They were bred to be the perfect soldiers. Completely fearless, completely loyal, completely deadly. They were the military force of the Dominion, and completely devoted to their Changeling masters; they worshipped the Changelings as gods. However, that is no longer completely the case.
The Changelings (or Founders, depending on your perspective) engineered the Jem’Hadar. Adults of the species are reptilian in appearance, tremendously strong, capable of “shrouding” themselves from visual and sensor observation, and are in possession of very sharp vision themselves. They also require neither sustenance nor sleep. However the Changelings, with their typical paranoia regarding solids, also engineered a control mechanism into the Jem’Hadar.
The Jem’Hadar are incapable of producing a necessary enzyme, requiring regular ingestion of a drug known as Ketracel White. In some senses, this was a brilliant move, allowing the Changelings to control their super soldiers even in the event that those soldiers might come to resent them. At the same time, it is also a dangerous weakness. One that we (the Federation and our allies) were able to use to our advantage during the Dominion War. Without the Ketracel White the Jem’Hadar lose control of their violent impulses, ultimately fighting and killing both their allies and each other.
Also during the Dominion War, the Changelings began manufacturing a new variant of the Jem’Hadar within the Alpha Quadrant. This variant is more independent in temperament than their Gamma Quadrant bred fellows. As a result, the Jem’Hadar Alphas, as they are called, have actually repudiated their Changeling masters.
These Alphas have become a source of great potential disturbance within the Alpha Quadrant. They are, as of yet, a somewhat unknown quantity. Our information indicating that they have settled upon the planet Devo II, where there was a pre-existing Ketracel White manufacturing plant left by the Changelings. They have also taken a contract with Gul Madred, the leader of the Cardassian True Way, an organization calling for Cardassia to return to military rule and xenophobia. At this juncture they are merely guarding his mining operations.
The Jem’Hadar are interesting. They were on the losing side of the Dominion War, which no doubt infuriated them. I get the feeling they’re not used to losing.
Most of them went back to the Gamma Quadrant with their Changeling masters, no doubt to lick their wounds. A few, though… a few stayed here. What I would have given to see the looks on the Changelings’ faces when they realized that some of their perfect soldiers were rebelling against them! Heh. Not that Changelings have real faces; deceitful piles of slime that they are.
The Jem’Hadar, though. The ones that remained call themselves the Alphas. For Alpha Quadrant. Not a tremendously creative name, but what can you expect from a species created to be a servant race? They were never designed to be imaginative.
They fight well. They are fearless in battle, and clever. Almost honorable. But it is hard to respect such a species. They have no passion, no art! They fight not because they chose to, but because they were designed to. Still, those remaining in this quadrant are different from their predecessors. They had the imagination to turn against their masters and take their independence.
They serve as mercenaries now. Still fighting the battles of others. But they may yet prove to be a threat in their own right. They are like a cornered targ. It may seem that they’re defeated, and no longer dangerous. In reality, they may be more dangerous than ever. They have nothing to lose, and much to gain. They will take risks that more established species may not.
The Jem’Hadar bear watching. With luck, they will become truly worthy opponents.
The Jem’Hadar are believed to be the only known Dominion presence residing in the Alpha Quadrant. And it's not precisely clear where their loyalties lie.
Expect to see quite a bit of the Jem’Hadar. Despite their fractured status after the Dominion War, they’re still frequently sighted in Cardassian space.
Throughout your adventures, you’ll interact with the Jem’Hadar in a number of missions and Episodes. By far one of the most combative and adversarial species in the galaxy, friendly conversations between the Federation and Jem’Hadar are few and far between.
The Borg are an implacable force. They are, or were, one of the greatest threats the Federation has ever faced.
To call the Borg a race would be inaccurate. To call them a plague upon existence might possibly be understatement. They are cyborgs, biological life “enhanced” with technological advancements. They target and assimilate other races they deem of worth. Sometimes they choose their victims because of a technology they want to get their hands on. Sometimes they target interesting biological traits. Always, they target any race they consider a threat.
