The Saurian Alliance

I've been doing some research, and have cobbled together a list of some interesting Saurian and Saurian-ish races that might be of interest to us.


Ssi-Ruuk Imperium
The "true" Ssi-Ruuk empire, dominant over the Ssi-Ruuk Star Cluster. It is led by the Elder Council, and would be the central nucleus for any sort of Saurian Alliance.

Ssi-Ruuk
A Saurian species split into castes, based on the colour of their scales. Blue scales represent the noble caste, who form the Imperium's aristocracy. Gold Ssi-Ruuk belong to the religious caste, while Yellow are scientists and engineers, and Red are the military. Green Ssi-Ruuk form the labour/worker caste, which is the largest but has little prestige. Brown Ssi-Ruuk are the lowest of the low, resulting from Ssi-Ruuk from different castes breeding togethe. There are also Black Ssi-Ruuk, who are extremely rare, and are trained as expert assassins.

P'w'eck
A cousin race of the Ssi-Ruuk. They are believed to be an offshoot of the Brown Ssi-Ruuk, and are regarded as lesser beings, to be utilised by the Ssi-Ruuk as slaves.

Potential Allies (or Slaves)
These races could make interesting allies for the Ssi-Ruuk. For the most part they are located towards the edges of known space, their homeworlds might make interesting/useful staging locations for the invasion.

Tiss'shar
The Tiss'shar are similar to the Ssi-Ruuk in a lot of ways - particularly their velociraptor-like appearance, and the fact that they have coloured markings that help distinguish different roles/castes within society. They are notorious diplomats and negotiators; but also, their physiology causes them to stand more upright than a Ssi-Ruu. Visually, and thematically, they might make a good go-between for the Ssi-Ruuk: familiar enough for the Imperium to feel comfortable dealing with them, but more familiar to and with upright humanoids. To steal a Deep Space Nine comparison, these could be a good candidate for the Vorta or Karemma, if we were to think of the Ssi-Ruuk as the Dominion. Their homeworld (Tiss'sharl) is in R4 on the galaxy map, in neutral space very close to both the Empire and Alliance, so it would have a similar strategic value to Terminus.

Chistori
An aggressive species of humanoid reptiles. They are renowned for their war-like nature, and for being secretive enough to have avoided being recorded in the Jedi Archives. They might not be "Saurian" enough for the Ssi-Ruuk to regard them as equals, but they would definitely make an interesting option as Generals and tacticians in the Ssi-Ruuk army, in the same way that the Separatists made use of organic Generals/leaders during the Clone Wars?

Gektl
The Gektl are a race of saurians with a gecko-like ability to regrow limbs. This is a trait that the Ssi-Ruuk might find interesting/useful in an ally. Gektl are green, so the Ssi-Ruuk might view them as equal in standing to the Green caste - better than slaves, but not by much. Their homeworld (Hoszh Iszhir) is in K9, which actually places it in the Core, but it's the part of the Core that butts up against the Unknown Regions. A Ssi-Ruuk beach head there is in easy reach for the Imperium, and would be very alarming to the Empire.

Murachaun
The Murachaun are a lizard-ish looking humanoid species from the Ktilac Regions - an independent blob of space within the Galactic Empire that has been used as neutral ground for Alliance/Imperial negotiations leading up to and since the Treaty. While the Murachaun themselves may be of little interest to the Ssi-Ruuk, the Ktilac Regions are an area of intense significance: not only are you a stones-throw from the Hapes Cluster, and right in the heart of known space, they'd also have invaded and subjugated the site where our Treaty was negotiated: which is a pretty daring move. If the Ssi-Ruuk is pushing through Imperial space in a conventional war fashion, that might be a difficult thing to achieve: however, in Vanguards, the Ssi-Ruuk were able to stage attacks in the Gordian Reach (pretty close to the Ktilac Regions), so if the same technology is potentially at play here, it's definitely a valid power move on their part.

