The Mopok Race
The Mopok race is a technologically undeveloped, pre-space civilisation with
their homeworld on the jungle planet in the Rostov System. When the Kilrathi
Empire attempted to enslave the planet in the Kilrah Sun Year 5136, Orbit 437
(during the Vega Campaign),
the Mopoks were able to repel the Kilrathi force, with the help of a few Terran
scientists, who were on the planet at the time studying the Mopok people.
The Firekkan Planetary Alliance
The Firekkan Planetary Alliance is the principal governing body of the Firekkans,
a bird-like race with their homeworld in the Firekka System (Antares Quadrant, Epsilon Sector).
The Terran Confederation first made contact with them in 2653. About a year later,
the Firekkan leader Kree'Kai signed the Terran-Firekkan Treaty, making the Firekkan
Planetary Alliance a member of the Terran Confederation
Society & Government
Being an avian species, it is no surprise that much of Firekkan culture is
derived from this heritage. Firekkan society is organised into various flocks,
with each flock being represented by a flock-leader matriarch. The flock-leaders themselves
are led by a leader of flock-leaders, or a Teehyn Ree. However, Firekkan
flock-leaders are not selected by any kind of nomination process; they are instead
born into the position, and specifically bred for this role, so that they would
have the proper bearing, colouration, and pheromones to lead. This specificity
of Firekkan leadership is in fact extremely vital to Firekkan culture, and
Firekkans would do anything to ensure the safety and well-being of their leaders.
The present Teehyn Ree is Rikik, of the White Flower Flock, the largest
of the Firekkan flocks.
Architecture
Firekkan architecture is composed mainly of towering buildings with various
windows and entrances spreading over their whole height. The smaller nesting
buildings have feeding platforms and sleeping perches, also situated some distance
from the ground.
Religion & Culture
Little is known about Firekkan religion. They have religious structures known
as "Fire-Temples", which may or may not indicate a solar-based religion. Firekkan
culture is based primarily on flock, or anti-flock behaviour, with Firekkan
beliefs influenced by one of two basic doctrines: The more widely taught Flame
Winds that preaches conformism, going with the flow in an ever-changing universe;
and the lesser-known Living Spark, that encourages the individual to shape the
future and be a visionary for the flock.
Firekkan language is composed of whistles and chirps. Firekkan greetings include
a form of ritualised grooming with their claws, to get rid of lice and other pests
so that an honoured friend would not be plagued by pests during their visit.
Physiology
Firekkans are a species of avian decent, and can best be described as seven-foot
predatory birds. Hawk-like in appearance, they possess brown and yellow feathers,
and sharp beaks and claws. Firekkan wings are composed of primary and secondary
feathers. While they naturally need the feathers to fly, the removal of the first
two secondary feathers does not effect their flying-capability in any way.
Other Information
One of Firekka's most popular exports is an alcoholic beverage called "Firekka's
Finest", a highly potent drink, locally known as "kika'li", that is made from
the kika seeds, with alcohol mixed in to bring out the natural flavour of the
seeds. The kika seeds actually act as mild relaxants for Firekkans, who's
biological system is immune to the intoxicating effects of alcohol.
The Pilgrim Alliance
The Pilgrims were the first group of humans to explore the stars and colonise
other worlds outside of the Sol System. The Pilgrim Alliance used Hopper Drive
powered "sloships" to colonise twelve systems throughout the Sol and Vega Sectors
between 2311 and 2588. After the Terran Quarantine was lifted in 2423, Earthers
once more began colonising the outer worlds, and following that, the Hawking
and Gemini Sectors, to the alarm of the Pilgrims. This growing tension between
the two factions of humanity led to the Pilgrim War, the first inter-stellar
conflict in humanity's history. Since the disassembly of the Pilgrim Alliance
and the cessation of Pilgrim space exploration, not a single new quasar has
been mapped.
History
Following the Great Pandemics and the imposition of the Terran Quarantine,
the outer colonies began developing their own cultures. One of the most prevalent
philosophies arose from the writings of Ivar Chu McDaniel (2257-2311?), an organic
chemist and lay-preacher assigned to the research base on Neptune in 2294.
While on Neptune, he began to experience a number of ecstatic visions, apparently
from a direct communion with the Divine. He wrote about these prophetic revelations
to friends living on Mars, who encouraged him to collect and publish his insights.
His views soon gained incredible popularity, and led to the creation of McDanielism.
