Star Trek is lauded for an optimistic view of the future, and yet nearly every single incarnation of Trek has some horrible conflict in its immediate backstory. Even the ultra-cozy future of Star Trek: The Next Generation eventually revealed that prior to the 2360s, the Federation had been engaged in a brutal war with the Cardassians that lasted from the 2340s to the 2350s.
But here’s the thing: Like the Romulan War in the late 22nd century, the Federation’s struggle with the Cardassians exists almost entirely in our imaginations and hasn’t been depicted on screen at all. This makes the Cardassian War a super-rare dark spot in the Trek timeline, barely glimpsed until now. As reported by TrekMovie, a new IDW comic, Star Trek: Defiant #20, Miles O’Brien flashes back to a time on Setlik III, which was decidedly not anything like the rosy future of TNG. Mild spoilers ahead.
