Iconian

The Iconians were an ancient and highly advanced civilization from Iconia, in the Beta Quadrant.

Origin
The ascendancy of the Iconian race began thousands of years ago when their race made use of the Dream Gem to develop their Gateway technology. What was unknown to many was that the Q Continuum had a certain fondness for the race and provided them the means to create gateways with the most casual piece of their technology in order for them to reach other worlds in the galaxy. (SS VOY (In the Queue)) Using this technology, they formed the Iconian Empire which spread across space. During the deployment of the network, they discovered the existence of a race of beings that dwelled within the Bajoran wormhole. Out of respect for these entities, the Iconians did not deploy any gateways within ten light years of the wormhole or those worlds that the entities watched over. (SS DS9 (Horn and Ivory)) Their civilization was believed to have reached its zenith around 200,000 years ago or more, when they had developed the technology to easily spread across the Milky Way Galaxy. 

The philosopher Senega, however, warned her people that the disparity of technology between their race and others would become a source of conflict. Her words were proven true when suspicion and fear motivated other species to unite against the Iconian Empire, to whom they gave the nickname, "Demons of Air and Darkness", due to their gateways. According to ancient stories, various worlds of the galaxy banded together in order to destroy the threat posed by the Iconians. These races journeyed to the homeworld of Iconian where they bombarded its surface where it was believed that the "Demons of Air and Darkness" were finally destroyed. During the last days of the Iconian Empire, a group used the Gem to activate the gateway network and take the remnants of their race to other worlds in order to survive. Thus, Iconian settlements were formed on the planets of, and Dynassia. One of the last of the survivors was Kanda Jiak, who sought to take the Gem to safety, but after entering the gateway he was instead transported to, where he died and the stone passed to the Vulcan race. Around 200,000 years ago the Iconians were supposedly wiped out following an orbital bombardment of Iconia. 

Despite using their technology for benevolent purposes, the other races fear motivated them to attack the Iconians which meant that the gateways was the source of the downfall of their civilization. While their home world was destroyed, the species had actually remained in existence and secretly lived in remote corners of the galaxy. (SS VOY (In the Queue)) History later recorded that the Iconians were a race of brutal conquerors. Among the Iconians, it was believed that one of the things that doomed their civilization was that their gateway technology meant they could no longer actually travel and thus they had lost sight of the journey in their desire to reach their destination. (SS DS9 (Horn and Ivory)) It was known that no other race had achieved the same level of greatness as the Iconian Empire. In fact, in over two hundred thousand years, no other civilization had come close to recreating the transportation system of the Iconians. (SS VOY (In the Queue))

Legacy
Though the Iconians were believed to have been extinct, the survivors who moved to various remote colonies had in fact survived and continued to live for thousands of years. A number of Iconians were able to escape to outposts on Ikkabar, DiWahn, and Dynassia. The climate on Ikkabar proved too unstable to sustain a population, and all but one of the Ikkabar died out. The DiWahn and Dynassian climates were more suited for settlement, and the descendants of the Iconians survived on both worlds. One of the last strongholds of the Iconians remained in the Alpha Quadrant, but had been reduced to a primitive state, and it was at this location where the Master Resonator keys were left behind. A faction of the race retained the use of their technology and had left known space in order to be on their own in order to pursue new interests and not to be bothered by other species. They, however, formed a group called the Sentries that were charged with watching over the gateway network. While they retained the use of the technology, these descendants of the Iconians were largely ignorant of their heritage or the workings of their equipment. (,, SS TNG (The Other Side))

Some speculation was held on whether the Guardian of Forever was a product of Iconian technology. Hundreds of worlds hold traces of Iconian influence, or visits, with legends showing their kind as being a conqueror, as well as warmongering, people. However, very little was actually known of the species as their actual history was almost inseparable from folklore. Hundreds of planets held legends of their almost magical technology, and stories painted them as being a warlike species. Some theories, however, held that the Iconians may have been a peaceful race, but were in fact victims who were attacked by those that feared their advanced technology to the point that these other races destroyed what they could not understand. Some even speculated that the descendants of the Iconian race still wandered the galaxy though the identity of them was unknown. By the 24th century, the United Federation of Planets had discovered only a few remains of the Iconian race, though their empire remained an enigma. In 2365, the planet Iconia was discovered by the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) who destroyed the gateway on the world as well as disputed the characterization of the species as being Demons of Air and Darkness. The Iconians also possessed territory in the Gamma Quadrant, such as Vandros IV and its surrounding territory. 