The rise of McDanielism was given further impetus by the creation of the Morvan
Drive in 2304, and by 2350 a number out-system colonies were established. More
and more McDanielists left the Sol System for other colonies, and by the end
of the 24th century, the Great Exodus was complete. By 2450, the
Pilgrims were firmly established in Sol Sector, with their administrative centre
in the Beacon System, and their spiritual headquarters located in the McDaniel's
World System. From there, the Pilgrims continued their explorations into Vega
Sector.
When Earthers began venturing beyond the boundaries of Luna after the lifting
of the Terran Quarantine, the Pilgrims were horrified by this affront, and sent
a heavily armed sloship to Sol to speak to Earth's leaders. The result was the
Treaty of Luna, which effectively ended any out-system exploration by non-Pilgrims.
This situation remained until Earth's discovery of the Akwende Drive and human
exploration in the Gemini and Argent Sectors. What the Pilgrims saw as a violation
of the Luna Treaty the Terran Confederation maintained as perfectly legal, and
tensions continued to increase between the two sides. The Pilgrim administration
was taken over by a militant faction in 2615, and this led inevitably to the
Battle of Titan, and the Pilgrim War.
On 2634.359, the Pilgrim Alliance surrendered to the Terran Confederation, and
eight weeks later, the Treaty of Cygnus was signed. With the signing of the Cygnus
Treaty, the Pilgrim Alliance officially ceased to exist, although the spiritual
centre on McDaniel's World continues to be maintained. After the surrender, word
was sent out to all McDanielists from McDaniel's World to refrain from space
travel in any form, as collective penance for the war -- or more specifically,
for losing it. Over the next few years, most Pilgrim territory and citizens were
re-integrated into the Terran Confederation, leaving around
three systems and five colonial enclaves remaining -- apart from Confed observation
and inspection against renewed military activity, they have little contact with
the rest of the Confederation.
Culture
Ivar Chu McDaniel saw himself as the most spiritually receptive to these visions
as he was located on the outer fringes of human settlement in Sol. He proclaimed
that the troubles plaguing Earth was the prophesied
apocalypse -- however, divine judgement was restricted only to Earth and her
inhabitants; the outer-worlders instead constituted an "Elect", destined by
divinity for physical and spiritual salvation and protection, and ordained
to claim their manifest destiny among the stars. Because of the pervasive, not
to mention corrupting, influence of Earth, all members of the Elect had to leave
the Sol System in a "Final Exodus" to complete salvation, and thus allow their
complete empowerment by Divinity. This they had to do by seeking spiritual and
genetic perfection in the cosmos. According to McDanielist mystical cosmography,
Earth was Hell, the universe at large was Heaven, and the rest of the Sol System
was a kind of Limbo, in which the Elect could prepare itself before their journey.
Following the discovery of the Morvan Drive, the McDanielist movement gained
incredible momentum, and McDanielist influence in space travel policies was
virtually absolute. On 2311.082, the first Morvan Colony sloship was launched, bound
for the Sirius System; naturally Ivar Chu McDaniel was aboard. Unfortunately
the ship never completed its journey, and all 1200 colonists were lost. Orthodox
Pilgrim theology reasoned that McDaniel and his crew were in fact translated
directly to a higher plane of existance, from which McDaniel continues to
spiritually direct his followers. From then on March 23rd became celebrated
by Pilgrims everywhere as the Holy Day of Acclivity.
The Protur is the religious and governmental leader of the Pilgrims. For one
week following the Holy Day of Acclivity (0.083 to 0.089), the Protur goes
on a secret retreat
to fast and pray, seeking communion with Ivar Chu and those others who have
ascended to the higher plane. During this period, all who ask to see the
Protur on McDaniel's World have to remain on the planet until the Proturs'
return -- they are not allowed to leave after the request has been made.
The cross below is the Pilgrim dagger-cross, the most sacred symbol of
the Pilgrim faith. The dagger represents divine judgement against unbelievers,
and the cross symbolises the salvation of the Elect. The blade is usually kept
sheathed, retracted into the cross, using a spring-trigger release. Usually
worn as jewellery, some of the more ornate crosses are believed to have been
chemically-treated to shimmer or glow in response to the wearer's body chemistry.
