Jem'Hadar
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 very short-lived and believe that 'Victory is life'. They perceive the Founders, enigmatic shape-shifters who rule the massive Dominion, as gods. The Jem'Hadar's numbers are unknown, but are known to be produced by the thousands and as needed.
Biology and Control
Jem'Hadar are genetically engineered and are born in "birthing pods." As there is no need for individual reproduction, the Jem'Hadar are unisex. 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 have been bred without the need to eat, sleep, rest, relax or take part in recreation of any form. 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 a hormonal enzyme called Ketracel-White (or simply "white"). Without this drug, the Jem'Hadar go into severe withdrawal, resulting in loss of cognitive and motor functions resulting in eventual death. This also causes the Jem'Hadar to regress into a highly aggressive primal stage before his death, therefore not discriminating in who or what they attack -- including their Vorta superiors.
A key aspect, if not the defining aspect, of the Jem'Hadar is that the Founders believed these soldiers to be so ruthless that they needed a special "edge" to prevent them from rebelling against the Dominion. For that reason, all Jem'Hadar are bred to lack a vital enzyme esoterically keyed to their biology (ketracel-white) that acts as their sole form of nutrition. They are also genetically programmed with a type of imprintation process that further prevents a Jem'Hadar from harming a Founder in case of revolt.
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 which was the result of a 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. Some sources have also indicated that the drug can be used as a narcotic by other species.
Early in the war with the Dominion, 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 a slight variation in the facial and head structures and the somewhat more tame doctrinations of the "Alpha" Jem'Hadar.
Culture
Many, such as the Klingons, believe the Jem'Hadar are no more than honorless machines. In fact the Jem'Hadar are a species of varied characters, although those variations are across a narrower spectrum than what is typical in the Star Trek universe. Many Jem'Hadar have displayed a profound loyalty and devotion within their own ranks and to the Founders. Common incantations that; "Obedience brings Victory!" and "Victory is Life!"—literally true; through victory, they get more Ketracel White. 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 that reaches twenty years of age is considered an "Honored Elder".
In one case a group of Starfleet officers led by Captain Sisko were stranded on an uninhabited planet along with a group of Jem'Hadar and their Vorta, Keevan. Keevan was injured and needed medical attention to survive, so decided to surrender himself. He informed Sisko that he was going to order his troops to attack so that Sisko could ambush and kill them all. Even though the Jem'Hadar knew full well what Keevan was planning, so strong was their loyalty that they willingly walked into the trap as ordered. On another occasion a group of Jem'Hadar committed suicide because they failed to save the life of one of the Founders.
However, other Jem'Hadar have been less devoted - for instance, a group which gained control of an Iconian gateway planned to use it to rebel against the Founders. The Vorta 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.
The Jem'Hadar command structure is fairly straightforward. Their equivalent to a captain is called a "First". Their equivalent to commander is "Second". The ranks goes down through "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth", and so on. Before a major battle, the ranking Jem'Hadar, usually the First, will traditionally give the Jem'Hadar Battle Dirge to his assembled troops:
- Ranking Jem'Hadar:
- "I am First[Ranking Jem'Hadar's name], and I am dead.
- As of this moment, we are all dead.
- We go into battle to reclaim our lives.
- We do this gladly, for we are Jem'Hadar.
- Remember: Victory is Life!"
- Assembled Jem'Hadar: [chanting shout]
- "Victory is Life! Victory is Life! Victory is Life!..."
- Chief O'Brien:(to starfleet crew after hearing the First)
- " I am Chief Miles Edward O'brien, I am alive, you are alive,
- and I expect it to stay that way!"
Jem'Hadar Weapons and Equipment
Jem'Hadar use phased polaron weaponry, both for hand held and capital sized weaponry. Apart from their traditional destructive force, a Jem'Hadar weapon-beam emits a pulse that prevents blood clotting in damaged tissue. Even a glancing wound will cause unstoppable bleeding and death. In most other regards (rate of fire, accuracy, stopping power, portability, et cetera) Jem'Hadar small arms appear comparable to those of Earth's 21st century.
