Shaltari Tribes

The Shaltari are an ancient, highly advanced species that has spread throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

## Biology

Shaltari are diminutive, roughly humanoid creatures that stand a little over four feet high. Their bodies are covered in long, thick spines, the colour of which can be changed at will. These spines can broadcast waves of complex patterns at bewildering speeds, a trait likened to that of cuttlefish; however, individual Shaltari present a dominant colour the majority of the time, which is believed to be linked to complex psychological states. Shaltari have large, ovoid eyes that lack pupils, a small mouth lined with short teeth, and no discernible nose or ears.

Despite being disproportionately long-limbed for their size, Shaltari move with a disquieting grace, every action appearing flawlessly coordinated. They are significantly faster than humans when pressed, and appear to be in perfect control of their bodies. Although seemingly androgynous, there are both male and female Shaltari.

Shaltari reproduce extremely slowly - their gestation period is believed to be in excess of twenty years, a trait which significantly curtailed the race's initial efforts to expand throughout the galaxy. Even after the invention of consciousness transference all but eliminated deaths due to old age, the Shaltari population is still relatively small. Young Shaltari are known as Firstborns, and typically occupy the lowest rungs of the social hierarchy after becoming adults.

The natural lifespan of Shaltari appears to be in excess of three centuries, but many Shaltari will live longer than that thanks to their process of consciousness transfer. Near mortal death, the psyche and memories of a subject can be transferred into a brain-dead shell body grown specifically for this purpose, allowing the individual to live on. Interestingly, as a Shaltari's psyche grows older in this way, the resting colour of their spines grows more pale. Young Shaltari are invariably dark, while Elders are white or even translucent.

Despite the immense importance of consciousness transfer in Shaltari culture, the process comes with the side effect of increasingly acute, pathological fear of death. There is no known Shaltari religion, and the race believes that death is simply the end of existence; as a result, Shaltari Elders who have lived for centuries are terrified of death beyond all else.

## Culture

The Shaltari value knowledge above all else, and deeply mourn the loss of expertise and experience that death brings. This cultural belief would eventually result in the creation of consciousness transfer, allowing elder Shaltari to continue to accumulate knowledge well past their original lifespan.

Second to this respect for knowledge is a culture of warrior veneration. For Shaltari, basic respect can only be achieved by fighting for the race, and those who have never seen battle cannot even be bestowed with a name. This attitude extends to dealings with other races as well - Shaltari ambassadors will refuse to address those without military experience by name. As a result, despite the near species-wide thanatophobia, the Shaltari perpetually seek out conflict, battling other races or even amongst themselves.

Firstborns almost always join the military to earn respect and advance up the social ladder. As they have yet to learn to fear death in the way that Elders do, they make up the bulk of Shaltari infantry where casualties are highest, and take posts aboard the most aggressively-minded Shaltari warships. Older individuals will often continue to serve in the military even after earning the respect of their peers, as many find themselves unable to stomach civilian life.

The Shaltari have embraced the concept of strength through diversity, struggle, and competition. As they are accustomed to being the most advanced, powerful race in their sphere of influence, this often means that the only viable source of conflict is with other Shaltari. Throughout the ages, disagreements between various Shaltari blocs have resulted in clearly disparate groups, which is lauded by the race as a driving force for development. This is especially important for avoiding stagnation, as the Shaltari's slow birth rates and nonexistent deaths due to old age may otherwise prevent further growth.

These groups will typically avoid bloodshed where possible. However, when open warfare does result, the Shaltari make every effort to maintain small-scale battles, pursuing them only until honour is satisfied. As a result, these clashes are referred to as Honour Feuds. Until recently, these were the only types of inter-Shaltari warfare sighted; of late however, significant coalitions of Shaltari have been seen engaged in large-scale warfare that goes beyond Honour Feuds. These conflicts are theorized to be the result of profound differences of opinion that, while rare, are occurring with regularity now.

## Government and Politics

Humans refer to individual Shaltari groups as Tribes, a term first used by early Shaltari ambassadors. Tribes were assigned designations that correspond to early indigenous Earth nations and cultures, a practice that the United Colonies of Mankind has continued. These names are distributed randomly and do not indicate any similarity between the Tribe and its original namesake.

