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Allies
Terran Task Force
A Klingon Empire/Romulan Republic/United Federation of Planets joint venture aimed at fighting back against an ongoing incursion of the Terran Empire. Much of the Task Force's special technology was developed by the Klingon Empire to be used against the Federation before peace was agreed upon, and was dusted off, finished and refitted for Federation and Romulan use when the Terran Empire stepped up its attacks.
- Mirror Universe: The Task Force's reason for existing, as the Terran Empire (or at least elements of it) has gotten its hands on future technology and wants to branch out to the other side. Fortunately for everyone the logistics of inter-universe invasion are hard enough that the entire thing has been kept fairly contained.
Bajorans
General
Bajorans are a humanoid species primarily residing on the world of Bajor which is located on the edge of Federation and Cardassian space.
- Belated Happy Ending: It takes until Star Trek Online for them to join the Federation.
- Fantastic Racism: A lore blog says that the Bajorans aren't incredibly happy about their membership in the Federation due to this.
- Hookers and Blow: Mirror Bajor appears to run on this instead of spirituality.
- Hufflepuff House: Inverted. Bajor and Deep Space Nine are the most common location in the game for the Federation, in part due to their perceived neutrality.
- Macguffin: Numerous groups attempt to seize the Orbs of the Prophets.
- Space Jews: As per the show.
- The World Is Always Doomed: Bajor goes through a massive number of threats in Star Trek: Online.
Cardassians
General
The former villains of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine who have since changed to become allies of the Federation.
- Downloadable Content: Cardassians are unlockable only in the Cryptic Store.
- The Ghost:
- The majority of Cardassians encountered are True Way antagonists. Subverted once Garak and Zuval show up.
- Notable for being a major Alpha Quadrant faction but having almost no presence in the game itself.
- Heel–Face Turn: Have gone from being major antagonists to allies of the Federation.
- Renegade Splinter Faction: The True Way serves as this.
- Sixth Ranger: You can play as a Cardassian but only by spending Zen.
- Vestigial Empire: The Cardassian Union is a shadow of its former self.
The True Way
A group of terrorists attempting to bring Cardassia back to the Old Ways.
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: Goes with being old school Cardassians.
- Evil Is One Big, Happy Family: Works with the Jem'Hadar, Terran Empire, and Alpha Quadrant Changelings.
- Evil Overlord: Gul Madred (from Star Trek: The Next Generation) is their leader.
- Fantastic Racism: Loathe anyone who is not Cardassian and hate its current government for not being xenophobic.
- Irony: A group that is vehemently xenophobic and imperialist is allied with the New Link and Terran Empire.
- Odd Friendship: The Dominion destroyed the old Cardassian Union but the True Way still works with ex-Dominion forces and the New Link.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Subverted with the True Way, who aren't even liked on Cardassia.
Councilor Elim Garak
Played by Andrew Robinson
Elim Garak, "Former Cardassian Oppressor", is now a member of the Detapa Council and commands a squadron of Cardassian Civil Defense Force ships during Victory Is Life.- Ambadassador: He's a Cardassian legislator now, but hasn't lost any of his badassery since Deep Space Nine.
- The Chessmaster: He works behind the scenes during Victory Is Life, among other things sending Quark to the Karemman homeworld to gather intelligence.
- Orwellian Retcon: In a questionable case of this, Victory Is Life used him to replace Ambassador Rugan Skyl in several earlier missions ("Temporal Ambassador", "Second Wave", and "Surface Tension"). Rugan Skyl's entire characterization is "Smug Snake petty racist" and his lines were barely changed for Garak, so he sounds pretty badly out of character in those missions (especially in relation to the Bajorans).
- Slow Clap: Gives an almost exaggerated one after Dukan'Rex smacks Weyoun when the Vorta defies Odo's orders to stand down and tries to shoot the protagonists.
- Taking You with Me: He plants a Hur'q lure on the Founders' homeworld Empersa, and activates it when the Female Changeling tries to have him executed. This backfires, however, as a mutant Hur'q kills the FC before she can give the order. The remote control is damaged in the ensuing fight, forcing everybody to drop everything and rush to Empersa to stop the Hur'q instead.
