Zora Fel

			Intelligent Lifeform Index

Zora Fel
Four Letter Code	ZORA
Federation Status	Neutral
Planet of Origin	Ikalna
Encountered	DS9: Apocalypse Rising
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	L
List of Named Zora Fel
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"Glory in your enemies strength. It makes victory even sweeter."

a Zora Fel proverb.

The Zora Fel are a species of unusual contradictions. The men are all warriors who exist for battle and conflict, living in harsh, spartan barracks outside of their communities while the females live apart inside their communities with all the comforts of modern living. They were one of the first species to fight the Klingons and for 86 years their war raged across their section of the Beta Quadrant. Finally they were defeated, driven almost to oblivion. It has taken them almost 200 years but they did it. Rebuilt all that they lost and they even gained glory during the Dominion War fighting as elite infantry for the Klingons. Now they survive as a subjugated people, still thirsting for glory and maybe even revenge.

Home System

• Quadrant: Beta
• Location: KovÁHnak Sector (coordinates B26-0005-1302)
• Proper Name: Zor Ikalna system
• Star: It orbits a class B (Blue-White) star
• Distance from Star: its orbit is approximately 45 million km
• Companions: It is the 4th of 9 planets in the system
• Moons: none

Home World

• Proper Name: Ikalna, also called (Glory in Klingon)
• Diameter: 23,945 km (14,879 miles)
• Gravity: 1.02 standard gravity with a density of 3.0
• Axial Tilt: 8.3%, with minimal seasonal changes
• Orbital Period: 387 days
• Rotational Period: 25.6 hours
• Classification: M
• Surface Water: 51%
• Atmosphere: 1.08% is a standard pressure with 71% nitrogen, 23% oxygen, 6% trace chemicals
• Climate: Mainly a temperate planet
• Terrain: It has vast mountain ranges, swamps and deserts.
• Population: Just over 1 billion

History

The Zora Fel were once a great warrior race. They fought numerous wars among themselves. Brutal conflicts that in some cases lasted for generations but no matter the technological advancements made by their engineers and scientists these wars continued to be for the most part physical tests between warriors using hand held weapons, which was probably a good thing because otherwise they may have exterminated their whole entire species.

Eventually they perfected space travel and took this opportunity to explore and seek out new possibilities for glory and combat. The first species they discovered were the Klingons who had also just perfected space travel. As expected they instantly felt the need to see who was superior. This resulted in a war that lasted 86 years. A war that was just as brutal and hard fought as any the Zora Fel had ever taken part in. They gloried in it and many of their greatest warriors hoped it would never end.

Unfortunately for them the Klingons did want to end the war even though they were enjoying it just as much as the Zore Fel. The great Klingon warrior, Rurik the Damned was the one who finally managed to defeat them. In a series of battles, skirmishes and ambushes that took 4 years the Klingons were finally able to destroy all of their ships.

Then they attacked their homeworld. When the Klingons were finished not a city was left standing and over ¾ of their total population had been killed. They would never be a threat again.

Driven almost back to the stone age by the ferocity of the Klingon attack they were forced to survive, to rebuild. It took them over 200 years to get back to an post-industrial level technologically but their instinctual need to test themselves in combat meant that they spent almost as much time in fighting various civil wars as they did on anything else.

However they did eventually do it, achieving a level of technology that allowed them to produce primitive space craft capable of exploring their own system. At this time the Klingons took notice of them again. Debate with in the High Council was heated and some felt that the planet should just be destroyed.

Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and it was decided that the potential of the Zore Fel should not be wasted. As a result the Zore Fel were given an ultimatum. Provide one regiment of 1,000 men to fight where and when the Klingons wished.

At first the Emperor refused, willing to declare war before giving in to such a demand. Fortunately for them cooler heads, female ones at that stepped in and ordered him to accept the offer. They were not going to allow male stupidity to again destroy all that they had built.

