the central administrative districts, with maglev-powered public transport vehicles
ferrying them into their ofces and workplaces every day.
Surprisingly, to an outsiders somewhat prejudiced view of
Cardassian society, the apartments are quite private locations, with walls and enclosed gardens available to all but the
lower castes. Despite constant Obsidian Order surveillance,
privacy from the neighbors prying eyes is highly valued.
Even the lower castes have access to individual apartments
within low accommodation blocks.
While the terrain in which Cardassia City rests is as
desolate and polluted as the rest of the planet, the city has
a generally lighter, airier feel about it, enhanced by the presence of so many gardens, and the lofty architecture. The feel-
ing of quiet industrious fervor that characterizes the Cardassian people is denitely present, however, and outsiders feel
the almost oppressive presence of the government and the
military everywhere they go, with frequent news and propaganda bulletins booming out across the city at regular intervals. It is also possible to sense a quietly desperate paranoia
in the faces of the people - the Obsidian Order keeps a closer
eye on the capital city than anywhere else in the Union.
Okaba is traditionally the home of the First Hebitian
civilization, and the ruins of Korlarem, the foremost city-state
of the League, still dominate the southern coast. The surviving structures, mostly single towers and free-standing walls,
already show signs of the styles that would be rened over
the next twelve millennia, and the remains of what is believed
to have been the largest-ever free-standing arch are a popular tourist attraction for visiting dignitaries. Two solidly constructed pillars (each over 40 m in diameter) rise gracefully
out of the rocks at opposite ends of the city (about a kilometer apart) and rise in curves towards each other to a height of
around 50 m. Tracing the outline of the curve would indicate
the entire structure would have stood over 400 m high, and,
given the lack of evidence of any kind of cement, there is
much debate over how a pre-industrial civilization could have
erected such a structure. And indeed, why.
The region is in a much worse state than it should
be, as it was the centre of the urry of archaeological digs
following the Councils rst encounters with other star-faring
civilizations, in which many archaeological treasures were sold
off. Little remains of any artistic value, but in the drier regions
it is still possible to descend from the higher plains into a
hidden gorge and be amazed by the striking architectural skills
of one of the older civilizations of the known galaxy.
Venarhond
While a bit cooler, Venarhond resembles its northern neighbor in climate and character. As the location of
many of the city-states that were the rst to join the Hebitian League, it has always been heavily populated, and, in
recent millennia, heavily polluted.
Venarhond is one of the dirtiest regions of Cardassia. The central sea of Venarhond itself, once home to a
thriving ecosystem is covered in an inches deep slick of
unusable waste material, and a thick miasma of smog overhangs the entire affair. While most such activity has been
moved offworld, a large proportion of the worlds heavy
industry still resides here, factories and reneries mounted
on rigs out in the sea, or in fenced-off sites along the
shores. There is little effort to control the waste output of
these industries, and so they continue to belch smoke into
the skies and efuent into the sea.
Some of Cardassia Primes oldest continuously-inhabited cities reside along the shores of Venarhond. These are
vast, bustling affairs, sprawling across hundreds of square
kilometers. Where one city ends, there will be a clear area of
maybe forty or fty kilometers before the next begins. A vast
monorail-based, rapid transit system links the communities
to each other and to the capital in Okaba.
95
Patka
Patka is one of the more spectacular regions of Cardassia Prime. Situated along the only link between the northern and southern oceans of the world, it gets the most vigorous weather activity on the planet. 150 kph storms whip
through the straits on an almost daily basis, and the resulting erosion has carved a series of spectacular natural sculp-
96
Hannarad
Hannarad is the home of the minority karadan peoples, whose lengthy trading expeditions were instrumental
in forging the rst alliances between city-states, which ultimately led to the founding of the Hebitian League. The
Sotara
Sotara is the home of the neldan peoples, and was
the heart of their empire for several millennia during the
First Hebitian Period. Separated from their future rivals by
the Heshkar Ridge, they were able to develop their own distinct culture for two thousand years before their expanding
sphere of inuence clashed with that of the Hebitians. It was
the Sotaran nations that assaulted the Hebitian League, in
a series of wars that ultimately resulted in the sacking of
Korlarem, and the collapse of the First Hebitian civilization.
Sotaran leaders were ultimately instrumental in reuniting
Cardassia at the beginning of the Second Hebitian Period.
In many ways, Sotara rivals Okaba for the position
of foremost region on Cardassia Prime. It features the same
huge cities, and the same ancient archaeological sites, which
are just as heavily picked over. Its population is also comparable, but is slightly more oriented towards academic pursuits than that of Okaba. The planets largest civilian research
center is located at Ehuch in the eastern part of this region.
Sotara is also notable for being less polluted than
Okaba. While there is still little in the way of naturally growing vegetation, there are no examples of the huge areas of
blasted terrain so common near Cardassia City.
Kolari
The isolated region of Kolari has always been known
for its peaceful qualities. The land is bleak, the mountains high,
and the journey long and arduous, all qualities which led to it
97
98
Cardassia System
System Name: Cardassia
Afliation: Home system of the Cardassian Union; allied with the Dominion during the Dominion War.
System Type: The star Cardassia is a type G2 V (yellow dwarf) star.
Inhabited Planets: Cardassia Prime, the third planet is the homeworld of the Cardassians. The only other habitable planets in the system are
Cardassia IV and Va, but they are only sparsely populated.
Other Planets: The system has a total of eight planets, including Cardassia Prime. The two inner planets are both Class F. Cardassia V, VI and VII
are Class J gas giants; the outermost planet, Cardassia VIII is Class G.
Other Stellar Objects: There is an average-sized cometary cloud beyond Cardassia VIII.
Articial Objects: The Cardassia system is lled with numerous space-based construction facilities, factories, and the like, though several of the
largest and most important installations were destroyed or damaged by the Federation and its allies during the Dominion War.
SIS: Home system of the Cardassian people.
System Layout
Position
I
II
III
IV
V
Va
VI
VII
VIII
Planet
Keldon
Perenor
Cardassia Prime
Kaldok
Jehaldar
Jehaldarok
Komar
Terar
Scralar
Class
F
F
M
M
J
M
J
J
G
Orbit
0.21 au
0.59 au
0.96 au
1.42 au
2.48 au
0.002 au
7.6 au
15 au
38 au
Year
35.33d
166.36d
344.35d
621.16d
1433.67d
168.47d
21.1y
58.4y
1798y
Diameter
5,000 km
13,100 km
18,700 km
13,100 km
104,000 km
12,000 km
120,000 km
104,000 km
9,900 km
Mass
0.05
1.08
2.62
1.04
69.9
0.89
107.4
69.9
0.2
Kaldok
Perenor
Keldon
Density
4.9
5.4
4.5
5.2
0.7
5.8
0.7
0.7
1.9
Cardassia
Prime
Grav
0.35 G
1.01 G
1.2 G
0.98 G
Day
19 h
18 h
26 h
32 h
1.0 G
22 h
0.29 G
45 h
No of Moons
0
0
1
0
19
0
18
9
0
Jehaldar
Jehaldarok
Terar
Komar
Scralar
99
it is now the administrative center, with the largest population of free citizens on the planet. It sits in the middle of the
continent of Odacnara, on the shores of a large lake. The
architecture is more reminiscent of a military outpost than a
city, consisting of solidly-built low buildings rather like blockhouses, none more than two stories high. This has become
necessary as local storms regularly feature winds over one
hundred miles per hour. Much of Ikarraports citizenry is
employed trying to predict the passage of these storms.
