THE HYDRAN SOVEREIGN MONARCHY is another state that borders the Outlands. They are a methane breathing, trisexual race of tri-limbed and eyed humanoids. It is suggested that they are related to the Edoans, although the exact reason of their methane breathing adaptation is best left unconjunctured. Simply put, all three limbed races are not necessarily of the same stock, as most bipedal races are thought to be. Hydrans have three sexes: Female, Male and Breeder. Males are smaller than Females. Breeders are not sentient, and exist purely to breed and care for the young, one of each sex occurring in each birth.

As far as dominance and physical prowess, the females take charge (though both sexes are comparably large to a Human). Traditionally, females serve the more military roles: defence, combat, and/or any of the more physically-demanding regimens.

The female ranks are thus:

Trinary 1: Qelereth (Warlords)
Queen’s Warlord - Qelereth’Meshketh
Master Warlord - Qelereth’Mereth
Junior Warlord - Qelereth’Mev

Trinary 2: Qasar (Commanders)
Queen’s Commander - Qasar’Meshketh
Master Commander - Qasar’Mereth
Junior Commander - Qasar’Mev

Trinary 3: Qui (Officers)
Queen’s Officer - Qui’Meshketh
Master Officer -Qui’Mereth
Junior Officer - Qui’Mev

The males are more of the tacticians, commanders, and planners. Their ranks follow as:

Trinary 1: Gharashk (Warlords)
Queen’s Warlord - Gharashk’Meshketh
Master Warlord - Garashk’Mereth
Junior Warlord - Gharashk’Mev

Trinary 2: Gral (Commanders)
Queen’s Commander - Gral’Meshketh
Master Commander - Gral’Mereth
Junior Commander - Gral’Mev

Trinary 3: Gi (Officers)
Queen’s Officer - Gi’Meshketh
Master Officer - Gi’Mereth
Junior Officer - Gi’Mev

Breeders do just that: breed. They never leave the planet, never command ships or men. Although they are basically sub-sentient, the Hydrans see them as sacred. Without them, Hydrans could not procreate. In essence, the breeders receive both the male and female gametes (eggs and sperm, respectively), to create a viable zygote within them.

The three stages of Breeders are:

Child - Juurth'Ka
Adult - Juurth'Kaeln
Elder - Juurth'Kalkoorv

A note on the "Trinary" reference... Basically, there are three over-all sets, the Queen's Chosen (self-explanatory), the Master (has proven himself for the title), and the Junior (initial probationary/step-in phase).

The suffix is the key, here. A Junior officer/commander/warlord is always a "'Mev". A Master is always a "'Mereth", and a Queen's Chosen is always a "'Meshketh". (Author's Note - This makes it a lot easier to keep things straight, because then you only have to remember the differences between the three general rank-groups: Officers, Commanders, and Warlords)

Also of note, while both the male and female rank-groups are the same, the prefixes are different, to indicate gender. Female ranks will always start with a 'Q', and male ranks will always start with a 'G'. I.E. Gral N'Fth'Nor.

Lastly, their names. As you can see, the name is subdivided into three distinct models. The first is his familial--or "sur"--name, in this case 'N' (pronounced "un"). The second modal is 'Fth' ("fetch" is a close approximation, as Hydran's can't pronounce t-h sounds), and corresponds to a personal trait; a marker that distinguishes him as an individual (think of it as his given name). The last modal is 'Nor' ("nor", as it looks): where he is from.

The Hydrans worship a pantheon of minor gods, with each household, ship and/or base having their own patron. They are a Monarchy with titles of minor nobility, but as they are anything BUT monogamous, the current "Queen" has 3,401 successor 'Princes' in a 30,872 member ' Royal Family' and a rather complex Line of Succession. Only Matriarchs may never aspire to hold the Throne, and the titles are not Gender specific. A strong Civil Service actually runs the Day to Day affairs, including the Royal Fleet.

Worlds located within Hydran space are: Altroth, Minxitith, and Krooth. All were former 'Old Colonies' that avoided conquer and rule by the Klingons in the 22nd century when the Klingons and Lyrans combined to declare war on the Hydrans in 2190. They were largely forgotten about in the confusion between the two conqering races in dividing up the spoils of the Hydran Kingdom. This was known as the "Second Klingon-Hydran War" to U.F.P. historians, as the "War of Retribution" to the Klingons, and as the "War of Infamy" to the Hydrans. The Lyrans attacked the collapsing Hydran border and captured several planets, but were not formal allies of Klingons until 2192.

The above colonies were established by the major merchant guilds of the Hydran Kingdom, and the later power of the Guilds stems from this period. The Guilds maintained the Monarchy through Prince S'Lenthna, the last heir of Hydraxan IX. The Prince was a virtual puppet (the Guilds hold the real power), but his presence was important in rallying the Hydrans and encouraging the second war between the Klingons and Lyrans.

Hydran ships are nimble and lightly armored. They fall into three groups, fighter support/carriers, Hellebore and Fusion Beam armed ships. Their fighters are fast and light, packing walloping ammo loads. The Hellebore is a massive energy cannon, designed to be able to blow through an enemy's shields. The Federation Phaser Pulse Cannon is thought to be based upon bootleg copies of a Hellebore bought from Orion privateers. Fusion Beam weapons are a disruptor based technology. Hydran ships are re-enforced internally, and can take a surprising amount of punishment without losing functionality.

As of the Battle of Havras in 2382 and subsequent release of the events to the public in May of the same year, the Hydrans have allied themselves with the T'Kith'Kin and Breen in open hostilities with the Federation. It is believed their reasons for outright hostility with the Federation is based on a lack of relations between the two powers throughout history and the UFP's subsequent alliance with the Klingon Empire being thought of a prelude to expansion into their territories.

CURRENT FEDERATION STATUS: HOSTILE

Note: Hydran rank structure, gender definitions, and naming conventions were written by Matt Miller and Francis Byrne for the USS Galaxy RPG. Do not take anything off this page without asking them first. It's only polite.