Ghdar
Homeworld of the Gorn Confederation
 

• Anatomy • The Confederation • Childhood • Language • Government • Military • Race Relations •

Race Relations

Federation: The Gorn and Federation had first contact almost 25 years ago. This first meeting was disastrous. The Gorn had discovered the planet Cestus III along their borders a number of months before. When they finally got a ship sent to the planet, they discovered that another race had inhabited the planet. 

To the Gorn all humanoid races look basically alike, so they assumed that the race they had found was a Romulan outpost. Fearing it was being setup for an attack, the Gorn Commander destroyed the colony. He then radioed for reinforcements to hold the system.

A Federation starship was dispatched to discover what had happened to the colony. Seeing it had been destroyed the federation officer also acted rashly and attacked the Gorn vessel. The Gorn Commander thought he was seeing a new Romulan design and so ran for home to be sure he could report this new weapon. At this point Federation historians want you to believe that the Gorn and Federation kissed and made up, such was not the case.

The Gorn returned to Cestus III a few days later, reinforcements had already been in route. The Federation had also dispatched other vessels. A short running battle took place, with the smaller Federation fleet being forced to flee. The Gorn then occupied Cestus III and dug in for a long war.

What followed was almost 6 months of border raids and minor battles as both side prepared for war. That is until the Kraagera Incident. A Gorn Commander reasoned that this conflict might be a mistake and that proper communications was needed. In a daring raid he drew a Federation patrol into battle and managed to kidnap about 15 crew members, including the Captain of the USS Loki. For the next 10 days the Kraagera ran for Gorn space with federation ships in close pursuit. However the two Commanders where finally able to work through the language barrier and begin a meaningful dialog.

A few weeks later the Romulans succeeded where peace talks where stalling. A Gorn Ca had been caught by Romulan forces along the border. the CA turned to run and the closest available ships was a small federation patrol. The Gorn Commander ran for the Federation border, hoping the Rom would turn off or the that Federation and Romulans would be so busy with each other he could slip away. The federation Commander however rushed to the aid of the Gorn vessel, risking destruction of his own ship. The Gorn where so impressed by this that talks began in earnest. Within a month the treaty of Cestus III is signed, officially ending many months of hostilities and forging an alliance between these tow races.

To this day the Gorn/Federation alliance seems to be the only such pact based on mutual trust and respect. There are still factions that consider the federation a threat and the same holds true within the federation. Both sides keep small but capable fleets along their mutual border.

Border skirmishes are now an extremely rare thing. They do still occur but 1 every 6 months is considered a lot. On the whole peace is complete between these two powers. So complete that they have mutually settled the Cestus III system and formed a joint colony.

Romulans: The Gorn and Romulans first met almost 140 years ago. The initial contact was peaceful with the Romulans withdrawing from the area after a brief communication. However two weeks later the Romulans arrived back to the same sector in force. The result was a war that last almost 3 years. The entire war was fought in and over the Shima system.  

The Romulan and Gorn settled to an uneasy peace that the Romulans again broke when they attempted to steal the Gorns first true warp powered ship. With a few warp powered vessels available the Gorn where able to out flank Romulan forces and drive them from the Shima system. 

At this point the Gorn could have driven the Romulans all the way back to Remus, but for reason that will be explained in the next relations section they chose not to drive to deep into Romulan territory.

For almost 20 years the Gorn enjoyed peace along the Romulan border, however it was not to last. the Romulans, with their newly developed cloaking device attacked deep into Gorn space. The cloak effectively neutralized the advantage that warp drive had given in a strategic sense, the Gorn now had to guess where the Romulans would strike. For six years this war raged and finally the Romulan withdrew, having suffered to many loses to sustain the fight.

The Romulans continued to stage minor raids into Gorn space but no major battles took place. However after almost 25 years of this minor skirmishing the Romulans struck a nerve when they raided and destroyed a clutch of 1000 eggs being transported to Ghdar to be blessed by the Mistress of Fertility. The Gorn where outraged and launched a massive offensive. The Romulans were able to hold the Gorn offensive down with a numeric advantage but not until they had lost a great deal of territory. This particular war lasted for almost 5 years. A treaty was negotiated but was never actually signed by the Romulans.

This history shows a trend that has been a bother to the Gorn. While there have been lulls in total warfare, in truth the fighting never has stopped, only slacked off. The Romulans pose a constant threat and the Gorn 3rd Fleet is on constant military alert.

Rumors abound in the 3rd Fleet control area that Romulans capture Gorns for use in hunting sports. They treat the Gorn prisoners like animals. Federation and Gorn Intelligence Agencies deny this practice exists, however the Gorn military is actually glad the rumor abounds. this keeps the fear of the Romulans high and makes it easier for Space Command to request new ships for the 3rd Fleet.

Paravians: This piece of Gorn history is little known and most outsiders have never heard it. The Paravians where an avian based race that existed core ward of the Gorn home worlds, about 5 light years distance. The Gorn first met the Paravians about 20 years after the start of unification. First contact was peaceful and talks where opened quickly. Discussions revealed that, like the Gorn, the Paravians had been planted on their planet. Examinations revealed that the Paravians appeared to be a genetic mutation of the Gorn species. 

During these discussions a number of prejudice views where exhibited by the Gihadr. Similar views where also being stated on the Paravian home world. In fact the Paravians had legends of lizard based creatures that where demons that plagued their race. Paravians religious leaders whipped the race to a frenzy and they began a jihad against the Gorn.

Luckily both races did not have much in the way of FTL ships so the war was slow starting. The Gorn fell back at first, shocked at the viciousness of the attack. However the three Gorn worlds where able to produce a more  abundant military and soon the Paravians where being driven back. 

The Gorn attempted on a number of occasions to negotiate a peaceful settlement but the Paravians would hear none of it. Finally the Gorn drove them back to their home world. They could easily be destroyed but the Gorn where determined not to be the monsters the Paravains thought they were. Rather than destroy them, the Gorn eliminated all Paravna vessels and held them captive on their planet with a small garrison. This worked for almost 20 years, during which time the Gorn constantly tried to negotiate a peace, but the Paravians would not talk of peace.

This whole affair should have been over, but a tragic ending was in store. A Sunsnake entered the Paravan system. Gorn ships tried to stop it as it drove toward the Paravan sun. The Paravians where warned but dismissed it as Gorn lies. The sun went nova as the Sunsnake dove into it. The entire Paravan race was destroyed.

This has caused a deep and permanent racial shame in the Gorn. They feel as if it was their fault that an entire species was lost. The truth is the Paravian anger and racial bigotry destroyed them. To this day the Gorn have pulled back each time they could rid the Galaxy of the Romulans. They are worried the Romulans would fight to the death rather than surrender and destroying another race is something the Gorn will not allow to happen. (The details of the Paravians can be found in SFB Captains Module 6)

Orions: As mentioned in the section about the Guardians Errant. The Gorns have a decent relation ship with most of the Orion Cartels. However one Cartel operates in Gorn space and openly defies the Gorns attempts at communications. As such the Gorn have a much less cordial attitude. 

With the Cartels that operate in other Kingdoms, the Gorns maintain a good working relationship through the Guardians Errant. Providing weapons and manpower in return for information. Publicly the Gorn are actively against the Orions.

The one Cartel operating in Gorn space is another matter. The Gorns are at active war with this Cartel and destroy their ships on site. Gorn pleas to the other Cartels are met with resistance, however the Gorns need their intelligence network so they cannot provide too many sanctions. 

 

.

 

Contact the web master at sfaret@msn.com