The Ferengi
General
A humanoid species from the the planet of Ferenginar, located on the edge of Federation space and close to both Bajor and Cardassia. The Ferengi are the de facto wheelers and dealers of the Galaxy, or at least of the Alpha and Beta Quadrents. They as a culture are devoted to the pursuit of profit, even to the point of it integrating into their beliefs of the afterlife. This has led to them earning a chequred reputation as many Ferengi will attempt to swindle those they have dealings with. While initially suspiscous of the Federation and it's lack of a typical economic model, the Ferengi have remained allies to the Federation and have grown into more formal allies over time. They have also changed gradually over the years via a number of social reforms that have encouraged more honest business practices and to explore more aspects of life beyond commerce.
Rom
Played By Max Grodenchik
The Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance. He is the brother of Quark and the father of Captain Nog. Rom has been leader of the Ferengi going for thirty plus years, having been responsible for a number of major social reform changes in Ferengi Society and having overseen the Ferengi's most lucractive contract in their history in negotiating for the rights to rebuild Cardassia's ruined fleet following the Dominion War. He is also an idiot (according to Quark).
- Irony: Was probably the worst Ferengi when it comes to commerce and making a profit. Now he is Grand Nagus and is responsible for some of the Alliance's most profitable ventures in recent history (thanks to some help from his advisors like Leeta and Moogie of course).
- Odd Friendship: Apparently gets on well with Ambassador Neelix, though we never see this interaction as it is background material from blog posts.
Quark
Played by Armin Shimerman
Quark, brother of Grand Nagus Rom, owner of Quark's bar and the resident entrepreneur of Deep Space Nine. Since the end of the Dominion War, Quark has seen a great deal of success in his business, having expanded his bar into a franchise spanning several worlds across the Galaxy. By the time of Victory Is Life however, Quark is relectuantly pulled back into the fray by his brother Rom to help deal with a crisis threatening the Galaxy.The Lukari
General
A newly warp-capable species from an previously-unexplored system in the Alpha Quadrant.
- Expy: Of humanity as they were depicted in Star Trek: Enterprise, complete with the maiden voyage of their first exploratory starship. This is largely downplayed in later missions, which establish that they've actually been capable of spaceflight for a long time, just not particularly interested in exploration or colonization.
- Homeworld Evacuation: They originated on another planet, Kentar, but were forced to evacuate and settle on their current homeworld due to conflicts with the dominant Kentari culture (the Lukari are named so because they followed the teachings of the scholar Lukar). Kentar was later rendered uninhabitable by internal conflict and pollution after the Lukari had lost contact, forcing the Kentari to do this themselves — at which point they promptly began ruining their new world too.
- Naïve Newcomer: They've only ever had intermittent contact with the Ferengi and the Tzenkethi, so they're somewhat overwhelmed when the Tholians suddenly attempt to destroy their sun and drag them into the Temporal Cold War.
- Rubber-Forehead Aliens: With pink skin and violet eyes for good measure.
- What We Now Know to Be True: An In-Universe example with protomatter technology, which was rejected by the Federation as a terraforming tool after the Genesis project failed. The Lukari prove the technology is workable in the most dramatic way possible: by restoring planets glassed by the Tzenkethi Crusade. It can't bring back the dead, but it does at least mean those worlds aren't permanently devastated.
- Whole-Plot Reference: Their origin story is strikingly similar to that of the Romulans, although the roles are somewhat inverted: the Romulans fled the peaceful Vulcan society because they did not want to give up the emotions that almost destroyed their civilization; the Lukari, by contrast, are Defectors From Decadence who wanted to get away from the self-destructive tendencies of the Kentari and start anew somewhere elsenote .
Administrator/Captain Kuumaarke
- Played By: Kipleigh Brown
A scientist tasked with figuring out why the Lukari sun is dying, and finding a way to fix it. She is eventually assigned to command the first Lukari exploratory vessels, L.S.S. Concordium and L.S.S. Reskava.
