Major Powers / Galactic Threats
Romulan Star Empire
Having been a major galactic power since as early as the 22nd century, even the destruction of their home system did not mean the end of the Romulan Star Empire (RSE). After over three decades of in-fighting, the RSE of the present day is generally considered to be a mere shadow of its former glory. The Romulan Star Navy is now largely a pawn of the secretive Tal Shiar. Despite Empress Sela’s disappearance, the RSE continues to control a considerable area of space and though their appearances have become less common, the Tal Shiar still pose a significant threat when they choose to act.
The Dominion
Following the end of their devastating war with the Alpha Quadrant in 2375, the Dominion had very little contact with the Federation for over three decades. It wasn’t until the awakening of the Hur’q in 2417 that the Dominion returned to the galactic stage, with their own multi-pronged efforts to stymie the threat. Despite massive reservations, the threat of the Hur’q was deemed too great to turn away any potential allies, so the Alliance reluctantly acquiesced to the Dominion’s pleas for assistance and became critical to the defense of the Founders’ new homeworld of Empersa.
As a token of gratitude, the Dominion pledged their support and even some of their forces to bolster the Alliance and has maintained mostly peaceful relations since. As a condition of their acceptance, however, the Dominion was required to promise to free the Jem’Hadar from their addiction to Ketracel-white, though no specific deadline was determined and the process of completely eliminating Ketracel addiction from the Jem’Hadar population is expected to take decades, if not longer. While some numbers of Jem’Hadar have chosen to undergo the experimental procedures and take advantage of their newfound freedom to discover new ways of life, the vast majority have elected to remain in service to the Founders. Most sources predict that even without their addiction, the Jem’Hadar will continue to be a loyal and effective fighting force for the Dominion.
For information on playing as a member of the Dominion, please see Dominion Service and Free Agents.
Borg Collective
The first alien adversary to pose a threat to the Federation on an apocalyptic scale has had multiple victories and setbacks since the Federation’s first brush with them, but they remain a significant force to contend with. With a new Queen hiding safely away somewhere, clusters of Borg continue to drift undeterred through the galaxy, assimilating persons or species of interest and occasionally attempting more calculatedly sophisticated gambits in their dogged pursuit of perfection.
Terran Empire
The Terran Empire, or Imperial Starfleet, from the Mirror Universe alternate dimension is generally considered by Starfleet Intelligence to be a low priority threat, as their ability to cross into Prime Universe remains sporadic and unsustainable at best. Though they seem to harbor a motivation to conquer Prime Universe, Intelligence suspects that the constant warring within the Mirror Universe occupies too much of the Terrans’ time for them to properly focus on an invasion effort into Prime Universe.
Undine
With their ability to open portals from Fluidic Space and their unparalleled shapeshifting skills, Undine have historically been presented as a very dangerous species. Despite their extreme xenophobia, they are also isolationist and have been generally pacified as a faction as a result of Admiral Tuvok’s direct intervention (“Mindscape” episode).
Iconians & Heralds
The most deadly threat that all galactic denizens have historically faced, significant enough to have folded just about every Milky Way faction into temporary alliance in order to resist their assaults. On the eve of their total victory over the alliance, the Iconians halted their assault on the Sol System, and a peace was declared a short time later. The Iconians and their servitors have retreated back within the Dyson Sphere surrounding the Iconia System, and an area of several lightyears around the system has been designated an exclusion zone, into which entry by non-Iconian vessels is strictly prohibited. The reason for their withdrawal is either not known or tightly classified by the leadership of the alliance.
Elachi & Solanae
Like the Heralds, the Elachi and Solanae have been confirmed as servitor races for the Iconians, with Solanae being the significantly lesser-seen of the two due to their inability to survive in normal space. Both races are usually utilized by the Iconians to accomplish specific tasks or goals for their masters and are tactically on par with the native Alpha/Beta species. Neither has been seen more than briefly since the end of the Iconian War, and are considered by Starfleet Intelligence to be low priority threats as long as the Iconians remain in a state of isolation.
Tzenkethi Coalition
After suffering defeats against both the Federation and the Klingons in the early 24th century, the reptilian Tzenkethi withdrew to their own space and remained reclusive for almost a century. When they finally emerged in 2416, they did so with a vengeance. Striking out seemingly at random, the Tzenkethi make use of protomatter-based weaponry to annihilate entire planets. They engaged in open warfare with the Alpha Quadrant Alliance, with the goal of eliminating the dormant Hur’q species, seeded on planets throughout the galaxy. Following a failed assault on Bajor, a cease-fire was established. The Tzenkethi briefly aided the Alliance against the now-revealed Hur’q threat, but soon returned to their isolationist tendencies. Despite the current lack of contact, intelligence sources have reported corruption and even a possible coup at the highest levels of the Coalition. Starfleet believes the Tzenkethi Coalition to be a low priority threat as long as they are inclined to maintain their isolation.
Hur'q & Drantzuli
Ancient conquerors of the Klingons, the Hur’q are an insectoid race that was driven to a vicious single-minded state of destructive consumption by Dominion biological manipulation, thousands of years ago. The unique orbit of their home planet resulted in a species on a thousand-year hibernation cycle. The most recent awakening took place in 2417, resulting in a period of conflict spanning the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma quadrants. The Hur’q, and their Drantzuli ‘attendants’, were later ‘cured’ of their affliction and called a cease-fire, ending the conflict as the Hur’q withdrew to their own space. The Alliance is maintaining a presence in Hur’q space with the goal of ensuring a lasting peace.