Doog

The **Doog** are the majority slave caste of the Hegemonic Crux. They resemble dogs, but are actually a lizard-like species. Doog provide the bulk of the Crux’s infrastructure, economy and production, as they are forced to work constantly, but never earning quite enough to buy their freedom.

## Biology

The Doog appear to be a scaly skinned race of canids, earning them the nickname of "dog lizards." Their prominant canine features, from the motile, expressive ears, to the obvious venter, suggests that the Doog are a warm-blooded species, and their lack of fur presumably hails from exposure to warm climates. All indications point to the Doog being a tropical or desert dwelling organism, but there is little chance of confirmation; the Doog do not seem to be competant to answer questions about themselves.

These creatures tend to be very slow, and their mental processes seem weak at best. They are extremely efficient builders, having an innate ability to construct a whole range of technology, ships, buildings and whatever else is required by their debt to the Hegemonic Crux.

## Culture

Despite their obvious lack of intelligence, the Doog are noble in their naivete. They always try to behave themselves and help out when possible, but find it difficult to do so, largely because of recent their best efforts have been continuously harangued by their masters. While such concepts as honor and trust don't seem to weigh heavily on the Doog conscious, they behave in such a manner as to make the Owa blush with embarrassment. It may be true that the Doog are too dim witted to be deceptive and duplicitous, but their simplicity keeps them honest.

It is their very nature of unshaking candidness that has made them such a ripe target for Ploxis manipulations. Again, the poor mental capacities of the Doog are to blame for their entrapment by the plunderers; how else could they have gotten themselves ensnared in such a simple (but admittedly effective) "free-market" ruse? Because of this, the Doog continuously run the risk of exploitation by other, less honorable races, and need to be kept under a benign but watchful eye.

Doog seem to possess a religion of sorts, believing themselves to be the inheritors of the Precursors, similar to other species in the Kessari Quadrant, claiming the Precursors were born in the First Litter of Doog.

## History

The Ploxis discovered the slow-witted Doog and surreptitiously ordered the K'tang Kaktorri to attack them. The K'tang, of course, slaughtered the hapless dog-lizards, but were chiefly focusing on the Doog's richest worlds. As such, the dullards were searching for any way out of the war. It so happened that the Ploxis "discovered" the war, and offered to broker a peace between the races, for a considerable amount of resources, which, thanks to the directed efforts of the K'tang, did not exist any more. In addition to the loss of mineral wealth, the one-sided war cost the Doog their food stores and production facilities, leaving the losers with nothing to eat and no way to pay for it. It just so happened that the Ploxis had emergency rations that they would be willing to part with for vastly-inflated prices. Facing starvation and desperation, the Doog accepted the "trade," but still had no way to pay for it.

The Ploxis offered the Doog a contract to work for them, offering to sell them much needed supplies while paying them "generously," so that they could end the contract when desired. Sadly, the Ploxis declined to mention that all supplies for such tasks would have to be purchased from the Ploxis, and at such an inflated rate that the Doog became deeply entrenched in debt, with no hope of ever extricating themselves. In fact, as they continued to work, they began to owe lifetime's worth of work to the Ploxis.

The contract was very specific, and very demanding. The Doog could not purchase supplies from other races; that was strictly forbidden. Time not spent working cost the Doog extra, and communicating with the enemy had the same effect. As such, the Doog were curt before their liberation; to do otherwise would be to sink even faster into a bottomless pit of debt.

Eventually, however, it came to light that Doog colonies could be purchased, which the League did, wresting a valuable resource away from the Crux while abiding by the Crux' own rules. The fuel, labor, and ships that the Doog contributed were invaluable, and thanks to the industriousness of the otherwise slow race, all of these things were in vast supply.

Having been purchased away from the defeated Crux, the Doog are now technically the property of the League of Sentient Races, although League rules expressedly forbid slavery. As such, the Doog will have their debts forgiven, but having nowhere to "go," will still depend on the League for all direction. This direction is best given by the more trustworthy members, as the ease of which the Doog can be exploited makes managing the race tricky at best.