What If? Not wanting to be in the Federation, even though your in there space.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

One other case is that you leave your planet and start attacking prewarp worlds in Federation space. This is the case I’m not sure of. They’d probably be forced to let you do it.

IIRC, this is why the Federation didn't intervene in the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. The Prime Directive forbade it.

Although it does raise a point, why didn't Bajor call for help? As I understand it, the PD allows the Federation to render assistance to any planet which requests it, whether or not the inhabitants possess warp drive or are even aware of the Federation's existence. So even if Bajor didn't have warp drive (and by all accounts, they didn't), any distress calls they sent out could be answered.

I guess the Cardassians had some method of jamming any distress signals the Bajorans could send, but surely there were Bajorans who managed to get out of their home system safely (smuggled out, perhaps, like the Underground Railroad). Could they have asked for Federation assistance? Like the refugees in "Ensign Ro", for example.

 

[Timo]

I gather it would be a case of some Bajorans asking for help, and others calling to say "Uh, we represent the official government of Bajor, and we require no assistance, thank you very much, our new Cardassian overlords are actually very nice. Did I say it right? You can point that thing away fro-", followed by the whine of a phase disruptor.

At which point it's up to the UFP to decide whether they want to be involved in a war of liberation or not. And in the general case, they probably would not. Not unless they already had an ax to grind with the oppressor and it was strategically wise to challenge him at that juncture.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JirinPanthosa]

The Federation probably freely gave asylum status to escaped Bajorans. At the time Bajor was considered part of the Cardassian Empire so they’d be forced to see it as an internal conflict.

Plus thete’s the issue that trying to intervene would cause a large scale war they didn’t want.

 

[Tenacity]

As I understand it, the PD allows the Federation to render assistance to any planet which requests it,

Pretty tough if the planet lack the ability to ask for help.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Pretty tough if the planet lack the ability to ask for help.

A planet that backwards wouldn't be worth attacking in the first place.

Our own world may not have warp drive, but we DO have the ability to send messages into space.

 

[MacLeod]

The Federation would ignore you if you are not hostile and respect your claim to unclaimed planets. But attack any Federation member, very different story.

One other case is that you leave your planet and start attacking prewarp worlds in Federation space. This is the case I’m not sure of. They’d probably be forced to let you do it.

They could simply say after the first instance of that "We do not grant permission for your ships to enter our space any ship entering our space etc...."

 

[Tenacity]

A planet that backwards wouldn't be worth attacking in the first place.

Errand of Mercy.

 

[Timo]

...Indeed, it's a major mystery why there exists such a thing as an "unconquered planet". What possible reason would the assorted expansionist empires have for not conquering a planet?

Organia had nothing to offer besides a Class M environment and some manual labor, yet was considered crucial for the Klingon war effort - in a war that seemed to rely on surprise and rapid tactical developments, making it even more mysterious why the Klingons would wish to stop on Organia. Then again, Starfleet didn't seem to share the Klingon view on the strategic importance of the place, as it only sent one starship that quickly withdrew.

Bajor in turn was a long-term or at least medium-term investment for the Cardassian Empire, its conquest supposedly starting out "soft" and its subjugation and strip-mining a thing apparently considered vital for the general sustenance of the Union, rather than for some particular campaign.

Then there's the conquering of enemy worlds just to deny them from the enemy. Or bombarding, if it comes to that.

And still the Trek galaxy is full of planets with natural riches and at most technologically primitive sapient inhabitants that have not been taken over by empires. What gives? Is it cheaper for an empire A to just deny enemy empire B all access to planet X than to actually take over planet X in the name of A?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Guy Gardener]

Planting a flag is enough to build an empire for the Gorn, which is why the Federation didn't think it the worst idea to build colony worlds in Gorn Space.

In the alternate time line seen in DS9 Future Tense, Romulans control Teran Space, but we have no idea when they claimed Earth, since if Romulan policy towards this version of Earth is a rule, they don't move on a populated world before the aboriginals die out.