The only time this unit has been allowed outside of the Klingon Empire was during the Dominion War when they were dropped onto enemy planets in 100 man units to harass and tie down Dominion manpower. They were very successful and while their losses were extremely high in some cases they generally achieved a higher level of success than was expected.

Since then they have been kept within the borders of the Klingon Empire, usually on their own homeworld and have seen very little in the way of combat.

Government

They have a very simple government. The strongest, fiercest warrior on the planet is their Emperor for life. He holds this position until he is defeated in one on one combat at which point that warrior becomes the new Emperor for life.

Description

In many ways they resemble Klingons but with a more simian facial structure and coarser hair. They tend to be about 5'10"to 6'2 on average and have muscular, stocky body shapes with slightly longer arms than on most humanoids. They have a thick, tough skin and walk with a slightly hunched over shuffling gait.

Physiology

As with most intelligent humanoid species they have a very complex system with specialized organs, and unique hormones, chemicals and enzymes. They are slightly stronger than Klingons with a very high threshold for pain and the warrior spirit that allows them to keep fighting even after taking a death blow. Their sense of smell is extremely well attuned and it is possible for them to smell an enemy from as far away as 15 to 20 meters.

Psychology

During their training the males are subjected to extreme levels of hardship and pain in order to develop the mindset needed for warriors to whom death and pain mean nothing. This is further built upon by a 10 year long brain washing regiment of training that turns them into the perfect fighting machine.

As a result it is rare for a male warrior to develop any form of mental illness but when one does it normally takes the form of a berserk rage, one that is driven by the unending training he has endured so that the warrior while mindless is still able to fight with all his skill.

The women on the other hand while very stable mentally do not do anything to alter or condition the minds of their female offspring. Instead they are educated, encouraged and given all the support needed to ensure their success. When one of them suffers from some kind of mental illness they are cared for and treated well.

Religion

They believe in a God of War named Zora. Their name Zora Fel means the children of war and they have embraced this concept to an unheard of degree. To fight and die in battle is to prove their worthiness as a warrior to Zore. To survive long enough that they have outgrown their ability to fight and have earned the right to walk into fire is to join the legendary few who sit at Zore’s own table. His handpicked elite.

Mythology

The only form of mythology that they possess is the telling of tales and legends about great warriors, old battles and the legendary few who have earned the right to walk into fire and greet the god of war as an equal. It is every warrior’s hope that during their life time that they will do something that will be remembered in song and story till the end of time.

Society

They have an unusual society in that every male on the planet is a warrior. All the women perform every other task, job and occupation available within their society. As a result the doctors, scientists, engineers and every other technical, manual and skilled trade worker is female.

Another unusual thing it that no male can ever give a female an order but the females can give the males orders that must be obeyed. This even includes the Emperor but the females seldom exercise this right unless it is for an important reason. As long as the men stay out of their way and keep their aggressive playing far from their communities, mining facilities, crops and other outlying workspaces.

All the males live in barracks, cold bare structures with the bare minimum of basic necessities, built on the outskirts of their communities, outside of the walls that surround and protect each and every one of these communities, sneaking out of the barracks and over the walls to visit their wives whenever they get the chance.

The females all live in homes inside the communities, with in the walls in well-built structures with all the comforts and amenities that is available. These communities have excellent power, water and sanitation as well as numerous parks, recreational facilities, schools, hospitals and communal child care centers.

Culture

The male’s version of culture is the epic telling of past battles. This is done both as a teaching tool and as a way to inspire the men to greater acts of valor. Often these tales include chanted choruses that include the stomping of feet, the clapping of hands or the clashing of weapons on metal.

The women on the other hand enjoy a wide range of artistic expression that includes music, singing, dancing, sculptures, paintings, mosaics and other visual arts. This ability to enjoy the creative and uplifting aspects of the various artistic arts seems to be an important part of their everyday life.