The majority of the worlds population, whether prisoner or guard, live in the scattered gulag camps. Outworlders
would be surprised to see that there are no fences or walls
around these camps, or even any surveillance equipment.
The Cardassian psychology, shaped to serve the people from
childhood, ensures that the vast majority of prisoners will
never even try to escape or perform any form of sabotage
(few dissidents wish to harm their homeworld). In addition,
the cold climate punishes any Cardassian that does try to
escape, and the guards relish the opportunity to relieve the
monotony of their duties with a drawn-out manhunt. The
average camp consists of a half-dozen low bunkhouses, halfburied against the storms, and arranged in a rough circle,
around a domed central hall and administration building.
Vehicles and equipment housed in underground garages and
workshops are used to reach and repair damaged automated
farm machinery. Seaborne facilities are basically more compact oating versions of the same concept. These are usually domed so that they can ride out rough seas, but oat
free, maintaining their position by mechanical means.
Ship Facilities: The world possesses a number of huge
starports out of all proportion to its population. Food prod-
The Natives
The more ethically-inclined scientists continue
to debate whether any sapient species existed or
was about to evolve on Kaldok before the virus was
unleashed. The most advanced species recorded was
roughly equivalent in intelligence to the eshnar, roughly
analogous to a Terran monkey, but some believe more
intelligent organisms did exist.
Given that some species did survive the virus,
especially at the bottoms of the oceans, some experts
give credence to the occasional report of large intelligent sea creatures attacking seaborne bases at the
height of the storms. Of course, say the government,
these are merely myths and propaganda spread by dissidents.
Or are they?
ucts are loaded directly on to the transport vessels instead
of via energy-hungry transporters.
History: Kaldok was one of the rst worlds to be visited
by Cardassian explorers, shortly after they acquired interplanetary spaceight. Those rst visitors found the world
cold and somewhat dry, but habitable. A richly varied ecosystem ourished here, in virtually every possible environment. It was rapidly discovered that Kaldoks biochemistry
was incompatible with that of the Cardassians, and while
civilian scientists clamored for access to study it in its undisturbed state, the government, desperately looking for ways
CHICNARA
BAKNARA
ODAKNARA
6000m
1
0m
Kilometers
100
7000
LAKNARA
-6000m
101
from the sun. Even after its existence was conrmed, and
surveys carried out, the government saw little immediate
use for the moon. Mineral resources were trace only, and
while the climate was certainly damp enough, the temperature ensured little Cardassian life could survive here.
Once its true value was realized however, and in
spite of the freezing temperatures, the Military rapidly took
control to establish a base for ship-construction using Jehaldars extensive ring system as raw materials. Further bases
were established and used to train Cardassias Orders in
endurance, survival and battle drills. Va has remained a
closed world ever since.
Other Details: Jehaldar is a huge gas giant well outside the
habitable orbits of Cardassias sun. It is, however, massive
enough to give off a fair amount of heat itself, and that heat has
ensured that one of its moons is at least barely habitable.
Va is the third of the Class M worlds in the Cardassia
system, and is very close to the Cardassian idea of hell. The
polar ice caps cover fully 67% of the moons surface, leaving
the equatorial regions covered in frigid windswept moorland,
pockmarked with shallow freezing lakes and bogs. The polar
temperatures are low enough that Andorians would have difculty there. Five massive mountain ranges dominate the
landscape, towering over the moors. The air is thin and has
a strong bitter smell.
12000m
0m
Kilometers
0
102
-4000m
10000
SPACEDOCK
SPACEDOCK
SPACEDOCK STATISTICS
103
HULL SYSTEMS
Size: 2
Length: 19.5 m
Beam: 8.9 m
Height: 5.1m
Decks: 1
Mass: 11.2 tons
SUs Available: 525
SUs Used: 464
Warp Drive
Nacelles: Type 2 (embedded)
10
10
Resistance:
Outer Hull: 5
Inner Hull: 5
5
5
Specialized Hull:
Atmospheric Capability
Planetfall Capability
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Hull
Outer: 10
Inner: 10
17
7
7
2
2
Impulse Engine
Type: Class 3A (.5c/.75c) [5/7 power/round]
Location: aft
23
6
8
18
POWER SYSTEMS
Warp Engine
Type: Class 2B (generates 130 power/round)
33
Location: below deck
Impulse Engine[s]: 1 class 3A (generates 28 power/round)
Auxiliary Power: None
Emergency Power: Type A (generates 25 power/round)
25
EPS: standard power ow, +25/round
13
PERSONNEL SYSTEMS
Crew/Passengers/Evac: 3/20/0
OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
10
Computers
Core 1: starboard [5 power/round]
ODN
6
6
Environmental Systems
Basic Life Support [3 power/round]
Reserve Life Support [2 power/round]
Emergency Life Support (no emergency shelters)
Gravity [1 power/round]
Consumables: 1 month
Replicator Systems
Food Replicators [2 power/round]
Industrial Replicators: None
Medical Facilities: 1 (+0) [1 power/round]
Recreation Facilities: None
Personnel Transport: Jeffries Tubes
8
4
4
2
1
2
5
2
2
1
Sensor Systems
Long-range sensors [5 power/round]
16
Range Package: Type 2 (Accuracy: 3/4/7/10)
High Resolution: 5 light-years (.5/.6-1.0/1.1-3.5/3.6-5)
Low Resolution: 12 light-years (1/1.1-3.0/3.1-8.0/8.1-12)
Strength Package: Class 4 (Strength 4)
Gain Package: Standard (+0)
Coverage: Standard
Lateral Sensors [5 power/round]
104
13
34
Microtorpedo Launcher
Standard Load: Microtorpedo (Damage 50)
Spread: 5
Range: 1/100/500/2000
Accuracy: 4/5/7/10
Power: [1]
Location: under belly
Firing Arc: Forward
Probes: None
Sensor Skill: 2
Flight Control Systems
Autopilot: Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) 2
Co-ordination: 2 [1 power/round when in use]
Navigation Computer
Main: Class 1
Backups: 1
Inertial Damping Field
Main
Strength: 6 [3 power/round]
Number: 1
Backup:
Strength: 4 [3 power/round]
Number: 1
Attitude Control [1 power/round]
Communications Systems
Type: Class 4 [2 power/round of use]
Strength: 4
Security: -3 (Uprating: Gamma)
Emergency Communications: Yes
Tractor Beams
Emitter: Class Beta
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Location: aft ventral
0
0
4
10
1
6
Weapons Skill: 3
Shields: (Forward/Aft/Port/Starboard)
9x4
Shield Generator: Class 2 (Protection 210+100)
[21 power/shield/round]
Shield Grid: Type B (33% increase to 280 Protection)
Subspace Distortion Ampliers: Class Alpha (Threshold 70+10)
Recharging System: Class 1 (45 seconds)
Backup Shield Generators: 1 per shield
4
Transporters
Type: Personnel [4 power/use]
12
Pads: 4
Emitter/receiver array: personnel type 4 (30,000km range)
Energising/transition coils: Class F (strength 6)
Number and location: Aft
and to provide air cover. They can carry 20 men along with all their
equipment. The shuttle is well armed for a ship of its size and more
than capable of matching a Danube-class runabout in combat.
