The Oni

History

The Oni have always lived in the shadows. Knowledge of there existence protected by their stealthy nature. They have been content to grow quietly in strength and remain unobtrusive, while other races have risen and fallen. Sometimes those races have fallen with just a little push from the Oni.

Lacking a self-sufficient economy, the Oni have developed a number of alternate technologies and strategies for survival. Most of these allow the Oni to supplement their own limited economy, by liberating surplus resources from their neighbours. To some degree, the prosperity of the Oni can be directly dependent on the economic strength of those nearby.

The Oni can live on or under the surface of most temperate worlds. On the surface they use sensor-shielding technology to mask their presence from unfriendly eyes. Living under the ground they use the same technology to disguise their comings and goings. This technology is now so entrenched in the Oni way of life, that it is taken for granted. The sensor-shielding effect can even be extended into space, to hide most types of ships, pods and fighter wings.

Oni stealth technology is not perfect, however. Tachyon emitters & laser mines can be used to detect cloaked ships & bases. Also the Oni’s own base defences have been known to interfere with their sensor-shielding technology, so defences must be turned off, if they wish to remain undetected.

Government: Meritocracy

The Oni are extremely pragmatic when it comes to choosing their leaders. They know from birth which of them is the strongest warrior, due to a system of non-lethal duelling, to win the right to marry their chosen mate. As both males & females can challenge and fight, only the strongest fighters can be certain of a mate of high status. Their ruling caste tends to centre around a few powerful families, but with a continuous addition of new powerful warriors to enrich their bloodlines.

The leader is the most accomplished combatant of either gender. There is usually no dispute as to who is best qualified. In the unlikely event that there is a challenge, it is settled swiftly by single-combat. The winner is the leader and the loser is dead.

Leader: Grand High Slayer

The word of the Grand High Slayer is law. All Oni have an incredibly powerful sense of duty and would always try to obey any order they are given. They would even commit ritual suicide, if so ordered by the Grand High Slayer.

Strengths

On many occasions, Oni forces have fought to the last man, even against outrageous odds. It is also often the case that Oni military units are sent out on suicidal strategic raids against enemies of unknown strength. Their bravery and recklessness in the face of overwhelming odds, have often earned the Oni a grudging respect from their adversaries.

But in truth, the main strength of the Oni does not lie in their military forces, but in their Intelligence gathering capabilities. Oni spies are extremely efficient at all forms of surveillance and the Oni have developed a number of technologies to prevent the detection of their ships and other activities. They also rely on very audacious deployment deep in enemy territory, with specially trained Sinister agents to assist in spying & sabotage.

The first sign that the Oni are preparing to attack may well be through spying. But the next will likely be marked by a reduction in population – the mystery of missing colonists, crew etc. might be put down to other causes such as criminal activity, nearby Robot bases or even lack of food, and it is that doubt as to the cause, which allows the Oni to flourish.

The Oni have several means of diminishing an enemy and making use of the captured personnel. In their Eugenics labs the Oni have the means to genetically alter any living organism and can also enforce mental programming to transform any captured personnel into Oni citizens. They also have the means to rebuild & reprogram most forms of inorganic life to serve the Oni cause.

But, if the subject cannot be persuaded to serve in one way, then he can serve in another. The Oni can use even the most troublesome prisoner to be a host to a Perfect Organism. These pets of the Oni have evolved a symbiotic relationship, which has helped them to spread and grow to large numbers. They serve the Oni as additional troops and are adept at penetrating the tightest enemy defences, without triggering any alarms or leaving any trace of their actions (except for a few missing personnel). Perfect Organisms can be created in one of two ways. They can be created in Eugenics labs by a complex and expensive genetic process or they can breed using a living host. Unfortunately the birth of the new Perfect Organism always results in the death of the host organism.

Minefields present little obstruction to the Oni – more an inconvenience. Oni crews have extraordinary reflex skills and can navigate such hazards with only a slight reduction in speed. That is not to say that the Oni are immune to the effects of mines – only that they are less of a deterrent.

The Oni are instinctive scavengers – making use of readily available natural resources and those resources that others are careless at guarding. The Oni are extremely audacious and would think nothing of extending their own supply lines into an enemies territory, to siphon off any surplus materials they can get their claws on.

Weaknesses

Oni ship hulls are less than robust when tested in combat and the bravery of their crews cannot negate this problem. Most hull designs are of low mass and vulnerable to even lower powered weapons. Also slow speeds in normal space can leave the Oni vulnerable to being out-flanked by faster ships. Though the Oni make good use of hyperspace with their hulls, it often does not take long for their enemies to use grav-wells and grav-mines, to set ambushes for them.

The Oni economy is less dynamic than that of other species. In order to prosper, the Oni are dependent on the surplus people and goods they can liberate from their neighbours. Of course such actions can often lead to mistaken accusations of theft, kidnap and piracy. Diplomacy is often needed to direct suspicion against whichever of the Oni’s enemies is the most threatening. Er, by that I mean the race that can be made to look the most guilty. Er, that is to say to the true guilty party.

In contraband, the Oni have a strong demand for lerchin spice. It is used as an aphrodisiac and is believed to ensure a successful mating according to Oni folklore. The high demand for lerchin spice has led the Oni to hunt down and destroy huge populations of Amorphous Worms. Although Oni stealth technologies have progressed to the degree that other races cannot detect them easily, the Amorphous Worms have evolved a natural sensing capacity which often allows them to send out a distress call – giving away the Oni’s presence. Also they are repulsed by the Oni and would never willingly enter an Oni base.

Only a few Oni ships can cloak independently of a base – this means that to remain undetected, most Oni ships must begin and end the turn over a base with Hidden Excavations in full working order. When Oni stealth fails for whatever reason, their ships and base at that location are revealed. Combat will usually occur immediately with heavy losses for the Oni, the most likely outcome.

A new beginning…

The Oni are great innovators. And it is this experimental zeal combined with their reckless courage, which explains the accident. While testing a new variant of their Paradigm Shifter device, an unexpected feedback resulted in a huge surge of power. Normally the device can only cause a base under the ship to be displaced. But this accident moved not only the base but also several ships into new and unexplored space. How well they will survive in this new environment, only time can tell…