Ssi-ruu

''This article is about the Ssi-Ruuk species. For the language used by the Ssi-Ruuk with the same name, see Ssi-ruuk (language)

The Ssi-Ruuk, Ssi-Ruu in singular form, were a saurian species that invaded from outside the known galaxy and initiated the Battle of Bakura in 4 ABY, shortly after the Battle of Endor. This race relied on a technology called entechment that involved capturing the life-energy of beings and using them as power sources. They had a sizable war fleet and ruled an empire called the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium in the Ssi-Ruuk Star Cluster near the galaxy's rim.

Physical Description
The Ssi-Ruuk resembled dinosaurs and were covered with a thick scaly hide. Their skin was so thick that it can withstand blast shots with only minor burns to show for it. They were armed with huge, muscular tails and short well-muscled upper limbs with three clawed prehensile digits which were used as hands making a Ssi-Ruuk a formidable creature. They had long beak-like muzzles which contain sharp teeth. Their sensitive eyes relied on triple eyelids to help them quickly adjust to changes in light. However, they did not rely on vision as humans do. Rather they relied on their nose tongues. These nose tongues were capable of detecting changes in emotions making it hard to deceive a Ssi-Ruuk once he was familiar with the "scent" of a being.

An adult Ssi-Ruuk could stand over 6 feet tall and weigh close to 750 pounds. The Ssi-Ruuvi language was a series of honks, whistles and throat clicks. Several of the higher pitches in the Ssi-Ruuvi vocabulary were above the human hearing range. Instead of wearing clothing they wore bandoleers which carry their tools, weapons, and other equipment (they found the idea of covering the body humorous).

Society Description
The Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium had two seats of power; the Conclave, the religious body and the Elders Council, the political body. The Conclave and the Elders Council often competed for control of the empire and only the leader of the Imperium could prevent civil war from happening. The leader of the Imperium was known as His Potency the Shreeftut and was the supreme ruler of the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium. The Ssi-Ruuk also had rigid caste system based on skin color. Their caste system was comprised of four main groups: blue, gold, yellow, red and green. The Skin of a Ssi-Ruuk represented his political standing. One color dominated each Ssi-Ruuk's body and it was forbidden to mate with a different colored Ssi-Ruuk. There was also a related species, the P'w'ecks that are only slaves.

Blue
Blue Ssi-ruuk were the politicians and leaders of Ssi-ruuvi society and held most of the political positions. They were the highest caste, thus they received the most honor and praise. They tended to be, as a caste, extremely perceptive and ambitious.

Gold
Gold Ssi-Ruuk were the religious caste of Ssi-Ruuvi society. They were small in number.

Yellow
Yellow Ssi-Ruuk were in charge of the technology employed by the Ssi-Ruu.

Red
Red Ssi-Ruuk comprised the military caste. These Ssi-Ruuk tended to be broader and stronger than other Ssi-Ruuk and also had a predatory nature as well.

Green
Green Ssi-Ruuk were the largest caste. This caste was the lowest that still possessed respect. They had never held any position of power, but staunchly uphold the caste system.

Brown
Brown Ssi-Ruuk were considered the outcasts of Ssi-Ruuvi society. This is because a brown hued Ssi-Ruuk can only be the offspring of two Ssi-Ruuvi from two different castes. They perform the most menial jobs in Ssi-Ruuvi society. Many of them were destroyed at birth.

Religion
The Ssi-Ruuk were very religious and viewed all other species besides their own as inferior. Their sacred text was called the G'nnoch. The Ssi-Ruuk placed great value on the souls of their own kind and believe that should a Ssi-ruuk die in an "un-consecrated world", his soul will forever wander the universe alone. This belief was one of the reasons why the Ssi-Ruuk were isolationists and typically remained in their own star cluster. Only the Priests through an hour long ceremony could consecrate a world, after which it was given a Ssi-ruuvi name. In an effort to compensate for this disadvantage, the Ssi-ruuk used large numbers of droids and P’w’ecks - a smaller species enslaved by the Ssi-Ruuk - to aid them in their fleets.

The P'w'ecks shared the same homeworld as the Ssi-Ruk. According to the G'nnoch, four eggs were formed at the creation of the universe. From the first hatched Ssi and P'w'itthki. Ssi's children hatched from the second egg, while P'w'itthki's children hatched from the third egg. The fourth egg was reserved for those Ssi-Ruuk who earned a place in the afterlife. Eventually, Ssi fought with P'w'itthki and defeated him. After his defeat, Ssi allowed P'w'itthki's hatchlings to live on the condition of serving the children of Ssi for all eternity. This myth described the beginning of the relationship between the Ssi-ruuk (hatchlings of Ssi) and the P'w'ecks (hatchlings of P'w'itthki). The myth also described the Ssi-Ruuk's supremacy over all other sentient species.

