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A Brief History of the United Federation of Planets

Corat Damar

“For Cardassia!” – Corat Damar

Legate Corat Damar had been a disciple of Skrain Dukat and inherited his position of power on Cardassia after Dukat’s fall from grace. The rise of the Breen in the Dominion hierarchy came at the expense of Damar’s position and that of the Cardassian people, whom which the Dominion treated as disposable second-class citizens. After the Dominion allowed 500,000 Cardassian soldiers to fall to Klingon forces on Septimus III, Damar had finally had enough. He freed Worf and Dax from captivity and told them to inform the Federation that they now had an ally on Cardassia. In secret, Damar began to form an underground resistance movement within the Cardassian military.

Breen Offensives and the Second Battle of Chin’toka

The boost that the Breen gave to the Dominion War effort instantly negated any advanced that the combined Alpha Quadrant forces had made. They attacked the very heart of Federation space in a daring attack on Starfleet Headquarters in San Franscisco on Earth itself. The attacking force was destroyed, but not before causing significant casualties and damage. Soon after, Breen forces attacked the Chin’toka system, breaking the Federation’s only foothold in Dominion space.

When the Federation, Klingon and Romulan reinforcements arrived at Chin’toka for the counterattack, they were confronted by a Breen fleet equipped with a deadly new technology that drained the power of the Federation vessels, leaving them helpless to the Breen attack. The Second Battle of Chin’toka was a complete disaster for the Alpha Quadrant forces, who lost 311 out of 312 vessels in the attack.

The only vessel to survive the attack was a Klingon vessel whose engineer had made adjustments to the vessel’s warp-core just prior to the battle. General Martok ordered all of the ships in the Klingon fleet to make the same adjustments to their warp cores while the Federation and Romulan fleets scrambled to make similar adjustments to their own fleets.

Founder Illness

During this time a mysterious malady had befallen the Changelings, disrupting their morphogenic structure and effecting their ability to change their form. They were unable to hold their physical form without their “skin” peeling and flaking from their bodies. The disease had affected the entirety of the Great Link and without a cure, the prognosis was fatal for the entire species. Vorta scientists worked to find a cure without pause or rest to find a cure without success.

When Doctor Bashir detected the virus within Odo, Bashir requested Odo’s Medical files from his examination at Starfleet Headquarters on Earth from Stardate 49419 in hopes of developing a cure, only to told that the files were classified and that he should drop the matter. Fortunately, Captain Sisko had the proper clearance to obtain the information, but when Bashir received the files, he realized that the data had been falsified.

Suspecting the involvement of Section 31, Bashir and Chief Miles O’Brien investigated deeper and came to the realization that the virus was a Section 31 creation meant to bring about the genocide of the Changeling people and that they had infected Odo with the virus to use him as the agent of delivery.

Miles O’Brien

“It’s not you I hate Cardassian; I hate what I became because of you.” – Miles O’Brien

No history of Starfleet can be complete without mention of Chief Miles Edward O’Brien, whom some have called “the most important man in Starfleet history”, as a symbol of the importance of the often-unsung contributions to Starfleet’s enlisted personnel. Though never a captain or admiral, O’Brien’s career placed him front and center of several turning points in the 24th century -- the liberation of Jean-Luc Picard from the Borg, the exposure of Section 31’s virus against the Founders, and the final days of the Dominion War.

Born in Ireland in 2328, O’Brien was a gifted musician but chose Starfleet over attending the Aberdeen Music Academy, enlisting at age seventeen. First serving aboard the USS Rutledge during the Cardassian border wars, he endured the horrors of the Setlik III massacre, an event where O’Brien was forced to take a life for the first time, an experience that shaped his complicated view of the Cardassians. By 2364, he was transporter chief of the USS Enterprise-D, and in 2369 became chief of operations on Deep Space Nine.

The Cure


Working together, Bashir and Chief O’Brien lured Section 31 Director Sloan to the station with a false message sent to Starfleet Medical claiming to have found the cure, which would disrupt Section 31’s plans of genocide. After capturing Sloan, Bashir connected him to a Romulan Memory Scanner, technology that is illegal in Federation space.

Rather than let the secret of the cure escape, Sloan chose to activate a suicide chip in his head. Bashir and O’Brien took the step of using the invasive tech to enter Sloan’s mind and retrieve the information directly before he died. After successfully developing a vaccine, Bashir deliver the cure to Odo, completely eliminating the virus from his system. While Starfleet now possessed the cure to the virus, they chose not to share it with the Dominion so long as the Founders were at war with the Alpha Quadrant.

This decision to withhold the cure from the Founders is one that remains controversial. While Starfleet could not be held responsible for the unauthorized actions of Section 31, some argue that their refusal to mitigate the damage done by Section 31 when they had the power makes them ethically complicit in the crime.

Damar’s Resistance

Damar’s resistance movement revealed itself when Cardassian vessels under Damar’s command attacked the Dominion cloning facility on Rondac III, limiting the Dominion’s ability to create Vorta and Jem Hadar. To assist Damar, Sisko ordered Kira into Cardassian space accompanied by Odo and Garak, to find and assist Damar’s movement. Kira advised Damar and his movement in the kind guerilla warfare that enabled the Bajorans to defeat the Cardassian occupation. Despite some push-back from some of his people, Damar took Kira’s advice to heart and incorporated it into his strategies when attacking and destroying a key Dominion shipyard.

With Federation efforts to counter the Breen energy dissipation weapon unsuccessful, plans were made by Damar’s cell to infiltrate a Dominion repair facility to acquire one of the Breen weapons for study by the Federation. After commandeering a vessel equipped with the weapon, Kira and Odo returned to DS9 with the valuable technology. Kira would return to Cardassian territory while Odo stayed behind for medical attention.

