Sargosian

General Information:

Sargosians are a humanoid race so indistinguishable from humans that one might suspect that they are the descendants of some long ago colony effort on the behalf of the human race. However, at the genetic level the differences between humans and Sargosians are so marked that appearance is nearly all they have in common.

Sargosians are commonly known as 'face changers' due to their ability to regenerate. Commonly this is three times within an average sargosian life-span of six hundred years. This leads to them maintaining a very youthful appearance throughout their long lives, albeit with a slight different appearance in each regeneration. This does not affect the bodily build, and the difference whilst marked to non-sargosians are easily discernible by members of the race themselves (IE - a non sargosian may think they are speaking to a different person if they met during a previous regeneration, but a Sargosian would not be fooled in such a manner.) They also have the ability to use this regenerative ability to heal near fatal wounds provided they do not involve decapitation or other severing of the spinal column. This unusual ability comes from a bizarre 'fold' in the Sargosian DNA responsible for ageing and the regeneration of bodily cells. Because of this Sargosians for a long time were believe to be the key to eternal life and their DNA has been much studied across the quadrant. However, with advantages in technology and understanding in this area it was discovered this is merely a quirk in the genetic structure of the race and not anything that can be applied to other races.

History:

However, this ability and youthful appearance had already brought the race to near destruction and only these findings stopped them from being completely wiped out. A race called the Satagosians, so near genetically to the Sargosians that the two are 95% likely to have been from the same parent race, believed that the Sargosians were with-holding a 'fountain of youth' for their exclusive use and when the Sargosians refused to reveal it, waged war on them.

This war lasted for seven hundred years and decimated both races. It was only when these findings were made public in 2367 that the war ended, with federation intervention. The Sargosians, their planet virtually uninhabitable, requested federation aid as the victims of the situation and were resettled to three colonies in the Minias four system.

Family system:

Each Sargosian is required to sire or bear nine children within their lifetime, three per regeneration. These 'required births' as they are known, are often undertaken as soon as the individual is sexually active after puberty for the first regeneration and within five years for subsequent regenerations. These births are marked with tattoos on the inside of the individuals right arm. Fertility is highly prized amongst the Sargosians so these individuals are highly sought after as mates, particularly those with a history of multiple births. Of them all, female multiple births carry the highest status.

Sometimes a mother may bring up her own children, although this has not been common during the war. Usually all children in the clan are passed into the care of grandparents, usually grandmothers, individuals who had played their part in the war and moved onto other duties. Occasionally those unfit for active service will seek such roles within the clan. Now the race has been resettled this structure is no longer strictly required and mothers are able to take more of an active role within their offspring's lives. Fathers though, unless married, do not have close bonds with their children. If they are married then the children in the household, if they are the female partners 'required' births, will more than likely not be his biological children, as required births are usually with different fathers to add diversity to the gene pool. There is however, no difference attached to required children vs children born of the marriage as it is usual for a woman to have borne children before the age she seeks a husband.

Cultural Tattoos:

Sargosians are instantly recognisable for their practice of heavily tattooing their hands and arms. These are cultural rather than individual and denote an individual's rank and position within the clan. Military rank is worn across the back of the hands (see diagram below), with campaigns and awards on the backs of the arms and on the back. The inside of the left arm holds the individual's lineage, which is tattooed shortly after birth, up to ten generations. The inside of the right arm holds details of the individuals children. It is seen as an embarrassment to have bare inner arms for a Sargosian.

Military / Clan Structure:

The highest rank a Sargosian may attain is Warlord. There are only seven Warlords currently, due to the reduced numbers of the Sargosian people and the war that caused their near destruction. Three of these however, have opted to leave the colonies for Starfleet service, to repay the debt the Sargosians feel they owe the Federation for their aid in ending the war. This also alleviates the pressure on the Sargosian society as a whole, with only four clans currently it means one Warlord per clan and no battles for dominance. Those Warlords in service are welcomed as honoured guests when they return home on leave, and are often sought out because of their superior DNA by youngsters still in need of their required births. (Warlords can be male or female, there is no gender differentiation).

Warlords currently in Starfleet service include:

Aerynn Vann, Lucas Trahern, Dal Regas

The next rank down Lead Warrior, is almost as hard to attain as Warlord. A Warlord's right hand 'man' (again no gender differentiation here) Lead warriors are indispensable on the battle field, and often the organizational heart of a campaign. For this reason they were heavily targeted by both snipers and infiltration assassination. This reduced their numbers severely and there are only nine Lead Warriors in existence today. five are in the colonies, four active within the clans and one nearing the end of her long life, and four are currently serving with Starfleet.

Lead Warriors in Starfleet:

Saarday Vann, Kelas Vann, Devlyn Jayce, Catalina Jayce

The four lower ranks are the 'rank and file' of the Sargosian military, now integrated within the colonies with a smattering within Starfleet.

Other Sargosians within Starfleet include:

Setas Kelan (F - Setarn Class) Selas Delarn (Dozer. M - Setarn class) (95th Battalion - The Hellcats) Kerva Sotarian (Priest. M - kelat class). (95th Battalion - The Hellcats)

Courtship / Marriage: Despite their unusual procreation and child-rearing practices, Sargosians are very serious when it comes to marriage. There are three forms of marriage within the Sargosian culture. These are:

Hand-fasting: A couple are bonded in marriage for a year and a day, with the option of marriage at the end of it.

Marriage: A couple are bonded in marriage for seven years.

Bond-marriage: This is the most formal and highest of the Sargosian marriage forms. This form of marriage is permanent, literally until one of the partners dies. At this point the surviving partner is free to marry again but most do not, seeing this form of marriage as to the grave and beyond, uniting them into the afterlife as well.

To add complexity to an already complex social structure, Sargosians may contract marriage with more than one partner. Usually this is on a strict structure with an individual contracting a maximum of one bond marriage, up to three seven year marriages and three hand-fasts.

Marriage tattoo's:

Of course, like most things, Sargosians wear tattoos for marriage instead of wedding bands or other jewelry. For males these are worn on the chest, women wear them on the lower back. A handfast tattoo is relatively small, with marriage tattoos larger and Bond-marriage tattoos the most elaborate. As with all sargosian tattoos, each is designed to be built on as the relationship deepens. Courtship gifts:

Sargosian males, despite their undoubted masculinity and the view of the rest of the quadrant of the skill as traditionally female, will present their new wives with an embroidered shawl as a wedding gift. These are usually highly elaborate items of clothing, and are carefully preserved and worn only for special occasions. They may or may not be beaded, depending on the inclination and skill level of the male.

There are varying degrees of marriage shawls, usually the fully embroidered and beaded versions are given at bond marriage, as that version will be the one the man has been embroidering most of his life, adding new stitches and areas for every major event. In a way this is seen as a complete record of the man's life which he is then handing over to his new wife for safekeeping.

A shawl merely embroidered around the edges is given for a seven year marriage. Although this has given way to the practice of giving an embroidered band that can be added to a bond marriage shawl should the couple then go onto that form of marriage.

Occasionally a male will embroider other gifts during courtship, the more elaborately detailed the gift, the more serious his intentions are.