Star Trek Online/Codex/The Path to 2409/2392

News of the race for Federation President dominates news nets for much of the year. President Nan Bacco declines to run again, stating that while she didn't feel right leaving office during the Romulan crisis, "I've been here too long. We need new blood and new ideas."

The popular Bacco doesn't endorse a successor, throwing the field open to dozens of potential candidates. Jaed Maz of Trill is frequently mentioned by political commentators, as are Federation Councilors Soron of Vulcan and Kevin Steiner of Terra Nova. Candidates from Bajor, Andoria and Sauria are seen as outside choices.

However, Soron and Charivretha zh'Thane of Andoria never become formal candidates and Steiner abandons his campaign two months before the election after his ties to the Orion Syndicate are exposed by the Federation News Service. The remaining hopefuls engage in a fierce campaign in which top issues are aid to the Cardassians and Romulans, the increasing conflicts with the Klingon Empire and whether Starfleet should be expanded to respond to the increasing threats to Federation citizens.

Ultimately, Aennik Okeg of Sauria is elected in a close vote over Jaed Maz, with Bajoran Shad Ona in third place. Okeg, the first Saurian ever to hold the Federation presidency, begins his term by offering Maz and Shad places in his cabinet in an effort to promote unity among supporters of his competitors.

Okeg's first state trip takes him to Cestus III, where the Klingon Empire has agreed to a new round of Federation-moderated talks aimed at ending their war with the Gorn. While the Federation diplomatic team, led by Alexander Roshenko, hopes that a successful cease fire agreement will open the door to expand the summit to deal with Klingon-Federation trade and defense agreements that are set to expire in 2394, it quickly becomes obvious that neither the Klingons nor the Gorn are willing to budge on their demands.

Three weeks into the talks, representatives for the Klingons and Gorn are still haggling over the official agenda for negotiations, and even a personal appeal to Chancellor Martok by Federation Ambassador Worf has failed to speed up the process. The Federation Council meets in emergency session to debate of possible incentives the Federation could offer the Gorn and Klingons, but all peace efforts collapse on Stardate 69259.56 when a Gorn and Nausicaan fleet attacks the Klingon world of Ogat.

Fighting rages around Ogat for more than two weeks before Klingon Defense Forces push the Gorn and Nausicaans out of the system. The Klingons denounce the attack as dishonorable and Martok formally pulls the Empire out of all peace negotiations. Klingon and Gorn ships now attack one another on sight, and when the U.S.S. Montana tries to intervene in one skirmish it is heavily damaged by Klingon disruptor fire.

Hardliners on the Klingon High Council, led by J'mpok, demand even more aggressive action against the Gorn, calling for an invasion into the Gorn Hegemony. When Martok councils caution, preferring to keep the Gorn out of Klingon space until a new fleet of warships can be launched, J'mpok denounces him as a "weak old man, hiding in his bed instead of meeting all challengers on the field of battle."

Federation political analysts expect the schism on the High Council to come to a head some time in the next three years, and look with concern at the growing support for J'mpok and his hawk-like agenda. One of the major houses openly supporting J'mpok is the House of Torg, a former ally of the House of Duras. In fact, Torg's adopted heir, Ja'rod, is the son of Lursa, Duras's sister and an open foe of the Federation who was killed attacking the Enterprise-D in 2371.

Ja'rod, who was on Ogat when it was attacked by the Gorn, survives the battle and enters training with the Klingon Defense Force on Stardate 69637.18.

In Cardassia Prime, the Detapa Council enacts a series of reform measures designed to promote population growth and economic stability. Benefits are offered to families with more than one child, and thousands of soldiers displaced when the Cardassian military was disbanded are provided with retraining and placement into Cardassia's burgeoning civilian industries. Many former military officers end up employed by Gul Madred in his mining interests on Septimus.

Madred's mines are operating at such a high capacity that he begins exporting kelindide and uridium through Ferengi brokers. His first major buyer is the Romulans, who are desperate to rebuild ships and expand colonies and need additional resources. ￼￼ One of the Romulans's construction projects is Rihan, a new capital city being constructed on Rator III. The first building completed is used to house meetings of the Romulan Colonial Organizational Committee, which was formed under the directions of Admiral Taris.

The committee lays some initial groundwork for a new government, but is beset by the in-fighting and factionalization that has plagued the Romulans since the destruction of their homeworld. A group of moderates suggests that the Romulans need a single figure to focus their energies and cites historical records of Romulan rulers. Reminders of Donatra declaring herself empress of a breakaway state trouble some members of the committee, but Admiral Taris indicates that she would support the revival of the monarchy. However, Taris says that any move to crown a ruler must be made by the Romulan people.