The Pilgrim Cross
The Union Of Border Worlds
& The Free Republic Of Landreich
The Union Of Border Worlds is the second human government body; the first is,
of course, the Terran Confederation. A small, loose federation of human colonies
located at the frontier of Terran space, relations between the Union and the
Confederation have always been dicey -- Though the inner worlds bore the financial
burden of the war, the Union worlds were the ones on the frontlines. Matters did
not improve after the war, with both sides finally coming to a head during the
Border Worlds Conflict. After the resolution of this situation, the two sides
worked fervently to repair the damage, and managed to reach a bilateral peace
accord, which has since progressed to a stronger, more cooperative relationship.
History
The Union was born from the former Landreich, the loose alliance of about ten
frontier colonies and planets that was formed by Maximilian Hans Kruger. An
Academy reject, Kruger nevertheless proved to be a brilliant battle commander.
During the early years of the Terran-Kilrathi War, the Kilrathi launched a
campaign into the (then) Yarni Sector. Recognising this action as a diversion,
Confed had
refused to reinforce the tiny squadron stationed in the Landreich System. It
was left to Kruger to organise the defence of the system -- he crash-landed on
a Kilrathi base planet and launched a number of guerrila raids that kept the
Kilrathi very occupied. After some time, he stole a Kilrathi frigate, made it
back to the Landreich System, and became a hero.
Later in 2638, Confed assigned a heavy cruiser, the TCS San Jacinto, to act as
flag ship for the Home Guard fleet, a fleet of ships that were drawn from the
local militia. Unwilling to take commands from Confed, Kruger led a revolt,
seizing the cruiser, and taking the entire force into Kilrathi territory to
attack the base that had plagued him for the past three years. Though hailed
again as a hero by the local populace, Confed did not see things that way, and
ordered the arrest of Kruger for his staging the mutiny. The outrage among
the Landreichers sparked a bloodless coup that got rid of the Confederation
government on Landreich, and led to the formation of the Free Republic of Landreich;
naturally, Max Kruger was elected as its President. During the war, the primary
base of operations for the Landreich was Hellhole (officially Buford's World)
in the Hellhole System. When the planet was bombarded and irradiated in the
Battle of Landreich in 2668, the new operations centre, and capital, was moved
to Newburg, on Landreich in the Landreich System.
As more frontier colonies realised that Confed did not really have the resources
or the desire to defend them, they too declared their independence and joined
the Free Republic of Landreich, or "the Landreich", as it was quickly known, to
differentiate the federation from the planet and the system. As the years progressed,
the Landreich would span about twenty parsecs, becoming a not insignificant
power in the region. With the end of the Terran-Kilrathi War and more worlds
joining up, the Free Republic of Landreich, together with other frontier groups
like the Grovsner Colonies, became the Union of Border Worlds.
The Terran Confederation
The Terran Confederation is the principle governing body of the human race. It
is an alliance of numerous colonies and planets spanning about seven sectors
of space. Formed in 2532, and with the defeat of the Kilrathi Empire in the
Terran-Kilrathi War, the Terran Confederation is now the single major power
in the Alpha and Delta Galactic Quadrants.
Society & Government
The Terran Confederation is governed by the Confederation Assembly: a group
of representatives elected by each of the major constituencies form the Senate,
with the elected President as head. The Terran Confederation Navy, or "Confed"
as it is more commonly known, makes up the military arm of the Confederation,
and is commanded by the President, through the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Despite
sustaining heavy losses during the Terran-Kilrathi War, the TCN has since had
ample time to rebuild, and regain its strength, so that it is presently the
single largest military presence in known space.
The capital of the Terran Confederation is located on Earth, in the
Sol System (Sol Sector), in Washington D.C.
Religion & Culture
Though the humans have known civilisation for more than five hundred years, they
have nevertheless managed to keep their many traditions alive. Practicing a
myriad of religions, most of them with origins dating back to the oldest periods
of their history, no one religion can truly be said to be predominant in Terran
culture. And with human expansion
onto more and more planets and colonies, even more religions are being founded
and practised. As is the case with their religions, Terrans also speak a variety
of languages, depending on the region of Earth that they or their ancestors
came from.
