Gamma Quadrant

The Gamma Quadrant was the common designation for one-quarter of the Milky Way Galaxy. This quadrant was adjacent to the Alpha Quadrant and to the Delta Quadrant. One-quarter of the galactic core was located in this quadrant. The Denkiri Arm was located in this quadrant. (TNG: "The Price"; I AM ERROR, Season 7 production art [1])

History

Vash commented that some of the cultures she had encountered in the Gamma Quadrant had histories spanning millions of years. (DS9: "Q-Less") It is believed the Hur'q originated from the quadrant. (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")

Using their system of gateways, the Iconians were able to settle the world of Vandros IV, on the edge of the Gamma Quadrant. (DS9: "To the Death")

Exploration

The quadrant was first explored by the Federation's Quadros-1 probe in the 22nd century. (DS9: "Emissary")

A Barzan probe sent through the Barzan wormhole discovered that the Gamma Quadrant terminus was located beyond the Denkiri Arm, a distance that at warp 9 would have taken nearly a century to cover, this later shifted to the Delta Quadrant and the wormhole was discovered to be unstable. (TNG: "The Price")

In 2369, the Bajoran wormhole in the Bajoran system was discovered. This wormhole had a terminus in the Gamma Quadrant that was four light years from the Idran system. This wormhole linked this quadrant with the Alpha Quadrant. (DS9: "Emissary")

Tosk, a Tosk, came through the Bajoran Wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant and docked at Deep Space 9 on a hunt and was pursed by Hunters. The Hunters said that the Tosk was bred to be hunted by them and had spent his entire life preparing; later the Hunters were allowed to resume the hunt and take the Tosk back with them to the Gamma Quadrant after Chief O'Brien helped the Tosk to escape and return through the Bajoran Wormhole into the Gamma Quadrant. (DS9: "Captive Pursuit")

The archaeologist Vash explored the Gamma Quadrant for two years at the invitation of Q in 2367. She was found there in 2369 by members of Deep Space 9's crew. (TNG: "Qpid"; DS9: "Q-Less")

Deep Space Nine had the distinction of making first contact with a Gamma Quadrant species known as the Wadi. However, the Wadi showed no interest in formalities and headed straight to Quark's. The Ferengi initially saw the Wadi as a potential source of great profit, but when the Wadi Master Surchid Falow started to win at Dabo and went on a winning streak, Quark had one of his waiters rig the game. The Wadi caught him and forced Quark to play "an honest game" called Chula, using living people as players, but this was revealed later to be only a game and not really dangerous. (DS9: "Move Along Home")

Kai Opaka was taken through the Bajoran Wormhole by Benjamin Sisko, where they received a distress signal. They then found a planet with a network of satellites, one of which was malfunctioning. Their runabout approached the planet and one of the satellites attacked it, forcing them to crash land. Opaka died in the landing, which devastated Kira; however, her mourning was interrupted by a group of people called the Ennis are who were at war with a group called the Nol-Ennis, both groups were being regenerated by some form of extraterrestrial nanotechnology. The same technology revives the Ennis and Nol-Ennis, but rather than a blessing it is a curse: Both groups were sent to the planet as punishment for centuries of conflict, doomed to die over and over, Kai Opaka accepts that she cannot leave the planet in the Gamma Quadrant and feels called to help the two warring factions learn how to live in peace. (DS9: "Battle Lines")

The Vulcans were at the forefront of the exploration of the Quadrant, beginning only months after the wormhole was discovered by Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia Dax in 2369. The Vulcans made many discoveries, including the remains of the Hur'q race. (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")

The Klingons showed an interest in exploring the Gamma Quadrant shortly after its discovery by sending their own scout ships to the quadrant. (DS9: "Q-Less") The IKS Toh'Kaht was among the first ships to explore the quadrant in an effort to establish colonies on the other side of the wormhole. They also operated freighters to the quadrant. (DS9: "Dramatis Personae", "The Storyteller")