Trogodile
Trogodiles are an aggressive, cave-dwelling species native to Rattatak in H16. That puts them pretty close to Bakura, and not too far away from Terminus, so some sort of alliance with the Trogodiles, and/or invasion or conquest of Rattatak could be an interesting potential escallation for the Ssi-Ruuk, and would grant them access to the Rattataki population for entechment. With the Rattataki already being palid and grey, they'd certainly have the Borg aesthetic on lock if they were enteched. It is also (like Terminus) a world/race that people may have heard of, which could add a degree of "oh shit" to the storyline.

Vor
The Vor are pterosaurs: not quite as "lizardy" as some of the other race options, but definitely in keeping with the dinosaur aesthetic. The fact that they can fly potentially makes them quite interesting/useful as slave soldiers, if the Ssi-Ruuk were to conquer that world. Like the Gektl on Hoszh Iszhir, the proximity to important Imperial worlds of Vortex in K7 is definitely going to make the Empire uncomfortable. Perhaps the biggest factor though is that in our boards canon, Vortex has been a home/haven for the Jedi in the past. The enslavement of this world and it's inhabitants - who are for the most part peaceful artists and architects - would be a pretty firm kick in the balls for the galactic community, and might help to pull Jedi characters into the storyline: perhaps not officially sanctioned, but maybe Jedi who feel they need to repay a debt to Vortex for their past hospitality.

Criminal Allies
Stretching the Deep Space Nine metaphor a little further, the Dominion not only attacked the Federation directly, they made use of criminal networks like the Orion Syndicate to destabilise the Federation and push their own agendas. There are a number of races that might be too far away from the Ssi-Ruuk Imperium to make sense as stronghold locations, or who do not have the military might or resources to make a proper tactical contribution, but who could certainly cause trouble for the Empire and Alliance via espionage, infiltration, and criminal networks.

Aar'aa
Not a well known race by any stretch: the EU doesn't have pictures of them. However, it does describe them as having a chameleon ability to blend in with their surroundings, which may be of interest to the Ssi-Ruuk. It also has a little bit of bonus Jem'Hadar flavour, since they had a chameleon/shroud-like ability as well. Their homeworld is in the middle of Imperial space, near(ish) Dathomir, but they are commonly employed by the Hutts as assassins and infiltrators.

Barabel
A race of nocturnal lizard-men, from out beyond Hutt Space. As one would expect given their homeworld's location, they are involved in crime and bounty hunter type activity. Some attempts are made to enslave members of this species, but it usually goes badly for the slavers - so these are a race who would not settle into Ssi-Ruuk slavery well, although a Ssi-Ruuk beachhead all the way on the far side of the galaxy might be a tempting destination. They might make useful allies for any criminal elements working on behalf of the Ssi-Ruuk - employed by Trandoshan gangsters or as mercenaries working for a Clawdite infiltrator, etc.

Clawdite
Clawdites are a minority offshoot of the Zolanders from Zolan (P16), which currently makes them citizen of the Alliance of Free Planets. We have yet to explore the relationship between the Alliance and that particular world but the prospect of Ruuk-sympathetic shapeshifters inside the Alliance could lead to all sorts of paranoia. Geoff floated the idea of doing something along the lines of Secret War from Marvel: an alliance between the Clawdites and the Ssi-Ruuk could be an easy and interesting proxy for the Skrulls in such a scenario.

Trandoshan
After generations of doing whatever the hell they like, and enslaving Wookiees for kicks, the Trandoshans now find themselves in a situation where they are deep inside Alliance of Free Planets territory, a government that is extremely likely to have flipped things so the Wookiees are now on top. Trandoshans' hunting and slaving is pretty much universally frowned on in the Alliance, and after a couple of years of this, there is probably a lot of sour sentiment among the Trandoshans. Potentially, there are some connections (via the SubPro Corporation) between the Trandoshans and the Tenloss Syndicate - a criminal organisation operating in the fringes of Alliance and Imperial space, which gets involved in the kinds of crimes (slavery, exploitation, sex trafficking, etc) that make Black Sun and Crimson Dawn look positively respectable. The Tenloss Syndicate is already a mishmash of different companies and syndicates each trying to push their own agenda, so seeing the Trandoshans step up to influence the Syndicate on behalf of the Ssi-Ruuk could be a really interesting way to bring them into play. The current dominant party in the Tenloss Syndicate (Rurrick Grov) is a Falleen, who are lizard-ish, so influencing the Syndicate in favour of the Ruuk is well within the realms of possibility.