One such religion to grow out of the frontier during the past few decades is
the Church of Man, a cult with an anti-technology stance as its doctrine. Though
in principle no religions are restricted by the Confederation in any way, a
faction of the Church of Man, known commonly in Gemini as "Retros",
had grown increasingly militant during the late
2660's, due mostly to the leadership of one Mordecai Jones. A man of some
scientific background, he joined the Church of Man as a ship technician. In
five short years, he rose rapidly through the ranks of the Church; just before
his passing, Church leader Father Benengeli named Jones his successor. Under
his efficient organisation, the Church became more aggressive, gaining new
weapons and rapidly expanding their fleet of Talon fighters. However, it was
discovered by others in the Church that Jones was not the technophobe he
claimed to be -- he was simply plotting with one Governor Menesch to gain
complete control of the Gemini Sector, dissolve the Church, and use its members
as a police force. Unwilling to see their work undone by a megalomaniac, these
high-ranking Church members took action to overthrow Mordecai Jones, and indirectly
helped Admiral Terrell of the Confederation to destroy their headquarters.
The group dispersed shortly after, but remain fairly active, if less overt
in their activities.
A second group was The Society of Mandarins, which first reared its ugly
head some time in 2654. The Mandarins were a group of humans who worked as spies
and saboteurs for the Kilrathi during the Terran-Kilrathi War, in exchange for
positions of power when the Kilrathi had won. They got their
name from ancient Earth history: the original Mandarins were continuously invaded
by the Mongols, and eventually conquered the Mongols by converting them to the
Mandarins' way of life. The Mandarins first gained widespread notoriety during
a sensational trial that was held on the TCS Winterrowd; later, this
incident was eclipsed by the exploits of Mandarin Major Zach Colson. It
was only in 2667 that the Mandarin Society was disbanded after their headquarters
in the Ayers System was destroyed.
A study of most human religions will reveal that at least in the past, Terran
culture was strongly patriarchal; their society has since evolved to judge
members of both genders in equal measure. Nevertheless, some traditions
remain in use despite this development. For example, children still take
on the last name of their father.
Physiology
Descended from an ape-like species, humans are a bipedal, sentient race, with
little body covering of any kind other than hair over some parts of their bodies.
They possess two hands, each with four fingers and an opposable thumb, and
two feet with five toes each. The human cardio-pulmonary system boasts one
heart and two lungs.
Other Information
Due to the large sphere of influence of the humans in general, and the Terran
Confederation in particular, the exports of the humans are many and varied.
Chief among them is the popular beverage known as Goddard Special. It was originally
produced on Goddard Colony, until the colony's destruction in 2654. But though
the colony was lost, the formula for the drink was not, and it is now being
widely produced and distributed by a few beverage companies, to great profit,
throughout known space.
The Empire of Kilrah
The Empire of Kilrah was first discovered when first contact was made on 2629.105,
during the now famous Iason incident. The predatory and aggressive Kilrathi
could not understand the seeming meekness of the humans, and interpreted it as
a sign of a weak prey species. The Confederation on the other hand could not
understand the Kilrathi Empire's complete disdain for diplomacy. Five years
later, humans and Kilrathi began a war that lasted for 35 years, with the
destruction of Kilrah.
History
The Kilrathi are descended from a feline-like hunter species that came to
age in the rolling savannahs of Kilrah, fashioning shelters and tools from the
volcanic material of their tectonically unstable world. It was these roots that
ingrained into each Kilrathi their aggressive and territorial nature. As the Kilrathi gained
intelligence, so did their aggressiveness gain an outlet in fierce territorial
conflicts, As the Kilrathi developed, they banded into a number of clans, which
only fragmented the people further. With this form of society, clan feuds were
inevitable, engulfing the entire race in an almost continuous string of civil
wars that dominates almost all of their pre-space history.
And so the Kilrathi clans fought. Even with the formation of the First Empire
under the legendary warrior Xag, the Kilrathi civil wars continued. They may
very well have fought themselves into oblivion but for a single pivotal event
in Kilrathi history. At the end of the Seventh Dynastic War, the Kiranka clan
had gained dominance over all of Kilrah, including the rival Ki'ra clan, which
was forced to swear allegiance to the Kiranka. Though temporarily beaten, the
Ki'ra clan would surely have caused an Eighth Dynastic War. But then the Utara
made contact with the Kilrathi, and the galaxy's fate was sealed.
The Utara were a peaceful, space-faring race that taught the Kilrathi how to
construct jump-capable spaceships. Perceiving the Utara as a weak species, the
Kilrathi slaughtered the Utara shortly after they mastered space. With new worlds
to conquer and new races to hunt, the Kilrathi finally had an outlet for their
predatory instincts outside of their own species. For the first time in their
history, the Kilrathi united as a single race, to seek, to find, and
to conquer.
