Kzinti Patriarchy
The Kzinti Patriarchy is a feudal clan-based state located on the coreward edge of Federation space in the Alpha Quadrant. The Patriarchy is made up of three distinct felinoid species: the self-labeled True Kzinti, the Lyrans, and the Mirak, all of whom share a common ancestor with their close neighbors, the Caitians. Despite its name, the Kzinti central government is extremely weak—leadership follows the ebbs and flows of clan power. While the True Kzinti have maintained nominal control for centuries and are what other races perceive as "Kzinti," they expend nearly all of their energy keeping the Lyrans and Mirak in line, which has prevented the Patriarchy from ever becoming more than a regional power. The Federation has had minimal diplomatic interactions with the Patriarchy following the signing of the Treaty of Sirius which prevents the Kzinti from building warships—this prohibition has not stopped the proliferation of Kzinti raiders, however.
Kzinti Species & Society
The term "Kzinti" describes three closely related but distinct species of felinoids, all of which evolved from the same common ancestor as the Caitians. The so-called "True Kzinti" occupy the largest amount of Kzinti Territory and their regional control extends along their entire border with the Federation, so this is the species that most Federation citizens and Starfleet officers have come to think of as the Kzinti as a whole. The other two species, the Lyrans and the Mirak, have subtle internal and external differences from the True Kzinti, and interbreeding between them is possible with limited medical intervention—though this is rare due to the animosity between these species. Compared to Catians, all Kzinti tend to be more muscular, have wing-like ears, and have more developed claws, but like their cousins, they are bipedal, have some form of tail, and are covered in fur. Kzinti are obligate carnivores biologically, meaning that they must consume meat (synthetic or otherwise), and they have a cultural aversion to eating plants.
Some Kzinti are capable of telepathy, though this appears to be a latent capability only found in a tiny fraction of their population. This is a trait not shared by the Catians. Using this ability is extremely taxing, so Kzinti telepaths must actively choose to peer into someone else's mind rather than "listening" passively to the thoughts of others. Societally, telepaths are mistreated and considered abnormal.
Female Kzinti are beneath the lowest rung of Kzinti society, as they are not considered to even be sentient by Kzinti males—an extreme result of a genuinely patriarchal society. As only male Kzinti serve in any societal role outside of the home, the Federation has had extremely few opportunities to understand the lives of Kzinti females, but brief examinations of individuals over the years have led the Starfleet Bureau of Sociology to believe that their lack of apparent sentience is purely a result of them being denied access to education and even language.
In interactions with the Kzinti, Starfleet has observed that individuals operate on personal codes of honor, which primarily revolve around the concept of vengeance. Their society is similarly constructed: blood feuds can last for centuries as warring clans fight to maintain their dominance. This extends even further to the divisions between the three species of Kzinti, so their society is constantly in flux. This division is what has prevented the Kzinti from making a concerted effort to organize as a great military power.
Kzinti Government
The Kzinti Patriarchy itself is led by the Patriarch, the senior-most member of the most powerful Kzinti clan. For generations, this office has been held by an individual from the True Kzinti species, though individuals do not tend to hold onto the role for very long, due to constant infighting. The control of the central government is relatively limited, as each layer of this feudal state is built on individual oaths of allegiance between clans rather than a solid legalistic tradition. The primary function of the Patriarchy is to put on the appearance of a unified state for outsiders. The Patriarchy also ensures that no clans violate the Treaty of Sirius by constructing vessels that could be considered warships by outsiders.
Kzinti Police Force & Privateers
Because of the strict treaty forbidding militarization, the Kzinti operate the Kzinti Police Force rather than a true interstellar navy. Their police vessels are lightly armed and intended to protect Kzinti space from raiders. In actual fact, many police vessels find their way into the hands of pirates or even state-sponsored privateers. Indeed, Starfleet vessels operating near Kzinti space have been ordered to treat any vessel emerging from Kzinti space with suspicion due to decades of raids.
Treaty of Sirius
The Treaty of Sirius was signed in 2102 between the Andorian Empire and the Kzinti Patriarchy after a series of conflicts with the Andorians, Vulcans, Tellarites, and Humans over the preceding centuries. As this was the era before diplomatic cooperation between these races, they each independently fought with the Kzinti. This final end to Kzinti military expeditions was established through overwhelming Andorian superiority in firepower, leading to the destruction of all Kzinti military shipyards. During the Andorian anabasis into Kzinti territory, Humanity was in the midst of an isolated but intense conflict to drive raiders away from their fledgling colonies, across four skirmishes which were later described as "the Kzinti Wars" by United Earth. The treaty establishes a complete prohibition on the production of military vessels by the Kzinti and a complete right of access to their space. This right was taken up by the United Federation of Planets on its founding in 2161. In exchange for the prohibition, the Federation is unable to interfere in purely internal Kzinti matters—though this has largely been a moot point following the adoption of Starfleet's Prime Directive. Oddly, the exact history of this treaty has been lost to many Kzinti, who see the Federation as a Human-driven entity, and thus have transferred some of their animus to Humans, even though the Kzinti Wars were largely fought before humanity had interstellar capabilities and United Earth's military interactions with the Kzinti were at the nadir of their imperial aspirations.
Kzinti Privateers & Raiders
While the Kzinti Patriarchy has a treaty with the Federation, the Kzinti as a whole are an aggressive, warlike people who prefer combat to most other forms of interaction. Many Kzinti Police Force vessels have fallen into the hands of raiders, who are either independent pirates or state-sponsored privateers who (in theory) are given authorization to pillage unaligned vessels within Kzinti space. In practice, these privateers also prey on Federation vessels, but they have become experts at obfuscating their support from the central Kzinti government. While Starfleet Intelligence is aware of these connections, no single Kzinti raid has reached the point to which the fleet as a whole has been drawn towards better enforcement of the spirit of the Treaty of Sirius. This is mainly because these raiders are disorganized and relatively easy to fend off.
Motivations for Kzinti raiders vary, but they are predominantly concerned with acquiring valuable technology like weapons. While the Kzinti are carniverous, there have been very few reported incidents of abductions, as even the Kzinti understand that the Federation would be quick to respond to that level of barbarity, based on rumors of how the Federation has handled Gorn incursions for similar motives.
Kzinti raiders use a mix of native Kzinti vessels--which are largely unchanged from their appearance and general capabilities from those the Kzinti have fielded since the 22nd century--and foreign vessels, which have either been seized or purchased. Starfleet Intelligence has noticed a disturbing number of obsolete Romulan warbirds in Kzinti hands, likely supplied by the Tal Shiar as part of a proxy conflict. They have also been known to operate older Ferengi vessels.
The Kzinti In-Play
- The Kzinti have been demilitarized by the Treaty of Sirius, but they are still a hostile power to the Federation. Regular unsanctioned or semi-sanctioned raids occur along their border with the Federation, so Starfleet has its hands full with warding these attacks off.
- Kzinti ships vary considerably, as they are armed with whatever weapons the Kzinti can scavenge or purchase.