Chancellor Martok

“This is a moment worth savoring. To victory, hard fought and well earned.” -- Martok

General Martok had grown very popular among the Klingon people, who began to hold him a similar or higher regard than they did for Chancellor Gowron himself. Gowron was jealous of Martok’s popularity and sought to eclipse the General’s status by taking control of the war effort himself.

After Gowron’s hubris dishonorably wasted Klingon lives and resources at the Battle of Avenall VII, Worf decided to take action and challenged Gowron in open council. Worf defeated Gowron in a battle to the death, but rather than take the Chancellorship for himself, he passed the honor onto Martok as he was the best choice to lead the Empire into the future. This was the second time that Worf had had a direct hand into succession of the Chancellorship.

Gambit of the Pah Wraiths

Dukat, guided by the Pah Wraiths and surgically altered to appear Bajoran, travelled to Deep Space 9 to carry out their designs against the Prophets and his revenge against Benjamin Sisko. At this time, the Pah Wraiths recruited the Bajoran Kai Winn Adami, who despite her protestations of faith, had never truly embraced the teachings of the Prophets and used her position within the church for the furtherment of her own power rather than to the service of the Prophets.

Together, they were tasked to bring about what the Pah Wraiths described as “The Restoration”, the release from their ancient imprisonment by the Prophets in the “Fire Caves” on Bajor. Dukat approached Winn in guise as a Bajoran farmer named Anjohl Tennan and gained her trust with the deception. Dukat used her jealousy of Sisko’s relationship with the Prophets to win her over to their cause. By studying the ancient Book of the Kost Amojan, Winn deciphered the dark texts and the pair made plans to release the Pah Wraiths and destroy the Prophets.

The Civilian Resistance

Damar started by travelling to Cardassia with Kira and Garak in hopes of bringing more troops into his cause only to be betrayed by Gul Revok, who revealed himself as a Dominion collaborator. Dominion forces destroyed Damar’s ship, leaving the trio stranded on Cardassia while Dominion forces destroyed all of Damar’s resistance bases.

The group sought refuge in Garak’s childhood home, the former home of Enabrin Tain. Despite the destruction of the armed resistance, the tales of Damar still inspired the civilian population to rise. Damar rallied the people in the streets to rise against their Dominion oppressors sabotaging Dominion power, communications and transportation on the planet. In response, the Female Changeling ordered the destruction of Lakarian City and its population of over two million Cardassians.

The Battle of Cardassia

Thanks to the knowledge gained from the Dominion vessel captured by Damar’s resistance, Federation engineers were able to devise a countermeasure to the Breen energy dissipation weapon and in response, the Dominion’s forces retreated from occupied territory and back into Cardassian space. There, established a tight military perimeter to allow the Dominion enough time to rebuild their fleet and replenish their supply of soldiers.

Not wanting to allow the Dominion to opportunity to regather its strength the decision was made by the Alpha Quadrant forces to attack the Dominion lines and break through to Cardassia. The battle was not going well until the Cardassian fleet, responding to the destruction of Lakarian City, abandoned the Dominion and joined Damar’s resistance. With the assistance of the Cardassian fleet, the allied forces broke through the battle lines and proceeded to Cardassia Prime and surrounded the planet.

Cardassian Genocide

“Which is why I must inform you a few moments ago, Dominion troops reduced Lakarian City to ashes. There were no survivors. Two million men, women and children gone in a matter of moments. For each act of sabotage committed against the Dominion, another Cardassian city will be destroyed. I implore you not to let that happen. Let us return to the spirit of friendship and cooperation between our peoples, so that together, we can defeat our common enemies, the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans and all the others that stand against us. Thank you.” – Weyoun 8 announcing the commencement of Cardassian genocide

In response to this turn of events the Female Changeling ordered the greatest atrocity of the entire war -- the total extermination of the Cardassian people. The Dominion started bombing all Cardassian cities into rubble, killing millions. Hoping to capture the Female Changeling, Damar led his forces into the Dominion headquarters in Cardassia City. Damar was killed in the initial charge, but the plan was successful as Kira, Garak and other Cardassians made their way to the command center and apprehended the Female Changeling, who was now in the final stages of the Changeling virus.

The End of the War

Despite defeat now being an inevitability, the Female Changeling refused to order the Jem Hadar forces to stand down, preferring that they fight to last soldier and take as many of the Alpha Quadrant forces with them before dying themselves. Odo ended the stalemate by offering to cure the Great Link of the disease -- against the wishes of Starfleet -- in exchange for her surrender and the standing down of the Jem Hadar forces. The Female Changeling turned herself over to the Federation to face judgement for her multitudes of war crimes and Odo finally returned to the Great Link and cured his people. Odo agreed to remain within the Link to ensure that his people would follow a new path. The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Bajor in late 2375.

The Emissary’s Fate

While celebrating the end of the war with his crew on Deep Space 9, Sisko was alerted to Dukat and Winn’s plans in the Fire Caves by the Prophets. Understanding finally what his role was meant to be, Sisko immediately travelled to Bajor and the Fire Caves to confront Dukat, who had been empowered by the Pah Wraiths by the Book of the Kost Amojan. Dukat turned against Winn and killed her, but not before she told Sisko to destroy the book. Launching himself into Dukat, Sisko flung them both into the flaming depths of the Fire Caves, destroying the book and keeping the Pah Wraiths at bay. For his failure Dukat was condemned to spend all eternity suffering at the hands of the Pah Wraiths.

