Changes: Dukat

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"One man's villain is another man's hero, Captain." (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")

S.G. Dukat was a Cardassian military officer who served as Prefect of Bajor in the final years of the Bajoran Occupation. As the last person to hold the position, Dukat lost favor with Cardassian Central Command and fell into a downward spiral for several years. However, he became ruler of the Cardassian Union overnight after he negotiated Cardassia's entry into the Dominion. Following his defeat in Operation Return, he became a disciple of the Pah-wraiths and, along with Kai Winn Adami, attempted to release them into the Bajoran wormhole. Dukat was imprisoned in the Fire Caves with the Pah-wraiths after a fateful confrontation with the Emissary of the Prophets.

Career

One of Dukat's first assignments was a freshly-minted glinn aboard the Kornaire. One of his tasks as a glinn was to clean out a compartment where three men had gone through an explosive decompression. He didn't sleep for a week after that. (DS9: "Waltz") At some point prior to being stationed on Bajor, Dukat was a legate, but he lost favor with Cardassian Central Command and was reduced to the rank of gul. ("Indiscretion") He later rejected the title of legate because he felt gul was more "hands on". ("Ties of Blood and Water")

Prefect of Bajor

Dukat and Odo Occupation — Dukat and Odo

In 2346, at the rank of gul, Dukat was assigned command of Terok Nor, the mining station and command post in orbit of Bajor that would later be known as Deep Space 9. Dukat was the last Prefect of Bajor before the end of the Occupation. He was responsible for many atrocities committed against the Bajoran people, and became one of the most hated individuals in Bajoran history. ("Emissary")

According to Dukat, he was convinced that a gentler approach was needed to quell the Bajoran Resistance and make Bajor suitable for colonization. His first act as prefect was to cut labor camp output quotas by 50%, abolish child labor, and improve medical care and food rations. These measures led to a 20% drop in the camp death rates. However, the Resistance repaid him by destroying an orbital drydock on his one-month anniversary, killing 200 Cardassians. During the Occupation, the Resistance would attempt to assassinate Dukat five times, all of them unsuccessful. Dukat grew to hate the Bajorans for not acknowledging his "compassion" towards them. ("Things Past", "Waltz")

While prefect, Dukat reported to Legate Kell regularly; however, he did not have the respect from Kell that he was led to believe. Dukat created a counter-insurgency program to combat potential worker revolts on Terok Nor, but Kell secretly added a level to it in case Dukat tried to flee. The automated program was set to deal with various situations, the most severe of which was a complete takeover of the station. In the event that this happened, the program could initiate an auto-destruct sequence, and if Dukat tried to transport off the station while this sequence was in effect, his access codes would be nullified and he would be doomed to die with his station. ("Civil Defense")

Cardassian officer

Dukat strongly opposed the Cardassian withdrawal from Bajor in 2369, a move which damaged his career as it occurred during his administration. After the withdrawal, Dukat became the commander of the Second Order. He played a major role in many interactions between the Cardassian military and the Federation for the next three years, and made several visits to his former command post, Deep Space 9, under various circumstances. ("Cardassians", et al)

Dukat was implicated in the supplying of illegal weapons to Cardassian citizens in the Demilitarized Zone in 2370 by his political enemies, including Legate Parn. Dukat assisted Commander Benjamin Sisko in his investigation of the Maquis, so as to prove his innocence. He was briefly abducted by the Maquis, but he was rescued by Sisko. It emerged that the Cardassian Central Command was actually responsible for violating the Federation-Cardassian Treaty. ("The Maquis, Part I")

When the Cardassian Union underwent a revolution in 2372, Dukat sided with the victorious Detapa Council. He was promoted to Legate, and was made Chief Military Advisor. Following the Klingon invasion of the Union, Dukat was able to evacuate the Council members to Federation space aboard the cruiser Prakesh, with the timely assistance of the USS Defiant. ("The Way of the Warrior").