Security Systems
Rating: 0
Anti-intruder systems Yes [1 power/round]
Neutralization Fields: [2power/3 strength]
2
4
Science Systems:
Rating: 0
Specialized systems: None
Laboratories: None
CHINTALKA-CLASS
DESTROYER
Class and Type: Chintalka-class Destroyer
Commissioning date: 2315
TACTICAL SYSTEMS
Forward Spiral Wave Disruptor Array
Class: Carkhet
Damage: 160 [16 power]
Number of Emitters: up to 3 shots/round
34
HULL SYSTEMS
Size: 5
Length: 202.5 m
Beam: 98.1 m
105
Height: 25.6m
Decks: 6
Mass: 2,958,000 tons
SUs Available: 1300
SUs Used: 1183
Hull
Outer: 25
Inner: 25
25
25
Resistance:
Outer Hull: 8
Inner Hull: 8
9
9
26
13
13
Crew/Passengers/Evac: 100/20/500
Environmental Systems
Basic Life Support [8 power/round]
Reserve Life Support [4 power/round]
Emergency Life Support (30 emergency shelters)
Gravity [3 power/round]
Consumables: 2 years
Replicator Systems
Food Replicators [5 power/round]
Industrial Replicators
Type: Network of small replicators [2 power/round]
Type: 2 Large units [2 power/replicator/round]
Medical Facilities: 3 (+1) [3 power/round]
Recreation Facilities: 5 [10 power/round]
Personnel Transport: Jeffries Tubes, Turbolifts [2 power/round]
Fire Suppression System [1 power/round when in use]
Cargo Holds: 100,000 cubic meters
Escape Pods: 3
Number: 40
Capacity: 6 persons per pod
3
5
4
4
20
10
10
5
10
5
5
6
15
40
15
5
3
Warp Drive
Impulse Engine
106
POWER SYSTEMS
Warp Engine
Type: Class 5H (generates 270 power/round)
Location: engineering section
Impulse Engine[s]: 2 class 3 (generate 48 power/round)
Auxiliary Power: 4 reactors (generate 5 power/reactor/round)
Emergency Power: Type A (generates 25 power/round)
EPS: standard power ow, +20/round
62
12
25
27
25
Computers
Core 1: starboard [5 power/round]
Core 2: port [5 power/round]
ODN
15
15
15
20
Sensor Systems
Long-range sensors [5 power/round]
12
Range Package: Type 2 (Accuracy: 3/4/7/10)
High Resolution: 5 light-years (.5/.6-1.0/1.1-3.5/3.6-5)
Low Resolution: 12 light-years (1/1.1-3.0/3.1-8.0/8.1-12)
Strength Package: Class 2 (Strength 2)
Gain Package: Standard (+0)
Coverage: Standard
Lateral Sensors [5 power/round]
Strength Package: Class 2 (strength 2)
Gain Package: Standard (+0)
Coverage: Standard
Sensor Skill: 3
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Nacelles: Type 5A2 (embedded)
Speed: 4.9/6.9/8.1 [1 power/.2 warp speed]
PIS: Type C (6hrs of maximum warp)
15
OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
PERSONNEL SYSTEMS
Crew Quarters
Spartan: 48
Basic: 48
Expanded: 20
Luxury: 4
Unusual: None
15
76
6
0
0
30
6
1
6
1
9
Transporters
Type: Personnel [4 power/use]
36
Pads: 6
Emitter/receiver array: personnel type 4 (30,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class B (strength 2)
Number and location: 2 on Deck 2, 2 on Deck 5
Type: Emergency [4 power/use]
10
Pads: 10
Emitter/receiver array: emergency type 1 (5,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class A (strength 1)
Number and location: 1 aft of bridge, 1 in engineering
section.
Type: Cargo [2 power/use]
Pads: 200kg
Emitter/receiver array: cargo type 2 (20,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class B (strength 2)
Number and Location: 2, deck 6
10
12
5
10
15
TACTICAL SYSTEMS
Forward Ventral Spiral Wave Disruptor Array
Class: Ebshar
Damage: 120 [12 power]
Number of Emitters: up to 2 shots/round
Targeting System: Accuracy 4/5/7/10
Location: forward ventral
Firing Arc: 360 degrees forward
Firing Modes: Standard, pulse
26
26
26
26
26
26
107
38x2
Weapons Skill: 4
Shields: (Forward/Aft/Port/Starboard)
28x4
Shield Generator: Class 2 (Protection 300+100)
[30 power/shield/round]
Shield Grid: Type A (25% increase to 550 Protection)
Subspace Distortion Ampliers: Class Gamma (Threshold
110+10)
Recharging System: Class 1 (45 seconds)
Backup Shield Generators: 1 per shield
4
Auto-Destruct System: Yes
Captains Yacht: No
Fleet data: The Chintalka-class destroyer is an older vessel, now
ending its useful service history. It is the forerunner to the modern
Galor-class ships in many respects. These vessels were used as escorts,
explorers, border patrol craft, scouts and general utility craft.
They have moderate weaponry, although their shields and
warp speeds are limited. Smaller hull sizes and crews made them
quick and cheap to construct. The main section of the hull housed
all crew quarters and control sections, with impulse engines at
the rear. The trailing column supported the warp engines and fuel
tanks. A small cargo hold and shuttlebay were located at the front
of the craft, though only 2 small utility shuttles were carried.
By the 2360s, Chintalka class ships were being replaced by
Galor-class cruisers and those remaining were transferred to reserve
eets. After the initial battles of the Dominion War, many Chintalkaclass ships were restored to front-line units to replace battle losses.