Sisko was delivered from this fate by the intervention of the Prophets, who summoned him home to the Celestial Temple. Sisko was born to both humanity and the Prophets and his time and trials of corporeal existence had come to an end and that it was time to for him to walk with the Prophets. Sisko was allowed to say farewell to his wife Kasidy, who recently discovered that she was with child, and told her that he would always be closer than she thinks before beginning his new existence with the Bajoran Gods.

The War’s Aftermath

The Dominion War was the costliest and deadliest conflict in Alpha Quadrant history at the cost of billions of Federation, Klingon, Romulan and Cardassian souls among many others. The Cardassians in particular paid a great price with over 800 million lives lost on Cardassia alone. Elim Garak ended his exile to a home in rubble and in need of rebuilding.

Some would claim that what happened to the Cardassian people was justice for a species that ruthlessly conquered and exploited the people of other worlds, but that is a short-sided and simplistic outlook. By all indications, the Cardassian people were on the verge of a cultural awakening in the days after the withdrawal from Bajor with people such as Amin Marritza, who sought to call out Cardassian war crimes and hold his people accountable. People such as Legate Tekeny Ghemor and Natima Lang sought to influence Cardassian youth from within and the civilian government of The Detapa Council sought many progressive social and political reforms. If it were not for the betrayal of Cardassia to the Dominion by Gul Dukat, there is no telling where the path of the Cardassian people might have led.

Those Left Behind

“Divine laws are simpler than human ones, which is why it takes a lifetime to be able to understand them. Only love can understand them. Only love can interpret these words as they were meant to be interpreted.” – Attributed to the Emissary of the Prophets

Kira Nerys was given command of DS9 and held that posting for several years before leaving the Bajoran Defense Force and gaining prominence within the Bajoran Church.

The Dax Symbiont would continue to move on from host to host and experience the history of the Federation first hand. The Dax Symbiont, now nearly 1,200 years old, is currently hosted by Professor Illa Dax, a Trill/Cardassian hybrid who currently teaches classes on unexplained phenomena at Starfleet Academy.

Worf accepted a posting on Q’onos as the new Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire, a position previously held by K’Ehleyr and Dax, two of the greatest loves and influences on Worf’s life, before returning to Starfleet.

Miles O’Brien accepted a teaching position at Starfleet Academy and returned to Earth with his family.

Jake Sisko would find renown as a successful author and would often speak of the influence his father had on his own life and how he approached raising his own children.

Nog ended the war with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade and would go on to have long and illustrious career with Starfleet, as evidenced by the fact that the Eisenberg -Class USS Nog is still in active service to Starfleet in his honor to this very day.

Quark would expand his business and turn his single bar into a franchise with locations spanning the entire Alpha Quadrant which still has outlets in operation in the 32nd century.

Ultimately, the Bajoran people would decide against joining the Federation, choosing instead to follow any path that the Prophets may place before them rather than the path that the Federation would present. Despite this, Bajor remained a staunch and loyal ally of the Federation in the years that came later.

Starfleet would never recover the remains of Benjamin Sisko from the Fire Caves and considered him to be “Missing in Action”. The Bajoran people would continue to revere the name of Benjamin Sisko, and to this day consider him a sacred figure who ascended from the physical world and joined the Prophets in the Celestial Temple, where he would forever serve as their Emissary in their love, service and protection of Bajor.

And who are we to say otherwise?

*****
Next Week: USS Voyager

Beta canon and head canon alerts! Kira going into the Bajoran church comes from just about every post-DS9 beta canon story, including the theoretical reunion episode that the writers room came up with for the documentary. Section 31 going dark after Narendra III comes from my fan-fiction here. :angel:
 
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Chapter 15: USS Voyager

Kathryn Janeway

“As long as you’re alive, there’s hope.” – Kathryn Janeway

Kathryn Janeway was born on June 5, 2344, in Bloomington, Illinois, on Earth. The Grand-daughter of a Starfleet Admiral who was taught to look at the world with scientist’s eye, Janeway entered Starfleet Academy in 2353 with a specialty in the sciences. She graduated in 2357 and was given her first posting as Science Officer aboard the USS Al-Batani under the command of Captain Owen Paris. Janeway met her future tactical officer, Tuvok, from the planet Vulcan in 2356 and the two soon became good friends.

Janeway was given command of the Intrepid-class USS Voyager in 2371 and was given the assignment of tracking down the Maquis vessel Val-Jean, Under the command of a former Starfleet officer named Chakotay that had gone missing in the Badlands a week earlier. Tuvok was assigned to infiltrate the Maquis and was aboard the Val-Jean when it disappeared.

Tuvok

“We often fear what we don’t understand. Our best defense is knowledge.” -- Tuvok

Tuvok of Vulcan was born on the Vulcanis Lunar colony in 2264 and has two Starfleet careers. After graduating from Starfleet Academy in 2293, Tuvok served for three years aboard the USS Excelsior under the command of Captain Hikaru Sulu before returning to Vulcan. Eventually choosing to undergo the Kohlinar discipline, the purging of all emotion, his plans changed upon experiencing Pon Farr. Tuvok instead married his betrothed, T’Pel, and the couple had four children together. After his children had all achieved adulthood, Tuvok once again joined Starfleet in 2349.

Tuvok met Kathryn Janeway in 2356 when he bluntly dressed Janeway down in front of three Admirals for not observing proper tactical procedures. Despite her ego being bruised, Janeway realized that Tuvok had been correct, and she came to rely on his council.

In 2371, he was assigned to infiltrate the Maquis and had embedded himself in the cell led by former Starfleet Officer, Chakotay, when his regularly scheduled reports ceased.



