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The Sontarans were a race of belligerent and militaristic clones who waged eternal war throughout Mutter's Spiral against the Rutan Host. The Sixth Doctor considered them to be - after the Daleks and Cybermen - "the most evil force in the galaxy."
Biology
The Sontarans were humanoids with large, bulbous heads and short stocky bodies. They had grey-brown skin and deep set features. Sontarans generally had three digits on each hand (two fingers and a thumb). (DW: The Two Doctors) Some Sontarans also had vestigial hair, generally in the form of beards, which grew white with age. (NA: Shakedown) Sontaran blood was green. (DW: The Two Doctors, SJA: The Last Sontaran)
The Sontarans reproduced by cloning, meaning each Sontaran was nearly identical to each other. There were some instances in variation, such as the number of fingers (DW: The Sontaran Experiment) or skin colour (NA: Shakedown). Sontaran nurses were further genespliced for nursing purposes, such as the ability to produce breastmilk. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War) The mass cloning techniques they possessed allowed their hatcheries to produce up to 1,000,000 Sontarans in 4 minutes. (MA: Lords of the Storm) All appeared roughly the same age, with the exception of General Sontar, who appeared older. (PDA: The Infinity Doctors) The rare Pureblood Sontaran had increased status and were higher in the hierarchy. Occasionally, genetic defects would crop up and the afflicted Sontarans would be sent to work in menial labour. (DWM: The Betrothal of Sontar)
Due to Sontar's high level of gravity, the Sontarans had great strength and resilience in lower gravity environments like Earth or Gallifrey. (DW: The Two Doctors) Despite this strength, Sontaran muscles were designed for load bearing rather than leverage. (DW: The Time Warrior) They were also vulnerable to Coronic acid, which burnt, or in some cases even disintegrated them. (DW: The Two Doctors) If severely wounded, a Sontaran would enter an anabolic coma. In most cases, they would then die, but sometimes they would later wake up. (NA: Shakedown) They absorbed energy via the Probic Vent on the back of their necks. This vent was also their crucial weakness, as any sudden contact 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, A Good Man Goes to War)
Society
The Sontarans were a martial species, obsessed with war. The highest honour for a Sontaran was to serve in the Imperial Fleet and to be disallowed soldiering was the most dishonourable fate for a Sontaran. (DWM: The Betrothal of Sontar) Taking care of the sick or wounded was used as a punishment. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War) Fighting for other species was an equally dishonourable fate. (SJA: Enemy of the Bane) Sontarans did not fear death, and they would rather be court-martialled than show pain to others. They considered it honourable to face battle open skinned, without a helmet on. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky) Though they would make alliances with other species (NA: Shakedown, DW: The Pandorica Opens), they felt no need to keep them. (NA: Shakedown) Their idea of a dishonourable and shameful death was to die peacefully, and the family of a Sontaran that died in his sleep would often make up a story to show them dying on the battlefield. An old and sick Sontaran would often sign up for the military so that he could die whilst fighting.[source needed]
Sontarans who possessed five digits on their hands were generally placed as intelligence operatives who had enhanced skills as well as instincts. However, it was often noted that these agents had a tendency to be paranoid. (MA: Lords of the Storm)
The Sontarans had a tune that was played while they marched. This was simply titled the Sontaran Anthem. (EDA: The Eight Doctors)
Despite being a clone race, the Sontarans still retained the concept of betrothal, which was roughly analogous to ending hostilities by killing your enemy. (DWM: The Betrothal of Sontar) Within their society, there was also a rigid clan structure, with clans having different genetic markers. (MA: Lords of the Storm) The clans varied in power, and some had great influence, such as the Gunnar Clan. (NA: Shakedown) Sontarans were known for Quicksand Wrestling. (SJA: Enemy of the Bane)
Sontarans used a Base-6 counting system. (SJA: The Last Sontaran)
Sontarans generally possessed a chauvinistic attitude towards females, considering them unfit for warfare. They would sometimes insult their enemies by comparing them to women. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem)
Sontarans were also known to bear titles, usually relating to past victories and events that had occurred in their lives. Sontarans would often introduce themselves by their full name and title. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky, SJA: The Last Sontaran)
If a Sontaran opposed the decision of their commanding officer, both could have a duel to the death to decide which would be the leader. (NSA: The Taking of Chelsea 426)
Sontarans considered informing a person that they looked forward to someday killing them on the battlefield to be a form of compliment.
Due to their dedication to warfare, Strax considered a lifespan of 12 years to be a long one among his species. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War)
Ranks
- Note that the ranks are listed in presumed order of seniority in relation to Earth armed forces. The precise order is pure speculation.
