Dhaugosk

The Dhaugosk are a migrant race to the Quadrant

They are large bipedal humanoids with a canine aspect. They have very sharp teeth with pronounced fangs and strong jaws. They have a shaggy pelt, rather than fur and large dark eyes. Dhaugosk have very muscular shoulders and arms

Physiology
Dhaugosk are muscular and large bipedal humanoids. They tend to stand around 6'0 plus and weigh upwards of 200 pounds. Your average Dhaugosk also has a great deal of both strength and personal endurance. The Dhaugosk biology is very hardy and they have several regressive genes that make them a very hard race to kill.

Their shaggy pelt makes them very resistant to extreme cold and other extreme weather conditions. They have an excellent sense of smell and sight and are superb trackers.

Dhaugosk are born male or female but there is a widespread habit of male Dhagosk being "broken" or "Theu-Teh-Shok" which is a form of ritual gelding. These "Theu" Dhaogosk are then incapable of having pups. Female Dhaugosk are superficially identical to the males, at least to other races.

Dhaugosk females give birth to several litters per year. Each litter will tend to contain around four or five pups, two or three of these will live to see adult hood. Dhaugosk mature young and by ten they are capable of giving birth to new litters. This means there are an awful lot of Dhaugosk anywhere they settle

Dhaugosk value clan and pack loyalty over personal familial bonds and they do not value the concept of brother or sister.

Government
The Dhaugosk dont appear to have any form of Government at all. They are seen operating in packs (of around 40 Dhau) or in Tribes (of around 500 Dhau). They answer to a senior Dhaugosk to whom they refer as the "Dhau". These Dhau carry a sceptre of authority over the tribe. The tribe fight over the leadership in ritualized combat. The loser is usually killed but sometimes they are just subjected to Theu-Teh

This was later proven to be an elaborate subertfugue as the Dhau were revealed to be a huge "migrant" Empire. The Dhau Invasion of 2198 saw them revealed as an Empire, a highly ordered and militaristic one.

Dhaugosk Empire
The arrival of "thousands" of Dhaugosk ships from outside the quadrant revealed that the Dhaugosk were far from simple extra-solar migrants like the Indirians. They were in fact part of a huge and highly militaristic Empire. Their "migrant" fleet

It was also a multi racial Empire that included "conquered races" from outside the Quadrant. These included Indirians who had grown up a part of the great Dhaugosk Empire.

By the end of the Dhaugosk War in 2205, the Dhaugosk had captured more than 55 colonies from the Tranoan Empire. The Dhaugosk began to administrate their new Empire

Culture
The Dhaugosk are a very warlike race. They value military and martial skill above all things. Most Dhau are fighters in some regard and they tend to bicker and snarl at each other constantly, looking for dominance. The Dhau are far from simplistic brutes though and have a rich, albeit complex cultural tradition.

The Dhaugosk dont seem to have a written cultural tradition and most Dhaugosk stories are passed down in the Oral tradition. Dhaugosk all hope to be immortalized in story, this is known as "Dhau-Dennek Sho", or High Immortality

Dhaugosk also value loyalty and have never been observed to repudiate a mercenary contract and have always delivered on what they said they would do. Dhaugosk soldiers have been known to fight on even when their employers are dead.

Religion
The Dhau are generally a warrior race and worship a wide-ranging pantheon of Gods. These vary from culture to culture within the Dhau and each Dhau will have a personal "patron" God that they offer their worship to. There is no Dhau priest caste or organised religion. All Dhau are aware of their Gods and worship them with quiet meditation and dedication of the Battles they will fight to them

The Dhau believe in an afterlife that has a many layered heaven and a many layered hell. They believe that death in battle will get you to a higher level of heaven. This immortality is secondary though to being remembered forever in story

The Dhau also believe that their Pantheon was put in place by a God known only as the "First" or the "Dhashek-Erea-Shon". Worship of this God is rare as its a complex philosophical construct

Some Dhau are atheist and do not believe that these Gods are real. Atheists are rare in the warlike and fatalistic Dhau

History
Dhaugosk are often seen operating as mercenaries, scouts and bodyguards, especially in the Eastern reach of the Quadrant. Dhaugosk dont seem to have ships of their own, despite being a space-faring race and are often seen on merchant ships and freighters. Dhaugosk are migrants from another Quadrant but little is known of their home-systems. The Dhaugosk do not have a government it would seem

A Dhaugosk mercenary force was hired by Matthew Devlin to work for the Federation in 2089 for A$1.5M. More Dhaugosk fought in the Four Empires War. In the end, the FAS had hired more than 10,000 Dhaugosk Mercenaries. Around 3,100 of them were killed fighting for the Federation. They gained a huge amount of respect from the Salborians and Vatu during this time

By 2115 the FSS (Scout Services) put an estimate on Dhaugosk numbers in the Quadrant at around 4,000,000. In 2145 a mass migration of Dhaugosk into the Quadrant saw those numbers reach 600 million. The Tazzyn Empire began to drive Dhaugosk out of their space but most other races made them reasonably welcome

In the year 2180 there was another mass migration. Once again the Tazzyn reacted violently to this but the other races were largely tolerant of mass migration. The Federation passed a law capping migration at its current levels (around 20 million Dhau live in Federation space). The FSS guessed that Dhau migration had now reached more than three billion

In the year 2197 there was another mass migration but this time the Dhau arrived with a truly vast fleet of warships (estimated from between 2 and 4 thousand). This fleet began a conquest of Tranoan space, sparking the Dhaugosk War.

