Augment

Augment, in the general sense, is the designation given to a person or group that has been biologically altered to be physically and/or mentally superior to their base species. In more specific usage, the term "Augments" is applied to the genetically-enhanced "supermen" of Earth's Eugenics Wars, and to similarly-altered humans in the centuries after.

The Eugenics Wars
The origins of the Augments were said to had been traced to a group of international scientists who worked during the 1960s-1970s who had laboratories in Haiti and Pakistan as well as Chad along with their headquarters in North Yemen. These progenitors of a super race worked in the poorest countries on Earth as it was easy to bribe the officials into silence and hire human guinea pigs for their work. Unknown to him at the time, but Ralph Offenhouse supplied this cabal with equipment from electron microscopes to computers, drugs and even chemicals which broke export regulations and smuggling laws. ) This led to the culmination of augmentation amongst the Human race through the production of the Chrysalis Project in the 20th century on the planet Earth. The goal was the creation of a race of superhuman beings, and the program was based on the previous work accomplished by the Nazis with the Lebensborn project., )

However, the projects goal whilst successful in breeding a superrace, they led to the creation of genetically engineered madmen that sought to dominate their non modified brethren. According to the journal of one of the scientists that were responsible for the creation of the Augments, "superior ability breeds superior ambition". This log was written shortly before he was killed by his own creations. In 1993, the Augments seized power within forty of the nations on the planet Earth which led to a conflict that was known as the Great Wars where they battled against normal Humans. The supermen were noted as being horrible despots that treated their unaltered human subjects as slaves and as a lower class. Eventually, Khan Noonien Singh led a powerful group of fellow Augment warlords who formed the Great Khanate that sought to dominate their non-genetically engineered brethren. Forming the Augment Alliance, one of the chief leaders of this government was Stavos Keniclius who was second only to Khan himself. (SS SNW (The Rules of War)) These augments were tyrants that devastated the world and united it against them in a conflict that would be known as the Eugenics Wars. Despite noted for their brutality on their unaltered kin, they were noted for observing the rules of war in certain occasions as noted in the case when Keniclius negotiated a ceasefire with Nathan Archer in order to allow a school full of children to be evacuated in North Africa before resuming hostilities. (SS SNW (The Rules of War))

A key conflict during this war was the Battle of the Sea of Japan where the naval vessel Enterprise was destroyed but not before leading a crucial victory for the governments of the world. This led to the destruction of Khan Singhs military and after the battle, the members of the Great Khanate splintered into dozens of factions that fought one another. This allowed the nations of Earth to hunt down the Augment leaders one by one which brought about an end to their tyrannical reign. ) The reign of the Augments ultimately ended in the year 1996 when they were overthrown. The last of these warlords was Khan Noonien Singh who was deposed but instead of being killed or captured; he managed to flee with eighty of his comrades in a sublight transport for parts unknown.

It was known that many of the 'Khans' took normal humans as spouses who in turn had children that were half augment and half human. These spouses and children would be preyed upon by society who would execute them for the crimes committed by the various supermen. However, some managed to flee with their children and went into hiding in locations such as the Sahara Reclamation Zone and Alaska. Some people and/or Augments did indeed escape Earth during and after the Wars, often ending up supporting Eugenics anyway. The Earth authorities were later responsible for confiscating the remaining Augment embryos and placed them into storage. By the 2130s, they were stored in an Earth Starfleet facility known as Cold Station 12. The after effect of the Eugenics Wars led to genetic engineering being banned on the planet Earth which was one of the reasons why the first Human clone, Stavos Keniclius, was exiled from his homeworld. (

The Neyel
When the humans of the O'Neil asteroid colony were stranded far from Earth, they decided to defy Earth laws on genetic modification and began to augment themselves. This eventually led to altering themselves into a vastly different species who called themselves the Neyel. (TLE novel: The Sundered)

The Augment Crisis
In the 22nd century a scientist, Dr Arik Soong, working Cold Station 12 where the 20th century augment embryos were stored, saw potential in augmentation and decided to continue the development of the program and managed to escape with several of the embryos. He raised them as his children until he was captured by Starfleet. A decade later, these children sparked the Augment Crisis that nearly incited a full-scale war between the Klingon Empire and the relatively new interstellar power of United Earth. The Augments once again attempted to make a break for power and showed that they had no trouble with committing genocide on other worlds to achieve their goals. (ENT episodes: Borderland & Cold Station 12)

The group eventually turned on their "father," who was attempting to modify their genes to remove their aggressive characteristics. They and the remainder of the eighteen hundred 20th century embryos were killed when the starship Enterprise destroyed their captured Bird-of-prey. (ENT episode: The Augments)

Klingons
The Klingons were both impressed and fearful of the potential of the Human augments, and were the next to experiment with augmentation. Using gene therapy based on Augment DNA they obtained from the wreckage of the Bird-of-Prey the Human Augments had commandeered, they attempted to create their own augments. Their experiments were initially successful in increasing strength and intelligence, but did have two side effects: the Klingon cranial ridges dissolved, and eventually led to an agonizing death as the subject's neural pathways degraded. One of the test subjects had Levodian flu, and the virus combined with the Augment DNA to create an airborne plague that quickly spread throughout the empire, infecting billions of Klingons and causing them to lose their ridges.

