Batarians

[Asarinha]

Primary Territories:[/u] Luna Settlements
Earthen Population:[/u] None; temporary travelers only.
Off Earth Population:[/u] 480,000
Lifespan:[/u] 120-140 years
Pre Reaper War:[/u] Batarians
Imposed Breeding Restrictions:[/u] Extremely limited breeding freedoms, with yearly limits imposed by the Council and Hierarchy. Self-imposed restrictions allow higher castes to have two or more children - those of the highest social rankings are allowed essentially limitless births - while the lower rungs of society are denied from having any more than one child per couple, if even that.
Allied Races/Factions:[/u]

• Blue Suns
  
• Eclipse
  
• Blood Pack

Rival Races/Factions:[/u]

• Turian Hierarchy
  
• Systems Alliance
  
• Sol Union

General Physical Description:[/u]
Average Height: 5'10" - 6'6" for males, 5'6" - 6'0" for females
Average Weight: 150-200 lbs for males, 130-160 lbs for females
Colouration: Various, generally dark hues from brown-reds to dull yellows. They are born with notable patterns atop their bare heads from time to time.
Cranial Structure: Four eyes, all a pitched black with no visible distinction between the pupil, iris and sclera.


Government:
The batarian population in the Sol System does not have a formal, over-arching government per-se; it is largely held under the authority of the Systems Alliance and the jurisdiction of the Turian Hierarchy. The Council is occasionally involved in matters concerning the race's well-being, and is generally the highest order of 'law' that a batarian will see. Nonetheless, most batarians never experience a personal communication from Council offices; by and large, their order of law begins and ends with the turian officials - and their officers - that patrol all batarian-held territories on Luna.

Nonetheless, the batarian population is not entirely without their own form of representation. Having banded together under the blanket term 'The Batarian Remnant' - in stark mention to the fate of their race at the onset of the Reaper Galactic War - they have a largely lineage-based system of determining local leaders and mayors of towns and neighbourhoods in larger cities. Only batarians born to higher societal castes will ever be seen in these positions, and it is from here that they will exercise limited autonomy, oftentimes being in charge of both economical and minor security issues for the people beneath them, such as common burglary or theft. The ranks of the local 'police' groups are largely filled with direct family members or friends of the family in charge, and are notorious for their oversights involving crimes that trace back to their own people. It is through this semblance of force - and societal customs that have long since imprinted on the batarian mindset - that order is maintained throughout the batarian territories.

It is through a combination of these high-ranking castes of the Lunar territories that the Batarian Remnant is run with any semblance of cohesion, but this is only possible through the efforts of the Department of Information Control. Formerly utilized as a censory service by the various nation-states of Khar'Shan, the organization is now primarily tasked with overseeing diplomacy and finding common ground between disparate groups so as to limit batarian infighting. They are increasingly becoming seen as one of the few bright hopes in the batarians' future, especially considering that those members of it that have mediated talks between feuding ruling families have become almost celebrities in terms of social status.

One of the many domed cities founded and grown by batarian architects. Towering skyscrapers are a hallmark and defining feature of the species and their architectural prowess.

Economy:
The batarian economy is almost wholly export-driven, and imports of essentials - such as food, textiles, water, and medical supplies - keep the finances of the batarians intimately tied with the fluctuations of the interplanetary markets. These necessities are largely paid for with raw materials and helium 3 mined from Luna's surface and subterranean depths, which provide the largest supply - per capita - for non-atmospheric construction projects in the system. Space habitations across Sol have had their beginnings in the batarian mines on Luna, but it is not easy work for the labourers, who oftentimes toil in excess of sixteen or more hours per shift, several times in a week. It is generally menial, manual work, and requires very little if any advanced education; an apprenticeship of a few months is often enough to train a young new worker.

The only other lucrative large-scale source of employment available to batarians is generally in construction, which is another source of demand for the raw materials harvested by the mining population. Batarian architecture has long been a source of pride for the species, and that remains unabated here in Sol. The construction of skyscrapers is a perpetual contest of egos between the higher caste families, although it is seen as a wholly good-natured one; even rival families will accept invitations to the opening of a new prize building by one of their rivals, offering it the respect it deserves. And while many of these buildings may be for business purposes, it is also expected of higher castes to provide adequate housing for the lessers of society, and as such, there is a tendency for apartment-dwelling skyscrapers to literally represent - from the lower floors to the top - all segments of batarian society. As housing a growing population is a perpetual concern, there is a constant demand for building supplies to fuel this industry, and savvy batarian entrepreneurs will often have a hand in both the mining and construction industries, if for absolute price-saving if nothing else.

