Excerpted from: "A Catalog of the Races of the Starmourn Sector"
A troubled people with a violent past, the Bushraki have been shaped by generations of enslavement, experimentation and warfare. Remarkably similar in physiology to Humans, the Bushraki bear little resemblance to other humanoids as they undergo drastic body modification even before birth.
Fueled by rage and bloodlust after generations of torturous experimentation by the Sa’hak-ren Hierarchy until 366 B.E., the genetically modified Bushraki shock troops turned on their oppressors and escaped into the sector, dealing drugs and punishment in equal parts as they pursued righteous retribution. Their brutality caught the attention of the Ishvana, which granted the beings Mindsim technology and promised aid in their quest for revenge, but this alliance was never meant to last. 200 years later, the Bushraki betrayed the Ishvana in the Second Ishvana War, making an enemy of the most brutal force in the sector and resulting in the destruction of their homeworld, Dikamazi.
Despite the steps that Bushraki society has taken towards rehabilitation, they are still kept at arms length by many communities across the sector who are unable to look past the struggles and outbursts of the modern Bushraki, or past their history of cruelty and genocide as unwilling soldiers of their former overlords. They have been slowly reforming their culture with major population centers located in Haven City and New Dikamazi and a focus on improving their status in the sector.
Bushraki have been genetweaked to support drastic body modification that would otherwise prove lethal. Today, Bushraki express their identities in the style and function of their implants, and take enormous pride in the abilities it affords them, whether that’s doing shots of engine-oil or staring into the sun.
| Homeworld System | Iota |
| Homeworld | (New) Dikamazi |
| Avg. Lifespan | 100 years |
| Diet | They're omnivorous to the extreme, even capable of ingesting machine oil, some metals, and other typically undigestable materials. |
| Temperament | Known for being hotheads with a temper that's prone to violence, Bushraki of modern days have taken great strides to distance themselves from their troubled history, branching out into scientific exploration and building community in their new homeworld of New Dikamazi. |
| Likes/Dislikes | Common ground for all Bushraki across the sector is a love of body modification, oftentimes to extreme extents and challenging other to feats of grandieur. |
| Family structure | Bushraki are not known for having a consistent family structure, instead modifying these relationships much like their own bodies. When a Bushraki finds someone they click with, that person is brought in to the family and snaps right into place, as if they'd never been apart. Children are modified in utero with the best available components from their parents or guardians, and Bushraki raised in New Dikamazi are brought up learning the ways of the modern culture. |
| How do they treat the helpless? | Having been the underdogs and abused hands for hire of the sector for many centuries, the Bushraki has a certain empathy for the helpless, though they hold little tolerance for laziness. For anyone willing to put in the work, they'll find support and one or two legs up on the competition, should they ask for it. |
| Notable rituals | Modification of babies in utero was once seen as a barbaric mistreatment of the Bushraki by the Sahak-ren, but is now completed as an act of adoration and handled with great reverence, the intention now one of improving the child's standing and chance of survival in the world rather than building a bloodthirsty army. |
| Government | There is no formal governemnt within the Bushraki hierarchy. Instead, there is a distinct culture split between the two major factions within Bushraki culture - Those led by the cruel mercenary group known as the Chrome Skulls, and the more tolerant sect lead by a newly rising group know as the Neon Orchids. These two often clash over their opposing views and Bushraki are free to make their own choices regarding which group represents their values. |
| How old is their culture? | They escaped the torturous reign of the Sahak-ren around 366 B.E. |
| What are their primary industries? | The most positive industry for the Bushraki is body modification, and this is something they excel in both as specialists installing mods on others and as those purchasing mods. Unfortunately they are still tethered to some of the darker industries from their past, and many still fulfill the cycle dealing and partaking in drugs in equal parts across the sector or serving as mercenaries for hire, ready to draw blood anywhere from anyone for the highest bidder. |
| Historical enemies | They have experienced strong animosity with almost every race and group across the Sector, most notably developing true hatred for the Sahak-ren and the Ishvana who enslaved them and destroyed their homeworld of Dikamazi. They were key in destroying the Xariel and later ensnared into a drugg-addled slavery through the Nabian drug trade. After the Second War of the Ishvana, most of Starmourn still viewed the Bushraki as dangerous, drug-addled savages even if they served as temporary allies for a period. Scatterhome's formational races were truly the first to give the Bushraki a chance, and so they settled in amongst the Reynolds rocks. |
| Religion | If the Bushraki were ever a religious people, they abandoned their religion long ago. |
| Language | The Bushraki do not have a cultural language and speak most fluently in Common. |
