The Cardassian Sphere

[Arpy]

I remember watching DS9 first-run and marveling at all the new aliens on and around this "deep space" station far from Earth and the Federation core. I imagined it would take weeks to get there––months maybe for civilians. Where was this place exactly? For as unfamiliar as it seemed (no Klingons, Vulcans, Romulans, et al) it seemed populated enough with lots of aliens, and I wondered about the political situation beyond the borders of Bajoran space.

I imagined the Cardassians were aliens our people met in the 80 years of exploration since TOS––they were certainly never mentioned before! Some of the Treklit has explored the history, including the Terok Nor trilogy, A Stitch in Time, and The Never-Ending Sacrifice. The Cardassians made a name for themselves fighting the nearby Talarians and Tzenkethi before they did the Federation and aliens closer this-a-way.

They traded with Lissepians and Ferengi, got intel from Yridians (and everyone else), and maybe had another client race in the Kobliad. Here's my humble collage of some of the colorful characters in this neck of the galactic woods. Can you imagine what the dynamics of some of these relationships might be?

Notes:
• The Tzenkethi are presented as in the novelverse (not STO) picture credit to alien and ship creators.
• Made in Preview––I know.
• I took some creative license––let's discuss once spotted.​

 

[Tosk]

I imagined the Cardassians were aliens our people met in the 80 years of exploration since TOS

But we know now thanks to a reference in SNW that Cardassia and Bajor are both known by Starfleet.

 

[Arpy]

But we know now thanks to a reference in SNW that Cardassia and Bajor are both known by Starfleet.

Eh, honestly I treat each series as its own parallel universe. Hell you can look at TNG seasons 1&2 and think of them as a separate one too. Or "The Cage," or each season of PIC, or...

But even so, it's a far cry to know of someone rather far away and get to know someone up close ––look how off the Federation was about the Ferengi when they first heard of/met them.

 

[Tosk]

Eh, honestly I treat each series as its own parallel universe.

But you said that it must have happened between TOS and TNG because they never mentioned them before. If each series is its own universe then you can't use one to prove something in the other.

 

[Arpy]

But you said that it must have happened between TOS and TNG because they never mentioned them before. If each series is its own universe then you can't use one to prove something in the other.

Again, we don't know how well they knew the Cardassians before TNG. There's knowing someone and there's knowing someone.

My interest with the collage is considering the relationships between regional actors. What do you suppose some of the dynamics might be closer to Cardassian space?

One species I debated including in the collage was the Zalkonians. Looking at modern Trek maps they show Cardassian space a lot closer to the Federation core than one might imagine for a series about a "deep" space station. That's neither here nor there given how the TOS Enterprise seemed to travel a lot faster than say Voyager was able to. One fan theory is naturally or otherwise occurring interstellar superhighways that locals have charted and employ. So Cardassia could not be near one of these making it difficult to get to indeed.

But say that only accounts for so much. What if part of the issue is that the Cardassians were preoccupied dealing with another local power––the Zalkonians, from TNG's "Transfigurations." Their ship was on par with the superior Enterprise in the episode and it employed exotic technologies like the one stopping the Enterprise crew from breathing. What if they were on the far side of Cardassian space and kept the Cardassians (and possibly others) in check for much of their interstellar history? Once their civilization began to turn inward to deal with the metamorphosis, the embittered Cardassians began to push outward––to Bajor, toward Talaria, against Tzenketh.

 

[Cyfa]

Arpy, it's lovely!

I like your use of those magnifying circle thingies, and the font is a great choice - it reminds me a little of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine title/logo on Una McCormack's Hollow Men. It must have taken a while to put together?
The aliens and politics of "The Cardassian Sphere" fascinated me, too, so it's great to see them all here. Although I must admit, I was expecting to see some sort actual cardassian-styled sphere when I clicked into the thread

The Lissepian and Kressari make-up/look are particular favourites, but my absolute favourite is what you have labelled as a Mathenite - Could that be the "creative licence" you mentioned? If so - and I haven't missed something somewhere - how did you decide upon putting the name to the face, so to speak? I have no qualms with those enigmatic vertical-mouth aliens being Mathenites, I'm just curious as to your thought process?
I'm glad you chose to represent the Tzenkethi using the novelverse look. I never imagined them to have hair, though - in my head they're more alien looking. A bit like the Kaminoans from Star Wars (just with shorter necks and less obvious joints - elbows, knees and the like).

 

[Arpy]

Arpy, it's lovely!

