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Description
The Balosians Underdwellers

The Balosians are a reptilian race of subterranean creatures. Their world was struck by a large asteroid some 200,000 years ago, wiping out all surface life and stripping away over 75% of the atmosphere and water. The only lifeforms which survived were those which could adapt to life underground, in the natural caves that spanned the planet, just above the world's crust. The Balosians, who treasured these caves for the geothermal heat they provided, were already familiar with them and were able to continue their society (despite the great loss of life caused by the catastrophe).

The Balosian civilization had developed to an industrial level when the Centauri arrived and began mining the surface in 2105 (a few years before they conquered the Narn homeworld). They had little interest in deep drilling, preferring to strip-mine the easily acquired ores left exposed when the seas boiled away millennia before. Thus, they did not discover the Balosians at first, but instead were themselves discovered by accident.

A Balosian explorer, who enjoyed visiting the surface for its curiosity value, and the occasional artifact from the former civilization that once lived there, noticed the Centauri mining operations for the first time in 2122, after they had been well established. Further curiosity drove him to observe more closely, and soon he brought tales of these 'aliens from the sky" to the rest of his people. The Balosians watched in secret, learning much simply by watching the Centauri at work. The Centauri, for their part, became aware of the Balosian presence but considered the natives inferior, not realizing the depth of their intelligence and the level of civilization they'd built underground.

In 2170, as most of the surface strip-mining dried up and Balosian operations became seen as a boondoggle by the collapsing Centauri Republic, the miners departed. When they did, they left no small quantity of now-useless facilities and equipment behind, seeing as it was too expensive to transport. The Balosians appreciated the Centauri lack of effort, as they were quick studies.

The Centauri left a number of shuttles, a pair of ore freighters and an old patrol ship. The Balosians took these ships as starting point for their navy. The possibility of space travel fascinated the subterranean race.

The jumpgate installed by the Centauri was still active when the Balosians made it out of their planet, they started exploring outside of their system and came into contact with the Alacans, Abbai, Vree, Dilgar and Narn. The first four were friendly (or at least appeared to be) while the Narn saw them as a possible conquest for their new Regime. By the early 2210s the Narn made a brief effort to secure Balos, using the excuse of "protecting" them from the Centauri. Although this trick had served the Narns well on other occasions (Like the Sorians), allowing them to take several planets with little or no resistance, it backfired on Balos.

The Balosians were never mistreated by the Centauri (who considered the Balosians to be unintelligent and of little use, so they never made any attempt to enslave them), and in fact the Balosians felt that if anything, they owed a debt of gratitude to the Republic. thus when Narn ships began landing troops on Balos, they were met with immediate and forceful resistance. With their ability to blend into their rocky surroundings, and pop up at will from any of thousands of fissures and caverns, the Balosians were impossible to fight. The Narns rapidly realized their mistake and departed.

Following this the Balosians achieved a kind of notoriety among the League worlds, and many of their people were hired as mercenaries and ground forces for weaker races. In later years they found their chief rival to be the Gaim, who were better fighters but more difficult to support due to their insectoid forms. The Balosians found their own talents and willingness to work hard to be great assets, and soon were spread across known space. Many of them were in the service of other races during the Dilgar War, and continued to fight on the side of their employers despite their homeworld's occupation, a fact which reflects their dedication to duty.

After the Narn invasion, the Balosians felt they needed to form a space navy to defend their world from future attacks. Assuming the Narn would be the chief threat, they contacted their "friends" the Centauri and purchased a number of export ship hulls at ridiculously inflated prices. The Centauri figured any aid they gave to a race that owed payback to the Narns could be counted on as a future ally. (They were, however, quite surprised to learn where the Balosians were from, and many in the Centaurum simply didn't believe it. They sold the ships anyway, of course.)

This put the Balosians in a position similar to many of the small, growing races of the period. With their naval forces in place and boldly displayed as a deterrent, they considered themselves safe from attack, figuring anyone who would consider an invasion would consider the losses they'd take unacceptable. This might have been true for any of the smaller races, or even the growing Narn Regime, but it did not apply to the Dilgar, who needed Balos for its resources and strategic position. With control of Balos, the Dilgar could prevent Drazi forces from linking up with the rest of the League during the coming war.

