Neimoidian/Legends

"The Neimoidians, especially, are cowards in any theater other than commerce."

- Palpatine

Neimoidians were a species of insect-like humanoids that were distant genetic relatives of Duros. They were native to the planet of Neimoidia and also lived on colony worlds like Cato Neimoidia, Deko Neimoidia, and Koru Neimoidia. They had a reputation for greed and cowardliness.

Biology and appearance
"These Federation types are cowards. Negotiations will be short."

- Qui-Gon Jinn



Since the Neimoidians were distant genetic relatives of the Duros, they retained many similarities to them, including basic form, noseless faces, and green-blue skin (though Neimoidians tended to be grayer). Their eyes also had pupils that split horizontally, and they were distinguished by small lumps on their foreheads and down-turned mouths. Their sense of smell came from glands under their eyes. These genetic differences were attributed to the distinct features of their homeworld, Neimoidia, including its gravity, which was heavier than Duro. Additionally, the planet's star was dimmer, and the planet itself was humid and widely shrouded by fog and mist.

Neimoidian skin often took on a mottled look if the being was too self-indulgent or often prone to great stress, such as Nute Gunray. A Neimoidian's lung pods would expand and contract convulsively under great stress, leading to an old saying characterizing Neimoidians as the only sentient species with an entire organ devoted to worrying. Nauseated Neimoidians' skin turned pink.

Many Duros took great offense at being compared to their Neimoidians cousins. In the TriPlanetary Press reference source known as the Encyclopedia Galactica, the entry for Neimoidian read, "See: Duros". The classic example of what not to say detailed an employer for a shipping company who was curious as to why a Neimoidian would be applying for a pilot's position when it was, in actuality, a Duros. The reason for the offense is obvious: Neimoidians tended to be cowardly, greedy, and fearful of death, while Duros were an adventurous, gregarious, and peaceful race.



It is well-known that Neimoidians were notorious disease carriers. According to a joke made by Ebenn Q3 Baobab, onetime doctor for a Neimoidian fleet, "the principal export of the Neimoidian home planet is Brainworm Rot Type C". Baobab further explained in his Galactic Phrase Book and Travel Guide that both the Great Pandemic of Deersheba and the Intestinal Revenge of Bars Barka (which emaciated scores of Ubese colonists) originated with the Neimoidians. At several times in the past, Neimoidia had been quarantined and forbidden to travelers.

Upon death, Neimoidian bodies would desiccate rapidly if not immediately buried or burned. The corpse's face would elongate, and the brain sac would shrivel into a series of tiny pods behind the head. It was this terrifying image of death, coupled with the Geonosian physique, that inspired the appearance of the Trade Federation's B1 battle droids

Society and culture
"Look, money is important, sure, but if money was all we were after, we'd be Neimoidians."

- Vilmarh Grahrk

Neimoidians were raised as grubs in communal hives on Neimoidia until the age of seven standard years. They were given limited amounts of food. This method weeded out the weaker individuals and allowed the stronger Neimoidians to survive. The stronger and more aggressive Neimoidians would go off-world where they would be trained for occupations within corporations like the Trade Federation while the weaker and less capable Neimoidians were sequestered on Neimoidia and the purse-worlds.

Neimoidians spoke either heavily-accented Basic, or a distinct verbal and non-verbal form of communication referred to as Pak Pak. Verbal Pak Pak was comprised mostly of guttural grunts and croaks, and non-Neimoidians found it rather difficult to comprehend.



Many low-level worker drones were kept malnourished so as to never reach full mental maturity. Worker drone supervisors did not care much for their responsibilities; in fact, teams of office drones working in the Galactic Senate were given the incentive of eating the less productive team. Combined with the planet's natural unpleasantness, it was usual for Neimoidians to choose not to return home unless absolutely necessary.

As adults, Neimoidians had a reputation of being skilled in matters of business and were well known for their leadership of the Trade Federation. Unfortunately, Neimoidians were stereotyped by other species as greedy, fearful of death, lazy, and corrupt. This is evident by the use of droids for almost everything. It was often said that one of the most difficult concepts for a Neimoidian to understand was loyalty. Neimoidians were also very conscious of rank, and elaborate clothing asserted the wearer's wealth and social position in Neimoidian society. Even hats, cloaks, and drapes, as well as colors and texture, all had certain symbolic meanings. It was said that no one would ever see a Neimoidian without their hat, unless they were dead.

"Kav" was a common Neimoidian name.

History
"Neimoidians are the only sentient species with an entire organ devoted solely to the task of worrying."

