Vatu

The **Vatu** are an alien species of large lizards, reminiscent of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

### Summary

The Vatu are large, usually around seven foot tall with an armored carapace and razor sharp teeth.  Vatu solve all disagreements, no matter how important, with combat

The Vatu are a warlike race and have fought everyone of their neighbors at some point, fighting the Tranoans, the Tazzyn, the Karkouri and the Federation

Vatu technology is more advanced than Terran technology but a long way behind the Tranoans

### Vatu Biology

The Vatu superficially resemble large Earth lizards (or perhaps small dinosaurs).  They are roughly bipedal and have large jaws and skulls.  Most Vatu have a large shell or carapace that surrounds their head and chest, protecting vital organs.  This makes them very hard to kill.  They also have sharp teeth and claws, as well as a tail which is generally equipped with a large clubbing end-piece.  During the Four Empires War, Federation soldiers found that low caliber rounds tended to annoy rather than harm Vatu.  To stop a Vatu with a single shot required a huge calibre round, often 20mm or higher.  A high velocity round to the head or a shot into the eye was the only way to kill a Vatu with a single shot that wasn't a huge man-stopping round

Vatu grow quickly, reaching something resembling adulthood by the age of about nine.  Full adulthood in society is achieved by the age of 14.  It is estimated that the average life-span of a Vatu is around 45 years but they are capable of living a lot longer.  Vatu physiology shows a large number of redundant organs, self healing body parts and even the ability to gradually regenerate some lost limbs.  The Vatu tend to die young because they are a warlike society.

Vatu females lay one clutch of eggs every year, more or less.  Unless they are brought to term by a male (or in a lab) these eggs eventually revert to a stone-like material.  Vatu do not mate or form life-partnerships.  Vatu have a friendly relationship with their family but are much more "clannish".  They tend to form large family groups based on mutual protection and interest

Vatu are carnivores and are not beyond eating slain opponents in battle.  Indeed it is considered to be a great compliment to eat the flesh of a slain opponent.

### Vatu Culture

The Vatu are not a race of simple barbarian warriors but they do prize strength above all other things.  Vatu construction and culture is built around a sort of social darwinism, the strongest survive and the weaker elements of any system simply die

Despite this, Vatu are capable of incredible generosity, kindness and tenderness.  They are a very honorable race who do not brook a slight nor abandon a friend.  Vatu loyalty is fierce and intense.  Most vatu form young friendships that last for life.

The Vatu live a fairly rustic life by the modern Quadrant scale and they value good stories and a good friendly fight.  Vatu stories tend to be those of war but can range from retelling tales of the many wars they have fought to the epic and rather moving tale of the great Vatu hero Lyskariat.

### Religion

The Vatu worship a small pantheon of Warrior-Gods who are all descended from the Vatu.  The Vatu have a small caste of warrior-priests who lead this practise and most Vatu follow one God or another.  Worship is done by prayer, silent meditation and by offering to "Spill blood in your Gods name".  The Vatu do not understand the concept of a religious war, however.

The Vatu believe that the dead are "kept" in some way and these needn't just be those who die in battle.  How they are kept is seldom talked about.

### Vatu Government

The Vatu are ruled by a central council.  This council tends to comprise the leaders of each "clan" in the Vatu society as well as notable elders and important figures in the Vatu civil service.  The supreme ruler of the Vatu has varied from the early days of the Vatu appointing a chancellor, to a High-Chief to the current era of the Lord-Castellan who is the most senior and respected Clan Chieftain.

Vatu clans are semi-autonomous political entities.  They have an economy, land and their own military forces.  These clans are often rivals for each other and the Vatu have been known to fight large and small civil wars over clan issues.  These wars are fought in a variety of ways but are normally hand to hand affairs as the Vatu value close quarters battle as the best way to solve a dispute.

In fact all Vatu laws are settled in hand to hand fighting.  The two parties tend to fight, sometimes to the death to settle the issue.  This means there are not ongoing, old feuds as the feuds tend to end with a decisive result.  The Vatu value an honorable fight too.  If one of the competitors would be no match for the other, then some other champion will be chosen.  This has lead other races to consider the Vatu to be simple and barbaric.