I like your use of those magnifying circle thingies, and the font is a great choice - it reminds me a little of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine title/logo on Una McCormack's Hollow Men. It must have taken a while to put together? The aliens and politics of "The Cardassian Sphere" fascinated me, too, so it's great to see them all here. Although I must admit, I was expecting to see some sort actual cardassian-styled sphere when I clicked into the thread

Thanks, yeah I worked on it for a handful of days. I'd thought about the subject of it for a while and thought it would be fun to actually see the "faces of the region" in one image. A snapshot of any spaceport in the sector, with nary a Human or Vulcanoid or Klingon to be found.

It ended up a lot more intricate than I'd set out to. I didn't plan on including a ship of each species or adding much in the way of decoration, and if I did plan it more ahead of time, I might have maybe set them up in a circular Cardassian user interface configuration. That said, I do like the messy low-tech look of the thing....reminds me of artwork I used to see earlier on in the Internet age, not far from the series. The font was inspired by Cardassian design in their interfaces and elsewhere. It actually reminded me a bit of Sisko's door in Ops too.

I made a point of keeping the focus on the alien faces though, not going brighter on the text or anything else. My love remains with the marvelous beings in this part of space themselves.

The Lissepian and Kressari make-up/look are particular favourites, but my absolute favourite is what you have labelled as a Mathenite - Could that be the "creative licence" you mentioned? If so - and I haven't missed something somewhere - how did you decide upon putting the name to the face, so to speak? I have no qualms with those enigmatic vertical-mouth aliens being Mathenites, I'm just curious as to your thought process?

Yeah, that is some of the creative license for sure. That makeup definitely stood out to me during the series so I included it in the collage, then I needed a name for them once I decided to include labels. Only per Memory Alpha their creator/god Michael Westmore referred to them as "buck-toothed aliens"....and they're referred to as "Batwing" on StarTrek.com and elsewhere––a couple of non-starters for me. So it was nix them for somebody else or name them something else. I thought about alien names we heard during the series but never saw and Mathenite popped out as a frontrunner. Not necessarily who I imagined as the Mathenites but eh we're having some fun. That's also why I included for them the smuggler's ship from "Unification." No reason it couldn't be a Mathenite design. Wicked ship for some wicked aliens in a wicked part of space.

They appeared on the series six times in the first four seasons only, and I'm still wondering about how things changed in-universe for them not to stick around after that....why they'd give Tekeny Ghemor asylum...

Previously, because of their wild appearance and their first showing up in season 2 I'd thought they were travelers/merchants from the Gamma Quadrant. When the Dominion made itself known in season 4, they knew to scram.

I'm glad you chose to represent the Tzenkethi using the novelverse look. I never imagined them to have hair, though - in my head they're more alien looking. A bit like the Kaminoans from Star Wars (just with shorter necks and less obvious joints - elbows, knees and the like).

Totally agree. I remember once seeing fan art of Tzenkethi closer to what they appear like in the novels but it was nowhere to be found when I went looking. I also played around with using the non-humanoid STO Tzenkethi but ultimately found them too atavistic and video-gamey.

 

[CaptChris42]

Again, we don't know how well they knew the Cardassians before TNG. There's knowing someone and there's knowing someone.

My interest with the collage is considering the relationships between regional actors. What do you suppose some of the dynamics might be closer to Cardassian space?

One species I debated including in the collage was the Zalkonians. Looking at modern Trek maps they show Cardassian space a lot closer to the Federation core than one might imagine for a series about a "deep" space station. That's neither here nor there given how the TOS Enterprise seemed to travel a lot faster than say Voyager was able to. One fan theory is naturally or otherwise occurring interstellar superhighways that locals have charted and employ. So Cardassia could not be near one of these making it difficult to get to indeed.

But say that only accounts for so much. What if part of the issue is that the Cardassians were preoccupied dealing with another local power––the Zalkonians, from TNG's "Transfigurations." Their ship was on par with the superior Enterprise in the episode and it employed exotic technologies like the one stopping the Enterprise crew from breathing. What if they were on the far side of Cardassian space and kept the Cardassians (and possibly others) in check for much of their interstellar history? Once their civilization began to turn inward to deal with the metamorphosis, the embittered Cardassians began to push outward––to Bajor, toward Talaria, against Tzenketh.

That is also the sort of thing I am kind of bearing in mind, for my still not quite off the ground Cardassian war era fan novel, which I may start this year. Cardassian history - in general, yes (plus their allies, and enemies - yes, even the Varahat)

Little titbits of obscure detail would be more than welcome. For instance, it's been an Arcturan Megadonkey's age since I read Station Rage, for example - with the Crescent Order, etc.