- Bold Explorer: She's given command of the Concordium in "Echoes of Light", and leads an expedition to the unexplored system 20 Draconis. In the follow-up mission, "Of Signs and Portents", she captains the L.S.S. Reskava.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": She is very enthusiastic about new people, places, and things, and especially when it comes to admiring the technology of Kal Dano's timeship. She basically does squee about the way it's Bigger on the Inside.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist
- Took a Level in Badass: Starting off as a panicky administrator, quite understandable given the circumstances, ducking in cover whenever there's danger she's not above a bit of badass boasting a couple of missions later.
- The Xenophile: She quickly becomes this over the course of her mission, and is particularly fascinated by the Space Whales she encounters along the way.
- You Sound Familiar: Voiced by Kipleigh Brown, who also played crewman Jane Taylor in an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise.
The Tzenkethi
General
A militaristic alien race who had previous encounters with the Federation with one incident having a Founder stealing the Defiant in an attempt to start a war.
- Defector from Decadence: Neth Parr defects after Tzen-Tarrak burns Atosee Prime, as she realized he or rather she, as Tzen-Tarrak was being impersonated by the Female Changeling was killing everything indiscriminately and stopping the Drantzuli/Hur'q was not his actual goal. Refusing to follow his "Path of Madness" any further, she fled to Deep Space 9.
- Enemy Civil War: The failure of the crusade sparks one of these offscreen during Victory Is Life.
- Humanoid Aliens: The Tzenkethi only got two mentions in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and never appeared in person. Rather than use the Rubber-Forehead Aliens from Star Trek: Typhon Pact, Cryptic artist Hector Ortiz designed them based on "The Adversary" screenwriter Robert Hewitt Wolfe's statement envisioning them as "heavily armored lizard things". They're reptilian and roughly humanoid, but with four arms, a stubby tail, short elephantine legs, and a long, hunched neck.
- Kill and Replace: The Female Changeling did this to the real Tzen-Tarrak after she was freed from prison.
- A Million Is a Statistic: Aarn Tzen-Tarrak, The admiral in charge of their genocidal attacks believes murdering millions of inhabitants to destroy the crystals is well worth it for saving the trillions throughout the galaxy. Actually, he's the Female Changeling and simply doesn't give a damn who else gets killed while she protects her dictatorship, shown when she has Atosee Prime destroyed despite the fact they got rid of the Drantzuli eggs on their own. This proves too much for Neth Parr, who defects and sides with the Alliance.
- Mole in Charge: The admiral who encouraged and led their failed crusade against the Hur'q was really the Female Changeling in disguise.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: They have two sets of arms; an upper, massive pair used for heavy lifting and hand-to-hand combat, and a lower, smaller pair used for manipulating smaller objects.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Rather than warn the galaxy about the danger of the Hur'q, the Tzenkethi decide to wipe out all life on any planet that has their eggs, seemingly with no reason or explanation.
- The Only Way To Be Sure: They'll wipe out all life, sentient or otherwise, on any planet that has a trace of Drantzuli/Hur'q eggs.
- Unwitting Pawn: Their crusade was secretly instigated by the Female Changeling, who impersonated Admiral Tzen-Tarrak and ordered the Tzenkethi to attack defenseless worlds throughout the Alpha Quadrant. She used them to wipe out their ancient foe, the Drantzuli, who are actually the caretakers of the sleeping Hur'q, before they could awaken and attack the Dominion, with the added bonus of provoking war between the Alliance and the Tzenkethi at the same time.
- Villain Has a Point: They murdered billions in their crusade against strange crystalline Germanium structures found on many worlds in the Alpha Quadrant. The crystals are eggs or chrysalises belonging to creatures that serve the Hur'q as living terraformers, which hatch shortly after the Tzenkethi are finally stopped and threaten all of inhabited space.
- We Have Reserves: Tzen-Tarrak has no qualms about sacrificing four soldiers from Neth Parr's team after they become trapped in the egg chamber with the protomatter bomb.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Once the living reason for their bombing raids are discovered.
- World-Wrecking Wave: They use protomatter-powered bombs to completely destroy all life on a planet's surface, turning them into barren, desolate wastelands. Only the atmosphere and any inorganic matter such as stone and metal remain intact.
