Mantoid

Mantoids were large insectoid sentients resembling Mantids. They are native to Vendaxa.

=Characteristics= Mantoids could change color based on mood or environment, making them sought after for spies and assassins. They color could range from light green to dark brown, including colors like red or violet, depending on external or internal stimuli. They were 7 ft. tall at full height. Like their distant relative, the Acklay, they bore three fingers on the joint of their claws.

They bear resemblances to the Yam'rii and Vratix species, but they have no evolutionary connection.

=History=

First Vendaxan Inter-Specie Civil War
In 70 BBY, Niessúh IV declared war on the Cicadodians (a subterranean sentient species also native to Vendaxa) on the grounds that they were; “encroaching on Mantoid territory, and were developing technology that could threaten Mantoid Civilization”. Zé Troc’s first battle was the Battle of Ak-Krad, in the beginning of what would be called the first Vendaxan Inter-Specie Civil War; serving as one of Niessúh IV’s Commanders in Chief in the Phauja ral Mantodea.

While the majority of the Mantoid population was caught in the web of lies Niessúh IV had spun, Zé Troc and the other Commanders in Chief knew full well the foulness of what was transpiring behind the scenes of Niessúh IV’s administration. The Cicadodians had never proven a threat, nor were they developing war technology with which to challenge the Mantodeans. The true motive behind the war had been that of the Néim Roád Mining Corporation; who had long sought after the vast tunnel systems of the Cicadodian Commune.

The Corporation had been influencing Vendaxan administrations for centuries, and though most of their dealings had been prosperous, they had yet to find a price high enough to sway an administration into war with the Cicadians. Until the administration of Niessúh IV, that is. They had been his financial and public supporter since the late years of Pharoah Niessúh III’s administration.

Eventually, some of Niessúh III’s Commanders in Chief grew sick of the corruption that had taken hold of the administration, and tried to speak out against him. The fact that all 30 commanders were siblings of Ta Bóka did not spare them from the death sentences given by the Pharoah for “Treason.” Consequentially, he dramatically reduced the number of Commanders in Chief at his command. Though his more outspoken siblings were continually being executed, Zé Troc appeared to be one of Ta Bóka’s most loyal supporters. However, this was merely a ruse he had designed to gain his brother’s trust and allow him to gain the most power possible. By the time the Vendaxan Civil War ended in 65 BBY, he had been painted as a “war hero” by Mantoid society.

Aftermath
Though the Mantoid army had won a tactical victory over the Cicadodians, the war had not gone well. The Cicadodians retreated deeper into their tunnel systems, and Niessúh IV had assumed victory by default. The costs of the war were high and the intended goal of the war had not been achieved, leading much of the Mantoid populace to dislike Niessúh IV’s administration.

Regime Change
In 58 BBY, Erratum Shunnef was granted emergency powers by senator Legumina of Arborealis Pyro, who had been blackmailed excessively by Mantoid assassins. This allowed Erratum to take military action against the “evil dictator” of Vendaxa, Niessúh IV, claiming that he might spread oppression and Tyranny to other worlds should he be allowed to progress in gaining power. The Republic dispatched a task force to Vendaxa to “remove” Niessúh IV, and in late 57 BBY, Zé Troc’s followers and the Republic task force successfully captured him. Ta Bóka Zad-Rí Niessúh was put through a quick trial and was executed. Erratum selected Zé Troc to reign as Pharoah Niessúh V of Vendaxa in early 56 BBY, as Zé Troc had planned. Of course by that time, most of his generation of the Vendaxan Royal Family had died (many of them at the hands of Niessúh IV or his assassins, others in battle during the Vendaxan Inter-Specie Civil War); so there wasn’t much of a choice as to who would rule anyway.

The Second Vendaxan Inter-Specie Civil War
In the first few years following the regime change, Vendaxa and the Republic remained in peaceful contact, trading goods and supplies. But in 53 BBY, Zé Troc began to continue the legacy of his deceased predecessor; albeit with a slight twist. Rather than simply driving out or slaughtering the Cicadodian population, he enslaved them; using them to work the mines for them, and to construct a large monument in his honour at the heart of Mantodea. In addition, Zé Troc organized labor camps in which Cicadians were used as slave labor to construct an army of Mantoid VA-2 series battle droids for the Phauja se Mantodea. Erratum ordered Republic troops to Vendaxa a second time in 52 BBY, again taking advantage of his emergency powers, marking the beginning of what would later be referred to as “Erratum’s Folly”. After three years of hopeless, meaningless fighting without achievement, the new senator of Arborealis Pyro, Punctata Hemikyptha, called for Erratum’s impeachment with a vote of no confidence in 50 BBY. Erratum was replaced by a senator named Mortimer Harrison, who called for the removal of Republic troops from Vendaxa. However, this new chancellor’s term was cut short by his death in 48 BBY, and was thus succeeded by Kaplana as chancellor.

Vendaxan Revolution of the Year 14
Zé Troc’s tyranny finally ended when his lone surviving sibling, a Mantoid revolutionary named Ort Sac Le-Díf Niessúh, and a Cicadodian insurgent leader by the name of Seth Arav Ral lead 500 soldiers into the Niessúh Durg Uttamattara ral Niessúh in mid 21 BBY. Ort Sac killed Zé Troc personally in a duel during the assault. After this uprising, referred to as the Vendaxan Revolution of Year 21 in Galactic Basic, Vendaxa isolated itself from the rest of the Galaxy in shame of the damage Zé Troc’s reign had inflicted on the other worlds, and his contributions to the Confederacy of Independent Star Systems.

=Culture=

Calendars
The year 0 of the first recorded Mantoid calendar is set at the end of the war that followed the Second Sith Civil War, when the Mantoids of Vendaxa officially joined the Galactic Republic.

The second recorded calendar is based around the

=Navy=
 * GhAta-Class Battle Cruiser
 * Vendaxan Commune Assault Fighter
 * NigahabAna-Class Starfighter

=Notable members=
 * Zé Troc Rel-Tíh Niessúh
 * Ta Bóka Zad-rí Niessúh
 * Gón Gíluz
 * Pos Hú-Mós Niessúh
 * Ort Sac Le-Díf Niessúh

--Logan Felipe 07:23, 28 March 2007 (UTC)