Chakotay

“My people taught me; a man does not own land. He doesn’t own anything but the courage and loyalty in his heart. That’s where my power comes from.” -- Chakotay

The Val-Jean was under the command of a former Starfleet officer named Chakotay, who had hailed from the Federation colony on Trebus before it was annexed to the Cardassians in the border treaty with the Cardassians signed in 2370. Chakotay resigned from Starfleet after his father was killed fighting off a Cardassian attack on Trebus and joined the Maquis to honor his memory.

Tom Paris

“If you hear muffled screams, consider that a request for a beam out.” – Tom Paris

In order to find the missing Maquis vessel, Janeway recruited Tom Paris from the Federation Rehabilitation Colony in New Zealand on Earth. Paris was the son of Janeway’s mentor, now-Admiral Owen Paris, and had been court-martialed from Starfleet after he caused the deaths of three officers in shuttle accident through negligence and pilot error. With few other options, Paris joined the Maquis and was captured on his first assignment. He was then sent to the New Zealand facility. Janeway hoped to use Paris’ knowledge of the Maquis and the Badlands to track down the Val-Jean.

The Badlands

Voyager
set off on its mission from Deep Space 9 and set course for the Badlands. While following the projected course that the Val-Jean may have taken through the Badlands, the ship was intercepted by a massive displacement wave that transported them over 70,000 light-years away to the far reaches of the Delta Quadrant, 75 years travel from home through conventional travel. Voyager took heavy damage during the transit and her First Officer, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Engineer and pilot were killed during the transport.

The Caretaker

The source of the displacement wave was an array housing a being called “The Caretaker,” a sporocystian life-form. Centuries earlier, his people had destroyed the ecosystem of the Ocampa homeworld, a telepathic species who were forced to move their civilization underground. Taking responsibility, the Caretaker protected them, supplying a constant energy source to sustain their survival. When he learned he was dying, he sought to create a successor and began abducting ships from across the galaxy in search of compatible genetic material.

The crew of Voyager, as well as the crew of the Val-Jean who had been captured by the Caretaker previously, were transported to the array and subjected to biological testing. After three days, the crews were returned to their respective ships, save for Ensign Harry Kim from Voyager and Engineer B’Elanna Torres from the Val-Jean.

The two crews agreed to search for their missing members, and Tuvok returned to Voyager. They traced the array’s energy pulses to the Ocampa homeworld and picked up a Talaxian guide, Neelix, who promised to lead them to the Ocampa. On the planet, Janeway attempted to make contact with the Kazon, but Neelix, who was in love with an Ocampan woman named Kes held captive by the Kazon, immediately attacked with a phaser and rescued her. The group beamed back to Voyager before the Kazon could retaliate.

With the assistance of Kes, the crews were able to locate and retrieve their missing crew, who were being given medical treatment in the Ocampan city beneath the planet’s surface. The two vessels then headed back to Caretaker’s array with Kazon vessels in pursuit. Upon returning to the array, Janeway found the Caretaker in the final moments of his life. The Caretaker implored Janeway to protect the Ocampa from the Kazon, who would commandeer the array and destroy the Ocampa upon his death.

Voyager attempted to defend the array from the Kazon attack long enough for Tuvok to program the array to send them home. The Val-Jean was lost in the attack, but the Maquis crew was successfully beamed to Voyager before its destruction. However, Janeway, seeing no way to keep the array out of the Kazon’s hands afterwards, made the fateful decision to destroy the array instead, stranding Voyager and both crews in the Delta Quadrant.

Afterward, Janeway and Chakotay made the decision to combine their crews as one, with Chakotay serving as Janeway’s First Officer. Torres was given the position of Chief Engineer and Paris was made the ship’s new pilot. With her new crew settled in place, Janeway gave the order to set course for Earth.

In choosing to destroy the array -- Voyager’s only means of returning home -- to protect the Ocampa, Janeway made a decision that epitomized Starfleet’s highest ideals. She put the welfare of an entire species above personal interests. In that selfless act, Janeway embodied the moral courage and ethical responsibility that define a Starfleet Captain.

The Doctor

“I’m a Doctor, not a nightlight.” – The Doctor

During this mission, Voyager’s Emergency Medical Hologram Mark I was activated. Originally created in the image of Dr. Lewis Zimmerman as a short-term supplement to the ship’s medical staff, the EMH would, under extraordinary circumstances, serve as Voyager’s CMO for the entirety of its journey and beyond. The Doctor far exceeded his programming and remains active today as a Professor of Exobiology at the reformed Starfleet Academy on Earth. While this account provides only a limited overview of Voyager’s historic mission, the Doctor’s accounts offer an undiluted, firsthand living witness record -- highly recommended for anyone seeking a fuller understanding of those events.

B’Elanna Torres

“It may be the warriors who get the glory, but it’s the engineers who build societies.” -- B’Elanna Torres

B’Elanna Torres was the child of human John Torres and the Klingon woman, Miral, in 2346. Torres’ human father left the relationship very early in her life, leaving Torres to be raised by her mother. B’Elanna received a varied education, studying in Federation schools, spending time on Q’onos and was even brought to a Klingon monastery to be educated in Klingon honor and the ways of Kahless.

A remarkably talented engineer, Torres would enter Starfleet Academy in 2366 but dropped out during her sophomore year feeling that she wasn’t a good fit for Starfleet. Soon after she joined the Maquis and was onboard the Val Jean when it was swept away to the Delta Quadrant. Despite her difficulty in integrating Starfleet protocols into her life, she was recommended by Chakotay to be the new Chief Engineer. Janeway, recognizing her remarkable potential, gave her the position over the Academy graduates in Engineering.