Customs

Mating

The women select the males with whom they will mate and any female could and usually does have multiple husbands. However since the male population is normally much smaller than the female population due to the number of casualties lost in the never ending battles most successful warriors have way more wives than most females have husbands.

This system has developed over time as a way to ensure the survival of the species. Also the females do not develop any strong attachment to male offspring since they will be removed to the training barracks outside the walls of the community when they turn 7 and the females will not see them again until they have become proven warriors. For this reason all male offspring are raised in communal child care facilities. Female offspring stay at home with their mothers until they turn 17 when they can move out and get their own home.

Not surprising is the fact that the females do not develop any strong attachments with their husbands. One male is just as good as another as long as they are a strong proven warrior who should be able to breed strong healthy children.

Battles

Among themselves battles are always between an equal number of warriors, with each man picking out one opponent from among the enemy to fight. They will then fight till one man can no longer continue. Then the wounded are removed from the field, given medical aid and a trio of experienced warriors determine who is fit enough to return to the field of battle. They will also determine if the fight is to continue. If it is then again the same number of warriors enter the field and fight. This will continue until one side has been achieved a clear victory.

Ambushes

Surprise attacks are not unheard of. However only bludgeoning weapons and their own hands may be used when attacking and the defenders cannot use any weapon more lethal than a bludgeoning weapon themselves. These attacks are more to embarrass the enemy that to inflict damage upon them. It can be a great source of honor to successfully ambush the enemy and inflict more damage on them before fading away.

Duels

Duels are always to the death, a way for men to become the leader of their tribe, community. In this way they can also become the Emperor for life. This is the only time when only one warrior is allowed to survive a battle.

Old Age

Males who manage to survive until they have grown so old that they can no longer go into battle are exceedingly rare. So rare in fact that only a handful are seen during any one generation. For them the need to die in such a way as to prove their valor is just as strong as it was when they were young men. So when they feel they have outlived their usefulness as warriors they summon the men from their barracks. A celebration is planned with much boasting as all tell stories and tales about the old man’s skill and courage in battle. Then just as dawn is breaking the old man will walk forward into the large bon fire that has been burning all night. This is his final test, to be able to stand there silently until the end.

Technology

They have built themselves back up into a technological people, one that while not quite as advanced as they were have still been able to recover most of the knowledge and technology that they lost.

Economy

They are completely self-sufficient as the males have absolutely no interest in trade with other worlds. This may change as the females do desire certain luxury goods and other exotic trade goods that they know they could get if they could establish friendly contact with other species. However until the Klingons allow them to make contact with other species this is a moot point.

Military

Every single male on the planet is a warrior. They start their training at the age of 7 at which time they leave the comforts of their community and move outside the walls and into a training barrack. They stay here and continue to train until they are 17 at which time they join the ranks of the untested warriors of their tribe, community in a different set of barracks.

Upon surviving 25 battles they again move to a new barracks, this one for fully qualified warriors. They will remain here until they die in battle or become too old to fight. At this time they can be selected by a female as a husband.

Warriors serve in small units, using mostly hand held weapons even though they have access to more advanced energy weapons. While they are all trained in their use they are reserved for use against enemies who are not Zore Fel.

Currently the Klingons have demanded that they supply a regiment of 1,000 men and this test unit was only allowed outside of the Klingon Empire during the Dominion War. It proved to be very successful but they were deployed in units of 100. This seems to be the largest size that the Klingons will allow them to be deployed in.

Federation Intelligence Files

The Zora Fel were ancient enemies of the Klingons who were conquered by the great Klingon warrior Rurik the Damned.

Current data provided by the Klingon High Command.

Sources

Both Memory Alpha and Memory Beta were used as references as well as the TV episode, DS9: Apocalypse Rising.

SDC

This file was updated and approved by the SDC on 8 May 2014.

Content from this article may have
come partially, or entirely from
 Memory Alpha

		SPECIES PROFILE UPDATED This profile was revised by the Species Development Committee.		REV 239607.11
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