The world of IKAREE · Beyond the Union
Sarrakh Hegemony
Reptile-birds: tall and upright, with dark green to black scales, a coloured bony crest that grows with age and golden eyes with slit pupils. Cold-blooded, they slow down in cool rooms.
History
The Sarrakh believe the galaxy is a garden and their task is to tend it. They uplift younger species with technology, genetic changes and a place in their caste order. They call it kindness; everyone else calls it colonisation. Four client species already belong to the Hegemony. To them the Union is a wild weed that refuses order. The cold war of 2330 to 2334 ended with the Ashline, a five-light-year belt no warship may enter.
How they live
Ruled by matriarchs: age is authority. Strict castes in which everyone knows their place and is content in it. They value patience and plan in centuries. They rarely lie, but often stay silent.
Technology
The best stealth in the galaxy: shadow fields that damp a ship's emissions, though not perfect cloaking. Gravity lances as the main weapon. Genetic engineering at a level that frightens the Union.
Ships
Sharp sickle shapes like blades, matte green-black hulls, crimson running lights, flat profiles. Client species fly smaller escorts in the same style.
Why it matters to the IKAREE
Encounters on the Ashline, prisoner exchanges, defectors and humanitarian offers of uplift to worlds in need.