An excerpt from the Star Trek: Lower Decks Campaign Guide.
The Dominion War was one of the most devastating conflicts that the Federation had experienced since the Earth-Romulan War, if not in its entire existence. Millions were dead on both sides, planetary ecosystems were ravaged, and the Alpha Quadrant was littered with hundreds of shipwrecks, battle sites, and crates of munitions and weapons that often found their way into the wrong hands. To top it all off, the Federation found themselves the new caretakers of the remnants of the Cardassian Union and had to coordinate peacekeeping efforts within the Dominion and ensure treaty obligations were upheld.
Though the Founders kept their peace treaty intact with the Alpha Quadrant, Starfleet Intelligence gathered information that several key members of the Dominion's government felt betrayed by the Founders and sought a return to the old ways before the war. Only the strength and fear of the Founders kept the Dominion together, though several species who were conquered by the Dominion now seek independence. With the Dominion war machine's legacy forever tarnished by this one massive defeat, more systems threaten to break away, as they believe the Dominion can no longer threaten them.
USS Voyager, once thought lost within the Delta Quadrant, appeared out of a Borg Sphere that arrived via a transwarp conduit in the Sol system. The Federation rejoiced at her return, but Voyager herself is sequestered by Federation Command as they decide what to do with the advanced pieces of technology implanted within her. The crew became instant celebrities. Some were promoted, including Captain Kathryn Janeway, who was promoted to vice admiral in recognition of her bravery and ability to get her people home.
And it's not just the return of the Voyager that is heralded as joyous news: Admiral Janeway revealed that, through her efforts, the primary transwarp hub the Borg relied upon to travel the Galaxy has been badly damaged, which means they're probably stuck in the Delta Quadrant for now. Hopefully for a long time.
In science news, Dr. Bruce Maddox of the Daystrom Institute on Earth made several new breakthroughs in the form of cybernetics and positronic networks. Though his early creations lacked the capability for reasoning that Doctor Soong's androids Data and Lore possessed, maybe they'll lead to the creation of more advanced androids in the future.
The Federation and the Klingon Empire stand strong together following the war. Though some Klingons believe that their alliance with the Federation continues to lead them astray from Kahless's teachings, the continued partnership between the two powers allows for Klingon colonies to repair the damage inflicted upon them by the Dominion as well as lead them through several important breakthroughs of their own.
Cardassia is in ruins after the Dominion War. As a consequence of their betrayal of the Dominion, Cardassia Prime lost several major cities and over 800 million Cardassians were killed in the Dominion purges of their homeworld. As a result of their peace treaty with the Federation Alliance, the Cardassians were forced to cede most of their territories and are now restricted to only a few systems surrounding their homeworld. Cardassian privateers remain a constant threat, but due to stiff penalties imposed upon them by the accords ending the Dominion War, it is unlikely they will regain their status as a major power in the Alpha Quadrant any time soon.
Tensions among the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans still exist despite their cooperation during the war. Although the Federation and the Klingon Empire are still allies, Klingon factions that supported war with the Federation still long to continue their campaigns of conquest across the quadrants. The Romulans suffered greatly in the war and looked to new methods of keeping their allies squabbling amongst themselves so that they could expand their empire. This infighting led to a weakness within the Romulan government that was eventually exploited.
In 2379, the Romulan Empire was shocked by a coup carried about by Shinzon, a clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Utilizing allies within the Romulan fleet, he had the entire Romulan Senate assassinated and used his Reman allies to seize control of Romulus. He almost completed a plan to deploy a thalaron device on Earth itself but was stopped. This changed the scope of relations between the Federation and the Romulans and genuine peace talks occurred for the first time in years. While it is unlikely the Romulans will quickly become peaceful allies of the Federation, it is hoped there will at least be a cooling of hostilities between the two powers.
The defeat of the Dominion, and the decrease in Romulan hostilities, had positive effects on the future of the Federation. Without having to prepare for imminent war or dedicate Starfleet's resources towards building fleets of attack ships or deploy ground forces on other planets, the Federation found it could once again return to the ideals of its founders. Starfleet soon received new orders to return to exploration, and ships are once again being sent out on deep space assignments to expand the frontier of the Federation and discover new worlds and new civilizations. With a new strategy implemented during peacetime, the Federation chose action over complacency, and developed new weapon technology and starship designs should a new conflict arise.
The Dominion War was tragic, made worse by the fact that the Federation faced several key issues during the conflict. The Federation needed more allies to boost its forces and help replenish its ranks after being forced to fight the Klingons, then the Jem'Hadar. It also realized that several worlds within the Federation, such as Betazed, had let their defenses fall into disrepair and other planets had regressed into old habits such as worshiping Vaal, a computer masquerading as a deity. Though the Federation eventually triumphed over the Dominion, we realized we needed to focus on not just rebuilding, but repairing our relationships with other civilizations.
The Federation exited the Dominion War in a strong position compared to the Romulans and the Klingons. Though the war was brutal, the Federation not only persevered but with their victory over the Dominion they have proven to other species that they have the resilience to survive multiple intense conflicts over a short period of time and the perseverance to never surrender in the face of overwhelming odds. Though several planets were damaged heavily by the Dominion, the Federation possesses the technology and the manpower to bring these planets back to full strength quickly.
Though the Federation does not like to focus on its military strength, they have impressed several of their rivals with their ability to replace their losses quickly and overcome the strengths of their enemies. From the initial ferocity of the Dominion's assault to the destruction inflicted by the Breen energy dampening weapon, the Federation overcame these challenges and demonstrated their technological superiority. The Romulans and the Klingons could have pressed their advantage after the war but after seeing the tenacity of the Federation they decided to shift their focus towards rebuilding their forces.
The Federation's victory over the Dominion had another side effect in that it convinced several species to join the Federation. Realizing the Federation had the strength to back up its promises, those species realized they had much to gain by joining. The Starfleet diplomatic corps has been busy processing requests from systems seeking to join and, since the Shinzon coup, Starfleet has been sending ambassadors into the Romulan Empire to begin a new era of diplomacy. As the Alpha and Beta Quadrants begin to relax after years of warfare, the Federation appears to be in a strong position.
There are still concerns for the Federation. A new Borg threat remains a possibility, and some Starfleet analysts believe the Dominion still poses a major threat. Species such as the Breen have increased their raids and Starfleet analysts believe they may be biding their time until they can once again challenge the Federation and the Romulans. Due to the focus on the war effort, several worlds within the Federation are in dire need of supplies and assistance. Starfleet and the Federation are doing their best to prepare for the next great threat, but until then, they are enjoying the relative peace and quiet.
Perhaps one of the greatest threats to emerge has been the Pakleds. When they were first encountered by the USS Enterprise-D, they presented themselves as a simple species who had only just discovered space travel, a ruthless con game they committed against other civilizations in order to steal technology and resources. What is surprising about the Pakleds' development is how quickly they were able to develop a fleet of starships and the engineering and acumen necessary to create a fleet melding the technologies of dozens of species together. At first it seemed like the Pakleds were focused on acquiring more technologies so they could build up a fleet of merchant vessels with which to trade goods across the quadrants.
Starfleet only recently discovered the Pakleds have been building a formidable fleet of clumpships. What the Pakleds' overall intentions are seems to be unclear. They have launched raids across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. With the USS Titan tasked with monitoring the Pakled fleet and hunting down Pakled pirates and Captain Carol Freeman of the USS Cerritos recently involved in a failed Pakled plot to frame her for the destruction of Pakled Planet, some on the Federation Council worry that the next major conflict will be fought with the Pakleds.
Starfleet originally served as the exploration and defensive element of Earth's space forces. It managed to keep Earth safe during the Earth-Romulan War and over the centuries has helped spread the Federation's philosophies of peaceful understanding and diplomacy throughout the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. When the Federation created Starfleet as its main defensive arm, the members decided that Starfleet's mission should focus on exploration and diplomacy first. This is why Federation vessels are equipped with extensive sensor banks, research labs, and social areas as opposed to Klingon vessels, which are outfitted primarily for war.
After the Federation suffered critical losses at Wolf 359, they realized that their fleet had fallen behind the Klingons and the Romulans, and were barely a match for the new Borg threat. The Federation Council finally acquiesced to Starfleet's request that they develop a new class of warship. This led to the development of the USS Defiant as well as a modernization of the rest of Starfleet. Older vessels had their shield generators and phaser banks upgraded, while new vessels were outfitted with the latest in ablative armor and shield technology.
But the question remained: did Starfleet need entire fleets of battleships? Starfleet decided to continue with the development of warships and plans for a new class of vessel, the Curiosity class, continue the focus on heavy weaponry and stellar combat over exploration. Though the admiralty has done their best to assure the Federation Council that they still value exploration, there are some critics who worry that Starfleet's continued focus on combat will compromise the vision of the Federation's founders.
The warhawks in Starfleet found their criticisms confirmed when the Pakled menace emerged. The Pakleds possess powerful clumpships that are more than a match for most Starfleet exploration vessels. As more outposts are attacked by the loosely-organized armada known as the Pakled fleet, Starfleet Command pushes more resources towards the development of more powerful battleships of their own. By standardizing ship designs such as the Defiant class, Starfleet can construct warships more quickly. It's possible that entire attack fleets could soon come to be composed of a single class of starship.
The Federation is also dealing with other consequences of the war. Post-traumatic stress, depression, and other mental illnesses are on the rise throughout Starfleet. It is rare to find a member of Starfleet that did not lose someone they were close to during the Dominion War and the Federation is seeing an increased feeling of burnout among their crews. Even Vulcans are not immune to this and several officers have resigned their commissions once they realized the strain of suppressing their emotions on board a starship was becoming too much.
War is often a catalyst for change, and the Federation's best scientists were instrumental in developing new technologies to get them through the conflict. This, combined with advancements taken from Dominion research labs and technological advancements courtesy of the USS Voyager, has rapidly advanced the level of technology across the Federation. New breakthroughs in transwarp technology, quantum computers, and photonic hologram generation have changed the shape of the Federation as it nears the 25th century.
The introduction of these new technologies has not brought about any peace for the people of the Alpha or Beta Quadrants. Voyager's return was surrounded by rumors that the ship possessed powerful weaponry and formidable defensive systems from the Delta Quadrant. The Klingon High Council demanded the Federation share these secrets with them while the Romulans, the Tholians, the Gorn, and the Ferengi each threatened sanctions unless rumors of this technology were addressed. The Federation did their best to dispel these rumors while the Federation Council debated what to do about the possession of transphasic torpedoes and other technology.