HOMEWORLD:
Home world is Centauri Prime with about 3 billion inhabitants. Numerous colony worlds exist, growing in number with the acquisition of Narn colonies and several from the Drazi (one of the minor races, member League of Non Aligned Worlds).
HOMEWORLD:
Home world is Centauri Prime with about 3
billion inhabitants. Numerous colony worlds exist, growing in
number with the acquisition of Narn colonies and several from the
Drazi (one of the minor races, member League of Non Aligned
Worlds).
BIOLOGY:
Outwardly human in appearance, Centauri
male genitalia consist of six prehensile tentacles, known as
"tentisticularites", that extend from the hip area and
can reach up to a meter and half in length, females have six
corresponding slots at the base of the spine, three per side,
each penetration representing a higher level of intimacy. This is
possibly the origin of the base 6 counting system used by the
Centauri. They do have blood, and blood types, although this has
never been successfully synthesized by human xenobiologists, no
major arteries are present in the wrists. The Centauri lifespan
is typically 150 years or so, sometimes longer.
CULTURE:
Centauri society is a very indulgent one,
with jewelry and ornamentation being very popular. The males wear
their hair in a style resembling a peacock's plume, as a measure
of status; the larger and more expansive the fan, the higher
their position in society where as female Centauri are mainly
bald except for a ponytail at the base of the skull. The Centauri
are a very decadent race which heavy emphasis place on family
honor and tradition with arranged marriages common, especially
among the elite and highly regarded family honor is often gained
through this, if a Centauri's family history contains scandalous
behavior, knowledge of this behavior can remove the Centauri
concerned from high positions or could topple entire governments.
Allegedly powerlessness and slavery, for whose actions owners are
legally responsible, are the fates of those Centauri who do not
participate in the political game of backstabbing, extortion and
double dealing. A person convicted of treason is executed and has
all their property confiscated, which ruins their family. Once a
year, the Centauri celebrate a "Festival of Life", a
celebration that originated during the Centauri/Xon conflict.
There is a ritual of ascension, celebrating the anniversary of a
Centauri's entry in to public life, the 30th being a major event
where gifts are given to the guest of honor, and to wear shoes is
a serious insult. There are a major focus on opera and dueling,
with the Kora Predo duel, or Marago, being the primary means of
settling a dispute of honor.
GOVERNMENT:
Although it is called a "Republic" it is governed by an
Emperor and a "Senate" like body called the Centaurum,
when the first Emperor assumed the throne, he consulted with
three Technomages. The Centauri were once very powerful and
controlled much of what is now inhabited space, but now their
power is fading and they are very much a power in decline,
consisting of "twelve star systems, thirty worlds, and some
tourist attractions" including Davo and Ragesh 3. Poison was
once a traditional political tool for gaining power in the old
days of the Centauri Republic.
HISTORY:
For a millennium the Centauri were a
major force in the galaxy, and in 2151 became the first
extraterrestrial race to be encountered by mankind, they were
sufficiently human in appearance that they initially pretended
that we were a forgotten colony of theirs, until DNA testing
proved otherwise. Despite this the Centauri were considerably
more generous than they were with the Narn, leasing mankind use
of their jump gates and providing us with access to information
that permitted over a century of progress in less than a single
Earth year. In return for all of this all that the Centauri
requested were cultural stuff in return…music, art,
philosophy, literature…"native" trinkets that
could be resold for more money back on Centauri Prime, probably
at a large profit given the highly decadent society, with such
"trinkets" being very popular. However the Centauri
Republic was by this time in decline, due to a combination of
laziness and a war of attrition with the Narn their Empire
reduced in stature until only twelve worlds and a few tourist
attractions remained a little over a century later. At this point
the Shadows returned and through their interaction with Londo
Mollari the Centauri Republic was increasing in size once more,
firstly retaking Narn space and then continuing into the worlds
of the Drazi, Pak'ma'ra and beyond.
John Sheridan had a brief glimpse of the near future of Centauri Prime when he was flung forwards almost two decades in time after his time stabilizer was damaged during his theft of Babylon 4, where an aged Emperor Londo Mollari showed him a glimpse of a city that had been devastated by allies of the Shadows as a result of their defeat at the hands of the forces united by John Sheridan and then flung into a cell where he met a future version of Delenn. Later on they were shown Londo Mollari's "keeper", an ally of the Shadows who monitored everything that Londo, and probably other important Centauri, did before he released them, begging them and their allies to help save the Centauri people from their fate. As the pair were escorted to Londo's waiting ship Londo deliberately sacrificed himself to G'Kar to prevent his keeper from alerting the others, strangling each other to death when the keeper awoke, thus clearing the way for Vir Cotto to become Emperor, fullfilling Lady Morella's prophecy.