Noteworthy vessels/service records/encounters: Chintalka,
prototype; StykRakan, part of the battle group that launched a
pre-emptive strike on Setlik III (2347); Chinych, defeated the
USS Stargazer but failed to destroy her (2351); Baladu, valiantly
defended Aschelan V against Klingon attackers (2371). Also in
service: Aravash, Terkganon.
DREADNAUGHT CLASS
Class and Type: Dreadnaught Class Self-Guided Tactical Missile
Commissioning date: 2370
HULL SYSTEMS
Size: 3
Length: 32m
Beam: 8m
Height: 5m
108
Decks: 1
Mass: 38 tons
SUs Available: 820
SUs Used: 819
Hull
Outer: 15
Inner: 15
15
15
Resistance:
Outer Hull: 10
Inner Hull: 10
12
12
15
PERSONNEL SYSTEMS
Crew/Passengers/Evac: 0/2/0
Crew Quarters
Spartan: None
Basic: None
Expanded: None
Luxury: None
Unusual: None
Environmental Systems
Basic Life Support N/A
Reserve Life Support [1 power/round]
Emergency Life Support N/A
Gravity [2 power/round]
Consumables N/A
Replicator Systems
Food Replicators: None
Industrial Replicators: None
Medical Facilities: None
Recreation Facilities: None
Personnel Transport: Jeffries Tubes
Fire Suppression System: None
Cargo Holds: None
Escape Pods: None
6
3
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Warp Drive
Nacelles: Type 4C
Speed: 4.0/8.0/9.0 [1 power/.2 warp speed]
PIS: Type J (48hrs of maximum warp)
Impulse Engine
Type: Class 6 (.75c/.9c) [7/9 power/round]
Location: aft
45
20
30
POWER SYSTEMS
Warp Engine
Type: Class 11 (generates 550 power/round)
Location: aft section
Impulse Engine[s]: 1 class 6 (generates 48 power/round)
Auxiliary Power: None
Emergency Power: None
EPS: standard power ow, +200 per round
120
35
OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
Bridge: None
Computers
Core 1: Central [5 power/round]
Uprating: Class Beta +2 [2 power/round]
ODN
Navigational Deector [5 power/round]
Range: 10/20,000/50,000/150,000
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Location: nose
9
4
9
12
Sensor Systems
Long-range sensors [5 power/round]
34
Range Package: Type 6 (Accuracy: 3/4/7/10)
High Resolution: 5 light-years (.5/.6-1.0/1.1-3.7/3.8-5)
Low Resolution: 16 light-years (1/1.1-5.0/5.1-12.0/12.1-16)
Strength Package: Class 5 (Strength 5)
Gain Package: Standard
Coverage: Standard
Lateral Sensors [5 power/round]
Strength Package: Class 5 (strength 5)
Gain Package: Class Beta (+2)
Coverage: Standard
16
10
Probes: None
Sensor Skill: see text
Flight Control Systems
Autopilot: see text
Navigation Computer
Main: Class 3 (+2) [2 power/round]
Backups: None
Communications Systems
Type: Class 1 [2 power/round of use]
Strength: 1
Security: -0
TACTICAL SYSTEMS
34
34
14
Torpedoes Carried: 10
18
Shields: (Forward/Aft/Port/Starboard)
35x4
Shield Generator: Class 6 (Protection 1010)
[101 power/shield/round]
Shield Grid: Type B (33% increase to 1330 Protection)
Subspace Distortion Ampliers: Class eta (Threshold 330)
Recharging System: Class 1 (45 seconds)
Backup Shield Generators: None
Transporters
None
Science Systems:
None
Tractor Beams
None
Security Systems
See text
Warhead
Damage: 200,000
Location: Nose
Fleet data: The Dreadnaught is an experimental weapon. It carries a warhead with 1000 kg of anti-matter and a similar amount
of matter, giving it enough destructive force to destroy a small
moon. To enable the warhead to reach its target, the Dreadnaught
is equipped with advanced stealth and defensive capabilities, all
controlled by a self-aware computer.
To remain undetected the Dreadnaught makes random course
changes while it travels and emits a randomized EM eld to mask its
warp trail. Even if this trail can be picked up, it is likely to be a false
109
GORVALL-CLASS ORBITAL
TROOP TRANSPORT
Class and Type: Gorvall-class Orbital Troop Transport
Commissioning date: 2325
Resistance:
Outer Hull: 6
Inner Hull: 6
Structural Integrity Field
Main: Class 1 (Protection 40/60)
[1 power/10 protection/round]
Backup: Class 1 (Protection 20)
[1 power/10 protection/round
Specialized Hull:
Atmospheric Capability
Planetfall Capability
6
6
15
8
3
3
PERSONNEL SYSTEMS
Crew/Passengers/Evac: 6/30/120
Crew Quarters:
Spartan: 36
Basic: None
Expanded: None
Luxury: None
Unusual: None
Environmental Systems
Basic Life Support [6 power/round]
Reserve Life Support [3 power/round]
Emergency Life Support (18 emergency shelters)
Gravity [2 power/round]
Consumables: 3 months
Replicator Systems
Food Replicators [3 power/round]
Industrial Replicators: None
Medical Facilities:
Main: 1 (+0) [1 power/round]
Recreation Facilities: 1 [2 power/round]
Personnel Transport: Jeffries Tubes
Fire Suppression System [1 power/round when in use]
Cargo Holds: 1,000 cubic meters
Escape Pods
Number: 10
Capacity: 4 persons per pod
12
6
6
3
1
3
5
8
3
3
1
1
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
HULL SYSTEMS
Size: 3
Length: 30.2 m
Beam: 52.7 m
Height: 10.9 m
Decks: 2
Mass: 5,400 tons
SUs Available: 750
SUs Used: 692
Impulse Engine
Type: Class 8 (.75c/.95c) [7/9 power/round]
Location: aft
40
Impulse Engine
Type: Class 8 (.75c/.95c) [7/9 power/round]
Location: engineering amidships
40
Impulse Engine
Type: Class 8 (.75/.95c) [7/9 power/round]
Location: engineering port
40
Hull
Outer:
Inner
110
15
15
Impulse Engine
40
3
POWER SYSTEMS
Warp Engine: None
Impulse Engine[s]: 4 class 8 (generate 256 power/round)
Auxiliary Power: 1 reactor (generate 5 power/reactor/round) 3
Emergency Power: Type D (generates 40 power/round)
40
EPS: standard power ow, +50/round
20
Standard Usable Power: 256
Transporters
Type: Personnel [4 power/use]
14
Pads: 4
Emitter/receiver array: personnel type 6 (40,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class E (strength 6)
