Sontarans

The **Sontarans** were a race of belligerent and militaristic clones from the planet Sontar, created by the Kaveetch. They waged an eternal war throughout Mutter's Spiral against the Rutan Host, though they made no effort to change this nor did they want peace.

The **Sontarans** were a race of belligerent and militaristic clones from the planet Sontar, created by the Kaveetch. They waged an eternal war throughout Mutter's Spiral against the Rutan Host, though they made no effort to change this nor did they want peace.

## Characteristics

### Biology

The Sontarans were humanoids with large, bulbous heads and short stocky bodies. Sontarans generally had three digits on each hand (two fingers and a thumb), (DW: *The Time Warrior*, et al)  though some had five fingers on each hand. (DW: *The Sontaran Experiment*)  Sontaran blood was green. (DW: *The Two Doctors*)

Group Marshal Stike was noticeably taller than his Androgumassociates Shockeye and Chessene. (DW: *The Two Doctors*)

The Sontarans reproduced by cloning, meaning each Sontaran was nearly identical to each other. There were some variations over time, such as the number of fingers, (DW: *The Sontaran Experiment*) height, (DW: *The Two Doctors*, *Plague of the Sontarans*) or skin colour. (DW: *Plague of the Sontarans*)

Due to the high gravity of the moon of Sontar that they were first created on, the Sontarans had great strength and resilience in lower gravity environments like Earth or Gallifrey. (DW: *The Invasion of Time*, *The Two Doctors*)

However, Sontaran muscles were designed for load bearing rather than leverage, (DW: *The Time Warrior*) which could lead to unwieldiness. (DW: *The Sontaran Experiment*)

If severely wounded, a Sontaran would enter an anabolic coma. They would usually die, but sometimes they would later wake. (DW: *Shakedown*)

They were vulnerable to coronic acid. (DW: *The Two Doctors*)

Sontarans fed on pure energy. (DW: *The Sontaran Experiment*) This vent was also their crucial weakness, as any sudden blow to the vent would stun them. The penetration of a sharp object into the vent would kill them. (DW: *The Time Warrior*, *The Invasion of Time*, et al.) Tampering with the energy source could also lead to a reversal effect that could destroy a Sontaran from the inside out. (DW: *The Sontaran Experiment*)

### Society

The Sontarans were a martial species, obsessed with war. They hated the idea of a great war going on without them. (DW: *The Time Warrior*)

They also considered their reproductive systems inferior. (DW: *The Time Warrior*)

Sontarans did not fear death and they would rather be court-martialled than show pain. They considered it honourable to face battle "open skinned", without a helmet on. (DW: *The Sontaran Stratagem)*

Though they would ally with other species they felt no need to keep these alliances. (DW: *Shakedown*)

Some Sontarans bore eponyms, relating to past victories and events that had occurred in their lives. Sontarans would often introduce themselves by their full name ' rank ' and/or title. The Eleventh Doctor pointed out that a title such as Staal's ("General Staal the Undefeated") would no longer be accurate if he *did* get defeated, joking, that, that would make him "General Staal the Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-But-Never-Mind." (DW: *The Sontaran Stratagem*)

### Ranks

The ranks of individual Sontarans were generally not prominently displayed on the uniform. The Marshal above Styre sported two large spiky disks on the front of his collar. (DW: *The Sontaran Experiment*) Commander Stor wore a larger collar than his troops and had a white, three-pointed, crown imprinted on his helmet. (DW: *The Invasion of Time*) Group Marshal Stike had white braiding on his shoulders, akin to epaulettes. (DW: *The Two Doctors*)

In the early 21st century, badges of rank were more clearly visible and consisted of various symbols set into the right-hand side of the front of the collar. General Staal wore five diamonds in a crown-shaped pattern. Commander Skorr sported three diamonds in a similar pattern. The lowest rank of this badge design was Lieutenant, displayed by a single diamond in the middle of the badge, shown on Lieutenant Skree, an operations officer. (DW: *The Sontaran Stratagem*)

