Noghri

Noghri
Homeworld	Honoghr
Language	Honoghran [1]
Average Height	1.4 to 1.7 meters [1]
Skin color	Bluish-gray [1]
Hair color	None [1]
Distinctions	Advanced olfactory abilities, claws, incredible killing prowess [1]
Known Members	List of known Noghri

Biology and appearance

In form, this species appeared as steel-gray-skinned bipeds who were heavily muscled and possessed an unbelievable level of reflexes as well as agility. Their bodies lacked any form of hair on their surface and they were notable for being both strong as well as sinewy creatures. While not tall, their small size belied their ruthless nature and effective skills. Ultimately, the Noghri were predators with teeth filled jaws, large quick moving eyes and excellent sense of smell. Their sense of smell, in fact, was so developed that they were capable of telling a persons bloodline simply by their scent alone. A Noghri's body was also a compact killing machine that was designed to hunt and destroy its prey. [1]

History

The Noghri were natives of the planet Honoghr. In ancient history, they were enslaved by the Rakata of the Infinite Empire. A number of Noghri slaves were later taken to the Unknown Regions where they were placed on the planet Tulpaa. While the empire itself eventually faded into history, the ex-slaves soon began worshiping the memory of the Rakatans, viewing their ancient structures as evidence of the gods' time on Honoghr. During this early age, it was known that there was a long history of blood rivalry between the various clans though by later years, they learnt to co-exist with one another. [1]

Shortly before the Empire rose, their planet became ravaged by a strong toxin, coming from a destroyed spaceship. They were offered environmental aid by some of the Empire's officers, impressed with their killing abilities. At the time, the Noghri were only a peaceful agrarian based culture and thus felt that they had no choice but to agree to the offer. However, at the same time, continued poisoning of the planetary environment was ordered to ensure the slavery of the Noghri who were now honor bound to serve the Sith Lord. Thus, under the guise of "helping" the planet recover from the ecological disaster, he received the homage of the Noghri, as a result of which most of the young males of the planet became Death Commandos. [1]

Society and culture

While small in size, Noghri were notable for being fearsome warriors. They were extremely dedicated fierce fighters, and they never showed any moment where they demonstrated humor; even at their most relaxed state. Furthermore, they had a tendency to prefer the use of more primitive weaponry-such as knives-as well as unarmed combat. Their greatest strength, however, was their secrecy, as they were only ever off-world when called upon for a mission. In such times, an agent often accompanied the Noghri in order to provide them with adequate logistics and transportation in order to complete their mission in complete secrecy. Once deployed, a Noghri was single-minded in the completion of their task, which completely consumed them until their mission objective was accomplished. [1]

As mentioned above, Noghri were notorious assassins. They also made outstanding bodyguards. In battle, they were exceptional in hand-to-hand combat. Their speech was very guttural and scratchy in nature, comparable to Dosh, the Trandoshan language. Some smugglers come out with the idea of hiring out individual Noghri as bodyguards. [1]

They possessed a clan-based society that was made up of close-knit family groupings that had many different forms of customs and rituals. While they had all the social customs and rituals of a pre-space flight society, the Noghri been provided many forms of advanced technology and machinery due to their initial servitude to the Empire. Their clans were centered around Dukhas and were led by a Dynast. A clans dukha, or meeting place at the center of a village, where the Maitrakh usually resided. Dukha were considered somewhat sacred, belonging also to the ancestors of the clan. Individual Noghri were able to determine one of their kind's clan by their clan-scent. [1]

Noghri were also very loyal, as shown in examples where the Death Commandos and similar groups often willingly went to their deaths to fight against those they considered enemies. A conflict of loyalty was a major event in a Noghri's life. [1]

Trained in a wide variety of weapons, they generally carried little more than a few daggers; believing that their surroundings would provide them as needed. Their greatest pride were their fighting sickles, which were a mark of honor as well as excellent weapons that were well balanced for hand-to-hand combat. Noghri were renowned for the skill with which they threw them in battle. [1]

The Noghri Death Commandos was the first tradition formed amongst the Noghri after their service into the Galactic Empire. Using their feared warrior skills and agile nature, they became the private commandos of high-ranking Imperial officials as well as those they decided to loan their service. They were often deployed in times and used on missions that required stealth thus allowing them to be often deployed to eliminate problematic targets or even to capture certain individuals. Whist the Noghri preferred to use primitive weaponry, they were often accompanied by agents that handled their logistical and transportational needs. [1]

The Noghri bodyguards were a new tradition and group that developed later. These dedicated warriors underwent extensive training as well as testing in order to determine which warriors gain the honor of becoming the guardians. Such warriors considered their task a sacred duty which meant that they could not be bribed or blackmailed. [1]

The first trained Noghri bodyguards were honored with their initial assignment to protect a key individual and though they were skilled, they understood that they had much to learn. As they gained experience, they would often be added into elite units and deployed for military strikes. [1]

Notable clans include: Clan Bakh'tor, Clan Baikh'vair, Clan Eikh'mir, Clan Khim'bar, Clan Hakh'khar, Clan Tlakh'sar. [1]

References: [1] - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Noghri