Assimilation entails a complete loss of self, of individuality. It destroys entire races. The assimilated become a part of the Borg Collective. Among the Borg, there are no individuals and the Collective rules all. The only possible exception to this is the Borg Queen. It is unclear whether she rules the Borg hive mind, or whether she is merely an instrument of the Collective.
The lack of distinct identities makes the Borg an uncanny opponent. They have no personal fears, no emotional weaknesses. They are also quite willing to sacrifice tremendous numbers of their own, because there is no true loss. Add that to their vast amounts of technology and they become nearly undefeatable. Nearly.
We almost lost the Earth in their first fully fledged attack against us. Since then, we’ve faced them several more times. The starship Voyager in particular came into contact with them repeatedly, thanks to having been stranded in the Delta Quadrant, which we believe to be where the Borg originated.
Thanks to the work Voyager did, we have far more information about Borg technology. It may be that Voyager also damaged the Borg and their transwarp hub severely enough during their last encounter to destroy the Borg. Or, at the very least, set them back several centuries.
Certainly that was the reasoning behind dissolving the Borg Task Force in 2385. I find myself less sanguine about this conclusion than many of my peers. Recent information leads me to believe that the Borg are not so quiescent, and that we may soon have cause to regret our complacency.
The Borg are a plague. Pasty white baktag, with their Collective. They have no bravery. Where there is no self, no burning desire to live, there is no courage. If you don’t even know what fear is, then you cannot conquer it!
They also have no honor. The Borg may offer their hands in treaty, but never doubt they shall turn on you should it benefit them!
We have not seen the Borg in many, many years. But we do not delude ourselves. Never trust an enemy is gone until you have shattered his bones in the wreckage of his own home. Besides, I have heard things. Rumors, if you will, that they are infiltrating the Alpha Quadrant. They’re cunning. Cunning and untrustworthy. If they are here, and I have no reason to believe they are not, it will be a grand fight to destroy them.
Expect a lot of contact with the Borg in Star Trek Online. A number of Episode Missions are dedicated to combating the Borg and managing their influence on the universe. In addition to squaring off against the hive mind, you’ll also have to contend with other factions that attempt to utilize or work with Borg technology to achieve their own ends. You may even find yourself making friends with enemies to work against the great threat the Borg pose.
We’re focusing a lot of our early development on fleshing out the Borg, as well. Over the seven weeks past launch, we’re releasing new Borg Episodes (our story-driven mission chains, written like episodes of the show) and Raid Episodes to keep players busy at higher levels. Experienced players will do battle on entire planets assimilated by the Borg, as well as meet the head of the Hive Mind, the Borg Queen. And she’s definitely not someone to be trifled with.
Most of the information we have about the Undine comes from the U.S.S. Voyager, and much of their information, in turn, comes from the Borg. Understandably, our knowledge of this unique species is rather incomplete.
The first name we knew them by was Species 8472. They are completely genetically unique from every other life form with which we have ever come into contact. Their DNA is formed by a triple helix, unlike the double helixes of other species. They are not humanoid in any way and they are able to withstand conditions in which most other species would perish. They are able to travel through the vacuum of space without taking damage, they are resistant to most known weapons – biological weapons included, and they can hide themselves from our sensors and transporters. How they do this is a complete mystery to us at present, but we can safely assume that these abilities developed in response to their native dimension, known as fluidic space.
In their natural form, they stand approximately three meters tall and have a tripedal structure. They are also, however, capable of changing shape. Their mechanism for this does not appear to be the same as that used by the Changeling race, but rather the result of an artificially induced chemical process. When seriously threatened, they appear unable to perfectly retain an assumed shape and revert to their natural forms.
We do know, thanks to the information the starship Voyager provided, that the Undine perceived all humanoids as a potential threat. It seems that their initial contact with the Borg defined their view of humanoids. It is most regrettable. However, their interactions with Voyager indicate a willingness to ignore humanoids so long as we make no incursions into their space.
