Thraddash
| Thraddash | ||||||||
| Thradd_comm.png A typical Thraddash starship captain | ||||||||
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The Thraddash are a race of intellectually challenged barbarians from the Draconis stars.
Physiology and Psychology
The Thraddash look like bipedal, plated, hornless rhinocerii, with tough muscled arms and a mean temper. The Thraddash talk tough and act even tougher, usually smoking cigars in their cockpits. They have little or no respect for anything aside from force, which they admire greatly. You could say that the Thraddash resemble an alien biker-gang from outer space.
History
Thraddash history has witnessed the rise and fall of 18 different planetary cultures. Each time their culture reached a certain point a new ideology for a more perfect culture arrived, and they fought a bitter war eventually blasting themselves back usually 500 years in development, and started a new culture from scratch.
From their conversations with The Captain, we can glean some of the more interesting aspects of previous Thraddash Cultures.
Culture Two
The earliest Culture mentioned by the Thraddash was Culture Two. Little is known of Culture Two, except that they glorified fortitude and stoic resistance to pain.
Culture Three
Threatened by the virtues extolled by Culture Two, Culture Three demonstrated the dominance of their culture by brutalizing themselves. A common tactic used by Culture Three armies was to position themselves on higher ground, cut off one of their limbs and wave them threateningly at their enemies. This tactic was apparently effective in sapping the morale of their enemies, causing them to turn and flee. As a result of this, the status of Culture Three war veterans was determined by the number of limbs they had remaining.
Culture Nine
The most important single artifact common to all Thraddash cultures is the Aqua Helix. Culture Nine was the first (and only) culture to question its significance. Culture Nine considered excessive the amount of blood and passion expended over the artifact. Unfortunately, their complete defeat at the hands of Culture Ten after only two weeks of dominance only reinforced the Thraddash belief in the sanctity of the Aqua Helix.
Culture Twelve
Culture Twelve is the Thraddash example for extreme hostility. It is said that before Culture Twelve's first great battle, Jugkah the Battlemaster accidentally stepped on Gnusko the tactician's foot. This prompted Gnusko to summarily slice Jugkah in half. This rash act, however, spelled doom for Gnusko as Jugkah's troops proceeded to decimate him and his elite guard. As Gnusko's forces were defeated, the late Jugkah's Master Sergeants Muuhd and Pudt got into an argument over the method for Gnusko's execution, on whether to use crucifixion or the "Lead Tattoo" technique. The argument was resolved in a characteristically Thraddash fashion when Pudt and his command slaughtered Muuhd and his 500 troops.
These events, however, led to the end of Culture Twelve. Their original enemy, Yajag, surprised the remnants of Jugkah's army and proceeded to annihilate it, paving the way for the establishment of Culture Thirteen.
Culture Fourteen
Culture Fourteen is the second Culture to question traditional Thraddash values. Shortly after achieving dominance, Culture Fourteen claimed that the Thraddash method of cultural evolution was wrong. They claimed that every inter-Culture conflict set the Thraddash back 500 years. As with Culture Nine, Thraddash tradition again proved itself immune to change as Culture Fourteen was destroyed by Culture Fifteen after a reign of only ten years. Interestingly enough, the violence ensuing from Culture Fourteen's replacement only set the Thraddash back by "two, three hundred years tops", hence disproving Culture Fourteen's main tenet.
Culture Sixteen
Again, little is known of Culture Sixteen, except that they were considered by the Thraddash as "sneaky and deceptive."
Culture Eighteen
Culture Eighteen was the dominant Thraddash culture when the Ur-Quan invaded. Their swift defeat by the Ur-Quan put their superiority into question, and an attempt for a resolution was made by the means of a thermonuclear exchange. The Ur-Quan in orbit around the Thraddash homeworld did not allow such intra-species fighting, and intercepted all of the warheads with their fighter vessels.
The Ur-Quan's intervention, however, only postponed the the inevitable. Shortly after the failed thermonuclear weapon exchange, Culture Eighteen's challengers introduced a super-lethal poison into the air and water, ending the reign of Culture Eighteen.
Culture Nineteen
After the poisoning of Culture Eighteen, the Ur-Quan executed all of the emerging Culture's leaders, and arbitrarily assigned leaders to rule over the Thraddash. The Ur-Quan then explained that any further violations of the Slave Laws will be punished by the eradication of the Thraddash species. Thus started Culture Nineteen.
Culture Nineteen elected to become Battle Thralls upon being enslaved by the Ur-Quan. As such, they expected to be part of the Ur-Quan's offensive in the quadrant. Their relative military weakness, however, as well as their predisposition to pick fights with other slave races, especially the Umgah and Ilwrath, made the Ur-Quan decide that they would be more of a liability than an asset in the coming battles, and ordered them to "guard the flank." The modern Thraddash have improved their Torch ships with an effective Reeunk Afterburner (named after its creator), and are itching to prove their worth to the Ur-Quan.
Culture Nineteen is the Thraddash Culture first encountered by The Captain.
Future
The Captain's actions determine the fate of the Thraddash. If they are tricked into attacking the Kohr-Ah, they will move towards the area of the Doctrinal Conflict and will lose half of their fleet. The casualties during this campaign will be 60% inflicted by the Kohr-Ah and 40% inflicted by the Ur-Quan, who presumably punishes the Thraddash for again disobeying orders. If The Captain gains the respect of the Thraddash, they will hail him as a model and will establish a new Culture, the direction of which is left entirely up to The Captain. If the Ilwrath are tricked to attack the Thraddash, then the Ilwrath will move towards Thraddash space, leading to a mutually destructive war that will eliminate both their fleets.
Poetry
After The Captain directed the Thraddash to rhyme in their introductions to alien vessels, Thraddash culture found another channel of expression. The following examples provide an insight into the Thraddash psyche.
- Blood is red, bruises are blue
- When strangers come here, we run them through!
- HARG! HARG! HARG!
- There once was a Thraddash named Mak-Roni
- whose ship was in total caco-phony
- He got lost in Apodis
- and died in Draconis
- Because all that he ate was baloney!
- HARG! HARG! HARG!
- Constantly moving are
- space, stars and time
- SNORT!
- form not function
- meets in death
- remembered