After the Utara, the Kilrathi met and vanquished many other races, including
the Shata, the Ka, the Sorn, the Gorth, the Hari, the Eyoka, the Wu, and the
Varni. Some time before the Kilrathi defeated the Eyoka, they encountered the
Mantu, the only other race known to have prevailed against Kilrathi aggression.
Then during an expedition into the newly-
explored Krat'na Sector, the destroyer KIS K'rath'kan encountered the
TCS Iason.
Excerpts from a Kilrathi history text can be found here.
Society & Government
The Kilrathi Empire was ruled by the Emperor of Kilrah, with a cabinet of barons
from each of the other seven major noble clans of Kilrah. As the victor in the
Seventh Dynastic War, the Kiranka clan was the heir apparent to the Kilrathi
throne. The other clans that formed the cabinet were the Ki'ra, Ragitagha,
Qarg, Sutaghi, Caxki, Kurutak, and the Sihkag. As in any totalitarian government,
attempts at usurping the throne were common, particularly from the Ki'ra clan.
They had always considered themselves superior to the Kiranka clan, and were
galled that but for the fluke of a single war they would have gained the Imperial
throne for themselves. Nevertheless, despite numerous civil battles and clan
feuds, instigated by the other clans as well as the Ki'ra, the Kiranka clan
managed to remain in control of the Imperial throne for the last two hundred
years.
The Kilrathi society is a patriarchal warrior society, with every facet of
life revolving around the glory and honour of battle. As such, male Kilrathi
are brought up to be hunters and fighters, and hold all positions of power and
leadership. Female Kilrathi do play an important part in day-to-day administration
of government and estate management, but otherwise they are relegated to lesser
roles in Kilrathi society, save for the area of religion, which are their
exclusive province. As well, bloodlines are extremely important in determining
a Kilrathi's social position in society, with a Kilrathi's opportunities for
advancement almost completely preordained from birth. Thus members of the Kilrathi
noble class, or Thrak'hra, hold most positions of power; on the other hand,
Kilra'hra commoners are rarely able to rise very far above their station.
Nevertheless, bravery in combat is still an important yardstick by which to
judge a Kilrathi's worthiness -- many of the empire's greatest warriors were
Kilra'hra born, their right to be considered an equal of a Thrak'hra demonstrated
in battle; and not a few Thrak'hra have also been shamed and renounced for
equal acts of cowardice or dishonour, cast even below the Kilra'hra to whom
they were supposed to be superior.
As a counterbalance to their predatorial heritage, the Kilrathi take the concept
of honour very seriously (similar to the old Imperial Army of Japan), and
adhere to a strict code of conduct that governs what would otherwise be violent
anarchy. This devotion to honour is taken even at the cost of their lives, and
it is not uncommon for Kilrathi to commit "Zu'kara" -- ritual suicide -- for
acts of shame as "trivial" as unintentionally insulting a superior. As part of
this code, every Kilrathi swears complete allegiance to one of the eight ruling
clans, whose members in turn swear loyalty to its current leader. This is true
even for the Imperial bloodlines, which are subdivided into clans of sorts
(for example the Hhallas clan). And finally, every Kilrathi (at least on the
surface) swears loyalty to the Emperor, as supreme leader of the Kilrathi
people.
The importance of "Zu'kara" to Kilrathi culture is embodied in the Zu'kara blade,
a magnificently crafted weapon with a handle made from the rare wood forests
of Kovokum.
A Kilrathi-English dictionary can be found here.
Religion & Culture
Being the warrior society that it is, Kilrathi devote little time to artistic
pursuits. Kilrathi aesthetics are thus quite crude by human standards, being
more similar to human aboriginal cultures than that of an advanced space-faring
race. Kilrathi designs consist mainly of garish adornments of simple colours,
particularly reds, blacks, and maroons, with claw-like physical structures, as
much to intimidate as they are functional.