In recent years the Klingons have claimed that the Undine have infiltrated multiple species and replaced key political figures. One such infiltrator identified their species as the Undine, hence the shift from calling them by their Borg designation. While we do have some evidence that such replacements have happened, we believe that the Klingon Empire has over-reacted and exaggerated the potential threat.
How can you fight an enemy who wears your own face? How can you guard against an enemy who greats you as a brother? How can you defeat an enemy who forces you to look with suspicion at all around you – your son, your mate, your leader?
They are clever. And they are relentless, these Undine. They have studied us well enough to know our ways and to know how best to hurt us. They have infiltrated the governments of many races, destroying alliances that should have been strong. It fills me with shame to admit that they have passed for Klingon so well that even I could not tell.
This is not the first time a shapechanging race has infiltrated the Alpha Quadrant. The Changelings did so once, but not so effectively as this. They did not research us the way these Undine have. They could not understand us because they so disdained “solids.” But the Undine have no such blindness. They hate us. They wish us exterminated. But they suffer no false delusions.
Ja’rod, son of Lursa, captured the first of the Undine. It was his cleverness, and his bravery, that found this threat. We Klingons were the first to see it. And we were the first to fight.
The Undine have infiltrated every power in the Alpha Quadrant. We warned them all. The Federation, the Cardassians, even the Romulans. We have freed the Gorn and the Nausicaans. But the Federation refuses to listen and instead opposes us at every turn.
It falls to the honor of the Klingon Empire to eradicate this threat, and we shall no matter the cost.
You’ll meet the Undine early in your travels, but that meeting definitely will not be the last.
The Undine, while shrouded in mystery, are an ongoing story arc in Star Trek Online. The enigmatic species makes an appearance in each season in Star Trek Online, and is a continual menace that rivals the Borg in the danger they pose to the Federation and Klingon Empire.
The Cardassians are a warlike and xenophobic people. Once they ruled a far reaching star empire with an iron fist, dominating the various native populations they conquered. They were a fierce military force. However, they are now a people barely surviving. Their ill-fated alliance with Dominion forces during the Dominion War resulted in near total destruction to the Cardassian homeworld and decimated their population. The Detapa Council, a civilian, democratic organization, came into power following the Dominion War, and has attempted to rebuild both the agriculture of the planet and the economy. Unfortunately, the council has faced considerable opposition from a group known as the True Way.
The True Way aims to return to the military order. While the Detapa Council leads Cardassia, and, indeed, the Cardassian Union, the True Way has a large and impassioned following. Quite regrettably, Cardassians have a history of turning to a strictly regimented military in times of trouble. Their homeworld has never been plentiful, resulting in a period of famine in their early history. To resolve the lack of natural resources on Cardassia Prime, the military decided to expand outward and appropriate the resources of other planets and peoples. They treated subjugated peoples as slave labor, regularly committing atrocities against the native populations. For that matter, the military government spied upon and, by many accounts, tortured their own citizens using an intelligence organization known as the Obsidian Order*.
Most unfortunately, this has limited the amount of aid that the Federation has been able to offer the Cardassians. The Federation has, naturally, made an attempt to assist in reconstruction efforts. The Andak Project, lead by Federation botanist Keiko O’Brien, is one of the few such attempts the Cardassians have allowed. The Andak project has provided agricultural assistance in rehabilitating Cardassia Prime’s depleted food resources. However, there is far more work to do to rebuild the planet.
It is worth noting that while the Cardassians have engendered animosity in numerous other species, the conflict between Bajorans and Cardassians is particularly bitter due to the brutal Cardassian Occupation of Bajor from 2328 to 2369.
*It is worth noting that the Obsidian Order seemed to be an equivalent institution to the Romulan Tal Shiar. However, the Obsidian Order was supposedly destroyed by the military government in 2371. My sources indicate that one of the current leaders of the Detapa Council is actually a former Obsidian Order operative.