### Forces

The Sontaran military was divided into several different units, regiments, and fleets. These included the Fifth Sontaran Army Space Fleet, (DW: *The Time Warrior*) the G3 Military Assessment Survey, (DW: *The Sontaran Experiment*) the Sontaran Special Space Service, (DW: *The Invasion of Time*)  the Ninth Sontaran Battle Group, (DW: *The Two Doctors*) the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet. (DW: *Plague of the Sontarans*) and the Twelfth Sontaran Battle Fleet. (DW: *The Sontaran Stratagem*)

### Technology

The Sontarans were reasonably advanced, though all their technology was designed for use in the war with the Rutan Host. They often used spherical spaceships and could make advanced robots for various purposes.

#### Weaponry

The Sontarans could use and make a wide variety of hand-held weapons, though they usually used the rheon carbine, a thin, metallic weapon, which was designed to optimally fit the Sontaran hand. The weapons were used for energy projection and hypnotism. (DW: *The Time Warrior*)

#### Transportation

The Sontarans used spherical vessels, which were covered in square plates. They were generally only large enough for one Sontaran. (DW: *The Time Warrior*, et al) The Sontaran motherships were similar in shape to the scoutship, but had four claw like appendages coming out of the top and bottom. The scout ships were attached to the mothership and could be released when needed. (DW: *The Sontaran Stratagem*)

Assault ships were also used for planetary invasions. Sontaran fleets had a typical arrow formation, with ships composing the head and the shaft. (DW: *The Invasion of Time*)

In the 13th century, (TV: *The Sontaran Experiment*) Sontarans utilised an osmic projector for time travel. (DW: *The Time Warrior*)

In the 20th century, they made attempts to obtain more effective time travel technology such as the Kartz-Reimer module developed by Kartz and Reimer. (DW: *The Two Doctors*)

#### Armour

Sontarans wore distinctive battle armour, identified by Jingo Linx as Sontaran space armour, which resembled a thick and bulky grey space suit. Their helmets were dome-shaped and almost featureless except for two eye holes and a small, flat crest running from the forehead to the back of the neck. They generally carried around their rod-like weapon and a translating device. (DW: *The Time Warrior*)

During a period in the early 17th and early 21st century Sontarans had blue, less flexible, armour in a similar design. (DW: *The Sontaran Stratagem*)

#### Other Technology

Sontarans used two methods of controlling other individuals. They could take over their minds through hypnosis, (DW: *The Time Warrior*)

Sontaran clones were fed using the probic vent, which was the Sontaran's only weak spot. These clones were grown in vats and were nourished by Caesofine gas. (DW: *The Sontaran Stratagem*)

Styre used a miniature camera and a force field while studying humans. (DW: *The Sontaran Experiment*)

During the mission to make Earth a breeding planet, the Sontarans made a Cordolaine field around themselves that caused metallic copper to expand; when the copper was in the jacket of a bullet, it became jammed in the gun's barrel, rendering it useless. (DW: *The Sontaran Stratagem*)

## History

### 13th Century

In the 13th century, (DW: *The Sontaran Experiment*) Linx, a scout, was forced to perform an emergency landing in England after being attacked by a squadron of Rutan fighters. He claimed Earth and "its moons and satellites" for the Sontaran Empire. He proceeded to make an alliance with Irongron, a local warlord, and to transport scientists from the late 20th century into the past using his osmic projection. He would then hypnotise them in order to make them work on his ship. He was killed when his repaired ship began taking off. (DW: *The Time Warrior*)

### 20th Century

In the 1980s, Group Marshal Stike claimed that the war with the Rutans was "on the contrary" to going badly. The Ninth Sontaran Battle Group attempted to gain unlimited access to time travel through Kartz and Reimer's experiments. This failed when Chessene betrayed Stike and Major Varl, and the Sixth Doctor sabotaged the Kartz-Reimer module. At the same point in time, the Sontarans were involved in a battle with the Rutans in the Madillon Cluster. (DW: *The Two Doctors*)

### 21st Century

In 2006, the Sontarans were losing the war against the Rutans. To counter this, the Twelfth Sontaran Battle Fleet (led by General Staal) made plans to convert Earth into a cloning world, and carried them out with the help of Luke Rattigan.