Saurians in the Empire
If the Empire suddenly finds itself under attack by an assortment of saurian and reptilian races, it is more than likely going to push their Imperial racism into overdrive. Races such as the Aleena, Anx, Bardottans, Dug, Nosaurians, Nuknog, and Vulptereen are all races that look very saurian, and are likely to be subject to the most extreme end of Imperial racism. The Kaleesh, Phindians, and Yinchorri are a little more humanoid, but still have strong reptilian features.

Imperial space is also home to the Columi, who are one of the oldest and most advanced civilizations in the galaxy, and look like a Roswell Gray made love to a gecko. Though they likely have neither the resources nor the inclination to fix our Ssi-Ruuk problem for us, it could be interesting to see the Empire (or the Alliance/Imperials together) approach the Columi to attempt to try and broker some sort of ceasefire early on. Or, the Ssi-Ruuk might seek to form an alliance with them (or even conquer them to demonstrate their technology), only to get their asses whooped by little scaly folks who then subsequently refuse to help the rest of the galaxy in any way.


Saurians in the Alliance
The Alliance does not have quite the same institutionalised racism as the Empire, but there are still a few lizard-ish species around that might make folks a bit paranoid. Aside from the already mentioned Clawdites and Trandoshans, there are the Cyrillians, Draag, H'nemthe, Kon'me, Sarkans, Vurk, and Xamsters. There's also the Sluissi, who are serpents rather than saurians, but in terms of racism and paranoia, that might be close enough.

We might see this sort of racism rear its head on worlds that were once Imperial-dominated human worlds; and it's also potentially going to become an issue for Jovan Station, especially if we end up seeing an influx of refugees from Imperial space trying to outrun the Ssi-Ruuk.

Bonus Thought

The Kwa are an ancient race of saurians. They started out on Dathomir, and they built the Infinity Gates, which used the Force to transport people over long distances. Their civilization collapsed, and their Infinity Gates (including the main one on Dathomir) were destroyed. The Kwa on Dathomir have subsequently devolved into the even more saurian Kwi.

It could be interesting if the Ssi-Ruuk hold some sort of reverence for the Kwa, perhaps as a result of an old Infinity Gate that they found and excavated in/near their territory. The Ssi-Ruuk already regard blueness as the highest caste in their society, so some sort of Kwa connection could be an interesting parallel there, and some crude approximation of reverse-engineered Infinity Gate technology could even be an explanation for whatever plot McGuffin allowed the Ssi-Ruuk to get all the way to the Gordian Reach (literally half way across the galaxy from where they started), and for the Dyson Sphere doodad they were attempting to construct.

Perhaps we are dealing with technology similar to the Mass Relays in the Mass Effect games. The Ssi-Ruuk are able to "shoot" small groups of ships long distances, allowing minor Ssi-Ruuk threats / raiding parties / etc to pop up all over the galaxy (for that element of "everyone is in danger" we discussed previously), but the technology is not stable enough for the Ssi-Ruuk to send a large invasion fleet through, which is why worlds like Terminus / etc are requiring a more conventional slow march approach to warfare? Perhaps what the Ssi-Ruuk were trying to build in the Gordian Reach was the other end of a pair of linked gates/gizmos, to allow reliable travel back and forth. Maybe that's even something they will attempt to build at Terminus and/or other beachheads, which gives the Empire and the Alliance targets of strategic importance that they can try to disrupt/destroy?

Excellent resource, thanks for compiling the write-ups. The ones I was thinking off the top of my head are all mentioned, so this seems like a good group to potentially roll into the story as we go. I definitely like the idea of including the Chistori and the Trandoshans in particular.

Definitely a great foundation of races to look at and consider for the invasion.