Kilrathi religion is steeped in warrior maxims and codices, with the main
religion being the Cult of Sivar, the Kilrathi warrior god. Up until 2654,
all that was known about the Cult of Sivar, the Sivar-Eshrad ceremony, and
Sivar himself, was based on the work of anthropologist Dr. C. L. Kohl, who
managed to secret himself onto Ghorah Khar to observe a Sivar-Eshrad (or
the "Way Of Lord Sivar") ceremony
in 2621. He was captured and executed by the Sivar priestesses during the
ceremony, but his notes fortunately survived the encounter to surface some
years later. What information that could be gleaned from Dr. Kohl's notes
indicate that the Sivar-Eshrad
ceremony, held on the 640th day of each Kilrathi year, is the most
important event for those of the Sivar religion. During this rededication
all members of the Sivar cult gather on a single planet to participate
in it; non-believers are not allowed to participate in any of the cult's ceremonies.
The site of the ceremony is chosen every year by all the Sivar priestesses,
based on astronomical and astrological data to correlate the positions of 25768
star systems. From these calculations a single planet is selected to hold
the next Sivar-Eshrad. As of 2621, the Cult of Sivar had 9500 priestesses,
with a following that consisted of most of the Kilrathi Empire's soldiers and
officers. In fact, the ceremony on Ghorah Khar was attended by the crews of
some 3715 Kilrathi warships.
All this changed in 2654, when Firekka was selected as the next site for the
Sivar-Eshrad. This would have been fine, if not for the native
population of a few billion Firekkans, who as a people had just negotiated to
join the Terran Confederation. And since the Kilrathi do not allow non-believers
at the Sivar-Eshrad, this meant nothing short of planetary genocide at the hands
of a very large number of bloodlust Kilrathi. During the conflict, the purpose
of the Sivar-Eshrad was finally revealed. Apparently the ceremony is the time
when every Kilrathi follower rededicates himself to Sivar, by proving their
mettle as honourable warriors in battle and conquest, so that they may guarantee
themselves as Sivar's favoured servants for the coming year. It was further
learned that the site of the Holy Dedication must be taken by warfare, for
conflict itself is the tribute that is paid to Lord Sivar, and hallows the
site. The more the conflict, the holier the site, and the more Lord Sivar is
appeased. If the ceremony is successful, Lord Sivar has accepted the worshippers
as his servants, and will assure their path to the Light. However if the
ceremony does not go well, if it is corrupted, it means that Sivar has rejected
the ceremony and those who sponsored it. The Kilrathi are then merely his
fighters, standing between Tr'thrak, the Light of Sivar, and K'n'thrak, the
Great Dark, which ever threatens the Light and seeks to devour the souls of
any Kilrathi who are killed in combat. Only by returning to temples and making
amends can Sivar's fighters hope to gain salvation.
The foundation for the Cult of Sivar is the famous "Prophecy of Sivar".
It was reported by Kt'lan, the first prophetess of Sivar, to whom according to
legend Sivar himself appeared in a vision during the reign of the Ancient Ones.
It speaks of
warrior-gods that came from the stars and challenged the Kilrathi to battle.
But when these "star gods" beheld the might of the Kilrathi, they scorned it
and promised to return when the Kilrathi were deemed worthy opponents for battle.
This in fact helped set the Kilrathi on their path of warfare, for each battle
with other races was viewed as preparation for the final confrontation with the
"star gods". The cult believes that Kilrathi civilisation can end in one of
two ways -- When the Kilrathi were true warriors, they would achieve Tr'Thrak,
fighting with the "star gods" in a glorious final battle, to either vanquish
or be vanquished with honour; otherwise, if they were defeated by unworthy
opponents, the Kilrathi would fall into Kn'Thrak, when they would be smited
with impunity, and without honour.
Naturally, some have wondered if these mythical "star gods" might not have been
an exceedingly advanced alien race, and whether they might be the mysterious
Nephilim race that the Confederation recently encountered. As yet, there is no
proof as to the validity of this hypothesis.
Accompanying the Sivar-Eshrad Ceremony each year is the Ritual of Pukcal, a
day-long ceremony of atonement held approximately a month before the Sivar-Eshrad
itself. All Kilrathi able to usually attend the ceremony at the Temple to
Sivar, on the moon of Largkza.
Presently with most of the Kilrathi religious leaders killed by the destruction
of Kilrah, the Cult of Sivar has fallen into some disarray. However some segments
of the Kilrathi population still practise it, for example the Sivaristic clan
of T'Agg A'Bren.
Excerpts from various Kilrathi religious and philosophical texts can be found here.
Physiology
Kilrathi are descended from a predatorial species that is roughly feline in
appearance. A Kilrathi's entire body is covered in fur, the colour of which
is determined by breeding -- a more uniformly-coloured pelt is the mark of a
Thrak'hra, while more mottled colourings belong to a Kilra'hra. As predators,
Kilrathi possess four claws on each paw, and sharp teeth. They have also
retained their tails.
