Jem'Hadar
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| Jem'Hadar | |
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| Founded: | Genetically engineered by the Founders |
| Base of Operations: | Gamma Quadrant |
| Affiliation: | Dominion |
In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Jem'Hadar are the shock troops of the powerful Dominion located in the Gamma Quadrant. Genetically engineered for strength and resolve, they are also short-lived and believe that "victory is life." They are bred to perceive the Founders, enigmatic shape-shifters who rule the massive Dominion, as gods and are incapable of harming them. The Jem'Hadar's numbers are unknown, but they are produced by the thousands as needed.
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[edit] Biology and control
It is unknown if a base species was engineered into the Jem'Hadar (as is the case with their Vorta overseers) or whether they were completely engineered by the Founders. Although the Founders may have created the Jem'Hadar from scratch, there exist within the Dominion two races with abilities and appearance similar to the Jem'Hadar: the hunter and a "Tosk" prey species; they may have provided the genetic fodder to create the Jem'Hadar.
Jem'Hadar are born in "birthing pods." As there is no need for individual reproduction, the Jem'Hadar are unisex (although all Jem'Hadar characters have been portrayed by male actors). After emerging from the birthing-pod, the Jem'Hadar grows rapidly and is a battle-ready young adult in three days (albeit an inexperienced youth except for what is genetically encoded). To avoid weakness, they are bred without the need to eat, sleep, rest, relax or to pursue recreation. The Jem'Hadar are also bred for proficiency in hand-to-hand combat, having an extremely tough and strong physique, with leathery, lizard-like skin. Jem'Hadar have a personal cloaking capability they call "shrouding." When shrouded, the light around their bodies refracts, making them invisible (see optical camouflage). This ability is a part of their integrated biology.
The only nourishment they require comes in the form of the hormonal enzyme Ketracel White (or simply "[the] white"). Without this drug, Jem'Hadar go into severe withdrawal, resulting in loss of cognitive and motor functions. They also regress into a highly aggressive primal stage, not discriminating in who or what they attack, including their Vorta superiors and peers. Lack of white will eventually kill a Jem'Hadar. The Founders use the Vorta to supply the Jem'Hadar with the white. It is administered through 10-15 cm cylinders that fit into a relay system near a Jem'Hadar's collar, which is then fed directly into the Jem'Hadar via a tube running into the carotid artery.
Only one case of a non-addicted Jem'Hadar soldier is known: an anomaly that resulted from random genetic mutation. Some have speculated that the mutation was not as randomly anomalous as first assumed, but rather that the Founders did this purposely in order to test the loyalty of the Jem'Hadar if they did not need the white.[citation needed] In the film Star Trek: Insurrection, the white is used as a narcotic by other species, and that the Son'a cultivate the drug for this purpose.
Early in the Federation-Dominion war, unable to get back up from the Gamma Quadrant, the Founders in the Alpha Quadrant engineered the "Alpha" Jem'Hadar. The only noticeable differences between these and the "Gamma" Jem'Hadar are the Alphas' slight variation in the facial and head structures and more flippant attitude toward doctrine and procedure; this latter created animosity between the two breeds.
[edit] Culture
The Klingons believe that the Jem'Hadar are no more than honorless machines. However, the Jem'Hadar are a species of varied characters, although these variations are across a more narrow spectrum than is typical in the Star Trek universe. Jem'Hadar have a high attrition rate; few live to be fifteen and none are known to have lived to be thirty. A Jem'Hadar who reaches twenty years of age is considered an "honored elder."
The Jem'Hadar are typically extremely loyal to their overseers. In Rocks and Shoals, a group of Starfleet officers led by Captain Sisko are stranded on an uninhabited planet along with a group of Jem'Hadar and their Vorta, Keevan. Keevan is injured and needs medical attention to survive, so he decides to surrender himself. He informs Sisko how he will order his troops to attack so that Sisko can ambush and kill them. Even though the Jem'Hadar leader suspected Keevan's plan, so strong is their loyalty that they willingly walk into the trap as ordered. Earlier, in The Ship, a group of Jem'Hadar commit suicide because they fail to save the life of a Founder.
