Who Are The Breen In Star Trek?
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Of all the species in the Star Trek universe, the Breen are probably the most mysterious. No non-Breen even knows what they look like. Their language is so alien that regular universal translators cannot translate it; an adjustment has to be made for it to work. So, what do we know about the Breen?
For starters, the Breen were introduced (sort of) in Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG). The reason for the “sort of” is because the Breen never actually appear in TNG. However, they are mentioned quite a bit; it was an inside joke among the writers that whenever they needed a random alien, they made it the Breen. About all we know from TNG is that the Breen are an alien species that is antagonistic towards the Federation.
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The Breen got fleshed out as much as they ever have been on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9). They appear in ten episodes, and they really leave an impression. They look different than any other species in Star Trek. Whenever they’re on screen, they are wearing environmental suits, completely covered from head to toe. The helmet looks a lot like the one that Leia wears in Return of the Jedi when she goes to rescue Han in the bounty hunter disguise. There is some speculation about why the Breen wear the environmental suits, but the consensus is that their home planet is extremely cold. They can’t tolerate the relative heat that other species live in, hence the suits.
Aside from their appearance, we learn on DS9 that the Breen are both reclusive and warlike, which is an unusual combination. Worf tells a story of a Klingon attack fleet that entered Breen space to conquer their planet and they were never heard from again. The Breen are also duplicitous; there is a Romulan saying, “Never turn your back on a Breen.” The Ferengi probably had the best relationship with the Breen of any Alpha Quadrant species since they traded with one another.
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During the Dominon War, the Breen joined the changelings against the Federation and proved to be very skillful fighters. They were the first species to launch a successful attack on Earth (at least when DS9 was made. Enterprise later retconned things so the Xindi had the first successful attack on Earth). The Breen also precipitated the Cardassian rebellion against the Dominion.
After DS9, a holographic Breen appeared in one episode of Voyager. It didn’t add anything to the Breen as a species, though. Lower Decks also featured the Breen in one episode, “Trusted Sources”. This appearance just confirmed what we already knew. The Breen set a trap for the Federation and sprung it on the Cerritos.
All this mystery isn’t very surprising. The producers, directors, and writers all had competing theories about the Breen. Some said they had dog-like snouts. Others said that they evaporated if they took off their environmental suits. They might have been furry or scaley. All we know for sure is that they make a strong and intriguing antagonist for the Federation.
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Source: Memory Alpha
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