Ssi-Ruuk

In the fictional Star Wars series of books and films, the Ssi-Ruuk (Pronounced /'si ruk) are a saurian race that invaded from the Unknown Regions of the galaxy. This was around 4 ABY, immediately following "", in the novelization The Truce at Bakura. Ssi-Ruu - Singular, Ssi-Ruuk- Plural, Ssi-Ruuvi- Possessive.

Physical description

Native to the planet Lwhekk, Ssi-Ruuk are warm-blooded, reptilian beings covered with scales of various colors. Their blunt, oversized heads end with beaked mouths, and their bodies end with muscular tails. They have clawed hands and feet, and strongly-muscled hind legs. Their skin is so thick that it can withstand blaster shots with only minor burns to show for it. They are blind to The Force, and communicate with each other via a complex series of tweets and whistles. They also have scent tongues which they eject from their nostrils. Each hand has three opposable claws. They all have three eyelids. As a rule, the Ssi-ruu were highly xenophobic, but were more disgusted by other species than afraid of them.

Skin classification

The Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium have two seats of power; the Conclave, a religious body, and the Elders' Council, a 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 a rigid caste system based on skin color. Their caste system had five 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.:"Blue Ssi-ruuvi"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. An example of this caste was Sh'tk'ith, commonly known as Bluescale. :"Gold"Gold Ssi-Ruuk were the religious caste of Ssi-Ruuvi society. They were small in number. They formed the Conclave legislative body :"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"A Brown Ssi-Ruuk can only be born when two separate castes mate. This is against Ssi-Ruu law so the child is generally killed at birth. Brown Ssi-Ruuk were considered the outcasts of Ssi-Ruuvi society. They perform the most menial jobs in Ssi-Ruuvi society.:"Black"Black Ssi-Ruu are rare and serve as body guards and assassins for the upper caste.

There is also a related species, the P'w'eck that are only slaves. The Ssi-ruuk were also highly religious, as evidenced by the power of the Conclave in governmental decisions. They feared the possibility of dying away from their homeworld, believing that the soul of an individual who died on another world would be lost forever. Thus, the Ssi-ruuk consecrated every world they wanted to colonize, to ensure there was an afterlife for their souls.

Technology

This race rely on a technology called entechment that involved capturing the life-energy of beings and using them as power sources. Apparently contacted by Emperor Palpatine through the Force, the Ssi-Ruuk came to the known galaxy to trade some of their battle droids and entechment equipment in exchange for Bakura, an Imperial world. The Ssi-Ruuk had earlier discovered that human souls lasted longest of all enteched subjects but due to the painful process and the fact that the human subjects remained self aware after entechment the energy decayed within a few days. During a raiding mission, the Ssi-Ruuk captured and brainwashed a Force-sensitive boy named Dev Sibwarra and used him to calm subjects being enteched, this making the life energies last longer. When Sibwarra felt the death of Palpatine, the Ssi-Ruuk decided to take what was theirs, Bakura. This was the first major attempt to invade Imperial/Rebel space. They were stopped after the Rebellion sent a force to aid the planet in response to a distress call. The Imperials and Rebels made a temporary truce to fight off the Ssi-Ruuk and defeated the Ssi-Ruuk mainly through the efforts of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. It is thought they were involved in a war with the Chiss in intervening years as a New Republic Task Force found the Imperium greatly weakened. After a failed truce attempt, the Ssi-Ruuk were not heard from again until the Yuuzhan Vong war when they attempted a second invasion of Bakura.

Legend held that a Ssi-ruuvi individual would be born with all colors on their scales, a rainbow-scaled individual known as the Keeramak. During the Yuzzhan Vong invasion, the Vong bio engineered the Keeramak to manipulate the Ssi-Ruuk. A group known as the P'w'eck Emancipation Movement (PEM) was formed led by the Keeramak. They fled to Bakura seeking refuge from the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium. This was a trick by the Ssi-Ruuk who used the treaty forged between the PEM and Bakuran government to consecrate the planet allowing them to invade with ground forces, along with the PEM fleet in orbit. Unknown to the Ssi-Ruuk, the PEM was real and soon the P'w'eck turned on the Ssi-Ruuk, forcing them again to retreat.

The Ssi-Ruuk use weapons called "Paddle Beamers" powered by enteched energies to paralyze the target. They were also unblockable by lightsabers; the beam would bend around the blade, much like stun settings on conventional blasters, and strike its target. After much practice Luke Skywalker managed to change the setting on his Lightsaber to block the Paddle Beamers but on this setting was unable to block blasters.

Appearances

*"The Truce at Bakura" (1st appearance)
*""
*"Children of the Jedi"
*""
*"Balance Point"
*""
*"Or Die Trying"

ources

*"The Truce at Bakura"
*"The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons"
*"The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels"
*"The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology"
*"The New Essential Chronology"
* [http://www.starwars.com/eu/lit/ref/f20000302/indexp4.html Star Wars Databank]