Number and location: 1 on Deck 2
OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
Security Systems
Rating: 2
Anti-intruder systems Yes [1 power/round]
Neutralization Fields: [2power/3 strength]
Computers
Core 1: [5 power/round]
ODN
Navigational Deector [5 power/round]
Range: 10/20,000/50,000/150,000
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Location: forward ventral
9
9
15
13
Probes: None
Sensor Skill: 3
Navigation Computer
Main: Class 1
Backups: 1
Inertial Damping Field
Main 12
Strength: 9 [3 power/round]
Number: 2
Backup:
Strength: 6 [3 power/round]
Number: 2
Attitude Control [1 power/round] 1
Communications Systems
Type: Class 6 [2 power/round of use]
Strength: 6
Security: -3 (class Gamma uprating)
8
3
6
Science Systems:
Rating: 0
Specialized systems: None
Laboratories: None
TACTICAL SYSTEMS
Sensor Systems
Long-range sensors: None
0
0
17
22
22
22
26
111
10
Weapons Skill: 3
Shields: (Forward/Aft/Port/Starboard)
19 x4
Shield Generator: Class 2 (Protection 360)
[36 power/shield/round]
Shield Grid: Type A (25% increase to 450 Protection)
Subspace Distortion Ampliers: Class Gamma (Threshold 120)
Recharging System: Class 1 (45 seconds)
Backup Shield Generators: 1 per shield
4
Auto-Destruct System: Yes
MITHRAS-CLASS ESCORT
DESTROYER
Class and Type: Mithras-class Escort Destroyer
Commissioning date: 2365
HULL SYSTEMS
Size: 4
Length: 14.7.26 m
Beam: 65.95 m
Height: 22.4 m
Decks: 4
Mass: 12,454,000 tons
SUs Available: 1200
SUs Used: 1056
112
Hull
Outer: 20
Inner: 20
20
20
Resistance:
Outer Hull: 8
Inner Hull: 8
9
9
22
11
11
PERSONNEL SYSTEMS
Crew/Passengers/Evac: 20/5/100
Crew Quarters
Spartan: 15
Basic: 5
Expanded: 4
Luxury: 1
Unusual: None
1
1
1
1
Environmental Systems
Basic Life Support [5 power/round]
Reserve Life Support [6 power/round]
Emergency Life Support (24 emergency shelters)
Gravity [2 power/round]
Consumables: 1 year
16
8
8
4
4
Replicator Systems
Food Replicators [4 power/round]
Industrial Replicators
Type: Network of small replicators [2 power/round]
4
4
Medical Facilities:
Main: 3 (+1) [3 power/round]
Recreation Facilities: 3 [6 power/round]
Personnel Transport: Jeffries Tubes, Turbolifts [2 power/round]
Fire Suppression System [1 power/round when in use]
Cargo Holds: 5,000 cubic meters
Escape Pods
Number: 10
Capacity: 6 persons per pod
15
24
12
4
1
2
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Warp Drive
Nacelles: Type 6C (embedded)
Speed: 6.0/8.9/9.1 [1 power/.2 warp speed]
Uprating (+0.1 to Standard)
PIS: Type H (11hrs of maximum warp)
Impulse Engine
Type: Class 5 (.7c/.9c) [7/9 power/round]
Acceleration Uprating: Class Beta (75% acceleration)
[2 power/round when used]
Location: aft
116
2
16
25
4
POWER SYSTEMS
Warp Engine
Type: Class 5H (generates 290 power/round)
64
OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
Bridge: Dorsal amidships
20
Computers
Core 1: forward [5 power/round]
Core 2: engineering [5 power/round]
ODN
12
12
12
16
Sensor Systems
Long-range sensors [5 power/round]
33
Range Package: Type 5 (Accuracy: 3/4/7/10)
High Resolution: 5 light-years (.5/.6-1.0/1.1-3.7/3.8-5)
Low Resolution: 15 light-years (1/1.1-5.0/5.1-12.0/12.1-15)
Strength Package: Class 5 (Strength 5)
Gain Package: Alpha (+1)
Coverage: Standard
Security Systems
Rating: 3
Anti-intruder systems Yes [1 power/round]
Neutralization Fields: [2power/3 strength]
Science Systems:
Rating: 1 (+0) [1 power/round]
Specialized systems: None
Laboratories: 12
12
4
8
9
TACTICAL SYSTEMS
34
42
Torpedo Launcher
Standard Load: Type II Photon Torpedo (200 damage)
16
Sensor Skill: 4
Tractor Beams
Emitter: Class Beta
34
10
Communications Systems
Type: Class 6 [2 power/round of use]
Strength: 6
Security: -3 (Class Gamma uprating)
Basic Uprating: None (+0)
Emergency Communications: Yes
11
34
13
Navigation Computer
Main: Class 2
Backups: 2
Transporters
Type: Personnel [4 power/use]
14
Pads: 4
Emitter/receiver array: personnel type 6 (40,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class F (strength 6)
Number and location: 1 on Deck 2
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Location: aft ventral
12
2
2
16
4
1
12
113
Spread: 6
Range: 15/300,000/1,000,000/3,500,000
Targeting System: Accuracy 4/5/7/10
Power [20+5 per torpedo red]
Location: forward
Firing Arc: forward, but are self-guided
12
Weapons Skill: 5
Shields: (Forward/Aft/Port/Starboard)
24 x4
Shield Generator: Class 2 (Protection 400+100)
[40 power/shield/round]
Shield Grid: Type B (33% increase to 533 Protection)
Subspace Distortion Ampliers: Class Beta (Threshold 130+10)
Recharging System: Class 1 (45 seconds)
Backup Shield Generators: 1 per shield
4
Auto-Destruct System: Yes
Captains Yacht: No
Fleet data: The Mithras-class was designed as a direct response to
the Klingon Brel-class ships that conducted repeated raids and were
agile enough to elude pursuit. As well as proving effective against
Klingon raids, the Mithras demonstrated itself to be a exible and
capable ship as a scout, an escort or on raids and patrols.
The Mithras has equivalent weaponry but a better eld
of re. They are the smallest Cardassian vessel to mount photon
torpedoes. They are faster at impulse speeds than the Brel and
have quicker acceleration. The Brel can outrun the Mithras at warp
speeds and has slightly better shields.
Noteworthy Vessels/service records/encounters: Mithras,
prototype; Natal, encountered the Crystalline Entity (2367), participated in attack on Klingon prototype vessel (2369), destroyed
four Maquis raiders in the Badlands (2372).