All of the infected Klingons would have eventually died, but fortunately for them, a cure was developed by the Klingon Antaak and Dr Phlox of the Earth starship Enterprise. Whilst the cure prevented the deaths of many Klingons, it did leave them ridgeless, an effect which would be passed onto their children. These Klingons became known as QuchHa'. 

The Second Attempt
Dozens of years later, a Klingon scientist known as Qadar attempted to create "enhanced" Klingon warriors called M'tachtar, which he re-engineered (along with himself) into a force that would be used against the Federation. He was stopped and exiled along with his warriors by his Rustaai-cousin Emperor of the Klingon Empire Grannoch. They remained on an uninhabited planet until they managed to take over the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. Qadar and his followers attempted to return to Qo'noS and take command of the Empire, but were quickly defeated. They still returned to Qo'noS, but their is fate is unknown. Presumably, they were executed for their attempted coup against the ruler of the Klingon Empire. (TOS novel: My Brother's Keeper: )

Romulans
The Romulan Star Empire attempted their own eugenics program in the 2260s which resulted in the Hellguard colony. When this project was considered no longer valuable, the 'rejects' were left behind. The survivors of this abandonment were rescued by Spock in 2274. 

24th Century Augmentation
Earth's restrictions on genetic modification eventually spread to the Federation, however there were a few colonies that performed the necessary operations illegally. This included operations that did not bestow the full "gifts" of augmentation, but rather specific aspects such as increased intelligence or improved motor skills. Ethan Locken and Dr. Julian Bashir were two such augments. 

There was also a group of humans on the planet Hera who ignored the Federation law and routinely practiced genetic modification to a similar degree of the augmentation in the Eugenics Wars. This group called themselves Herans and believed that they were superior to "Old Humans." They planned to use a genetically engineered virus that would have converted all newborn children into augments, however, they faced a human renegade faction on their homeworld who resisted their attempts. 

In 2376, Doctor Elizabeth Lense affected a widespread, but temporary, genetic augmentation of the population of Sherman's Planet in order to combat a pandemic disease dubbed "Sherman's Plague". This action was justified by arguing, because the population could not survive in the environment they were born into, this constituted a birth defect which could legally be treated. Though Lense herself had been suspected of being augmented years earlier, she believed the Federation's laws on genetic modification deserved review. 

Aegis agents

 * Gary Seven

Early Chrysalis Project

 * Carlos Quintana

Chrysalis Project children

 * Stavos Keniclius • Vasily Hunyadi • Jarod • Oliver • Alberto Gomez • Elijah Jugurtha Amin • Randall Morrison • Arcturus

Chen Tiejun followers

 * Shirin • Zenobia • Rani • Nina

Khan Noonien Singh followers

 * Phoolan Dasall • Joaquin Weiss • Suzette Ling • Armando Rodriguez • Otto • Liam MacPherson • Kati • Geir Jonsson • Vishwa Patil • Harulf Ericsson • Zuleika Walker • Gideon Hawkins • Dmitri Blasko • Parvati Rao • Daniel Katzel • Amy Katzel • Nadia Gorinksy • Eric Lutjen • Paul Austin • Karyn Bradley • Keith Talbot • Saraj Panjabi • Ali Rahman • Kamala Devi • Tamsin • Hans Steiber • Marcel Dumas • Juliette Savine • Debra VonLinder • Shirin Azar • Vijay Nikore • Rivera • Thomsen • Yolanda Aponte

Ceti Alpha V children

 * Joachim Weiss • Astrid Ericsson • Cesare

Arik Soong children

 * Jaya • Lokesh • Malik • Persis • Raakin • Saul • Udar • Yavar

Paragon Colony

 * Masako Clarke • Aaron Rosenburg • Karen Jones • Gregor Lozin

Empyreans

 * Alexei • Clements • Eleni • Ethan • Anna March • Elizabeth March • Katrina Ortega • Ramon Ortega • Paolo

Herans

 * Gustav Blaisdell • Vlad Dunbar • Astrid Kemal • Marla Sukhoi • Lee Sukhoi

24th Century

 * Julian Bashir • Jack • Patrick • Lauren • Sarina Douglas • Ethan Locken • Kelly

Children of Khan

 * Constantin Amoros • Julian Bashir • Sarina Douglas • Ethan Locken • Miles O'Brien • Jean-Luc Picard • William Riker • Tiberius Sejanus Singh • Benjamin Sisko • Jacob Sisko • Tiber