The results for the Balosian navy were thus foreordained. Since they had made a great show of advertising their military strength, the Dilgar knew exactly what to expect and how to defeat it. They struck without warning in early 2230, catching the Balosian fleet widely dispersed and splitting it almost immediately. The main body of the invasion force concentrated on the heavy cruisers and carrier, destroying most of them, then chased the rest away from Balos and commenced the ground invasion.

Though they quickly captured the surface, the Dilgar were never able to wrest control of the entire planet from the Balosians, who used the same guerrilla tactics they had against the Narn incursion decades ago. However, rather than attempt to defeat the Balosians, the Dilgar instead built fortified installations (fortified in all directions, including beneath their floors) and used these facilities to draw the resources they needed from the planet. Still, they were harried in all ways by the Balosians whenever possible, who made life on their planet miserable for the Dilgar, and, in many cases, short

Meanwhile, the Balosian fleet continued to operate throughout the rest of the war, using guerrilla tactics to attack supply lines and isolated Dilgar fleet elements. When necessary, the Balosian ships would retreat back to other League bases for supplies or repairs, but this was done rarely. They never signed any formal treaties with the League or Earth Alliance, though they were always thought of as co-belligerents.

When the Earth and League fleets began their attempts to liberate Balos near the end of the war, the remnants of the Balosian navy were there to help them. In the end, most of these ships were destroyed in battle, with only two surviving to see their people freed and the Dilgar driven from the planet. These ships were later used as the core of a new Balosian defense fleet.

Today, years after the Dilgar War, the Balosian race remains reticent and unwilling to join the society provided by the League. They are much wiser now, and do not yield secrets of their defenses readily. Any race attempting to attack them would have to deal with a tenacious force of experienced guerrilla fighters, a fact that is more than enough to deter invasions by all but the strongest foe.

Balosian Military

When operating in a fleet environment, individual Balosian ships were led by a designated command vessel, all of which were crewed by the largest and most influential clans on the planet.

Since the Balosians had no shipyard of their own (at least not before or during the Dilgar War), they were limited to whatever ships they could purchase from other races. All their Dilgar War era vessels were older Centauri hulls, modified to Balosian technology. The Centauri usually provided these ships with no weapons (other than weak defensive systems that were common at the time), with the sensor arrays and artificial gravity removed, forcing the Balosians to use their own, usually inferior technology to replace these items. What's more, they removed all jump drives from any cruisers they sold, and the Balosians had no way to build replacements! Even so, it was far cheaper for the Balosians to buy new ships and refit them than to construct their own shipyard, something they had not the slightest clue how to do.

After the War, when the difficulty of repairing their ships became evident, they reversed this decision, and began to construct their own vessels.

The Balosians paint their ships in a camouflage-like style, using stripes and streaks of gray over black. The exact pattern used can vary depending on clan, and the side of the ship bears the symbol of the ship captain's tribe or family. The variety of symbols is endless.

Seffensa Class Attack Cruiser

This ship was built on the Centurion attack cruiser hull. As part of their second exchange treaty, the Balosians received a number of these older designs (as well as several carriers) in exchange for numerous divisions of balosian ground troops and armor to be stationed on Centauri colony worlds, as a defense against Narn incursions. This was a trade to which the Balosians readily agreed.

The Seffensa was a decent cruiser, though it lacked fighter support. The Centauri delivered it stripped of any proprietary systems, such as weapons, artificial gravity, and sensors, forcing the Balosians to replace these with their own equivalents. In addition, the hull plating is sub-standard compared to contemporary starships of major powers, though they do tend to be higher than those of other minor races of the period.

After the initial Dilgar invasion, some of these ships managed to escape and later formed the core of the Free Balosian Navy. Several survived the war, and at least one was still in operation during the Shadow War period.

Most of the lore told here comes from Babylon 5 Wars!

