The Thrah’Kah are a humanoid species, thought to hail from a homeworld somewhere far beyond the fringes of Faction-controlled space. Not really part of any Faction, they form roving bands and raiding groups, either independent or working for some minor regional power or petty star empire. They can also be found in small numbers working on various ships across the Orion Sphere, usually as mercenaries, bodyguards, or other roles where their durability and penchant for violence is useful.

The Thrah'Kah commonly bolt metal plates to their armour and bodies.

Very little is known about the Thrah’Kah homeworld, and any information about it comes as second hand accounts from the Thrah’Kah themselves, often passed down through a few generations. According to them, the Thrah’Kah evolved on a harsh, high-gravity desert world which is highly geologically active, somewhere outside the bounds of the Orion Sphere. Based on their descriptions, scientists have estimated that their homeworld is part of a failed solar system formation, orbiting a brown dwarf star. Some accounts place it as beyond the Seagull Nebula, deep in the Perseus Rift, while others locate it near the Cocoon Nebula, and others yet in the Gulf of Cetus. Regardless of its actual location, their far-off homeworld is referred to by the Thrah’Kah as “Planet Boom”, as explosive volcanic eruptions would often echo across the wastes. According to their accounts, it is a dry desert world, punctuated by volcanic mountain ranges that would occasionally spew out molten rock and release dense clouds of toxic gases, which the natives referred to as “Doom Clouds”. This harsh world was riven by powerful, stinging winds that whip the sharp volcanic sand into powerful abrasive storms, which can tear any protection short of thick steel to pieces. What vegetation exists there was hardy, and grew quickly - reproducing and dying over the space of a few days. The abundance of decaying plant matter gave rise to a strong fungal ecosystem, and large masses could hold a significant amount of sand together, creating calmer areas.

Thra’kah oral tradition speaks of them eking out a life as tribes around the few oases tucked into the mountain ranges, frequently tunnelling into the mountains to seek metal ores and to create protective caves in which to enlarge their settlements. Tribes would raid each other for resources, especially food and metal - the only source of reliable weapons, tools and safe traversal across the sands between havens. Sociologists have theorised this reliance on metal led to the dominance of the Thra’kah primary deity Ghozr, a god of metal and warfare. The cult of Ghozr believes that by attaching metal plates to their body, and replacing lost limbs with metal prostheses, they can become closer to their deity. It is also understood that blacksmiths, miners and smelters were given special protections in early Thra’kah society, clustering in settlements built around volcanic lava-powered smelters and forges. This warring society would occasionally produce a great warlord who would rampage across the planet, establish an empire, and occasionally result in incremental technological advancement.

This slowly developing society was rapidly changed by a catastrophic event referred to as “the fall of the Visitors” or “the Iron Gift”. This event is estimated to have occurred roughly around the same time as the Elysian Revelation in 1800PT, but an exact date is impossible to calculate without access to the planet. The sky above their homeworld was rent with shimmering light, and thousands of large starships crashed to the planet’s surface. Their stricken crews, where they survived, were taken in by some Thra’Kah tribes, and killed by others. Most of these ships landed in the desert wastes, and were soon broken down or buried by the harsh environment. The Visitors, who Thra’kah legend describes as “tall and pointy”, did not last long on Planet Boom as they were unable to handle the toxic outpourings of the planet and the harsh radiation of its star. However, the newcomers brought technological advancements imparted by the Visitors themselves, and a vast bounty of advanced alloys and technology that could be exploited over the next thousand years. Over time, crash sites were unearthed and new technology reverse-engineered or jerry-rigged into useful machines, all while starship fragments continued to de-orbit and accumulate across Planet Boom. The continual rain of metal was attributed to the deity Ghozr, and eventually inspired a faith movement to leave the planet. Much of Thra’Kah culture had incorporated and repurposed symbols from the fallen ships into part of their religion, in a sort of cargo cult bricolage of technology and faith.

The most recent reports of Planet Boom paint it as a world of constant competition and conflict, as Warbands fight for access to dig sites and materials, and construct their fleets in fortified launch sites. Each fresh skyfall is hotly contested as prospecting patrols race to the impact site in search of particularly valuable components - drive parts and field generators in particular. At their fortress-workshops, specialists refine fungal fuel and repurposed waste to power their boosters and generators, engineers swarm over construction gantries and elders preach about the glory of Ghozr and its gift of metallic union. Successful warbands eventually breach the outer atmosphere, in bulky vessels armoured against the perilous debris field that surrounds the planet, and take to the stars.

Thrah'Kah mercenaries can be found all over the Orion Sphere, sometimes serving as literal weapon platforms for their clients.

