************************************************************************ Background information on the C A I T I A N R A C E For the HWF Star Trek Universe I I n t r o d u c t i o n Caitians first appeared in the non-canon cartoon series of star trek, with the Female Caitian, Lieutenant M'Ress. When the first RPG rules where published in the Mid '70s, they contained stats for PC Caitian's. In neither case was the background built up with any great depth. Whilst never 'officially' recognized as canon, they have made a couple of 'face in the crowd' appearances in the star trek films. II P h y s i o l o g y With Kzinti also being part of HWF canon, there is either a direct biological link in the past of the two species or it is a case of close parallel evolution. Both display similarities to the 'big cats' of Sol III (Earth) but whilst the Kzin have the larger, more angular features akin to that of a Terran Lion, Caitians have the smaller, softer lines akin to that of a cheetah. On average, Caitians tend toward being a few inches shorter than the average human, with a relatively slight build. The chest/rib cage being relatively deep and large thighs, both baring testimony to their evolutionary heritage as fast, solitary hunters. Short, strong, retractable claws and an uncanny sense of balance are evolved in the races other, and main hunting ground, the tree-tops of Caits vast forests. In comparison with humans, they are very fast (Both movement and hand/eye co-ordination) but not as strong on average (0.9 gravity on Cait) The fur colour of Caitians varies across the entire range and patterns. Black, brown, tan, grey, white, spotted, striped, plain, can all be found amongst the diverse population. III P s y c h o l o g y The greater the damage from potential inter-personal combat from the members of the society to inflict on one another (In the hunter-gatherer pre-settled state of social evolution) the grater need for the development of a strong moral code to develop in order for the society to function. Even pre-tool using, Caitians had natural weaponry which meant disastrous consequences from such encounters. The move from direct family units to larger 'clan' groupings took longer than the human equivalent but when it did, it was due to the development of an honour code in which clan honour and survival took precedence over personal honour and survival. It is a testament to the strength of that 'code of honour' that it is still a deep rooted part of Caitian Psyche. A heavy reliance on elders and 'superiors' (Clan chiefs) enabled Caitians to control the instances of personal combat to mostly ritualistic situations. In character terms, the natural predatorily drive is still strong in Caitians, but the 'good of their Clan' (or ship if in HWF) comes first. They make for loyal officers but the conflict between Caitian honour/customs and starfleet directives/orders can often prove very problematical. This often results in a personality crisis of sorts, being in the position of having two, often conflicting honour obligations is not comfortable as honour is the one area where Caitians find it difficult (if not impossible) to compromise. Also, being a race of carnivores, hunters, they tend to view herbivores and omnivores as 'prey animals'. This tends to surface in initial interactions. A carnivorous race will often be viewed as intrinsically better (more likely to act honourably) and Warlike/hunter races tent to get the 'benefit of the doubt but vegetarian pacifists tend to get initially treated with disdain. This of course is a generalization and those few Caitians to have gone through the academy will display much less of that prejudice. Also individuals, if given chance to do so, can prove/disprove their honour and alter the Caitians initial viewpoint of them. It is not the level of success that will determine the change but the courage and honour that the Caitian sees in their actions. If a Caitian officer found himself under a weak CO (There would have to be a lot of instances of 'dishonorable actions' for the natural 'clan heads are to be obeyed' tendency to be overridden) it is quite possible that the Caitian would find himself being pulled into challenging the CO. First in little things, doing what he does but doing it BETTER, verbal confrontations, doing things 'under protest' etc. if these 'WARNING SIGNS' are not acted on then the Caitian WILL eventually either leave (More likely for starfleet officers) or challenge to combat for command. This stems from the customs/honour 'rules' which cover the replacement of a 'bad' clan chief in Caitian society. IV H o m e w o r l d Cait is a world of extremes, huge mountains, wide forests, deep swamps. Slightly higher water coverage, slightly less gravity but otherwise relatively similar to Earth normal. The largest bodies of forestation hold giant trees hundreds of meters tall, these cover most of the natural Clan homelands but Caitian influence extends to all bar the worst of the swamplands. V S o c i e t y The basic unit of Caitian society is the Clan, all members of a particular clan sharing the same prefix (Av'ern, Av'anvor