Spotlight On: Dominion

by Charlie Plaine, Chairman

11th May 2008

"The solids have always been a threat to us, that's the only justification we need." - Founder Leader

Story

Thousands of years ago, the Changelings - a race of natural shape-changers, sought to peacefully explore the Gamma Quadrant of the galaxy. But - in their own words - they were met with fear, persecution, and violence from the "solids" (creatures that could not change shape) and were forced to retreat.

Believing that only "what you control, can't hurt you," the Changelings quickly moved to form the interstellar empire that would become known as The Dominion. The Dominion quickly came to control thousands of planets in a kind of anti-Federation: a coalition of planets controlled by fear and intimidation. The Changelings would retreat into myth and become known only as The Founders.

In order to control their empire, the Founders used their expertise in genetic engineering to create two subject races with absolute loyalty. The Vorta would become the administrators of the Dominion, running day to day operations and controlling the empire. The Jem'Hadar were bread to be the ultimate enforces - fierce soldiers willing to die for The Founders.

Having secured the "solids" of the Gamma Quadrant, the Founders were safe and lived at peace in the Great Link. But they still longed to explore space, and thus send out one hundred infant Changelings into the galaxy, with genetic instructions to return home and report what they had learned. One of these infants became known as Odo, who lived on Bajor and then Deep Space 9.

The Founder's peace was threated for the first time in millennium with the discovery of the Bajoran Wormhole, and the first meeting between The Dominion and The Federation. This lead to a kind of cold war between the two powers - a peaceful situation where both sides prepared for the inevitable conflict.

Meanwhile, the Founders began to infiltrate the Alpha Quadrant powers, intending to cause chaos and weaken their soon-to-be enemies. They successfully (albeit temporarily) proved hostilities between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, destroyed the Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order, and nearly caused the Federation to descend into civil war. Their final, masterful maneuver was to admit the Cardassian Union as a member of The Dominion, giving them a significant foothold in the Alpha Quadrant.

Shortly thereafter, the Dominion/Cardassian alliance attacked the Federation at Deep Space 9 in an attempt to prevent the wormhole from being mined. Though they took the station, they could not prevent the minefield from being activated, cutting off reinforcements. From that point forward, open war had begun.

In spite of their best efforts, the Dominon were not able to prevent the Klingons and the Romulans from joining with the Federation against them. Though the war began strongly in their favor, the Dominon eventually lost ground and were defeated after the Cardassian people rebelled against them.

Odo - one of the infant Changelings - was key in ending the conflict. He returned to his people and the Great Link to help them learn to trust solids - changing the face of the Gamma Quadrant, and the galaxy, forever.

Episodes

The Dominion were exclusive to Deep Space Nine, first appearing only as a whispered entity and becoming the series main adversary. They only received passing mention in the movie Star Trek: Insurrection and would see a few cameo appearances (as holograms) on Voyager. The Dominion did not appear on The Original Series nor on Enterprise.

Great Dominion Episodes:

• DS9's "The Jem'Hadar"
• DS9's "The Search, Part I & II"
• DS9's "In Purgatory's Shadow" / "By Inferno's Light"
• DS9's "Broken Link"
• DS9's "A Call to Arms"
• DS9's "What You Leave Behind"

In-Game

The Dominion made their debut in Call to Arms alongside the Borgbut they gained a significant boost in the (out of print) Necessary Evil. Recently, the Dominion have made strong appearances in These Are the Voyages and In a Mirror, Darkly. Almost every set contains something for the Dominion player.

Head over to our forum and discuss your favorite Dominion episodes, vote in our Dominion polls, and talk about your favorite Dominion decks and strategies. Stay tuned this week for lots more Dominion content!