Race
Overview |
The Somtaaw are a Kushan "kiith" or clan left few in number and without influence after the Homeworld war.
A traditionally devout clan, they have taken their mining vessels to the edge of Hiigaran influence to seek their fortunes. So
marginal in Hiigaran politics are the Somtaaw that their
ships don't even use regular Kushan technology; most are
based on begged, borrowed, salvaged or stolen Bentusi,
Taiidan and Turanic Raider components. Hence the desperation
that would lead the Somtaaw to tamper with alien
technologies that should be left alone... and release a
menace on the whole of the galaxy.
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Story |
The return
to Hiigara was not as joyous for Somtaaw as for many of our
people. Although a few of their number were awake during the
journey from Kharak, employed in the care and maintenance of
resource collectors, the vast majority of Somtaaw survivors
were Sleepers during the journey. When they were awakened on
Hiigara, many were horrified to hear that the families and
loved ones they left on Kharak were gone, and that there was
no hope of return. Of a kiith that had once been so strong,
very few survivors remained; only 15,000 Somtaaw awakened on
Hiigara, less than a twentieth of their number, and the vast
majority of these were men.
Somtaaw's fortunes
were further complicated by a political conflict with Kiith
Naabal, which made a bid seven years after landfall to
absorb the Somtaaw survivors as a vassal clan. Somtaaw
flatly refused this proposition, and the debate between
Somtaaw and Naabal supporters in the New Daiamid has already
been cited by many as a history-making event. During the
Somtaaw/Naabal debate, dispossessed members of many Kharak's
devastated kiithid joined the Somtaaw as family members,
swelling their ranks from 15,000 to nearly 25,000 in a few
short months.
The matter was
eventually decided in favor of Somtaaw by a very narrow
margin in the Diamid and only after the Somtaaw managed to
convince the disenfranchised kiith to threaten a general
strike over the issue. While many of the established Kiith
accused Somtaaw of further undermining the ancient social
systems for their own benefit, the result was Somtaaw was
granted access to the Mothership Station for a period of six
months. Mothership access for other lesser Kiith soon
followed. In their time, the Somtaaw built two enormous
mining ships, the Kuun-Lan and the Fal-Corum, which were
both launched, fully manned, within 45 days. In the final
days of their control over the Mothership's PDA, Kiith
Somtaaw triumphantly built one final ship, the Clee San, a
top-of-the-line deep space research frigate. Students of
history will note that the names of all three vessels derive
from the names of temples along the old Shimmering Path:
Kuun-Lan, "Purifying Flame", Fal-Corum,
"Silent Wayfarer", and Clee San, "Truth
Seeker"…
Since then the Somtaaw
have explored many neighboring systems to Hiigara. Although
their numbers are small, they've set up several mining
stations to collect rare elements, and they sell the fruits
of their labors to all clients allowed by the current
Hiigaran trade regulations. Like all our kiithid, their
ships are bound to respond to any call to arms, when
Hiigaran space is violated. But beyond the Somtaaw's duty to
Hiigara, they live free and bend knee to none but their own
kiith'sa…maintaining a centuries-long tradition.
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