On the other hand, no Romulan ship had ever been to the Gamma Quadrant until late 2371 during the Tal Shiar's abortive attack on the Founders' homeworld. (DS9: "Visionary", "The Die is Cast")

The Ferengi saw the Gamma Quadrant as an enormous chance to make a profit and their reputations would be, as Gral put it, "absolutely stainless". (DS9: "The Nagus", "Rules of Acquisition", "Starship Down")

The Bajorans also colonized a planet in the Gamma Quadrant, New Bajor, in late 2370. Unfortunately, the planet was invaded by the Jem'Hadar, who massacred the population. (DS9: "Crossover", "The Jem'Hadar")

The planet Meridian was also located in the Gamma Quadrant, and spends most of its time in another phase of existence, where its people exist only as consciousness, with no physical being. The planet is in this dimension for a very short time. In twelve days it will disappear for sixty years. Each time it returns, the planet will have less time in this universe, and eventually will stop appearing. (DS9: "Meridian")

The starship Defiant was caught in a type of "quantum bubble" surrounding an inhabited planet. After investigation, it is discovered that the inhabitants are the descendants of the Defiant's crew. Generations of descendants have been living on the planet for many years and their own history began when the Defiant tried to escape from the bubble. Instead of passing through its energy barrier, the ship was thrown back in time two centuries and crashed with no hope of contacting the Federation or repairing the ship. Faced with that reality, the small stranded crew of the Defiant (including Dax, Sisko, O'Brien, etc.) decided to remain and establish a society. (DS9: "Children of Time")

The Dominion

The Dominion was established approximately 10,000 years prior to 2375. This galactic power was located between 40,000 and 50,000 light years from the galactic core in an arm of the galaxy. Other powers have been encountered, but their status with the Dominion was unclear. (DS9: "The Dogs of War", "Whispers", "Hard Time"; I AM ERROR, Season 7 production art)

In the act directly precipitous to the Dominion War, the Federation mined the entrance to the wormhole (leading to the Gamma Quadrant) in 2373. This cut off access to this quadrant from any Alpha Quadrant powers and prevented Dominion reinforcements from adding to the Dominion War. (DS9: "Call to Arms", "Sacrifice of Angels", "Tears of the Prophets")

Governments

Dominion

Planets

Spatial landmarks

Appendices

Background information

Early in the run of DS9, Ira Steven Behr commented: ""To me, the Gamma Quadrant should be the great unknown. If we ever get too close to any of these cultures, to me the mystery of the Gamma quadrant has been solved. We have to be very careful with what goes on with the Gamma quadrant". (Cinefantastique)

In response to inquiries as to why the Federation continued to visit the Gamma Quadrant, Ronald D. Moore stated:

"The Dominion does not own the entire Gamma Quadrant. We had explored the GQ for two years before encountering the Dominion, so it's not as though the wormhole opens up in their living room. There are other races in the GQ that are not part of the Dominion and the Ferengi at least have established trade with some of them. When the Dominion told us to stay out of the GQ, it was as if China told the US to stay out of the Yellow Sea. China is the big boy in this neck of the woods, and you better take their warning seriously, but at the same time we have trading partners and allies there and hey, freedom of the seas and all that." (AOL chat, 1997)

Apocrypha

The exploration of the Gamma Quadrant resumes in 2376, with Elias Vaughn leading the USS Defiant in the Mission Gamma miniseries.

The Gamma Quadrant was added to the galactic map in the "Victory is Life" expansion of Star Trek Online in June 2018. With the Hur'q rampaging through Dominion space, the Gamma Quadrant map is a "battlezone", a sort of mini-campaign that involves defending worlds from Hur'q attack and destroying Hur'q capital ships. After completing a certain number of objectives, the mini-campaign ends with the defense of the Founders' homeworld of Empersa before the map resets.

External link

Gamma Quadrant at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works