Seska

Tensions between the Starfleet and Maquis crews remained high, primarily due to the actions of the Cardassian double agent Seska, who had infiltrated Chakotay’s cell disguised as a Bajoran and was fanning the flames of discontent amongst the former Maquis on the ship. Seska eventually betrayed Voyager to the Kazon, leading to the Kazon temporarily commandeering the vessel, but was killed in the action to retake the ship. Without Seska to sow discontent on the ship, the two crews managed to integrate into one. (See: Appendix 2: The Maquis)

The Borg


Due to the unique circumstances of her journey, Voyager made first contact with over 100 new species, far more than any other starship ever had. Among the many species contacted by Voyager were the Kazon, the Ocampa, the Talaxians, the Vidiians, the Hirogen, the Krenim, the Nacene, the Malon, the Vaudwaar, the Voth and more. But none of the Voyager’s interactions in the Delta Quadrant were more significant to the United Federation of Planets than her contacts with the Borg.

The Borg’s origins in the Delta Quadrant are lost to time. According to the accounts of the Vaudwaar, the Borg of the 15th Century were a minor threat that had only assimilated a handful of worlds and cultures, but by the 24th Century, they had become the predominant power in the quadrant with thousands of worlds in their thrall. Their nature to expand and consume in an impossible quest for perfection threatened every species that they encountered and their rapid and aggressive expansion had already threatened Federation space all the way into the Alpha Quadrant on more than one occasion.

Voyager’s route home necessitated travelling through the heart of Borg space. While they had hoped to avoid the attention of the Collective, that soon proved impossible. Voyager first discovered evidence of Borg activity in mid-2373 in the region of space known as the Nekrit Expanse on the home world of the Sakari, where the skeletal remains of a long-dead Borg drone was discovered on the planet’s surface.

Not long after, Voyager encountered a derelict and non-functional Borg Cube that had ceased to function without explanation five years previously. The crew encountered survivors of the derelict on a nearby planet, formerly assimilated sentients who had regained their individuality. This group, known as the “Unity Collective” had formed a new collective that fostered harmony without the need for aggressive expansion and assimilation.

Species 8472

When Voyager arrived in the heart of Borg space in late 2373, they found the Collective engaged in a battle for survival against a species designated by the Borg as Species 8472. Species 8472 hailed from a parallel, pocket dimension known as “Fluidic Space”. Five months prior, the Borg had broken through to the Fluidic Space realm by creating a focused singularity as a bridge between the two realms and attempted to assimilate the native species only to discover that they were immune to all the technology known to the Borg. 8472 retaliated with coordinated attacks into Borg space with technology that the Borg had no counter for.

Species 8472, a telepathic race, could be sensed by Kes from light-years away, and she determined their intent to destroy all they encountered in the Delta Quadrant, declaring, “Your galaxy will be purged.” Voyager first encountered them while investigating the wreckage of a Borg vessel destroyed by the invaders.

The away team discovered an organic vessel attached to the wreckage, whose pilot, a member of Species 8472, attacked and infected Harry Kim with a virus that was literally consuming him alive. Voyager’s EMH developed a cure by modifying Borg nanoprobes harvested from the destroyed vessel three months earlier, neutralizing 8472’s technology. These modified nanoprobes could be weaponized, providing a defense against the invading species from Fluidic Space.

Seeing the Borg as the lesser of the two evils involved, Janeway made the unprecedented decision to forge an alliance with the Borg Collective, offering them the specifications for the modified nanoprobes in exchange for safe passage through Borg space. The Collective, seeing their defeat by Species 8472 as an inevitability, agreed to the alliance. Commander Chakotay recommended against the alliance, fearing that the Borg would be unable to deny their true nature and betray Voyager.

Seven of Nine

“I understand the concept of humor. It may not be apparent but I am often amused by human behavior. “– Seven of Nine

As Janeway worked on the Borg cube with Tuvok, a drone was chosen to act as liaison between Voyager and the Collective. The drone was Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct to Unimatrix Zero One, formerly Annika Hansen, assimilated along with her parents aboard the USS Raven in 2250.

When an attack from Species 8472 required the Borg to sacrifice their vessel to save Voyager and the nanoprobe technology, Janeway, Tuvok, Seven, and several other drones transported to Voyager’s cargo bay 2 to continue the work. Chakotay’s fears of the Borg revealing their true nature proved valid: the drones attempted to take control of Voyager’s deflector array and open a portal to Fluidic Space. Chakotay ordered the cargo bay decompressed, ejecting all drones except Seven, but not before Voyager was drawn into the Fluidic realm.

In Fluidic Space, Voyager confronted four of 8472’s bioships, successfully destroying them with the modified nanoprobe weapon. Back in the Delta Quadrant, the weapon deployed on a larger scale destroyed thirteen vessels, forcing Species 8472 to retreat.

The Borg then reverted to their true nature, instructing Seven to seize control of Voyager for assimilation. Anticipating this, Chakotay linked with her via tech from Voyager’s previous encounter with the Unity Collective. Torres initiated a power surge that overloaded Seven’s implants, severing her from the Collective.

Janeway assumed responsibility for Seven’s welfare. Initially resistant to shedding her Borg identity and returning to humanity, Seven required removal of 82% of her implants and continued daily hours in a Borg regeneration chamber due to her hybrid physiology. She shortened her designation to “Seven” as she gradually integrated with the crew.

In early 2374, Voyager discovered the wreckage of the USS Raven, allowing Seven to recover her parents’ logs, expanding both her and the ship’s understanding of the Borg. Months later, when offered the chance to return to the Collective, Seven chose to retain her individuality and remain with Voyager.

