Kriosans

The canid aliens of the planet Krios, sometimes referred to as ‘Quill Hounds’ by the Sol Federation, are long lived empire that had only just begun its expansion into the stars when coming into contact with Sol, an event that shaped their empire.

Quick-Start Guide

• Kriosans are adept hunters, tough in body and having honed senses. They get +5 to toughness and vigilance. An extra +5 can be gained if their homeworld is chosen in character setup.
• Kriosans come from a dangerous biome and thus are adapted to toxins. They take half the effects from radiation poisoning and 25% less from toxins.
• Kriosans are larger and thus have increased dietary requirements, having to eat more often.
• Kriosan bodies are quite sturdy and take 25% less brute damage than others but are quite sensitive to stimuli, resulting in electrical shocks deal twice as much pain to them.
• Kriosan originally evolved underground, granting vision even in the dark.
• Perk: Kriosan gain the perk "Enhanced Senses" which increases toughness by +10 and vigilance by +20 for 1 minute every 15 minutes.

History

The species that would become the Kriosans the galaxy is familiar with today originated and evolved to sentience underground, with many meters of dense stone to shield the inhabitants from the intense solar radiation of the surface, adapting themselves well to the tight confines and darkened realm of the underground. The vast network of underground caves allowed the first kriosan to hunt in the dim lights of luminescent mushrooms and later cultivate said fungi into an edible food source. The deeps however did not have there own problems, as the most common prey species was a cat-sized lizard, known as orbos, attracted to the very fungi the kriosan cultivated. Despite being a prey animal, however, these lizards were highly sensitive to sound and would carry rocks gripped in a tentacle like tail with which it would launch with painful and often times bone breaking accuracy. This early and common creature of prey necessitated the kriosan adaption to using their own range weaponry and further encouraged a highly sensitive and evolved eyesight, adapted well to sensing the minute changes in the dark by separating objects by the differences in heat through a weak infrared vision.

Up above them the planet of Krios was bathed in dense solar radiation due to a thin atmosphere, an effect which would often times kill any deep dweller after long enough exposure. To compound matters, local flora and fauna on the surface was highly adapted to absorbing and surviving the radiation, leading to much of it being too toxic for the then kriosans to eat safely. While early tribal and later pre-industry kriosans were capable of hunting and foraging on the surface for food such edibles brought down required heavy processing and cooking to remove the present toxins and even then it could never be fully purified. In the earliest days of their civilization, when tribes were the prominent societal structure, living underground as they did was perfectly sustainable. As they became more industrious, and developed modern medicine and weapons to cull dangerous fauna, their population rose sharply and they began carving large bunker compounds out of the stone. These complexes became the first bastions in which the kriosan called home. Unfortunately the improvements in the areas of science, medicine, and arms proved to have a disastrous consequence as life expectancy and thus the population swiftly rose, something there agricultural and hunting markets could not keep up with. What bastions could barely weather the food shortages began sending scouts to the surface to forage and hunt whatever they could find to supplement dwindling food supplies. Few of them returned due to the inherent savagery of the surface fauna, and those that did often carried little more than a backpack and cart full of food, until one of them returned with an unusual report. An abandoned facility had been found, one of alien origin, with a number of decaying old machines with some salvageable components inside it. The machines were advanced but highly specialized into modifying the genetics of various species, something the scouts reported with fear, as the decaying bodies of monstrous creatures littered the former holding cells. However, seeing as the alternative was mass starvation, the equipment was brought back and work to reverse engineer and study the devices began.

The geneticists collected DNA from native, poisonous quill-hounds that the scouts learned how to domesticate and travel with in order to attempt to splice desired traits with their own DNA. This may explain the superficial resemblances to canids, and was done in order to gain use of the hounds’ excellent sensory capabilities and resistance to UV radiation. Several scientists died during the course of these experiments due to sheer genetic incompatibility and organ rejection until the discovery of a substance referred to as ‘Thaum’ in the alien devices gene splicing technique through accidentally causing a quill-hound to develop lymphoma. According to notes recorded by the original staff of this genetics lab, the healthy parts of the autoimmune system of the hounds would carry and release a number of cellular toxins to kill off the tumor, which left behind mutated, but otherwise healthy and benign cells which produced a substance they referred to as Thaum. The resulting gland could be reproduced by growing it from a blood sample and the unidentified toxin released by the healthy lymph nodes to kill off the tumor. This gland, when inserted, allowed a greater degree of genetic tampering by adapting the structural enzymes within the thaumic gland to those in the DNA of the person the sample was taken from. The Thaum compound would then be released into the bloodstream, increasing the ability of the body to fight off various forms of cancer and toxins, and accept organs that would ordinarily not be compatible or present without being artificially introduced.