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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), although the crown may well have been the emblem of the Sontaran Empire (DW: The Time Warrior). Group Marshal Stike had white braiding on his shoulders, akin to epaulets. (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 design. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky) In the 24th century, Commander Steg wore a gold helmet while his troops wore red ones. (RP: Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans)
Forces
The Sontaran military was divided into several different units, regiments and fleets:
- Fifth Sontaran Battle Group (DW: The Time Warrior)
- G3 Military Assessment Survey (DW: The Sontaran Experiment)
- Sontaran Special Space Service (DW: The Invasion of Time)
- Ninth Sontaran Battle Fleet (DW: The Two Doctors)
- Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky)
- Twelfth Sontaran Battle Fleet (QR: The Sontaran Games)
- Special Assault Squad - Attached to other units, such as the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet (SJA: The Last Sontaran)
- Koda - Military security branch of the Sontaran Armed Forces. (MA: Lords of the Storm)
- Seventy Ninth Sontaran Assault Corps (BBV: The Shadow Play)
- First Assault Battalion (RP: Mindgame)
- Fourth Sontaran Intelligence Division (NSA: The Taking of Chelsea 426)
- Three Millionth Fleet (PDA: The Infinity Doctors)
Technology
- See also Sontaran 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, NA: Shakedown, MA: Lords of the Storm) The Sontarans also utilized rifle laser weapons during the assault of 2009, which fired bright beams of red light that could kill a human without any exterior damage. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky) They also had the Stenk 11 pistol. (TWN: The Undertaker's Gift)
They also made use of fragmentation grenades, which could destroy everything in a certain area. (DWN: Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons, NA: Legacy)
At some point in the future, the Sontarans began plans to develop a device capable of snuffing out entire stars in response to the development by the Rutans to create a planet killing weapon that was able to destroy a world by converting it from matter to anti-matter. (PDA: The Infinity Doctors)
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) Some had cloaking capabilities. (SJA: The Last Sontaran)
The Sontaran motherships were similar in shape to the scoutship, but had 4 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/The Poison Sky)
Sontaran War-Wheels were combat vessels shaped roughly like a bow tie, with two rotating 'wheels' either side of a central spherical core. They were capable of planetary landings. (NA: Shakedown, DWM: Unnatural Born Killers)
When on a planet, the Sontarans would travel by the means of aircraft. These aircraft looked like the bottom half of a Sontaran ship, with seats and controls on the top half. (DWM: The Betrothal of Sontar)
The Sontarans had limited time travel technology. They frequently attempted to steal more advanced technology from the Time Lords. (DW: The Two Doctors, BBV: The Eleven Day Empire) By the 13th century, Sontarans utilising osmic projection, though nothing comparable to Time Lords. (DW: The Time Warrior) In the 20th century, they made other attempts to obtain more effective time-travel technology like the TARDIS. (DW: The Two Doctors)
Sontarans adapted teleportation technology using generators situated at the area of materialisation. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky)
Armour
Sontarans wore distinctive battle 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 21st century Sontarans had blue, less flexible, armour in a similar design,(DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky) although those Sontarans may have been solely ship crews, since crew armour was blue. Sontarans of the medical and environmental devisions wore green armour. (MA: Lords of the Storm)
Other technology
Sontarans used two methods of controlling other individuals. They could take over their mind with hypnosis, (DW: The Time Warrior, The Sontaran Stratagem) or control them with devices attached to the neck (SJA: The Last Sontaran). They also used psy-snares for the same purpose. (DWM: Black Sun Rising)
The Sontarans were capable of creating around a million clones every four minutes, which allowed them to sustain massive casualties. (DW: The Time Warrior) These 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 sezerfine gas. (DW: The Poison Sky)
The Sontarans could heal their wounds with a device called a tissue rectifier, which was a stubby, tubular device. (DWF: Blind Terror)
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 causes metallic copper to expand; when the copper is in the jacket of a bullet, it becomes jammed in the gun's barrel, rendering it useless. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky)
History
Early history
In their early history, the Sontarans were split into clans, which would fight amongst themselves. (NA: Shakedown) The original Sontarans appeared ganglier and more like humans. (DWM: Pureblood) The survivors of these civil wars joined forces and set their aggression on aliens instead. (NA: Shakedown)
The Sontarans eventually discovered cloning and adapted it to their own use, abandoning normal reproduction. Prior to the war with the Rutans, the clones forced the purebloods off-world. (DWM: Pureblood)
Rutan-Sontaran War
The cloned Sontarans were engaged in a war with the Rutan Host. During the Millennium War, though, Sontarans and Rutans briefly joined forces. (PDA: The Quantum Archangel)
- Accounts differ as to the date at which the Rutan-Sontaran war started.
