What if the Gamma Quadrant was untouched

[TheVortaKeevan]

There is no Dominion and no other alien empires throughout the quadrant at this point. There are still the Changelings and the Vorta are still their servants but other means. What if the Cardassians made alliances with the Breen, Gorn, Orions, and Tholians to start and expand their territory in this new quadrant. They have their foot in the door to send their ships through the wormhole to start invasion and colonization.

 

[Tim Walker]

I am not sure that I understand the question. Is this supposed to be post Dominion War?

 

[od0_ital]

It would raise the question of why didn't they make an alliance like that before? The Dominion was a new power lookin' for a foothold, beachhead, in the Alpha Quadrant.

As for the powers you mention, the Cardassians and Breen don't trust or like each other much, as shown in the Final Chapter. The Gorn, up until the CGI creature on ENT, was a cheesy green rubber suit, a cold blooded lizard species. And lizards are territorial, so they wouldn't ally with the Cardassians, another cold blooded lizard esque species. Orions are just thugs, criminals, no real power. And the Tholians weren't even humanoid. Again, it took the CGI budget of ENT to show one.

Why would any of them form an alliance with the Cardassians? Leavin' Bajor showed they were retreatin', defeated. They had dissidents within their own military, and those dissidents found allies easier than the military or spies could. Even the Dominion turned out to be disappointed with their Cardassian allies.

If ya mean, why didn't the Cardassians try to exploit the wormhole before Starfleet, they didn't even know it was there. Sisko found it, remember?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Is this a hypothetical if the Gamma Quadrant was a couple thousand years earlier in its timeline when the wormhole was discovered?

I think the Federation would have gotten the first solid colony foothold.

Or, if it's a hypothetical, what if the wormhole was discovered before the Occupation ended, and it was a couple thousand years earlier on the GQ side? Then why would the Cardassians share power when they could just use the wormhole to build a power base themselves?

Though I have to disagree about the reasons the Gorn wouldn't want an alliance. Gorn may be territorial but they clearly possess higher order reasoning. They'd make an alliance if it were in their military best interest.

 

[TheVortaKeevan]

I am not sure that I understand the question. Is this supposed to be post Dominion War?

No Tim it's not a post Dominion War question. The Dominion still exist after they made a deal when the Female Founder to end the war. My question is what if the Dominion as we know didn't exist as the interstellar state and military superpower in the Gamma Quadrant. They only play on the defense and not on offensive.

It would raise the question of why didn't they make an alliance like that before? The Dominion was a new power lookin' for a foothold, beachhead, in the Alpha Quadrant.


As for the powers you mention, the Cardassians and Breen don't trust or like each other much, as shown in the Final Chapter. The Gorn, up until the CGI creature on ENT, was a cheesy green rubber suit, a cold blooded lizard species. And lizards are territorial, so they wouldn't ally with the Cardassians, another cold blooded lizard esque species. Orions are just thugs, criminals, no real power. And the Tholians weren't even humanoid. Again, it took the CGI budget of ENT to show one.

The Breen and Cardassian didn't trust or like each other because the Cardassians couldn't hold their own end during the war. The Breen and Dominion ships were more advance compare to the Cardassian ships. Both Breen and Dominion ships have more firepower. Tholians aren't humanoid that doesn't mean they can't thirst for conquest like some humanoid aliens do.

Why would any of them form an alliance with the Cardassians? Leavin' Bajor showed they were retreatin', defeated. They had dissidents within their own military, and those dissidents found allies easier than the military or spies could. Even the Dominion turned out to be disappointed with their Cardassian allies.

The Federation had dissidents too, in their organization they went off to join the Maquis. If the prophets didn't exist in the wormhole its game over for the Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance. Dominion reinforcements are now in the Alpha/Beta Quadrants like a swarm of killer bees.

If ya mean, why didn't the Cardassians try to exploit the wormhole before Starfleet, they didn't even know it was there. Sisko found it, remember?

What if it was just plain wormhole no prophets. Sisko found the wormhole because he is the emissary and that where the Prophets are right?

 

[TheVortaKeevan]

Is this a hypothetical if the Gamma Quadrant was a couple thousand years earlier in its timeline when the wormhole was discovered?

I think the Federation would have gotten the first solid colony foothold.

Or, if it's a hypothetical, what if the wormhole was discovered before the Occupation ended, and it was a couple thousand years earlier on the GQ side? Then why would the Cardassians share power when they could just use the wormhole to build a power base themselves?

The Cardassians are to weak to build a power base alone. They would need help to do this. I guess they would look for the Romulans to help them. The Romulans would give them cloaking technology which would give them some what of an advantage against their opponent.

/QUOTE]

 

[Long Syntax]

Well, I think the whole dynamic changes. No wormhole aliens, no emissary. No emissary, no discovery of wormhole... at least by Starfleet. The wormhole discovery could well be made by the Cardassians as they were a power in the area, however they hadn't discovered it even though they had a presence in Bajor and a processing facility in Terok Nor, so there's even odds that they wouldn't discover it. However the question is more interesting if one says they do discover it. I suspect, given the premise of the OP, that the Dominion is not a quadrant superpower and no others exist, then a coalition led by the Cardassians could well control the Gamma quadrant and access to it, which would certainly turn the balance of power in the Alpha quadrant. I think such a scenario would lead to a domino effect with the Alpha quadrant being overrun by the combined gamma quadrant forces and the Cardassian coalition.

Having said that, I'm glad there was an emissary

 

[Finn]

I'd be wondering why there were no alien "empires". I'd buy a region of few sectors. Not 25% of the galaxy.

 

[Ember]

I think what the OP is trying to ask is:

"If DS9 had never featured the Dominion, what kind of political events would an alternate history have had? Would the Cardassians start a war to have access to the wormhole and the Gamma Quadrant, or would the Klingons grow restless and seek to expand their empire beyond the wormhole? Would Odo still meet the changelings and if so, without the Dominion would they be very different as a people?" Etc, etc.

If I'd have to answer that, I'd say that there's probably a few novels out there which approach such alternate histories already. There's bound to be a few well written fan fictions on the internet as well.

 

[Finn]

^The OP also said no other alien empires, suggesting a vast region of the Quadrant, at least within reach of the wormhole unclaimed by anybody by the time of Emissary.

If so, a war wouldn't be worth it. Why would Klingons be restless to expand through a region that isn't defended by someone. Cardassians might do something,as they are supposed to be resource-poor. The Romulans wouldn't bother if there was no threat.

The Federation would be able to defend the wormhole from the Cardassians easily, and they can use the alliance to get some help from the Klingons for holding off the Cardies.