and Av'elona are all of clan Av for example). The clan chiefs authority is ALMOST absolute only two forces act to hold them in check. One being the right of warriors within the clan to 'challenge' if they have cause, if the clan chief can not persuade another warrior to stand in his stead then he must face the challenge himself. The more faith the Clan has in the chiefs decisions the less he will be challenged, however a weak or misguided chief will continually find themselves fighting off challenges until they loose the position. The other check, is the 'elders council' they are the keepers of the law, they are the forum which decides how the law applies to new situations, also the group who judges if a challenge has 'worth'. (If a challenge is made and the chief wishes not to face it, the elders are called on to decide if it has worth or not, if it has then they can demand that the challenge be taken up on. any clan who defies the elders in this, would likely find itself under attack from many, if not all, the other clans) The elders (formed of many older warriors, too old to fight, who have stepped down from their clan positions to take elder status) can also sponsor a challenge where they feel a clan is in breach of the law but where no member of that clan will face the chief. A volunteer from ANY clan will then take the challenge forward. The Caitian system is archaic, and at times violent, but unlike many civilizations they have not had a major 'world war' in their entire history. The Elders are also the main teachers of social/moral values. In the past they would be the main teachers of all skills, but over the last 100 years specialist teachers/schools have taken much of the formal teaching role, but an Elder is still held in very high regard. Females, are still regarded very much as property of the father/husband although as time goes on, they are gradually gaining more in the way of rights. Younglings also are considered as property although males do gain some rights of their own after their first kill and take their responsibility for themselves when they become an adult in their own right. Unlike many societies there is no formal age for many of the changes in status of Caitians, they rather measure it by ability. As long as the various trials and tests of the society are taken in the correct order then there is no limit to how fast the individual could theoretically take them. This, at least to start with is the only decision that a youngling can make independent of their father. Since meeting other races 100 year ago, the clan council was formed. A forum where all the clan heads can meet to decide on law and uniform interaction with other races. But even this council has to abide by the decision of the council of elders when it comes to questions of morality and behaviour. Because of the interaction with other cultures, THIS is the only forum that uses a vote system. VI R e c e n t H i s t o r y Around 100 years ago, Cait was still a pre-warp society. Their sublight space program had taken them only as far as the other planets in the Cait system and set up a number of mining (and in one case farming (Herds of food animals) operations on them. When one of these had been struck by a meteor, fears for the safety of the homeworld grew, a number of heavily armed sublight ships where built and placed in the system as a result. Their task, to identify and deal with space borne threats to Cait. During the latter part of the Federation-Klingon conflict, two Klingon battle cruisers forced a small federation scout vessel out of warp and into Caitian space. As the sublight vessels moved to investigate this first proof of extra-Caitian life, the Klingons opened fire. The Caitians responded in kind. Although almost 90% of the Caitian fleet was defeated, their weapons had been designed to destroy the largest conceivable asteroids and meteors. The concerted attack crippled one cruiser and drove the other off. Being badly damaged itself the federation scout could do nothing to stop the Caitians salvage the remains of the battle cruiser. The Caitians would obviously have warp drive in the near future and there was always the chance they would be the target of Klingon reprisals, so in spite of the 'no pre-warp' directive, formal negotiations with Cait where instigated. So long as the interaction was on their terms, the Caitians seemed to be able to interact successfully with what they saw as 'elder' races despite some reluctance to deal with non hunters. Within 5 years enough common ground had been found to enable them to become full members in the federation. However there has always been a large (but still in the minority) body of Caitians who resent such formal links with 'grass eaters' and would have Cait remove itself from the federation. This has polarized the clan council into two factions, the expansionists (Pro-federation membership) and the centrists (Anti-federation membership). -- Caitian background document created 8-April-2000 by Raven. All text Copyright (c)2000 Raven; freely usable for any Holoworld fleet involvement. contact for other permissions.ons. --