Khitomer, Disputed Zone-The Federation Alliance, already shot through with decay by the Klingon Civil War and allegations of war crimes leveled at the Federation, collapsed near Khitomer as Federation and Romulan forces met in open combat.  Crystallized by the threat of Dominion conquest, the Federation Alliance was once believed to be the cornerstone in the establishment of a permanent peace in the Alpha Quadrant.  However, since the withdrawal of the Dominion from Cardassia Prime, the Federation Alliance has become increasingly unsteady, as domestic strife in many of the alliance’s key states threatened the stability of the whole.

            The catalyst in the final collapse of the Federation Alliance has been the Klingon Civil War.  This embarrassing conflict brought about by Chancellor Martok’s defiance of the will of the High Council in forming an alliance with the Dominion has reminded all of the Alpha Quadrant of the perennial troubles of this belligerent and unstable power.  Fighting within the Klingon Empire has spilled over to engulf the Ferengi Alliance, to drag the Federation into the conflict, and not, to turn the Romulan Empire against its former allies.

            Long time enemies of both the Klingons and Federation, many believed that the Romulan commitment to the Federation Alliance would be fleeting at best.  These fears proves true as opportunistic elements within the Romulan military sounded the death knell for the Federation Alliance by attempting to seize a key disputed territory located on the border of Klingon/Romulan space.  This territory has been a source of contention between the two empires for years.  Though largely populated by genetically Klingon individuals, much of the culture here strongly reflects the Romulan tradition.  The people of the Disputed Zone feel more than a little allegiance to their Romulan neighbors, making them a target for discrimination within the Klingon Empire during times of conflict between the two empires.  With the Klingon military divided and weakened, warring against itself, Romulan warships moved in to seize what they claim as ancestral territories of the Romulan Empire.

            Since the initiation of hostilities by the Romulans, both the Martok and Dominion factions of the Klingon Empire have denounced Romulan claims to the Disputed Zone and have launched attacks, attempting to liberate the region.  Following the lead of their allies, the Martok supporters, the Federation assigned a taskforce to assist in military action in this region.  In the most dramatic confrontation of this conflict, Federation and pro-Martok Klingon forces launched an offensive strike against Romulan forces in the Khitomer system.  In a devastating battle, the Klingons and Federation proved victorious.  With Romulan forces dispatched, the victors began to attend to their heavily damaged vessels, only to be surprised y a fleet of pro-Dominion Klingon ships which seized the opportunity to destroy both fleets and claim the Khitomer system.

            With fighting so close to Khitomer, the cultural hub of this region of space, the war crimes tribunal investigating Federation actions on Cardassia Prime was suspended and presiding officials evacuated to neutral territory.  Despite this hiatus, the tribunal vows to uncover the truth in this affair and plans to reconvene as soon as diplomatic relations between the parties involved have been normalized.  Members of the Cardassian provisional government have already petitioned for the tribunal to reconvene in Cardassian space.  However, with Cardassia Prime in ruins and the Cardassian Empire largely untended, it is unlikely that the tribunal will reconvene in this volatile region.  Reactionary groups within the Cardassian Empire have suggested that the Romulan invasion of the Disputed Zone is a sham, concocted amongst the former Allies to force the disintegration of the Khitomer Tribunal.  However, the extensive loss of life on all sides of the conflict belies this as no more than a paranoid fantasy.

            The surprise invasion of the Disputed Zone by the Romulan Empire was largely successful, and, despite efforts by the Klingons and Federation to retake the region, tonight these lands remain largely in the hands of the Romulans.  This action by the Romulan Empire to seize the Disputed Zone has destroyed any vestiges of the Federation Alliance which remained in the wake of the events following the Dominion’s strategic withdrawal from Cardassia Prime.  With all of the Alpha Quadrant’s major powers now embroiled in conflict, fears run high that the region may become so destabilized that some of the lesser powers may begin to prey upon one another, resulting in further disintegration of the political stability of the region.  With the Federation Alliance in ruins, it may be only a matter of time before the Dominion steps in to assume the role of peacekeeper in the region.

From Khitomer, Draymon.