Karkosian individual
Karkosian Brood Queen
Race Name:Karkosian
Race Info:The Karkosian race began as a semi-sentient life form with evolving hive mind ability. However when their home planet was colonized by the Commonwealth and spores that were being used as a method of basic hive mind control infected the colonists the intelligent thoughts received precipitated a change in the neural structure of the Karkosians. That change promoted independent thought and made the average Karkosian individual as intelligent as most humans. As a result the Brood queens lost their hive mind status; however Brood queens are still the only method of reproduction used by the Karkosians, with one brood queen able to spawn nearly a thousand individuals in an hour when breeding at a maximum rate, the rate of birth for a Brood queen can be consciously manipulated by the queen to whatever is necessary.
As a result of this Brood queens are still extremely important, if not more so then before due to genetic manipulation giving them complete control over their birthrates, a boon which has allowed the karkosians to manage a biologically immortal population. Other examples of genetic modifications in the Karkosians include basic manipulations to make the hands of individuals more useful as well as minor adjustments to make Karkosian wings more efficient at flight. As a result of that specific manipulation an individual Karkosian can fly for almost a minute under power and has no definite limit to gliding. Genetic modifications have also been performed to raise the Individual and Brood queen life spans to biological immortality from birth. This biological immortality is allowed through the addition of engineered micro organisms that act to repair the DNA of their hosts in order to keep them at whatever biological age the Brood queen has chosen. Currently in order to maintain a stable population even with immortality every planet has a set birthrate that is maintained to counter deaths as a result of accidents and keep the population of every planet steady. As new planets are colonized individuals are born at the highest rate possible until that planets sustainable population is reached. This cycle repeats for every new colony and is the reason the Karkosian population consistently grows. In all Karkosians are the result of both an accident that made them intelligent and directed modifications that made them efficient and immortal.
Average Lifespan:Karkosian Individual: Natural: (90-110 Years) Augmented: (Biologically Immortal)
Brood Queen: Natural: (100-200 Years) Augmented: (Biologically Immortal)
Individual Physical Characteristics:Karkosian physiology is still very insectoid, however extensive genetic modification has eliminated many of the issues faced by the Karkosians. Currently Karkosian individuals appear mantid in form, standing tall on four legs and with large abdomen covered by large wings. The head of a Karkosian individual is in a slumped looking configuration, supported by the chest and just above the shoulders. Karkosians lack any conventional neck, but special joins allow 180 degree turning of the head. Karkosian arms are unique as most of the time they appear in a “folded” form where the hand appears to the end of the arm. However Karkosians can extend large blade like secondary arms from a joint under the hand. These large scythe like appendages are very similar to that on smaller mantid creatures.
Of note on the Karkosian individual is what appears to be spiked feet. This however is untrue as the spiked areas are usually folded out flat to act much like feet, they, like the secondary arms, can be unfolded into spikes for combat or hunting. Similarly interestingly the antennas on the head of a Karkosian are actually the tongues of the creature, the mandible flanked mouth of the Karkosian lacks taste buds so these antenna developed to test food, they are specially evolved to be able to detect poison in food. Below these antennas Karkosian eyes are noted for their ability to see “telescopically” or with a greater detail and range than most creatures. When the Karkosian individual is observed as a whole it is seen as a powerful predator with an equally proficient capability to manipulate tools and equipment that has been bolstered by centuries of genetic engineering.
Dominant Culture and Society:The Karkosian race has, through the necessity of restricted immigration, become culturally homogenous and though minority groups exist their influence is too minor to be counted. This homogenous culture, though long ago based on Valyncian values, has since become expansive and entirely unique to the Karkosian race. Perhaps the defining fact of Karkosian culture is that Karkosians operate in a merit based system where action is valued over popularity. To exhibit positive action is to be respected and looked favourably upon, while to exhibit negative action is to be rejected and ostracized by the community. However negative actions can just be negated by consistent positive behaviour, apology is valued less than consistent change in an Individuals behaviour. This is not to say however that popular figures do not exist or are not valued. Movie star equivalents and the like certainly exist as part of the Karkosian media machine and culturally they are respected but not considered to necessarily be good citizens or people unless that have proven that through real action.
This value on the merit of an individual has also made martial arts an extremely popular part of Karkosian culture. Many Individuals will enrole in such martial arts to prove their merit. However this is not a symptom of a warrior culture as it is in many other nations, rather martial arts are a way of prove merit through
resolve rather than strength. The most popular and televised martial arts are not the violent ones, but the intensely acrobatic ones that take decades or centuries to master. These martial arts are proof that an Individual has excelled at the art despite it being very difficult and taking many years to do. Of course less intensive martial arts are more common, to the point that a Karkosian knowing a small amount of some art is just normal. Ultimately this culture of merit permeates all facets of Karkosian life, corporate promotion to political election; they are all extensions of this with the person who has done the most being assumed as the most capable.
Another vitally important aspect of Karkosian culture is its somewhat counterintuitive habit of forming tight closely knit “families.” Culturally this is perhaps the one Valyncian value that stayed strongly with the Karkosians, the family. Karkosians as brood insects technically lack any real family structure however such a value truly emerged not long after the one hour revolution. Knowing how the Valyncian concept of family close knit groups of perhaps two to five Karkosians would often take responsibility for raising a similar number of Karkosian spawn. This practice evolved and families grew, splintered, and repeated or hundreds of years with the average Karkosian family being an extremely tight group of Individuals. This practice had the stunning effect of biological lineage, of brood, becoming a political distinction rather than a social one. The Karkosian family structure did however experience significant change at the advent of immortality. Families usually splintered at the death of an important figure, and thus family sizes were kept consistently small. However since immortality came around Karkosian families either split by choice or balloon in size until they stabilize. The effect this has had has been that of making Karkosian families on average a hundred strong rather than five. Within these larger families sub families usually form, made up of the Karkosians who have decided to live together. On the whole Karkosian families are a strange thing that has become normal, and perhaps the largest vestige of Valyncian influence left in the Karkosian race.
Moral Values:The Karkosian peoples morals while once entirely conventional in the galaxy have shifted somewhat from that early idea. Perhaps as can be expected of an immortal race nothing is as highly valued as life, Karkosians can steal and fight and only be considered to have done minor things morally if not legally. However murder is unspeakable, such a thing is considered to be the act of a Karkosian who is not Karkosian at all. This is perhaps why the most common punishment for the crime of murder is death, not because murder justifies murder, but because the murderer is no longer a Karkosian, and they are widely doubted to even be truly intelligent at all. To end such an abomination is often considered to be a mercy. Of course this moral policy has long been an issue standing in the way of military service. The potential crisis of conscience for a recruit is usually averted by the military and the government as a whole maintaining that the military exists fundamentally to preserve life, and chiefly to protect Karkosian life. This idea of the military as saving lives has been consistently promoted by the Karkosian media and while the truth may not be as pure the comparative lack of war in Karkosian history does lend credence to the idea.
Another example of Karkoisan morals in a less clear cut sense is the outlaw on slavery. This law is both extremely important and irreverent to Karkosians. That an immortal should never be a slave is seen as a universal truth, however mortal creatures are not thought of quite as highly. As a result it is illegal to make slaves in Karkosian space so no immortals are made slaves. However it is legal to transport and sell slaves (though not to Karkosians) in Karkosian space, this is a result of two things, a moral disregard of mortals, and the potential of tax collection on these operations by giving them the title unethical and using that to increase taxes. Interestingly Karkosians having slaves is not unheard of even though it is technically illegal for a Karkosian to own a slave of any kind. This is a result of "ownership proxies" or people who are paid to buy and own slaves for Karkosians. Though these people cannot stay in Karkosian space due to immigration laws their bought slaves, which legally are semi-people (making it illegal for Karkosians to own them) are exempt from these regulations. As a result Karkosians can own slaves, and though it often thought of as a taboo to say it never happens is incorrect.
Religion:While religion is uncommon now and has been in large supplemented by secular thinking what remains of once massive Karkosian religion is perhaps unique as it is composed of equal parts fact and fiction. Centered around the Valyncian people the Karkosian religion revers them as the creators of all Karkosians, something that is firmly based in fact. The religion as it stands considers all Valyncians gods, however rather than taking the more optimistic view of the afterlife found in most of the galactic religions the Karkosian religion posits that as punishment for the mass murder of the gods all dead Karkosians will spend eternity as servants for the Vayncian gods who have walked into the afterlife as well. Though the honour of serving the gods for eternity may have been a recruitment tool for the religion at first as time went on the prospect seemed considerably less attractive. By the time Karkosians gained immortality the religion had become significantly less popular. The blow dealt by the loss of faith after immortality came around was enough to throw the religion into a small minority group. Still while it may be small today the cultural effect it had had is undeniable, it is to this day considered a shameful act to offend or cross a Valyncian, even outside of the religion.
History:The Karkosian race is unique for its advanced state as it was only in a semi-sentient state as recently as just more than one thousand years ago. Emerging as a mantid predator on their home planet of Uoak the Karkosian race was slated to develop as a hive mind race, with some basic hive mind ability beginning to form. This ability was dependant on a sort of microscopic parasitic spore that primal Brood Queens produced, the spore hooked into the mind of the host and allowed their thoughts to be transmitted among primal Brood Queens. However when Commonwealth settlers landed on Uoak and established a colonial settlement something peculiar happened. When the settlers came to be infected by the parasitic spores the advanced nature of the thoughts being transmitted was too much for the primal Brood Queens and the mental strain was lessened by the thoughts being shared among the Individuals of the Karkosian race. This proved an unforeseen boon; the advanced nature of the thoughts of Valyncians precipitated a drastic and unforeseen change in the neural structure of the Karkosian Individuals and Brood Queens. The minds of the Karkosians began to change and mimic the individual intelligences of the Valyncians whose thoughts they were reading.
Though as the neural change accelerated the spores mental connection weakened the Karkosian individuals were still early in the change by the time they attempted to contact those whose thoughts have given them agency. The primal Karkosian Individuals on the command of the primal Brood Queens sent small groups to the gates of the Commonwealth colony. Unfortunately the Commonwealth killed the Individuals immediately as they were considered a dangerous predator that could endanger the colony. This enraged the Karkosian primal Brood Queens who thought their own creators, their gods hated them. To compound the anger of the primal Brood Queens when the Commonwealth studied the bodies of the individuals and found them intelligent the Commonwealth colony that at this point had become concerned if not paranoid with the Singularity War raging in the background made the decision to destroy the Karkosian race as it was clearly predatory and hostile. That was a thought that was clearly heard in the minds of all Karkosians. The Karkosians, while they were slowly losing the ability to read the thoughts of each other and the Valyncians took the chance and used their fading ability to its largest in the time leading up to what would be known as the Sentience War.
The Sentience war began when the Commonwealth forces first moved against the Karkosians, using knowledge of the Valyncian movements gained through the ever fading mental reading ability the Karkosian Broods as they had named themselves fell upon the Valyncians in a valley and managed to overwhelm the extermination forces who had severely underestimated the Karkosian numbers. The equipment the Karkosians stole was equipment they already understood how to use due to listening to the forces thoughts. Using the military equipment the Karkosian Broods fell upon the Commonwealth colonial capital numbering in the millions and breached the defenses by using the gas intended to kill the Karkosians. Commonwealth casualties were massive as the toxic gas flooded the city. By the time it had dissipated Brood force had taken the outer areas of the city. Though the fighting would go on for a month and would see the Karkosians lose their mental ability as more and more equipment fell into the hands of Brood forces the fight against the insects became hopeless for the Commonwealth. The last stand of the Commonwealth was intended to give time for the colony ship to take off and evacuate the survivors, however when the colony ship was launched the primal Brood Queens decided that the only option was to smite the gods and gain independence forever. All brood forces focused on the ship and it was obliterated shortly after takeoff. The remaining Valyncian civilians lived short lives as Brood forces swept over the city. The Sentience war ended in a pyrrhic victory for the Karkosian Broods; while victory was complete massive losses incurred meant that the primal Brood Queens would have to replenish their number by breeding for months. The end of the war marked the beginning of Karkosian civilization as Individuals quickly started to make use of and occupy the Commonwealth colony.
During this period of dormancy in the Queens while they replenished numbers the Karkosian Individuals began to decry the final decision to destroy the Commonwealth civilians. As Karkosian Individuals began to read into Commonwealth society using the online infrastructure they left behind support mounted to overthrow the Brood Queens. The Karkosian Individuals recognized the opportunity presented by the Queens dormancy and once the majority agreed to depose the Queens as leaders the hour long rebellion began. With very few casualties the Queens were surrounded as they were dormant and kept hostage after they awoke, the newly spawned Individuals were pledged to the state and not the Brood. It was over the next five years that study of Commonwealth governance and new Karkosian ideas blended together to form the legal and governmental structure of what would be the FKS or Federal Karkosian State.
The next decade was defined by the FKS sending individuals across the planet to be infected and precipitate the same mental changed that had occurred with the Valyncians. In this time some newly made intelligent Broods Queens attempted to rebel but popular support from Individuals and the might of the technology left by the Commonwealth assured FKS victory in all these cases. The next step was to do as the Commonwealth had done and build cities, and so for the next hundred years cities grew across Uoak, infrastructure was developed and expansion into all corners of the Lomoro system occurred. The FKS soon was a power that had complete and total control of its stellar system, in addition it had fully caught up to and in some areas surpassed the knowledge left behind by the Commonwealth.
After that period of building the next four hundred years could be categorized by three things. Expansion, Science, and Immortality. The FKS made it a priority to expand across space, and given its somewhat isolated nature was able to do just that without impediment. For close to four hundred years there was a constant state of colonial scouting and expansion, before anyone really knew it the Karkosian race has asserted itself as a regional power. At the same time vast leaps in science showed that the Karkosians were not simply a race created by accident that was stagnant, but an entity capable of improvement and individual strength. Perhaps as a direct result of this a religiously motivated scientific pursuit came about wherein the Karkosian race sought to improve itself as the gods who created them once had; genetically. By making the wings hands eyes and legs of the Individual all more efficient Karkosians began to become a more and more common sight in their local space, more suited to tasks and more willing to do them. The ultimate innovation came 480 years after the Sentience war; Karkosian scientists perfected a nanoorganism that repaired DNA in an individual. These organisms were injected into Brood Queens immediately and to many the achievement was more religious than it was practical.
However immortality was something that would forever change Karkosian society. It would not be a year later that breeding limits were imposed and the maximum sustainable population for every planet was calculated, filled, and maintained. Even more importantly the Karkosian public had grown fond of democracy, when lifetime terms were forever that was impossible. As a direct result the first real change in government structure occurred when the domestic council agreed to turn the decision on the government restructuring over to the public. The vote was one sidedly in favour of a restructuring, and so it came to be that terms were amended to a lifetime, or the span of one natural lifetime, whatever was shorter. With that in place FKS expansionism exploded, the need for new planets was not one of necessity but rather one of common purpose. Expansion of Karkosian space was the thread that kept the peace for nearly 400 years and it had become integral, even is population growth would be stopped on a whim.
Interestingly it was 35 years later, 515 years after the Sentience war, that contact with the Commonwealth was re-established. A small Karkosian mapping scout crossed into Commonwealth space and encountered a large fleet. Unknown to the scout it has stumbled upon a fleet belonging to the Imperial faction of the Commonwealth, which had been cast into a great civil war. Regardless the scout established contact and immediately recognized the Valyncians as gods. A contact was sent back home and a specifically chosen group of Karkosian Individuals were chosen to be ambassadors. These specific ambassadors were all chosen based on their non-religious respect for the Valyncians, though they recognized the Valyncians as the creators of the Karkosian race they knew that they were not divine. Contact initiated with the Karkosian diplomats explaining their position and the return of all Valyncian bodies that had been preserved for centuries. Regret was expressed over the Sentience war but the Karkosian diplomats held that such actions at that point in history could only be expected from such a young people. The Imperial Commonwealth faction received the news peacefully and a Karkosian diplomat was left with them to maintain formal ties even as the Commonwealth fought amongst itself. News of the Commonwealth civil war was common for the next four hundred years as it progressed but as Karkosian borders continued to expand and relations with closer nations became more important the Commonwealth civil war was often cited as a conflict among gods for the religious, and an event that did not concern the FKS among the secular majority that developed in that time.
The next four hundred years by and large was defined by minor border incidents and FKS'es political influence backed by its powerful military bringing several nearby nations under a common political alliance and free trade zone that in essence allowed the FKS industries the ability to completely overwhelm local ones. This free trade zone provided resource markets that only expanded the Karkosian desire for expansion and the political alliance the chance to do so with impunity as Karkosian power had been massively expanded. However 940 years after the sentient war, a mere 60 years ago, the first truly dangerous incident in Karkosian expansionist history occurred. It would happen when a fringe Karkosian border expansion fleet entered a seemingly unimportant system with a habitable planet that had been slated for Karkosian colonization some years prior. The fleet had arrived with simple orders, clear out any pirates or rouges and by doing so ensure the safety of the colonists that would be arriving within the next few months. However shortly after entering the system the Karkosian fleet registered a scan of their vessels and noted a small number of ships over the planet which had what seemed to be a small base on it. Having all the traits of a common pirate outpost the Karkosian fleet blocked all communications and sensors. Unknown to the Karkosian fleet these were no pirates, but rather members of the expansive Hau race who had set up a colony before the Karkosians.
Thinking the enemy would be of minor significance a plan was drawn up to engage the Hau vessels and seize the base below in the most efficient manner possible. The first stage of such plan had the main fleet move to engage the enemy in space while several ships bore down on the planet and deployed masses of automated light attack drones to the ground to gather Intel on the base and if possible break the defenses of what the Karkosians presumed was a pirate base, but in actuality was a Hau colony. In space the Karkosian fleet forced the enemy off of the planet and engaged them at a distance just outside its orbit. Though the Karkosian fleet was comparatively small the Hau had only colonial vessels and were utterly outgunned. The other part of the fleet also moved in and deployed the drones over the planet. These drones suffered minor casualties in their drop but on arrival quickly surrounded the base and engaged the enemy forces while gathering data and sending it to the fleet. The ships that dropped the drones took erratic fire from ground batteries below, still it was small so shields were boosted and the sporadic fire proved negligible. The ships in low orbit opted to hold position if a drop of the main ground contingent was necessary. In this time smaller attack ships were sent out from the main fleet while it fought to establish a perimeter around the planet and prevent any escape. Initially a mere small probe was destroyed by this force but as they rounded the planet a large station came onto sensors. Fearing a powerful pirate warlords dock the attack ships loosed several anti-ship swarm missiles and pulled away. The Hau structure was in truth a waygate, and the missiles proved more than a match for it in its unfinished state. The Hau, or to the Karkosians, the pirates were on the verge of collapse as their ground shield was overwhelmed by the volume of fire from the drones and the fighting pressed closer to the Hau colony proper. However it would be that in this time the drones reported on the state of the inner Hau colony and noted it appeared to be ordered with little static defense but augmented with walls as if a militia had set up a last minute defense, very much unlike a pirate base and more like a colony as it truly was.
At this realisation the Karkosians ceased combat and opened comms, the fleet demanded the Hau surrender or be destroyed. Perhaps out of arrogance the Hau refused this offer and the Karkosian forces opted to limit bloodshed by ending the conflict quickly and deploying heavy ground forces. The large mechs quickly annihilated resistance not long after their drop and were moments away from wreaking havoc on the inner colony when the Karkosians proposed surrender a second time. The Hau, who were faced with complete destruction, complied. The Karkosians quickly moved to board the Hau ships and established a dialogue. Soon it was discovered that the Karkosian fleet had attacked a small colonial holding of the Hau Empire, not a pirate base. The Karkosian forces occupying the ground colony pulled out and returned to their ships at that revelation as a sign of good will and respect to the Hau forces who had given their lives in the defense of their colony. The Karkosians asked the remaining leadership of the colony how the Hau Empire proper could be contacted to resolve the situation and sent a signal detailing the situation to the nearest Hau system. The Hau used a nearby gate in a close star system to dispatch a task force that arrived in the system some weeks after the incident. Though the Hau must have wanted revenge for the attack they decided to maintain dialogue on the advice of the colonists themselves.
The Hau taskforce approached the Karkosian border fleet diplomatically not long after their arrival. The Hau although hesitant to do so proposed that since the conflict had been resolved, no reparations were needed. With this good will in mind and the Karkosian colony ships coming soon the Karkosian fleet was more than willing to negotiate with the Hau task force. After an extended negotiation, with a Karkosian diplomat arriving and taking over the fleet commands diplomatic position half way through, progress was made on a mutual deal. To mend the damage the incident had on relations it was decided the planet would act as a mutual colony, with both sides working toward peaceful understanding. As part of this deal the Hau agreed that no waygate, like the one destroyed by Karkosian attack ships, would be built in the system. Similarly the Karkosian ambassador agreed that the birthrate of the coming Brood Queen would be severely limited as to ensure the Hau were not made into a minority on the planet. With that deal in place, and with the Karkosian colony established not a month after, a peace was had. Though perhaps the worst first contact in Karkosian history the incident proved that though their battles were few the Karkosian military was strong, and despite that, peace was often the better solution for all parties. For now both sides of the incident speculate on the size of the other, or their intent, but diplomacy continues on a small scale and the Karkosian state is content to leave things as they are and avoid risking a war with a power they hardly understand.
In the last few years Karkosian expansionism has slowed in the face of the Hau incident and military power has been built up. Today the FKS is a major political power in its region proper and a military power that can project force from any of its numerous fringe colonies that rest far away from Karkosian home space.
nobody is that big at the start of this RP. 
and see above 