Thra’Kah fleets, when they escape the pull of their planet’s brown dwarf and engage their jerry-rigged warp drives, seem to be caught in a “cosmic eddy” of tachyons or some other exotic interstellar wind, which propels them across the rough volume of the Orion Sphere. Whether this eddy catches any and all ships leaving the system’s limits, or is survivor bias, is unknown. On emergence from the shifting streams of these eddies, they can find themselves practically anywhere. The first Thra’Kah fleets were recorded around 3000PT, where several were reported in various sectors over a 50-year period, causing significant issues for local inhabitants until their language was decoded. They seem eager to work for any Faction or group, although have not allied with any power above a warband level. Individual warband fleets act as a nation unto themselves, and each group has its own cultural points of divergence.

Since their initial appearance, the Thra’kah have spread across the Orion Sphere, either as large warband fleets, or as individuals and small groups hiring themselves out as fixers and mercenaries. They can be found working in any Faction territory, attached to various projects, endeavours or groups, or just as often making a nuisance of themselves as pirates and raiders. The fleets remain the centre of Thra’Kah power and culture, and although vessels leave and rejoin regularly the warband fleet remains intact. Fleets are often very inconsistent in their makeup, as the Thra’Kah happily incorporate tech that they have salvaged, stolen or traded, or refit wrecks that they find into functional vessels. These cobbled-together vessels can end up being very large, as more parts are added over the years and centuries of operation - they can also be quite dangerous, housing considerable amounts of concealed weaponry. While they are regarded as a nuisance in many systems, few have the power to destroy a Thra’Kah warband fleet wholesale, and most of their fleets are able to pass relatively unhindered wherever they choose to go. There are believed to be at least twenty warband fleets active in the Orion Sphere volume currently.

The Thra’kah that tend to be encountered by other species are often considered culturally unrefined and crude - most were raised on cramped starships, stained with grease and rust. Sharing a similar background, Thra’kah tend to get along well with people in similar situations, such as mercenaries, frontier station crews or asteroid colonists. Their native tongue does not auto-translate well due to the nuances and non-verbal cues inherent in it, and comes across as quite guttural when passed through most auto-translation devices.

Their high adrenal function and insensitivity to pain drives them to “get stuck in” and act without carefully thinking things through a lot of the time. This tendency to act quickly and decisively often puts opponents at a disadvantage, although it can be shocking and surprising for allies and in delicate situations. Status on board warband fleets tends to be signified by strength, and the amount of metal implanted in one’s body. Disputes, when they arise, are initiated by “squaring up” to opponents, and then usually resolved by ritual hand-to-hand combat in the fighting arenas aboard the larger fleet vessels.

Culturally, Thra’Kah are a religious species, and the movement of their fleets appear to be motivated by a desire to acquire more metal or technological scrap, and to find the trail of their distant gods - thought to dwell in some obscure corner of the galaxy. This quest, and their religion in general, is referred to as the “Grub-Ghozr”. As they grow older and gain in status, Thra’Kah aim to acquire more metal implants, and even replace their limbs with cybernetic equivalents - adding more metal to one’s body is thought to bring them closer to their gods - seen as wholly metallic Thra’Kah of immense power and stature. The different deities are seen as being associated with different metals (or properties of metals), with Ghozr representing the pinnacle principle of Iron/force/bulk. While Ghozr is known and venerated by all warbands, the other god’s names and associations vary depending on the group - more common associations/metals include copper/conductivity/speed, bronze/endurance/momentum, titanium/vibrance/instinct, and gold/flexibility/genius. As a Thra’kah ages, the tendency towards greater implants culturally drives them towards the status of elder, who are the primary religious figures of Grub-Ghozr. Thra’Kah are quite long-lived, with an estimated maximum lifespan of at least 300 years based on DNA telomere decay analysis, although their actual average lifespan is probably a lot lower due to their dangerous lifestyles. It is unknown how many elders are typically active in a warband fleet, but there could be hundreds of these seasoned iron-encased veterans in larger ships.

As an extension of their distant gods, the Thra’Kah venerate and treasure metal as their emanation, particularly large plates of tough, heavy and strong alloys. Every injury comes with the opportunity to bolt more metal onto their bodies and become closer to their gods, and every piece of weaponry and armour worn or carried is a chance to express their faith’s tenets of strength and endurance. Armour is frequently decorated with additional plates, or bolted to underlying implants to increase durability. Many veteran Thra’Kah warriors are literally welded into their heavy armour suits - bristling with weapons, spikes and armour plates, they are walking tanks and virtually unstoppable in battle.