The Jem'Hadar also use edged weapons, including a small, curved blade designed to be held by one hand, and a larger sword-like weapon usually held by two hands. The Jem'Hadar also possess the ability to 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, like every other militaristic race in Star Trek, boast starships of unique design. These include the relatively small, beetle-like attack ships [1] that are comparable in size to the USS Defiant, the larger battleships [2] first seen in the episode "Ties of Blood and Water", and the immense, rarely-seen behemoths first seen in the episode "Valiant," and later seen in the Battle of Cardassia Prime in the series finale, "What You Leave Behind."
Their ships' bridges contain no central viewer, with only the Jem'Hadar First and the Vorta field agent permitted to use a heads-up display visor to view such as the surrounding battle. There are no chairs; the Jem'Hadar and the Vorta agent must stand; in the episode "One Little Ship", the First orders the chairs removed from Defiant's bridge. The beetle-like attack ships prove to be extremely well-built, surviving an impact fall from space to a planet and able to be flown again.
Known Jem'Hadar history
It is unknown if the homeworld of the species who were engineered into Jem'Hadar still exists, or if there even is such a homeworld. Sources on the filmed episodes were vague as to whether the species were originally sentient or if they were completely engineered by the Founders.
Some say the Founders created them from scratch, however there exists within the Dominion two other races with similar abilities and appearance to the Jem'Hadar, a hunter and a prey species. First contact between the Jem'Hadar and the Federation was violent. Shortly after first contact with them, a Jem'Hadar kamikaze attack destroyed the Galaxy-class USS Odyssey. The Jem'Hadar also destroyed numerous other ships in the Gamma Quadrant at the time, and massacred the New Bajor colony there.
During the Dominion War, the Jem'Hadar were the frontline soldiers of the Dominion, with Cardassians used as cannon-fodder and later the Breen as allies. They captured Betazed, and wrought very high attrition rates. During the war, the Dominion began developing a new breed of Jem'Hadar specifically adapted to use in the Alpha quadrant. These soldiers are often called Alphas. There was some tension between the Alphas and the original Jem'Hadar soldiers, which the Alphas referred to as "Gammas".
In the episode "Sacrifice of Angels", a fleet of over two thousand Jem'Hadar ships entered the Bajoran wormhole in an attempt to overwhelm the Alpha Quadrant. After much deliberation, the Prophets eliminated the Jem'Hadar ships, which appeared to vanish without a trace; the ultimate fate of these ships and their crews remains a mystery.
After heavy losses, The Dominion War ended in 2375 and the Jem'Hadar withdrew to the Gamma Quadrant. It is unknown if the Jem'Hadar ever became free of the Dominion and the Founders.
Dominion war events involving Jem'Hadar
The Chin'Toka system was taken from the Jem'Hadar in a devastating defeat. Heavy fighting with the Jem'Hadar also occurred on the moon designated AR-558 in the Chin'toka system.
The Jem'Hadar considered attacking Earth, but did not. The key to the Alpha Quadrant was repeatedly stated as being the Bajoran wormhole, not Earth. Attacking Earth was seen as an expensive, grandiose gesture with little profit or critical acclaim. Nonetheless, a Breen fleet did attack Earth: but it was a suicidal gesture, as few of the attacking ships survived to escape.
When Cardassia Prime rebelled against Dominion rule, the Jem'Hadar destroyed Lakarian City, killing over 2 million inhabitants, in a gesture that was supposed to beat the Cardassians into submission. However, the Jem'Hadar and the Dominion didn't really understand the beings of the Alpha Quadrant, who unlike the Gamma Quadrant, had not been pacified by centuries of Dominion rule: The Cardassians had been ruthless conquerors themselves for generations, and were not about to give up even at such a high price. A bloody insurrection started, and eventually in frustration the order was given "I want the Cardassians exterminated... all of them, the entire population". The Dominion sent tens of millions of Jem'Hadar troops to crush the revolt and destroy the Cardassian population in a genocidal massacre. The death toll was placed at over 800 million Cardassians dead by the time it was liberated (astonishing, given that William Riker stated World War III killed 600 million people on Earth).
It is possible that the name Jem'Hadar was derived from the word jemadar, which refers to the chief or leader of a band or body of persons, esp. in the native army of India.