Iconian Intelligence File #247

From: Captain Kagran, Klingon Defense Force
To: Ship Commanders of the Klingon Defense Force, Starfleet and the Romulan Republic


Our conflicts have ceased. While we may have not settled all of the differences between our peoples, it is folly to squabble amongst ourselves as death approaches.

The Iconians are coming. We saw them on Qo'noS, and felt the agony of their terrible power. They warned us not to oppose them, and yet in campaign against the Vaadwaur in the Delta Quadrant that is precisely what we did.

We can no longer pretend that war is not upon us. What we can do is arm ourselves with knowledge for the battles to come.

The Iconians are among the most ancient civilizations of which we know. More than 200,000 years ago, their empire covered vast areas of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While their homeworld of Iconia, in what is now Romulan space was the heart of this empire, there were dozens of colony worlds, and Iconian technology has been found in both the Gamma and Delta quadrants.

From what we know, the Iconians were despots. Known as "Demons of Air and Darkness," the Iconians ruled by the force of their technology, which was far beyond anything seen before, including a network of gateways that allowed them to transport vast distances in an instant.

There have been some recent scholars who have disputed this. They say history is written by the victors, and it is true that 200,000 years ago the races enslaved by the Iconians rose up against their masters and destroyed the Iconian civilization in a cataclysm of fire.

These scholars think history should regard the Iconians more kindly. I say their actions speak louder than any fragments or relics left behind.






The U.S.S. Yamato and the U.S.S. Enterprise-D found the remains of Iconia in what was then the Romulan Neutral Zone in 2365. It was only by quick action that the crew of the Enterprise managed to save their ship, but the Yamato was lost. Curiously, the commander of the Romulan warbird sent to investigate Starfleet's incursion into the Neutral Zone was Taris. It may have been this incident that sent her along her dark path to obsession and destruction.

We know the Iconians prefer to act through servitor races. Some, like the Undine, have been manipulated into doing the Iconians' bidding. Others, like the Solanae, the Elachi and the Vaadwaur, have willingly surrendered. The Iconians control these races, their servitors, through a variety of means, including the biological weapons known as neural parasites.

There is another species that serves the Iconians. These are their Heralds. Believed to be survivors of the carnage at Iconia, the Heralds are a lesser race that the Iconians raised up to sentience, much like the Founders of the Dominion did with their Vorta servants. The Heralds worship the Iconians as their gods, and have served as their personal servants and shock troops for eons.

We know little about these Heralds, but we see the marks of their power upon the galaxy. Beware their arrival, because chaos and destruction will follow them.

From: Captain Kagran, Klingon Defense Force
To: Ship Commanders of the Klingon Defense Force, Starfleet and the Romulan Republic


In my previous briefing I gave some of the history of the Iconians. I now turn to what may help us defeat them.

Intelligence indicates that the Iconians' numbers are few. It may be that only a handful of them escaped the orbital bombardment of their worlds 200,000 years ago. Recovered recordings from New Romulus show us Iconians escaping through the gateway there. We know from data from the Solanae and Jenolan spheres that the Iconians who survived the attack escaped to these spheres before departing.

There are rumors that when the Iconians left the Solanae sphere, their destination was the Andromeda galaxy. If so, they have the ability to escape the Galactic Barrier.

Contact with the barrier has been known to give mere mortals almost god-like power. What terrible wonders can a race that can cross it at will be capable of?

I urge you not to dwell on this. We are all warriors, even if our ships fly under different banners. We will fight because we must. We will fight to defend our worlds and our families. We will fight because an honorable death in battle is preferable to a life in subjugation.

The Iconians' advantage is their technology and the rabid devotion of their Herald soldiers. Their gateways can allow them to appear anywhere at will. Even the most protected of our homeworlds will not be safe.





So we must rely on our numbers and our will to stop them. We will fight them at every opportunity. We will respond rapidly to any threat, and give our lives to thwart them. We will make every victory so costly that retreat or surrender will be their only option.

Research has already begun on how to turn the Iconians' gateway network against them. Data recovered by Ambassador Worf from one of their subspace bases last year has given us several promising options, and already we are outfitting experimental ships with technology that can control a gateway for a short time. Our most experienced commanders are forming strike teams and developing plans of attack.

Unfortunately, there is still much we do not know about the Heralds and their Iconian masters. We have not seen them in battle. We do not know their full capabilities. We will get that information and use it against them, but there will be sacrifices to do so. Know that no lives will be lost in vain, and that the Iconians will repay us for every loss with blood.

We must win this war. There is no other option.

Discuss in the forums.

Is it just me or do these guys look like they belong in a fantasy game more then Star Trek?

Definitely. But then, Star Trek often does veer perilously close to fantasy, only with long sciency words - "this may be paranormal, telekinetic and extra-dimensional, but that's not the same thing as magic!" I mean, have you seen the episode they're alluding to there ("Where No Man Has Gone Before")? I rest my case.

