Species of the week: Jem’Hadar

[Teaos]

A very interesting species. Very heavily genetically modified with several in built abilities. They can shroud themselves in a kind of cloak making them hard to detect by eye or even scans, need no food, sleep or drink. Immensely loyal to their commanders they will follow orders every time.

I personally like the idea of them being enslaved by the ketracel white. It was a clever way to make sure they were not just religious fanatics fighting for their gods. It makes perfect sense to. So long as they don't have a way to supply themselves with the white they must stay loyal or die.

The only thing I am curious about is their intelligence; we are shown they grow with in a week to be fully ready for battle. But what about intelligence. Who builds and maintains the ships? We never see anyone else around and they don't seem to get training in how to maintain those advanced ships. Maybe it is built in intelligence.

[Mikey]

If they are actually mature within that week, then I suppose they would be able to pickup a field education about maintenance, etc., fairly easily.

The problem I have with the dependence on white is that it is an innate strategic flaw in a race designed for warfare. Let's say your forces are stuck planetside with a platoon of Jem'Hadar. All you have to do, really, is kill the Vorta and wait a few days...

[Captain Seafort]

The only thing I am curious about is their intelligence; we are shown they grow with in a week to be fully ready for battle. But what about intelligence. Who builds and maintains the ships? We never see anyone else around and they don't seem to get training in how to maintain those advanced ships. Maybe it is built in intelligence.

Do you mean intelligence in the military sense on in the "not stupid" sense? If it's the former it's probably the Vortas' job. If it's the latter, they clearly have excellent tactical skills (disregarding AR-558), and can ceratinly operate and maintain their ships, given that there are no other species on board apart from an occassional Vorta. Given the way the Dominion works, the construction is probably done by another species we haven't seen yet - the Jem'Hadar likely just do the routine maintainence and repairs. How much maintainence they need is debateble - those ships are very tough. The vessel in "The Ship" made an uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry and crash landing, and was fully operational after a few months repairs

[Teaos]

But even basic maintence of a warp engine should be more advanced than something you can pick up in a few weeks. These soilders get grown and thrown in combat in a matter days. How could they know how to operate and maintain a starship unless the knowledge was genetically inbuilt.

[Captain Seafort]

Not just engineering skills, but combat skills. Basic military training lasts for months. Unless Jem'Hadar either have genetic memory or spend months training there's no way they'd be as good as they apparently are. Given that they're fully-grown after a few days or weeks, it doesn't make sense to put all that effort into designing accelerated growth into them if you then have to spend months training them. The Jem'Hadar found by DS9 also, IIRC, demonstrated unarmed combat skills without any training at all.

[Teaos]

Yeah many species have a form of racial memory. But something as advanced as warp mechanics seems to be pushing it. But it could very well be possible.

I would presume they do have a bit of training. As for the other species building the ships we have seen no evidence either way.

[Captain Seafort]

Yeah many species have a form of racial memory. But something as advanced as warp mechanics seems to be pushing it. But it could very well be possible.

For a species that had evolved naturally, sure it doesn't make sense that they know genetically how to fix engines. For a species specifically designed from the outset to be the Domionion's army, it's a useful trait to have.

I would presume they do have a bit of training. As for the other species building the ships we have seen no evidence either way.

True, but it fits with the way the Domion operates, with each major species having a specific role. Founders - leaders, gods, covert infilrators. Vorta - administrators and senior commanders. Karemma - traders. Jem'Hadar - soldiers. We know that the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar were genetically engineered for their role. Why not another species as the Dominion's engineers?

[Teaos]

Maybe the just use there many slave races. There must be species that they command but have no genetic enhancements. Like they let the Cardassians join the Dominion. It would also explain how they get new tech. I can't see the Jem'Hadar having many scientists.

[Mikey]

While engineering skills, etc., are a little much to attribute to "racial memory," there must be an element of the Dominion cloning process which accounts for the presence of such skills. Either biochemically added after "conception," or inborn in a way similar to Noam Chomsky's fabled language mechanism.

And given the division of labor among the Dominion's subkect races, it stands to reason the construction/invention is handled by a yet-unseen species.

[Teaos]

Maybe they can plug into something that pretty much forces inforamation into them. Or clockwork orage them and immerse them in it for a period of time till it is ingrained in them.

[Granitehewer]

Perhaps with the Jem Hadar fighters; they might be employed with fairly low ranges before returning to starbases/outposts/planets/fleets, so that the actually time in motion, such as patrol and interdiction by these vessels is fairly low, before another dominion vassal species, may at whatever facility have the opportunity to conduct repairs or maintainence on the vessels...
I remember when the female founder, was displeased with one of the Weyoun clones and enquired as to when the vorta scientists would have the other clone viable, so perhaps the vorta have a niche as diplomats, and in some of the forums of science...

[Sionnach Glic]

Perhaps they have another, unknown, race that builds the ships for them?

[Mikey]

I think we've agreed that it pretty much makes sense that there was an unknown Dominion subject race in charge of tech/construction.

[Deepcrush]

The founders should breed a race for that just like they breed the vorta and G'H for admin and war. Why not breed a race that only builds!

[Teaos]

I'm picturing something like an octopus...