But yes, I see the Cardassians as a pretty minor power, zoned in behind others, up until the end of the 23rd century, likely. Known vaguely to Starfleet, but with no official contact (although the graphic novel Enter the Wolves makes them seen hardly known about at all, even at the highest levels of Starfleet)

Plus, there's the obscure Juhraya incident of about 2321, and others. But I assume they were under some surveillance since at least the mid 2300s.
Conflicts with Talaria have been noted before, and heavily hinted with the Tzenkethi, in the Terok Nor trilogy. Malibu comics also adds the Varahat, a maybe semi nomadic species (perhaps near Tholian space) being a trouble to them about a decade before DS9 too. And for Bridge Commander fans, there's the Kessok (dwelling somewhere close to the far Breen borders?) but they are a much later - and passing - thing.

Modiphius guides do note trading partners and other allies for then, though, with the Klaestron and Valerians noted as particularly close allies. There's also lore on an attempted conquest of the Tzenkethi, that really scarred the latter.

Really like the collage, also. As for the Zalkonians - officially, they are way past Romulan space and the Typhon Expanse, on the typical maps.

 

[Arpy]

I'm not sure where it happened but the color levels in the final version above don't match what it looked like on my screen. Have to remember to turn off Flux while working late at night in there future.

Here are a couple alternate earlier versions of the piece closer to the moodier Cardassian levels that I was seeing:


^ One is using accurate little ships next to the image of each species – except for the (again) creative license Mathenites. In the final version posted above I took a but more creative license and conjectured for ships that might belong to each species, and I would generally stand by those choices would they ever appear in canon.


^ The other uses Cardassian Union ships in their place for a bit of playful lushness in this collage of, after all, the Cardassian sphere. •except for the Kobheerian freighter which I missed/love.

EDIT:

^ To put things into perspective, I started here. Note the alternate Tzenkethi. There's a good chance we've never seen a Kobheerian and have only seen Dopterians, ergo my initial choice there.

 

[Arpy]

That is also the sort of thing I am kind of bearing in mind, for my still not quite off the ground Cardassian war era fan novel, which I may start this year. Cardassian history - in general, yes (plus their allies, and enemies - yes, even the Varahat)

Little titbits of obscure detail would be more than welcome. For instance, it's been an Arcturan Megadonkey's age since I read Station Rage, for example - with the Crescent Order, etc.

But yes, I see the Cardassians as a pretty minor power, zoned in behind others, up until the end of the 23rd century, likely. Known vaguely to Starfleet, but with no official contact (although the graphic novel Enter the Wolves makes them seen hardly known about at all, even at the highest levels of Starfleet)

Plus, there's the obscure Juhraya incident of about 2321, and others. But I assume they were under some surveillance since at least the mid 2300s.
Conflicts with Talaria have been noted before, and heavily hinted with the Tzenkethi, in the Terok Nor trilogy. Malibu comics also adds the Varahat, a maybe semi nomadic species (perhaps near Tholian space) being a trouble to them about a decade before DS9 too. And for Bridge Commander fans, there's the Kessok (dwelling somewhere close to the far Breen borders?) but they are a much later - and passing - thing.

Modiphius guides do note trading partners and other allies for then, though, with the Klaestron and Valerians noted as particularly close allies. There's also lore on an attempted conquest of the Tzenkethi, that really scarred the latter.

Really like the collage, also. As for the Zalkonians - officially, they are way past Romulan space and the Typhon Expanse, on the typical maps.

I would have totally included the Klaestron and the Valerians in the collage had I remembered that they were allies of the Cardassians. Thanks for bringing them up.

I haven't read many DS9 comics and wouldn't have thought of the Varahat. Interesting backstory.

Different Star Trek maps place planets in different locations so I could go either way with the Zalkonians being the great power nearby that stifled Cardassian growth and dominated the region beyond.

Alternatively, another idea of mine is that it was the Malurians who had had a similar effect on Cardassia. The Malurians were the people Nomad wiped out in TOS' "The Changeling" and that were also used as baddies in ENT's "Civilization." Well, what if they were the ones who had curtailed Cardassian civilization in some way? Once Nomad took them out the Cardassians were not long after free to begin growing their sphere of influence, conquering ancient and rich (if technologically unremarkable) Bajor and others nearby.

 

[CaptChris42]

I would have totally included the Klaestron and the Valerians in the collage had I remembered that they were allies of the Cardassians. Thanks for bringing them up.

I haven't read many DS9 comics and wouldn't have thought of the Varahat. Interesting backstory.

Different Star Trek maps place planets in different locations so I could go either way with the Zalkonians being the great power nearby that stifled Cardassian growth and dominated the region beyond.

Alternatively, another idea of mine is that it was the Malurians who had had a similar effect on Cardassia. The Malurians were the people Nomad wiped out in TOS' "The Changeling" and that were also used as baddies in ENT's "Civilization." Well, what if they were the ones who had curtailed Cardassian civilization in some way? Once Nomad took them out the Cardassians were not long after free to begin growing their sphere of influence, conquering ancient and rich (if technologically unremarkable) Bajor and others nearby.

