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The Ba'ku planet was an inhabited planet located inside the Briar Patch, in Sector 441. It was inhabited by the Ba'ku, a humanoid race. The planet's rings produced a unique form of metaphasic radiation that granted those on the surface health and eternal life.

History

The planet was settled in 2066 by a small group who had fled their star system, fearing that their civilization was headed for self-destruction. Coming to call themselves the Ba'ku, they established an agrarian society without advanced technology. In the mid-23rd century, a group of young Ba'ku who wished to follow the ways of the offlanders were exiled from the planet after a failed attempt to take over their village. They became the Son'a.

In 2375, there were six hundred Ba'ku living on the planet. As the Briar Patch was now Federation territory, the Son'a colluded with elements of Starfleet to relocate the Ba'ku and collect the metaphasic particles from their planet, which would have destroyed all life on the surface. These plans were thwarted by the crew of the USS Enterprise-E. The Federation Council subsequently halted the relocation plans while a top-level review was conducted. Meanwhile, the Son'a and the Ba'ku began the process of reconciliation.

Environment

A rich variety of flora and fauna were found on the Ba'ku planet. Near the Ba'ku village, there were hills and mountains containing veins of kelbonite, which blocked transporter function. The mountains contained caves that could shelter large numbers of people. (Star Trek: Insurrection)

Lifeforms

Baku bookpage

A Ba'ku children's book illustrating several species

Furthermore, a book produced for the film but of which only the cover was seen on screen depicted a number of other lifeforms, including animals similar to a pterodactyl, a turtle, and a butterfly.

Background information

A deleted scene would have established that the Federation would ultimately make the Ba'ku planet a protectorate.

According to the Star Trek: Star Charts (p. 62; "United Federation of Planets III") and the Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library ("Federation Historical Highlights, 2161-2385"), the Ba'ku system was located in the Beta Quadrant. The primary was a K-class star.

According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia (3rd ed., p. 583) and in a line which was in the script, which was later cut, the Ba'ku planet was a M-class planet.

According to the RPG sourcebook Planets of the UFP, the Ba'ku planet's native fauna includes a bird with a bee-like stinger called the jenkaw and a llama-like animal called the e'kar.

Visual effects in scenes set on the Ba'ku planet were handled by Blue Sky/VIFX. (Cinefex, No. 77, p. 71)

External link

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