The Cardassians are worthy opponents in battle. They are fierce warriors and fight with honor.
We fought, and defeated, them in the Dominion War. The Dominion suckered them, the poor qoHpu'. They had no chance once they allied with those honorless targs.
Now, the Cardassians are trying to rebuild their empire on a lifeless ball of rock. It would be a miracle if they succeeded, after the Dominion bombarded their planet at the end of the war. They rebelled against the Dominion at the end, which helped us. Distract the enemy, leave them open to attack! Yes, the Cardassians were useful. Misguided at times, but useful.
We shall see if they regain their military might, though I doubt it. I doubt it greatly. Their leading council now is far more concerned with agriculture and kowtowing to the Federation. Pah! Although rumor does say that Gul Madred is leading a potential military force known as the True Way. These next few years should be interesting for the Cardassians, if they don’t die out first.
The Cardassian civilization is a major player in Star Trek Online. You’ll find yourself interacting with members of various sub-factions, including the Detapa Council and militaristic True Way.
A major plotline in Star Trek Online features Cardassia and its politics, and will send you into Cardassia’s orbit and eventually onto terra firma. You’ll also be exploring Deep Space 9 and spending time on the previously deserted Empok Nor and Trivas.
Romulans are an enigma.
The characteristic Romulan/Vulcan auricula, brow formation and blood coloration results from a shared ancestry and makes the two races almost indistinguishable from external physiology. There the resemblance ends.
Romulans are widely regarded as being -- by many accounts and supported by Federation xenosociology analysts -- highly emotional, arrogant, ambitious, and xenophobic. Romulans -- and most especially, their governing body -- perceive many known races as inferior and will rarely and reluctantly enter into even mutually beneficial partnerships unless said relations are deemed absolutely necessary, as was the case in the Dominion War. Additionally, they are known to work against the interests of their allies whenever doing so would offer them any advantage.
Unfortunately, the Romulan long standing enmity with Vulcan has only complicated matters between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. It is worth noting that a splinter group of Romulans, perceiving the coming threat of the Hobus supernova, appealed to Vulcan for aid and were denied. Since the destruction of the Romulan homeworld in that explosion, Romulans have become even more volatile in their dealings with other species in spite of the aid offered them by the Federation and Federation allies.
Klingon and Romulan conflict has also worsened as the Klingon Empire, perceiving weakness in their old opponents, has made incursions into Romulan space.
At present the Romulan Empire is attempting to recover from the loss of Romulus and establish a stable government. It was perhaps fortunate for the Federation that the Romulans were unable to settle upon a leader for any extended time in the last several years. Such internal instability has no doubt prevented the Romulans from extending hostilities even further within the Alpha Quadrant.
The only good thing about Romulans is their ale.
Romulans are pointy eared bastard Vulcans, except not as smart as Vulcans. But just as annoying. They count themselves warriors, but they aren’t. They’re rabid beasts. Sly, unreliable, willing to dine upon the corpses of their brothers to survive. Oh, not that Romulans are cannibals -- that I know of -- but they sacrifice each other’s interests more easily than breathing.
The pack of them have been at each other’s throats since the Federation killed off Praetor Shinzon -- who wasn’t even a Romulan -- but I digress. The Praetor after him was murdered in her sleep. After her, there were three or four different factions warring for power. One of them even styled herself Empress, before she got herself killed in the supernova.
Those Romulan fools were so busy fighting each other, they didn’t notice their planet getting blown up under their feet.
Oh, but we did. The Klingon Empire noticed. Like hounds, we could smell the blood slowly spilling out of the Romulan Empire. And we leapt to the hunt, tearing at their flank.
Of course the Federation tried to make peace between us. Pah! Foolishness. There can be no peace with the Romulans. They’ll swear alliance with you and then slay your children as they lie in their beds, as they did on Khitomer. And then the traitorous scum will smile at you, as if nothing at all has happened. The Federation will learn soon enough, if they haven’t already.