The Malurians are possible, as they did seem to be a fairly major power, for a while (and expanded on in Christopher Bennett's Rise of the Federation books) The novel the Captain's Oath also mentions the Bardeezi briefly, but with no mention of nearby Cardassia. Then there's the Xindi - but supposedly they are high 'above' the local galactic plane, relative to other powers (plus nearer Klingon space, per Stellar Cartography) And as apparently being typically isolationists, probably did not direct impede Cardassia.

I think in many ways their issues with resource scarcity may also have slowed them down.
Finally, for the Zalkonians, I was going off of Star Charts, that shows Zalkon (and the Zeta Gelis Cluster) as right above Romulan space, in 2d. So I have no present knowledge of alternate map depictions. Also - they too, seemed isolationist?

 

[Arpy]

For Cardassia.

 

[Arpy]

The Malurians are possible, as they did seem to be a fairly major power, for a while (and expanded on in Christopher Bennett's Rise of the Federation books) The novel the Captain's Oath also mentions the Bardeezi briefly, but with no mention of nearby Cardassia. Then there's the Xindi - but supposedly they are high 'above' the local galactic plane, relative to other powers (plus nearer Klingon space, per Stellar Cartography) And as apparently being typically isolationists, probably did not direct impede Cardassia.

I think in many ways their issues with resource scarcity may also have slowed them down.
Finally, for the Zalkonians, I was going off of Star Charts, that shows Zalkon (and the Zeta Gelis Cluster) as right above Romulan space, in 2d. So I have no present knowledge of alternate map depictions. Also - they too, seemed isolationist?

There's next to nothing about the Bardeezi in the canon – is their being close to Cardassia from the treklit?

What made you think of the Xindi? I imagine them members of the Federation by the 24th century, as in the short story "Meet with Triumph and Disaster" in the TNG anthology book The Sky's the Limit and I think STO.

Re the Zalkonians, their isolationism might have begun with the societal upheaval in the years leading up to the metamorphosis. Nothing about John Doe suggests it's a racial trait.

Here's a question for everyone: I've been thinking about maybe doing another one of these maybe next month about the Romulans––what are some aliens to include in that one?

So far I've got:
Romulans
Vulcans
Klingons
Humans
Barolians
Breen
Corvallens
Tholians
Remans
Garidians
Benzites
Chalnoth?

 

[Arpy]

Imgur seems to be having issues. Pease let me know if any of the images don't appear for you.

 

[CaptChris42]

There's next to nothing about the Bardeezi in the canon – is their being close to Cardassia from the treklit?

What made you think of the Xindi? I imagine them members of the Federation by the 24th century, as in the short story "Meet with Triumph and Disaster" in the TNG anthology book The Sky's the Limit and I think STO.

Re the Zalkonians, their isolationism might have begun with the societal upheaval in the years leading up to the metamorphosis. Nothing about John Doe suggests it's a racial trait.

Here's a question for everyone: I've been thinking about maybe doing another one of these maybe next month about the Romulans––what are some aliens to include in that one?

So far I've got:
Romulans
Vulcans
Klingons
Humans
Barolians
Breen
Corvallens
Tholians
Remans
Garidians
Benzites
Chalnoth?

Good idea on the Romulans, yes. Don't forget the Kevrati, and maybe the Watraii, and Taurhai, in relation to them?

As for the Xindi, some fan made maps show them out towards the Cardassians. Supposedly they are quite far away though, and the Stellar Cartography book shows them high 'above' Klingon space and Maluria, so probably at least 200 light years from Cardassia. Thus I reasoned they'd not be an issue.

The Bardeezi are possible trade partners with Cardassia. They are known to Kirk and others in the novel The Captain's Oath as of circa 2263, but otherwise there's not much said about them. They lie between Trill and Bajor, on Star Chart's book layout.

 

[Cyfa]

I've been thinking about maybe doing another one of these maybe next month about the Romulans––what are some aliens to include in that one?

~ How about the Vendorians? According to Memory Alpha, Vendor is located in/near the Romulan Free State (in 2399).
And maybe the Kolarans from ST Nemesis? (Although, they're pre-warp)

 

[Arpy]

Well, I never got to the Romulan collage. I played around a bit with different versions of it but had to set it aside. I came back to look at this one and found the Imgur AI kept taking it down for some unspecific violation -- especially the full version. ...I can't wait for AI's to become conversational and can explain themselves/be reasoned with better. Please let me know if you can't see the image and I'll re-upload.

I might have more time in the Summer and may take another shot at the Romulan collage. They're my favorite Trek baddies and are rarely far from my Trekking. Thank you to those who've made suggestions for aliens in their "sphere" of influence. LLAP