Akha

Akha was a male Cardassian who attained the rank of Gul in the military of the Cardassian Union by the mid-24th century.

He was fighting a political battle in order to attain the position of Grand Gul with it being noted that he had powerful friends in the high council. The Gul was later involved in leading an ambush on a lone Varahat starship as the species were a hated foe of the Cardassians. The attack managed to kill the ships healer and wound their Controller but the sheer power of the enemy ship led to Akha ordering a retreat whereupon he plotted a course to Deep Space 9. The stress of the journey took their toll on the engines leading to his ship exploding though he managed along with his entourage managed to survive in an escape pod. Once beamed onto Deep Space 9, he attempted to commandeer the weapons array and turn it against the Varahat and claimed to the Starfleet crew that his survival was of paramount concern. However, Commander Benjamin Sisko had Constable Odo remove Akha from the bridge and the Gul later learnt that the Federation officer had agreed to allow his doctor to commence a procedure to save the life of the Varahat Controller. Enraged by this decision, Akha and his guards managed to overpower the security forces sent to escort them away after which they intended to ambush the Varahat delegation. Whilst they succeeded in catching the Varahat by surprise, their weapons proved to be ineffective against their foes organic armor. All of Akha's men were killed and the Gul himself was critically wounded and taken to sickbay.

Whilst this was happening, the Gul's honor guard had arrived in order to ensure his survival though communications were blocked by the Varahat ship. Initially, Doctor Julian Bashir attempted to save Akha's life but discovered that the aliens Raith weapons had caused a necrosis in the cells with even a donation of live cells from Garak being ineffective at stopping the spread of the wound. During his analysis of the Varahat, Dr. Bashir made a startling discovery - the alien DNA was remarkably similar to Cardassians which meant that the two races were distantly related. Using the Varahat Controller's cells along with that of his protective suit, Bashir managed to stabilize Gul Akha who managed to recover. At that point, the Varahat were attempted to withdraw with their leader but Akha's honor guard intended to attack. Whilst the Gul intended to give the command, Dr. Bashir made a subtle threat of making an open channel report to Starfleet Medical about how Akha was treated using Varahat genetic material. Such a report would have been a scandal for the Gul's career and he decided to order his honor guard to stand down. Akha later returned to Cardassia in order to be elevated to the rank of Grand Gul in the Cardassian Union.