Alliance: (I'm not quite sure which one they should be in. I'm thinking the Coalition or Federation, because they aren't antagonistic enough to like the Dominion)
Faction Technology/Military Strength: The Rakbi are a water-based race, and their strength is naval. On, above, and under the oceans, they are unsurpassed. What started as mere meteorological prowess has developed into full-scale weather control, although the weather is unmolested on the Rakbi homeworld. This strength is so advanced that tertiary battles against the Rakbi are guaranteed to have the Rakbi utilizing their meteorological talents. During planetside battles, the Rakbi will manipulate the weather to their advantage. This leads, of course, to their naval power, because they can swamp and overturn enemy ships, send storms into their plane squadrons, and harness the forces of enormous waterspouts and typhoons. As the Rakbi are amphibious, sailors willingly abandon their ships when they begin to sink, taking to the water and continuing the fight.
The Rakbi are experts of balistics and have discovered an (atomically) stable isotope of Francium, unknown to the rest of the Galaxy. When combined with water, a single-displacement reaction occurs with H2O and members of the Lithium family--the more massive the element, the greater the reaction. This is why a gram of Lithium dropped into a cup of water merely boils and a gram of Cesium dropped into a cup of water can blow up a room. The reaction with Francium is even greater. It is the greatest chemical reaction known in the Galaxy. The single-displacement reaction bonds Francium with Oxygen, releasing hydrogen gas and immense heat. The heat, however, is so intense that it disentegrates the Fr2O into Francium ions and Oxygen. The heat then lights the hydrogen in the presence of the oxygen, creating a second reaction even greater than the first. Because the heat from the first reaction splits the Fr2O and releases O2, the ingredients for the second reaction are the products of the first. This means that even though the second reaction is a combustion reaction, it can still take place in the vacuum of space. The Rakbi use Francium almost exclusively in spacial warfare--they employ the use of projectile weapons of all sorts, from incredibly destructive Francium-water missiles to Francium-water bullets.
The masad are the elite land troops of the Rakbi. They utilize Francium-water weapons and microwave-based sidearms called Incinerators, as well as sidearms and blades. The last resort of a pinned Rakbi is his own fangs and claws.
Large machines nicknamed "Tide Churners" harness the inherent power of the Oceans and provide the Rakbi with all the electricity and other power types they require.
Military Weakness: The Rakbi have only been cruising the stars for a thousand years, and their warp-drives are basic. They are awkward on land and prefer to fight in water, and bombard land from ocean and space. Only the masad can hold their own on land.
Government Style: Each Rakbi Clan is its own independent nation, and many have different styles of government. See below.
Summary of Rakbi Clans:
Nin--Libertarian and capitalist in the extreme, the Nin have great variance in individuals talent and wealth. They are closely allied with the Kar/Tan. Aristocracy.
Kar/Tan--Capitalist, but regulated. Aristocracy. The Kar/Tan have a near-monopoly on the Francium production market. Allied with the Nin.
Lab/Var--Socialist and oppressive in the extreme; the foil of the Nin. The Lab/Var have a high population, but the quality of their lives is lower than the other Clans. Dictatorship. On friendly relations with all except the Nin and Kar/Tan.
Margrande--Called the "Roamers" by the other Clans, the Margrande have not industrialized or settled. They own vast tracks of ocean, and live the way their ancestors did long ago--in small, nomadic groups, the apex predator of the ocean.
Vore--The pioneers of space. First off their homeworld and first to colonize another planet, the Vore continue to have the fastest, most powerful vessels. The Vore are ruled by a corporation, much like the Gles. Vore can buy stock in the corporation; the more stock they have, the more their vote counts, and the more of the gross income of the Vore they recieve. Allied closely with the Gles.
Gles--The pioneers of weather, the Gles have the most sophisticated weather-controlling devices. They are ruled by the megacorporation WorldWideWeather, or WWW. Allied with the Vore.
Other clans too insignificant to warrant an explanation here.
Social Flaws: The Rakbi, as demonstrated above, are far from united. Each Clan signs treaties individually, and Rakbi politics is messy and assassination-prone. This slows reaction in times of war against a common enemy, as no Clan wants to suffer the consequences of entering a war unaided. The Rakbi also waste a great deal of their resources in inter-Clan stife.
Redeeming Features: Each Clan has it's own redeeming features. Oh, and they're amphibious, which makes up for all that bad stuff.
Main Characters (Rakbi are named by their first name, and then their Clan name): Shandrava Vore, Admiral of the Star Orca Pod, best of the Vore fleet; Rafv Nin, leader of the Nin masad; Gesh Nin, most powerful aristocrat in the Nin Clan; Darfaran Gles, a prominent meteorologist; Aszad Kar/Tan, Admiral of the Grouper Gang, pride of the Kar/Tan navy.
Other Information: The Rakbi are short, standing only five feet tall on average. They have two long legs and two long arms, culminating in massive webbed hands and feet (the average Rakbi hand spans eighteen inches). Gills are located on either side of their long, retractable necks and along their short torsos, and lungs inside their torsos. The Rakbi have claws and fangs, remnants of their days as a forever swimming predator of the seas. A Rakbi's jaw power far outmatches that of most sentient races, and their mouths are fit for tearing and ripping flesh. Three sets of eyelids cover their sunk in eyes; one opaque for resting, one polarized for use on land and in shallow water, and one transparent for low-visibility situations. Rakbi have one nostril below their mouth, but have no sense of smell. However, they can taste the air or water and recieve much the same sensation as other races have for smell.
((I'll do characters later.))
Edited by Durandel, 25 April 2009 - 10:11 PM.
