The Son'a are a technologically advanced, humanoid race with questionable morals. In the course of 100 years, they have conquered other species, developed illegal weapons, and produced quantities of the narcotic, ketracel-white. The Son'a are also a very materialistic people. Their clothes are encrusted with jewels, and one of their leaders, Ahdar Ru'afo, sat on a large, richly-decorated couch on the bridge of his ship. The race entered into a brief alliance with the Federation, but the Son'a have little respect for interstellar law; their vessels are fitted with illegal isolytic subspace weapons, which were outlawed by the Second Khitomer Accord. These devices generate a subspace tear that is attracted to an enemy vessel's warp core. Subspace weapons were banned because they were too unpredictable, and there is no single tactic that is guaranteed to counter them.
The Son'a had their origins in a much more peaceful and spiritual culture. They are an offshoot of the Ba'ku, a people who rejected modern technology and abandoned the rest of their species in 2025 in order to establish a new homeworld. The Ba'ku eventually settled on a planet in an area of space known as the Briar Patch. The unusual concentration of metaphasic radiation in the planet's rings continually regenerates their genetic structures, arresting the aging process and effectively making them immortal.
The Ba'ku chose to isolate themselves from the rest of the galaxy, but in 2275 a group of young Ba'ku decided that they wanted to follow the 'ways of the offlanders,' and attemped to take control of the colony. When they failed, the other Ba'ku took the decision to exile them, and they were forced to return to normal space, whre they began to age naturally. These rebels became the Son'a, and gave themselves new names, for example, Ro'tin became Ru'afo, and Gal'no became Gallitin. In 2325, the Son'a conquered two primitive races--the Tarlac and the Ellora--and integrated them into their culture as a labor class. The Son'a now control their homeworlds. In Son'a society, the Tarlac and the Ellora carry out menial tasks while the Son'a issue orders.
At some point after leaving the Ba'ku homeworld, the Son'a developed a genetic anomaly that prevented them from reproducing. As a result, the Son'a only number in the hundreds and they are dying. They refuse to accept this situation, and have become desperate to extend their lifespans by any means possible. Son'a medics resorted to genetic manipulation and surgical techniques to preserve their bodies. The Son'a make regular visits to 'body enhancement facilites,' where their skin is stretched tight, and dangerous toxins are removed from their bodies. The Son'a need these procedures just to stay alive, but they are also a vain people, and they pursue the appearance of youth as much as their health. However, illness and repeated surgery have made them increasingly grotesque. The medical procedures succeeded in extending the Son'a's lifespan, but by 2375 many of the older Son'a were on the point of death.
Over the years, the Son'a developed a plan to return to the Ba'ku planet and harvest the lifegiving metaphasic radiation. The plan involved constructing a massive science vessel that would inject the rings around the Ba'ku planet with a substance designed to start a thermolytic reaction. The science vessel would then be able to collect the metaphasic radiation, which could be used to restore the Son'a's youth. Unfortunately, the procedure would leave the Ba'ku planet uninhabitable for generations. By this time, the Briar Patch was in Federation space. The Son'a were not confident enough to 'attack' a Federation planet, so, concealing their relationship with the Ba'ku, they pursuaded the Federation Council to enter into an alliance. The combined Starfleet and Son'a forces were commanded by Son'a Ahdar Ru'afo and Starfleet's Admiral Dougherty. They planned to relocate the Ba'ku without their knowledge, by transporting them onto a holoship while they were sleeping. In the holoship, the Ba'ku would have lived in a holographic recreation of their own village while they were relocated to another planet.
The scheme failed when Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E, revealed the existance of the holoship to the Ba'ku. Ahdar Ru'afo was consumed with bitterness and anger, and prepared to harvest the metaphasic radiation while a significant number of the Ba'ku were still on the planet. This proved too much for Subahdar Gallatin, who joined forces with Picard and enabled him to destroy the science vessel, killing Ru'afo. Following this incident, at least some of the Son'a established contact with their families among the Ba'ku, but it is not clear whether the two races will ever be completely reconciled.