HOMEWORLD:
Narn, orbiting approximately every 14.5
months around a red-giant star located 12.2 light years from
Babylon 5, which gives a coppery sheen to the landscape and
foliage. It has a thin atmosphere with low humidity, making it
subject to rapid temperature shifts, often in the order of 60°
Celcius in a single day.
BIOLOGY:
Although Narns appear reptilian, they are
actually marsupials, with the father being the pouchling carrier.
They can have red, glowing eyes (and may be more sensitive to
light in that range). They appear stronger than humans in the
same gravity. 50-60 (Earth) years old is early middle aged for
the Narn, who live to around 200 years old.
CULTURE:
Initially a peaceful, agrarian culture,
after a century of domination and exploitation by the Centauri
Republic, they are now intense warriors and aggressive
nationalists, keeping aliens as slaves and maintaining an
"assassin's guild" (the Thenta Makur). They pride
themselves on their physical perfection (which means that should
accessories such as eyeglasses be needed, they must be brought in
from outside, and are things to be ashamed of). Much of modern
Narn authority seemed to be based on one's fighting prowess and a
system of dominance and submission. Certain forms of clan
agreements are sealed with sex, the refusal of which is a
terrible insult, often resulting in a "Blood Oath", or
Shon'Kar. They will sell weapons and technology to anyone who can
afford them, and send along "advisors" and trainers
where needed. Narn opera is repulsive to the Centauri. Narn
writing is read from right to left, the opposite to English
script.
Narn society is a very intricate webbing of clans, families, circles, cartels, trading organizations, information spheres, financial districts, tribes, domains, communities...etc. Each Clan has "Elders" which may be a form of ancestor worship. There are two "castes", commoners / plebeians and the eight circles of the Kha'Ri above them, the Eighth Circle is the lowest circle, and tests must be passed to enter that circle. The Third Circle is the highest that a commoner may aspire to, and has a fixed number of "chairs". The Second Circle is that of the spiritual leaders and prophets. The First Circle, or Inner Circle, is that of the ruling family, who rule but do not actually govern. There is also a kinial system of family obligation.
GOVERNMENT:
Until October 2259 the political organization of the Narn was the
Kha'Ri, or council, but after the conclusion of the Narn-Centauri
War the shattered planet is run by a "Provisional
Government" under the dominion of the Centauri Republic.
HISTORY:
A thousand years ago when they were a
peaceful agrarian culture, the Narn homeworld was used as a
supply depot for a group of Shadows, it is from this contact that
G'Quan learned of them; "They came to our world over a
thousand of your years ago, long before we went to the stars
ourselves. They set up a base on one of our southern continents.
They took little interest in us. G'Quan believed they were
engaged in a war, far outside our own world, centered on a planet
known as Z'ha'dum". The Narn fought a long war of attrition
to release themselves from the Centauri Republic who had enslaved
them for almost a century from 2110, in what Ambassador G'Kar
(left) described as a "reign of terror".
After the formation of the Narn Regime, the Narn became obsessed with gaining technology, starting with that of the retreating Centauri forces and soon became arms dealers, supplying the Earth Alliance during the Earth-Minbari War and later the Raiders operating around Babylon 5. The Narn the used the revenue gained from these ventures to finance the construction of their own space fleets for use in the expansion of their sphere of influence, enabling them to rapidly annex several worlds, including that of the Tuchanq. In 2258 there was a famine along the "Southern Frontier" caused by the Centauri stripping of the resources of the Narn homeworld. Their freedom was lost at the end of 2259 when, aided by the Shadows and using illegal mass drivers, they were once again conquered by the Centauri Republic, leaving sufficient particulate matter in the air to cool the world noticably and take several years to drift back to the ground.
PSI:
The Narn used to have telepaths, known as
"nar fereeki" (literally "mind walkers"),
until a thousand years ago, but they and their families were all
but exterminated by the Shadows, until the few remaining
telepaths, led by G'Quan, drove the Shadows away. The genes for
telepathy amongst those that remained were too weak to allow the
Narn to breed natural telepaths and at the time the necessary
genetic skill to induce it artificially were far beyond them, but
their abilities can still be unlocked, briefly, by the narcotic
known as dust.
RELIGION:
No single religion, G'Quan and G'Lan are
two of the larger belief systems, G'Quan was a prophet, and his
primary follower and co-prophet was G'Lan. There were a number of
gods that had been worshiped, but these were replaced after the
Centauri occupation by the "Martyrs", honored in a
number of ceremonies, such as Blood of the Martyrs, and holy
areas. At one time, funeral ceremonies involved the death of the
widow of a male Narn, but these eventually were replaced by
animal sacrifices.
TECHNOLOGY:
On a similar level to that of the Earth
Alliance, although possibly slightly lower. This is
understandable since both races had some access to Centauri
technology and the Narn supplied the Earth Alliance during the
Earth-Minbari War, however they may not have had the
technological drive of the terrans following their
"victory" in the war. They measure linear thrust in
Choths.
Ships of the Narn Regime
Starcruiser
A Narn Starcruiser is an impressive
spacecraft in the Babylon 5 universe. As the newest and largest
ship in the Narn military fleet, it is approximately 1.5 km long,
700 m wide, and its mass is roughly double that of the largest
Centauri Battlecruisers. But while the ship may be large, it is
not very maneuverable. When it comes to weapons power, however,
the Starcruiser is an equal to a Centauri Battlecruiser. Its
weapons are mine-launchers, missile launchers and beam weapons.
Starcruisers also carry many Frazi Fighters on board, the exact
number is unknown. The Starcruiser is of course with a jump-point
generator. There is no artificial gravity on board.
Heavy
Cruiser
The Heavy Cruiser is an older
warship, almost the size of a Starcruiser. It has two parts, both
resembling Starcruisers by themselves, connected at the middle,
where the main bridge seems to be located. So from ahead and
behind, this ship's cross section looks like an "H".
The heavy Cruiser has jump-point capability.
Frazi
Class Fighter
The Frazi Class Fighter is the
workhorse of the Narn military. It has a crew of one pilot, and
it has two weapons, located on both sides of the cockpit. The
Frazi fighter is capable of atmospheric flight, but it is not as
maneuverable in space as its Centauri and Earth counterparts. It
is a fairly large fighter, measuring around 30 meters in length.
Transport
The front of the Narn Transport is
shaped roughly like a Frazi Fighter, but chunkier and larger. The
back 2/3rds of the ship is the cube-shaped cargo bay, which can
fit many types of cargo. Around 700 people can fit into one
transport without any other cargo, but then space will be very
tight. The Transport also has limited weaponry, probably similar
to that of the Fighter.