![[DISCUSSION] The power vacuum left after the destruction of Romulus](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/959f61b9-11a9-46f6-93cb-0cb5b696419c.png){kind=link}
With the dwindled population and organization of the Romulan Star Empire near the end of the 24th century, who will step up as the next big player? The Federation generally expands by diplomacy and comradery. The Klingons have had time since their civil war to get their shit together. The Orion Syndicate typically stays on the outskirts, but the opportunity is there. The Dominion had been a non-player since the treaty, but then who actually expects them to ignore the situation? The Borg as we know them in that time period are gone. (Insert new faction/random Delta Quadrant race) appears to mix things up. I’m not familiar with any Beta Canon or STO lore, so if any of this gets addressed, I’m curious to hear of it.
I’d be kind of looking at a Cardassian-led counter-federation. Maybe the Gorn, maybe some others.
What would be interesting is if it weren’t an overtly evil “rah, rah, we gonna beat up the UFP and reclaim our glory!” so much as a “with the Klingons firmly Federation allies, the Dominion crushed, and the Romulans devastated, the Federation is unquestionably on top… and that kind of scares us. We’re going to band together because otherwise, the Federation could do whatever it wanted with us.”
A Federation adjacent, carving out territory. Occasionally, their interests clash. Plenty of room to play with story-wise.
Yep. Someone else mentioned something called the “Typhon Pact”, which I didn’t know about but sounds reasonably close to what I was thinking.