We’re ready for them, though. And it will be a glorious day when we slay the Romulans, destroying their Empire and taking vengeance upon them for all of their betrayals.
The Romulans feature heavily in Star Trek Online. The Empire is just beginning to recover from the decentralization caused by Romulus’ destruction, and not every Romulan faction is friendly to outsiders.
Captains will spend a great deal of time interacting with the Romulans throughout the game, and an entire Season (Episode arc) is dedicated to exploring Romulan space.
While players will not be able to join the Romulan faction at launch, it’s possible to create Romulan-styled Captains who can join either the Federation or Klingon Empire using our unprecedented Alien Gen character creator.
Players will work with and against different Romulan factions to solve a host of problems, like warding off Borg attacks on the weakened Empire, performing counter-espionage and engaging in peacekeeping efforts between the Romulans and Remans. These are just a few episodes of a long story that will become yours in Star Trek Online.
The United Federation of Planets is an alliance of hundreds of different species, all working together towards a common goal. As one of the greatest servants of the Federation once said, it is “a dream that became a reality and spread throughout the stars.”
We uphold the rights of all species to justice, equality, and liberty. We also believe in the pursuit of knowledge and exploration. To that end, we created Starfleet. It serves as our peace-keeping and exploratory arm. In times of need, it also serves as our defense.
In 2161 Vulcans, Humans, Andorians, and Tellarites joined together into an alliance that later became the Federation. What began as a pact for mutual protection against the Romulans became something far greater. Since that day, we have encountered and initiated diplomatic relations with countless new species. We have advanced scientific knowledge within the Alpha Quadrant. We have also reached out the olive branch of peace across several quadrants.
We have faced dark times, however. We have warred with the Klingons upon several different occasions, although there have been times when we reached an alliance of mutual respect. We have faced threats from the Romulans, although today we aid them in rebuilding after the loss of their planet. We battled against the implacable forces of the Borg, although we have also given succor to those who were once Borg. We have proven our ability to put aside grievances and work for the good of all: we united with both Romulans and Klingons to protect our quadrant from the ravages of the Dominion.
The Federation will always, must always, fight to protect the rights of all species.
They call themselves the United Federation of Planets. In reality, they’re the United Federation of nosy, gossipy, meddlesome do-gooders! They claim everything they do is for the greater good, to promote “peaceful exploration.” Never trust a species that claims to put the interests of others first. It means they’re either selling something or trying to steal your bat’leth.
The Federation will boast about the vast number of planets and species they represent, but make no mistake, it is the Humans who control the Federation. The center of the Federation government is on the Human homeworld. For a wonder, the current President of the Federation is a Suarian and not a Human, but I doubt he does anything the Humans don’t approve.
The Vulcans are the other great power within the Federation, and the Humans are absolutely in awe of the passionless bastards. The Andorians and Tellarites co-founded the Federation with the Vulcans and Humans, but their influence is not so great in comparison.
Starfleet – the military arm of the Federation – claims to observe a “Prime Directive” not to interfere with other species. But all they do is interfere. They involve themselves in conflicts that don’t affect them, like our war with the Gorn or our battles with the Romulans. And what a mess they made between the Bajorans and the Cardassians! The Bajorans are calling for vengeance on all of Cardassia, and the Federation can’t provide it. Somehow, even under Federation surveillance, the Cardassians managed to misplace every last “war criminal.” And let us not forget it was the Federation that brought us the Borg!
The Federation has been a thorn in the side of the Klingon Empire for longer than I care to admit. But not for much longer, I suspect. Not for very much longer.
The Federation is a playable faction in Star Trek Online. Captains are able to play as one of many races, including but not limited to Humans, Bolians, Andorians and Bajorans. As a member of Starfleet, Federation players have access to a host of ships and configurations, all of which can be customized to fit any Captain’s play style.
Federation gameplay is broken up into “seasons,” which are themed and feature Episode missions that develop Star Trek Online’s story. The three seasons available at launch will feature Klingon, Romulan and Borg storylines that eventually weave together in a compelling plot.