Later that year, Dukat accompanied Kira Nerys to Dozaria to find the wreck of the Ravinok, a transport that had been lost several years earlier with Dukat's mistress, Tora Naprem, and his half-Bajoran daughter, Tora Ziyal, aboard. Dukat had initially intended to kill both Ziyal and Naprem, had they survived. However, after he found his daughter alive, he decided to take her with him back to Cardassia, despite the effect it would have on his career. ("Indiscretion")

Fighting the Klingons

After he returned with Ziyal, Dukat was demoted and given command of a small freighter, the Groumall. His family disowned him, his wife and children left him, and both he and Ziyal were shunned by Cardassian society. The Groumall transported Kira to the outpost at Korma in 2372. After finding the outpost destroyed, Dukat and Kira were able to capture the Klingon Bird-of-Prey responsible. Dukat urged the Detapa Council to use his captured intelligence to mount a new offensive against the Klingons, but they rejected his proposal, preferring to seek a diplomatic option. ("Return to Grace")

Disgusted with the Council's unwillingness to fight, Dukat began to carry on his own one-ship war against the Klingons. In 2373, he and his ship helped an undercover Starfleet team, led by Sisko, infiltrate Klingon military headquarters on Ty'Gokor to expose a changeling. ("Apocalypse Rising")

Rise to power

Dukat joins Dominion — Announcing Cardassia has joined the Dominion.

"Everyone has their reasons. That's what's so frightening. People can find a way to justify any action, no matter how evil." -Kira Nerys

By 2373, Dukat became convinced that the only way to regain Cardassia's former glory was for them to join the Dominion. In secret talks, he negotiated Cardassia's entry into the Dominion with himself as ruler. Dukat promised to the Cardassian people that under his leadership, all that Cardassia lost would be regained. His move was initially celebrated by most Cardassians, who had suffered defeat and humiliation for years at the hands of the Federation and Klingons. Dukat chose not to promote himself back to legate, since he saw the rank of gul as more "hands-on". ("By Inferno's Light").

In the months after his taking office, Dukat made good on his promises by expelling the Klingons from Cardassian space and wiping out the Maquis with his newly gained Dominion allies. Dukat commanded the Dominion forces which retook Terok Nor from the Federation in late 2373. In the following weeks, Dukat directed the Dominion War from his old command, winning many early victories against the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Bringing in Dominion reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant by re-opening the Bajoran wormhole was to be his greatest triumph. ("Call to Arms", "A Time to Stand")

However, victory was snatched from his grasp when the Dominion reinforcements were eliminated by the Prophets. As allied forces retook the station during Operation Return, Dukat -- made half-deranged by his rapid change of fortune -- descended into madness after the murder of his beloved daughter Ziyal by Damar, his second-in-command. He refused to evacuate with the rest of the Dominion forces, and was captured by Starfleet. ("Sacrifice of Angels")

Madness

Afterwards, Dukat began suffering from hallucinations and fits of paranoia, and was treated by Federation doctors. After he was declared "recovered", Dukat was to be taken to a Special Jury at Starbase 621 aboard the USS Honshu to stand trial for war crimes. However, the Honshu was intercepted by Cardassian warships, and Dukat escaped to a nearby planet in a shuttlecraft with his nemesis, Benjamin Sisko. Dukat's hallucinations returned, and he attempted to kill Sisko before escaping in the shuttle. During his time on the planet, Dukat embraced his hatred for the Bajoran people, promising to one day return and rain destruction on all of Bajor. ("Waltz")

Pact with the Pah-wraiths

In late 2374, Dukat believed he had found a way to destroy the Bajoran people and their Emissary. Having immersed himself in the ancient Bajoran texts, he discovered that the wormhole was actually the Celestial Temple. He returned to Cardassia Prime and enacted an ancient Bajoran ritual to release a Pah-wraith into his body. Thus possessed, he travelled to Deep Space 9 and released it into the Celestial Temple via the Orb of Contemplation, causing the wormhole to disappear. In the process, Dukat killed Jadzia Dax, who was simply in his way. ("Tears of the Prophets").

His inhabitation by the Pah-wraith had turned Dukat into their believer; subsequently he retreated to station Empok Nor and founded a community of members from the Cult of the Pah-wraiths. He was worshipped as a messiah, and fathered another half-Bajoran child with Mika. Dukat attempted to have the Cult members commit suicide to conceal his attempt to kill Mika. When he was exposed, he fled again. ("Covenant")

In late 2375, Dukat secretly underwent cosmetic surgery on Cardassia Prime to pose as a Bajoran farmer, Anjohl Tennan. He then travelled to Deep Space 9 and gained the confidence of Kai Winn Adami, with the assistance of false visions given to Winn by the Pah-wraiths. He slowly convinced her to join him as a follower of the Pah-wraiths. The two plotted to release the Pah-wraiths from their prison in the Fire Caves, using the Book of the Kosst Amojan.

