Race
Overview |
The Turanic
Raiders are a group of fierce, nomadic warriors who ravage
the space lanes. They give no quarter and ask none; in fact,
there was no communication at all between combatants when
the Raiders clashed with the Hiigaran exiles. They are not
completely without guile, however, as they were organized
enough to serve the Taiidan Emperor
Riestiu IV, as they now collaborate with the fragmented
Taiidan Loyalist factions.
In the lost
mission revealed in the "Raider Retreat" demo, we
get a view of Turanic Raiders' planetoid base, which is surrounded by
network of defensive gun pods. In Cataclysm, we see one of
their large armed outposts. However, the origin of the
Raiders remains a mystery.
"[The Turanic Raiders],
they’re inter-galactic hoodlums. They’re just these
crazed speed freaked wacko’s sid vicious nut bars flying
thought space destroying everything . They’re just crazy,
in the game you get an explanation as to why that is and
where they came from and everything else but I won’t spill
the beans on that one just yet." - Alex Garden,
Director
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Story |
No other group has profited more
from the anarchy caused by the retaking of Hiigara and the
resulting Taiidan civil war more than the Turanic Raiders.
Nothing is known about the origins of this nomadic race of
pirates and mercenaries but theories range from a disposed
race of refugees to former slave race run amuck.
Attacks by Turanic Raiders
were first recorded during the year -475 BL (GSY 9035) in
the Turan Sector and hence the name given to this enigmatic
warrior species. Turanic hordes have infested the trade
lanes of the galaxy at least twice a century since their
arrival and no matter how much effort is put into hunting
them down by one government or another, they always survive
in some hidden base to emerge years later. While most of
this growth-and-retreat cycle is spent raiding lone ships or
unprotected convoys in order to slowly build up their power
base, when the Raiders are at the height of their power they
field full carrier groups and are capable of taking over
entire asteroid settlements.
The Turanic Raiders have
never been stronger than they were during much of the 1'st
century BL when they enjoyed the patronage of the Mad Taiidan
Emperor Riestiu IV. While most details were covered
up at the time, new documents released by the Taiidan
Republic during various war crimes trials have revealed the
Turanic Raiders were supported by Imperial funds and
supplies and served as a covert mercenary fleet.
Many of the targets hit by
the raiders during this period were of special military
value and Intelligence gathered during these attacks helped
the Emperor stymie the efforts of neighboring galactic
powers seeking to limit his ambitions. Reliable estimates
place Turanic Fleet strengths at nearly 20 carrier groups
spread throughout the Imperial Frontier before the Hiigaran
War.
Unfortunately for the
Raiders, the death of Emperor Reistiu IV and the fall of the
Taiidan Empire brought about their fall as well. As if
sensing the wake of history that rippled away from the Exile
fleet as it approached Hiigara, the Turanic Raiders went
into hiding and denied the Emperor their firepower when he
faced the Exiles in final battle over Hiigara. The reasons
for this may never be exactly known but when the Taiidan Empire fractured from the pressure of civil war, the Raiders
were in perfect position to seize power in many outlying
provinces of the Empire. These new "Bandit
Kingdoms" as they have become known, are centers of
power for a new, organized Turanic presence in the Galaxy
and in a final irony, it is now Imperialist factions who
come to the Raiders seeking patronage. The current level of
Imperialist/Raider co-operation is not truly known at this
point but there have been scattered reports in recent years
of mixed fleets performing strike and capture operations.
Despite these reports, Raider
activity has been relatively low and most experts agree
that the Turanic Raiders are in a build up phase and will
be for quite some time. The only dissenting voice in the
Turanic analysis comes from several Hiigaran Warrior Kiith
who point to a growing number of Hiigaran combat and
transport vessels that have been lost in anomalous
circumstances in the past 2 years. The animosity of the
Raiders towards the new Hiigarans is well known and these
losses may be due to new or exotic technologies being
introduced into the Raider's fleet by their Imperialist
Allies.
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