The Children of Ra

The Children of Ra (or Ramans) is the proper name for the dominant species in the Empire. They are an aquatic species who evolved on the 2nd planet around the star they had dubbed Ra. They are vaguely mammalian, requiring oxygen that they breech the surface water for. It is speculated that these breachings gave them repeated race memories of the sun Ra hanging in the sky.

As they evolved into a society they began to worship Ra as their god, eventually building large ornate underwater cities and developing technologies to allow them to venture onto land. As they explored the land masses, they discovered that a previous space faring civilization had evolved and died out on their planet many thousands of years previously. Using the recovered technology they quickly lept forward into the space age. That was approximately 5,500 years ago. The Children of Ra quickly claimed a number of aquatic worlds in nearby systems and either wiped out the indigenous population with chemical and nuclear weapons (which left the seas largely unaffected) or subjugated them with superior ships and remote combat suits. 

As a species the Children of Ra are not evil, however they have no compassion for any species other than their own, regarding all others as either parasites or a convenient labor force. If a conquered race is deemed useful then they will be converted to worship Ra and forced to adhere to the Raman's strict rules. If a race becomes too bothersome, the Children of Ra have no qualms about wiping them out - this has helped keep the peace in the region for thousands of years.

Raman ships are incredibly formidable, however they usually restrict themselves to the core systems. The Children of Ra use remote suits resembling large androids to extend their presence onto land. These avatars allow the Raman's to move among the ground species with no risk to their own safety. They are almost universally feared by all other races due to their ruthlessness. 

Most the of the Raman population live lives of luxury, rarely leaving the core home-worlds and concentrating their energies on science and the arts. This allows them to keep striving ahead with technology while other races struggle to support them. Each of their planets is surrounded by a ring station using technology and labour stolen from the Isi. These are typically used for weather control and solar power generation.

The head of the Raman government is named only by their title Amun-Ra. They are absolute ruler until they die and are replaced by an elected successor. 

Dev Notes

The sun Ra does actually have a living presence. This gaseous life form is so alien to all other life in the system that communication with it is very limited (due to a lack of a common point of reference). However measured pulses such as the prime number sequence have been sent into the sun and echoed back. The Children of Ra has taken this as a sign that the god Ra truly resides in the sun. 

 The ruling government of The Children of Ra see the Federation as a potentially destabilizing force that might end thousands of years of peace within the Empire. As such they are actively engaged in demonizing the Federation among their subjects, showing news casts of Federation vessels allegedly committing atrocities.