Let's not forget Catspaw, where there were outright witches. Or Q. Or Treskillion, or whatever his name was. Trek likes to live in a science world, but has always contained fantasy. But then again, I'm reminded of the saying "Any science sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic."

And any magic that's observed sufficiently often will be given a sciency description, even if the scientists really have no idea what's causing it, because they have their pride. True to life in that way, I suppose. Like the medical term "idiopathic" - have you come across that one? Our next-door neighbour once told us he'd been diagnosed with idiopathic arthritis. He was cross when he found out that this is medical Greek for "Joint pains we don't know the reason for".

We have learned much over the years about the Iconians, but still know very little. History has described them as “Demons of Air and Darkness”, referring to the gateway technology which lets them appear seemingly anywhere in the galaxy, perhaps anywhere in the universe, with just one step. In their prime, the Iconians were an extremely advanced society whose technology must have appeared as magic to other races. Two hundred thousand years ago, their civilization was destroyed when a coalition of their enemies joined together to destroy their cities through orbital bombardment.

We now know that not all the Iconians were killed. Some escaped to the Dewan system for a time. Even today on what is now called New Romulus, we can still see their 6-eyed fauna still dominates much of the landscape. The Dewans worshiped the Iconians as gods, at least until they abandoned the Dewans to retreat further into space. The Dewans tried to follow, but their lack of knowledge of Iconian gateway technology proved fatal. Their experiments nearly tore the planet apart, and led to an environmental disaster that caused the extinction of the Dewans. Now the Romulan Republic lays claim to Dewa III as their new homeworld.

The Iconians never disappeared. They have been planning, quietly over the centuries. They have been building alliances with other races – some perhaps through cunning and guile, some through force, and, at least once through genetic engineering. We know the Elachi are the ruthless soldier servitors who brutally harvested the Romulan people and many others. But the first recorded encounter with the Elachi was in 2151, when the NX-01 Enterprise and Captain Archer first encountered this silent enemy.

We have also met the mysterious Solanae who are the Iconians' scientists. The Solanae live in subspace and have been using Iconian gateway technology to abduct people and experiment on them. Perhaps they are testing for weaknesses, or looking for a way to return to normal space. The earliest record of this is in 2369, when the crew of the Enterprise-D was abducted. There has been recent evidence that this has been going on for much longer. The Solanae also build the incredible Dyson Spheres. We have found two of these massive structures so far. Perhaps there are more. We know the Dyson Spheres use Omega Particles to “jump” to potentially anywhere in the universe. Their power seems limitless.

In Delta Rising, we encountered the neural parasites. These insidious creatures were first discovered in 2364, when they attempted to take over the Federation by infecting key members of Starfleet. Their conspiracy was thwarted by Captain Picard and Commander Riker of the Enterprise-D. Recently, we have learned the truth of the parasites. We have faced their Spawnmother and learned their complex lifecycle. We now know the neural parasites are genetically engineered biological weapons created by the Iconians.

We also know the Iconians have made deadly alliances with the Tal Shiar and, most recently, the Vaadwaur. With technology from the Iconians and manipulation from the neural parasites, the Vaadwaur nearly took over the entire Delta Quadrant.
Why the Tal Shiar and the Vaadwaur would align themselves with the Iconians is hard to say.
Perhaps they shared a common cause. Perhaps they were deceived.
Perhaps they had no choice.

The Elachi, Solanae and even the Dewans are Iconian servitor races. They follow the Iconians blindly and without question. Perhaps, in time, the Vaadwaur and Tal Shiar may also have worshiped the Iconians. Perhaps they already do. But none of these races are as unique, as powerful, and as devoted as what is coming next. The Heralds.



The Heralds

The Heralds are not a servitor race. They were not conquered, coerced, subjugated, bargained with, or grown. The relationship between the Heralds and the Iconians goes much deeper. The Heralds are children of Iconia. They are not the Iconians themselves, but they are native to Iconia and probably share a common ancestor with the Iconians. Like the Iconians and the natives of Tau Dewa, they too have 6 eyes.

They love the Iconians and the Iconians care for them in return. The Heralds are the personal guards and stewards of the Iconians and absolutely loyal. Perhaps the Heralds were a lesser species of Iconia – one who fell behind in technology. Perhaps they were pets at one time. Whatever they were, their relationship runs deep. It’s more symbiotic than master/slave. Although they are not the technological masters that the Iconians are, they are not dumb beasts. They are at least as intelligent as any space faring species we have met. They have been entrusted with the Iconian technology, weapons, ships and secrets. They may even be genetically enhanced by the Iconians.

Where the Iconians are few in number (possibly very few), the Heralds are many. There are probably billions of Heralds. The Iconians have had hundreds of centuries to breed them and build their army. Now the Heralds command the Iconians' powerful fleet. On the ground, they wield weapons empowered with gravitic forces and unknown energy. They can use these staff-like weapons like traditional energy based rifles, as well as melee weapons. The Heralds are powerful, completely devoted, and armed with technology that one might consider magic.

