Editing Cardassian (section)

====Later episodes: 1991–1994====

In the fifth season episode "[[Ensign Ro (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Ensign Ro]]", written by [[Rick Berman]] and [[Michael Piller]] and first screened in October 1991, the [[Bajoran]] species was introduced. It explained that the Cardassians had annexed the Bajoran homeworld, Bajor, 40 years earlier, with many Bajorans fleeing their planet as refugees and often fighting back with militant tactics.{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|pp=177–178}} "Ensign Ro" was the first episode where Cardassian warships were introduced as "Galor class" vessels.{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|p=178}} Although it was not intended at the time, the situation between the Cardassians and Bajorans laid the groundwork for the plot of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''.{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|p=178}}

The Cardassians were central to the two-part sixth season episode "[[Chain of Command (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Chain of Command]]", written by [[Frank Abatemarco]] and screened in December 1992. In them, the Federation has gained intelligence that the Cardassians are developing a genetically engineered virus on an uninhabited planet. Picard is sent to infiltrate and destroy the weapon but is apprehended and tortured by the Cardassian Gul Madred ([[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]]).{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|pp=227–229}}
"Chain of Command Part I" included the first mentions that the Cardassians' homeworld was called "Cardassia", and the "Cardassian Union" as the name of their interstellar state (previously mentioned only as the "Cardassian Empire").{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|p=229}} "Chain of Command Part{{nbsp}}I" also introduced the news that the Cardassians had withdrawn from Bajor, setting the stage for the events of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', which began airing a month later.{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|p=228}} The show's designers introduced the Cardassians' hand weapon in this episode, with Sternbach describing it as like a "copper-colored banana".{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|p=229}} Part Two of "Chain of Command" provided a brief history of the Cardassians and their military government.{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|p=230}}

The Cardassians also appeared in the sixth season episode "[[The Chase (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|The Chase]]", written by Joe Menosky and Ronald D. Moore and screened in April 1993, where it is revealed that humans and Cardassians—as well as the [[Klingon]]s and [[Romulan]]s—are all descended from an ancient species who seeded many planets with life.{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|p=243}} In the seventh season episode "[[Journey's End (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Journey's End]]", written by Ronald D. Moore, it is explained that the treaty between the Federation and the Cardassians left various Federation planets in Cardassian territory, and that many of these Federation colonists refused to leave. Their presence and struggle for independence from Cardassian rule was a recurring theme in both ''Deep Space Nine'' and ''Voyager''.{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|pp=289–290}} "Journey's End" was the first time Cardassian communicators were shown, affixed to the actors' wrists.{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|p=291}} The conflict between the Cardassians and the rebel colonists, known as the [[Maquis (Star Trek)|Maquis]], was again used as the basis for the series' penultimate episode, "[[Preemptive Strike (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Preemptive Strike]]", written by Naren Shankar and René Echevarria and directed by Stewart.{{sfn|Nemecek|1995|pp=296–297}}