Kzinti Patriarchy
The Kzinti are a felinoid race which fought a few minor wars with Earth in the late-21st or early-22nd century. Their political state is known as The Patriarchy, a name which reflects the sexist culture of the species.
Government
The Kzinti government was led by the Highest of Kzin. They had police vessels and related equipment for the enforcing of laws, but were disallowed all other weapons by the Treaty of Sirius, yet sought ways of circumventing this and rearming. Kzinti placed great importance on individual honor, being obliged to seek personal revenge upon an attacker before calling for help. To be defeated or wounded and left alive was considered by them the ultimate insult, which could only be remedied by single combat to the death. Other pursuits in which Kzinti engaged included archaeology and astronomy.
The Kzin fought a war against Earth in the late 21st century. Before this conflict the Patriarchy was a premiere power in its area of local space, to the galactic north of current Federation territory. The Patriarchy was forced to officially disband its navy and allowed only a small "police and self defense force". For centuries the Kzin chafed under this rule, but it was enforced strictly, first by the Vulcans and then by the might of the Federation’s combined Starfleet. To retain a sense of cultural pride, these belligerent warriors had to get creative. The treaty restricted their development of energy weapons and shielding, so the Kzinti outfitted their ships with kinetic weapons and other unorthodox devices that upheld the letter of the surrender terms. Kzinti warships are usually kitted out to appear as little more than common freighters or as system patrol cutters, but are heavily armed.
Physiology
Kzinti were bipedal digitigrade felines with orange fur, yellow eyes, pronounced fangs, ears resembling bat wings, four-fingered hands, and long tails. Males stood over two meters tall, with broad hunching shoulders and comparatively slender waists and limbs. Their internal anatomy included ribs with vertical bracing and multiple hearts. They breathed in atmospheres similar to those of Humans and Vulcans. As carnivores, they were acutely averse to the consumption of plants. Their physical attributes made them powerful combatants.
A few Kzinti are born with telepathic abilities rivaling those of a Betazoid. These members of their society suffer from terrible prejudice. They are discriminated against in normal social settings at best. The most talented individuals are conscripted into brutal military programs so that their abilities can be exploited for the purposes of war. They receive no formal training and are not taught ways to cope with the constant flood of mental energy that comes from being around other people. Most Kzin warships have a single telepath aboard whom the commanders use to scan enemy commanders and as part of boarding parties.
