Iconian Gateway:
The Gateways are a method of dimensional transport developed by the Iconians more than 200,000 years ago. These ancient relics are the last artifacts of a highly advanced civilisation. The Gateways display an understanding of quantum mechanics which far surpasses that of any modern space-faring races (not including unaffected races such as the Cytherians and the Q). The Gateways allow an individual to pass instantaneously from one point in space to another. The maximum distance of this technology is unknown. However, it appears that at one time the Iconians held outposts in some of the most far-flung edges of the galaxy.
Archeological evidence seems to indicate that less advanced races felt threatened by the power the Gateways gave the Iconians. These races formed a coalition and travelled to Iconia itself, destroying the surface of the planet in a massive orbital bombardment. After this, the Iconian civilisation disintegrated. However, it is believed that the Gateways allowed the Iconians to escape to several other planets, and influence the local civilisation.
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History: The first known discovery of an Iconian gateway in modern times was in 2365 by the crew of the Starship Enterprise-D on the planet Iconia. Iconia was discovered in the Romulan Neutral Zone by the overzealous Captain Donald Varley of the U.S.S. Yamato, who violated the Neutral Zone Treaty to study the planet. His ship was destroyed by an Iconian computer virus, delivered by an ancient but still-functioning planetary defense probe. Upon discovering the gateway, the Enterprise-D crew chose to destroy it, rather than risk allowing it to fall into Romulan hands. A second gateway was discovered by Dominion scientists in 2372 on planet Vandros IV in the Gamma Quadrant. The gateway was housed in an ancient stone monolith whose internal structure was composed of solid neutronium, making it impervious to orbital bombardment. Rebel Jem'Hadar soldiers attempted to seize the gateway, but were prevented from doing so by an unusual joint mission of Dominion and Federation forces that destroyed the gateway mechanism and its surrounding building. Because of the vast distance that separates these two Gateway locations, it is reasonable to assume that there are many more scattered throughout the galaxy. It is known that Starfleet has since recovered other Gateways. However, how many or where they were discovered is classified data. The recovered Gateways are currently being studied in great length at covert Starfleet installations. |
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Operation:
The Iconian Gateways operate by some manner of dimensional shifting, a principle simillar to space folding. Each Gateway is powered internally by a highly advanced generator, which impressively, have kept the Gateways active for several hundred thousand years. In default mode, the Gateways will cycle between preset targets, which include the captials of several civilised planets, and in some cases the command centers of any ships detected in orbit. It has not yet determined how to specify and lock in user-defined coordinates, making the Gateways more of a curiousity than a useful tool of exploration. However, it is rumoured that Starfleet has accidentally discovered how to open gateways to distant galaxies. This supposition is unsubstantiated. |
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