Tholian Holdfast

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SPECIES
Tholian Holdfast
Homeworld:
Tholia
Quadrant:
Alpha
Affiliation:
Tholian Assembly
Biology
Average Male Height:
191 cm (6 ft. 3 in.) to 206 cm (6 ft. 9 in.)
Average Male Weight:
99.8 kg (220 lb.) to 149.7 kg (330 lb.)
Average Female Height:
178 cm (5 ft. 10 in.) to 193 cm (6 ft. 4 in.)
Average Female Weight:
81.6 kg (180 lb.) to 117.9 kg (260 lb.)
Minimum Academy Age:
Life Expectancy:
140
Distinctive Features:
Playability
PRC Rated:
No
NPC Rated:
No
AlphaQuadrant.jpg


Left
The anatomy of a Tholian.
A) Eyespot.
B) Heat-Reflective Outer Skin.
C)Internal Electromagnetic Field.
D)Exoskeletal Shell

150 years ago a planet suddenly appeared near the Federation-Klingon border. Whether by design, or accident, the planet appeared in the middle of an asteroid belt within an area of space claimed by the Klingon Empire. Along with the planet came an armada of alien ships that immediately went to work building defenses within the asteroid belt. The Klingons seethed with indignant anger, “Who would dare invade the Klingon Empire?” A fleet of the Empire’s finest warships entered the asteroid belt, hell bent on showing the upstart aliens their proper place. Once the Klingon Black Banner Fleet entered the asteroid belt, communications were lost. The Klingon High Council waited for the words of victory. They never came. The entire Black Banner Fleet, the Empires’ strongest and most elite fleet, had been eliminated. “Who would dare to invade the Klingon Empire?” The Klingons had their answer…The Tholians…and it looked like they weren’t going anywhere.

Physical Description

Tholian males stand an average of 6’5” while females average about 6’. Their bulky, bipedal, forms have the color and consistency of ruby. Lava courses through their silicon based body as blood. Their eyes, like their bodies, are multi-faceted and glow a crimson red that changes shades with their moods. It is speculated the Tholian multi-faceted eyes can see into light spectrums that other species cannot. Temperatures below 200° Fahrenheit are considered freezing and any Tholian suffering from prolonged exposure to such temperatures, without an environmental suit, will die.

History

150 years ago, the aliens we now know as the Tholians fled their home galaxy. What they were fleeing is known only to the Tholians themselves. However, it is known they were fleeing some sort of persecution and that even today, they fear being found by their former masters. What is truly remarkable in this story is how the Tholians fled. They did not pack up their ships and head for parts unknown. Instead, they moved their entire planet, somehow transporting it across a large expanse of the universe to an entirely new galaxy. When their journey was done, their home world came to rest in orbit around a type G2 star. It appeared the Tholians had researched their final destination well. There were no other planets in the system and a thick asteroid belt surrounded the star. Tholian ships, also transported with the planet, immediately began work on setting up defensive rings within the asteroid belt.

Unbeknownst to the Tholians, they had made their new home in a section of space claimed by the Klingon Empire. In addition, they shared borders with the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire. By the time the Klingons had rallied its Black Banner Fleet, the Tholians had firmly entrenched their defenses within the asteroid belt. When the Klingons attacked, the Tholians let the Black Banner Fleet through two rings of their defenses. When the entire fleet had entered the asteroid belt, the Tholians closed the rings, trapping the Klingon fleet. Klingon commanders found their weapons could not penetrate the Tholian force fields known as webs. Nor could they fly through the webs. Tholian ships and weapons seemed unaffected by the web and packs of the small ships would hide behind the webs, bombarding the Klingon ships on the other side. Soon, the entire Black Banner Fleet was decimated. The Tholians had a new enemy. An enemy that would tirelessly pursue a policy of harassment and constant attacks. If it was possible for the Klingons to hate anyone more than the Mirak, it was the Tholians.

Years turned to decades and the Tholians continued to live in fear of their old masters return. They had learned to accept the constant violence from the Klingons. Wars were won and lost around them, but always the Tholians remained neutral. The Tholians shied away from any diplomatic entanglements retreating into isolationism. “Let’s you and him fight,” became the axiom of Tholian diplomacy. Through it all, the Tholians feared the inevitable return of their masters.

Then, 7 years ago, the Tholian 312th Battle Squadron arrived from their home galaxy. Initially, fear gripped the Tholians as they were sure their Masters had finally returned to bring them to justice. However, that was not the case. The 312th Battle Squadron had also fled their former masters and had spent 6 years searching for the brethren. The Tholians from the 312th, due in part to their new ships, became known as the Neo-Tholians. Though the two groups have assimilated, the newly designed ships of the Tholian Assembly are still called Neo-Tholian ships. Though the arrival of the 312th was cause for celebration, there were those that argued, “If they could find us, then so could our Masters.”

