TREKCORE > DEEP SPACE NINE > SHIPS & STATIONS > Empok Nor

The Cardassian Union abandons Empok Nor in 2372, but before they leave, the crew fit the station with deadly booby traps designed to prevent any non-Cardassians from taking control of the deserted outpost.

DETAILS

Empok Nor is a Cardassian space station in the Trivas system near the border with the Federation. It is exactly the same design as Terok Nor, which has been renamed Deep Space Nine and is under joint Bajoran/Federation administration.

The Cardassians abandon Empok Nor in 2372. The reasons are unclear, but during this period Cardassia does face some serious problems during the conflict with the Klingon Empire. The similarities between Empok Nor and Deep Space Nine make it an ideal location for a salvage mission intended to collect materials that are difficult for the Federation to acquire.

When they leave Empok Nor, the Cardassians take main power and life support offline and remove some essential components, including the subspace transceiver array. Many other essential systems, such as the microfusion generator and deflector dish, are left in place but are disabled.

In order to prevent anyone else from taking control of Empok Nor, the withdrawing Cardassians seal the landing pads and rig the station with a number of sophisticated booby traps, coded to attack anyone with non-Cardassian DNA. The station's defences include pattern scramblers which can prevent anyone who is not Cardassian from beaming aboard. All of these security devices are controlled by the central security net, which does not depend on the station's main power supply; they are disabled as soon as the net is deactivated.

LEFT BEHIND

The Cardassian evacuation is not as thorough as one might expect. At least some of the cargo bays are still filled with storage containers, as is much of the Promenade. However, the most significant things left on the station are in the infirmary. The centre of the room has been cleared and three tubular stasis chambers have been installed. Each of these chambers contains a member of the Third Battalion of the First Order. It seems that all three of these soldiers have been affected by a psychotropic drug which increases their xenophobic tendencies and heightens their violent emotions.

The soldiers appear to have been placed in stasis immediately before the station was abandoned. One of them dies shortly afterward when his stasis tube malfunctions. The other two remain perfectly preserved until 2373, when a salvage team from Deep Space Nine accidentally awake them by restoring some of the station's power systems.

Garak, who is accompanying the salvage team, speculates that the use of psychotropic drugs was part of a military experiment. The drug is also found on a handrail in the Promenade, making it likely that the experiment got out of hand; this may be one of the reasons why the Cardassians withdrew from the station.

The Cardassian soldiers eliminate three members of the salvage team before they are killed by Garak, but he also becomes affected by the drug and kills another member of the team. Chief O'Brien eventually overpowers Garak and, with the help of a new salvage team, manages to obtain materials that are vital to the maintenance of Deep Space Nine.

SCHEMATICS