Shadows and Drakh (B5) in Deep Space Nine (ST)

[DarthOne]

About several dozen dozen worlds with Shadow bases and outposts (from about 2259-2260 in the B5 universe) on them 'replace' pre-existing uninhabited and resource-poor worlds or systems in the Badlands, unclaimed territory between the Cardassian-Federation border or beyond Cardassian Space in the Star Trek Milky Way.

These worlds have a good number of Shadows and Shadow spaceships on them, as well as various other servant-races and agents of the forces of darkness. Including the elements of three Drakh clans, a rogue techno-mage or three, various agents belonging to the B5 'Younger Races' (including humans), as well as Zenar, 'Soldiers of Darkness' and Goblyns.

While I am interested to see everyone's opinion over who would win, I'm more curious to hear how you ladies and gents think the Shadows and their forces would interact with/view the various powers of the Alpha, Beta and Gamma Quadrants.

Scenario 1: the Shadows and their forces show up in the Star Trek Milky Way during 2366.
Scenario 2: the Shadows and their forces show up in the Star Trek Milky Way during 2370.

Note: The B5 Expanded Universe is in play here. Oh and for purposes of sanity, STD is regarded as non-canon for the purposes of this discussion/verses.

Since Babylon 5 isn't as well known these days as it should be, I've taken the liberty of including brief descriptions of the Shadows and their various servitor races and agents below.


Forces of Darkness:
The Shadows:

Spoiler

An ancient and powerful race from the Babylon 5 universe, whose real name is over 10,000 letters long when translated and is completely unpronounceable for humans or similar species. Their (adopted) homeworld is called Z'ha'dum. The Shadows themselves are rarely seen by those who do not serve them, thanks to their advanced cloaking and phasing technology. That said, they resemble six-foot tall black praying mantises with multiple glowing orange eyes.

The Shadows believe that advancement and growth can only come from conflict. Free will, chaos, survival of the fittest-these are the catchphrases of the Shadow ideology. For them, there is nothing greater then having a choice. Thus, every thousand years, the Shadows help start wars among the 'younger' space-faring races. The races who survive the conflict with each other become stronger, smarter and better.

One should note that, unlike the Chaos gods of Warhammer 40k, the Shadows do not want total chaos. Nothing can arise from it and they know this. But total order is just as bad too. It is between total order and total chaos that complexity lies. That, for the Shadows, is where everything interesting and wonderful happens.

Because of this outlook, the Shadows would see nothing wrong with the Cardassian’s invasion and occupation of Bajor. But by that same token, they would also see nothing wrong with the Bajorans forcing the Cardassians off-world.

As a final note, the Shadows have never believed they are innately superior like so many other elder races across fiction do. Instead, they rejoiced in every victory because they won it through strength, will and cunning.

Technology level: Like the other First Ones, the Shadows are somewhere around the 26th-30th century Federation technologically speaking. Though like each First One Race, they have their own specializations and shortcomings.

The Drakh:

Spoiler

The most numerous of the Shadow’s servant-races, the Drakh are fanatically loyal to the cause of the Shadows. To the Drakh, the Shadows are parents, teachers and dark angels with eyes of fire.

Drakh are reptilian in appearance, possessing a stocky build with heavy endo and exo-skeletal systems, along with scaly skin that is dark gray or green in appearance. They also have a sort of hivemind, known as ‘The Entire’ which allows them to communicate over vast distances of space.

The Drakh do not posses a homeworld, instead living in vast fleets of ships capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of Drakh. As a result, while the Drakh are easily equal in power to factions like the Romulan or Klingon Empires, they have no borders or colony worlds to pin them down.

Drakh forces:

Clan Dacu

Spoiler

-small in number
+expert pilots, especially in atmospheric flight. Ships are more heavily armed and have more powerful engines.
+Skilled ecologists

• No clanships or Templeships
• Don’t reproduce via cloning- seen as throwback by the rest of the Drakh, though the Shadows respect them for their tenacity.
• probably settle a world or two beyond federation space

+world of Shak’zor brought over, beyond Cardassian space. Dacu ‘homeworld’ for millennia.