Description
The Balosians Underdwellers

The Balosians are a reptilian race of subterranean creatures. Their world was struck by a large asteroid some 200,000 years ago, wiping out all surface life and stripping away over 75% of the atmosphere and water. The only lifeforms which survived were those which could adapt to life underground, in the natural caves that spanned the planet, just above the world's crust. The Balosians, who treasured these caves for the geothermal heat they provided, were already familiar with them and were able to continue their society (despite the great loss of life caused by the catastrophe).

The Balosian civilization had developed to an industrial level when the Centauri arrived and began mining the surface in 2105 (a few years before they conquered the Narn homeworld). They had little interest in deep drilling, preferring to strip-mine the easily acquired ores left exposed when the seas boiled away millennia before. Thus, they did not discover the Balosians at first, but instead were themselves discovered by accident.

A Balosian explorer, who enjoyed visiting the surface for its curiosity value, and the occasional artifact from the former civilization that once lived there, noticed the Centauri mining operations for the first time in 2122, after they had been well established. Further curiosity drove him to observe more closely, and soon he brought tales of these 'aliens from the sky" to the rest of his people. The Balosians watched in secret, learning much simply by watching the Centauri at work. The Centauri, for their part, became aware of the Balosian presence but considered the natives inferior, not realizing the depth of their intelligence and the level of civilization they'd built underground.

In 2170, as most of the surface strip-mining dried up and Balosian operations became seen as a boondoggle by the collapsing Centauri Republic, the miners departed. When they did, they left no small quantity of now-useless facilities and equipment behind, seeing as it was too expensive to transport. The Balosians appreciated the Centauri lack of effort, as they were quick studies.

The Centauri left a number of shuttles, a pair of ore freighters and an old patrol ship. The Balosians took these ships as starting point for their navy. The possibility of space travel fascinated the subterranean race.

The jumpgate installed by the Centauri was still active when the Balosians made it out of their planet, they started exploring outside of their system and came into contact with the Alacans, Abbai, Vree, Dilgar and Narn. The first four were friendly (or at least appeared to be) while the Narn saw them as a possible conquest for their new Regime. By the early 2210s the Narn made a brief effort to secure Balos, using the excuse of "protecting" them from the Centauri. Although this trick had served the Narns well on other occasions (Like the Sorians), allowing them to take several planets with little or no resistance, it backfired on Balos.

The Balosians were never mistreated by the Centauri (who considered the Balosians to be unintelligent and of little use, so they never made any attempt to enslave them), and in fact the Balosians felt that if anything, they owed a debt of gratitude to the Republic. thus when Narn ships began landing troops on Balos, they were met with immediate and forceful resistance. With their ability to blend into their rocky surroundings, and pop up at will from any of thousands of fissures and caverns, the Balosians were impossible to fight. The Narns rapidly realized their mistake and departed.

Following this the Balosians achieved a kind of notoriety among the League worlds, and many of their people were hired as mercenaries and ground forces for weaker races. In later years they found their chief rival to be the Gaim, who were better fighters but more difficult to support due to their insectoid forms. The Balosians found their own talents and willingness to work hard to be great assets, and soon were spread across known space. Many of them were in the service of other races during the Dilgar War, and continued to fight on the side of their employers despite their homeworld's occupation, a fact which reflects their dedication to duty.

After the Narn invasion, the Balosians felt they needed to form a space navy to defend their world from future attacks. Assuming the Narn would be the chief threat, they contacted their "friends" the Centauri and purchased a number of export ship hulls at ridiculously inflated prices. The Centauri figured any aid they gave to a race that owed payback to the Narns could be counted on as a future ally. (They were, however, quite surprised to learn where the Balosians were from, and many in the Centaurum simply didn't believe it. They sold the ships anyway, of course.)

This put the Balosians in a position similar to many of the small, growing races of the period. With their naval forces in place and boldly displayed as a deterrent, they considered themselves safe from attack, figuring anyone who would consider an invasion would consider the losses they'd take unacceptable. This might have been true for any of the smaller races, or even the growing Narn Regime, but it did not apply to the Dilgar, who needed Balos for its resources and strategic position. With control of Balos, the Dilgar could prevent Drazi forces from linking up with the rest of the League during the coming war.