NAMUUL-CLASS SCOUT
Class and Type: Namuul-class scout
Commissioning date: 2372
HULL SYSTEMS
Size: 3
Length: 85.78 m
Beam: 60.14m
Height: 12.43m
Decks: 3
Mass: 120,000tons
114
Hull
Outer: 15
Inner: 15
15
15
Resistance:
Outer Hull: 8
Inner Hull: 7
9
8
21
11
11
Specialized Hull
Atmospheric Capability
Energy Sheath
Planetfall Capability
3
9
3
PERSONNEL SYSTEMS
Crew/Passengers/Evac: 3/9/30
Crew Quarters
Spartan: 15
Basic: None
Expanded: None
Luxury: None
Unusual: None
Environmental Systems
Basic Life Support [4 power/round]
Reserve Life Support [2 power/round]
Emergency Life Support (18 emergency shelters)
Gravity [2 power/round]
Consumables: 4 months
12
6
6
3
1
Replicator Systems
Food Replicators [3 power/round]
Industrial Replicators
Type: Network of small replicators [2 power/round]
3
3
5
8
9
3
1
1
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Warp Drive
Nacelles: Type 7B8 (embedded)
Uprating: package 1 (+0.1 standard & sustained)
144
4
16
20
2
POWER SYSTEMS
Warp Engine
Type: Class 5H (generates 280 power/round)
Location: amidships
63
OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
Bridge: Dorsal amidships
Computers
Core 1: starboard [5 power/round]
Core 2: port [5 power/round]
Uprating: Class Alpha +1 [1 power/round]
ODN
Navigational Deector [5 power/round]
Range: 10/20,000/50,000/150,000
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Location: forward ventral
15
9
9
4
9
12
Sensor Systems
Long-range sensors [5 power/round]
56
Range Package: Type 7 (Accuracy: 3/4/7/10)
High Resolution: 5 light-years (.5/.6-1.0/1.1-3.8/3.9-5)
Low Resolution: 17 light-years (1/1.1-6.0/6.1-13.0/13.1-17)
Strength Package: Class 8 (Strength 8)
Gain Package: Gamma (+3)
Coverage: Standard
Lateral Sensors [5 power/round]
Strength Package: Class 8 (strength 8)
Gain Package: Class Gamma (+3)
Coverage: Standard
25
18
Probes:
10 Class VII stealth probes
10 Class VIII stealth probes
10 Class IX stealth probes
10 various probes (class I-VI)
Sensor Skill: 5
Flight Control Systems
Autopilot: Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) 3
Co-ordination: 2 [1 power/round when in use]
Navigation Computer
Main: Class 1
Backups: 1
Inertial Damping Field
Main
Strength: 9 [3 power/round]
Number: 1
Backup:
Strength: 6 [3 power/round]
Number: 1
Attitude Control [1 power/round]
Communications Systems
Type: Class 9 [2 power/round of use]
Strength: 9
Security: -6
Basic Uprating: class Beta (+2)
Security Uprating: class Epsilon
Emergency Communications: Yes
Tractor Beams
Emitter: Class Beta
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Location: aft ventral
11
0
0
6
2
1
30
1
6
Transporters
Type: Personnel [4 power/use]
15
Pads: 6
Emitter/receiver array: personnel type 6 (40,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class F (strength 6)
Number and location: 1, Deck
1
Type: Emergency [4 power/use]
10
Pads: 6
Emitter/receiver array: emergency type 2 (10,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class F (strength 6)
Number and location: 1, Deck
3
Cloaking Device: None
Security Systems
Rating: 2
Anti-intruder systems Yes [1 power/round]
Neutralization Fields: [2power/3 strength]
Science Systems:
Rating: 1 (+0) [1 power/round]
Specialized systems: None
Laboratories: 12
8
3
6
8
TACTICAL SYSTEMS
Forward Ventral Spiral Wave Disruptor Array
Class: Ebshar
Damage: 120 [12 power]
26
115
26
26
26
30
14
Shields: (Forward/Aft/Port/Starboard)
23x4
Shield Generator: Class 3 (Protection 410+100)
[41 power/shield/round]
Shield Grid: Type C (50% increase to 615 Protection)
Subspace Distortion Ampliers: Class Gamma (Threshold 135+10)
Recharging System: Class 1 (45 seconds)
Backup Shield Generators: 1 per shield
4
116
TIAMAR-CLASS ASSAULT
CRUISER
Class and Type: Tiamar-class Assault Cruiser
Commissioning date: 2364
Weapons Skill: 3
HULL SYSTEMS
Size: 6
Length: 371.88 m
Beam: 192.1 m
Height: 66.2 m
Decks: 14
Mass: 1,784,000 tons
SUs Available: 2500
SUs Used: 2496
Hull
Outer: 30
Inner: 30
30
30
Resistance:
Outer Hull: 8
Inner Hull: 8
9
9
30
15
15
PERSONNEL SYSTEMS
OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
Crew/Passengers/Evac: 560/2,000/8,200
30
Computers
Core 1: starboard [5 power/round]
Core 2: port [5 power/round]
ODN
18
18
18
Crew Quarters
Spartan: 1730
Basic: 650
Expanded: 160
Luxury: 28
Unusual: 5
87
65
32
28
5
Environmental Systems
Basic Life Support [12 power/round]
Reserve Life Support [6 power/round]
Emergency Life Support (36 emergency shelters)
Gravity [3 power/round]
Consumables: 1 year
24
12
12
6
6
Replicator Systems
Food Replicators [6 power/round]
Industrial Replicators
Type: Network of small replicators [2 power/round]6
Type: 4 Large units [2 power/replicator/round]
6
12
Medical Facilities:
Main: 6 (+1) [6 power/round]
Secondary: 2 (+0) [2 power/round]
30
10
40
18
6
6
Escape Pods
Number: 350
Capacity: 8 persons per pod
19
Warp Drive
67
6
12
Impulse Engine
Type: Class 3 (.5c/.7c) [5/7 power/round]
Location: rear of command section
15
Impulse Engine
Type: Class 3 (.5c/.7c) [5/7 power/round]
Location: engineering section
15
POWER SYSTEMS
Warp Engine
Type: Class 6K (generates 349 power/round)
Location: engineering section
Impulse Engine[s]: 2 class 3 (generate 48 power/round)
Auxiliary Power: 2 reactors (generate 5 power/reactor/round)
Emergency Power: Type B (generates 30 power/round)
EPS: standard power ow, +100/round
75
6
30
40
30
Sensor Systems
Long-range sensors [5 power/round]
42
Range Package: Type 6 (Accuracy: 3/4/7/10)
High Resolution: 5 light-years (.5/.6-1.0/1.1-3.7/3.8-5)
Low Resolution: 12 light-years (1/1.1-5.0/5.1-12.0/12.1-16)
Strength Package: Class 6 (Strength 6)
Gain Package: Beta (+2)
Coverage: Standard
Lateral Sensors [5 power/round]
Strength Package: Class 6 (strength 6)
Gain Package: Beta (+2)
Coverage: Standard
18
16
Sensor Skill: 3
Flight Control Systems
Autopilot: Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) 3
Co-ordination: 2 [1 power/round when in use]
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Nacelles: Type 4B6 (embedded)
Speed: 4.0/7.4/9.6 [1 power/.2 warp speed]
Uprating (+0.1 to Standard, Sustained & Maximum)
PIS: Type F (9hrs of maximum warp)
Navigation Computer
Main: Class 1
Backups: 2
Inertial Damping Field
