Metron

The Metrons were a powerful, enigmatic race.
==History==
The Metrons were first encountered by United Federation of Planets representatives in 2267. In that year, Captain James T. Kirk ordered the to pursue a Gorn vessel that had destroyed the observation outpost located on Cestus III. This took them into a section of the galaxy that at the time was considered largely unexplored. According to Spock, there were only rumours and legends of intelligent life in this region of space.
As the pursuit passed the uncharted star system at 2466 PM, the Enterprise was scanned from that system. Then the Gorn vessel inexplicably slowed and stopped. Thinking they planned to fight, Kirk prepared to engage – and then the Enterprise likewise slowed and stopped. Both ships were being held in place from the star system at 2466 PM, not by tractor beams, but rather by "an unidentifiable power."
The Metrons denounced both ships for entering their space on a mission of violence. They prepared a planet and transported the captain of each ship to it. There, they were to fight to the death, and the outcome of this contest would determine which ship survived, and which was destroyed.
Eventually, Kirk won the fight, but elected to spare his helpless opponent. This demonstration of mercy surprised the Metrons, whose analysis of the situation did not lead them to expect it. A Metron — a tall, blond male, with a youthful appearance, looking rather like a Greek god, who wore a silver toga and sandals — appeared to Kirk and suggested that, although the Federation was still half savage, there might be hope for it in a few thousand years. The Metrons then returned Kirk to the Enterprise and transported the ship 1,600 light years away from their space. ()
== Physiology == 
Metrons had long life spans; the representative who met Kirk was approximately 1,500 Earth years old, despite seeming to Kirk to be "more like a boy." His comment to Kirk suggests an interest in the political and sociological geometry of the galaxy thousands of years hence. It is possible that this perspective was a consequence of this long life span. ()
== Technology == 
An example of Metron technology was the recording-translating device provided by the Metrons to Kirk and his Gorn opponent during their conflict. This allowed Kirk and the Gorn to understand each other's speech, and to record logs. However, the Metrons also possessed far more advanced capabilities: they demonstrated the ability to control forces unknown to Federation science, to perform comprehensive scans at great range, to transport matter great distances instantly, and perhaps to rapidly terraform planets to specific requirements. Such feats were well beyond what even 24th century Federation technology could accomplish, suggesting that Metron science and technology was hundreds or thousands of years more advanced than that of the Federation. ()
In 3190, Federation Security identified the Metrons as one of the civilizations that may have technology advanced enough to create the Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA). However, the Risian scientist Ruon Tarka stated afterwards that he knew that the DMA had nothing to do with the Metrons. () 
== People ==
* List of unnamed Metrons
== Appendices==
=== Background information===
It is possible that the Metron Consortium mentioned in is connected with the Metrons, but this is not confirmed in canon. 
In Star Trek: Star Charts (p. 64) and Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library ("Federation Historical Highlights, 2161-2385"), the Metron Consortium was the name of the Metrons' interstellar nation. This nation was located in the Beta Quadrant.
=== Apocrypha===
Star Trek Online has the Metrons contacting the USS Stargazer-A in the late 24th century in an attempt to initiate relations between the Metron Consortium and the Federation.
=== External links ===
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