PSI:
Some Centauri seem to possess a proleptic
ability and are often able to glimpse their futures and even
their probable deaths, sometimes even down to the time and place.
Many "seers" are more proleptic and get other visions
as well. The Centauri are known to have telepaths, four of whom,
having been raised together from birth, assist the Emperor, two
remaining with him at all times, two remaining in the Imperial
Palace, enabling a permanent link with Centauri Prime.
RELIGION:
The Centauri have a pantheon consisting
of over 70 gods including: Benzan, God of Food; Ilaros, Goddess
of Luck and Patron of Gamblers; Mogath, God of the Underworld,
and Protector of Front Doors; Li the Goddess of Passion;
Ruterian; Zoog; the Great Maker; and a host of deified Emperors.
The Centauri share their belief of the Great Maker with the
Ikarrans and a number of worlds conquered by the Centauri in the
past, who have adopted Centauri religious customs. The Centauri
do not have a Savior figure equivalent to Valen or G'Quan. The
Centauri believe in a variety of afterlives, with each of the
various gods worshipped holding dominion over a specific
afterworld, if a given Centauri appeases his God sufficiently
during life, it will accept him into that afterworld, in
preparation for the day when all the heavens are united, if not
he is reborn in order to chose another God and try again.
TECHNOLOGY:
Fairly advanced, like the Minbari they
possess limited magneto-gravitation control and have been in
space for almost as long as the Minbari have, establishing a vast
empire before letting it decay into decadence. Having shared much
of their technology with the Earth Alliance they are not immune
to attack by Earth Alliance forces, one of their Battle Cruisers
being totally obliterated by the defensive systems of Babylon 5.
Ships of the Centauri Republic:
Primus Class Battlecruiser
The Primus Class
Battlecruiser is the main offensive weapon of the Centauri
Republic. It is a bit less than 1 km long, but while not as large
as a Narn Starcruiser, its weapons power is similar. The ship
also has a jump-point generator, and there is artificial gravity
on board. Three versions of this class has been observed: The
emperors royal liner (a heavily modified Battlecruiser), the
flagship "Valerius" (a luxury version), and the normal
Primus Class.
Vorchan
Class Warcruiser
The Vorchan Class
Warcruiser is smaller than the battle cruiser, but quite deadly.
It is not known weather they have artificial gravity on board,
but they are jump-point capable. These Warcruisers are also quite
maneuverable, and capable of some atmospheric flight. The main
body of a Vorchan Class Warcruiser has forward pointing
"wings" sticking out on the top, bottom, right, and
left side. The front of the ship has a beak-like shape where the
main weapon is located. These Warcruisers mostly attack in groups
of two or more.
Sentri
Class Medium Fighter
The Sentri Class
Medium Fighter is a very large fighter, at least 30 meters wide.
It has two cannons of some unknown type, located on both side of
the cockpit. The Sentri Class also have a crescent shape, with
the end of the "wings" tilted down. It is a very
maneuverable fighter, but it does not have any artificial gravity
on board.
Transport
The Centauri Transport
is a small and very stylish ship used for transporting a variety
of goods or people. It is capable of extended journeys in
hyperspace on its own.
Shuttle
The Centauri Shuttle
is very similar to the Earth Alliance Shuttle, both in form and
function. It is mostly used as a ship to ship transport, but it
is also capable of long trips by itself. These shuttles, being
Centauri, are fairly luxurious, but have no artificial gravity.
Atmospheric
Shuttle
The Centauri
Atmospheric Shuttle is a transport designed for moving things
from a planetary surface up to orbit, and beyond if needed. These
crafts are capable of hovering over a landing spot and landing
vertically. They can normally transport 4-5 persons plus some
cargo.
Personal
Liner
The Centauri Personal
Liner is the transportation of choice for rich nobles and their
houses. These small transports are privately owned and operated.
They can carry 10-20 people in style, but not with much cargo.
Mine
Mines are usually placed
in a certain sector or around a planet, the mines are always very
effective!
Space
Station
These are wonderful to
look at but also deadly to come against in battle, they have many
fighters to protect it and also have very heavily armed defence
grid.
Picture of the Royal Palace on Centauri Prime