Opaka Sulan

For themirror universe counterpart, seeOpaka Sulan (mirror).

Opaka Sulan

Biography[]

Early life[]

When Opaka was aPrylar, she visitedNew Sydney to raise funds for Bajor.(DS9 -Millenniumnovel:Inferno)

As avedek, Opaka advocated between2346 and2348 for the abolition of theD'jarra, the Bajoran caste system. KaiArin expelled her from theVedek Assembly in retaliation, but was eventuallyassassinated by hisObsidian Order minderPasir Letin after changing his mind. (TLE -Terok Nornovel:Night of the Wolves)

It is implied that Opaka succeeded Arin as kai, which would in turn indicate that it was her administration that abolished theD'jarra.

As Kai[]

During the Occupation Opaka revealed the location of a resistance cell in Bajor'sKendra Valley, which her own son was a member of, resulting in the deaths of her own son and the 42 other members of the resistance cell. This was in order to keep the Cardassians from killing over 1,000 other Bajorans. Years later,VedekBareil Antos felt compelled to protect her memory by trying to take the blame for the deaths of the resistance cell himself. (DS9episode: "The Collaborator")

At the end of theCardassian occupation of Bajor, Opaka was living in seclusion, and rarely saw anyone. Shortly afterCommanderBenjamin Sisko took command ofDeep Space 9, Opaka met with Sisko, and presented him with anorb to assist him to discover the location of the Celestial Temple. (DS9episode &novelization:Emissary)

Later that year theRedemptorists leaderHören Rygis set his plan to murderKira Nerys in motion. The plan resulted in bothDoctorJulian Bashir andMajorKira Nerys being cut off from assistance from the station. Kira was trapped on asubstation with Hören on board, and Doctor Bashir was trapped in the Bajoran wormhole. The Redemptorists had sabotaged the cargo shuttle carrying the substation so that the engines would harm the inhabitants of the wormhole, and they caused the engines to fire in the wormhole. The Prophets responding by collapsing theAlpha Quadrant end of the wormhole, cutting off Bashir and Kira from assistance. During this time, Commander Sisko visited with Opaka to learn if she had any insights into the situation. Opaka advised Sisko that Hören's obsessions and hatred had swept away Hören's sanity. Doctor Bashir was able to convince the Prophets to send him into a distant future where the universe was dead so that he could use the shuttle's engines without harming them. Opaka's meditations had enabled her to visit this realm and she was able to help lead Julian Bashir back from that realm. (DS9novel:Bloodletter)

Exile in the Gamma Quadrant[]

In2369 Opaka died in arunabout crash on amoon in theGamma Quadrant, the moon was in fact a prison holding two warring tribes - TheEnnis and theNol-Ennis - who were left to fight forever thanks to microbes in the moons atmosphere with the ability to bring the dead back to life. These microbes allowed Opaka to come back from the dead but also resulting in her having to stay on the moon as leaving would kill her again. Opaka took this as a sign from theProphets and stayed on the moon to reconcile the warring factions. (DS9episode: "Battle Lines")

In her first year, on the moon Sulan learned thelanguage of the tribes and talked with both tribes a great deal. When that tactic proved unsuccessful in her second year, she took to meditating in the battlefield, allowing herself to be killed many times to illustrate the futility of the war. This eventually lead to truces and eventually peace with the uniting of the tribes.

A month after the unification of the tribes, a ship piloted by anAscendant namedRaiq crashed. As a reward for healing her, Raiq destroyed the satellite network over theplanetoid which had previously prevented anyone leaving the moon and controlled themicrobes. With the microbes deactivated, Sulan could leave the lunar prison. A month later, a survey ship assisted in the repair of ships on the moon and Opaka left with about thirty of her followers from the tribe.

They went to theOol'sp hospice onSyll8 to help care for lasthevgin test victims, then to the colonies atArshiv andArshiv Prime, where they established civil-war orphanages. They also went toBeras to pray with refugees and finally went to the trade planetEe to help develop rights for the underprivileged locals.

In July2376, she was found byJake Sisko, aTrelian namedWex, and aTosk on Ee who took her to a planet in theIdran system. There, working with Jake, she activated a mechanism that brought back theEav'oq species from millennia hiding in subspace and simultaneously moved the Idran System threelight-years back to its position when the Eav'oq first went into hiding.

Some days later, when Sulan, Jake and Wex set out for theBajoran wormhole in the Tosk's ship, the ship began to break apart. They were transported out by aJem'Hadar ship commanded by a newclone ofWeyoun. From there, they were quickly transported to theUSSDefiant and returned to theAlpha Quadrant. (DS9novel:Rising Son)

The fact that Opaka was still alive was withheld from the Bajoran populace. Some of her people believed she had died, while others believed she been transfigured to another plane of existence. All Bajorans believed Opaka had answered the call of the Prophets. (DS9novel:Warped)

Return to Bajor[]

Shortly after arriving back in the Alpha Quadrant,VedekYevir Linjarin arrived atDeep Space 9 to escort Sulan back to Bajor. Once back she spent much of her time in the monastery atAshalla. Also at Ashalla for sometime wasElias Vaughn on medical leave, Sulan watched over Elias in hissecond orb experience and cared for him when that experience was interrupted byparasite-infected monks. She and Elias along with the Sisko family were held hostage by the monks, in that time as a hostage she served as midwife forKasidy Yates at the birth of herdaughter.

Opaka did not resume the office ofKai following her return, feeling that the Prophets had shown her that to do so was not in her path.

Towards the end ofSeptember2376, Opaka Sulan was amongst the many dignitaries at the signing ceremony for Bajor's admittance into theFederation. (DS9novel:Unity)

In2381, Sisko thought about seeking out Opaka, whom he hadn't seen in some time. (ST -Typhon Pactnovel:Rough Beasts of Empire)

Alternate Versions[]

WhileElias Vaughn was experiencing hissecond orb experience, he took on the persona ofEli Underwood, a patient at the mental hospital that housedBenny Russell.Sue-Lyn, a nurse at the asylum, was the representation of Opaka in that reality. (DS9novel:Unity)

Alternate timeline[]

In analternate timeline in which theCardassian Union did not withdraw from Bajor in2369, Kai Opaka was executed on the orders of theChangeling posing asGulDukat prior to2373. Her death turned her into a martyr andBajoran Resistance attacks increased as a result. (TNG -Myriad Universesnovel:A Gutted World)

Appendices[]

Appearances[]

• TLE -Terok Nornovel:Night of the Wolves
• TLE -Terok Nornovel:Dawn of the Eagles
• DS9episode: "Emissary" (First appearance)
• DS9short story: "Ha'mara"
• DS9novel:Bloodletter
• DS9video game:Crossroads of Time
• DS9episode: "Battle Lines"
• DS9episode: "The Collaborator"
• DS9episode: "Accession"
• DS9novel:Rising Son
• DS9novel:Unity
• DS9 -Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Ninenovel:Bajor: Fragments and Omens
• DS9novel:Fearful Symmetry

External link[]

• Opaka Sulan article atMemory Alpha, the wiki for canonStar Trek.

Connections[]

Kais of theBajoran faith
	Dava Nikende •Taluno •Shesa •Meressa •Arin •Opaka Sulan •Winn Adami •Pralon Onala •Kira Nerys •Opaka Sulan
	Kais of theBajoran faith in themirror universe
	Dava Nikende •Opaka Sulan