• Favored class, agent.

Clan Rohr

Spoiler

• Note, this would be before the Vorlons blew up most of their fleet.
• Not much is known of them pre 2260, besides they did have clan ships and templeships. And were good soldiers.

If the Drakh could fight, or even strenuously disagree, then the rohr would really hate the shan. The two clans were rivals back on Draas, and their rivalry continued even when they were both serving the Shadows.

The rohr are the best fighters among the Drakh, both on the ground and in space. In addition to using organic technology to augment their Warrior Caste, they have bred superior, specialized fighters. The rohr have the most individuality of any of the Drakh; as a result of this, they have less sway in the Entire than any other clan.

• Favored class, officer.

Clan Shan

Spoiler

The shan were once the architects of Drakh civilization. On Draas, they were the most advanced of the clans, both technologically and culturally, until the Shadows came. The shan are conquerors, true, but they were also builders and traders. On a better world than Draas, the shan might have made a truly great civilization.

During the Drakh’s time on Z’ha’dum, the shan became especially loyal to the Shadows. They embraced the principles of evolution through conflict and chaos more fully than any of the other clans, including even the kala.

• Has a ‘large and powerful’ fleet.
• Favored class, agent.

Other servants of Darkness:

‘Soldiers of Darkness’

Spoiler

These minions have been used by the Shadows for millions of years. They are created either by being grown-whole sale or by transforming members of the Younger Races with organic technology, in a process similar to that used for making Shadow Thralls. Their primary purpose is as assassins.

Physically, they resemble demonic carnivorous reptiles that stand at a towering 5–6 meters (16–20 ft). The servants of darkness have the same phasing and invisibility technologies as their creators, although this is a lesser version of it.

The Zener

Spoiler

A cold race of technicians and scholars, the Zener are little more than tools. Much of their ability to maintain and use Shadow technology comes from the Shadows themselves. While the Zener are very good at conducting experiments and recording data, their ability to make progress or actually learn anything is severely limited.

Like the Drakh, the Zener have no homeworld. They are dependent on the Drakh for transport, but dislike space travel. The Zener prefer to dwell in cloaked space stations in isolated systems, where they can conduct their cruel science in peace. They are genderless and propagate their race through cloning.

Goblyns:

Spoiler

A sub-species of Soldiers of Darkness, Goblyns are roughly human in size and shape, but with large cat -like eyes and sharp teeth. However, their stamina and agility surpasses that of humans. On the other hand, well-aimed shots with energy weapons are just as deadly for them as normal species. Like the Soldiers of Darkness and the Shadows themselves, Goblyns leave no body upon dying, only a smoking scorch mark on the ground where they perished.

Unusually for servants of the Shadows, they’re telepathic and tend to communicate between themselves telepathically as well. This telepathic ability is used in conjunction with their ability to camouflage themselves by taking on the texture and coloration of their surroundings, like chameleons. This is usually done while spying, or trying to mess with their victims' minds, planting suggestions in their brains with their telepathy.

Shadow Agents

Spoiler

The Shadows have a long practice for recruiting agents and followers among the Younger Races. There are always those drawn to power and chaos, so as soon as the Shadows begin to move, suitable agents are quick to present themselves. They are missionaries of chaos, searching for those willing to listen to the siren call of war and ambition. They are your best friends, your best allies, the harbingers of nightmare and carnage.

The Shadows know that the Younger Races understand themselves better than the Shadows ever could. It is these agents that give the Shadows insight into the changing galaxy. A tiny handful of agents backed up with the nearly unstoppable power of the Shadow fleets is enough to bring the galaxy spiraling down into chaos.

 

[Scottty]

Well, your Shadows and Drakh/etc forces will be the first to notice that they've been moved to somewhere completely different from where they were.
If they're smart, they'll try to learn about the Alpha Quadrant species before staring any fights.

 

[DarthOne]

Well, your Shadows and Drakh/etc forces will be the first to notice that they've been moved to somewhere completely different from where they were.
If they're smart, they'll try to learn about the Alpha Quadrant species before staring any fights.