One of the scouts, bearing the now-common surname ‘Kerensky’ was the first one to volunteer for receiving a thaumic gland, and the associated genetic splicing that would follow. When this Kerensky returned to his bastion, he was greeted as a complete stranger at first, appearing to be an alien creature to them, with numerous quills not unlike those of his animal companion. He was able to resist the toxins present in flora and fauna on Krios, and his body was not ravaged by solar radiation the way those around him were and his body was now immune to the toxins of the surface flora. Such a thing drew some curiosity towards the project. Little by little, more volunteers would be brought to the facility by Kerensky, and later other scouts who underwent transformation themselves, and things began to take a positive turn for those xenos who no longer were vulnerable to most of the poisons of the environs surrounding them.

Golden Age and Annexation by the Sol Federation

A couple of centuries later, with the aid of both continuing conversion and natural birth, the industrious new Kriosans have all but replaced the original naturally evolved kriosans with there genetic modified superiors. With new food sources available and a population boom they established several cities around their old bastions upon the surface with numerous arc smelters erected to take advantage of the plentiful metal content of the planet. Production exploded over time as the industrial boom and advancement in technology (aided by the now completely stripped alien facility) allowed for the kriosans to quickly begin there first plans to colonize nearby habitable planets within there star system. The kriosan however were shaped by the knowledge that somewhere in the vastness of space an alien race, far more advanced than them, existed and began plans to greet them in the kriosans naturally leaned towards, overwhelming firepower. The construction of colonized moons began as outposts that descendants of the original scouts populated, forming themselves into a combination of research facilities and planetary defense systems with large anti-spacecraft guns The powerful magnetic fields of the three moons overlap in such a way as to form a natural ECM blanket around Krios, rendering subspace communications nigh-useless, but rarely ever interfering with direct fiber optic links, and having a greatly reduced effect under the umbrella of their tight-beam relay coverage. The frontier of the fledgling Kriosan Empire came to be known for its Jaegers; Nomads, hunters and frontiersmen who, facing the many dangers of hostile unknown planets and there ravenous fauna, took on the role of settlers, scouts, and frontiermen who secured areas for the advancement of there empire. Jaegers developed a their own frontier culture apart from the kriosan whole, favoring a steep reliance on individuals instead of larger organized groups. For a time, the easiest tell tale sign of a kriosan being a jaeger was their preference for large caliber bolt action rifles whose pragmatic use found its way in jager culture. A common jaeger saying is, “Why load a magazine when a single well placed shot is enough?” though other kriosans dryly remark it as impractical, none can deny the powerful munitions they use are effective for frontier hunting.

The leaders of the fledging empire however fear reprisal from whatever star-farers had left the abandoned facility on their planet, a common fear being old pictures of the montrous skeletons left in the facility. The majority of the kriosan population feared the race who would so willingly create such monsters, having conviently forgotten they themselves did the same, and many government officials and leaders fed into this paranoia for the political gain. This political move was put towards the ‘empire’s defense’ and large amounts of spending was appropriated towards weapons research and the creation of planetary defense forces. Though largely ignored, many political historians note that such great government spending happened to be done through defense contractors conveniently owned by the very politicians advocating for such ‘necessities.’ Whatever the reason, the money was still put to good use and the kriosan military was heavily kitted with various pulse action weaponry, heavy body armor, and practical multi-purpose military tools.

