Bajor
Bajor is an M-Class world orbiting a star that is not dissimilar to Sol. It is the 7th planet out of 14 in its system. Its surface is 68% ocean and 32% land. Its gravity is similar to earth. Bajor has 5 moons. The Bajoran day is 26 Earth-hours long.
Bajor's location is of great strategic important in the Alpha Quadrant as it lies very close to a stable wormhole. Traffic through the Bajoran wormhole is co-ordinated by the joint Federation/Bajoran administrated space station, Deep Space Nine.
History
Bajoran history can be loosely split up into ages. It is worth noting that the Bajoran civilisation is among one of the oldest in the galaxy, dating back some 500,000 years. The table below contains significant dates present in Earth-Gregorian format.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| c. 27,672 B.C. | First Republic (aka First Age). Many artistic masterpieces and cultural treasures were completed during this time. |
| c. 19,672 B.C. | Second Age. During this period of time, the planet fell into a long period of civil conflicts and changes of philosophy and attitude ensued. |
| c. 18,672 B.C. | Second Republic. A period of cultural stability and enlightenment that spanned millennia. During this time the D’jarra system was in use. Considerable scientific and cultural progress was made during this time. |
| 2328 | Cardassians land on Bajor. Ill-prepared for an alien invasion, the Bajorans were easily subdued by the Cardassian people, leading to four decades of occupation. During this timeframe, the Cardassians began to strip-mine Bajor for resources needed to support their own homeworld. Resistance fighters fought the invasionary force using terrorism and guerrilla warfare. Many Bajorans were displaced from their homeworld over the course of the Occupation, mostly ending up in refugee camps. Some joined Starfleet, and a number of Bajorans serve on Starfleet ships at the present time. |
| 2369 | Cardassians withdraw from Bajor. The costs of occupying the planet due to Resistance activity resulted in the recommendation to abandon the planet being approved. Terok Nor, the mining station that orbited the planet, was renamed Deep Space Nine in an agreement with the Federation, who had been invited to assist in the station’s administration. |
| 2369 | Bajoran Wormhole discovered. The discovery of the Alpha Quadrant’s first stable wormhole in the Denorios Belt, terminating in an orbit of the Idran star in the Gamma Quadrant, placed Bajor on the intergalactic political map with a vengeance. |
| 2369 | Kai]] Opaka is left in the Gamma Quadrant after being killed in a shuttle accident and revived by nanotechnology. |
| 2371 | Dominion Cold War. After the eradication of the population of New Bajor, the first Bajoran colony in the Gamma Quadrant, Bajor was drawn into a cold war with the Dominion alongside its Federation allies. Fears that Bajor could be the first victim of an invasion fleet led to the bolstering of Deep Space Nine’s defences and the assignment of the U.S.S. Defiant to the sector. |
| 2373 | The lost city of B’hala is rediscovered by Benjamin Sisko. |
| 2373 | Bajor’s application to become a member of the Federation was accepted, but on the recommendation of the Emissary of the Prophets, Kai Winn withdrew. It was expected that Bajor would re-petition to join soon afterward. |
| 2373 | Dominion War. While the Federation and the Klingon Empire found themselves at war with the Dominion, Bajor, at the behest of the Emissary of the Prophets, Captain Benjamin Sisko, signed a non-aggression treaty to keep them out of the fighting. When Deep Space Nine was commandeered by Dominion forces in 2373, Major Kira Nerys of the Bajoran militia led a secret Resistance cell designed to prevent the Dominion from bringing reinforcements through the wormhole. Despite the failure of the cell, the invasionary fleet would be scuttled by the Prophets themselves after an appeal by the Emissary. |
| 2374 | The Reckoning, a battle between a Prophet and a Pah-wraith, takes place on Deep Space Nine. If the Prophet wins, it will usher in the Golden Age of Bajor. However, the event does not run to a natural conclusion as Kai Winn bombards the location of the battle with chroniton radiation. |
| 2375 | The Dominion is defeated and the war concludes. As of this time Bajor is still not a member of the Federation. |
Geography
Bajor is divided into 8 main provinces that are largely contained within its main continent of Bha’hagh. These are Tozhat, Dahkur, Lonar, Hedrikspool, Musilla, Hill, Kendra and Rakantha.
Politics
The Bajoran world government runs on a democratic system. Ministers are elected into power, as are the First Minister (government leader) and the Kai(Spiritual leader of Bajor).
The Bajoran Government
Initially established as a provisional entity to govern world and interstellar politics, the Bajoran Government is led by the First Minister. All day-to-day policies regarding Bajor, including the judiciary system and diplomatic assignments are co-ordinated through this organisation. The Bajoran Government is also in direct command of the Bajoran Militia. Ministers are elected through democratic means. The seat of the Government is in the Chamber of Ministers in the Bajoran capital.
The Vedek Assembly
The Vedek Assembly holds considerable sway over the planet’s legal and cultural administration. The Kai and the First Minister often consult each other, and while their jurisdiction does not often coincide it is important for both leaders to be of an agreed political standpoint as often as possible. In 2371 Kai Winn became the first leader of the Vedek Assembly to ever serve as First Minister. After the Cardassian Occupation, the Vedek Assembly was the only official organisation with any political standing left on the planet until the inauguration of the Provisional Government in 2369.
The Circle
In 2370 a xenophobic terrorist movement known as the Circle seized control of the Bajoran Provisional government under the leadership of Minister Jaro Essa. Despite the coup eventually being reversed, it had lasting repercussions on Bajor due to the election of Kai Winn, whose involvement with Minister Jaro aided her campaign a great deal. The Circle’s motto was “Bajor for the Bajorans”, reflecting the introverted nature of the Bajoran people, but amplifying it into something twisted and violent. The official political party whose motives were embraced by the Circle was known as the Alliance for Global Unity.
The Maquis
Some Bajorans have been known to show sympathy to the ideals of the Maquis due to their crusade against the Cardassians. Ro Laren was such an individual, and defected to their cause from Starfleet in 2370. On occasion, Major Kira Nerys expressed an affinity with their point of view, but never on an official basis and without actions to back up such an opinion. The Maquis were all but wiped out shortly after Cardassia joined the Dominion in 2373.
Legal System
The Bajoran judiciary system is not dissimilar to that of the Federation. Representatives are called to present their case to an arbitrator, who considers their evidence and witness depositions before making a ruling according to Bajoran law.
Commerce
Bajor enjoys healthy trade of arable crops and mineral resources with the Federation and other, smaller local powers.
Interstellar Politics
Bajor enjoys a healthy and friendly relationship with the United Federation of Planets, and it is intended that they will eventually become members after having withdrawn from an approved membership arrangement in 2373 on the advice of Captain Benjamin Sisko.
Bajor’s relationship with Cardassia was repaired in 2371 following a treaty signed by Kai Winn after much of the diplomatic groundwork was laid out by Vedek Bareil. Bareil died during the negotiation proceedings despite efforts by Lieutenant Julian Bashir, Chief Medical Officer of Deep Space Nine.
Sources
- Star Trek:The Next Generation (Bajoran Episodes) and Star Trek:Deep Space Nine (Seasons 1-7)
- Memory Alpha (various pages)
- Memory Beta (various pages)
- Star Trek Customizable Card Game (Decipher Inc., 1994-2007)
- Star Trek RPG: Aliens (Decipher Inc., 2003)