Fire Caves, Bajor-The Dominion’s ongoing initiative to reopen the Bajoran Wormhole to Dominion traffic and restore supply lines to the Gamma Quadrant was spurred this week by announcements that the Founder herself would meet with the Bajoran Pah-wraiths in an effort to win their cooperation.  After weeks of unproductive talks with the new Bajoran Kai, Ungtae, Dominion officials at last resolved to attempt to make overtures towards negotiating with the Pah-wraiths, citing Kai Ungtae’s continued stalling as a sign that the Bajorans are unwilling to reach any real agreement which would result in the Dominion reopening the wormhole.

            Since the wormhole was closed by Captain Benjamin Sisko of Starfleet over two years ago, all Jem’hadar ships entering the Bajoran Wormhole from either the Alpha or Gamma Quadrant side have failed to emerge.  Dominion officials have stated that this wholesale slaughter of Dominion soldiers by the wormhole aliens belies their claims that they are uninterested in corporeal affairs and suggests that these creatures may be far more malevolent than the Bajoran religious texts claim.  This may also mean that those same texts unjustly demonize the Pah-wraiths.  Clearly, these fallen gods deserve greater attention than has been given them in the past.

            The Founder made her way to the fire caves of Bajor in a ceremony that was almost religious in nature.  The solemn atmosphere was contributed to by the denizens of the Pah-wraith cult who crowded around the entrance to the Fire Caves, hoping to catch a glimpse of their gods.  Reporters were barred from entering the caves but chief ministers and advisers who accompanied the Founder inside reported that she dove into the midst of the fire-like energy field created by the Pah-wraiths, proceeding to communicate with them through a type of physical melding similar to that experienced in the Great Link.  After hours of rapport with the Pah-wraiths, the Founder was forced to disengage when Bajoran officials arrived at the Fire Caves demanding that all Dominion personnel leave the planet’s surface.  Although the Founder was unable to reach a firm agreement with the Pah-wraiths prior to the Dominion’s expulsion from Bajoran soil, she did manage to communicate the Dominion’s wish to access the wormhole and received a tentative agreement to provide assistance from the Pah-wraiths.

            In the wake of the Dominion’s indecorous removal from Bajor, Dominion officials filed a protest with the Central Ministry of Interstellar Affairs on Bajor.  The Bajorans’ rough handling of a dignitary of the stature of the Founder constitutes ample reason for the Dominion to consider Bajor a hostile force.  As if unaware of the severity of the situation, the Bajoran Minister of Interstellar Affairs responded, saying, “The Bajoran government makes no secret of the fact that we consider the Pah-wraiths an enemy of the Bajoran state.  If the Dominion had any sensitivity towards the prevailing religion of Bajor, top Dominion officials would never have attempted to engage in congress with these most despised creatures.  We were perfectly justified in expelling Dominion officials from the Fire Caves and will act to prevent any further contact between the Pah-wraiths and the Dominion.”  These rough words suggest that Bajor has devolved into little more than an outpost of the Federation, acting not out of a desire to protect its own sovereignty but only to please their superiors in the Federation.

            Despite the disappointing attitude of the Bajoran government towards helping the Dominion restore supply lines to the Gamma Quadrant, Dominion officials have received assurances from the leaders of the Pah-wraith cult that they will work to help the Dominion to reestablish contact with the Pah-wraiths.  The members of this minority sect have been marginalized by mainstream Bajoran society for centuries, excluded from most public and influential private positions.  Because the Bajoran government is not only dominated by Prophet worshippers but the chief executive and chief cleric are embodied in the same position, Kai, members of the Pah-wraith cult have been all but excluded from Bajoran society for centuries.  By partnering with the Dominion, this minority group hopes to win influence on Bajor while furthering their ultimate goal of restoring the Pah-wraiths to the wormhole.

            Expectations run high within the Dominion that negotiations with the Pah-wraiths will ultimately lead to reopening of the wormhole and a return to their homeland in the Gamma Quadrant.  With the assistance of the Pah-wraith cult this goal may soon be realized and Dominion holdings in the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants consolidated into the mighty empire of old.  Within a matter of weeks the Dominion may once again be made whole.

From the Bajoran Sector, Rallanah