The Apache Tribe is perhaps the most well-known Shaltari Tribe of them all, as they were the first to contact humanity and introduced them to the Cradle Worlds. Though at the time this appeared to be an altruistic gesture, it eventually became clear that the Apache intended to use humanity as foot soldiers in their wars against other Tribes, resulting in a quick break of diplomatic relations. In recent times, the Apache have been seen leading a coalition of other Tribes to disrupt and influence the Reconquest to their own ends.

### Relations with Humans

Human relations with the Shaltari have always been complicated. Though many alliances have been made between the two for mutual self-interests, neither side is willing to shed blood for the other. As a result, the history of human-Shaltari interaction has been a morass of alliances, double-dealings, and power struggles. Negotiations are made more difficult by the fact that many Shaltari tribes have an undisguised contempt for mankind and will attack at the slightest provocation. This holds true for relations with the Post-Human Republic as well - though some Tribes in conflict with the UCM have attempted to ally themselves with the Republic, these alliances quickly broke down.

Of particular note is the accusation by the Scourge that the Shaltari engineered the entire war with mankind. If the Scourge are to be taken at their word, the Shaltari deliberately seeded the Cradle Worlds with humans and then redirected Scourge seed ships to bring the two races into conflict, hoping they would wipe each other out. This would go far in explaining the Shaltari's actions throughout the Reconquest - however, as all of this information was provided by the Scourge, the UCM has soundly rejected these accusations.

## Military

Due to the constant internecine conflict between the Tribes, nearly all Shaltari military assets are veterans of countless Honour Feuds. Possessed of blinding speed and exceptional tactics, as well as high advanced technology, the Shaltari pose a potent threat to enemies planetside and in the void.

### Ground Forces

Shaltari ground forces are famous for their esoteric assortment of war machines, from three-legged walkers to nimble grav-tanks. Unwilling to commit to full-scale battles, the Shaltari instead make surgical strikes against key targets before performing lightning-fast withdrawals. This tactic is aided by the Shaltari's teleportation network, which lets them reroute ground forces with blinding speed and prevent any opponent from delivering more than a glancing blow.

The key to this network is the presence of gates - Shaltari constructs featuring a ring of focusing devices and a central, gemlike core. Shaltari troops in close proximity to a gate can be teleported from it to another nearby gate, or chained from gate to gate to cover large distances quickly. Not every Shaltari unit is teleport-capable - the technology requires the unit to be encased in a complex web of locator systems - but most of them are.

All Shaltari units are equipped with all-encompassing energy shields that give them superlative protection under fire, and armed with a variety of esoteric weaponry. This includes gauss weapons for anti-armour, microwave weapons for anti-infantry, and even more outlandish gear like gravitic magnifiers or disruption cannons.

### Naval Forces

Each Shaltari Tribe operates its own fleet, with the largest of these being system-level threats. However, this can vary based on the tribe in question - the Apache are well-known for their void actions, for example, while the Avar frequently require transit to battlefields through the motherships of other factions. Each tribe also maintains its own naval tactics, ship lists, and preferences, making each encounter with the Shaltari unique. Particular classes of ship are far more prevalent in the fleets of certain tribes - for example, the Apache generally shun the hyper-aggressive Amethyst-class frigate, while the Mongols employ it frequently.

Shaltari ships are equipped with the best scanners and targeting devices known to the UCM, and can accurately engage enemy ships beyond the reach of any opponent besides rival Shaltari. This strategy is made further possible by the presence of signature disruption systems on all Shaltari warships, a countermeasure that makes return fire highly inaccurate at best or impossible at worst. Should an enemy draw close enough to find a targeting solution, a Shaltari captain has the option of raising his vessel's shields, granting him superlative protection at the cost of a dramatically increased signature.

Shaltari vessels have extremely small crew compliments - their systems are generally automated and reliable to the point that only a few organic operators are required for decision making. The command crew of any Shaltari ship are concentrated in a secluded, central part of the ship known as the core, which is protected by uncharacteristically thick armour and internal energy shields to ensure operation even if the ship becomes crippled. Should their lives become threatened, Shaltari crew members can use an emergency teleporter to transport themselves to nearby friendly ships, or even to gates on the surface; however, this technology has a finite range, meaning that individuals on an isolated ship can still meet their final deaths.