Quarren/Legends

"I saw my people living in the shadows, letting riches and glory go to the pompous Mon Cals. I watched as my people&mdash;we&mdash;built their cities and labored for their dreams."

- Seggor Tels

The Quarren or Qarren, were one of several aquatic sentient species from the planet Dac, called by off-worlders Mon Calamari, also the name of the Mon Calamari, another species on Dac. The Quarren reluctantly shared Dac with the Mon Cals, with whom they had many conflicts and a tense relationship. However, in order to make their planet prosperous, they were forced to provide resources from the ocean depths so that the Mon Cals could build star ships for off-worlders.

Biology, appearance, and traits


Quarren were aquatic humanoids with squid-like heads, at least four tentacles on their faces, and leathery skin. Quarren tentacles were prehensile, and they were able to manipulate food with them. Quarren had small mouths, with two fang-like teeth jutting from their faces on either side, and a long, thin tongue sticking out in between. Quarren had two long protrusions that extended from either side of their faces. In these protrusions were several gill-like structures that were actually aural structures, used for hearing instead of ears. Quarren also had holes on either sides of their neck, that was most likely used for breathing. Most curiously of all, Quarren had two sac-like organs that hung from the back of their heads. It is unclear what the purpose of these two organs was, although many cephalopods used similar organs to store oxygen.

The species was also able to change the color of their skin during mating rituals. Most Quarren had orange skin, although some Quarren had gray-green skin, this trait, however was extremely rare. All Quarren also had two, shimmering blue eyes. Being aquatic in nature, Quarren must keep their skin moist in order to stay alive, although clawed Quarren seem to need less moisture than other Quarren. The average Quarren lifespan was 79 standard years.



There were three different types of Quarren, although the only difference lay in their hands. Some Quarren had suction-tipped fingers, either with three or five fingers. Other Quarren had thick fingers that lacked suction cups on the tips of their fingers, yet had sharp claws instead. Whether these three groups were actually distinct subspecies is unknown.

Having evolved in the depths of Mon Calamari, Quarren could descend to depths of 300 meters without any breathing or pressure apparatus. However, when descending to 50 meters or deeper, they had to spend as much time decompressing as they spent under 50 meters of water to allow their bodies to readjust to the lower surface pressure.

Quarren were a very self-centered and proud species, almost to the point of being xenophobic, which would coincide with their isolationist behavior. Quarren found humans to be very crude beings and thought their language (Galactic Basic) to be very cumbersome, and unsuitable for speech (at least for other Quarren) and may be another reason why they preferred their own language when communicating.

Culture
In sharp contrast to the Mon Cals, the Quarren were far more conservative and practical in their thinking. While the Mon Cals looked towards the future, the Quarren looked towards remembered yesterdays. Also, while the Mon Cals often traveled throughout the galaxy, the Quarren were far more isolationist, staying, for the most part, in the depths of the oceans of their homeworld. However, some Quarren followed suit after the Mon Cals, and made their living in the galaxy as business managers and accountants.

While the Mon Cals manufactured starships in orbital shipyards, the Quarren dilligently mined metal ore for their brethren from the deepest parts of the ocean. The Quarren also helped build massive floating cities for the Mon Cals. While most Mon Cals lived on the few scattered islands on Dac, or on the upper levels of their floating cities, the Quarren lived in their own cities, deep beneath the waves, or in the lower levels of the cities, for the cities stretched far below the surface, and the Quarren loved the dark far more than did the Mon Cals.

The Quarren also spoke their native language more frequently than Galactic Basic, in contrast to the Mon Cals who spoke Basic far more often, in order to deal with off-worlders, which the Quarren seldom did.

Meeting the Mon Cals
The Quarren species evolved in the low-pressure depths of Dac's oceans. Here they mined the mineral-rich sea floor. They shared the depths of the planet's ocean with the the Whaladons, the Moappa, and the Knowledge Bank. Circa 4,500 BBY the Quarren met the Mon Cals, who lived in the shallow parts of the ocean, for the first time. However, rather than meeting in friendship, the Quarren were suspicious of the Mon Cals and attacked them. This instigated a long war between the Quarren and the Mon Cals. However, the Mon Cals, though less aggressive by nature, had a superior level of technology, and won the war. The Mon Cals, however, did not want to risk further wars, which they thought would only lead to the extinction of the Quarren.

While the Quarren recovered from the previous war, the Mon Cals prepared for a daring cultural experiment. In order to prevent future wars, the Mon Cals took hundreds of young Quarren captive, and taught them the ways of Mon Calamari civilization, teaching them the arts, sciences, and ethics. Once they had fully educated the Quarren, the Mon Cals released them back to their homes. The elder generations of the Quarren distrusted the younger Quarren, and viewed them as brain-washed usurpers. The Quarren youth, on the other hand, viewed their elders as uneducated barbarians. However, the youth eventually grew up and assumed control of Quarren society, and peace between the Quarren and the Mon Calamari continued for centuries (though it was sometimes a tense relationship as followup generations of Quarren slowly began to sink back into their traditional values).

Integration into the Old Republic
The planet was discovered circa 4,000 BBY. In 532 BBY, many Quarren and Mon Calamari were taken as laborers to Lamaredd. Later, Mon Calamari joined the Galactic Republic and eventually gained representation in the Senate. During the last decades of the Old Republic, the government of Mon Calamari, and its representation in the Galactic Senate, was shared between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren.

