Son'a

The Son'a were descendants of the Ba'ku, who left the planet Ba'ku, in the 2270s, when their rebellion against Ba'ku philosophies failed. These renegade Ba'ku soon took on an air of narcissism and materialistic behaviour. They were nomadic, though they maintained outposts. Their command structure was called Son'a Command.

It was never clarified if Son'a Command referred to the entire Son'a government (if indeed they had one), their military, or just the command for the Ba'ku operation.

Society[]

Son'a were considered a narcissistic and materialistic people. They put great value in precious metals, rare jewels, and other materials, the desire for which was thought antiquated by Federation standards. They raided inhabited worlds in search for these resources, and also for slave labor, especially females. However, by 2375 it was believed that this practice had ended.

A deleted scene summarized their interests as "wine, women, and song".

Without the regenerative effects of the Ba'ku homeworld's metaphasic radiation, the Son'a became desperate in their efforts to prolong their lives by any possible means, including genetic manipulation and surgical techniques. The Son'a would make regular visits to facilities where their skin was stretched tight, and accumulated toxins were purged from their bodies. Nevertheless, due to the amount of bacteria entering their system, in the 2370s many Son'a (including Ru'afo himself) were suffering from fatal diseases and nearing death. It was also revealed that it would take at least ten years of normal exposure to the metaphasic radiation to begin to reverse their condition.

Some sociologists attributed their aggressive behavior to desperation brought on by their infertility. On a more positive note, the Son'a were highly praised for their accomplishments in the arts, the high quality of their vinting and their "hospitable" attitude towards personal relationships.

While a race of hedonists, they were well educated and curious, possessed of a strong desire to know all they did not, as befitting of the younger generation of Ba'ku, indeed, it was the very reason they had set out in the first place, this had led to many scientific advancements, including study of the metaphasic particles of their former homeworld. (TNG movie: Star Trek: Insurrection)

History and specifics[]

From approximately 2275, Ahdar Ru'afo became the leader of the Son'a. (ST website: StarTrek.com)

Following their departure, from the Briar Patch, the Son'a became a group of nomads, and soon earned a reputation for extreme aggression. During their travels, they visited many planets and took what materials they needed to improve their existence. They were also known to subjugate weaker species and make them their slaves, as in the case of the Tarlac and the Ellora in 2325, the species served as indentured servants and soldiers. Due to several sanctions, imposed against them by the Federation Council, the slave races had allegedly been freed and by the 2370s the slave raiding was thought to have stopped as a result.

By the 2370s, Son'a maintained colonies in the outlying areas near Cardassia and the Bajoran wormhole. By this time the Son'a had become infertile as well. The Federation speculated that this might have been the result of biological or genetic engineering. (TNG movie: Star Trek: Insurrection)

According to the novelization of Star Trek: Insurrection, the Son'a were rendered sterile by a failed attempt by Gallatin to artificially replicate the metaphasic radiation around their homeworld. Unable to reproduce, they became a dying race in every sense of the word, increasing their desperation.

Despite following the wishes of several other spacefaring civilizations, the Son'a have also been known to act in defiance of treaties and agreements. The most essential treaty they have acted in defiance of is the Second Khitomer Accords, which deals with the use of subspace weapons, and all Son'a battleships are equipped with such weaponry. (TNG movie: Star Trek: Insurrection)

In 2328, the Son'a were used by the Cardassians to provide weapons that would soon be used to annex Bajor. (ST - Terok Nor novel: Day of the Vipers)

During the war, the Federation suspected that they were manufacturing large quantities of the Dominion narcotic ketracel-white in the Son'a colonies in the outlying areas near Cardassia and the Bajoran wormhole. Following the start of the Dominion War in 2373, the Son'a sided with the Dominion and started producing ketracel-white for the Jem'Hadar at several facilities, including Devos II. Weyoun diverted a number of Dominion warships to that colony, believing that the Federation knew about it. Damar questioned this, as he felt the Son'a should be able to protect it themselves. (TNG movie: Star Trek: Insurrection, DS9 episode: "Penumbra")

Although the Son'a role in the Dominion War was first mentioned in Star Trek: Insurrection, Weyoun's order to Damar to send ships to assist the Son'a presumably took place after the events in Insurrection, indicating that not all of the Son'a returned to the Ba'ku homeworld. The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (? ed., p. ?) theorizes that they became full allies of the Dominion.

Federation first contact with the Son'a was made in 2374. (Last Unicorn RPG module: All Our Yesterdays: The Time Travel Sourcebook)

In 2375, the Son'a made an agreement with the Federation Council, to set-up a duckblind mission, to observe the Ba'ku. Ahdar Ru'afo and Admiral Matthew Dougherty made an agreement, to remove the 600 Ba'ku, to another planet, so that they could access the life-prolonging power of the metaphasic rings. However, the plan was soon exposed by Lieutenant Commander Data, who discovered a cloaked holoship on the surface. When the USS Enterprise arrived to investigate, Captain Jean-Luc Picard also learned of the plan and successfully prevented it from progressing. (TNG movie: Star Trek: Insurrection)

Following the defeat of this plan, a number of Son'a were allowed to settle on the Ba'ku planet, in a separate colony. Some of these Son'a, under the leadership of Urano, rebelled once again, with Romulan assistance, in a bid to seize control of the entire planet. The plan was put to a halt by Picard, Data and Ensign Sovok. (TNG video game: Hidden Evil)

Rogue members of the Son'a would continue to attempt to forcibly take over the homeworld of the Ba'ku, but these would be repelled by Starfleet, who made sure to keep the world under their protection. On one occasion, the defense of the planet was commanded by Commander Worf. (ST video game: Armada)

In 2378, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway joked with Jean-Luc Picard about his encounter with the Son'a, telling him he always got the easy assignments. (TNG movie: Star Trek Nemesis)

Technology[]

The Son'a had developed technologies that surpassed that of the Federation. They had developed the technology to harness the metaphasic radiation from the Ba'ku planetary rings, something that some of the brightest minds of the Federation had not achieved. According to Dougherty's words, this was the main reason why the Son'a and the Federation entered in this "partnership".

The Son'a equipped their vessels with photon torpedoes and unpredictable isolytic subspace weapons, in defiance of the Second Khitomer Accord. The Son'a used hand-held disruptor weapons that fired plasma charges. (TNG movie: Star Trek: Insurrection)

The type of hand weapons and plasma charges the Son'a fired were named in the script of Star Trek: Insurrection. A Son'a pistol holster and harness sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay.