Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of ProximaApologies for the delay but here is the final part of my in-depth look at the Tarbotian Empire. Here i look at the culture and how recently the racial make-up of the empire has changed.
The Tarbotians are an ancient people, their species is very long-lived and they usually adopt a very long-term view. No doubt they have thought about one day conquering the DDS but i wouldn't be surprised if any plans are decades away from coming into action. That doesn't mean the DDS should ignore the threat, if the Tarbotians see an opportunity to strike now they could take it. The DDS must be mindful of the long game and take steps to perhaps extend the Tarbotian plans still further.
The Tarbotians like to grow their empire piece by piece, the new province forged from ex-ABBO territory will slowly and carefully consolidated. New cities will be built, new colonies formed, new bases constructed. But these could take many years. The governor of the new province (Rotarios) still has his office in the neighbouring province pending construction of a new HQ.
Like many things the process is careful, deliberate and well-planned. Occasionally the Tarbotians thrown caution into the wind and act more spontaneously (the attack on the DDS in the 2090s was an example) but these sometimes end up in disaster and over time these events have become less frequent.
One recent change to the empire however could change the way the Tarbotians act forever... perhaps. The Tarbotian civil war in the early 2100s was an utter disaster for the empire, especially for the Tarbotians themselves. So many died in the strife and this forced Dr Slow when he was restoring the empire to bring in people from conquered nations to fill the gaps. These races like the Okram*Green are now seen frequently in Tarbotian deployments, while few have reached the top echelons yet that is surely just a matter of time. When the key decision makers are no longer Tarbotian then perhaps the thinking will change?
Maybe or maybe not. There are signs the conquered races are assimilated into the empire comprehensively (and conquered races are usually treated fairly - if they submit to the will of the empire) and may end up thinking like Tarbotians. If this can be carefully managed then by combining the Tarbotian long-termism with the energy and variety from other species the Tarbotian Empire may become even more dangerous than anyone can ever imagine...