True enough, though they’d have to be idiots not to do those things. And whatever one might wish to say about the Shadows and the Drakh, they aren’t idiots.

(Thinks about the Drakh’s temper tantrum after the Shadows left aka the Drakh Plague and Drakh Wars)

...Well, at least not most of the time.

 

[Harlock]

I expect standard procedure would be to assess the local cultures by grabbing some random individuals and ships before infiltrating the major societies. Weigh them up, figure out what the threats and ambitions are within this region of space, then determine if they can be turned toward the goal of evolution through conflict.

This is something that would take years and decades during which time the Shadows would be hidden and quiet, they are afterall a very patient group I can see them appreciating the Klingons a lot and likely respecting the Cardassians and Romulans. The Federation might be open to their intentions but the Klingons are bound to be favourites.
Borg and Dominion would be natural enemies and would be marked for destruction by their proxies. or if that failed directly.

Whether they succeed who can say Probably deserves a good bit of crossover fiction

 

[DarthOne]

I expect standard procedure would be to assess the local cultures by grabbing some random individuals and ships before infiltrating the major societies. Weigh them up, figure out what the threats and ambitions are within this region of space, then determine if they can be turned toward the goal of evolution through conflict.

This is something that would take years and decades during which time the Shadows would be hidden and quiet, they are afterall a very patient group I can see them appreciating the Klingons a lot and likely respecting the Cardassians and Romulans. The Federation might be open to their intentions but the Klingons are bound to be favourites.
Borg and Dominion would be natural enemies and would be marked for destruction by their proxies. or if that failed directly.

Whether they succeed who can say Probably deserves a good bit of crossover fiction

That's not a bad idea actually. I might write that myself, especially if I have people to bounce ideas off of.

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge to anyone who'd like to volunteer....

 

[Tryglaw]

That's not a bad idea actually. I might write that myself, especially if I have people to bounce ideas off of.

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge to anyone who'd like to volunteer....

Sure thing, I can help out if wanted.

 

[DarthOne]

Sure thing, I can help out if wanted.

I’ll take any help I can get. Just a warning though, I’m/we’re going to be planning this out for a bit before I start actually writing things.

 

[Harlock]

Many years ago I did write a fic with a similar concept, though it was mostly an excuse to blow things up
It is a very good theme though, look forward to seeing your take

 

[DarthOne]

Many years ago I did write a fic with a similar concept, though it was mostly an excuse to blow things up
It is a very good theme though, look forward to seeing your take

Blowing stuff up is fun....

And thank you. If you'd like to help me out alongside @Tryglaw , I'd be happy to have you.

 

[Husky_Khan]

If the Shadows ported over from the same year in time (2260 or thereabouts), then that'd mean by the TNG/DS9 era they'd have already spent the better part of a century snooping around the Alpha and Beta Quadrant, collecting information and eventually snaking their tendrils and enmeshing themselves in all manners of schemes and plotting and chaos fomenting. It'd make for a nice century long slow burn of a setup.

 

[DarthOne]

If the Shadows ported over from the same year in time (2260 or thereabouts), then that'd mean by the TNG/DS9 era they'd have already spent the better part of a century snooping around the Alpha and Beta Quadrant, collecting information and eventually snaking their tendrils and enmeshing themselves in all manners of schemes and plotting and chaos fomenting. It'd make for a nice century long slow burn of a setup.

True, but one of the things I didn’t want to do is give them too much of prep time. I want the Drakh and Shadows to be slightly off-balance still by the time the story gets going.

Also the longer their around, the more the issue of them causing divergences, even unintended ones becomes.

Plus, I’m very much in favor of also having some of Shadows agents of the Younger Races from the B5 universe be around as a way to provide commentary and cultural clash from a more ‘human’ perspective then that of the Drakh or Shadows. For example, what would a human from the Earth Alliance think of the Federation? What would a Narn make of the Klingons? How would a Centauri view the Vulcans? And so and and so forth.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Some of the Shadow Agents being telepaths could be interesting as well I suppose, and a general boon. Not a huge advantage since telepaths and empaths are far from unknown in the Star Trek Universe even though it doesn't seem quite as prevalent as in Babylon 5. Plus the use of telepaths is handy both for making the bootleg Shadow warships and

I imagine the Narn would view the Klingons better the closer they are to being warrior-philosophers as opposed to space barbarians. Or at least any Narn whose canny enough to be recruited as an Agent of the Shadows.

