Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #10!Star Trek just kicked off a new destiny for the Cardassians, beginning with a brutal massacre. The Cardassians are one of the Star Trek franchise’s primary antagonists, but they suffered horribly during the Dominion War. The second arc of IDW’s Star Trek title has shown the aftermath of the War, and in issue 10, a new day dawns for the Cardassians - but it begins with bloodshed.
Star Trek #10 is written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, drawn by Mike Feehan, inked by Manuel Bracchi, colored by Lee Loughridge and lettered by Clayton Cowles. In previous issues, Captain Sisko was brought to Cardassia Prime to stand trial for his crimes during the Dominion War. Numerous Cardassians, all with grudges against Sisko, were invited to testify. Finally, it looked as if Sisko was going to be killed by a Cardassian firing squad - but suddenly they turn and open fire on the Cardassians who testified; a move Legate Damar calls "justice."
The Cardassians Have a Brutal History
Once the dust settles, Damar reveals to Sisko that it was indeed a trial - but of the Cardassian people, not Sisko. Damar’s reformation efforts were being hampered by the ghosts of old Cardassia, and he wished to purge them - thus the trial, which gathered all his political enemies in one place. Damar goes on to tell Sisko that while the Cardassians will never be the utopian Federation, they will go into the future with "heads held high." Garak, a former agent of the Obsidian Order, is impressed with the young Damar's plan, expressing happiness that "Cardassian blood still runs cold."
The Cardassians' Greatest Foe Is Not the Federation, But Themselves
For nearly a century, the Cardassians occupied Bajor, stripping it of nearly all its resources and leaving the people broken and depleted. Later, the Cardassians allied themselves with the Dominion, which sealed their fate as an empire. In the wake of the war, the Cardassians were just as broken as the Bajorans before them, and there have been several unsuccessful attempts to rebuild. But First Speaker Damar knew that before the Cardassians could rise again, their society's old ideals needed to die - and, in his view, their holders with them. Yet Damar finished his opponents off in a very Cardassian fashion, leaving it ambiguous if they will truly shed their old ways.
There Is Hope for the Cardassians
There is a glimmer of hope. In an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, Crewman Daniels, from the 29th century, revealed that by the 26th century, the Cardassians will have ed the Federation. Furthermore, in Star Trek: Discovery’s 32nd century, the Federation president is half-Cardassian, half-Bajoran, implying that 1,000 years into the future, not only have the Cardassians become peaceful, but they have resolved their issues with the Bajorans. It would seem there are brighter days ahead for the Cardassians, but fans don't yet know if they began with this slaughter, or if this presages an even darker era ahead of Star Trek's distant future.
Star Trek #10 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!
