Talarian

Talarian
Type:	Humanoid
Place of origin:	Talarian homeworld (Alpha Quadrant)

The Talarians were a warp-capable humanoid species from the Talarian homeworld. They were native to the Alpha Quadrant and the name of their government was the Talarian Republic.

Physiology

Talarians were characterized by a distinctive hairless enlargement of the coronal area of the skull extending in two lobes to the back of the head. Talarian blood was red, and Talarians were susceptible to radiation burns and respiratory distress. (TNG: "Suddenly Human")

Raktajino was known to have an intoxicating effect on Talarians. (DS9: "A Simple Investigation")

Society and history

Talarians followed a strict set of traditions and customs. Their society was rigidly patriarchal, where a woman could never outrank a man, and encouraged warrior-like behavior. (TNG: "Suddenly Human")

A deleted scene, still present in the script of the episode, revealed that among Talarians, females were only for mating and working; "Talarians don't have mothers", just fathers. [1]

Talarian script

Xenophobic tendencies among Talarians were hinted at by Jono's revelation in 2367 that Talarians wore gloves when touching aliens. Removing the gloves and touching someone with the bare hands was a sign of affection and respect.

Talarians were very competitive; games, tests, and competitions were an important part of their culture, and children regularly engaged in contests and challenges. Sharing victory was an important part of the games. Furthermore, when undertaking the tests, pain was not a consideration as passing the tests was what mattered.

According to a cut scene, men's purpose was to pass the tests and to become strong. If they do not test themselves constantly, Talarians "become weak and the weak die quickly." Women, while weak, were spared this fate by men protecting them. [2]

A Talarian bow

Bowing was considered a sign of respect, affection and solidarity. When meeting a close person, the bowing was extended by touching arms and gently pressing foreheads.

When a Talarian boy had reached the age of fourteen, the Age of Decision, he underwent a ceremony of initiation and after that had the freedom to make his own choices.

The B'Nar was a Talarian ritual of mourning. When Talarians were in distress, they performed the B'Nar, which consisted of a high-pitched shriek and rocking back and forth.

Adolescent Talarians listened to Alba Ra, a loud, discordant, electronic form of contemporary, 24th century, Talarian music, comparable to Human rock and roll.

Talarians were known to ride t'stayans, very strong, six-hoofed animals native to their homeworld.

Talarians had trouble sleeping in Human beds as they hurt their backs. Jono installed a hammock in Jean-Luc Picard's quarters, so it is possible that hammocks were their preferred bedding.

Talarian uniforms
Youth	Senior officer

Talarian men often wore full beards. Talarian males, young and old, wore a short thin braid of hair, originating between the two hairless lobes at the back of their head.

If a Talarian man's son was killed, he would adopt a son of the enemy. Based on Jono's treatment by his adopted father and peers, it can be inferred that children adopted this way were accpeted wholeheartedly by their new family and community.

During the mid-24th century, the Talarians were involved in a series of small skirmishes with the United Federation of Planets, most notably the Galen border conflict, which lasted at least until 2357. As part of the agreements struck by the two powers, Talarians were forbidden to claim the children of Federation citizens, though at least one Talarian--Captain Ender--violated this agreement and kept his adopted son Jono, whose existence was kept secret by the Talarians.

In 2367, the USS Enterprise-D responded to the distress call of a Talarian observation craft (likely used as a training ship for young Talarian warriors). The craft was found adrift in Sector 21947. The craft had developed a serious radiation leak within its propulsion system, and Dr. Beverly Crusher's team evacuated the survivors, including a Human youth named Jono, to the Enterprise. Soon after, the Talarian warship Q'Maire, commanded by Endar, along with two sister ships, intercepted and surrounded the Enterprise in the hopes of forcing the release of Jono, Endar's adoptive son. An armed conflict was averted when Captain Jean-Luc Picard decided to return Jono to the Talarians. (TNG: "Suddenly Human")

As of the early 2370s, Talarians were known to visit Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Improbable Cause", "A Simple Investigation")

Technology and militia

In 2367, Talarian military weaponry was inferior to Federation standards, consisting of neutral particle weapons, high energy X-ray lasers, and merculite rockets, and thus did not represent a serious tactical threat to a Galaxy-class starship. They also employed subspace proximity detonators and self-destruct devices that were installed on their ships. Though their technology was inferior, they were known to have employed guerrilla maneuvers, such as booby-trapping an observation ship and sending out a distress call, luring would-be rescuers to their deaths. (TNG: "Suddenly Human")

Talarians also had their own freighter type. (TNG: "Heart of Glory")

In "Heart of Glory", the Talarian script is also visible on several walls and doors inside the freighter.

Attacking a superior officer, like a captain, was considered the highest offense and was punishable by execution, usually carried out by the offended officer. This was applicable to all superior officers no matter their army or species: for example, the custom would allow a Starfleet commander to execute a rude Talarian soldier.

• See: Talarian uniform

Ship types

• Freighter
• Observation craft
• Warship

People

Named

• Endar

Unnamed

• List of unnamed Talarians

Appendices

See also

• Talarian hook spider

Background information

Talarians were first mentioned in "Heart of Glory", but not actually seen until "Suddenly Human". The race in "Suddenly Human" were initially called "Phrygians", but Michael Okuda advised using a race that had been mentioned but not seen. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (2nd ed., p. 140))

A Talarian helmet was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [3]

According to an internal reference document, listing all the aliens seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was circulated around the time of the production of TNG Season 5, the Talarians were described as "outwardly humanoid bony ridge atop the head." They were not physically described in the episode's script.

According to Star Trek: Star Charts (p. 37) and Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library ("Federation Historical Highlights, 2161-2385"), the Talarian state was named the Talarian Republic. The capital system was named Talar. This interstellar entity was located in the Alpha Quadrant.

Apocrypha

In the Star Trek: Destiny novel trilogy, the Talarians are described as being one of the major superpowers in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. The Talarians contributed a number of ships to the abortive attempt to engage a Borg force in the Azure Nebula in Mere Mortals. In the follow-up A Singular Destiny, they are invited to join the Federation-Klingon alliance in an expansion of the Khitomer Accords.

External link

• Talarian at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works