Their Soldiers

Constructs – The Constructs aren’t actually Heralds. They are automatons held together with sophisticated gravitational forces. When defeated, they fall apart – like a suit of armor without a knight. Constructs have been seen merging together and even being reconstructed by powerful Heralds.

Thralls – These Heralds are masters of gateways. Fast and deadly, Thralls can teleport at will and open Gateways behind their target for a deadly flanking attack. Destroy the portal or be prepared to deal with a Thrall in hand-to-hand combat.

Brute – The Brutes are massive powerhouses. Seemingly unstoppable, the Brutes wield a massive hammer-like weapon that can eject a powerful burst of energy that is best to be avoided.
Brutes can also reconstruct fallen Constructs.

Harbingers – There are at least two types of Harbingers. One is a master of gravity; the other is a master of gateways. No doubt these high ranking Heralds are the most trusted by the Iconians, and they wield much of the Iconians' power.
Harbingers can manipulate gravity and open gateways to summon reinforcements.
It has been said that some Harbingers can even open a portal that can unleash untold energy. Do your best to destroy the Gateways and stay away from the gravitic fields.



Their Ships

Mir Fighters – Like the Constructs, Mir fighters are unmanned. They are machines held together and controlled by gravitic forces. Mir Fighters can reinforce their hull and simply ram your ship, causing no damage to itself.

Baltim Raider – The Baltim is a small Iconian ship, if you can call any Iconian ship small. Like the Thralls on the ground, the Baltim can open a gateway to fly through. When it emerges, it will appear behind its enemy and ram them with devastating effect. Destroy the gateway before it enters, or try to outmaneuver the ramming attack.

Quas Cruiser – The foundation of the Iconian Army, the Quas can open energy gateways that can repair its shields – not unlike the Vaadwaur Shield Repair drones (undoubtedly a similar technology). The Quas can also launch Iconian probes that can shut you down pretty hard.

Vonph Battleship – These battleships are similar to the Quas, but much more powerful. Their probes are more advanced and deadly, and they can also open gateways that can bring in Mir Fighter reinforcements. They can also open a very nasty solar gateway.
On the other side of this gateway is a solar flare, and the Vonph can direct its energy directly onto its target.

Iaidon Dreadnought – Massive doesn’t begin to describe this terrifying ship. In addition to all the aforementioned gateways, the Iaidon can create an oblivion gateway. This gateway exposes the area to a pulsar. The massive burst of energy can destroy all nearby ships. If you see one of these, destroy it immediately or get away as fast as you can.

The Heralds will make their appearance in Season 10, and will be among the most challenging enemies captains have ever faced in Star Trek Online. They wield the full might of the Iconians, and stopping them is the key to saving the galaxy from subjugation. Be ready for anything.

Warning: Spoilers for Delta Rising and "Uneasy Allies" follow.

When we last saw an Iconian, it was after the attack on Qo'noS in "Surface Tension." That being warned us not to attract their attention again.

We didn't listen.

After "Surface Tension," the combined fleets of Operation Delta Rising went to the Delta Quadrant, where they faced off against the renewed threat of the Vaadwaur. The Vaadwaur were defeated, but not before we discovered that much of their new power came from an alliance with the Iconians. Both the Vaadwaur and the Iconians were species out of time that had lost power and wanted it back. The Vaadwaur needed to update their 900-year-old technology and gain strength. The Iconians needed willing minions to break any alliances that might rise against them. They gave the Vaadwaur ships and weapons, but they kept control over them with their neural parasites.

The Vaadwaur were defeated, but that wasn't the end. In "What's Left Behind," players followed the signals from the device Gaul was using to communicate with the Iconians to a hidden subspace base where they not only found out what they neural parasites were, they found Sela.

The deposed Romulan empress claims she was the captive of the Iconians, not their ally. But can she be trusted?

In "Uneasy Allies," Sela leads the player to a Dyson sphere being used by the Iconians as a staging area for their fleets. The Iconians are back, and their Heralds bring news of our coming destruction.

The Iconian story continues in Season 10. Admiral Quinn and the leaders of the KDF and the Romulan Republic are gathering the best and brightest of their commanders to plan for the inevitable conflict. The battle begins in "Blood of Ancients," a new Featured Episode releasing with Season 10.

In the aftermath, elite teams will make surgical strikes against the enemy. Join them in "Delta Flight," a new episode releasing simultaneously with "Blood of Ancients." (Note: We recommend you do not skip "Blood of Ancients" before playing "Delta Flight.")

War is coming. There will be sacrifices that must be made. If you don't succeed today, there might not be a tomorrow.

Mir fighters are unmanned

What!?!? Unmanned fighters!? I really didn't hate the Iconians before. But I do now!

iv not had a chance to read all this but those eyes they the shadows in B5 they scare me a bit how powerful they look