Contents
Human
Klingon
Borg
Romulan
Vulcan
Betazoid
Bajoran
Q
Human;
James T. Kirk
The founders of the United Federation of Planets, Humans have become one of the most influential races in this portion of the galaxy. Human society has progressed greatly from being a powermongering, warlike people to being a peaceful and benevolent race. They have an inborn curiosity to learn more about the universe and formed Starfleet for the purpose of exploration. Humans now inhabit much of the Alpha Quadrant and are currently expanding into the Beta Quadrant. Humans are originally from the planet Earth, in Sol, in sector 001.
The Klingon Empire
Klingon;
Worf
Although a strong alliance was held between Humans and Klingons for close to 100 years, it was recently broken by an unprovoked Klingon attack on Deep Space 9.
Honor and ritual tradition play an important part in Klingon culture. Family heritage sets the pattern for generations to follow, giving klingon bloodlines great continuity in the establishment of both private and governmental leadership stucture.Rites of passage and tests of warrior skill are revered signposts of klingon maturity, often envolving to-the-death combat with primitive blade and blunt weaponry. While their technological level has long since evolved toward more efficient weapon and combat stems, most Klingon 'disagreements' are still settled using the ancient hand-to-hand methods of their ancestors.
For those occasions when long-distance or wide-damage weaponry is more suitable to the task at hand,Klingon science has provided a variety of high-efficiency disruptor units. These devices, generally pistol-like in form, lack the disintegration capability of phasers but produce a higher destuctive effect per reserve energy unit used. Larger ship-mounted versions of these disruptors are the primary weapons of the Klingon fleet, but are attuned specifically to be effecive against enemy vessel shields and hulls. Also available to Klingon vessels are variations upon the photon torpedo, but these are based not upon Federation science but upon those units acquired during the brief Klingon/Romulan alliance.
The Klingon/Romulan alliance,which was dissolved more than five decades ago, led to great scientific advances for both cultures. The Romulans gained several Klingon D-7 battel cruisers, from which they acquired warp-drive technology,In exchange for which they shared secrets of their cloaking systems. One of the most comman Klingon spacecraft in use to day, the familiar Bird Of Prey attack cruiser, is perhaps the most concrete reminder of this past alliance.
Physically, the imperial Klingon race is as imposing as it is aggressive. Both males and females have a greater muscle mass ratio than do most humaniod forms. They also generally grow taller and reach full adult height at an earier age than Terran humans. Perhaps the single most striking feature of Klingon anatomy is the ridged forehead crown evident in genetically pure individuals, a characteristic missing in the few Klingon/human genetic fusions still serving in some parts of the Empire. Each cranial structure, much like the human fingerprint, is unique.
The Borg
Borg; 'Hugh'
Bearing a fleeting societal resemblance only to the Binars of the Federation, the Borg have risen overnight to become perhaps the greatest single threat not only to the Federation, but to every galactic culture.
Possessing a hive computer mind, The Borg is a race of mechanically enchanced cybernetic beings that act and think as one. Perhaps millions in number, they exist only to absorb the technologies of those unfortunate civilizations they come into contact with. Emotion and personal considerations mean nothing to the relentless Borg, Who will pursue their goals of conquest until they achieve them- ot are distroyed trying.
Individual Borg drones begin life as normal humaniod infants, but are quickly "adapted" to their assigned life-long duties by the implantation of bionic components. This addition of technological parts continues until adulthood, when the individual is finally ready to be placed into its assigned place in the whole. Theory suggests that the Borg may have developed a method for accelerating the humaniod growth process, perhaps taking each Borg drone unit from infancy to adulthood in mere months.
The Borg vessels are of a design dictated purely by function with no consideration for aesthetics, are immense cube-shaped structures capable of incredible firepower and speed greater than can be accounted for by any stretch of conventional Federation scientific imagination.
The Borg appear to be centered in an area of space beyond the far side of the Romulan Empire. An intervention into Starfleet procedures by the "Q" has made the Borg aware of the Federation's existence long before such an encounter would have occurred naturally, opening the constant theat that further Borg intrusions into Federation space may occur.
The Romulan Empire
Romulan
First encountered by Starfleet vessels in a battle that took place almost two centries ago, the Romulans are an aggressive,cunning territorial people who wish only to expand their share of space by whatever means is necessary. That first encounter was ended purely by primitive subspace radio treaty, and it was not until decades later, following another confrontational incident, that the physical nature of the Romulan race was made known to Federation science. Shortly thereafter, it was concluded that the Romulan homeworld circled a star listed in Federation catalogues as Romulus, the larger of the Romulus/Remus stellar pair.
The Romulan Empire has grown though interstellar conquest. Member worlds are ruled with an iron fist, their own government supplanted by newly-installed Romulan ruling parties. While the Romulans are emotional beings, they are strangely devoid of all compassion for those whom they subjugate.
Facial appearance strongly suggested an ancestral link to the Vulcan race, and further historical and genetic research proved that the Vulcans and Romulans had indeed been one people at a point in Vulcan's turbulent past. The Romulan people are descended from a rebel Vulcan colony group which broke away from its homeworld ties before the Vulcan race turned away from violence and warfare towards its present racial philosophy of logic and peace. Current Starfleet intelligence indicates that a growing movement within the Romulan society may be planting the seed that will one day result in a Romulan return to the Vulcan heritage they share.