The kits of a kriosan military man was one defined by his origin and social class with the most expensive and deadly equipment going towards the city born imperials referred to as Castellans. This equipment consisted of heavy ablative plating worn on top of a thick flak-absorbent surcoat, which typically has a cloth layer decorated with the regalia of whichever bastion they happen to be serving. Worn beneath the plating is a ballistic weave gambeson that, altogether with all the other layers, provides exceptional melee and laser protection and can stop ballistic calibers up to and including .408 rifle ball. Such armor, however, was rare and expensive to produce and thus was given to only the elite of the kriosan armed forces. Castellans were also fond of carrying large axes at their hip likewise forged of Durasteel, which they could use in a fight either when an enemy has charged close enough to warrant it or when ammo ran dry on whatever gun they happened to carry. This axe design had been used as a tool by them since long before coming to the surface, and was a brutally effective weapon to boot since the dense material gave it the weight to crush through armor like a mace. These axes were also status symbols, as the first known example was a bardiche-like poleaxe presented to the first Kaiser. Ever since then, Durasteel axes have been considered a symbol of nobility, whether through one being commissioned as a reward, or owned by right of artisanship as the culmination of a blacksmith’s career training. Sadly, while such lofty equipment was on par with and even exceeded a sol federation marine’s standard equipment this kit was reserved for the small elite forces of the kriosan military and its political leaders. The rank and file made do with inferior weaponry and armor, a divide that later became more and more apparent among the jaegers, who rarely had more than make shift kevlar and steel vests and bolt action rifles.

Unfortunately, despite all preparations, they were woefully unprepared for the appearance of present day Sol Federation fleets in their system, emerging from bluespace and achieving orbit before the great guns could be brought to bear against them. The overwhelming display of potential firepower was so great that Sol Diplomats were hastily invited to a moot by the various lord Castellans, each representing his fief and its populace which, at the time, looked upon these invaders with fear and hostility. By time of contact the sol federation was well within its swing of conquering and annexing smaller empires and laid out its terms, the kriosan empire was given a choice of allying with the sol federation and gaining access to its infrastructure or being put to the sword and annexed. The reaction proved quite mixed, as many lord Castellans who were quite political powerful with great influence over their people sided against surrender, stating that it was better to die a free empire than be a contented slave. While a good portion of the population, in particular the jaegers, sided with this notion these lord Castellans began to lose power rapidly as the majority of remaining leaders, seeking to avoid a costly war, hastily removed them by consensus and in a few circumstances by force. Kriosans viewed humans and their federation allies as inferior, citing there small size and lack of physical fortification to the empires natural toxic environment. Despite this, even the most stout kriosan supremacist would begrudgingly admit that the sol navy had them at gun point due to its vastly superior firepower in the form of atomic weaponry. Seeing no alternative, the remaining lord Castellans consisted of those who were pro-sol and sought surrender under the guise of being allies. This decision, while in the short term was the best choice, proved disastrous as many discrepant groups voiced angry and often violent opinions against a move they saw as utter cowardice.

Sol quits Krios, the Crash births the Confederacy

As with all annexed empires the sol federation began its customary ‘improvements’ by installing federation bureaucrats in the kriosan government and supplying it with a planetary defense force and naval ships to act as both peace keepers and watch dogs to the newly allied empire. However, unknown to the sol federation the anti-empire sentiment was growing, chiefly among the independent jaegers who became the most vocal against sol rule, albeit behind closed doors as reprisal was swift and often brutal. Yet as luck would have it for these hidden rebels a chance to force their way came in the form of the bluespace crash. When word spread that bluespace travel was now impossible the rebels quickly realized the main advantage the existing sol defense forces had was cut off, that is, the support of the greater empire.

Without Bluespace travel to rely upon, the very same navy that had appeared in Krios orbit seemingly out of thin air had lost the main advantage it had over the empire and was now in the position of being vastly outnumbered, if not out gunned. Lord Castellans, ever the wily politicians, very quickly realized rebellion from the jaegers and general populace was inevitable and quickly did an about face. Many Castellans denounced sol rule and began to openly support the rebels both in speeches and with the supply of military assets to rebel groups. The more moderate of the Castellans, in particular one named Erik Eisenwolfe, took the civilian factions of the sol federation and promised them amnesty if they surrendered peacefully, albeit those that did became second class citizens after the rebellion. The rebellion was, however, not a one sided conflict. Though the federation navy and plantary defense force was heavily outnumbered it was not outgunned and contingent plans went into effect to quell dissidents rebel fighters and deflecting military groups. The conflict was swift and brutal, with sol marines refusing surrender and fighting to the man. After a period of several months, when the smoke cleared the rebels declared victory albeit at heavy cost, nearly half of its fighters were slain despite numerical advantage. The remaining survivors licked their wounds and took solace in the fact they had thrown off sol rule.

