Reaching out to the Federation, hoping to bring some sense of order, the City of Sha Ka Ree is declared the unified city of peace for the alliance between the Federation and the Kolar. They invite a fleet of starships to joint their own military and work alongside them, offering Sha Ka Ree to the Federation as a symbol of their alliance.

Back in the Alpha Quadrant, the Klingons discover that Donatra had convinced the Romulans living under Klingon occupation to use the biogenic weapons against their captors. With this violation of the non aggression pact, Khal sends troops to execute every Romulan living in his territory, then begins a personal campaign, offering a seat on the high council to any Klingon who kills Donatra.

Captain Ch’Pok claims the seat, and Donatras head. Angered by the recent action of the Klingons under Khal, the Federation forms a temporary alliance with the Betazed to challenge the Klingons. Romulan refugees are offered commissions within Starfleet to help fight. But with the fight in Empire territory, the Breen break their alliance with the Federation to make a third surprise attack, this time on Vulcan.

In 2393, the Federations campaign to retake Vulcan fails but their aid given to the Imperials lead heir new Emperor to open the lines of communication for a peaceful alliance, hoping to one day help free Vulcan and unify their peoples.

While the Breen start offering non aggression pacts after the Klingons begin to calm their war front and cut their losses, the Kolar gives some strength to the Federation by offering contracts to build and design new starships in their territory.

By 2394 the Kolar had began to hold off the Breen on behalf of the Federation. As the Kolar Region grows in strength, becoming more valuable, the other regional commands of Starfleet begin to conduct their own forms of research and development, beginnig to shy away from ther central Command on Earth.

The Betazed Alliance reject the Breen as their defensive forces and focus their attentions on the Gorn, who have successfully annexed Klingon territory since they joined. The Breen retaliate with a final strike on Betazed before retreating to their prize win, the occupied Vulcan.

With things a little calmer in 2395, all the major worlds spend most of their time retreating to lick their wounds. The former Romulan Empire is divided between the forces claiming it over the past few years, with the Klingons refusing to budge, the Federation and Imperials sharing some space and the Betazed Alliance getting a small region to themselves.

The Breen continues to dominate small worlds off the Federations radar, making them too strong to oppose, even with the Kolar’s backup. The miscommunication between Starfleets regional commands make it impossible to form a solid plan of action and with them all having their own ideas on what to do next, the Federation ends up being just as chaotic as it’s neighbors.

In the following few years, the Romulans within Federation territory form their own state working alongside the Imperial State, but seeing themselves as unofficial Federation citizens while the Federation begins negotiating officially with the Kolar to bring hem into the Federation.

The Bajor sector’s command begins to secretly build their own fleet in the Gamma Quadrant with the intention of freeing Vulcan from the Breen. But instead find themselves fighting off the Borg.

The Klingons take the brunt of the Borg invasion losing several attack forces and their Chancellor, leaving them open to being attacked, once again, by the Breen in 2398. The Archon sector almost gets caught in the cross fire, but decide to take no stance against either side, instead just letting their enemies to damage to each other.

In the same year, the MACO’s uncover a plot within the Bajor Region to overtake Starfleet Command, a plot that is quickly extinguised with their leaders being brought to trial and command of the sector being handed to newly promoted Admiral Kira Nerys. Kira offers to help bring the Cardassians into the Federation as Federation Prime officially induct the New Romulan State as Federation members.

By 2403 the Kolar officially join the Federation and Sha Ka Ree is dubbed the Kolar Regon headquarters. The Klingons decide to send ambassadors to SKR while their war continued to rage with the Breen, hoping to find assistance. Both the New Romulan State and the Imperial State begin to show their loyalty to the Kolar Region as they hope to deflect the attention from the Klingons.

The key worlds and alliances within known space had become chaotic, distrustful and damaged. Even the Federation had become weak and isolated.

What they didn’t know then was that the Iconians had been watching. More than that, they’d been involved. Behind every decision made, every bad choice, every call for war or blood, there was an Iconian.

The Federation was just a theater of puppets to them and all the major worlds had fallen victim to their game. Every key world had fallen apart, giving the Iconians the foot in the door they needed to take advantage of a bad situation.

It was never a series of unfortunate events. It wasn’t a streak of bad luck or fate’s way of bringing an end to all these worlds.

The Iconians had a plan.