The Path Forward

It was around this time that Kes, with her mental abilities growing at an astonishing rate after contact with Species 8472, had to make the decision to leave Voyager as her new abilities threatened the safety of the vessel. As a final gift to her crewmates, she used her new vast abilities to fling Voyager 9.5 light years towards the Alpha Quadrant and ten years closer to home.

The Borg Queen

“There is no ‘me’. Only us. One mind.” – The Borg Queen

In mid-2375, Voyager went on the offensive against the Borg, attacking small scout and probe vessels hoping to salvage a Borg transwarp coil to assist in their journey. Seven scoured her parents’ logs for information that would be helpful for the operation. It was during this research that she was contacted by the Borg Queen, the primary intelligence behind the Borg hive-mind, through her Borg implants. The Queen informed Seven that she was aware of Voyager’s plans and that she would spare them if she rejoined the Collective.

When Voyager launched its attack on a Borg Scout, they successfully absconded with one of the vessels transwarp coils, but Seven stayed behind as she sensed the Queen’s intent. To her surprise, she was not re-assimilated as the Queen hoped to capitalize on her newfound perspective as an individual. Janeway, not believing that Seven’s return to Collective was voluntary, immediately planned a rescue operation.

Using the technology invented by Seven’s parents, Voyager was able to track her location at a distant Borg Unicomplex. Voyager’s custom shuttle, the Delta Flyer, was outfitted with the recently acquired transwarp coil and cloaking shields developed by the Hansen’s, and a rescue operation was launched. Janeway and Tuvok infiltrated the Borg Unicomplex and while Tuvok disabled various shield generators, Janeway tracked down Seven. When Janeway confronted the Queen, Seven directed her to destroy an overhanging power node, which allowed them to beam back to the Delta Flyer.

The team opened a new transwarp conduit and fled back to Voyager, with a Borg attack vessel in close pursuit. After the Delta Flyer emerged from the transwarp conduit, Chakotay ordered a spread of photon torpedoes to collapse the conduit behind them. The pursuing Borg craft was destroyed when the conduit imploded. Voyager then resumed their journey home with their hard-earned transwarp coil bringing them 15,000 light years closer to home, approximately 15 years travel time by conventional warp overnight, before the coil burned out.

Contact with Starfleet

Voyager
made their first contact with Starfleet since being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on Stardate 51462 in 2374 after discovering a large network of communications arrays whose range was capable of reaching the outer edges of the Alpha Quadrant. Sending a message through the array, Voyager made contact with the USS Prometheus in the Alpha Quadrant, at last informing Starfleet of their situation. Starfleet responded by assuring Voyager that they would put every available resource into helping them with their journey and that they were no longer alone. This led to the creation of Project: Pathfinder, under the direction of Admiral Owen Paris, which was dedicated to bringing Voyager home.

Project Pathfinder

“I think we’re forgetting that there are 150 people stranded in the Delta Quadrant!” -- Lt. Reginald Barclay

Over the next two years, Project Pathfinder sought out ways to bridge the gap between Voyager and home. Their efforts came to fruition early in 2376 when Lt. Reginald Barclay used the Mutara Interdimensional Deep Space Array System, also called “The MIDAS Array”, to establish brief two-way audio communication between Earth and Voyager. Utilizing the MIDAS Array, Starfleet and Voyager were able to send monthly information packets to each other until the communications process was refined enough to establish daily eleven-minute real-time communication between Earth and the Delta Quadrant.

Calls to Duty

Despite their distance from Federation space, Voyager’s crew still comported themselves as Starfleet officers, and on two occasions found themselves on missions under orders from Starfleet Command.

The Omega Directive

The Omega Directive was established after the discovery of the Omega Molecule -- an artificial element so powerful that a single molecule contained as much energy as a starship’s warp core. Every known attempt to stabilize Omega ended in catastrophe.

In 2268, a Federation experiment to synthesize the molecule caused a subspace rupture in the Lantaru Sector, rendering warp travel impossible for light-years. The Borg once made their own attempt, losing 29 vessels and 600,000 drones in the process. Recognizing the danger, Starfleet created the Omega Directive -- a classified order known only to captains and above. Should any Starfleet vessel encounter an Omega Molecule, it must be destroyed at all costs. All other priorities, including the Prime Directive, were secondary.

In 2374, Voyager’s sensors detected an Omega signature, activating the Directive. Had the ship been in Federation space, specialists would have been dispatched to handle the situation -- but stranded in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Janeway was forced to brief her senior staff on the classified mission.

In what would otherwise have been a direct violation of the Prime Directive, Voyager entered the sovereign territory of the resource-poor, pre-warp society that had created Omega in a desperate bid for survival. Janeway ultimately ordered the destruction of their research and millions of Omega Molecules -- the detonation of which could have destabilized subspace and crippled warp travel across half the Delta Quadrant.

Some would later argue that Janeway’s actions potentially condemned this society to slow extinction -- precisely the kind of tragedy the Prime Directive was designed to prevent. Yet, in this case, perhaps the risk was indeed too great. It was the equivalent of a child carrying a flame in a room full of explosives, endangering all around them, knowingly or not.

The existence of the Omega Molecule remained a tightly held secret until the days following The Burn, when it was briefly considered as a possible cause of that catastrophe.

Friendship One

"We the people of Earth greet you in a spirit of peace and humility. As we venture out of our solar system, we hope to earn the trust and friendship of other worlds". – The greeting of the people of Earth on the hull of the Friendship 1 probe.

In 2378, Starfleet ordered Janeway to locate and recover the long-lost UESPA Friendship 1 probe, which had gone silent in 2248. Sensors had detected its presence in a sector near Voyager’s location, and Janeway was tasked with investigating.

