The Gaim are an insectoid race and were a member-race of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and are members of the Interstellar Alliance. Their name is a tribute to Neil Gaiman, who later wrote the episode "Day of the Dead". Gaim require an environmental suit in order to function in an oxygen / nitrogen atmosphere. The Gaim's helmet is reminiscent of The Sandman's helmet, the refurbished skull of a dead god.
The Gaim are ruled by six hive-queens who dictate the behavior of all Gaim. The Gaim never believed that anything existed outside of their home planet, N'chak'fah, for centuries due to their thick atmosphere that prevented Gaim astronomers from seeing the stars properly. The Gaim slaughtered Narn explorers immediately after they landed there in the early 2240s. When a Narn assault fleet showed up some time later, planning to conquer the planet, they met a similar fate as the explorers because for the first time in their history the Queens united to stave off the invasion.
Realizing that they faced alien enemies as well as each other, the Queens began making contact with aliens in an effort to ensure their species' continued survival. Upon appearing in the galactic scene the Gaim quickly joined the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to gain protection from the Narn. The Gaim queens generated a new caste of workers, a diplomatic caste, able to interact with other species, although they still had to use an electronic translator since the Gaim speak in a series of clicks and chirps like many Earth insects. The Gaim, for their part, set about procuring as many starship hulls and other parts as possible to begin constructing their fledgling navy. The queens of the Gaim were able to generate "boutique" chemicals and biological goods which were used to help purchase technology.
The Gaim had only been in space briefly when agents of the Shadows began making themselves apparent in the galaxy. They convinced the Gaim to go to war with a nearby xenophobic race, the Descari. The Gaim initially refused to join Sheridan's alliance against the Shadows on the basis that they had not been attacked yet and by joining with Sheridan would invite attacks. They reconsidered their position when the Vorlons destroyed a small group of Shadow vessels, thus demonstrating victory was possible.
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