The Iconians are coming. We saw them on Qo'noS, and felt the agony of their terrible power. They warned us not to oppose them, and yet in campaign against the Vaadwaur in the Delta Quadrant that is precisely what we did.

We can no longer pretend that war is not upon us. What we can do is arm ourselves with knowledge for the battles to come.

The Iconians are among the most ancient civilizations of which we know. More than 200,000 years ago, their empire covered vast areas of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While their homeworld of Iconia, in what is now Romulan space was the heart of this empire, there were dozens of colony worlds, and Iconian technology has been found in both the Gamma and Delta quadrants.

From what we know, the Iconians were despots. Known as "Demons of Air and Darkness," the Iconians ruled by the force of their technology, which was far beyond anything seen before, including a network of gateways that allowed them to transport vast distances in an instant.

There have been some recent scholars who have disputed this. They say history is written by the victors, and it is true that 200,000 years ago the races enslaved by the Iconians rose up against their masters and destroyed the Iconian civilization in a cataclysm of fire.

These scholars think history should regard the Iconians more kindly. I say their actions speak louder than any fragments or relics left behind.