In Earth's prehistory a Sontaran came to Egypt, where it was worshipped as a God. Eventually, the humans learned that he planned to destroy Earth for the war. When they learned this, the Sontaran was buried alive in the Pyramid. (DWM: The Gods Walk Among Us)
In 102, the Sontarans were among the races who joined the Alliance. They came to Stonehenge and helped imprison the Eleventh Doctor in the Pandorica in order to save the Universe. (DW: The Pandorica Opens)
In the 13th century, Linx, a scout, landed in England and claimed it 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. (DW: The Time Warrior)
Later, in the year 1522 AD, a Sontaran scoutship crash landed on Earth in China. As a result of the incident, their hyperspace transmitter was damaged and they required a replacement crystal in order to summon reinforcements as well as to take over the planet. There, they formed a partnership with the Abbot Hsiang and Yueh who knew them as the "bronze men" where they used their hypnotic technology to test enhance his fighting abilities. The Emperor of China learnt of the enhanced fighting skills of the monks and came for a demonstration. This was all part of a plan by the Sontarans to kill the Chinese Emperor as he possessed a quartz crystal sufficient to power the hyperspace transmitter and thus placed a hypnotic suggestion designed to turn the monks against the Emperor in order to kill him. However, the Fourth Doctor intervened and had K-9 recorded the trigger words and broke the spell but not before Chang went into a berserker attack that killed the Sontarans as a result of him hearing the command phrase once. (DWM: Dragon's Claw)
In 1609, along with the Rutans, the Sontarans participated in the summit of military powers throughout Mutter's Spiral in the Armageddon Convention, which convened in Laputa, a floating island in the sky near Venice. (MA: The Empire of Glass)
At some point during the 20th century, Edgar Nelson-Stanley met with the Sontarans. He believed they were "the silliest race in the galaxy". (SJA: Eye of the Gorgon)
Due to the dates of his encounters with a Gorgon and the Vondraxian Orb, this possibly occurred in the 1950s.
In the 1980s, the Sontaran Warburg investigated the possibility of using time ships in order to win the war. At the same point in time they were involved in a battle with the Rutans in the Madillon Cluster. Neither attempt was successful. (DW: The Two Doctors)
In 2009, the Sontarans were losing the war against the Rutans. To counter this, the Tenth 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 ATMOS factory, forcing them to start shipping out devices that contained gases poisonous to humans, contained inside plates attached to the Sat-navs they sold. When the Tenth Doctor attempted to meddle, the Sontarans activated all the devices already deployed in cars, releasing the poison gas and choking people nearby. The fleet was eventually destroyed by Rattigan. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky)
Following this attempt, Commander Kaagh was left as the last survivor of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet after he crashed to Earth. He used Professor Nicholas Skinner to bring satellites crashing into Earth's nuclear power plants. He wanted to take Sarah Jane Smith to Sontar for the Doctor's crime and for her knowledge of the Sontarans. The plan was stopped when Chrissie Jackson disabled Kaagh with her high heeled shoe, but he came round and was forced back to Sontar in his pod. (SJA: The Last Sontaran)
Following this failure, Kaagh became a mercenary for the Bane. He met Mrs Wormwood while looking for the remains of Horath and they agreed to work together. After finding the mind of Horath, he followed Wormwood to Earth, where they took the Tunguska Scroll from Sarah Jane and kidnapped Luke Smith. The alliance started to break down when Mrs Wormwood sided with Luke over Kaagh, ending when she betrayed and disabled him. Seeing that he had lost, he dragged Wormwood into the wormhole containing Horath. (SJA: Enemy of the Bane)
In January 2010, one Sontaran named Jask was on Earth and was chased by Martha Jones and Mickey Smith. He managed to get away and tried to kill them with a sniper rifle but was knocked out by the Tenth Doctor. (DW: The End of Time)
Around 2570, the Sontarans were engaged in activities in the Magellanic Clouds. (NA: Love and War)
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 Seventh Doctor, were able to fight back effectively. The surviving Sontarans destroyed their bases and abandoned the planet. (NA: Shakedown)
Some time later, an expedition was made to go to Sentarion and take advantage of the wormhole connecting 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. (RP: Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans, NA: Shakedown)
The second Karne was to able escape to Sentarion, followed by the Seventh 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 to 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. (NA: Shakedown)
