Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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Enabran Tain; Former leader of the Cardassian Obsidian Order. Tain became head of that intelligence agency in 2348 and gained a reputation of being a hard, unforgiving man, who considered compassion to be a great weakness. When Tain retired from the powerful post in 2368, he was the only head of that agency to have survived long enough to be able to retire. When Tain's son, Elim Garak, also a member of the Obsidian Order, committed a serious misdeed, Tain had his own son exiled to station Terok Nor. Tain was forced to retire after the incident. "The Wire", "In Purgatory's Shadow".

In 2371, Tain attempted a comeback by masterminding a joint operation between the Obsidian Order and the Romulan Tal Shiar, a first strike against the Founders of the Dominion. As part of his plan, Tain ordered the assassination of six of his former advisors, including Garak, who was the only one of the six to escape death. Tain subsequently invited Garak to join him in leading the attack. Tain's offensive was a major disaster, resulting in the loss of all 20 Cardassian and Romulan ships to a Jem'Hadar ambush in the Omarion Nebula. "Improbable Cause", "The Die is Cast".

Tain was believed killed in the incident, although he was actually captured and held at Dominion internment camp 371, on an asteroid in the Gamma Quadrant. While in captivity, Tain managed to secretly construct a subspace radio transmitter, which he used to alert his son, Garak, to the fact that he and others had survived the failed offensive and were being held by the Jem'Hadar. His health failing, Tain died in 2373 while Garak led a Starfleet mission to rescue the captives. On his deathbed, Tain told his son that he was proud of him. "In Purgatory's Shadow".