Ba ' ku The Ba ' ku were a humanoid race living in a single village on the Ba ' ku planet inside the Briar Patch , in Sector 441 . In 2375 , they had a population of 600 . Due to the life - giving properties of their home planet , the Ba ' ku became embroiled in a conspiracy between Starfleet and the Son ' a . History . The Ba ' ku originated from a technologically advanced civilization with knowledge of warp drive and positronic devices , who once explored the galaxy . In the early 21st century , their race verged on self - annihilation due to the development of weapons of mass destruction . In 2066 , a small group of dissidents fled their star system and settled on a planet inside the Briar Patch , where they would be isolated from the threats of other worlds . Now called the Ba ' ku , they discovered that an unusual metaphasic radiation emanating from the planet ' s rings granted them effective immortality . The Ba ' ku abandoned their technology and adopted a slower pace of life . In the mid - 23rd century , a band of young Ba ' ku rejected the simple lifestyle of their elders . Led by Ro ' tin and Gal ' na , they unsuccessfully attempted to seize control of the settlement . The rebels were subsequently exiled from the planet and became the Son ' a , a nomadic spacefaring power . The Son ' a never forgave the Ba ' ku for depriving them of their immortality , and were determined to one day return and take the metaphasic radiation for themselves . By 2375 , the Briar Patch lay within Federation space . Ro ' tin , now Ahdar Ru ' afo of the Son ' a , offered to collaborate with Admiral Matthew Dougherty of Starfleet to harvest the metaphasic particles from the Ba ' ku planet using a Son ' a collector . As the process would render the planet uninhabitable , a cloak ed Federation holoship would relocate the Ba ' ku unknowingly to another world . As Starfleet believed the Ba ' ku to be a pre - warp society , they built a duck blind on the surface and used isolation suit s for cultural observation . After being damaged by a Son ' a , Lieutenant Commander Data exposed the duck blind , telling the Ba ' ku that Starfleet and the Son ' a were their enemies . The arrived to assist and discovered the holoship . Dougherty claimed that , as the Ba ' ku were not indigenous to the planet , the Prime Directive did not apply and the relocation was justified by the immense medical benefits the metaphasic radiation would give the Federation . Captain Jean - Luc Picard countered that removing the Ba ' ku against their will was fundamentally immoral and a betrayal of Federation principles . Picard and several " Enterprise " senior staff members transported to the planet to protect the Ba ' ku , while Commander William T . Riker raced the " Enterprise " away to inform the Federation Council of the conflict . Losing patience , Ru ' afo ordered the Ba ' ku to be taken by force and when that failed , murdered Dougherty and initiated the metaphasic collection process irrespective of those still remaining on the surface . " Enterprise " personnel managed to destroy the collector , defeat the Son ' a forces , and take control of Ru ' afo ' s flagship . In the aftermath , the Federation Council halted the Ba ' ku relocation plans pending a top - level review . Several Son ' a , including Subahdar Gallatin , rejoined their families to live in peace . Biology . The Ba ' ku resembled Human s in appearance . The metaphasic radiation from their planet ' s rings continually regenerated their genetic structures , which stopped them from aging once they reached maturity , conferred perfect health , and prevented permanent illness or injury . From a young age , the Ba ' ku developed remarkable mental discipline and clarity of perception . After centuries , some even learned to slow down the passage of time in a local area , allowing them to explore the depths of a single moment . Culture . The Ba ' ku were a community - oriented , pacifistic agrarian society . They employed only simple machines , asserting that technology diminished those who took advantage of it . They refused to use weapon s , even in self - defense , believing that to do so would be to lose everything that they were . Young Ba ' ku artisans apprenticed for several decades to develop their skills . ( ) Apocrypha . According to the , the ancestors of the Ba ' ku were called the Ka ' bu ( the pacifistic dissenters made a linguistic play on the name by reversing the consonants to call themselves the Ba ' ku , meaning " the Peaceful " ) . The Ka ' bu had traveled the galaxy in sophisticated space vessels and lived elegantly in the pursuit of beauty , art , and physical perfection , relying on mechanization to do their labor for them . However , the artist class had separated from the warrior class , and it was squabbling between the classes that caused their downfall , not the availability of weapons . According to the RPG sourcebook " Planets of the UFP " , the ancestors of the Ba ' ku were called the Brek ' a . In 2066 , a group of 500 Brek ' a left their solar system to escape an escalating arms race that threatened to destroy their species and to find a place where they could live a technology - free life . They called themselves Ba ' ku , which means " new beginning " .