In addition to these legitimate economical pursuits, however, more than a few batarians have taken to the life of criminal activities to provide for themselves. With slavery all but eliminated outside of batarian territory, slave raids are nigh-impossible, with an indentured citizen of any other species in batarian areas quickly spotted by their turian overseers. As such, arms trafficking to the krogan moons and drug trafficking across the system are far more common among batarians outside the constraints of the law, and various gangs and pirate brigades roam Sol's outermost edges, always looking for an opportunity to seize. A lesser-known fact that accompanies this reality is that it is a lifestyle often forced onto younger batarians not by choice, but by slim employment opportunities at home; lower-caste batarians are eternally last in any job openings, and with nothing else to turn to, they pick up a life of crime to support both themselves as well as their families back on Luna, to whom many pirates will funnel their illicitly-earned cash back to in the hopes of feeding and caring for family members who have nothing and no-one else to turn to.

A generator system in a deep mining complex on Luna. It is needed to power the extensive air filtration systems, though frequent power outages are a constant issue.

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Culture:
The single most prominent and distinguishing feature of batarian society is their self-imposed segregation into societal castes. These castes were largely developed in antiquity on Khar'Shan to separate and distinguish certain professions from others in terms of value, a process known as social stratification. Over time, this has been expanded and diluted to valuing certain successive and successful bloodlines with long histories in given occupations, such as traders, explorers, slavers, and leaders. Traditionally, religious figures have also been revered, a practice that waned in pre-war days but is seeing a resurgence in the modern era as hundreds of thousands of people attempt to come to terms with their species' new - and largely diminished, nearly extinct - place in the galaxy.

The castes in the modern day largely centre around specific families now, though not exclusively. Nonetheless, these castes are generally divided into three levels, these being the Crux (the highest), the Croft (the middle), and the Crowd (the lowest), and they dictate many facets of batarian life. These are three blanket terms, and the levels of respect afforded to individuals even within the same caste can vary widely; it is well-known that one needs to 'grow up batarian' to ever fully understand the nuances and intricacies of this complex social system, as what one's lineage is, what one's profession is, how one carries oneself, and even what one wears are all crucial aspects of conveying a person's standing in society. Indeed, something as simple as tilting one's head one way or the other can send a very different message: tilted to the left, you are being respectful and timid; tilted to the right, you are being arrogant and outright insulting, a gesture the turian keepers of the race are often greeted with.

As may be expected from a species that puts so much emphasis on societal standing, the practice of slavery is a very well-known batarian tradition, and while viewed through a largely negative lens by the other space-faring races of the galaxy, it is nonetheless an important part of batarian heritage that is so deeply-ingrained into the public psyche that it is impossible to remove. To the batarian people, it is simply a facet of life, and one that makes perfect business and moral sense, as it has to many societies throughout antiquity. Nonetheless, with other species being unavailable as trading stock - and the means to enslave via raids largely unattainable - slavery on the whole has greatly diminished in Sol, with the practice reserved to batarian slave-trading only; a state the practice has not seen since first contact with the Citadel races. At this stage, with only limited access to spacecraft and an outright ban on batarians owning firearms, the entire tradition is on the borderline of collapse, with an almost Illium-based style of indentured servitude of lower-caste members becoming more common among many.




Post Reaper History Timeline:

• 2187 - The Galactic Reaper War ends and Luna remains largely uninhabited.
  
• 2188 - Most batarians remain on the Citadel, but the Council begins to recognize that this will cause serious problems with security for the more law abiding citizens there.
  
• 2193 - The Council finally takes action and moves most of the Terminus refugees to locations off the Citadel. Recognizing the unique problem batarians cause, they opt to put all batarians in one place. With Luna being closest to Earth and the Citadel, they deem it an appropriate location to keep a close watch on the batarian people. Notably, they do not allow batarian spacefaring.
  
• 2194 - Domed cities begin to crop up across Luna's surface, but it comes to Council attention that the batarians are openly engaging in slave trade with some of the families on the lower end of their caste system.
  
• 2196 - The Turian Hierarchy sets up military installations on Luna. These units become the new 'law' over the batarian people.
  
• 2204 - The first formal complaint against the Hierarchy military on Luna is filed. There are rumors that abuse against the batarian people is commonplace, but the turian Councillor openly dismisses these claims
  
• 2227 - Showing that they can 'behave appropriately' for Council standards, the batarians are allowed to utilize spacefaring vehicles again. These ships are highly restricted for armaments. Not allowed to relocate permanently off Luna, batarians remain under turian rule on Luna.