Also at some point during the 26th century, the Sontarans and Rutans took their war to the colony Chelsea 426. The Fourth Sontaran Intelligence Division, led by General Kade, were given the mission of hunting down Rutans that were at the time taking over human bodies. The Tenth Doctor was present during the event and while he did not side with either waring party, he did stop the Rutans, after which the Sontarans left. However, there was evidence that the Sontaran Division's trouble with the Rutans was not fully over after their ship left the colony. (NSA: The Taking of Chelsea 426)
During either the 25th or 26th century, the Rutans destroyed the Sontaran homeworld, Sontar, with photonic bombs, though some escaped with the Sontaran racepool. At the same time, the Sontarans encountered the Pureblood Sontarans. Due to the intervention of the Seventh Doctor, the cloned and pureblood Sontarans decided to pool their resources and Marshal Stave promised to remove the Sontarans' memory of humans from the racepool. (DWM: Pureblood)
In 4037, twelve year old Commander Strax was demoted to Nurse for his failure, tending to the humans in the Battle of Zaruthstra. He was summoned by the Doctor to Demon's Run where he died in battle. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War)
Many thousands of years later, at a time when the Earth had been abandoned for 10,000 years, the Sontarans were separated from the many human worlds 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)
Undated events
- The Sontaran mining ship Betrothal of Sontar was sent to Serac as a form of demotion. Colonel Snathe, a pureblood Sontaran, believed that the Thanatos was located on Serac, but his attempts to find it were unsuccessful and crew became restless and insubordinate. When the Tenth Doctor arrived, Snathe forced him to find the Thanatos - but when Snathe tried to control it, the Thanatos decided that the Sontarans were stagnant and Sontar needed to be destroyed. Though Lerox showed that there was still hope for the Sontarans, Snathe was killed when the Inuk shoved him outside during a Silverfire. (DWM: The Betrothal of Sontar)
- When this occurred is unknown, though the Sontarans apparently knew of the humans at this point and Sontar still existed.
- The Carpalian Witch's favourite hunt was when she hunted a Sontaran. Since her pheromonal lure was ineffective, she waited in his ship for 6 weeks until she stabbed him in the probic vent when he was about recharge. (NSA: The Doctor Trap
- was defeated by the Levanaxus. In order to become more powerful, he went to Aleph-777 in search of a mythical super-weapon. He was eventually able to track it to Omega-666, where he opened it, revealing it to be Omega Green Plague, which killed him. (DWM: The Final Quest)
- The Master once tried to kill the Graak with a group of Sontarans, even making the Graak joust with one. (VG: Destiny of the Doctors)
- Skrant was sent on a seven-year mission to conquer Braktalis. He joined forces with Demimon. He was defeated by Demimon's daughter Alareen and her lover Kinyor's forces. (DWM: The Outsider)
- The Sontarans attempted an invasion of a planet, but were stopped by Kroton. (DWM: Unnatural Born Killers)
- The Sontarans sent a force to investigate the planet Goth for weaponry. (DWM: Black Legacy)
- Both Sonatarans and Rutans were trapped in the Edifice. They continued to fight even there. (NSA: The Forever Trap)
- At least 1 Sontaran weapon was part of a shipment of weaponry stolen by a CIA Special Operations Division when it was removed from The Hub . (TWN : The Men Who Sold the World )
Rassilon Era
- When these encounters with the Time Lords occurred is unknown, due to the difficulty in dating the Time Lord stories.
- In Gallifrey's past the Sontarans were part of the force which went to war against Morbius. (PDA: Warmonger)
- Though the Sontaran Linx, in the 12th century, merely considered the invasion of Gallifrey as a speculative possibility (DW: The Time Warrior), the Sontarans, in concert with the Vardans did invade, until beaten back by then-Lord President the Fourth Doctor. (DW: The Invasion of Time)
- During another period of Time Lord history, the Warburg, led by General Sontar himself, the Warburg's supreme commander, and the Rutan Host convened on Gallifrey to meet face to face without violence. (PDA: The Infinity Doctors)
- The Sontarans were part of the Supremo's alliance in the war against Morbius. (PDA: Warmonger)
- The Sontarans were in negotiation with the Time Lords and Order of the Black Sun for uranium on Desrault. When the Time Lords seemed to favour the Order of the Black Sun, the Sontaran delegate used a psy-snare to turn one into an assassin. This backfired, and both the Time Lords and the Order turned on him. (DWM: Black Sun Rising)
- The Seventy Ninth Sontaran Assault Corps were hired by House Tracolix to attack the Eleven-Day Empire. (BBV: The Shadow Play)
- The Sontarans were not 'allowed' to fight in the Last Great Time War. General Staal understood it to be the greatest war of all time. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem)
Behind the scenes
- In the documentary, "Built for War" (BBC DVD: The Sontaran Experiment), Elizabeth 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 emphasize the first. A similar dispute was later seen on screen in The Sontaran Stratagem, with Donna Noble adopting Bromly's preferred pronunciation and the Tenth Doctor using Linday's.