Vaadwaur
| Intelligent Lifeform Index |
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| Vaadwaur | |
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| Four Letter Code | VAAD |
| Federation Status | Hostile |
| Planet of Origin | Delta Quadrant |
| Encountered | VOY: "Dragon's Teeth" |
| T/E Rating | T0/E0 |
| Current Tech Level | Unknown |
| List of Named Vaadwaurs | |
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Full ILI Gallery • Permitted Species Gallery | |
The Vaadwaur are a warlike humanoid race from the Delta Quadrant. The ridges on their faces give them very sharp features.
Name
- Proper Name: Vaadwaur
- Pronunciation: VAHD-War
Home System
- Quadrant: Delta
- Proper Name: Unknown
Home World
- Proper Name: Unknown
- Diameter: 14,857km (9,232 miles)
- Gravity: 1.0 standard gravity, equivalent to Earth.
- Classification: L
- Atmosphere: 72% nitrogen, 16% oxygen, 8% radon, 4% carbon dioxide
- Climate: Nuclear winter. No animal or plant life survives on the surface. The planet has been rendered incapable of supporting humanoid life, and it is impossible to walk on the planet's surface outside of an environmental suit.
- Population: Estimated to be no more than six hundred
History
The Vaadwaur were at one time widely known as a race of conquerors, whose influence spread far and wide across the Delta Quadrant, and into some other areas of the galaxy. Many races came to know them as untrustworthy, and the name of their species was adopted by races such as the Talaxians to mean "foolish". This did not, however, reflect an intention to label the Vaadwaur as intellectually challenged, moreover it was used to denote someone who had been fooled by an individual with hidden intentions.
Using a network of naturally occurring subspace tunnels which allowed faster-than-warp travel, the Vaadwaur were able to establish colonies over an extremely large area. During a fateful meeting between the Vaadwaur scientist Gedrin, and Captain Kathryn Janeway in 2376, the extent of the distance spanned by these tunnels became apparent due to evidence presented by Neelix, who realised that the two species had met, despite the thousands of light years of distance between their home worlds.
In 1484 the Vaadwaur's expansive and hostile nature became their undoing. A coalition of species led by the Turei, who saw them as a growing threat to their safety, took decisive action and bombarded the Vaadwaur homeworld, destroying their civilization and plunging their planet into nuclear winter. Foreseeing the attack, a battalion of Vaadwaur soldiers entered cryogenic suspension along with the scientist Gedrin and his wife, Jisa. They had intended to awake after a period of 5 years, but due to a malfunction in the automated release system they lay dormant for around 900 years. Gedrin's pod was activated by Seven of Nine after the U.S.S. Voyager was forced to land on the Vaadwaur homeworld after a Turei attack.
Government
In the period of time since 2376 the Vaadwaur have had little time to construct a government. Some Vaadwaur remain on their home planet, although their status is unkown. After the U.S.S. Voyager left the planet in 2376, the Turei had been alerted to the reawakening of the Vaadwaur (compared to the legend of Dragon's Teeth by Commander Chakotay), and it is likely that they either garrisoned the world for a time, or destoryed its remaining inhabitants. However, the Vaadwaur who left in 2376 have continued to extend their influence throughout the Delta Quadrant, and are operating under a military structure in which the battalion leader has overall control of the Vaadwaur species.
Description
Vaadwaur have small ridges on their chin and two horizontal ridges just above their nose. A large fin like crest runs across the center of their foreheads and gets wider as it reaches the top of their skulls. Their hair grows from around the mid-region of their skull, just were their fin ridge ends. Neck ridges extend from their ears, along down along their neck and onto their shoulders where the ridges curl towards the center of their chest. This gives the neck ridges an cobra-like appearance overall. These ridges are much less pronounced on female Vaadwaur, running in a straighter line, with a kink close to the collar bone.
Physiology
Little information is available on Vaadwaur physiology, as contact with the Federation was brief. However, it is theorized that the species may have evolved from reptiles, in a similar way to the Cardassians and Gorn.
Psychology
From an early age, Vaadwaur children are conditioned to be brave and fearless, not just as warriors, but in every day life. Vaadwaur children are encouraged to fall asleep each night thinking of a different way in which they could die in order to abate the fear of death. Grace and a cool head under fire are also valued. In 2376, Gedrin asked Janeway how she would react in heavy rain: would she run from doorway to doorway in a vain attempt to stay dry, all the while getting wet, or would she walk through the rain with her head held high.
One thing is for certain - the Vaadwaur are a ruthless species. They have displayed an unwavering urge for conquest and expansion, beginning with their old colonies, but then extending further into the galaxy. A typical Vaadwaur will always be considering ways to defeat his enemies, either through force, or through subterfuge. Many a species has been fooled into allowing the Vaadwaur into their home, only to find that they are betrayed moments later.
Despite these general traits, some Vaadwaur have been known to exhibit more honourable behaviour, Gedrin being a notable example, although this was recorded in the face of deception to conceal the true nature of his people from Captain Kathryn Janeway.
Culture
Vaadwaur culture is based around the warrior's code, although their ethics seem to be less honourable in nature than, for example, the Klingons. In many ways Vaadwaur culture can be said to be somewhere between 23rd Century Klingon and present day Borg, in that they are deceptive warriors who are bent on conquest by any means necessary.
Technology
During the final exodus from their homeworld in 2376, the Vaadwaur were centuries behind the more advanced races in the galaxy in terms of technology. However, Kathryn Janeway theorized that due to their lust for conquest and their resourceful nature, the Vaadwaur would adapt to become a threat. This proved to be true when the U.S.S. Voyager became trapped in an anomaly known as the void only a few months later - a heavily modified Vaadwaur ship was picked up by the ship's sensors, implying that the crew had been able to capture a more advanced ship through superior tactics and cannibalize its technology.
The primary weapons of Vaadwaur ships are phase cannons, which fire a distinctly purple-coloured energy pulse. Recent intelligence shows that the Vaadwaur have expanded their arsenal to include photon torpedoes, and more worryingly a weapon dubbed as phase torpedoes. These weapons phase in and out of normal space, rendering deflector shield technology useless as a coutermeasure against them. In addition, the Vaadwaur have adapted weapons that create a dampening field to drain power from a ship, no doubt from contact with the Hirogen. In 2387, such weapons were used against Deep Space 17 and the U.S.S. Challenger-A to devastating effect.
Military
As of 2376, the Vaadwaur military was comprised of only around 200 members. However, modern intelligence shows no record of whether the Vaadwaur have enslaved less advanced or conquered species to act as subordinate members of their military in a similar way to the Son'a and the Founders.
Federation Intelligence Files
Through contact with the Turei and the Vaadwaur a network of subspace tunnels known as underspace was discovered. Due to the hostile nature of the Vaadwaur it was not possible to explore this phenomenon, and as a result it is not known how far the network reaches. However, the only two pieces of intelligence/data that were recorded by the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager show that a starship at warp passing close to a weakened area of one of these tunnels may well be drawn into underspace. Once inside, it is possible to use a resonance pulse from a starship's deflector to force another vessel back into normal space.
In 2376, Doctor Julian Bashir classed the Vaadwaur as a potential future threat to Federation security after reviewing data from the Pathfinder Project.
Sources
- Star Trek: Voyager ("Dragon's Teeth")
- Memory Alpha Vaadwaur, Vaadwaur Homeworld
- Vaadwaur at Memory Beta
- http://www.star-trek-voyager.net/lforms4/species_vaadwaur.htm
Notes
THIS PROFILE WAS RE-WRITTEN BY THE SDC; Species Development Committee