However, there’s more to do than participate in your own Episodes. Members of the Federation will be able to explore procedurally-generated Star Clusters to truly go where no one has gone before. And for the battle-hardened Captain, PvP combat with Klingon players isn’t out of the question, either.
Physically, Klingons are quite imposing. They possess a ridged exoskeleton encasing their craniums, giving them the distinctive Klingon forehead. They also are in possession of systemic redundancy, referred to as “brak’lul.” Notably, Klingons possess duplicates of all major organs. No doubt this was evolutionarily advantageous considering their seemingly genetic predisposition toward violence.
The Klingons are a warrior race. Proud of their battle prowess, their willingness to fight, and their code of honor, they can frequently be found in conflict with members of other races. This occurs both on an individual and governmental level.
In the past the Federation has had a complicated relationship with the Klingon Empire. Initial contacts were primarily negative, ultimately culminating in the Federation-Klingon War of 2267. Over time, the Federation and the Klingon Empire were able to come to a truce in 2293 with the signing of the Khitomer Accords. During the Dominion War of the 2370s, the two became active allies.
Unfortunately, in 2399 the Klingons withdrew from the Khitomer Accords, possibly because of the negative response of the Federation to a Klingon invasion of the Gorn Hegemony. In spite of Federation censure, the Klingon Empire continued in their attacks against the Gorn, ultimately annexing the Gorn Hegemony in 2403. Since then, the Klingon Empire has also allied with the Nausicaans. This is in addition to their alliance with the Orions, dating back to 2394.
The Klingons and the Romulans, both with expansionist military empires, have a very intense history of conflict with each other. In the aftermath of the Hobus supernova, which significantly damaged the Romulan Empire, the Klingons have opportunistically begun making forays into Romulan territory. Ironically, the two species share considerable genetic similarities.
We are receiving intelligence that indicates further military preparations on the part of the Klingon Empire and their allies. The likelihood that the Federation will be able to avoid another war with the Klingons is becoming a dim hope.
The Klingon Empire is perhaps one of the greatest empires ever to have existed, and I say this with all due modesty. Our warriors are fierce beyond measure, our musician and poets beyond compare. We are the stuff of legends, even if many of them are our own!
We have seen harsh times, though. Never doubt that the Klingon spirit has been tempered in the flames of adversity. We have fought against impossible odds time and again, and won through. We took tremendous losses in the Dominion War of the 2370s. But we survived and triumphed and drank blood wine in the wreckage of the Dominion headquarters. And though they will not admit it now, the Federation and the Romulans could not have survived without us. Bah! Cowards, both!
The Orions, ah, the Orions make properly grateful allies. We gave them a planet and our protection, and they gave us beautiful women to serve our great houses. The Gorn, as well, make decent allies, once we defeated them and took over their Hegemony. They swore allegiance to us, so we allowed them their own government. Never say the Klingon Empire is not generous.
The Nausicaans ally with us as well. They sense the coming battle. They know that the Klingon Empire cannot fail.
Chancellor J’mpok leads us into a new golden age for the Klingon Empire. While the Federation rambles ever on about peace and equality and diplomacy, and the Romulans plot and murder each other, and the Cardassians desperately try to salvage what little is left of their civilization, we shall take over the Quadrant.
The Klingon Empire is a playable faction in Star Trek Online. It’s comprised of the Klingon Defense Force, the Gorn Hegemony, and the Nausicaan and Orion civilizations. Similar to the Federation, members of the Klingon Empire will advance through a number of different ships as they progress in their journey to conquer the universe.
Life as a Klingon is very combat-oriented, as fans of Star Trek will definitely appreciate. While Klingons are able to pursue Tactical, Scientific and Engineering careers, they’re still expected to fight their enemies and bring glory to their Houses. Much of their time in Star Trek Online will be on the front lines of the ongoing war between the Empire and the Federation, engaged in intense PvP battles with their most hated adversaries … and members of rival Houses.