In accordance with their carnivore heritage, the Kilrathi usually eat once a
day, gorging themselves with food and then lying torpid for about an hour.
Other Information
Since the Kilrathi have eight claws, their number system uses base 8.
Kilrah's relatively close proximity to its sun with relation to Earth makes a
Kilrah day approximately 10.5 Earth standard hours long. One Kilrathi standard
year is about 669 Kilrathi standard days long, with one leap year of 668 days
occurring every three years.
The planet of Kilrah was actually home to one other sentient species besides
the Kilrathi. This smaller, chimp-like animal, never any competition for the
aggressive Kilrathi, were actively hunted by the Kilrathi, and were in fact
considered a delicacy.
The Kilrathi Assembly Of Clans
The Kilrathi Assembly Of Clans was formed from the ashes of the old Kilrathi
Empire, following the destruction of Kilrah at the end of the Terran-Kilrathi
War. It was organised by Shintahr Melek, who later became its Head of State.
While a few groups of Kilrathi rejected the Clan Assembly, and Melek's
presumption at taking on its leadership, most of the present Kilrathi
population cooperated with the new government, and are presently working
together to rebuild their lives and their society. The new home planet of the
Kilrathi was established on Pasqual X in 2672. The symbol of the Kilrathi
Assembly Of Clans is shown below:
The Nephilim
Very little is known about the Nephilim. They came seemingly out of nowhere
in 2681, and engaged in an assault that was barely stopped by the TCS
Midway while it was on it shakedown cruise in the Kilrah Sector. Their next
attack was right in the midst of the inner worlds, which was luckily thwarted
by the TCS Cerberus.
Organic Technology
Studies of Nephilim ship wreckage has revealed that the Nephilim use an
unusual type of organic technology to build their ships. This revolutionary
ship design is of course the key to the "clustering" ability of some of their
space fighters. In addition, it was discovered that exposure to the wreckage
of Nephilim ships also causes a highly virulent and deadly disease when any
piece comes into direct contact with human skin -- what starts out as some
kind of rash quickly breaks down dermis and muscle tissue, collapsing the
flesh in a matter of hours. Incredibly, this nasty organism can only be cured
by administering the anti-agent to all infected parts of the body AT THE SAME
TIME, using something analogous to an Iron Maiden of hypodermics. Separate
injections do not work as the organism(s) is able to shift around the body,
keeping the disease alive. Fortunately, this disease is only formed from the
dead hulls of Nephilim capital ships, when the wreckage breaks down and decays
following the ship's destruction.
Present Status
At this time, Confed has no idea as to the origin of the mysterious race they
have named the Nephilim. There is no information as to their motives for
attacking, or the strategy behind their offense. They seem to be able to enter
this section of the galxy only via special jump gates; these gates are theorised
to take advantage of certain spatial or temporal weaknesses inherent in some parts
of space. Technologically, they seem a few degrees more advanced than Confed:
they are compatible with Confed in most areas, with a higher level of advancement
in some others, most notably their organic technology. Conclusions about the
Nephilim's level of advancement is still speculative however, as there is no way
of knowing how much of their technology has actually been observed and recorded,
and how much they are as yet holding in reserve. The same can also be said about
their leadership: the aliens that were captured and interrogated during their
two engagements with Confed demonstrate a high degree of
discipline, intelligence, and adaptability, but no creativity, at least in the
human sense of the word. Some have theorised that the Nephilim might really
be the ancient Mantu race, spoken of in Kilrathi legends. But until more
concrete information is unearthed, the Nephilim remains an enigma and a threat
to the security of this galactic quadrant.
The Double Helix Race
The existence of the Double Helix race was revealed in 2654, when unmanned
Terran probe H227 returned from uncharted space with data and artifacts from a
previously unknown sentient species. Carbon-based athropoids in appearance, they
apparently communicate through scents and pheromones. The Double Helix have
space-faring capabilities, and Confed has not ruled out the possibility of
them possessing jump drives; their name is derived from the double-helix design
of their spacecrafts. An interesting fact about the Double Helix is that they
perceive time differently from humans, and do not have the same concept of history
as humans.
