#discovery book bringing up both the dominion war and the picard s1 backstory... we are now close friends

[avoicefromthestars]

“To be fair,” said Ki, “the Federation did make numerous overtures, at least in the beginning. They were dealing with their own problems in the aftermath of their war with the Dominion, but they continued their outreach attempts despite repeated rebuffs from King Buhi. Even so, the Federation accepted any Xaheans wishing to emigrate. Then your people became involved in the effort to relocate the Romulans from their homeworld and other planets they believed would be affected by the supernova that eventually destroyed the Romulan star system. You know what happened during this period, of course.” “The Mars attack.” The words were almost a whisper as Burnham spoke them. Learning of the devastation wrought upon the Utopia Planitia facility and indeed the whole planet had made her heart heavy, but not so much as what happened after that tragedy. Wounded in so many ways both literally and figuratively, the Federation retreated. In the immediate aftermath of the attack and with the loss of so many vessels being constructed for the evacuation effort, Starfleet suspended its attempts to assist the Romulans. Two years later, the supernova consumed the Romulan system, shattering the once powerful empire and annihilating billions of people. Perhaps motivated by shame, Earth and other core worlds disengaged from the interstellar stage. Turning their focus inward, they began reassessing the advantages and detriments of adhering to principles that had guided them since the Federation’s founding. By the end of the twenty-fourth century, borders were redrawn, severing lifelines to planets and civilizations that relied upon trade and mutual cooperation with the Federation despite not being members themselves. Regions once patrolled and secured by Starfleet vessels found themselves on their own and forced to improvise their own methods of enforcing law and order, with varying degrees of success.

— Star Trek Discovery: Somewhere To Belong, Dayton Ward