However, other Jem'Hadar have been less devoted. To the Death featured a group that gained control of an Iconian gateway plan to use it to rebel against the Founders. Their leader expected this group to pick up considerable support, to the point where the Jem'Hadar as a whole would be able to seize control of the Dominion and liberate themselves from the Founders. Even after these had been defeated, however, the loyal Jem'Hadar first murdered their Vorta for questioning his loyalty.
The Jem'Hadar command structure is fairly straightforward. A particular unit's leader is called a "first", the second in command is the "second", and so on down the chain of command. In To the Death, the ranking Jem'Hadar gave the following battle dirge to his assembled troops:
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- I am First Omet'iklan, and I am dead.
- As of this moment, we are all dead.
- We go into battle to reclaim our lives.
- This we do gladly, for we are Jem'Hadar.
- Remember: Victory is Life!
- Assembled Jem'Hadar: [chanting shout]
- Victory is Life! Victory is Life! Victory is Life!...
[edit] Weapons and equipment
- See also: Jem'Hadar starships
Jem'Hadar use phased polaron weaponry, both for handheld and ship-mounted weaponry. Apart from their sheer destructive force, Jem'Hadar weapon beam emit a pulse that prevents coagulation in impacted biological tissue; even a glancing wound will cause unstoppable bleeding and death if untreated. In most other regards, Jem'Hadar small arms appear comparable to those used by Starfleet, Klingons and Cardassians.
The Jem'Hadar also use edged weapons, including a small, curved blade designed to be held in one hand, and a larger sword-like weapon usually held with two hands. In early encounters, Jem'Hadar can walk through Starfleet forcefields. According to startrek.com, this ability is derived from energy-absorbing pads built into their uniforms. (It should be noted, however, that the same source also indicates their shrouding ability to be derived from technology, despite the fact that the episodes "The Abandoned" and "Rocks and Shoals" explicitly established that ability to be biological.)
The Jem'Hadar boast starships of unique design. These include relatively small, beetle-like attack ships [1] that are comparable in size to the USS Defiant, larger battleships [2] first seen in "Ties of Blood and Water", and rarely-seen behemoths first seen in "Valiant".
Their ships' bridges contain no central viewer, with only the first and their Vorta permitted to use a heads-up display visor to see outside the ship. There are no chairs; everyone must stand (in the episode "One Little Ship", the first orders the chairs removed from Defiant's bridge). The beetle-like attack ships are sufficiently well-built to survive plummeting uncontrolled into a planet's surface and subsequently being repaired and flown again (DS9: "The Ship").
[edit] Involvement in the Dominion War
Hostilities between the powers of the Alpha Quadrant and the Dominion begin with the Jem'Hadar's kidnapping of Benjamin Sisko and Quark. Simultaneously, the Jem'Hadar destroy several Alpha Quadrant species' colonies and ships in the Gamma Quadrant. The Jem'Hadar kamikaze attack and destroy the USS Odyssey while the damaged starship is retreating after a mission to rescue Sisko and Quark. (DS9: "The Jem'Hadar")
The Jem'Hadar are the spearhead for the Dominion's invasion of and advances through the Alpha Quadrant. Although the Dominion allies itself with the Cardassians and the Breen, the Jem'Hadar remain at the forefront of the Dominion's forces. A Dominion reinforcement fleet would have spelled doom for the Alpha Quadrant defenders had not the wormhole aliens intervened and caused the fleet to vanish (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Sacrifice of Angels"). Even without these reinforcements, the war persists—and the Jem'Hadar continue to fight—for almost two more years.
After heavy losses, the Dominion War ends in 2375, and the Jem'Hadar withdraw to the Gamma Quadrant.
[edit] Other Information
- Non-canon information from the novels suggests that the name 'Jem'Hadar' means 'soldier' in their language.
- The name Jem'Hadar is similar to Jemadar, the lowest rank of commissioned officer, equivalent to a lieutenant, in the British Indian Army and Indian Army until 1965.
[edit] External link
- Jem'Hadar article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