Main
Strength: 9 [3 power/round]
Number: 3
Backup:
Strength: 6 [3 power/round]
Number: 3
Attitude Control [1 power/round] 2
Communications Systems
Type: Class 6 [2 power/round of use]
Strength: 6
Security: -2
Basic Uprating: Class Alpha (+1)
Emergency Communications: Yes
Tractor Beams
Emitter: Class Gamma
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Location: aft ventral
Emitter: Class Alpha
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Location: starboard shuttlebays
11
0
0
36
9
15
1
9
117
Transporters
Type: Personnel [12 power/use]
144
Pads: 20
Emitter/receiver array: personnel type 6 (40,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class H (strength 8)
Number and location: 1 on Deck 2, 4 on Deck 10, 1 on
Deck 12
Type: Emergency [6 power/use]
64
Pads: 20
Emitter/receiver array: emergency type 3 (15,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class H (strength 8)
Number and location: 1 aft of bridge, 1 in engineering
section, 2 on deck 13
Type: Cargo [3 power/use]
40
Pads: 400kg
Emitter/receiver array: cargo type 2 (20,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class F (strength 6)
Number and Location: 2 on deck 10, 1 on deck 12, 1 in
engineering section
Cloaking Device: None
Security Systems
Rating: 3
Anti-intruder systems Yes [1 power/round]
Neutralization Fields: [2power/3 strength]
Science Systems:
Rating: 1 (+0) [1 power/round]
Specialized systems: None
Laboratories: 4
12
6
12
11
2
38 x3
38 x2
46 x2
Shields: (Forward/Aft/Port/Starboard)
55x4
Shield Generator: Class 4 (Protection 650+100)
[65 power/shield/round]
Shield Grid: Type C (50% increase to 975 Protection)
Subspace Distortion Ampliers: Class Delta (Threshold 200+10)
Recharging System: Class 1 (45 seconds)
Backup Shield Generators: 1 per shield
8
Auto-Destruct System: Yes
38
38
118
Weapons Skill: 4
TACTICAL SYSTEMS
Forward Spiral Wave Disruptor Array (3)
Class: Rentaile
Damage: 180 [18 power]
Number of Emitters: up to 3 shots/round
Targeting System: Accuracy 4/5/7/10
Location: forward
Firing Arc: 360 degrees forward
Firing Modes: Standard, pulse
Fleet data: The Tiamar-Class Assault Cruiser is designed for planetary assault. When modern defenses such as transport inhibitors
and deector shields make transporting troops impossible, a Tiamarclass ship is capable of landing its troops the old fashioned way. It
has sufcient transport craft for all of its two thousand troops and it
carries ghters to provide air cover for them. While it is not as well
armed as its close cousin, the Galor, it can still defend itself.
Noteworthy vessels/service records/encounters: Tiamar,
prototype; Kaldel, the rst ship to land troops on Betazed (2374);
Gazal, participated in the retaking of Chintoka, later destroyed
ghting the Dominion (2375). Also in service: Karanal, Ratibb.
SPACE STATIONS
ORE PROCESSING STATION
Class and Type: Cardassian Ore Processing spacestation
Commissioning date: 2351
HULL SYSTEMS
56
64
36
12
32
3
27
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Size: 4
Diameter: 1451.82 m
Height: 969.26 m
Mass: 10,120,000 tons
SUs Available: 4000
SUs Used: 2916
POWER SYSTEMS
Hull
Outer: 60
Inner: 60
60
60
Resistance:
Outer Hull: 16
Inner Hull: 16
21
21
36
18
18
PERSONNEL SYSTEMS
Crew/Inhabitants/Capacity: 200/500/25,000
OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
Ops: top of central core
20
Computers
Core 1: central core [5 power/round]
Core 2: central core [5 power/round]
Core 3: central core [5 power/round]
ODN 36
36
36
36
Crew Quarters
Spartan: 231
Basic: 452
Expanded: 20
Luxury: 5
Unusual: 5
23
45
4
5
5
Environmental Systems
Basic Life Support [13 power/round]
Reserve Life Support [6 power/round]
Emergency Life Support (72 emergency shelters)
Gravity [3 power/round]
Consumables: 1 year
Sensor Systems
Long-range sensors [5 power/round]
30
Range Package: Type 5 (Accuracy: 3/4/7/10)
High Resolution: 5 light-years (.5/.6-1.0/1.1-3.7/3.8-5)
Low Resolution: 15 light-years (1/1.1-5.0/5.1-12.0/12.1-15)
Strength Package: Class 5 (Strength 5)
Gain Package: Standard (+0)
Coverage: Standard
48
24
24
12
12
12
Replicator Systems
Food Replicators [12 power/round]
Industrial Replicators
Type: Network of small replicators [2 power/round]
Type: 12 Large units [2 power/replicator/round]
Medical Facilities:
Main: 3 (+1) [3 power/round]
12
36
15
10
Sensor Skill: 3
Communications Systems
Type: Class 5 [2 power/round of use]
Strength: 5
Security: -2
Basic Uprating: None
10
119
1
54
18
Transporters
Type: Personnel [3 power/use]
275
Pads: 6
Emitter/receiver array: personnel type 5 (35,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class C (strength 3)
Number and location: 1 in Ops, 3 on Promenade, 6 in
Habitat Ring, and 15 in Docking Ring
Cloaking Device: None
Security Systems
Rating: 4
Anti-intruder systems Yes [1 power/round]
Neutralization Fields: [2power/3 strength]
Science Systems:
Rating: 1 (+0) [1 power/round]
Specialized systems: None
Laboratories: 6
16
12
24
17
2
TACTICAL SYSTEMS
Spiral Wave Disruptor Array (6)
Class: Rentaile
Damage: 180 [18 power]
Number of Emitters: up to 3 shots/round
Targeting System: Accuracy 4/5/7/10
Location: weapons towers
Firing Arc: 360 degrees
Firing Modes: Standard, pulse
38 x6
Weapons Skill:
Shields: (Forward/Aft/Port/Starboard)
100 x4
Shield Generator: Class 3 (Protection 600)
[60 power/shield/round]
Shield Grid: Type C (50% increase to 900 Protection)
Subspace Distortion Ampliers: Class Delta (Threshold 200)
Recharging System: Class 1 (45 seconds)
Backup Shield Generators: 1 per shield
12
12
120
Shuttlebays: None
Captains Yacht: No
REPAIR STATION
HULL SYSTEMS
Size: 6
Diameter: 912.4 m
Height: 286.73 m
Mass: 18,880,000 tons
SUs Available: 5000
SUs Used: 4855
Hull
Outer:70
Inner: 70
70
70
Resistance:
Outer Hull: 20
Inner Hull: 20
27
27
38
19
19
PERSONNEL SYSTEMS
Crew/Inhabitants/Capacity: 400/8,000/20,000
Crew Quarters
Spartan: 7000
Basic: 4500
Expanded: 1400
Luxury: 10
Unusual: 20
350
450
280
10
20
Environmental Systems
Basic Life Support [13 power/round]
Reserve Life Support [6 power/round]
Emergency Life Support (84 emergency shelters)
Gravity [7 power/round]
Consumables: 1 year
56
28
28
14
14
Replicator Systems
Food Replicators [14 power/round]
Industrial Replicators
Type: Network of small replicators [2 power/round]
Type: 10 Large units [2 power/replicator/round] 30
Medical Facilities:
Main: 5 (+1) [5 power/round]
Recreation Facilities: 9 [18 power/round]
Mercantile Facilities: 3 (9 establishments) [6 power round]
Personnel Transport: Jeffries Tubes, Turbolifts [2 power/round]
Fire Suppression System [1 power/round when in use]
Cargo Holds: 1,650,000 cubic meters
Escape Pods
Number: 30
Capacity: 10 persons per pod
14
14
25
72
24
42
14
50
16
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Warp Drive: None
Reaction Control System (.25c) [2 power/round when in use]
14
POWER SYSTEMS
Fusion Reactors: 6 type 25 (generate 1500 power/round)
Auxiliary Power: 12 reactors (generate 5 power/reactor/round)
Emergency Power: Type E (generates 45 power/round)
EPS: standard power ow, +400/round
750
36
45
90
OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
Size
Space stations are considerably larger than
starships. For the purpose of Spacedock
calculations, consider the station to be
eight sizes larger than its rating, eg Deep
Space Nine is a size 4 station and so is
considered to be size 12 for the purposes
of Spacedock. This applies to all design
calculations /except/ for the bridge.
The stations mass and SUs are determined by the Starship Size Table (Spacedock, page 17). Physical dimensions can
also be taken this table. However, stations
with an open style of construction, such as
Deep Space Nine, will have larger overall
dimensions, so move up a line or two on
the table to determine the dimensions of
such a station. Conversely, stations with
a compact design, such as Spacedock, will
have smaller dimensions, so move down a
line or two on the table.
Resistance
Resistance on stations may be as high as
20 for both inner and outer hulls.
Personnel Systems
30
Computers
Core 1: central core [5 power/round]
Core 2: central core [5 power/round]
Core 3: central core [5 power/round]
Uprating: Class Alpha (+1) [3 power/round]
ODN
42
42
42
6
42
Sensor Systems
Long-range sensors [5 power/round]
Range Package: Type 6 (Accuracy: 3/4/7/10)
Designing Space
Stations
Using
Spacedock
39
121
Mercantile Facilities
SU Cost: 8 per rating (see table)
Power Cost: 2 power per rating per round of use
Many stations have bars, restaurants, stores, gift shops, expensive boutiques or even brothels. Aboard starbases with a relatively high mercantile rating, some recreation items such as
holodecks may be run by merchants.
SUs
8
16
24
32
40
48
56
64
72
80
Notes
1 bar and 2 stores selling basic goods
bar/restaraunt and 5 stores
bar/restaurant & 8 stores, some luxury goods
12 establishments
15 establishments
18 establishments
21 establishments
24 establishments, rare & luxury goods.
27 establishments
30+ establishments, anything you desire
Propulsion Systems
Warp and impulse drives are not required. A Reaction Control
System is required.
Power Systems
Larger stations may use a warp core to provide power, but most
use fusion reactors. These are similar to the fusion reactors
that are used in impulse engines. They are relatively more efcient, since they do not require accelerator/generators, driver
coils or vectored exhaust directors.
SU
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
140
145
150
Operations Systems
The bridge (or Ops), is calculated on the stations base size (not
the modied size). Although stations are larger, they tend to
require less control functions. They have no engines and needs
no navigation controls for example. A larger proportion of a
station is taken up by quarters, recreation and the like which
do not require command system.
122
Sensor Skill: 4
Communications Systems
Type: Class 7 [2 power/round of use]
Strength: 7
Security: -5 (Uprating: class Delta)
Basic Uprating: Alpha (+1)
Emergency Communications: Yes 1
21
Tractor Beams
Emitter: Class Delta (x6)
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
Location: docking arms
72
54
Transporters
Type: Personnel [5 power/use]
540
Pads: 6
Emitter/receiver array: personnel type 6 (40,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class F (strength 6)
Number and location: 36 throughout the station
Type: Cargo [7 power/use]
Pads: 1000kg
Emitter/receiver array: cargo type 3 (40,000km range)
Energizing/transition coils: Class D (strength 4)
Number and location: 4 in main cargo bays
48
12
14
28
29
13
10
TACTICAL SYSTEMS
Upper Spiral Wave Disruptor Array (3)
Class: Pelrec
Damage: 220 [22 power]
Number of Emitters: up to 3 shots/round
Targeting System: Accuracy 5/6/8/11
Location: upper even-numbered docking arms
43 x3
43 x3
123 x4
Docking port
Weapons Skill: 4
Shields: (Forward/Aft/Port/Starboard)
Shield Generator: Class 4 (Protection 800)
[80 power/shield/round]
Shield Grid: Type A (25% increase to 1000 Protection)
Subspace Distortion Ampliers: Class Zeta (Threshold 265)
Recharging System: Class 1 (45 seconds)
Backup Shield Generators: 1 per shield
156
Docking bays:
30
18 rating 4 docks (ships up to size 4) [may supply 40 power/round/ship]
6 rating 8 docks (ships up to size 8) [may supply 80 power/round/ship]
Captains Yacht: No
Station Data: These stations are intended for repair and upgrading of the
Cardassian eet. While they do not posses the same facilities as a shipyard
they have excellent engineering workshops and carry a large quantity of
spare components. In times of war, these stations can support up to twelve
thousand engineers. This signicantly reduces repair times, although assigning the engineers can be a logistical nightmare.
These stations are mushroom-shaped with six docking arms extending from the body of the station ad curving underneath like the tentacles of
a giant octopus. There are small shuttle bays and docks for smaller ships
on the outside of the arms. Larger docks are on the ends of the arms, well
within the protection of the stations shield bubble. Larger bays are located
in the top of the mushroom.
Notable stations: Kelvas Repair Station. This facility was used by the
Dominion to install the Breen energy-dampening weapon in its attack ships
(2375).
Other stations: Four of these stations are located in orbit around Cardassia Prime.
123