During the second season, Quark, a Ferengi bartender sent by his government to begin trade negotiations in the Gamma Quadrant, makes contact with the Karemma, a Dominion member race. Some time later, he and Sisko are captured by the Jem'Hadar, the soldiers of the Dominion. They are rescued, but Jem'Hadar destroy the Federation ship USS "Odyssey" and Bajoran colonies in the Gamma Quadrant as a warning not to re-enter Dominion space. Soon, it is revealed that a race of shapeshifters, known as "Changelings" or "the Founders", are the rulers of the Dominion. The Cardassian and Romulan intelligence agencies, the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar, attempt to eradicate the Founders to protect the Alpha Quadrant, but their plans are compromised by Changeling infiltration, and their fleet is ambushed and destroyed.