The Garidians are a humanoid civilization who show signs of Vulcanoid evolution, associated with the Romulan Star Empire, and are native to the planet Garid. As of the year 2370, the Garidians were on friendly terms with the Romulans, to the point of sharing technology which included surplus Romulan starships as well as cloaking devices although some, like Captain Pentara, would complain that they felt like a subject to the Romulan Star Empire, forced to do their bidding, without having the power to refuse. This comment might imply that the Garidian Republic is actually a satellite state of the Romulan Star Empire. The Garidians have earned a reputation as honorable warriors and do not usually resort to trickery. (TNG video game: A Final Unity)
Garidian warbird
Garidians generally made use of D'deridex-class warbirds supplied by the Romulan Star Empire as part of their military forces. These craft are often distinguished by their light gray paint scheme with flat red highlights on their hulls reminiscent of early Romulan spacecraft. One such vessel, under the command of Gaidian Captain Pentara, intercepted the USS Enterprise-D and demanded the return of three Garidian nationals to her custody. (TNG video game: A Final Unity)
Society
Garidian society is split into two classes; Patricians (the upper class) and Plebians (the lower class). The structure of the society is based on the four scrolls written by the Lawgiver one thousand years prior to the 2360's.
The first scroll defines the Garidians' code of honor. The second defines the relationship between the military and the government. The third scroll outlines the Garidians' religion. Finally, the fourth scroll defines the privileges and responsibilities of the Patrician class.
The Fifth Scroll
Garidian legend states that the Lawgiver also wrote a fifth scroll that outlined the rights and privileges of the Plebian class. However, the Patricians forced the Lawgiver and his followers to flee Garid, before he could reveal his fifth scroll.
In the 2360's, the Plebian-born social revolutionary, Lucana, believed that if she could recover the fifth scroll it could cause the oppressed lower class to rebel against their Patrician masters.
Eventually the Enterprise helped the revolutionists locate the Fifth Scroll. After an away team had discovered the original scroll Lucana sent a subspace message to Garid, which caused a revolution. Pentara traced the location and demanded the Enterprise return Avakar, Lucana and T'bak to her. Avakar convinced Pentara to deliver the scroll and him and his colleagues safely back to Garid, so that their people could benefit from the wisdom of the scroll.
Pentara later explained to Jean-Luc Picard that the situation on Garid being so bad, with all opposers to the Fifth Scroll being executed, that her people needed something as powerful as the Unity Device to help the situation.
- The visual appearance of the Garidians make them appear similar to Romulans. Whether this means they are a Vulcanoid species similar to the Mintakans or a Vulcan splinter species like the Romulans themselves or even a Romulan offshoot is currently not known.