In the year 2205 the war ended with the Dhau expanded to 55 colony worlds. This started a near 80 year of peace and consolidation on Dhaugosk worlds. The Dhau, still very much pariah's in the galactic community, allowed any local races to remain in place and to largely continue to self-govern.

In the 2270's the tension between the Dhau and the Tranoan's picked up again. War seemed inevitable and broke out in the 2290s. This war saw the Dhau make gains but these were slowed and nearly reversed after interventions from the Tazzyn Empire. By the year 2315 the Dhaugosk Empire had 61 colony worlds and a population of more than 20 billion.

The Dhaugosk Empire settled in the 24th century for consolidation and a surprising corporate arrangement with the Terrans, allowing Terran corporations to set up across the Dhaugosk Empire, a highly lucrative arrangement for both powers.

In the 2350's, the Dhau came under attack from the Rephaim and found that their fleet was unable to stop the Rephaim incursion. The Dhau's advantage in ground combat was neutralized as the Rephaim were able to reanimate dead Dhaugosk to fill their own ranks.

As time went on, the Dhau were able to stop the Rephaim at their borders but eventually their defences began to crumble. The Galactic Community appeared to be unwilling to intervene until 2399 when the Taur'leir Empire agreed to destroy the Rephaim, though they glassed several Dhau worlds in the process, killing billions of Dhau

This provoked a civil war as "native" Dhau born in the quadrant decided they wanted a new Empire that was able to work with the other powers, rather than be part of the larger and warlike Empire. The civil war was very bitter and nine tribes of Dhau went rebel along with billions of their followers.

Eventually, in 2314 the Terran Empire agreed to back the Dhau Imperial Government against the rebels which helped bring the civil war to its end in 2415. The Dhau entered into a long period of rebuilding, replacing lost ships and buildings on the warzone worlds. The death-toll was estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.

The Dhau Empire needed considerable financial and material aid to get its economy started again and the Karkouri Regime, Gannid Commonwealth and Terrans all helped out in some fashion.

The Dhau took possession of several former Taur'leir worlds but were pushed around by the Gannid Commonwealth who took advantage of the Dhau's weakened state.

After the Terrans signed the CANDL agreement, the Dhau entered into an alliance with the Karkouri and began a long period of fleet construction.

The Dhau fought a few skirmishes with the Gannid Commonwealth but war was averted thanks to the actions of the Terran Empire

Warrior Culture
The Dhaugosk are a warrior culture, fighting and warfare is one of their great traditions.

All male Dhau and most Theu are trained to fight. All of them are decent hand to hand fighters, prefer heavy weapons to allow them to use thier incredible strength and endurance.

Dhau make use of plasma weapons and projectile weapons (purchased from the Karkouri and the Federation).

Dhau display great aggression in combat but equally they are not just mindless casualty screens. They fight with elan and daring, using carefully considered tactics.

Dhau's native weapons include a highly advanced rifle that fires a solid shot. This shot is "cut" from a metal block that resides within the magazine and is tuned to suit the target in terms of weight and range.

Dhaugosk Mercenary Troops
The Dhaugosk form elite mercenary units which often form into regimental sized commands under the most senior "Dhau." They are known for their skill and bravery. They fought in the Four Empires War and then again in the occupation of the JOZ

Dhaugosk Mercenary Troops became the premier mercenary troops in the Quadrant by 2100, being able to attract a higher price than Indirian mercenaries

Dhaug Mercenaries became much more prominent as the 22nd century came to an end due to the widespread migration of the Dhaugosk, thus diluting their prices

By the time of the Dhaugosk Invasion of 2197, Dhau were no longer available for hire as mercenaries. It was assumed and later confirmed that there entire operations as mercenaries had simply been a way to scout the fighting capabilities of the races of the Quadrant

Invaders
see the Dhaugosk War

The Dhau began to invade Tranoan space in late 2197 and then into 2198, sparking a huge war between the ancient Tranoan Empire and the newly arrived Dhaugosk Empire.

This sparked off the "Dhaugosk War" of 2198 which eventually brought the Terran Federation and their allies into a widening conflict.

Eventually this war lead to an alliance between the Tranoans, the Federation, the Rorn, the Bl'Hud, the Mor Du and the Gannid confronting the Dhaugosk Invaders. The Karkouri, Taurlei and the Tazzyn Empires remained neutral

The Dhaugosk fought another war with the Tranoans (and their allies) in the year 2280. The so called "2nd Dhaugosk War" was largely inconclusive.