 

[The Original Sixth]

I see a couple of issues.

First, I don't know how involved the Shadows will want to be. The Federation, Romulans, Klingons, and ect are more or less in their Third Age. The beginning of their Third Age, but still in the Third Age. There's really no reason for the Shadows to test them. Their ships are already powerful enough that they could match or exceed the standard Shadow ship in one on one combat, depending upon the ship. That said, old habits are hard to break and part of the point of the series finale was that the Shadows had indeed fallen into a cyclic existence.

Second, the Shadows are probably powerful enough that they're going to attract the attention of the Q. The Q actually are for stability and order, with the TNG Q being a sort of Loki figure. That means that they're not going to be too happy with something as powerful and as terrible as the Shadows arriving on the doorstep of what seems to be a point of interest for the Q. The Shadows, robbed of much of their wealth and resources, are not going to be in much of a bargaining position if it comes to a conflict with the Q, of whom they are probably no match for to begin with. I don't think the Q would intervene directly, but I do think the Q are going to put a hard limit on what they're willing to allow the Shadows to do. And indeed, the mere existence of the Q might inspire the Shadows to look at greater heights, not play babysitter to an alternative universe.

Third, the lesser powers that are probably going to be the ones who are actually involved are probably going to be dealing with a diminished and distracted Shadow race. Worse, while they can hit within the same weight category as the local powers, they are obviously decades behind. What makes the problem even worse is their astrological-strategic position. The Badlands is a narrow strip of territory between the Cardassian Empire and the United Federation of Planets. There is no strategic depth for these powers to fall back upon. Without full Shadow support, they are not going to be able to be secure. They would need to engulf the entirety of the Cardassian Empire to even have a chance at feeling safe.

 

[Husky_Khan]

I see a couple of issues.

First, I don't know how involved the Shadows will want to be. The Federation, Romulans, Klingons, and ect are more or less in their Third Age. The beginning of their Third Age, but still in the Third Age. There's really no reason for the Shadows to test them. Their ships are already powerful enough that they could match or exceed the standard Shadow ship in one on one combat, depending upon the ship. That said, old habits are hard to break and part of the point of the series finale was that the Shadows had indeed fallen into a cyclic existence.

I might be mistaken but it seems that the OP wants the Shadows to have a similar dominance in the Star Trek galaxy that they had in the Babylon 5 galaxy.

Technology level: Like the other First Ones, the Shadows are somewhere around the 26th-30th century Federation technologically speaking. Though like each First One Race, they have their own specializations and shortcomings.

So it seems like a Shadow Battlecrab (as far as this thread goes) should have the similar superior combat abilities we saw it have in Babylon 5 over younger race starships. Could be mistaken though.

 

[The Original Sixth]

I might be mistaken but it seems that the OP wants the Shadows to have a similar dominance in the Star Trek galaxy that they had in the Babylon 5 galaxy.

I don't think that's what he wrote. He said several world and bases were placed in the Cardassian-UFP DMZ.

So it seems like a Shadow Battlecrab (as far as this thread goes) should have the similar superior combat abilities we saw it have in Babylon 5 over younger race starships. Could be mistaken though.

You I think, are misremembering the difference in power. An ST ship is decades ahead of a Minbari battlecruiser. Minbari battlcruisers, if I am not mistaken, are capable of harming and even defeating a Shadow ship. The White Star was for example, a mix of Vorlon and Minbari tech, so it's probably on par or somewhat ahead of baseline ST tech. The White Stars alone were not on par with the Shadow Ships, but the White Stars are rather under-armed compared to an ST ship.