The Hur'q
General
A species of germanium-based insectoids hailing from a remote world in the Gamma Quadrant, the Hur'q were once a collective of peaceful explorers and scientists... until the Dominion came along. Seeking to turn the Hur'q into soldiers they could control using a precursor to Ketracel-White, the Dominion instead created ravenous monsters that would go on periodic rampages across the sector.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Possibly one of the more bizarre ones. The Hur'q are giant insectoids and are supposedly based on germanium to some degree. They go into periodic hibernation cycles to protect their bodies from their hostile world, but seem to remain mentally active during this time as evidenced by massive leaps in technological advancement after waking from hibernation. They are also protected and cared for by "attendants" whilst they are dormant, though whether these creatures are intelligent beings, mindless servitors, or young Hur'q is unclear.
- Crafted from Animals: Their carapace is apparently sturdy enough to be weaponized, as the Sword of Kahless was apparently made from Hur'q that were defeated centuries ago during their first incursion into the Alpha Quadrant.
- Create Your Own Villain: The Dominion's attempt to enslave them thousands of years ago turned a peaceful race of explorers and scientists into one of the greatest threats the Dominion ever faced.
- Deflector Shields: Notably one of the few threats not to use the same conventional style of shielding as most other species. Their larger ships instead possess 'reactive' shielding, which slowly charges until it becomes completely impenetrable.
- The Dreaded: Long before the Borg, there was these creatures, which give Klingons pause. The Tzenkethi's genocidal campaign was to stop them from returning...or so it was thought until it's revealed that one of their admiralty was the leader of the Founders in disguise.
- Horde of Alien Locusts: Instead of seeking to conquer the galaxy like most hostile races in the game, the Hur'q instead seek to devour literally everything before them.
- Human Shield: Vedcrid Hive Ships spawn swarms of small ships that have to be destroyed by gunfire before the Hive can be attacked.
- Insane Equals Violent: By nature they they were a peaceful, gentle species, but for their cognition to work properly they require a special enzyme from a fungus native to their homeworld. The early Dominion removed that fungus from the ecosystem during a Hur'q hibernation cycle, leading the Hur'q to develop mental issues and degenerate to the ravenous horde they are now. Almost the moment one of them is splashed with Ketracel-White (a re-purposed, altered version of that same fungus) in "Doomed to Repeat", it calms down and tries to communicate with our heroes... prior to Weyoun killing it. Similarly, the moment a substitute enzyme is placed into the Hur'q databanks, they stop attacking, call for a cease-fire, and one personally delivers Dukan'Rex's body with a "thank you".
- Insectoid Aliens: Big ones, at that. No, really big. Barely humanoid, and the larger ones stand a good eight feet in height if not several more if they stood more upright. Ultimately the ravenous hive-mind tropes are revealed to be the result of Dominion meddling.
- Perfect Pacifist People: It is revealed that the Hur'q were originally a peaceful race of explorers and scientists who would go dormant for centuries at a time due to the unusual orbit of their homeworld - so peaceful, in fact, that their earlier starships lacked any weapons whatsoever. Unfortunately the Dominion wanted soldiers, not scientists. Once they're given the ability to replicate/synthesize the enzymes they need, they quickly return to their pacifist roots and establish friendlier relations with the Alliance, no doubt eager to undo the damage they've done and bring their still-wild relatives back to their senses.
- The Worf Effect: Once they do emerge, they almost completely annihilate the Dominion and force them to seek help from their former enemies in the Alpha Quadrant. Notably in the past, in the first encounter after they became bloodthirsty, they were diverted at great cost... but after their present-day dormancy cycle ended, their evolution made them too much of a threat. It also doesn't help that part of the Dominion is far more concerned with protecting it's dark secrets rather than, say, helping Odo and the other parts of the in-the-dark Dominion fight the Hur'q.
- Zerg Rush: They attack with huge numbers of relatively weak starships and very few large ones that themselves are often carriers that can spawn more. On the ground their larger forms send out waves of beetle-like Attendants to overwhelm their foes.
