Thireshi

The second-eldest member of the Triad, it was their singulus that linked to Altair at the beginning of the Solarian Purge. Their homeworld is a double planet several thousand parsecs spinward of Sol's original position. The word is actually an approximation of the Dyrajt term for them - the species' name for themselves is a series of hisses.

Physique

The Thireshi are an arthropodic species, made up of four-limbed segments. These segments begin their lives as quadrupedal organisms whose heads are physically attached to the rectum/womb of the segment in front of them. In such a state, the segments are not considered sapient, and instead make up a large, millipede-like body. The 'brains' of the individual segments respond to external stimulus to control their own motions and turning, and are not actually under the full control of the 'head' segment. Instead, when a segment is not receiving sufficient nutrients, it detaches from its host and tries to find nutrients on its own.

When 'freed', it has an animal-like intelligence, and seeks food immediately. It is incredibly flexible for a creature with an exoskeleton, and eventually learns to make use of bipedal motion. It achieves sexual maturity at this time, having a hermaphroditic pair of sexual organs, the male version of which actually getting severed by the female - they only copulate once, and after that, the 'wounds' of that union heal, and the specimen begins to grow an egg in their rear portion, hatching inside and feeding as a parasite off of the poorly digested nutrients that pass through their rectal/womb cavity.

'Newborn' segments will molt and grow until they are about a meter tall at the cusp of their backs. The segment then stops growing and, if it hasn't detached yet and is receiving sufficient nutrients, it may grow another segment in its own rear portion. This process continues as long as the Thireshi in question is receiving sufficient nutrients - with low activity, thousands may be supported. Thireshi tend to live from a half-cycle to twelve cycles or longer, depending on the quality and amount of their nutrition. More gluttonous ones will live longer, in addition to their power and prestige.

Thireshi do not have a genetic caste breakdown like the Dyrajt. Rather, such would be more akin to noble houses of a given star system, who have interbred and adapted to a specific set of environments. Inside of that, their 'castes' are dependent on physical maturity. Human terms follow. Segments are considered a non-caste - called 'larvae', and a part of their 'host', and instead serve as a status symbol. Pre-sapient released segments are termed crusts. When they reach maturity, they are called a broodling, and a mature, fertilized member of the species is called a breeder - or simply a Thireshi.

Individual 'houses' have vast variation among them. Some can tolerate higher than normal gravity, others can withstand the vacuum of space. Others are nearly immune to radiation, others cold, others heat. It is difficult to give exact descriptions because of this - their size is roughly similar, and have a similar shape, but colors, protrusions, and even sensory abilities vary wildly. They communicate solely through clicks, which has none of the impressive complexity of the Dyrajt.

Culture

The Thireshi are constantly at war with each other, in addition to serving as their 'gods', 'Elder' thireshi with hundreds to thousands of links constantly vie for supremacy using their vast hordes of children for their armies. While fully committed to the extermination of humanity in spirit, they are at a rather significant disadvantage, being unable to withstand more than half an Earth gravity, they could only participate in invasions in low-gravity environments.

Technology

As with the rest of the Triad, their technology is entirely gifted to them. Having completely different physiques than humans, and not able to make use of any form of relic, stolen technology, or otherwise, their only advancements since the Solarian Purge has been at the will of the Concorde, which is rare.