During the Gateways Crisis of 2376, the Petraw species masqueraded as the Iconians and activated the gateway network as part of a demonstration in order to sell the technology to the highest bidder. This led to a number of disasters such as the dumping of Theta radiation by a Malon freighter which threatened the Europa Nova colony that was accomplished through a gateway linking the world to the Delta Quadrant. It was only the effort of Captain Picard who met with the Sentries did he find a means of shutting down the system by locating the thirteen resonator keys and deactivating the network. (SS TNG (The Other Side))

Both variants of Smyt were Iconian. 

Return

 * "Look upon us and tremble." -- transmission from the Obex

By the early 25th century, the Iconians were responsible for crossing into Fluidic Space where they attacked the native Undine race. This chain of events saw the Undine being provoked into believing that they had faced hostility from the other universe. As such, the tripedal aliens began a campaign of infiltration and destabilization of the Milky Way Galaxy. Unknown to anyone, this all went in line with the Iconians plans in setting the various races against one another in order to keep them all divided. 

In 2409, an investigation was conducted into the Hobus supernova which led to a trail to Iconia itself. A mysterious vessel in orbit was present before departing and an ancient Iconian facility was discovered with an operational gateway present. Schematics within an Iconian database showed a device that was capable of seeding the Hobus star and causing it to go supernova which led to the destruction of Romulus. It was believed that Romulan rebels under the command of Taris were responsible for triggering the transmission from the Iconian base that led to Hobus undergoing a supernova. Obisek who headed the Reman Resistance also learnt that the Tal Shiar had allied themselves with the "demons of air and darkness". He believed that this threat remained in the shadows and intended to get revenge on those that had driven them from their homeworld. Colonel Hakeev revealed the ties the Tal Shiar had with the Iconians on Nopada Prime along with his goal in finding ways of provoking conflict amongst various races. After Hakeev's death, a battle erupted at Brea III where Empress Sela's flagship, the IRW Leahval was seemingly captured by an Iconian Dreadnought that had emerged from a gateway. 

Following these events, Obisek wondered about the threat the Iconians posed to the galaxy. This worry was also voiced by Captain Va'Kel Shon during the Borg conference at Deep Space 9. According to Commander Mesi Achebe, Taris seemingly managed to escape during the riot at Facility 4028 with the seeming aid of the Iconians. One scheme of the Iconians was an attempt at altering history where they were responsible for transporting a number of Borg drones back through time to the Battle of Wolf 359. These drones were to be transported to the USS Saratoga (NCC-31911) with the intention of killing Benjamin Sisko thus disrupting the timeline. However, Q was responsible for sending agents to stop the Borg before the completion of their mission. An Iconian Dreadnought called the Obex was responsible for the destruction of two Borg Cubes with the vessel sending a warning to nearby surviving ships before departing the area. Investigators on New Romulus revealed the ties the planet had with the ancient Iconians. 

In 2410, when the Federation and Klingon Empire agreed to cease war after the Undine attack on Earth and Qo'noS, a female Iconian came through a gateway to give a cryptic warning to the Federation, Klingon Empire and Romulan Republic about things that would happen if they drew the Iconians attention again. 

While following a lead by Sela, who had escaped capture, members of the Alpha Quadrant Alliance entered a Dyson sphere hidden in the Andromeda Galaxy, where they discovered a massive Iconian invasion force inside. The members escaped, though not before the Sphere jumped and arrived in Iconia space. During this mission, Sela reveals that the Iconians themselves cannot travel through time. The arrival of the Alliance and Sela, however, was the last straw, an Iconian warning them that their galaxy was now forfeit.