They found the probe on a radiation-soaked planet. The natives of the planet had recovered the Earth probe and reverse-engineered an anti-matter generator based on the probes designs and the advanced technology overloaded, covering the planet in a nuclear winter.

Voyager retrieved the historic probe and assisted the world’s natives in cleaning their planet’s atmosphere of radiation and providing a cure for the natives radiation poisoning before continuing with her mission.
 
The Q Continuum

Voyager
first encountered a member of the powerful Q Continuum when they inadvertently released one of their number from confinement in what seemed to be an asteroid on Stardate 49301.2. This Q had been confined by the Continuum for over 300 years due to his desire to end his endless existence. The Q feared what the repercussions this might have for the Continuum as a whole as no Q had ever voluntarily chosen to end their life.

Not long after, the Q who had previously appeared to Picard arrived, seeking to return the other Q -- who chose the name Quinn -- to his confinement. Once a highly regarded philosopher among the Continuum, Quinn’s radical belief in the right to end his own existence led to his imprisonment. He fled, taking Voyager and her crew with him, but no matter where in time or space he hid, Q found them. Seeking to end the standoff, Quinn requested asylum aboard Voyager. To resolve the dispute, Janeway agreed to hold a hearing -- one both Qs vowed they would honor.

During the hearings that followed, Q argued his case by showing the good that Quinn had fostered during his existence by showing how actions from his past had positively affected the mortals he interacted with. Quinn countered that his endless existence had become unendurable and that he had the right to choose to end it.

To make his point, the hearing was held within the Continuum itself, where Quinn argued that the Q had grown stagnant -- that they had seen, done, and learned all that existence offered, leaving no room to grow or evolve. Existence had become unbearable, he said, and the only way forward was to allow the freedom to die. Quinn also appealed to Q personally, saying he missed the old, irrepressible trickster who once inspired thought and chaos instead of enforcing the Continuum’s rigid order.

Janeway found in Quinn’s favor and the Continuum granted him mortality. Janeway implored Quinn to embrace his new mortal life but he chose instead to end his life. He was assisted by Q, who was affected by Quinn’s words. Q’s actions would have profound consequences for the Continuum

The Q Civil War

Q’s actions split the Continuum, igniting a civil war between the faction clinging to the oppressive status quo and the faction following Quinn’s teachings. The war caused multi-dimensional collateral damage, including an increased rate of supernovae in the Delta Quadrant.

Believing the Continuum needed new blood to evolve, Q attempted -- awkwardly -- to convince Janeway to procreate with him, aiming to create a “savior” for the Q. His efforts were interrupted by Lady Q, his companion of four billion years.

When the civil war caused three nearby stars to nova simultaneously, trapping Voyager in the shockwave, Q took Janeway to the Continuum, leaving Lady Q unable to follow. Within the Continuum, which Janeway perceived as a representation of the American Civil War, Q argued that she could bring peace. Janeway remained unconvinced, suggesting he pursue a new life with Lady Q instead. Before anything could happen, both were captured by the Q General and scheduled for execution.

Back in the Delta Quadrant, Lady Q helped Voyager enter the Continuum by navigating a Q-induced supernova, providing Torres with shielding modifications. The crew, armed with Q weaponry, successfully rescued Janeway and Q and captured the Q General.

Having prevailed, Q and Lady Q co-mingled their essences to create a new Q life, a process never before attempted. In gratitude, Q returned Janeway and her crew to Voyager and later visited her aboard the ship, presenting his offspring and naming Janeway as godmother -- furthering the profound impact of Quinn’s movement on the Continuum.

Q2

Janeway later assisted Q when the chaotic behavior his son (referred to as “Q2”) compelled the Continuum to take action against him. Upon saving his son from being condemned to a life as a human being, Q thanked Janeway by providing her with some seemingly minor course corrections that would take a few years off of Voyager’s journey home. These course corrections would prove to be far more significant to both Voyager and the United Federation of Planets than they first appeared.

Decisions Made Along The Way

Kathryn Janeway’s command of the USS Voyager remains one of the most celebrated captaincies in Starfleet history, but it was not without its controversies. Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, far from the oversight of Starfleet Command and Federation law, Janeway was often forced to make decisions that would have been unthinkable under normal circumstances -- decisions that speak to the immense burdens of command and the fragility of human judgment under pressure.

Tuvix

Perhaps the most controversial example is the incident involving Tuvix, a hybrid individual created when a transporter accident merged Lieutenant Tuvok and Neelix into a single being in 2372. When a method to reverse the process was discovered, Tuvix begged to live, arguing that he was a unique life in his own right. Janeway chose instead to restore her original officers -- a decision some have characterized as execution without trial, and others as a utilitarian act that saved two lives instead of one. Whatever the interpretation, it remains a haunting example of the impossible choices that starship command can sometimes demand.

The USS Equinox

Her pursuit of Captain Ransom and the USS Equinox in 2378 also pushed Janeway to the edge of Starfleet’s ethical boundaries. The Equinox had also been drawn into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, but the journey of the Equinox was not as fortunate as Voyager’s. With the ship near critically damaged, Ransom ordered his crew to take on extreme measures to bring his ship and crew home. Equinox had encountered a sentient interdimensional species whose bodies emitted nucleogenic particles that could be converted into high energy warp plasma, capable bringing Equinox home in weeks. Against every Starfleet principal, Ransom gave the order to start harvesting these beings for fuel.

When the two vessels paths finally converged, Janeway discovered that Ransom had ordered the slaughter of dozens of these alien lifeforms in order to fuel their warp drive, and Janeway was determined to bring him to justice. Yet in her pursuit, she crossed lines of her own -- engaging in an interrogation of an Equinox crewman that some feel crossed the line into torture and allowing her personal feeling about Ransom’s actions to influence her judgment. In the end, Ransom ended the pursuit by beaming his surviving crew to Voyager and going down Equinox, remaining on board as a warp core breech consumed his ship.