This has also been the reason that the Vatu have fought wars against nearly every neighbour at some point.  The Vatu test themselves and their relationships in battle.  The Vatu Government of 2087 is one of the more stable ones.  This very stable Government came to an end in 2092 at the conclusion of the Four Empires War

### The Vatu Empire

The Vatu Empire is reasonably small but centralised and well protected.  They currently control 12 colonies in 10 star systems and have dominion over another five star systems.  Their fleet is around 120 fighting ships.

The Vatu can call on very large amounts of manpower for warfare.

### Vatu Military

The Vatu are a very warlike culture.  Their homeworld was a very hostile place and most Vatu had to learn to fight early or be eaten.  Vatu still pride themselves on fighting prowess and all young Vatu are taught to fight unarmed and then armed combat.  This tends to be quite harsh training and a lot of young Vatu suffer serious injuries (and some even die) during this training.

The Vatu military comprises the Clan forces of all the various clans.  They are pledged to central issues of war and are capable of great co-operation.  Vatu clans all field land forces, only the largest clans can afford to field actual star-ships.  Vatu clan forces tend to be of a varying quality but are generally well motivated and lead.  They shouldnt be considered to be a "militia" because they are professional troops

The Full-Time Vatu military is the Khe-Kassa.  These "clanless" Vatu have either renounced their clans or were born to extinct or outlawed clans.  The Khe-Kassa are revered and respected and given great kudos within Vatu society.  They serve the will of the Council and are the main-line of the Vatu fleet.

Vatu warships tend to be squat and rather ugly but are very powerful.  They are intensely shielded and armed with large batteries of projectile weapons and laser batteries.  Vatu ships are also EM screened.  The Vatu do not fight in a one dimensional way and are willy and capable opponents

Vatu land forces are a fearsome proposition.  The average Vatu is stronger, braver and fitter than a human.  They can wield great battlefield weapons but prefer to fight in close quarters.  Their natural Armour makes them hard to kill with low caliber weapons.  Some Vatu wear a powered armor carapace over their own armor too, making them like walking tanks.  The Vatu don't field many battlefield vehicles, considering them unwieldly and unnecessary.

Vatu forces have been seen operating as mercenaries and auxiliaries for other powers

### Vatu Foreign Relations

The Vatu have fought nearly all of their neighbors at some point!  Consequently they are considered to be a brutish and warlike race.

The Tranoans-  The Vatu have a certain amount of respect for the high tech Tranoans who have bested the Vatu in one war and then fought alongside them in another.  The Vatu see immense warrior potential in the Tranoans but disdain their clever and subtle feud with the Tazzyn.  The Vatu would not encourage a Tranoan war with the Tazzyn but they would certaintly not wish to be left out of it

The Federation-  The Vatu often tested the Federation during their early days as a space faring power, once sending a pair of ships deep into Federation space.  The two Empires finally crossed swords in 2083 during a border skirmish.  The increased militarism of the Federation made war more likely and then perceived Federation attempts to use the Vatu against the Karkouri backfired with the Vatu declaring war against both Empires, sparking the Four Empires War.  Since the end of this war, the Vatu have gained much more respect for the "warlike Terrans"

The Karkouri-  The Vatu fought two inconclusive and rather bloody wars with the Karkouri.  The Vatu gained a certain level of respect for the aggressive Karkouri and their Salborian foot soldiers.  The Vatu and the Karkouri had a long period of cooperation that ended when the Karkouri annexed the Rorn home systems.  The Vatu felt that the Rorn were not worthy enemies of the Karkouri and intervened on the Rorn side, alongside the Tranoans.  The two empires then fought again in 2089 during the Four Empires War.

The Tazzyn-  The Vatu respect Tazzyn warrior pride but often mock their complex pride and social system.  The Vatu have fought three border wars with the Tazzyn, most of which were narrow Tazzyn victories.  The two since became trading partners.  The Vatu were aware of the Tazzyn's attempts to use the Vatu against the Tranoans and have resisted any attempts by the Tazzyn to use them as a client race

The Indirians-  The Vatu regard the Indirians as a strange blend of warrior spirit and scavenging weakness.  They are fairly tolerant of this migrant race

The Tau'Leir- The vatu were uplifted by the Tau'Leir and thus regard them as nearly divine.  They have an enormous amount of respect for this ancient race but the Tau'Leir long since lost interest in their unruly pupils

The Rorn-  The Vatu have a good relationship with the peaceful Vatu whom they do not regard as a worthy warrior race and thus they have never fought in a war.  The Vatu liberated the Rorn home-systems after the Karkouri invasion and thus Vatu are very welcome in Rorn space

The Mor-Du-  The small and shy Mor-Du are very nervous of the Vatu and thus the two races have very little to do with each other.