So unless the Shadows grow larger ships or send more of them, they won't have the same effect. So too, does powers like the UFP have access to telepaths such as Vulcans and Betazoids. And they can even use genetic manipulation to create their own. Once it becomes known that the Shadow ships are vulnerable to this sort of attack, any advantage that a Shadow ship provides is going to dwindle down to zero without an actual Shadow pilot.

The one advantage that Shadow Cruisers would have is their ability to phase in and out of hyperspace the way they do. Otherwise, they aren't going to have the same sort of impact as they did in B5. And since the Shadows don't have their former resources to call upon and they aren't in the same position as they were in B5 and may even be pressured by the Q Continuum, I'm not sure the Shadows are going to be focused on a handful of local powers who are already in their Third Age.

 

[DarthOne]

SNIP

SNIP

OP here to clarify several points I made.

The Shadow Bases:
As put in to opening post, while I did mention the Badlands and Cardassian Space as places where these bases would be, I also mentioned space beyond Cardassian territory. On the subject of the bases themselves, I admit I left that too vague. I intended for it to be everything between outposts to full-born subterranean fortress worlds. So while the Shadows don't have say, Z'ha'dum or X'ha'dam, they still have access to a lot of ships and technology, even if it's not their full strength. Which would be more then enough to kick over the ant hills and get the ball rolling.

Remember, the Shadows and their allies aren't, say, the Borg or the Klingons. They aren't going to come charging at you. They work behind the scenes, in the shadows and work through others, use others for their own goals.

Shadow Warship Capabilities:
It's important to bear in mind that Shadow ships fall into three categories.

There's the 'modern' vessels, which we saw 90-something-percent of the time in Babylon 5. These ships are piloted by surgically members of the Younger Races and are basically watered-down vessels. As the Shadows philosophy of evolution through chaos requires that the Younger Races have at least some chance of fighting back instead of being bulldozed. I see these as being a little bit above the roughly equivalent to the larger ships of the Federation, Klingons, Romulans and Dominion.

• Regarding how these ships stack up against Babylon 5 ships, according to a quick double check, the only time we see one of these ships are given pause is at the battle of Gorash, where several Narn ships are able to focus fire and blow off an 'arm' from one of the Shadow ships. According to JMS's comments on the episode, this basically caused the ship to freeze up from the shock and pain, but had the battle gone on a little longer, the ship would have been able to shake this off and rejoin the fight.
  • Outside of this, the only time we see Shadow ships go down in Babylon 5 is when there are telepaths involved, who basically cause the Shadow ship to sit still and do nothing while they pump it full of plasma or what have you. Or there's a convenient jumpgate to blow up or if the Shadow ships being fought against are smaller then the ships the heroes are in (see the Shadow fighters vs the White Star during War Without End) or if the the heroes get a drop on the ship and it's their rough equivalent (see the White Star vs the Shadow Scout in Shadow Dancing). And some of that comes down to the White Star's defenses being keyed against Shadow ships and said Shadow ship being more focused on getting away to sound the alarm. Furthermore, even then the White Star was badly damaged and out of the fight for a fair amount of time.

• Regarding telepaths, while teeps aren't unknown in ST, the vast majority of them don't seem to be equal to the mid-to-somewhat high ones we see in Babylon 5 among the Younger Races. Plus, keep in mind that the St races wouldn't have the same historical lore to draw upon to even know to try using telepaths against Shadow ships. And furthermore, that they have to disrupt the connection between the living CPU and the Shadow ship-trying to directly stop the Shadow ship's own systems drives telepaths insane.
  • While I'm on the topic, there is no way in hell that I can imagine the Federation being willing to genetically modify, much less create, a race of servitors to fight their wars for them. And I'd argue that the Federation would be the ones most likely to do so, as science is the Federation's area of expertise, along with diplomacy. Everyone else, I can just see trying to make bigger ships or bigger guns. Or trying to break out some sort of germ or nano-warfare, which the Shadows are not only better at, but would retaliate with five times as hard with.

Then you have 'Ancient' Shadow vessels. These are piloted by the Shadows themselves and are basically the bog-standard ships of the 'true' Shadow warfleet. These would operate against ships of the Federation, Klingon, Romulan and Dominion fleets like the 'modern' Shadow ships do against the Younger Races in Babylon 5. Basically, you need several larger ships focusing fire at once to hurt one of these ships, and that's difficult with the Shadow ship basically one/two shotting your ships and dancing around you.