None of this diminishes Janeway’s legacy as an explorer and leader. Rather, it underscores that even the most principled officers can find themselves in moral gray zones when circumstance strips away the certainties of regulation and oversight. Janeway’s record is certainly not one of villainy but of choice and fallibility, a reflection the realities of leadership. Alone in deep space, she was the only officer positioned to enforce Federation law and values and acted decisively to prevent further harm.

Captain Ransom’s actions aboard the Equinox illustrate the extreme pressures a starship captain can face when stranded far from home with a desperate crew. He made decisions that crossed moral boundaries, including the systematic slaughter of sentient lifeforms to fuel his ship. While easy to label as villainous, it is important to note that Ransom believed he was acting in his crew’s best interests, willing to shoulder the moral burden to ensure their survival. His actions can never be defended, but one can understand both his motivation and his desperation.

Harry Kim

“Everything we’ve been through together, maybe it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey.” – Harry Kim

Ensign Harry Kim was born on Earth in 2349, the son John and Mary Kim. Kim’s lifelong dream was to join Starfleet, and to this end he entered Starfleet Academy in 2366 and graduated in 2370. He was assigned to Voyager just prior to its disappearance into the Delata Quadrant. Kim served as Operations Officer aboard Voyager for the entirety of its seven years in the Delta Quadrant.

Home

In late 2378 on Stardate 54973.4, five weeks after implementing the course corrections supplied by Q, Voyager passed near an unnamed nebula in Galactic Grid 986. Seven of Nine’s astrometric scans confirmed a large number of neutrino signals, indicating the possibility of a large network of wormholes. If even one of these wormholes led to the Alpha Quadrant, Voyager could find her way home at last. Investigating the signals, Voyager discovered the nebula to be swarming with Borg vessels. Janeway ordered an immediate retreat from the nebula, deeming the wormholes too dangerous to investigate. The Borg were alerted to Voyager’s presence but took no action against them.

Not long after resuming their course, Voyager encountered a temporal anomaly from which emerged a Starfleet vessel piloted by Admiral Kathryn Janeway from the year 2404. In Admiral Janeway’s timeline, Voyager eventually made it home but at the cost of 22 more members of her crew and left some of those who made it home broken and lost. She had travelled back to this point in her past armed with technology and knowledge from the future that the Borg of this era had no defense against in order to help Voyager navigate past the Borg cubes in the nebula. Admiral Janeway knew that the source of the neutrino signals was a vast Borg Transwarp Hub, one of six in the galaxy that allowed the Borg to travel throughout the Milky Way in an instant.

Upon discovering the nature of the Transwarp Hub, Captain Janeway refused to simply travel home without attempting to disable it and taking away this valuable advantage away from the Borg. Together, the Captain and the Admiral came up with a plan.

Voyager, armed with the futuristic ablative armor and transphasic torpedoes supplied by Admiral Janeway, made their way to the conduit that led to Earth. Admiral Janeway travelled to the Borg Unimatrix Complex itself and allowed herself to be assimilated, infecting the Collective with a neurolytic pathogen from 2404 that shut down the subspace link shared by the Borg and deactivated the manifold shielding protecting the transwarp hub, before causing the Unicomplex itself to self-destruct.

Inside the hub, Voyager attacked the now vulnerable Borg transit system from within with a salvo of transphasic torpedoes that initiated a cascade reaction that destroyed almost the entirety of the Borg network. Riding just ahead of the shockwave, Voyager triumphantly emerged from the conduit in the Sol system just moments before the conduit collapsed on itself. At long last, Voyager was home.

Aftermath

Voyager
’s return home was a turning point for the Federation, as with the destruction of both the Borg Unicomplex and Transwarp networks, the threat that the Borg posed to the Federation, the Alpha Quadrant and the entire galaxy was negated. While the Borg Queen herself was not totally neutralized and she would attempt to form a new Collective in an attack on Earth in 2401, the existential threat that the Borg presented to the entire galaxy had been removed.

Some have questioned Admiral Janeway’s actions, citing the multiple temporal regulations that she violated in this endeavor, which effectively rewrote her entire timeline from 2378 forward. The ethics of her actions are difficult to untangle: it saved countless lives and spared her crew immeasurable hardship, yet it also annihilated a future that, for better or worse, had already been lived by countless sentients. However, as the Admiral sacrificed herself onboard the Borg Unicomplex to ensure Voyager’s successful return to Earth, there is no way to censure her for her actions.

Further Voyages

Janeway would be promoted to Vice Admiral upon her return to Earth with a focus on the Delta Quadrant. Chakotay would be promoted to Captain and given command of the USS Protostar, a vessel with an experimental protostar drive. The Doctor would continue to serve as Admiral Janeway’s liaison and assistant.

Tom Paris and B’Elanna Torres married while in the Delta Quadrant and B’Elanna gave birth to the couple’s first child, Miral -- named after B’Elanna’s mother -- during the final battle with the Borg. Upon returning to the Alpha Quadrant, B’Elanna settled down to raise her daughter while Tom remained in Starfleet with the rank of full Lieutenant.

Harry Kim would eventually rise to the rank of Admiral.

Despite the recommendation and backing of Vice Admiral Janeway, Seven of Nine was not allowed to join Starfleet upon the vessel’s return. She would remain at odds for several years before joining the Fenris Rangers after the Romulan Supernova of 2387.

*****

Next Week: The USS Enterprise NCC 1701-E
 
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