Many Quarren headed off-planet and became business managers and accountants. During these years Quarren went as far as Taris, Telos, and Nar Shaddaa. Several Quarren joined the Exchange, managing the criminal syndicate with efficiency.

During the New Sith Wars, Quarren fought in both the Army of Light and the Brotherhood of Darkness.

During the Clone Wars


Just before the Clone Wars, the corrupt Quarren Senator Tikkes allowed Thalassian slavers to operate in Calamari Sector. Eventually this decision was uncovered, and Tikkes was put under house-arrest. Under immense pressure, Tikkes took the easy road out, and defected to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, taking his sector with him. Many citizens on Dac, however, oppossed this decision, and moved against Tikkes and his allies. Tikkes formed the Quarren Isolation League and using reinforcements from the CIS, Tikkes moved against the Mon Calamari Council, the ruling legislative body of Dac. The Republic, however, supported the Mon Cals, and the few loyal Quarren.



A civil war on Mon Calamari ensued, with the Republic loyalist Mon Calamari Knights joining Republic forces against the Quarren Isolation League and Separatist Mon Cals (led by Merai). After a long series of skirmishes, the Republic defeated the Quarren Isolation League during the Battle of Mon Calamari. New accords between the Quarren and Mon Calamari were signed, with pro-Republic Senators Tundra Dowmeia (a Quarren) and Meena Tills (a Mon Cal) jointly representing Dac in the Senate. Meanwhile, remnants of the Quarren Isolation League formed the Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps, an organization of predominantly Quarren exiles on Separatist worlds (primarily Minntooine and Pammant), who continued to support the Confederacy of Independent Systems by manufacturing the majority of its warships. As a result of this, Quarren were among the species deported from Coruscant by Tannon Praji, under pressure from the Human-supremacist Commission for the Protection of the Republic.

Under the Empire
With the dawn of the Galactic Empire, Imperial forces invaded Mon Calamari. This was fueled by the Humanocentric Imperials seeing the people of Dac&mdash;the Mon Cals in particular&mdash;as slaves whose industries and resources could be used to power the Imperial war machine. Also, prior to the formation of the Empire, both of Dac's senators signed the Petition of 2000, an anti-Palpatine document (Chancellor Palpatine was now Emperor of the Empire). Some sources indicated that Quarren agents, motivated by their hatred and long-standing prejudice towards the Mon Cals, sabotaged the planetary shields shortly before the Imperial attack, allowing to a swift Imperial victory. Seggor Tels, a Quarren leader, later admitted to being one of these saboteurs.



Despite their compliance with the Empire, both the Quarren and the Mon Cals were enslaved by the Empire. The Quarren may have been enslaved due to their involvement with the Confederacy. The Mon Cals, however, tried to lead a passive resistance movement, but they were unsuccessful. Emperor Palpatine ordered three Mon Cal cities to be destroyed in reprisal. Eventually, however, many Quarren joined the Mon Cals in driving the Imperials off Dac. Seggor Tels, ironically, was one of the Quarren leaders responsible for rallying the Quarren to resist the Empire. After the liberation of Mon Calamari, many Quarren wanted nothing to do with the Rebel Alliance, or later, its successor government the New Republic. As a result, many Quarren left Mon Calamari for other worlds, in order to avoid the Imperial reprisal that was to come.

Emperor reborn


After the reborn Palpatine's assault on Mon Calamari in 10 ABY, the Quarren threatened to leave in a mass exodus, though it is unknown how many actually did. Eventually, many Quarren could be found scattered among the many worlds of the galaxy. The Quarren population that continued to thrive on Mon Calamari were still loyal to their people, but personal and cultural relationships began to blossom between the Quarren and the Mon Calamari. The most famous such relationship was the romantic relationship between the male Quarren Nrin Vakil and the Mon Calamari female Ibtisam, both of whom were members of the elite Rogue Squadron.

Yuuzhan Vong invasion and after
During the Yuuzhan Vong War, a Quarren, Pwoe, represented Mon Calamari alongside the Mon Calamari Gron Marrab. After the loss of Coruscant to the Yuuzhan Vong, Pwoe tried, and failed, to usurp the New Republic Presidency and eventually joined the Ylesian Republic on Ylesia. His Mon Cal counterpart, however, remained loyal and represented his homeworld in the Senate of the Galactic Alliance.

By 130 ABY, following the end of the Sith-Imperial War and the rise of Darth Krayt as Galactic Emperor, Quarren gained a position of power as they were placed in the government of Dac, possibly because the new Sith Order held several Quarren amongst its members. Two of these Sith Lords were Darth Maleval and Darth Azard.

Following the Battle of Mon Calamari, the Quarren were spared from Emperor Krayt's edict ordering the execution of ten percent of Mon Calamarians, starting with the members of the Mon Calamari Council. However, those Quarren who voiced their opposition to the orders were executed as well.

Behind the scenes


In Star Trek: Voyager, there is also a species called the Quarren. The same episode also featured a race called the Nar Shaddan.

The character Davy Jones as in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest strongly resembles a Quarren, the most notable feature being the tentacles near the face.

The Quarren also strongly resemble the elder god Cthulhu, created by H. P. Lovecraft.

Non-canon appearances

 * The Lesson
 * Best Birthday Ever
 * Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back
 * The Return of Tag & Bink: Special Edition

Notes and references
Quarren