Category:Delta Quadrant

The Delta Quadrant is the designation for one-quarter of the galaxy, adjacent to the Gamma Quadrant and the Beta Quadrant. Where other quadrants are dominated by one or a handful of major government powers, the Delta Quadrant is largely decentralised, with hundreds of interstellar powers spread out across thousands of light-years with no communication and little knowledge of each other. Some factions, such as the Vaadwaur, have exerted enormous influence at some point or another, but none have persisted to the 24th century. This may be caused in part by the presence of the Borg Collective in the quadrant, though the Borg's expansion and territory have been curbed for the past 20 years.

History

The quadrant remained almost entirely unknown to the powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants until the mission of the USS Voyager, stranded near the galactic rim in 2371. A seven-year journey has furnished the United Federation of Planets in particular with unprecedented knowledge of the regions of the Delta Quadrant visited by Voyager. Access remained possible only with deep-space missions lasting decades even at high warp, however, until the stabilisation of the Barzan Wormhole in 2388. The wormhole, which remains the property of the Barzan Government, is the primary means of travel between the Alpha and Delta Quadrants, connecting them at the Gradin Belt. Limited navigation is possible for Starfleet across the Quadrant using the Underspace, though its use is regulated through agreement with the Turei Alliance. All Starfleet operations in the Delta Quadrant fall under the authority and direction of the Delta Exploration Initiative (DEI).

Many powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, including the Federation and the Cardassian Union, are forbidden from expanding their territory by conquest or colonisation into any other quadrant by the Jankata Accord. This has limited Starfleet operations to diplomacy and exploration, and they remain the government with the most significant interests in the quadrant. However, other powers, such as the Tholian Assembly and the Ferengi Alliance have begun their own engagements with governments of the Delta Quadrant to pursue their own interests.