The Romulan people pride themselves on their intellect, however warlike, and this fact contributed greatly to the dissolution of their alliance with the Klingons, whom they considered too barbaric to be fully trusted. The Romulans are increasingly uncomfortable with the current Federation/Klingon alliance and wish to see it dissolved, fearing the combined military power of both entities. Several attempts have already been made by Romulan military intelligence to undermine the peaceful co-existence of the two superpowers, but all have proven unsuccessful.
Romulan starship technology now equals that of the federation, dispite a slow start. Sensor scans of the Romulan Neutral zone have recently shown a dramatic increase in the number of Romulan starships patrols on their side of the zone, suggesting that they may feel that a Federation invasion is a possibility. Their newest Warbird design is impressive in its size and power and has become the mainstay of their space forces.
Larger than Starfleet's Galaxy class and equipped with an improved cloaking device system, the warbird is the single greatest vessel threat to Federation security. While this massive ship employs full disruptors rather than ship-mounted phaser banks, these weapons are equally destructive due to a modification in their resonant frequency amplification process. The vessel is also, of course, equipped with multiple photon torpedo launch units- the photon torpedo was a Romulan innovation.
Vulcan;
Spock
The Vulcans are a humanoid race native to the planet Vulcan. Vulcans were once a passionate, violent people whose civilization was torn by terrible wars. The ancient philosopher Surak, revered as the father of Vulcan civilization, led his people some 2000 years ago to reject their emotions in favor of a philosophy that embraced pure logic. Vulcan society is now based entirely on logic and any trappings of emotion are considered to be in extremely poor taste.
One group did not accept Surak's teachings and instead left Vulcan to found the warrior Romulan Star Empire. In the distant past, Vulcans killed to win their mates. Even in the present, Vulcans revert to ancient rituals, apparently the price these people must pay for totally suppressing their natural emotions. When Vulcan children are about seven, their parents select a future mate, and the two children are joined in a ceremony that links them telepathically. When the two children come of age, they are compelled to join together for the marriage rituals. The time of mating, Pon farr, is when the stoically logical Vulcans pay for their rigid control by experiencing a period of total emotional abandon. In Vulcan adults, Pon farr comes every seven years.
Because planet Vulcan has a higher gravity than Earth, and its atmosphere is thinner, Vulcans in an Earth-normal environment demonstrate greater physical strength and more acute hearing than humans. The intensity of the Vulcan sun caused the Vulcans to evolve a secondary eyelid to protect the retina. This inner eyelid involuntarily closes when the eye is exposed to extremely intense light. Spock's inner eyelid protected him in 2267 against powerful light used in an experiment to eradicate the Denevan neural parasite.
A Vulcan's heart is where a human liver is. When injured, Vulcans concentrate their strength, blood and antibodies onto the injured organs in a type of self-induced hypnosis.
Certain elements of Vulcan prehistory suggest that the Vulcan race may have originated with colonists from another planet, possibly humanoids from Sargon's planet 500,000 years ago. Vulcans have telepathic capacity, as practiced in the Vulcan mind-meld. Although the telepathic ability is quite limited, Spock once felt the death screams of the 400 Vulcan crew members of the Starship Intrepid across interstellar distances.
Betazoid
Betazoid; Deanna Troi
Bearing a great physical resemblance to Humans, Betaziods are a highly skilled telepathic race who are also charter members of the Federation. They are originally from the planet Betazed.
Bajoran
Bajoran; Kira Nerys
The Bajorans are not members of the Federation, but have recently submitted an application to become members. They are a deeply spiritual people whose planet was occupied and people persecuted by the Cardassian Empire for many years. Now that they have been abandoned by the Cardassians, Bajor has persued close relations with the Federation. Adjacent to Bajor is the only stable wormhole known to exist leading to the Gamma Quadrant. The Bajoran government has given the Federation the starbase, Deep Space 9, in orbit of their planet and asked Starfleet to defend the wormhole and Bajor when necessary.
The Q Continuum
Q; In Human Form
The Q Continuum is the extradimensional domain in which Q and others of this kind exist.
Q is an immensely powerful extrademensional entity. While possessing near-godlike powers, Q also exhibits a child-like petulance and sense of playfulness. Q was banished from the Continuum in 2366 for having spread chaos though the universe. A selfless action by Q while being attacked by the Calamarian, just one of many enemies Q had made across the universe, was enough to persuade the Continuum to return his powers.
The first contact with Q was in 2364, when the Enterprise -D was detained, while Q enacted a courtroom drama in which Q accused the ship's crew of being "grievously savage." Q was also responsible for the first encounter with the Borg when the Enterprise-D was transported some 7,000 light years beyond Federation space to system J-25. Over the years Q has continued to visit the Enterprise for his fun and games which have included offering William Riker Q-like powers and casting the crew of the Enterprise into a fantasy based on the legends of Robin Hood.
Note : Q's child-like behavior have lead many to speculate that Q may be related to the Terlane. (The famous character from the "The Squire of Gothos" - TOS)
The music you are hearing now is the theme from Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. To download this midi file, click here.
