Kazon

The Kazon hail from a planet of the same name, a dry but marginally Class M world. They hold their homeworld in less esteem than most races hold their planet of origin, probably because it reminds them too strongly of their years of slavery and disgrace. They control a fair amount of space in the Delta Quadrant, though a constant lack of water plagues Kazon space. Their homeworld suffered during its years of occupation, with the Trabe stripping it of its most valuable resources. Now a strip-mined reflection of what it once was, many Kazon consider it even more inhospitable than many of the worlds they have since captured. Their homeworld remains the center of Kazon space, but it holds no particular distinction for the race. Those few who know their history consider this especially sad, as their homeworld once served as the center for culture and learning in its sector.

Personality

Years of enslavement, ruled by a race called the Trabe, left its mark on the Kazon. Despite having gained their freedom decades ago, they still compete desperately, as if afraid that at any moment their masters might come along and take everything away from them again. Kazon society encourages constant competition among its members, but often of the most petty kind. Kazon can turn anything into strife, and they far more adept at thievery than diplomacy.

For the males, becoming a Jal (warrior) takes precedence over everything else, though races like the Klingons would cringe at the Kazon idea of a warrior. A common way for a Kazon to become a warrior is to kill an enemy, though they can slay captives or assassinate people in their sleep in order to achieve this title. Most male Kazon view females as inherently inferior, and even while the Kazon were slaves the women had an inferior position. Many women spend their lives just trying to avoid the men, but a few gained prominence through clever manipulations. After all, they can be just as devious as any male Kazon.

The Kazon years of slavery shaped other areas of their life as well. Many Kazon are avaricious and covetous, more anxious to acquire things that belong to others than to make them for themselves. They rely on tricks and subterfuge over honesty and negotiations. They habitually try to get the upper hand or a superior position against anyone with whom they deal, even if it will not do them any particular good. They fear foes in superior numbers or with superior weapons, though they will fight if cornered. They also developed a strong hatred for uniforms and official governments like the Trabe had, though they have instituted some of their own.

Kazon also enjoy having subordinates and inferiors, regardless of species. Nevertheless, they fear exclusion from their people and will demean themselves if that is what it takes to maintain acceptance. By the same token, they can commit acts of great cruelty against outcasts and those weaker than themselves. They enjoy making insults but hate having insults directed against them.

One would think that the Trabe's treatment of them would leave the Kazon more sympathetic to other people, but quite the opposite proves true. Once a culturally sophisticated race, subjugation drove any semblance of empathy out of them. While some Kazon know about the race's past glory, most only know slavery and their unsophisticated, technologically backward culture. Of course, many Trabe refuse to admit that they mistreated the Kazon, or knew the extent of the abuse.

Physiology

Physically similar to humans, the Kazon seem to have far less diversity. Their skin tones do not vary much, ranging from pink to beige to tan. Other aspects that show little difference from Kazon to Kazon include adult size, weight, hair color and more. Of course, this never stopped them from creating societal divisions based on tiny differences.

A series of bony ridges along their foreheads male up their most obvious difference from humanity, and an especially prominent ridge runs down their foreheads to the top of their noses. Their hair growth begins at the point where the ridge ends, and they can (and often do) also grow mustaches and beards.

History and Culture

The Kazon factions determine much of what occurs in their society, establishing rules, traditions, mindsets, policies and more. These factions come and go on a regular basis, but they all demand intense loyalty from their members. As of 2372, 18 sects made up the Kazon Collective. This includes Kazon-Nistrim, Kazon-Ogla, Kazon-Oglamar, Kazon-Hobbi, Kazon-Mostral, Kazon-Pommar and Kazon-Relora. Kazon-Relora and Kazon-Ogla dominated Kazon society, but neither led the entire race. A Maje leads each faction, usually ruling for life (which can prove short and violent). A Kazon without a sect becomes an outcast Goven.

Maje Jal Culluh leads the Nistrim, and Federation interaction with him revealed him to be a devious and untrustworthy foe, willing to do anything to obtain the technological advantage the U.S.S. Voyager represented. He lied, stole and killed in his attempts to seize the ship. He used all sorts of people, but did not manage to learn anything of Federation technology. Captain Janeway considered the Kazon too backwards to give such items, despite their possession of warp technology and cloaking devices. She viewed technological trade with the Kazon as a violation of the Prime Directive. Janeway is not the only one to consider the Kazon backwards - the Borg designated the race Species 329 and considered it unworthy of assimilation.

Despite the Kazon's nomadic, disorganized nature, difficulties with the Trabe continue. The success of the Kazon rebellion turned the Trabe into an exile race. The Kazon continue to harry the Trabe at every turn, and the Trabe sought an alliance with the Federation in order to wipe out the race's leaders. This plot failed, and the two races' long-standing feud continues.

The Kazon realize they need advanced technology to effectively pursue their vengeance, but they have done little to research or develop such knowledge. Instead, they develop schemes to steal such technology. They stole much from the Trabe but have seen little success beyond that. While the Kazon have had little success training engineers and scientists, almost all males train for war. This often includes live-fire drills that begin during childhood, as well as training with traps and explosives. Children who do not pass these tests or in some other way fail to become warriors occupy the lowest rung of Kazon society, looked down on and mistreated by all. Those who fail assignments or rebel against their leaders often face execution.

The Kazon language, once a poetic and sophisticated tongue, also suffered under slavery. Now an amalgamation of Kazon and Trabe terms, the significant differences between these roots makes the new language rough and dissonant. Grammar rules apply haphazardly, and the attempt to merge the two languages makes learning the new one difficult. A Vulcan might consider the attempt (and the resulting language) illogical.

The Kazon used to have extensive family names in which they took great pride, but the Trabe destroyed that tradition. They erased all record of these family names and history, making genealogy little more than a poorly maintained oral tradition. Now they go by one given name, but they like to pile up titles in front of it.

Reference(s)

• Bridges, Bill, et al. Star Trek Roleplaying Game Book 5: Aliens, Decipher, 2003. ISBN: 1582369070.