One of the first attempts to communicate directly with the Double Helix unfortunately
ended in tragedy -- when Dr. Justin Klein attempted direct communication through
a modified holo-link transmission, he was subjected to a keyed stream of
(later termed) Freneli-complex harmonic samples, which instantly killed him.
However later attempts were more successful, and the Confederation and the
Double Helix have continued to maintain contact.
Other Races
The Steltek
The Steltek are an ancient race that had since moved on from our realm of the
galaxy. Not much is known about them except that they were incredibly advanced,
with their sphere of influence centred around the Gemini Sector. Theories as to
the Steltek's disappearance include an intergalactic civil war lasting for millenia,
that annihilated the entire race, and the Steltek, tired of their power, simply
moving off and leading a peaceful existence in some remote part of space.
Most research on the Steltek is carried out by Dr. Lamuel R. Monkhouse, the Chairman
of the Jones Memorial Archaeological Foundation. He was first propelled to fame
with his discovery of the Mars Steltek Site in 2667 -- this site has been closed
since 2668 -- with alien artifacts dated
at 2.4 billion years old; this incidentally led to scientists reevaluating
their ideas about the age of the universe. Since then Dr. Monkhouse has been
the foremost expert on the Steltek race.
In 2669, a new chapter in the Steltek story unfolded. Left over Steltek
technology, an ancient
defence ship, was accidentally activated, and began a rampage of wonton destruction,
before it was destroyed by Privateer Christiensen, working in cooperation with
a Confed task force, apparently with another Steltek weapon. Since that incident
in 2669, no other contact with the Steltek have been made.
The Mantu
The Mantu are truly the stuff of legend. Kilrathi history talks of a conflict
with another race in the 2430's, which ended in a standoff despite the
the technological superiority of the Mantu -- apparently it was an extremely
bloody war, with the Kilrathi only managing to fend them off; the Kilrathi believe
that in reality the Mantu stopped their war with the Kilrathi to fight some other
neighbour, with plans to return and finish the Kilrathi off later. While the Kilrathi
have mythified the Mantu into something of a boogeyman, records seem to indicate
that they could have been nothing more than an insular, somewhat paranoid race
of prospectors and explorers who reacted with less than perfect understanding
to Kilrathi aggression -- there does not actually exist any evidence to suggest
that the Mantu initiated the conflict. Some have theorised that the race we
call the Nephilim may actually be the Mantu, but there is nothing to either
prove or disprove this hypothesis.
The Utara
The Utara were the first race that the Kilrathi made contact with outside of
their own. Before, the Kilrathi civil wars would surely have ensured their
eventual self-annihilation. With the arrival of the Utara in the 2260s, and
the Utara's imparting of space technology to the them, the Kilrathi were able
to unite and channel their instinctive aggressiveness outwards, against other
races. The first to fall were the Utara.
The Hari Empire
After the Gorth, the Hari Empire was the next to fall to Kilrathi aggression
around 2516. At that time the Hari Empire had a sphere of influence that
included more than a thousand stars on the other side of the Alpha Galactic
Quadrant from Confed space. Apparently the war only lasted as
long as it did because of the sheer expanse of territory that had to be
occupied; the Kilrathi had actually destroyed the Hari quite quickly. With
their defeat, in their pride the Hari chose to commit suicide rather than
surrender.
According to information provided by the Kilrathi, the Hari were ignorant of
jump points, and travelled in slower than light ships on journeys that took
lifetimes. Each ship a small colony, the Hari would multiply prolificly upon
finding a habitable planet, and squeeze every last resource from it. When the
planet became nothing more than a barren piece of rock, a portion of the Hari
population would take off for another planet, leaving the rest of their kind
to die.
The Varni
The Varni were the last race to fall against the Kilrathi in 2594, during a
war that lasted a mere 30 days. Most of their kind have been completely
decimated, and most of the few remaining Varni are slaves to the Kilrathi,
though there are a few free Varni still around. Reptilian in appearance,
they were one of the few sources of information on the Kilrathi before the
Terran-Kilrathi War.
The Wu -- The Wu are BIG fellas.
The Eyoka -- The Eyoka were one of the
last races conquered by the Kilrathi. The Wu fell soon after, followed by the
Varni.
The Jarma -- The Jarma are a lizard-like species.
The Haggans -- The Haggans actually consider Jarmas
a delicacy. They slither.
The Hagarin
Other races conquered by the Kilrathi --
Shata, Ka, Sorn, Gorth