Last, but certainly not least we have the 'Primordial' Shadow ships. These ships have been around for centuries and are just plain nasty and I can easily see one of these ships being able to take on a Borg cube or tactical cube (based on what one could guess they can do) on their own.

This is not to mention the Ancient and Primordial 'dreadnaught' variant of the Shadow cruiser design seen in the canonical B5wars game. Besides being larger and more heavily armored, this ship comes equipped with two molecular slicer beams, as opposed to just the one used by the normal cruiser designs.


Learning about the races of the Alpha and Beta quadrant:
While its true that the Shadows and their allies would have something of a learning curve when it comes to the various races the two quadrants, I'd argue that they'd have a much easier time of it then most would suspect. This is largely due to how comparatively open the various Star Trek races are with each other, thanks in large part to the Federation.

Heck, I can easily see, say, a Drakh ship coming up to some isolated Federation ship or outpost and playing the role of 'newbie aliens who've just started exploring space' and being able to get a fair amount of information for free from the Federation by play acting the clueless and harmless newcomers. Not to mention the sheer treasure trove of knowledge the Shadows and their allies would be able to get if they infiltrated a Federation or Romulan outpost or the like. Remember, Star Trek doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to electronic warfare and computer security.

Or they could just go the the Ferengi or those like them and buy information from them.


Regarding the Q and those like them:
Based on what we see on screen and ignoring any sort of fan-theories about higher beings manipulating things from behind the scenes, the Q would be unlikely to get involved, much less pressure the Shadows and their allies unless they started gunning for the Q for some reason. At most I can see the Prophets trying to give cryptic warnings and hints, as they do.

 

[DarthOne]

United Federation of Planets

"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world because they'd never expect it."
-Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts: Inspiration for the Uninspired

I think that the Shadows have decidedly mixed feelings about the Federation. On the one hand, I’ve never gotten the impression that the Shadows were against alliances and compacts, so long as they weren’t Vorlon engineered or manipulated. On the other hand, the Shadows are heavily into growth through conflict and bloodshed. As well as their unique form of Social Darwinism. Things the Federation are very much against, as it espouses diplomacy, tolerance and cooperation.

Also, there’s the Federation’s attitude during the DS9 and TNG era to consider. Frankly, they’re naive, stubborn and far too willing to stick their heads in the sand. For now, let’s just say that in the early parts of DS9 the Federation was slow to react and was even then still clinging to the ‘Golden Age of Peace’, which became an Era of Appeasement as can be seen with the Cardassian treaty. The Borg scared the Federation so much that they sort of drew in on themselves further just to avoid another Wolf 359

• I personally think that Starfleet was a victim of its own successes. After the Klingons became allies and the Romulans became introverted there was no one who would or could seriously challenge the Federation. In essence they had 'won', and it went to their heads. Add the fact that Starfleet believed it held the moral high ground due to it being a democracy of many races as opposed to its more militant imperial neighbours and you can see why they decided they were less a military than an exploratory fleet of scientists and diplomats who let their skills at battle atrophy.

To me, the Federation got into a mental place which was no longer interfacing with the real world. Kirk's Federation was not utopia, and didn't claim to be. They'd resolved some of the major problems of humanity, and other races, reducing xenophobia and fear of the other to the point where union with some alien species was a functional reality. They'd largely eliminated need, but want was still around. They were a nation, and they considered themselves an enlightened one, especially compared to their rivals, but they weren't perfect and still had a lot to learn and places to go.

By Picard's time, the Federation saw itself as the be-all and end-all of interstellar governance. Everyone else was wrong and would eventually realize that, and become good Fed citizens. Until then, it was just a time to pity the poor benighted fools and keep the phasers on stun, even in the middle of a war.

• I’d also argue that the Federation in particular has a really bad over-reliance on their technology, which has arguably turned its people into little more then happy slaves. Which, when stripped of that same technology, become dependent on their conquerors. Which isn’t to say that other Star Trek faction don’t have this same problem.