The pair entered the Fire Caves, where Winn poisoned Dukat as a sacrifice to complete the release ritual. However, the Pah-wraiths rejected Winn and chose Dukat as their Emissary, restoring him to life and imbuing him with their power. After Dukat killed Winn, Sisko plunged himself and Dukat into the fires, which destroyed the Book and trapped Dukat forever in the prison with the Pah-wraiths. Sisko himself was rescued by the Prophets. ("The Changing Face of Evil", "What You Leave Behind", et al)

Family and personal life

Dukat's father Procal was arrested and executed by the Cardassian government in an incident involving some arms dealers. Dukat blamed Obsidian Order operative Elim Garak for his father's death and ordered his execution at least twice. ("The Wire", "Improbable Cause", "By Inferno's Light")

Dukat was married and had seven children with his wife, including a son named Mekor. However, he also kept several Bajoran mistresses when he was Prefect on Terok Nor. The first was Kira Meru, with whom he fell in love and was involved for seven years. Years later Dukat formed an attraction to Meru's daughter, Kira Nerys, the first officer of Deep Space Nine. ("The Maquis, Part I", "Defiant", "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night")

Towards the end of the Occupation, Dukat fell in love with another Bajoran woman, Tora Naprem, and the two had a daughter named Tora Ziyal. Dukat sent the pair away to Lissepia in 2366, though their ship was downed by the Breen on Dozaria. Ziyal survived and was forced to labor in a Breen dilithium mine until Dukat rescued her in 2372. After returning to Cardassia Prime with his half-Bajoran daughter, Dukat was severely ostracized. His wife and children left him and his mother disowned him. ("Indiscretion", "Return to Grace")

Dukat had a strange relationship with Benjamin Sisko, in many ways his counterpart and opposite. Dukat saw Sisko as a friend and viewed him with a great deal of respect, although that view was not shared by Sisko. ("Waltz")

Dukat's closest friend was Damar, who had served under him when he commanded the stolen Klingon Bird of Prey. Dukat found Damar 'useful' and despite the fact it was Damar who shot and killed his daughter, he later forgave Damar and came to him for help, as well as encouraging him to become the brave man he had fought with years before once again. Dukat also had a good working relationship with his Dominion ally Weyoun and although they would occasionally antagonize one another there was a mutual respect between the two. Dukat even gave Weyoun a picture his daughter Ziyal had painted.

In the last few weeks of his life, Dukat became involved with Kai Winn Adami, while posing as Anjohl Tennan. ("Strange Bedfellows")

Dukat was fond of Bajoran springwine and didactic theatre. ("Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night")

Appendices

Notes

Dukat's initials (S.G.) come from the episode "A Time to Stand," in which Dukat records a permanent documentation file identifying himself as "Dukat, S.G." DS9 producer Ronald D. Moore jokingly gave Dukat's first name as "Elmo" on several occasions, but in the novels published by Pocket Books, Dukat's first name is identified as "Skrain."

In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine relaunch novels, specifically "Unity," the resemblence between Dukat and Macet (both played by Marc Alaimo) is explained, stating that they are cousins.

Along with many fans, StarTrek.com describes Dukat as "the most complex and fully developed bad guy in Star Trek history".[1]

In 2002, Dukat placed fourth in TV Zone's list of the top twenty science fiction television villains. The Borg Queen was second, Weyoun was eighth, Q was eleventh and Seska was nineteenth.

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@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 ===Rise to power===
 [[Image:Dukat joins Dominion.jpg|thumb|200px|Announcing Cardassia has joined the Dominion.]]
+:''"Everyone has their reasons. That's what's so frightening. People can find a way to justify any action, no matter how evil." -[[Kira Nerys]]''
 By [[2373]], Dukat became convinced that the only way to regain Cardassia's former glory was for them to join the Dominion. In secret talks, he negotiated Cardassia's entry into the Dominion with himself as ruler. Dukat promised to the Cardassian people that under his leadership, all that Cardassia lost would be regained. His move was initially celebrated by most Cardassians, who had suffered defeat and humiliation for years at the hands of the Federation and Klingons. Dukat chose not to promote himself back to legate, since he saw the rank of gul as more "hands-on". ("[[By Inferno's Light]]").

S.G. Dukat
S.G. Dukat
Gender:	Male
Species:	Cardassian
Born:	Unknown
Died:	2375
Father:	Justice Procal
Children:	Seven (by his Cardassian wife), including Mekor; Tora Ziyal (by Tora Naprem), another child by Mika
Occupation:	Former ruler of Cardassia
Rank:	Gul/Legate
Actor:	Marc Alaimo