History
The Ssi-Ruuk evolved from packs of carnivorous animals on their jungle homeworld Lwhekk. Gradually they formd tribes, each consisted of members with the same skin color. The most dominant were the Blue and Gold scaled tribes. The Blue scaled Ssi-ruuk possessed a great deal of political power, while the Gold-scaled began Ssi-Ruuvi religion. These two would form the Ssi-Ruuvi upper class. The Ssi-Ruuk eventually encountered the smaller yet more common P'w'ecks and conflict arose between the two species. Eventually, the P'w'ecks were subjugated and enslaved. The Blue and Gold tribes then made an alliance and selected the first Shreeftut. The Imperium was born and the Blue and Gold tribes then subjugated the rest of Lwhekk and divided them into castes.

The Conclave and the Elders Council were formed and eventually the Ssi-Ruuk expanded their empire into space. They conquered several worlds and enslaved their inhabitants, most of which were primitives. Eventually the Ssi-Ruuk discovered the art of entechment and began enteching subjugated species. The practice of entechment of lower life forms became common; even the P’w’ecks, cousins of the Ssi-ruu were used. But gradually it was learned that containment of these ‘souls’ for long periods would result in madness and it was decided that the Imperium needed to expand its realm once again. Another reason was due the dwindling resources in their isolated region of space. An expedition was prepared and tasked with exploring the eastern region of the place known as the Unknown Regions. This expedition discovered the Chiss Ascendancy.

The current Shreeftut then began having visions of a cloaked man that called to him. This lasted for many nights until the ‘dream’ individual appeared in front of the Shreeftut. The individual was in reality Emperor Palpatine, ruler of the Galactic Empire. Emperor Palpatine traded with the Shreeftut for some battle drones in exchange that a large number of ‘subjects’ be present for entechment by the Imperium. The Shreeftut then sent an invasion fleet led by Admiral Ivpikkis and Elder Sh'tk'ith. The journey was long but the fleet reached the coordinates given by the Emperor only to find nothing.

Instead of returning to Imperium space, the Admiral decided to attack several worlds and take what the cloaked man had told them. Among the captives they captured a was human boy named Dev Sibwarra whom the Elder brainwashed through mind manipulation techniques; what astounded them was the boy possessed strange powers to sense others. It was from this boy that the Admiral discovered that Humans were the galaxy's dominant species. He also discovered that humanoids had longer containment time when enteched and could last longer than most other species. The Ssi-Ruuk then used Deb Sibwarra to calm the subjects being enteched.

The Admiral decided to attack the Imperial world Bakura. However their invasion was thwarted by a Rebel force sent to aid the planet. The Imperials and Rebels made a temporary truce to fight off the Ssi-Ruuk, who, upon being defeated mainly through the efforts of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker departed and were not heard from again until the Yuuzhan Vong war.

After the defeat at Bakura, the Ssi-Ruuvi Exploration fleet discovered the Chiss Ascendancy and attacked one of the Chiss colonies. The colony was destroyed and its population was enteched. However, this angered the Chiss, who retaliated swiftly, wiping out most of the Exploration fleet. The Chiss did not cease their attcks and even the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium was invaded. The even the capital, Lwhekk was not safe from these deadly attacks and the Shreeftut was forced to retreat. After the Chiss raid on the Imperium, a small Rebel Alliance taskforce appeared in Ssi-Ruuvi Space. The Rebel force had come to stop the Imperium's expansion into the known galaxy. Seeing the Imperium in ruins, the Rebel Alliance believed that the threat from the Ssi-Ruuk was over.

But the Imperium had not been completely defeated. Almost 20 years later during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the Ssi-Ruuk tried to recapture Bakura by using the Keeramak - a being of neither gender that had the colours of all the castes. The Ssi-Ruuk attempted to conquer Bakura with the deception that the P'w'ecks were in control now and had come in peace. Entechment had also been perfected with enteched souls now living in Ssi-Ruuvi machines forever. The Keeramak also worked with the P'w'ecks and a replica droid disguised as a Bakuran senatorin an attept to pacify Bakura for the invasion. However, the plot backfired with the uprising of the P'w'ecks in the invasion army and the death of the Keeramak in the hands of his P'w'eck slave Lwothin. The Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium was also invaded by the Yuuzhan Vong. The state of the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium is currently unknown.