Udekku

The Udekku are a race of organo-synthetic hybrid hominids native to Vaalbara, a continent-sized city and the heart of the Vaalbaran Empire, located on Eranii, the fifth planetary body orbiting Vorta and the first Non-Alliance controlled planet in the Vortan System.

## Physical description

### distinctions

The Udekku are part living organism, part machine. Their species has advanced neuro- and biotechnology which has allowed them to genetically modify their bodies from birth.

## Origins

The Udekku evolved artificially in a very short time, from a galactic point of view. Their progenitors were called Ekkuni, a race of peaceful and highly advanced engineers who sought to turn Eranii into a utopia. Over several centuries, the Ekkuni engineered a genetically superior sub-species, spawned from their own DNA genome, which they called Udekku (literal translation, "*Blood of Ekku*").

## History

For a few years after the birth of the Udekku, the entire Ekkuni race celebrated the biggest achievement in the history of their civilization. Then, almost overnight, the Ekkuni race was annihilated as the Udekku turned on their creators and claimed Vaalbara as their own. The Udekku considered themselves the true heirs to the Vaalbaran utopia, and since eradicating every trace of the Ekkuni from their homeworld, they have expanded their Empire far beyond what the Ekkuni had thought possible.

## Genetic Modification

The Udekku are capable of modifying the genome sequence of their offspring during the gestation period, thereby making every Vaalbaran born a prime specimen. Children are born into Utilitarian Complexes, districts of citizens blocked together according to industrial utility. Engineers and scientists are genetically altered to support superior intelligence and logical reasoning; Soldiers are engineered to perform more adequately in the field, and so on.

## Society

Each Vaalbaran is given a role to play within the Empire before they are even born, based on the specific makeup of their active genome. The Ekkuni laid the groundwork for much of what has become the Vaalbaran Empire long before the Udekku came into existence, but the Udekku have since transformed their world into the essence of cold, calculated efficiency.

Insubordination and weakness are abhorred among the Vaalbaran society. Each Imperial Citizen realizes their place, and performs their duty as a service to Vaalbara as a whole. The level of pride and nationalism shown by Vaalbarans is practically unparalleled within other social constructs present in the Vortan System.

### Political Status

Udekku are known to be hostile towards Alliance ships and personnel. Since the Uzhan Crusades––which began in A.Y. 2273 and ended in A.Y. 2291 after nearly two decades of bloody feuding––the Udekku have remained dormant on their homeworld of Eranii. Alliance access to Eranii has been restricted since the formation of the Vaalbara Covenant, and the Udekku have placed a defensive blockade marking the perimeter of Vaalbaran space. According to Covenant officials, any ship attempting to bypass the blockade will be considered a hostile threat to the Vaalbaran Empire and will be destroyed or captured. The Uzhan Treaty grants impunity for this defensive measure, so long as the Vaalbarans do not break the standing cease fire between the Alliance and the Covenant.

## See Also

1. For more information on the plight of the Ekkuni, see the article, *The Demise of the Ekkuni and Resounding Implications*, by Lumen Drillig Sani, A.Y. 2374.