As the war dragged on, fluctuating from minor Dominion advances to more of a stalemate,
the Founders grew frustrated and sought out new allies, identifying the Breen Confederacy,
as a strong warrior species, capable of bringing them victory.
The Dominion may even have sent an infiltrator to replace an influential person in their
society, in order to convince them to enter the war.
After months of secret communiations, Thot Gor of the Breen Confederacy, travelled to
Cardassian space and signed a treaty of alliance.
Yet with the Dominion desperate to gain their support, the Breen were able to demand a great
deal in return, annexing a number of Cardassian planets, with an added promise of controlling
Earth and Romulus once the war was won.
Determined to strike fear into the heart of the Federation, the Breen began by organizing
a direct attack against Earth, targeting Starfleet headquarters.
Although most of their ships were lost in the battle, Thot Gor remarked that is was
a small price to pay for such a great victory.
The Breen then engaged in the Second Battle of Chintoka, using energy dampening weapons
to drain enemy ships of power, so they might be easily destroyed.
Although many alliance vessels were lost, a single Klingon ship survived, as their engineer
had made an adjustment to their warp core, which unintentionally made them immune to
the Breen weapon.
General Martok then ordered all ship in the Klingon fleet to make similar adjustments,
leaving the Empire to stand alone against the Dominion, while their allies upgraded
their vessels to withstand this new technology.
Unfortunately, it was at this most critical time, that Chancellor Gowron of the Klingon
Empire chose to play political games, purposefully sending Martok on missions doomed to fail,
as he feared the General’s growing reputation amongst their people.
Although the General was so loyal, he was willing to die for the Empire, even on a mission
he knew was foolish, Lieutenant Commander Worf of Starfleet, who was also a member of
the House of Martok, refused to accept the situation, engaging Gowron in a fight to the
death.
And while Worf was victorious, and by all rights might have claimed leadership over
the Empire, he instead insisted that Martok take the position, allowing them to once again
focus on the war.
With the Breen given charge over much of the invasion effort, the Dominion once again began
to make advances.
Yet all was not well within the Dominion alliance, as the Cardassian people continued to suffer
heavy losses in blood and treasure, while also losing influence and territory.
A true patriot, Legate Damar was furious with the generous terms given to the Breen, having
been forced to sign a document allowing for the annexation of Cardassian planets to their
new allies.
And so he grew increasingly depressed and angry, drinking to numb the pain of his people’s
humiliation.
Yet when he was at his lowest, he reconnected with his old commander Dukat, who reminded
him of what a courageous warrior he once was, telling him to take back control of his life
and become the leader the Cardassian people needed.
After hearing his old friend’s words, Damar finally had enough of being a Dominion puppet,
gathering together his most trusted allies to form the Cardassian Liberation Front, determined
to win back his people’s independence.
The rebellion launched several successful attacks, including the destruction of the
last Dominion cloning facility in the Alpha Quadrant on Rondak III , and even reached
out to the Federation for an alliance against their shared enemy.
Unfortunately, the movement was eventually betrayed and their forces massacred, but they
served a useful purpose in the overall war effort, as they’d distracted the Dominion
long enough for the Federation Alliance to upgrade their ships to fight against the Breen.
With their Advantage lost, the Dominion accepted that this war would be a prolonged struggle,
and so pulled back all forces into Cardassian space, returning the galaxy to pre-war borders.
However this was merely a tactical withdrawal, designed to shorten their supply lines while
extending those of the enemy and giving them a smaller area to keep secure so they could
focus on growing their army and fleet.
Realizing that this situation benefited the Dominion, the Federation Alliance chose to
launch a final assault into the heart of Cardassian Space, in order to end the war once and for
all.
Despite the resolve of the Alliance, the Breen, Jem’Hadar and Cardassians stood an excellent
chance of winning the battle, if not for the continued interference of Damar, who had survived
the destruction of the rebellion, and was now rallying the citizens of Cardassia Prime
against their oppressors.
In response to his efforts, the Dominion unwisely chose punish the general population, killing
two million of their citizens in the bombing of Lakarian city.
Yet rather than terrify the Cardassians into submision, it stirred them further to anger,
leading to rioting in the streets, and even convincing the Cardassian Fleet to turn against
the Breen and Jem Hadar in the midst of the Battle of Cardassia.
The unexpected attack caused chaos in the Dominion Fleet, forcing them to withdraw to
Cardassia Prime for their last stand.
Meanwhile, Dominion headquarters came under attack, and while Damar was killed in the
fighting, his forces continued on and took the building, killing Weyoun and capturing
the Female Founder.
And while she was prepared for a fight to the death, she was convinced to surrender
after linking with Odo, a member of her species who had sided with the Federation and promised
that if she surrendered, he would go to the Gamma Quadrant and deliver the cure for the
Morphegenic Virus to their people.
And so in 2375, Dominion and Alliance representatives witnessed the signing of the Treaty of Bajor,
bring an end to this devastating conflict.
Among the terms of this treaty, the Dominion lost all their territory in the Alpha Quadrant
leaving the Breen and Cardassians as sovereign powers once more.
In addition, they agreed that the Female Founder would stand trial for war crimes, while all
Dominion military forces promptly returned to the Gamma Quadrant.
Although peace was restored pre-war borders were reinstated, the balance of power in the
region had shifted significantly by the end of the conflict.
Having been on the front lines for much of the fighting, the Klingon empire was significantly
weakened, though they had also gained territory, as they remained in possession of the Cardassian
planets captured before the start of the Dominion War.
The Cardassian Union itself was utterly devastated, enduring most of the collateral destruction,
leaving them a shell of their former self, forced to rebuild their civilization.
And while the Federation and Romulan Star Empire, also suffered heavy losses, they remained
the most significant super powers in the start of the post war era.