G'Kar

Lore & Background

G'Kar was a pouchling during the first Centauri occupation of his homeworld. His family served as servants in a Centauri household. After his mother became very ill, only he and his father remained fit to serve. One day his father accidentally spilled a bowl of hot jala upon the mistress of the house. As punishment, his father was beaten to a pulp and hung up on their family prayer tree. He lasted for three days before he finally died. G'Kar was with him, and his father told him just before he died that he was proud of him, and to do all the things that he could not – Fight the Centauri. In a rage, G'Kar ran away and killed his first Centauri that very day. He later joined the resistance movement. After the Centauri were driven off, he worked in the military, participating in at least one invasion during the expansion of the Narn Regime (the Tuchanq). By his own admission, during this invasion, he participated in atrocities.

In Their Own Story

G'Kar was Narn ambassador to Babylon 5, and a member of the third circle of the Kha'Ri. In 2258, he was party to various underhanded schemes, including sheltering the Dilgar war criminal Deathwalker and attempting to incite riots on the station. In mid-2259, the dying Centauri Emperor Turhan visited Babylon 5 to 'stand with a Narn in neutral territory and apologize' for all the evil and suffering the Centauri inflicted upon the Narn. G'Kar was prepared to assassinate the Emperor before he learned of this. After learning of the Emperor's intentions, he sought Mollari and offered him a drink in celebration of a new understanding. By a sad irony, Mollari had already arranged for the Shadows to attack the Narn base on Quadrant 14. After learning of the attack 'by the Centauri', G'Kar attempted to attack Mollari but was stopped by Sheridan. Sheridan gave G'Kar a choice – if he attacked Mollari, he might end up dead and be of no use to his people. In a feat of tremendous self-restraint, G'Kar stayed his hand and sat on the ground, weeping.

Reader's Guide

After the second Narn-Centauri war and the surrender of the Narn Regime, G'Kar was the only member of the Kha'Ri not captured. Because he had asked for sanctuary, G'Kar was placed under the protection of both Babylon 5 and the Minbari Federation. Londo had G'Kar removed from the Council as he was no longer the official representative of Narn. Instead of attacking, G'Kar calmly addressed the council: 'No dictator, no invader, can hold an imprisoned population by the force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power governments, and tyrants, and armies can not stand. The Centauri learned this lesson once. We will teach it to them again. Though it take a thousand years, we will be free.' During the six months after the war, G'Kar offered assistance to the underground resistance on Narn. He obtained a highly illegal Earth drug called 'Dust', which gives the user temporary but incredibly powerful telepathic abilities. He used himself as a test subject, abducted and telepathically mutilated Mollari, and learned many of his secrets, including his role in instigating the second Narn-Centauri war. As the drug wore off, he experienced a religious revelation from his 'father figures' – the Narn holy figure G'Quan, his own biological father, and the angelic being G'Lan (all of which were actually Vorlon Ambassador Kosh Naranek). In his vision, G'Kar was told to let go of his hatred and serve a higher cause. He was arrested for this attack, pleaded guilty, and allowed himself to be placed in Babylon 5's brig, where he dedicated himself to meditating on his revelation. He was released early due to the fighting between Earth forces and Babylon 5, and provided Babylon 5 with a Narn security force. When Michael Garibaldi was kidnapped, G'Kar went searching for him, only to be captured by Centauri forces and taken to Centauri Prime. There he was presented as a gift to Londo Mollari by Emperor Cartagia. Cartagia tortured G'Kar, but G'Kar refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing him cry out in pain. Londo and Vir decided to act fast as they knew they would need G'Kar's help to kill Cartagia. Mollari approached G'Kar in secret and explained that Cartagia was sadistic and insane, and that the fate of both the Narn and Centauri people depended on his removal from the throne. Mollari offered a deal – if G'Kar would assist by providing a distraction at the proper moment, Mollari himself would assassinate the mad emperor.

Did You Know?

• G'Kar killed his first Centauri the same day his father died after being beaten and hung on their family prayer tree.
• G'Kar was a pouchling during the first Centauri occupation of Narn, and his family served as servants in a Centauri household.
• G'Kar was the only member of the Kha'Ri not captured after the second Narn-Centauri war.
• G'Kar used himself as a test subject for the illegal Earth drug 'Dust', which gave him temporary telepathic abilities.
• The religious vision G'Kar experienced after using Dust was actually the Vorlon Ambassador Kosh Naranek appearing as G'Quan, G'Kar's father, and G'Lan.