So all in all, I’d think that Shadows aren’t anti-Federation per say. They think the Federation needs a good kick to the seat of their pants and want to see how they react, how they adapt and what direction they go in.

 

[Tryglaw]

About telepaths, Betazoids are basically "one look and I know everything about you", be it Lwaxanna Troi or others propping up during TNG, and that is well above even PsiCops at P12, since they need invasive scans (to the point of causing cardiac arrest) to pull bits of information out. Telepathy is recent thing for EA humans, Betazoids likely forgot more on the subject then PsiCorps has ever known...

Deanna Troi, despite being only half-Betazoid, was able to track Shinzon's cloaked ship with enough accuracy to shoot it, no need for visual contact.

 

[DarthOne]

About telepaths, Betazoids are basically "one look and I know everything about you", be it Lwaxanna Troi or others propping up during TNG, and that is well above even PsiCops at P12, since they need invasive scans (to the point of causing cardiac arrest) to pull bits of information out. Telepathy is recent thing for EA humans, Betazoids likely forgot more on the subject then PsiCorps has ever known...

Deanna Troi, despite being only half-Betazoid, was able to track Shinzon's cloaked ship with enough accuracy to shoot it, no need for visual contact.

Wasn't Luxxana unusually strong for a betazoid though?

Also, I seem to recall that the reason Troi could find the Scimitar was that she could connect to the Reman Viceroy due to a....previous incident? (because I have no idea what to call the fucked up quasi-rape thing Shinzon had the Viceroy do so he could have sex with her via the proxie of Riker).

EDIT: Also, are the betazoids rather isolationist?

 

[DarthOne]

Klingon Empire

“Shall I be tempted by the Devil?”
“Yes, if the Devil tempts you to do good.”
-Richard the Third, William Shakespeare

Out of all the major powers, the Klingons are the easiest for the Drakh/Shadows to manipulate and goad. As well as being internally divided by the various great Houses, the Klingons thrive and seek out conflict. And may the fates help the galaxy if the forces of Chaos managed to obtain the Sword of Kahless or create a convincing enough replica for their chosen pawns within the Empire. As the results would likely be some sort of civil war, follow by an actively militant Klingon Empire.

• Of course, knowing the Klingons and the Drakh/Shadows I doubt the forces of Chaos would just give them the sword. I can’t help but imagine the Drakh/Shadows arranging some sort of ‘epic quest’ for the Klingon(s) in question to go on to retrieve it.

That said, I don’t think the Drakh/Shadows would particularly like or dislike the Klingons more then any other power. True, they are a combative warrior race and those almost always make things more interesting. On the other hand, the Klingons have largely stagnated technologically and culturally.

For all the Klingon’s talk about be a culture of honor, pride, might and glory this hadn’t been true for over one hundred years. While there were exceptions, the Klingon Empire had fallen into toxic politics, internal squabbling and barbarism. Their policies had become so corrupted that they were easily influenced by other powers, such as the Romulans in the TNG era. One could also make an argument of the Federation doing the same thing and taking advantage of the Empire’s weakness in order to make better deals. While the Romulans would fail to capitalize on this, the Dominion in the OTL was much more successful in stirring the hornet’s nest and kicking off the Klingon-Cardassian War.

• Thanks to how the Klingons had become, no one noticed for a long time when the Dominion replaced Martok with a Changeling, despite the clues being there for all to see. He kills an officer, despite the punishment not fitting the crime or the fact that said officer had probably just prevented war with the Federation. He openly breaks his word several times. He shows no interest in honor or glory except when fighting against weaken opponents.

Obviously, this state of affairs cannot go on for much longer. The Klingon Empire is like a tree infested with dry rot- time will see if it falls, weathers the storm or changes.

• Miscellaneous side note here; but it’s funny to see how, when the Klingons tried to mine the Bajoran system in the episode Sons of Mogh that it’s considered a bad and hostile action. Yet when Starfleet does the same thing later on, its somehow admirable and heroic, despite them doing it for largely the same sort of reasons.