“Freedom is ours for the taking!” Corat Damar proclaimed to his fellow Cardassians on a street in Cardassia City.
Those words spurred the civilian population of Cardassia to rise up against their Dominion overlords. For the last two and a half years, the Cardassian Union had been a protectorate of the Dominion. Initially, the alliance proved beneficial to Cardassia with the Dominion turning away Klingon occupational forces and eradicating a considerable percentage of the Maquis. But as the Federation Alliance War dragged on, and the enemy began pushing deeper into Dominion occupied territory, the Dominion was keeping a tighter leash on its Alpha Quadrant allies.
Legate Damar, as head of the Dominion-allied government, saw his people’s political autonomy dwindling. At first he was okay with that since the price of losing the war was too high for the Cardassian Union. He had had enough when Weyoun and the Female Changeling secretly formed an alliance with the Breen Confederacy that included turning over Cardassian territory to the Breen. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Dominion left the Cardassians to fend for themselves during the attack on Septimus Three.
While the Cardassian Liberation Front was eventually defeated, Damar was able to spark a popular uprising on Cardassia Prime. These rebels engaged in acts of sabotage against the Dominion while the final battle of the war was taking place. Despite the retaliatory strikes resulting in over eight hundred million deaths, Damar’s rebellion did not waiver, and the Dominion would soon be vanquished.
With the Dominion defeated and expelled from the Alpha Quadrant, an independent provisional government was in power on Cardassia Prime. Alon Ghemor, nephew of the late dissident Tekeny Ghemor, was anointed leader of the new order. The Ghemor name was revered throughout Cardassia when Tekeny led the Cardassian Underground in the overthrow of military rule shortly before the Klingon invasion. Alon followed in his uncle’s footsteps as an influential figure in a Cardassian government-in-exile. Now that the Dominion was gone, the populace had nearly unanimously supported Ghemor.
“We realize that many of you want revenge against those who caused such great suffering,” Ghemor stated in a news conference broadcast throughout the Cardassian Union.
“We ask at this time that you continue to place order and security above personal honor and family honor and allow the courts and legal system time to locate and prosecute those responsible. Only a sane and careful investigation can allow us to separate those who were willing supporters of the Dominion-allied government from those who cooperated only in fear of their lives.”
“Just another politician,” Tahmin Rejal mumbled as he watched the live transmission of Ghemor’s speech during a gathering of surviving members of the Rejal clan.
“But also our best hope for a brighter future,” Gilora replied.
As a distant cousin of the old Detapa Council’s chief executor, Gilora’s voice carried little weight with the patriarchs of the Rejal clan. Add to that, because the Rejal clan comprised a long line of politicians, Gilora was not even very popular among her immediate family even though her talents and abilities were put to better use as a scientist and engineer. Following the Dominion massacre of Cardassia Prime, Gilora was one of the survivors from the Rejal clan, leaving her as a major representative of her extended family.
“Alon Ghemor isn’t like his uncle, Gilora,” Tahmin scoffed. “He could repeat the mistakes of my sister.” His sister was the late Meya Rejal, Chief Executor to the Detapa Council. Tekeny Ghemor was the inspirational leader of the Cardassian Underground, as a member of the Central Command even after he sought asylum on the neutral planet Mathen. Meya Rejal, on the other hand, led the
coup d’etat that overthrew the military rule and returned political power to the civilian legislative body. For that reason, Rejal felt she deserved to lead the new Cardassia, not Tekeny Ghemor.
The more conservative elements of the Underground only acted on the belief that they had no obligation to recognize an entity with no legitimate political power—in this case, the Central Command. They had rejected certain Federation ideals such as representative democracy and individual civil liberties. Ironically, Rejal argued that to give Ghemor leadership of the Council would install another military leader, which the Underground had fought to abolish. In spite of her determination to lead a new Cardassia, she and the Detapa Council were ill equipped to handle the various crises from the Klingon War to rising poverty throughout the Cardassian Empire. For that, Meya Rejal was executed a year and a half later following another coup that placed Gul Skrain Dukat as leader of a new Dominion-allied military government. And many in her immediate family sought to distance themselves from Meya’s legacy.
“Worried he can’t deliver on his promises?” Gilora inquired. “Perhaps you should grab power for yourself and execute your dissenters.”
Tahmin shook his head and rolled his eyes, not wanting to be reminded of the harsh methods that Meya fought against, yet employed once she was in power. “Tekeny Ghemor was an inspiration,” a third person chimed in. Prenan emerged from a dark corner of the room. “What do we know of his nephew? Can he deliver on his promises to allow what’s left of the
legal system to hunt down the traitors of Cardassia?”
“We’re not Klingons, Prenan,” Gilora shot back. “We don’t embark on personal quests of vengeance to assure that honor is satisfied. That’s what our courts are for.”
“What’s left of them after the Jem’Hadar laid waste to our home,” Dralin sneered. Others shouted in agreement that more drastic action was necessary to punish those who had sold out their people out to the Dominion.
“Gilora is right,” Tahmin offered. “We have moved beyond the need for clan wars.”
“But can we rely on the courts to identify and punish the traitors?” Prenan asked. “Recent history would suggest we cannot.”
“Maybe not in the short term,” Gilora answered. Addressing the rest of the crowd, she added, “But the alternative is anarchy and mob rule. We may not have the government in place to maintain order anymore. Order and security are still to be valued especially in times of turmoil. Would any of you really want to forsake five hundred years of history and tradition or stay true to our values?”
Most of the onlookers stood blank-faced, not sure what to make of Gilora’s statements. Many of them came to this gathering seeking to avenge the deaths of siblings, spouses, children, parents, and cousins who were lost to the Dominion in the closing weeks of the war. It was a matter of personal and family honor to avenge those deaths. But who was left to settle the score with the Dominion retreating to the Gamma Quadrant and many of the Cardassians who fought with the Dominion in the war’s final battle switched sides when they learned what was happening to the home planet? Damar was among the dead and Dukat was listed as
persona non grata.
“You make some very persuasive points, Gilora,” Tahmin said with a nod. Addressing the rest of the group, he added. “And that is why, despite recent animosity between the Rejal and Ghemor clans, we will support the Ghemor regime. His leadership could eventually prove ineffective as my late sister’s did. For now, he is preferable to no central government at all.”
Gilora flashed a slightly wicked grin, pleased that she had gotten through to one of her most vocal opponents. Many onlookers shouted in approval. A few dissenters remained, but they simply stood quietly and said nothing.
On the monitor in the meeting hall, Alon Ghemor was concluding his speech.
“We will rise from the ashes and begin anew as we have so many times before. This I vow with my life’s blood. For my son. For all our sons!”
