- For the mirror universe counterpart, see Natima Lang (mirror).
Natima Lang was a female Cardassian in the 24th century.
Biography
Early Life and Journalism
Lang attended the University of Prekiv. (ST - Terok Nor novel: Dawn of the Eagles)
Circa 2365, she was a correspondent for the Cardassian Information Service on space station Terok Nor, where she witnessed the ill-treatment of the station's Bajoran inhabitants during the Occupation of Bajor. During her time there, she was romantically involved with Quark, but ended the relationship after a month when he used her access codes to steal money from the Cardassian government. (DS9 episode: "Profit and Loss")
- Startrek.com gives the date of this event as 2363.
Academia and Exile
Lang was the author of the book The Ending of "The Never-Ending Sacrifice", a critical analysis of the celebrated Cardassian novel The Never-Ending Sacrifice which also pointed out the flaws she saw in Cardassian society. (DS9 novel: The Never-Ending Sacrifice)
As of 2370, she was a professor of political ethics at the Institute of State Policy. That year, two of her students, Hogue and Rekelen, began distributing a politically radical broadsheet, previously only available on campus, in the market at Torr. This prompted an order for their arrest, so Lang fled with them from Cardassia, pursued by the Cardassian Central Command. After a brief reunion with Quark on Deep Space 9, who provided her with a small cloaking device, Lang and her students were able to escape the pursuing Cardassian warship. (DS9 episode: "Profit and Loss", DS9 novel: The Never-Ending Sacrifice)
After the Fire
Following the end of the Dominion War, the well-regarded Lang returned to Cardassia to serve as an ambassador for Alon Ghemor's new, democratically-elected government. In July of 2376 Ambassador Lang traveled to Deep Space 9 aboard the CDS Trager to begin diplomatic efforts to normalize the relationship between Cardassia and Bajor. The talks were difficult due to a ploy by the parasite-controlled Bajoran First Minister Shakaar Edon, who instructed his negotiator, Second Minister Asarem Wadeen, to intentionally be confrontational. (DS9 - Mission: Gamma novel: This Gray Spirit)
By the mid-2380s, Lang had retired from public service, instead spending much of the last decade back in academia at the University of the Union (U of U) in Cardassia City, where she lectured and tutored. One of the most popular figures in the Union, she was adored for standing up to the Obsidian Order and the Guls. By 2388, Lang was seen as the favourite to succeed Enek Therok as its principal, although the Castellan, Elim Garak, seemed to favour a younger surgeon. Lang was caught in a plot hatched by a rogue Federation spy who had somehow survived the Dominion War and "the Fire", and who leaked her possible involvement in a research project before her exile ("Project Enigma") - one in which half-Bajoran/half-Cardassian children underwent gene therapy and genetic engineering to remove their Bajoran genes, then be given to august Cardassian families, the children unaware of their heritage. It seemed she may have approved the budget for the project the third time it passed before a research committee of the U of U. Ultimately, the attempt to smear her was assuaged. Although it was possible she had approved it, Garak suggested that her good to Union both in running an underground railroad for her students and her work as a voice of Cardassian progressive culture offset the crime of the past. Further the castellan managed to assuage Lang that he did support her - not for the university, but as his potential successor. (DS9 novel: Enigma Tales)
Star Trek Online
In 2393, Lang, as a Detapa Council member, made an agreement with General Lorix so that the Remans would provide Dilithium and heavy metal ore to the Cardassians. Seven years later, she spoke about reconciliation at the opening of the Cardassian Embassy on Bajor. Natama Lang was elected Castellan of the Cardassian Union in 2401 on stardate 78092.83. In the role, she decided to focus on not just building schools and houses, but to build a new place in the Alpha Quadrant for the Cardassian people.
2402 saw Cardassian Intelligence send a report to Natima Lang indicating that the True Way, led by Madred, stole warships after the Dominion War. (STO website : The Path to 2409)
Appendices
Appearances
2385
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Connections
| Preceded by: Elim Garak |
Castellan of the Cardassian Union since 2401 |
Succeeded by: Incumbent |
| Castellans of the Cardassian Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| primary universe | Eleta Kalis (2399) • Natima Lang (2401-2411) | 
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Splinter timeline | Alon Ghemor (2376-2379) • Rakena Garan (2379-2385) • Elim Garak (2385-2387) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
External links
- Natima Lang article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Natima Lang article at The Star Trek Online Wiki.