The Budron are a neutral race and a minor political power in the Spiral Arm. They call the Burin system their home.

Appearance

The Budron are an aquatic species, similar in many respects to terrestral octopi. With their ten arms they can propel themselves through water, and manipulate objects with dexterity. Their homeworld Burin is highly volcanic, so their ideal water conditions are much more basic than terrestrial seas. Phosphorous is an integral part of the Budron's metabolism.

Being aquatic, the Budron fly spacecraft that are filled with water, for their own comfort. However, they are still able to exist outside of water for a limited time. This presents some difficulties: not only do they have to maintain their hydration, they also have more difficulty moving around due to the lack of buoyancy. This is further aggravated if they are wearing a bulky space suit (even if that suit is filled with water) - for that reason, modern Budron spacewear is generally equipped with a hydraulic exoskeleton. Essentially, the Budron are spacewalking around in water-filled mechas. They would also use those whenever they enter a setting with a conventional gas atmosphere.

Society and Religion

The Budron are united under their political and spiritual leader, who is simply known as "Their Holiness". They act as the final arbiter on any questions regarding the Budron Book of Prophecy, which acts as both a religious text and a text of law. With a high degree of unity, the Budron people seek to fulfil the Will of God, which is described in the Book of Prophecy.

Though not much is known to outsiders about the nature of the Prophecy, the Budron Book of Prophecy has been recognized by the USFP as an indigenous text of law.

Water is sacred to the Budron, and a great number of their ceremonies are centered around it. The central Budron belief is that their God exists in water, and through it, God can see and know all.

Budron religious ceremonies often involve a substance called Shanwa, which is secreted by a native species of algae on Burin. Shanwa is psychedelic and induces visions, which they interpret as messages from God. Budron priests or “god-seers” regularly consume Shanwa and conduct seances in which they try to reach God. They then confer to interpret their visions and discern the Will of God. Through a rather bureaucratic process, the visions get curated and re-interpreted and re-seanced by higher and higher priests, until finally the most important visions are presented to Their Holiness, who will ponder on them and create their final interpretation: a prophecy. These prophecies are then added to the Book of Prophecy.

Classified Information

Officers of the TSN with clearance level no less than M may peruse the more detailed, classified file on the Budron Society.