Master Strategists: the Zakdorn

“In the game of military brinksmanship, individual physical prowess is less important than the perception of a species as a whole,” an operations officer aboard the Enterprise-D once explained of the Zakdorn. ”For over nine millennia potential foes have regarded the Zakdorns as having the greatest innately strategic minds in the galaxy.”
Hailing from Zakdorn in the Kador system of the Abin Zak Sector, the Zakdorn are an exceptionally cunning and strategically-minded race of humanoids. According to Federation star charts, their homeworld is located on the extreme edge of Federation space in the Beta Quadrant’s outer sectors.
The Zakdorn are distinguished physically from other humanoids by three segmented facial pouches, or exaggerated wrinkles, below their eyes on either side of their face, and are generally without eyebrows. They are also seen as being fleshy, short and plump, although this is not always necessarily the case.
The Zakdorn became Federation members after making first contact with the USS Gandhi during the starship’s participation in the Coreworld Frontier Survey Initiative, in 2344. They have contributed significantly to Federation operations with their tactical expertise and strategic prowess, making potential foes wary enough to not engage the Zakdorn or their allies in battle.
They have been engaged by Federation forces as observers and mediators in strategic sessions and war games. Zakdorn are depicted as haughty, over-confident and witheringly condescending to those they see as unworthy opponents, however, it has been observed that their self-assuredness is not undeserved. Some races, such as Klingons, see this unconquerable strategic opponents as evidence only of the species’ untested combat ability, making their reputation worthless in more battle-hardened species’ eyes.
Zakdorn also have a fondness for gaming. One Zakdorn mediator was a high-ranking grand master in the game of Strategema, a three-dimensional tactile interface game that requires players to outmanoeuvre their opponents. Similarly, Zakdorn on Pelios Station readily joined in games of dom-jot, a billiard-like game, with other races.
The Zakdorn are on our approved species list, which means you can sim a member of this species as a primary character! To learn more, read about this species on Memory Alpha.