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The Dominion
Basic information
Major Species
Capital(s)

Founder's Homeworld

Founded

8000 BCE As "The Dominion Alliance"

Warp Capable

7905 BCE

Official Language

Dominionese

Official Currency

Unknown

Political Information
Military Branches

Jem'Hadar


"The Dominion has endured for over two thousand years, and will continue to endure long after the Federation has crumbled into dust." - Weyoun 4

The Dominion is a major galactic political power, whose influence is currently exerted over exactly 4,003 planets in the Gamma Quadrant. By the year 2372, the Dominion had existed for two thousand years in its current form, along with a previous eight thousand years as "The Dominion Alliance. The Dominion was created by the Changelings, a species of shapeshifters native to a rogue planet within the Omarion Nebula, who referred to themselves as "the Founders."


History

See Dominion War

Government

Absolute rule of the Dominion remained in the hands of the Founders and their Great Link, whose decisions could not be disputed under any circumstances. However, the Founders were largely content to leave the administration of the Dominion's daily affairs to the Vorta. The loyalty of the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar was genetically-engineered, which in most cases ensured absolute obedience to the Founders. The Founders themselves were rarely seen, even by their servant races, and were treated as gods or myths. Due to such a social standing within the Dominion, most of what the Dominion's member races carried out were often for the glory of the Founders, or to please them in some way, similar to how religious figures prayed or carried out an action to please their god(s).

A Dominion political strategy frequently used was to not use its military might during initial contacts, but rather, to take over via influence and espionage. While Jem'Hadar fighters destroyed the Odyssey as a show of force, the Dominion used its vast influential and espionage tactics to destabilize the Alpha Quadrant. For example, the Dominion precipitated a war between the Cardassian Union and the Klingon Empire, and then struck an alliance with the Cardassian Union, knowing full well they would accept due to their dire state, so as to gain support and a foothold in the Alpha Quadrant before deploying its military power.

They also showed an impressive ability to produce ships and soldiers at a far faster rate than any other power, with Dominion Shipyards capable of turning out a single fully-functional Jem'Hadar fighter every twenty three days. While many theories are abound about how they accomplish this, the primary theory contends that, aside from the minimalist design of their vessels, the Dominion produce many of the necessary components to construct their vessels in sections in an assembly line fashion, allowing for each section to be assembled quickly rather than as apart of the ship all at once.


Language

By the time of Federation Contact, Dominionese was at least one common language used by the Dominion. However, with the number of civilizations which the Dominion encompassed combined with the stratification of Dominion society, it is more likely that the language was more specific to the Founders, Vorta and Jem'Hadar than to its client races. As such, it is as yet unknown if the numerous Dominion member races maintained or used race-specific or planet-specific tongues amongst themselves, or if they used Dominionese at all times.

The Dominion also had a written language, as seen when the Female Changeling signed the Treaty of Bajor ending the Dominion War. While many examples of this language exists, there are few within the Federation whom have fully decoded the written aspect. It is believed that the language itself consists of two distinct parts which operate as two sub-dialects: one which is used almost exclusively by the Founders, and a second which is more commonly used by the Vorta, Jem'Hadar, and possibly by client species.


Economy

Little is known about the Dominion's economy; it is, however, presumed to be massive in size considering the amount of territory occupied and controlled. The Karemma, for example, were known to be involved in commerce, but the extent to which their activities affected the over-all economy of the Dominion Empire is a mystery. Presumably, the commodities required to build and maintain the Dominion's immense military and cloning operations were sourced from subjugated planets and shuffled accrodingly, with shortfalls addressed by Jem'Hadar shock troops.


Member Species

The Dominion was comprised of several "member races", as the Founders claimed to control the destinies of hundreds of species.

The Dominion was founded on the principle of control, with the intent being to neutralize any potential threat to the Founders by whatever means necessary. In cases involving cooperative species such as the Karemma, the extent of Dominion interference was fairly minimal and restricted to material support. However, if the target species was or became less cooperative, the Jem'Hadar would be dispatched to wipe out any opposition. The fear of massive Jem'Hadar reprisals was enough to keep most planets in line. For a prospective member, at first contact the Dominion may have appeared helpful, or even benevolent. A typical Dominion strategy was to make concessions in the short term for an advantage in the longer term, which may have been centuries in advance.

The more notable member races included:

Technology

By the time of the Dominion War, Dominion technology appeared to have significantly outpaced that of most Alpha Quadrant species.

Instead of phased energy or disruptor beams, Jem'Hadar rifles emitted powerful polaron beams which had the side effect of acting as an anticoagulant in some humanoids, thereby impeding the natural wound healing process.

Similarly, Dominion warships displayed more impressive firepower than their Alpha Quadrant counterparts. Phased polaron beams were mounted on all Jem'Hadar attack ships. These initially cut through Federation shielding without effort; however, the DS9 crew subsequently managed to adapt their shields to withstand Dominion weapons for short periods. The Breen also wielded a huge advantage on the battlefield with an energy dissipating weapon capable of disabling Federation and Romulan vessels with a single shot. Effective countermeasures were eventually developed by Starfleet engineers.

Dominion transporters utilized transponders which enabled them to transport individuals across distances as far as three light years.

Dominion warp capability was less advanced when compared to most major Alpha Quadrant species. A Dominion fighter was capable of at least warp 7 and a battle cruiser was capable of at least warp 4.7.

While some Dominion technology was in many ways more advanced than that of the Federation, one Vorta lamented that Starfleet engineers were famed for being able to "turn rocks into replicators". At least some Dominion technology was manufactured by Dominion member species; it is known, for example, that at least one type of torpedo carried on board Jem'Hadar attack vessels was sold to the Dominion by the Karemma, a Dominion member. The Jem'Hadar did, however, seem capable of performing not only some minor and emergency repairs but also understanding complex engineering on even Starfleet vessels.

See also


Credits

Information on what Pegasus Fleet considers Trek Canon on this topic can be found at: Memory Alpha.
Some or all of this information may have been made up by the Galactic Anthropology Committee.