Federation Space History

With the help of the Tholians the Federation was able to push back the Borg threat in 2403 and assisted with repositioning Star Base Alpha into its current position above Earth.

In 2406 the Starship Yeager was sent to Tholian space to assist with a mysterious planet that had appeared in their space. Through the actions of Lieutenant Commander Tregelen the planet was able to be returned to its rightful place and the Tholian planet whose place it had taken was returned.

Aside from the above mentioned incidents, relations with the Tholians have been cool to non-existent.

Government

Type: The Tholian government, known as the Assembly, is composed of 21 popularly elected representatives. The representatives hold office for a 10 year term after which they are ineligible to run for re-election. The 21 member assembly votes amongst itself to appoint a President of the Assembly. The President get 2 votes on every issue while representatives cast one vote. If an assembly vote ends in a tie, a referendum is held and the Tholian people decide the fate of the issue. Though the President acts as Commander in Chief, it takes a 2/3 majority vote within the Assembly to declare war.

Foreign Relations: The Tholians are thoroughly isolationistic and have avoided even the friendliest diplomatic overtures. All meetings with the Tholians occur in neutral space and no non-Tholian has ever seen Tholia Prime, the Tholians home world. The Federation has been the most persistent in their attempts to garner Tholian support, but to date, have been unsuccessful. The Romulans, after a failed invasion attempt, have learned to leave the Tholians alone. Though they maintain a strong fleet on the Tholian border, it is defensively postured. Unlike the Romulans, the Klingons have not learned their lesson, even after several invasion attempts. Klingon ships have been ordered to attack Tholian ships on sight. The Klingons declared war on the Tholians 150 years ago and fight that war still today. It is unlikely there will be a resolution to the conflict and even Federation pressure on the Klingons has done nothing but alienate the Klingons from the Federation.

Military

Command: The Supreme Commander commands the Tholian military arm, called the Tholian Vanguard. The bureaucracy, rampant in the militaries of other States, is almost non-existent within the Tholian Vanguard. The Supreme Commander’s orders filter directly to the Fleet Commanders and from there down to individual ships. Due to the lack of any real bureaucracy, the Tholian fleets are able to move with surprising quickness.

Routine: Crews that need battle training conduct patrol missions along the Klingon boarder. Due to the Klingons constant harassment and probing of the Tholian defenses, this has the benefit of training Tholian crews in a real, combat environment. Fleet exercises, conducted along the Klingon border, not only train the military in fleet tactics, but also have the added benefit of sending the Klingons a strong message about a capable Tholian Vanguard.

Outfitting: When the Tholians moved their world, they brought the orbiting shipyards along with them. Unfortunately for the Tholians, it was a shipyard designed to build their smallest ship, the Patrol Cruiser (PC). (Roughly the size of a Federation Frigate.) Even worse, there were no technicians/engineers that could design new shipyards to build larger ships. The Tholians were stuck with the PC, no one with the expertise to design new ships and shipyards that couldn’t build the new designs even if they had them. However, the Tholians came up with an innovative, albeit temporary, solution. In essence, they welded the hull of two PC’s together and redesigned the interior of the combined ships to eliminate the redundancies. The result was a heavy cruiser sized ship. Though it lacked the sleek lines of cruisers in other militaries, it did provide the Tholian Vanguard a much-needed boost in firepower.

When the 312th Battle Squadron arrived, they brought with them a well rounded group of engineers that immediately set to work on building a new shipyard; a shipyard that could build Neo-Tholian ships. 4 years later, the first Neo-Tholian heavy cruiser rolled out of dry-dock.

Old Tholian ships carry Phaser 1’s, 2’s, and a device unique to the Tholians, a Web Spinner. It was not uncommon to see larger ships add a Tholian variant of the Photon Torpedo. Neo-Tholian ships also carry Phaser 1’s and 2’s but in lieu of the web spinner, they carry the much feared web caster. While the web spinner was a defensive device designed to slow an opponent, the web caster could act as a capable offensive weapon, not only slowing an opponent, but stopping them all together; often with catastrophic results.

Theory: Tholian military doctrine states that a good offense is an even stronger defense. Tholian ships rarely conduct offensive operations. When they do, it’s usually a hit and run raid designed to lure the enemy into a trap. The Tholians maintain an elaborate ring of defenses hinged, primarily on their web technology. Only Tholian ships and weapons can pass through the web, making it a valuable defensive aid. A common Tholian tactic is to open one ring of defenses, let the enemy ships in and then close the ring, trapping the enemy within.