The Sontarans used a form of hypnosis on the workers of the ATMOSfactory, forcing them to start shipping out devices that contained gasespoisonous to humans, contained inside plates attached to the SatNavs they sold. When the Eleventh Doctor attempted to meddle, the Sontarans activated all the devices already deployed in cars, releasing the poison gas and choking people nearby.

The gas was burnt away by the Doctor's use of an atmospheric converter and Rattigan, having been betrayed, sacrificed his life by using the converter to destroy the fleet. (DW: *The Sontaran Stratagem*)

### 25th and 26th Century

At some point during the 26th century, the Sontarans sent in Commander Steg to conquer Jekkar in order to create a buffer around Sontar. Though he had no difficulty with the humans, the Jekkari, led by the Eighth Doctor, were able to fight back effectively. The surviving Sontarans destroyed their bases and abandoned the planet. (DW: *Shakedown*)

Some time later, an expedition was made to go to Sentarion and take advantage of the wormholeconnecting it and Ruta III to kill the Rutan Queen. Though the Sontarans tried to keep this information classified, a Rutan spy known as Karne was able to learn that the information had leaked out and tried to return to the Rutans.

Commander Steg was sent in to redeem himself and kill Karne. He was able to track it to the space yacht *Tiger Moth*, where it had hidden in the ship. During the course of his investigations, his soldiers were whittled down by Karne and the human crew. Eventually, Karne was killed and all the Sontarans were believed to be killed. In reality, Karne was able to clone himself before his death and Steg was able to pull through.

The second Karne was able escape to Sentarion, followed by the Eighth Doctor, his companions and the survivors from the *Tiger Moth*. Commander Steg was able to follow them with a War-Wheel and forced the Doctor to open the wormhole to Ruta III. The War-Wheel was sent through, but the Doctor was able to reverse the polarity of the wormhole, meaning the War-Wheel would never get to Ruta III. When Steg tried to kill the Doctor in revenge, a fight began, leading to the death of Karne and the Sontaran forces. (DW: *Shakedown*)

### 28th Century

To Be Added. (DW: *Plague of the Sontarans*)

### 45th Century

The Sontarans, in concert with the Vardans invaded Gallifrey, until beaten back by the Lord President the Fourth Doctor. (DW: *The Invasion of Time*)

### Post-11th Millennium

Many thousands of years after the 20th century, at a time when the Earth had been abandoned for 10,000 years, the Sontarans were separated from the many humanworlds like GalSec throughout Mutter's Spiral by a buffer zone. The Grand Strategic Council planned to invade the galaxy, but they had to abandon that plan when a scout, Field Major Styre, was killed while trying to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the humans. After this, the Fourth Doctor bluffed, telling the Sontarans that their battle plans had been captured, so they would have to call off their invasion. (*DW*: *The Sontaran Experiment*)

### Legacy

As the Fourth Doctor was about to fall from the radio telescope, he imagined a Sontaran calling his name. (DW: *Logopolis*)

To Be Added. (DW: *Ascend From Darkness*)

## Other Information

* The Sontarans have never had an on-screen encounter with the First, Second, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, or Twelfth Doctor.

### Other Appearances

* The Sontarans appeared in the non-canonical sketch, *A Fix with Sontarans*, which was featured on the children's show Jim'll Fix It

## Behind the Scenes

* In the documentary Built for War, Elisabeth Sladen credits Linx actor Kevin Lindsay with establishing the pronunciation for "Sontaran" that is now generally accepted. Her description of the filming of *The Time Warrior* suggests that Lindsay insisted upon stressing the second syllable over the objections of director Alan Bromly, who wanted to emphasise the first. A.