The Dom'Kavash are a mysterious space faring race existent around the post-Cretaceous period who were apparently responsible for the majority of the alien artifacts and for the existence of the Nomads in the Sirius sector (and, presumably in the other sections of their vast empire). Nothing is known about their physiology, and little more is known about their culture. They mysteriously disappeared millions of years before mankind evolved for unknown reasons, leaving behind only Artifacts (sometimes marked with curious xenoglyphics), some ruins, and the Nomads to mark their passing.
Inferences & Speculation[]
The Dom'Kavash are revealed to have had a vastly superior technology to human devices. Nomads, who appear to have been left behind after the Dom'Kavash disappeared, built ships (including battleships) that seem to be made of living crystal. Nomad weapons use no energy, but deliver more firepower than any other weapons in the game. This would at first appear to be a gross violation of physics, but as Nomad power cells are revealed later in the game, it is merely likely that each Nomad weapon has its own miniaturized Nomad power cell. These could be tiny antimatter reactors, zero-point energy collectors, or some other exotic technology.
More importantly, the Dom'Kavash were able to create a network of "Hypergates", as far above the level of Jump Gates as Jump Gates are above Trade Lanes. This allowed them to keep transit times manageable across even their vast empire, which may extend outside the galaxy.
Since the Sector's mineral wealth was relatively untapped when humans arrived, it is likely that the Dom'Kavash had developed their technology beyond needing much in the way of loose resources, or that they had not fully expanded into Sirius when they disappeared, and thus hadn't had the chance to use up the resources yet. Alternately, these reserves, plentiful when humanity first arrived in the Sirius Sector, were once staggeringly abundant. It is also possible that they had extremely advanced mining technology, perhaps able to manipulate the cores of planets to bring up metals from the depths, obviating the need for asteroid miners and similar schemes.
It is known that the Dom'Kavash left ruins on Planet Sprague in Omega-3, Planet Pygar in Omicron Theta, and also, apparently, Planet Manhattan in the New York system. Most architecture in their ruins has an outwardly primitive look, although this may be due to the sheer length of time they had been abandoned, or to an aesthetic choice unrelated to their actual tech level.
Cause of "Extinction"[]
It is uncertain whether the Dom'Kavash were killed by a wave of radiation from the supernova resulting the neutron star in the center of the Omega-41 system. However, no skeletons or remains have ever been found, although the Dom'Kavash may have been invertebrates. It is also possible that the Nomads rebelled against the Dom'Kavash and exterminated them. It is even possible that the Dom'Kavash have simply gone... elsewhere, and simply not bothered to come back yet. It is a big galaxy, after all, and it's possible they anticipated the coming supernova in Omega 41 and evacuated the Sector ahead of time through the Hyper Gates, taking most of their stuff with them. This would do a great deal to explain what happened to all of their advanced technologies (the "Nomad" Jump Gate, Dyson Sphere, and other Dom'Kavash space structures seemed to be in pretty good condition after ten million-plus years).
Impact on Humanity[]
It is revealed that Liberty and Ageira got an early boost through finding Artifacts on Manhattan and unlocking the secrets of building both Jump Gates and Trade Lanes. It is likely that through further study of their technologies, Humanity will soon make great discoveries.