Gorn
The Gorn are a species that feature in Star Trek.
Contents |
History
The Gorn were a race of bipedal reptilians that were known to had inhabited the Milky Way galaxy.
Although unconfirmed at the time, the first encounter between the Humans and the Gorn occurred in the 2230s or 2240s, when the colony ship SS Puget Sound was captured and the entire ship's complement was deposited on a planetary nursery. According to La'an Noonien-Singh's accounts, the Gorn would eat some of their captives alive, while other captives would have their bodies slit open and used as "breeding sacks,” and some captives would be hunted as a sport before being fed to infant Gorn. In accordance with some sort of ritual, the final survivor would be spared, only to be placed in a life raft and abandoned in space. The survivor was not expected to live. (SNW: Strange New Worlds) La'an explained to Captain Pike that there had in fact been multiple contacts with the Gorn by 2259 – including the attack on Finibus III that the USS Enterprise dealt with in that year – but they hardly ever left survivors and were therefore still listed as never officially encountered. (SNW: Memento Mori) That same year, the USS Peregrine fell victim to Gorn hatchlings that unexpectedly emerged from refugees rescued by the crew. The hatchlings were neutralized by a landing party from the Enterprise. (SNW: All Those Who Wander) La'an, who had survived being hunted on one of their planetary nurseries, described the Gorn as 'plain evil' and impossible to empathize with or come to an understanding with them, unrelenting when they hunt. Gorn considered warm-blooded species their prey. They employed ambush tactics and used injured prey as bait to lure in more. For example, they would allow a group of survivors to escape while attacking a Federation colony so they would call for help and bring in more prospective prey. They were even willing to sacrifice one of their own to force their prey to reveal itself while it was hiding from them. Gorn were also willing to kill their own if they became weak or one of their ships became compromised by an enemy, making sure only the strongest survived. (SNW: Memento Mori)
They were shown to hold territory near Federation space. A Gorn ship came into conflict with the U.S.S. Enterprise after they destroyed a Federation colony on Cestus III (they saw the world as their territory, and the colony as an incursion therein), but the conflict was indirectly resolved by the Metrons.
Overview
In appearance, the Gorn were green-skinned bipedal reptilian humanoids that stood taller than humans. (TOS: Arena)
Gorn pregnancies could result in as many as eight children being born who were noted to bite directly after birth with a caesarean section being a possible means of delivery. (TOS: Star Trek Into Darkness)
They were said to brew the finest meridor in five systems. (ENT: Bound)
Gorn ships would employ visual communication in the form of light signals when in visual range of each other. (SNW: Memento Mori)
Their interstellar civilisation was known as the Gorn Hegemony. (ENT: Bound)
Members
- Slar : a male Gorn slave master in the Mirror Universe who was in charge of a Tholian operation that studied the U.S.S. Defiant.
Notes
- According to the Starfleet Technical Manual, the Gorn are from Tau Lacertae IX.
In other media
Video games
- In Star Trek: Klingon Academy, the Gorn appeared as antagonists in the setting of the space-based flight simulator video game. Their government was referred to as the Gorn Star Kingdom that were a civilisation in decline as the fire to explore and conquer had gone out of their hearts. It was said that this was because of a lack of strong leadership with the Gorn King being old to the point that he had delegated responsibilities to several vassals that were at odds with one another. Well-meaning family members sheltered the king from the political intrigue surrounding them but this only worsened the situation which meant that their empire continued to decline and potentially could fall into a civil war. Despite that, their military forces ferociously defended their
- In Star Trek Online, the Gorn appeared as a playable race in the setting of the MMORPG video game with them being part of the Klingon Empire faction.
- In Star Trek, the Gorn appeared as antagonists in the setting of the 2013 third-person action adventure video game that was set in the rebooted movie Kelvin timeline. These versions were referred to as an extragalactic race of conquerors who were looking to invade the Milky Way after the destruction of Vulcan.
Novels
RPGs
Appearances
- Star Trek: The Original Series:
- Star Trek: Enterprise:
