Star Trek: A Gutted World

A Gutted World presents the question "What if the Cardassians discovered the Bajoran Wormhole?" Set in 2373, around the time of Star Trek: First Contact, the Cardassians never withdrew from Bajor, and Corat Damar is serving on Terok Nor when Odo, chief of security, goes missing. On Gul Dukat's orders he investigates Garak, but nothing comes of it. A few days later, Garak meets Kira Nerys, last surviving member of the Shakaar resistance cell, and helps her escape from Bajor with a message for the Federation.

Meanwhile, the quadrant is shocked when the the Detapa Council announces that the Cardassian Union has taken over the Ferengi Alliance, shortly after the Klingon No'Var Outpost is attacked by a Romulan Warbird. After a Klingon squadron performs a revenge attack, the Romulan Star Empire declares war on the Klingon Empire, and the United Federation of Planets is drawn into the conflict due to the Khitomer Accords. The war rages for many months, with large losses on both sides, and questionable strategic decisions. Riker is promoted to captain the USS Sugihara, and Data the USS Sutherland.

During the war, the Cardassians start making noises on the border, and a task force of nine starships is dispatched. Kathryn Janeway, captain of the USS Voyager, is sent to Dorvan V with the USS Bellerophon and USS Intrepid. They are fired upon by Galor class warships armed with phased polaron beam weapons, and both Intrepid and Voyager are destroyed, while the Bellerophon barely escapes intact. Of the six other ships, only one escapes. The USS Enterprise-E is dispatched with Ambassador Krajensky to engage in negotiations with the Cardassians. They are met by Gul Lemec, who refuses to discuss the annexations, when a distress signal from a Ferengi vessel carrying Kira Nerys is detected. The USS Excalibur is destroyed in the subsequent fight, but Kira and Quark are rescued, and tell Picard that the Alpha Quadrant powers have been infiltrated by changelings from the Gamma Quadrant empire known as The Dominion. They offer Odo as proof of the changelings' abilities. Shortly afterwards, Starbase 375 is destroyed, along with the USS Lexington and USS da Vinci, by a Jem'Hadar attack.

Back on Earth, in a meeting with Jean-Luc Picard, Kira, Odo and William Ross, it is discovered that Federation President Jaresh-Inyo is a changeling, who is subsequently killed by Worf. Picard devises a plan to kill the remaining changelings using the USS Defiant, which since the war with the Romulans led to the abrogation of the Treaty of Algeron, has been fitted with a cloaking device. Worf is given command of the Defiant, with Benjamin Sisko as first officer and Montgomery Scott as chief engineer. A security force led by Michael Eddington, and including Domenica Corsi are to kill the changelings. Meanwhile, Enterprise chief engineer Lieutenant Miles O'Brien installs a cloaking device so that the Enterprise can enter Bajoran space and destroy the wormhole.

After some troubles with the cloaking device, the Defiant enters Reman orbit, determines that Koval is the changeling, and transports Corsi's insertion team into his mountain retreat. The security team are killed, but Kira manages to kill the changeling. The Defiant sets course for Qo'noS in order to expose the changeling in the Klingon Empire. Meanwhile, Dukat (actually a changeling) has left Terok Nor in the hands of Damar, and with antiproton beam scanners to detect cloaked ships. When the Enterprise is detected, the two warships at the station are sent to attack it, but they are destroyed by sabotage. Garak, who had been missing, is discovered in the station's fusion core, where he sabotages the shield generators. A quantum torpedo destroys the unshielded station. The Enterprise subsequently destroys the wormhole, but is itself destroyed by the Jem'Hadar.

As the Defiant reaches Qo'noS, they discover a fleet of Jem'Hadar attacking the Klingon homeworld. The population of Qo'noS is reduced to only a few thousand when the Defiant joins the battle, and Gowron is killed when the IKS Negh'var is destroyed. After a fleet of twenty-two more Jem'Hadar is detected, Worf orders the Defiant into the Klingon sun while initiating a warp core breach, causing a nova which destroys the Jem'Hadar fleet.

The book ends with the two remaining changelings in the quadrant - General Talak and Gul Dukat - vowing to conquer the alpha quadrant even without reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant.