Name of nation: Zap-hanz Erg Nakarz
Species: Zap-hanz
The Zap-hanz are a strange species of aquatic origins that come from the world of Zap-Mkai - but more accurately inhabit the large nebulae (Zap-Var) surrounding it. They start off as small tadpole like creatures in the waters of Zap-Mkai that eventually become something resembling sea slugs once they reach their adolescent phase. Eventually, they grow to be about 6 metres long and a metre wide with four tentacles and at this point are able to respire using a massive range of gasses. They are able now to live independently within Zap-Var it's self and are also fully capable of surviving in many other nebulas and are also fully capable of breathing Oxygen and Carbon dioxide should they need too. They are able to survive extreme temperatures and can pass safely through the atmosphere of some planets. Most of these younger Adult Zap-hanz do not take to the stars independently and instead inhabit cities on Zap-Mkai or other such planets. Eventually, however, they will grow to be extremely large and have no choice but to take to Zap-Var. Elder Zap-Hanz are shockingly large creatures.
An Ancient Zap-hanz is a terrible sight indeed; These monolithic creatures that are many miles in size and 'swim' through space with surprising speed. They are capable of storing vast amounts of resources and thus travelling in the vacuum for extended periods of time and so pods of Ancent Zap-hanz can be found inhabiting a number of gas giants and nebulas 'near' to Zap-var. As they do not stop growing if they have sufficient resources, it is difficult to give accurate "size." The largest Zap-hanz ever recorded was nearly 112 miles long and 64 miles across however very few ancients ever come to be even half this size. Since ancients and elders are typically not standardised and vary wildly in size, armaments and capabilities it is usually best not to try and group them together and place a size label on them.
It is not uncommon for these elders and ancients to be biologically (and sometimes mechanically) altered and many serve as space transports for the younger Zap-hanz and carry both resources and people. Beings employed by the various Zap-hanz militaries typically have armour grafted into their skin and biomechanical weaponry implanted into them. There are many ancients who are several millennia old, if not older.
Despite their impressive size, their eyesight is terrible. Hailing from a world deep within a nebula, their vision was always a secondary sense at best. Likewise, the lack of sound in space meant that their sense of hearing is also very poor. They instead developed a low level psychic field that helps them to sense what is around them and respond with starting speed and accuracy.
A group of elders swarm in unison in a planets surface
Description of government: The Zap-hanz are governed by a council that is composed of the highest ranking members of the Erg Nakarz (Loosely translates to "Great Houses".) These Erg Nakarz govern their affairs with relative independence from each other and the Council rules only on matters deemed to be of extreme importance- Namely, threats to their species or way of life as a whole and various rules governing Nakarz interactions with each other and outsiders. As such, it is entirely possible to be at war with only part of the nation. The council maintains a section of Zap-Var consisting of Zap-Mkai as well as several surrounding systems as a neutral zone. The council employs a small but well trained and equipped elite military to maintain order in this section. This military is recruited directly from within the sector to ensure that they are truly impartial. The houses, great and small, have agreed to abide by restrictions when in this region. The council meets Elgo-Mkai, the massive capital city built in the centre the neutral zone. The council building is situation in the very centre of this city, which is shaped as a pentagon, and the Great Houses have a residence/embassy for their councillors in each of the corners of the city.
Erg Ur: The large house Ur control two fifths of Zap-Var, the most of any of the great houses, however they completely lack external holdings. They are very proud and value order highly and as such typically act as de facto enforcers of the Council's decisions and occasionally mediators in conflicts. It is because of this that they are unpopular with Innavlet and Zexalm, the former of which seeing them as interesting busy bodies and the latter seeing them as a rival.
Erg Innavlet: Regarded as being one of the more insular houses, they care very little for the affairs of others and are very isolationist, typically preferring to be left alone to pursue their own ambitions. Highly individualistic, it's elders bonds with each other is less born of loyalty and allegiance (Indeed, Innavlet's members are infamous for backstabbing each other to rise to prominence) and more simply a union to prevent others from poking their nose where it does not belong. It controls around a fifth of Zap-Var and several peripheral gas giants
Erg Zexalm: The warlike house Zaxalm hold a fifth of Zap-Var and much of the nearby smaller nebulas of Zap-Gnis and Zap-Thel. They advocate aggressive expansion and this is unsurprisingly the reason for their quick acquisition of nearby external nebulas. They are a proud and orthodox house, valuing bravery and loyalty over pragmatism and indeed sometimes even reason. They commonly butt heads with the rival house Ur whom they see as a competitor for the informal title of 'Military House'
Erg Morot: Another house which controls the remaining parts of Zap-Var and a number of nearby territories, such as the remaining parts of Zap-Gnis and Zap-Thel. Additionally, they control the gas giants of Zap-Fel, Zap-Sadri and Zap-Atel. They are relatively insular, although not to the extent of Innavlet, and are very conservative and opposed to change. They are particularly notorious for enslaving outsiders who stray into their territories.
Erg Rottis: The smallest of the great houses, Rottis controls the outlying territories of any of the houses and a holds handful of important trading posts within Zap-Var. They also own a number of business ventures within the territories of the other houses, although these are never allowed to grow too big. They are traders, merchants and diplomats as such are more receptive towards outsiders than the other great houses. However, morals always come second to business and profit and anything which is not profitable is usually discarded as a waste. They are extremely opportunistic and are quick to make unconventional allies should the occasion call for it.
A Zap-hanz chases down an intruder
Description of military: The Military of the Zap-hanz varies between its houses however for the most part it favours subversive tactics, emerging quickly and striking before fleeing back into the nebulas, well aware that other species typically have trouble navigating through them
Erg Ur: A balanced force.
Erg Innavlet: Very top heavy with powerful ancients supported by swarms of elders.
Erg Zexalm: Balanced
Erg Morot: Bottom heavy.
Erg Rottis: Bottom heavy with irregular mercenaries and privateers
Katat Mercenaries
Technological Overview: The Zap-hanz are fairly technologically advanced with a number of notable technologies; They are extremely advanced in biology and biotechnology with biomechanical augmentation being extremely common and indeed necessary to the their way of life. Rottis has been known to reward it's servants or sell its expertise to outsiders.
Their FTL method is wormhole based; The Zap-hanz in question temporarily opens a wormhole that they will then enter. This is a near instantaneous form of travel for external observers, although the individuals who entered the wormhole will experience the sensation of time passing (although they will not age) which can equate to up to several months. The wormhole is opened for a short time before it collapses. It has an effective range of 15 thousand light years per wordhole and as such trips across the galaxy must be done in multiple segments
They use Ion Weapons and Plasma Weapons as their primary attack method; They typically attempt to disrupt the shields and electronic systems of an enemy ship before using their plasma weaponry to destroy them. Finally, they will pick over the remains of the foe for anything they can consume. Powerful ancients also tend to have a Tachyon Lance mounted which allow them to deal immense amounts of damage to their chosen prey; These ancients commonly blitz attack unsuspecting enemies, skewering them with the faster than light articles before they realise they are being stalked and then closing in on the disabled enemy ships to finish them off.
Cultural Overview: The culture naturally varies between the great houses and the many different parts of Zap-Var. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Zap-hanz as a whole are relatively insular and prefer to stay within their own borders rather than dealing with outsiders; They are almost all territorial, not taking transgressions by other houses (or by outsiders) lightly and regularly kill intruders for trespassing.
They are able to communicate through a low level psychic field and though they can make vocalisations, they typically prefer to communicate telepathically and this is reflected in their culture; Music and poetry are foreign concepts. They do not like to use the written word due to their generally poor eyesight although they do have a series of runic characters for writing should it be required (their carved nature also makes each one distinctive to the touch and thus is another measure to aid them. Naturally throughout their history, the written word was extremely importan with massive 'libraries' existing. It wasn't uncommon for Zap-hanz houses to destroy each other's libraries, greatly hindering progress. To get around the issue with the size disparity, smaller Zap-Hanz typically read and transcribed information for larger Zap-hanz.) Likewise, recordings are extremely rare.
Fortunately, their propensity for biomechanical modification has provided a much more effective solution; Biological information nodes are not scattered around the nebula and hidden on the surfaces of planets. Information can be retrieved directly from these nodes by Zap-hanz and serve as a sort of "interweb" for them and replacing the traditional libraries. The creation of these information nodes was crucial in the establishment of a true Zap-hanz state and information is typically stored on multiple nodes to ensure that it is not easily lost. Each great house typically maintains a large number of its own private nodes, although a special branch of the councils non-partisan forces also maintains a network of these nodes with each location being a closely guarded secret. The intentional destruction of an information node without prior permission from the council is considered to be a war crime.
The difference in size between them and many other species in the galaxy makes diplomatic communications to be fairly difficult; Indeed, the Katat/Zap-hanz relations have been rocky at times (There were cases of Zap-Hanz ancients consuming Katat ships, either intentionally or because they simply didn't realise due to the 'small' size of said ships). Rottis and the Council are generally the most likely to make efforts to maintain diplomatic relations with the other Houses generally being rather indifferent (Innavlet varies as some of its members will engage in diplomatic relations for their own ends.)
History: Life evolving within a nebula faced a unique set of challenges and the evolution of their society met similar unique challenges. How exactly they are to evolve the capability of operating within space (or indeed how most of what exists within the nebula developed this capability) is unknown even to them - Not that they have ever been particularly interested in uncovering this. They are not interested in questioning how it came to be so long as they understand how it works and that it works.
The earliest Zap-hanz were likely need based creatures travelling together through the gasses of the nebula. They were omnivorous and would have consumed the 'plantlife' as well as other creatures should an opportunity present itself. Eventually these herds developed to become more like tribes with their own cultures and histories. These would eventually develop into the Nakarz, the 'houses' of the Zap-hanz. These fought each other for dominance over fast expanses of the nebula and for control over the natural resources. As with all things, some of houses became more prominent while others sank into the abyss of history but it was not until after the Grand War that the need to regulate their own activities became apparent; Their technology was now making the wars far too destructive and the lack of rules governing battle between the houses led to destruction of the information nodes where their knowledge was stored. Decades or even centuries of knowledge were lost to this wanton destruction and resultantly the greatest of the houses banded together to form the council, a body for governing and regulating the Zap-hanz as a whole. Initially, it's only purpose was to place and enforce the rules of war, though over time it has become more and more like a state body and has passed laws and regulations on other issues, though the Nakarz remain mostly independent. Even today, the Nakarz conduct their foreign affairs individually and one of the first acts set in place by the council was to do with the Right of War; It is the right of the great houses to fight with whomsoever they please and to act however they please towards outsiders.
Other:
It is important to note that the Zap-hanz are not the only creature that inhabit the nebula of Zap-Var. There is a fully functioning ecosystem involving many different creatures and some plant like beings that anchor themselves to asteroids and debris and feed off the energy of the sun. The Zap-hanz happen to be the only sapient life.
Katat: The Katat are humanoid, bipedal simian aliens whose average height is just under 6'5. They destroyed their own world centuries ago and have since been a nomadic species, travelling around in flotillas. It is common for young men and women leave these flotillas and sign on as mercenaries, privateers or other freelancers in order to send the money back to their flotillas. Erg Rottis commonly snaps up these mercenaries to help guard their trade posts, trade routes, locate and recover smaller objects of immense value and to help transport or unload smaller amounts of supplies (particularly common for trade with outsiders due to the size disparity)
Katat Mercenary Cruiser
Zap-Var: Zap-Var is a nebula 800 light years in size. It has many stars within it and many small asteroid belts. What makes it unique is that it houses a massive ecosystem. Plant like growths cover asteroids or float loosely through nebula, some smaller creatures swarm together and form colonies, large predators stalk through the gaseous clouds. Of all these creatures, the Zap-hanz are the only sapient creatures. For outsiders it can be an extremely terrifying place; Electromagnetic waves and the constant presence of debris, asteroids and large alien creatures plays havoc with sensors and causes travelling through the nebula to be a paranoia inducing experience. Even the Katat flotillas which have been given garunteed of security and rights of access by the Zap-hanz do not enter without several Zap-hanz to escort them.
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