The results for the Balosian navy were thus foreordained. Since they had made a great show of advertising their military strength, the Dilgar knew exactly what to expect and how to defeat it. They struck without warning in early 2230, catching the Balosian fleet widely dispersed and splitting it almost immediately. The main body of the invasion force concentrated on the heavy cruisers and carrier, destroying most of them, then chased the rest away from Balos and commenced the ground invasion.

Though they quickly captured the surface, the Dilgar were never able to wrest control of the entire planet from the Balosians, who used the same guerrilla tactics they had against the Narn incursion decades ago. However, rather than attempt to defeat the Balosians, the Dilgar instead built fortified installations (fortified in all directions, including beneath their floors) and used these facilities to draw the resources they needed from the planet. Still, they were harried in all ways by the Balosians whenever possible, who made life on their planet miserable for the Dilgar, and, in many cases, short

Meanwhile, the Balosian fleet continued to operate throughout the rest of the war, using guerrilla tactics to attack supply lines and isolated Dilgar fleet elements. When necessary, the Balosian ships would retreat back to other League bases for supplies or repairs, but this was done rarely. They never signed any formal treaties with the League or Earth Alliance, though they were always thought of as co-belligerents.

When the Earth and League fleets began their attempts to liberate Balos near the end of the war, the remnants of the Balosian navy were there to help them. In the end, most of these ships were destroyed in battle, with only two surviving to see their people freed and the Dilgar driven from the planet. These ships were later used as the core of a new Balosian defense fleet.

Today, years after the Dilgar War, the Balosian race remains reticent and unwilling to join the society provided by the League. They are much wiser now, and do not yield secrets of their defenses readily. Any race attempting to attack them would have to deal with a tenacious force of experienced guerrilla fighters, a fact that is more than enough to deter invasions by all but the strongest foe.

Balosian Military

When operating in a fleet environment, individual Balosian ships were led by a designated command vessel, all of which were crewed by the largest and most influential clans on the planet.

Since the Balosians had no shipyard of their own (at least not before or during the Dilgar War), they were limited to whatever ships they could purchase from other races. All their Dilgar War era vessels were older Centauri hulls, modified to Balosian technology. The Centauri usually provided these ships with no weapons (other than weak defensive systems that were common at the time), with the sensor arrays and artificial gravity removed, forcing the Balosians to use their own, usually inferior technology to replace these items. What's more, they removed all jump drives from any cruisers they sold, and the Balosians had no way to build replacements! Even so, it was far cheaper for the Balosians to buy new ships and refit them than to construct their own shipyard, something they had not the slightest clue how to do.

After the War, when the difficulty of repairing their ships became evident, they reversed this decision, and began to construct their own vessels.

The Balosians paint their ships in a camouflage-like style, using stripes and streaks of gray over black. The exact pattern used can vary depending on clan, and the side of the ship bears the symbol of the ship captain's tribe or family. The variety of symbols is endless.

Seffensa Class Attack Cruiser

This ship was built on the Centurion attack cruiser hull. As part of their second exchange treaty, the Balosians received a number of these older designs (as well as several carriers) in exchange for numerous divisions of balosian ground troops and armor to be stationed on Centauri colony worlds, as a defense against Narn incursions. This was a trade to which the Balosians readily agreed.

The Seffensa was a decent cruiser, though it lacked fighter support. The Centauri delivered it stripped of any proprietary systems, such as weapons, artificial gravity, and sensors, forcing the Balosians to replace these with their own equivalents. In addition, the hull plating is sub-standard compared to contemporary starships of major powers, though they do tend to be higher than those of other minor races of the period.

After the initial Dilgar invasion, some of these ships managed to escape and later formed the core of the Free Balosian Navy. Several survived the war, and at least one was still in operation during the Shadow War period.

Most of the lore told here comes from Babylon 5 Wars!