The Gannid-  The Vatu have had little to do with the Gannid so far as there is no direct link between the two Empires.  The Vatu were encouraged by increased Gannid militarism in the late 2080's

The Dhaugosk-  The Vatu gained a measure of respect for this canine race in the Four Empires War as they were often deployed by the Federation as Mercenaries

### Vatu History

Vatu History is very stormy and filled with war after war.  They are a race that base their entire culture on war and warfare, conflict is central to nearly every element of their existence.  The Vatu were uplifted by the Taurlei around 1600 AD though the exact date is unknown.  At the time the Vatu were at a medieval period, involved in never ending cycle of tribal warfare.  The Taurlei were able to raise Vatu consciousness and technology levels but were never able to break through their stubborness or warlike nature.

According to one Vatu myth, a Vatu chieftain challenged the "Tall Gods" to a duel and nearly won before the Taurlei's weapons overcame him.  Many modern scholars doubt the veracity of this.  The Vatu were slow students of the graceful and near God like Taurlei and eventually the Taurlei seemed to lose all interest in their wayward charges.  The Vatu were struggling through a technological dark age when they made first contact with the Tranoans

After fifteen years of mutual trade, the Vatu shocked the Tranoans with an invasion of Tranoan space.  The two races fought a brief war in which the technological advantage of the Tranoans overcame Vatu fierceness and bravery.  The Tranoans established buffer systems between the two races and a peace held for a while.  The Vatu then fought a border skirmish with the Karkouri which they were also defeated in.

The Vatu fought a second war with the Tranoans but were once again brushed aside.  The Vatu found the lack of Tranoan aggressiveness puzzling.  They found the warlike Tazzyn to the "north" of them easier to understand and after a series of border skirmishes, a mutual respect was formed between the two powers.  The Vatu however found the sneaky Karkouri hard to respect and fought them again, this time gaining some measure of respect, if no new territory

When the Karkour invaded the newly uplifted Rorn, the Vatu joined the Tranoan's in a joint operation to end Karkouri occupation of Rorn space.  This allied effort surprised the galactic community and gave hope that there could be a future strategic alliance between the two powers.

The Vatu fought the Karkouri a third time before the Federation emerged onto the galactic scene.  Fighting with the Vatu seemed to be a galactic right of passage if you had a mutual border and so it would prove with the Federation. At first the Federation was unable to resist Vatu border raids but eventually the two powers began a near cold war that finally escalated in the year 2089 with the Four Empires War

The Vatu gained much respect for Terran bravery and ingenuity (as well as the effectiveness of their weapons) during this war and conceded the war to the Terrans in 2091.

The Vatu fought the Karkouri again in 2099, losing their colonies back to the Karkouri.

In 2135 the Vatu fought alongside the Federation, the Rorn and the Tranoans against the Nacht-Volker.  The Vatu Heavy Cruiser "Demmos" rammed the Nacht-Volker battle-cruiser, causing critical damage and allowing others to score the kill shot against it

In 2149 the Vatu went to war against the Karkouri again.  The war was a strategic defeat for the Vatu but Tranoan pressure prevented the war from going on further.

In the year 2198 they were persuaded to join the Federation and their allies in an intervention into the Dhaugosk War.  The Dhau war ended in 2205 with a peace-settlement.  The Vatu economy had been devastated by the war

### Vatu Technology

The Vatu are actually fine engineers and capable of some great technology.  Vatu shield and mechanical technology is rightly prized and respected.  The vatu also produce excellent atmospheric scrubbers and can even gradually give a planet a breathable atmosphere.

Vatu warships tend not to be much to look at and can appear quite primitive compared to graceful, sleek Tranoan ships.  However Vatu ships are well equipped, if cramped and tend to have excellent EM screening and powerful shields.

In terms of battlefield tech, the Vatu still use fairly low tech projectile weapons and their fearsome hand to hand capabilities