- Old saying



In 25,000 BBY, a Duros colony was established on Neimoidia under the leadership of Chla C'cHaan. Due to the distinct features of Neimoidia, including a gravity which was greater than Duro, the Duros colonists became a separate species from their genetic cousins, thus starting the Neimoidian species. During an expansionist period in the Old Republic era, the Neimoidians colonized several worlds. The wealthiest and most resource-rich colony worlds were known as "purse worlds", that also served as administrative posts and ruled their own set of colonies. Notable purse worlds included Cato Neimoidia, Deko Neimoidia, and Koru Neimoidia.

In 350 BBY, the Neimoidians helped establish the Trade Federation, an association of business and trade groups which grew to dominate entire star systems. In 33 BBY, the Neimoidian Trade Federation Viceroy, Nute Gunray, had all the non-Neimoidian members of the Trade Federation Directorate murdered at the Eriadu Conference. As a result, the Neimoidians assumed complete control of the Federation.

When the Galactic Republic instituted taxes on trade routes to the outlying regions, the Neimoidians were furious. This resulted in the Trade Federation's Invasion of Naboo. However, the Trade Federation forces were defeated during the battle of Naboo. From this event, most of the stereotype regarding Neimoidians as greedy, conniving cowards was gained.

During the Separatist Crisis, the Neimoidians aligned themselves with Count Dooku's growing Separatist movement. With the start of the Clone Wars at the Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY, Neimoidians became a species commonly associated with the Confederacy and were either deported from or prevented from entering Coruscant. In addition, warriors and brutes were used in the Separatist armed forces.

In 19 BBY, the Republic retook Neimoidia and its purse worlds from the Confederacy before Viceroy Gunray and Settlement Officer Rune Haako were killed at Mustafar by Darth Vader. During the assault on Neimoidia, the planet was ravaged, and the destruction of many Neimoidian grub-hatcheries would affect the Neimoidian species.



Under the Galactic Empire, the Trade Federation was disbanded after Acting Viceroy Sentepeth Findos signed a treaty on Neimoidia that gave Emperor Palpatine control of the Trade Federation's assets. Neimoidians then began adopting the culture of the baseline Duros to disassociate themselves with the Trade Federation's shameful legacy, something no doubt encouraged by the book Encyclical on Historical Greatness written by influential Neimoidian Chal Haan. The Duros, of course, vehemently denied this, as it was considered a great insult to be associated in any way with their genetic cousins.

Fewer Neimoidians also traveled far from their homeworlds, although their vehicles and weaponry&mdash;such as Sheathipede-class transport shuttles, Vulture droids, and Lucrehulk-class battleships and core ships&mdash;were often used by various corporate entities, particularly in the Corporate Sector.

Neimoidians are known by most denizens of the galaxy as being notorious virus carriers, responsible for such diseases as the Great Pandemic of Deersheba and the Intestinal Revenge of Bars Barka, with many claiming that the chief export of Neimoidia was Brainworm Rot Type C. This history of reported disease cases grew so virulent that by 6 ABY, Neimoidia was officially quarantined and declared off limits to all travelers.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, some Neimoidians joined the New Republic and Galactic Federation of Free Alliances as pilots. Many others fell in with criminal organizations as well.

Behind the scenes



 * Early Neimoidian designs portrayed them as a thin-faced species, intending for the B1 battle droids to mimic their appearance. When this design was dropped, they were given a new look based on that of the Duros. In the process, they went from computer-generated characters to actors wearing animatronic masks. The original design was eventually modified to become the Geonosians, thus preserving the idea that the battle droids resembled their makers. The intended association between the appearance of battle droids and the Neimoidians was not dropped, though, as reference material published around the time of The Phantom Menace stated that the droids were based off Neimoidian skeletons.


 * Much as Imperial officers were given British accents, some have argued that the Neimoidians have been given Asian accents. However, typical phonetic characteristics of Japanese or Chinese accents in English (e.g. rhotic [l] or lateral [r], dropped sounds in certain consonant clusters, or weakening of consonants closing syllables) are absent in Neimoidian speech, and characteristics of Thai, Vietnamese, or other accents are also not present. Thus, it is difficult to provide a cogent or concrete linguistic justification of this claim. The "mushmouthed" accent has been interpreted as stereotypically Chinese by some, despite the lack of concrete or specific characteristics of Chinese-accented English. Much of this may be due to the poor lip-syncing on the Neimoidian puppets used in The Phantom Menace, giving the impression of Japanese horror movies, as well as the horizontal slits found on Neimoidian eyes, similar to the slit-like eyes used in Asian caricatures, often deemed to be offensive.


 * In the German version of the prequel trilogy, the Neimoidians were given French accents (and vice versa for the French version).