Vanduul
The Nomadic Storm
Nomadic. Predatory. No embassy. No trade. Every known Vanduul encounter began when they were already shooting.
The Vanduul are the UEE's primary adversary and the species that defines the current era. Unlike the Xi'An or Banu, the Vanduul have no fixed worlds, their civilization is a fleet of fleets, generational clanships that raid, retreat, and sometimes assimilate whole human colonies.
Nobody in UEE intelligence knows what the Vanduul want, or why they target humans specifically, or whether their leadership is unified or factional. Captured Vanduul invariably suicide before interrogation. Their language has been partially decoded but nothing resembling a diplomatic overture has ever been heard.
The Vanduul Scythe is the fighter every new UEE pilot learns to recognize, sleek, sharp, and usually attacking something important.
Culture
Predatory and clan-based. Individuals within a clan are fiercely loyal; rival clans will fight each other as readily as they fight humans. Age and combat honor appear central to their hierarchy.
Notable
- Responsible for the fall of Orion (2942), Garron II (2546), Caliban (2884), and many more
- Scythe-class fighters are the most common Vanduul engagement
- No recorded Vanduul prisoner has ever spoken to an interrogator