To the Grub-Ghozr, wrecked starships, abandoned or ruined machines are considered part of Ghozr’s Gift of Iron, and a Thra’Kah will usually consider such materials free for the taking, unless their owner is both present and powerful enough to resist them - this tendency has resulted in a lot of trouble for communities that deal with Thra’Kah warbands.

Thra’Kah have a baseline humanoid external physiology, with a slight tendency towards barrel-chestedness relative to the standard terran phenotype. Their skin is a dull grey colour, with minor greenish patches, typically on raised areas - most likely an adaptation to the harsh conditions of their homeworld. Internally, however, there are significant differences - their bones are notably wider, harder and significantly more dense, their blood vessels are wider and have thicker and more responsive walls, and they possess four times as many lymph node analogues than standard terrans. Their greenish-black blood, using titanium-molybdenum based transport cells, allows for a mixed oxygen and nitrogen-ammonia based biochemistry, granting resistance to environmental conditions, although a slightly increased blood loss rate from major trauma.

Thra’kah tend to speak with a gravelly, guttural voice, and their language tends to translate to a clipped form of spacer’s cant - although they have a tendency to pick up and enjoy the feeling or sound of a handful of “fancy” Terran Standard words and use them whenever they can untranslated. Some known word usage associations among well-known Thra’Kah include the Iron Sharks’ Fleet Boss Krok Steelclaw’s frequent use of the word “mellifluous”, Yurgol Da Sneak’s use of “cataclysmic”, and Big Fang Snorglak of the Red Plunderaz use of the word “extravagant” in extremely inappropriate contexts.

Most Thra’kah have prominent lower canines or “tusks”, although some choose to file these down. Others attempt to accentuate their tusks, implanting vicious metallic spikes or teeth from various large creatures to make them bigger and more impressive. Others replace or augment their entire lower jaw with an oversized metal one, giving them a tremendous jagged steel underbite.

The most notable feature of a typical Thra’Kah are the large metal plates and crude cybernetics bolted or stitched into their bodies. These plates are frequently anchored into their bones, and pay little heed to the presence of muscle or things between - but the seeming lack of pain response among Thra’Kah mean that poorly installed or crude implants rarely impede them at all, and after a period of healing their bodies adapt quickly to the new additions. These implants will often connect to their armour, and many Thra’Kah fully encase themselves into their plate protection, never taking it off. Armour and implants are usually decorated with various patterns and symbols that relate to the owner’s warband fleet, presumably reminiscent of the ancient script and symbols of the Visitors. As they age and gain in status, a Thra’Kah will tend to accumulate more implants and cybernetics, bringing them closer to union with Ghozr as a titan of steel. Eventually, an ironclad Thra’Kah will retreat to their warband fleet to take on the role of elder, and never be seen again by outsiders.

• Species Keywords: Humanoid, Cybernetic
• Default Faction: Any (non-aligned). Thrah'Kah characters can begin in any Faction.

• Grey-green skin - Thra’kah have a primarily grey skin tone, occasionally with greenish highlights. This can be simulated with makeup.
• Primitive Metal Implants - Almost all Thra’kah have some bulky metal implants bolted or fused to their bodies, quite often on the face or collar area. These implants are a culturally important connection to their deity and are made from angular plates of raw ferrous metal (usually scratched or slightly rusty). Some implants are much larger, such as whole jaw extensions complete with metal tusks, forearms wrapped in implanted bracers, metal horns protruding from their foreheads or whole bionic limbs. As they rise in status, a Thra’Kah will usually attempt to add more implants to themselves to reflect their increased importance. Frequently Thra’Kah will decorate their implants and armour with the spiky glyphs derived from the ancient Visitors.
• Optional Trapping - Tusks - About half of all Thra’Kah have enlarged lower canines that protrude past their lips. This can be simulated by using a dental prosthetic. Some Thra’Kah instead incorporate large metal or ivory tusks into a prosthetic lower jaw if they have one.

• 3 Locational Body Hits and a death count of 150 seconds.
• Feel No Pain - Thra’Kah characters' pain sense is drastically reduced relative to other species, and they may ignore any reference to “Pain” in Roleplay Effects or Conditions. Additionally, Thra’Kah characters undergoing installation of Corporeal Perfection Syndicate cybernetics will have 1 fewer Black card in their Card Draw Deck.
• Strength of Steel - Thra’Kah like to “improve” their armour by bolting parts of it to their metal implants and adding extra plates that would be considered impractical and restrictive by other species. When wearing armour of any category that has been made to look like it has been crudely modified with extra plates and bolts, Thra’kah characters gain 1 extra Locational Armour Hit on any armoured locations.
• Hardy Constitution - Thra’kah characters have Minor RADIATION and TOXIC Protection at all times. This reduces the effect of environmental Hazards of those types.

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