Biology

Though physically, many Kriosans have a superficial resemblance to domestic dogs, Kriosan biology differs from that of human and abhuman very noticeably. The most obvious differences, aside from their increased size and appetite, is that Kriosans have a few ancillary organs which are not present in humans, and which give them noticeable physical advantages in certain enviroments.

The first and most obvious of these is an organ referred to as an “Ossmodula” by humans, and as a “Knochsteigern” by post-imperial Kriosans. It is this organ that is mostly responsible for Kriosans’ increased height and durability relative to humans, and it is also responsible for their bones being thicker, stronger, and more resistant to fracturing. This organ also causes them to grow to heights of 7ft tall all the way up to 8 ft tall, though the majority of the species are below 7 feet tall, and do not belong to the Jaegar or Castellan castes.. There are three main influences on how tall a Kriosan will grow: genetics, diet, and upbringing. Due to traditional standards and castes, there tends not to be interbreeding between them. Castellans tend to copulate with other Castellans, Jaegers with other Jaegers, and so forth. Jaegers focus their diet and upbringing on being lean and agile, and on having as much stamina as possible, so that they can travel longer distances between meals. As a result, they never reach heights above seven and a half feet tall. On the opposite side of that coin, Castellans focus on building their size, strength, and endurance. They are brought up to be able to hit hard, carry larger and function as enduring combatants. Consequently, Castellans are rarely ever shorter than 7ft tall.

Another common trait of Kriosan physiology is the presence of dull, ferrous quills within the fur. These quills are sensitive to vibrations, touch, and electromagnetic stimuli, and prone to flaring out from time to time in the outdoors and when threatened. This adaptation, alongside a keen sense of smell gives them an excellent sense of direction, as well as heightened kinesthetic senses; a sense of where they are in relation to things around them. A steep downside, however, is that electrical shocks are conducted very easily into the body, and the likes of tasers and stun prods can very quickly overwhelm their nervous systems, more so than almost any other humanoid species.

Finally, the last unique quality of the kriosan are the presence of retractable bone-like growths in the knuckles of each hand that function as sharpened needle-like spikes. The natural weapons themselves are quite sharp and suited for penetrating the hides of creatures native to kriosan, however this adaptation is not one naturally evolved from the kriosan but a result of the genetic splicing with quill dogs, who used the tools for hunting prey. While the use of these growths are negligible in the modern age, they still persist as a weapon in a pinch should a kriosan find himself without a better option.

Culture: Shaped by the Outsider

Kriosan culture is a fickle thing marked by the change of time and evolution around the knowledge they gained early in their development. The early history of the kriosan is something rarely spoken of outside academic circles for its troubled past. Historians, philosophers, and socialists often discuss the genetic change the kriosan underwent as something to be lamented, with many declaring it as innocence lost at the behest of neccessity. Despite this lofty and poetic declaration, even the most mired of academics adhere to an unspoken rule of never showing pictures of pre-surface dwelling kriosan. The early weaker forms were hairless, ash skinned, small, and physically weak with larger bulbous eyes suited only for living beneath the earth. Such a form is looked upon with a mixture of uncomfortable disgust by the average kriosan, leading to many old photos being destroyed as a result.

Pre-change kriosan society was one of pragmatic necessity that focused heavily on the the survival of the greater bastions. While present day kriosans pride there independent spirits the species in its youth was one of focusing on the greater whole. The life of these first tribalistic then pre-industrial kriosan was one built on the foundation of ignoring the self to focus on the greater whole. It was not uncommon in those early days for the physically inferior kriosan to be selected for the worst jobs or as bait when hunting, using themselves as a draw for the slung rocks of commonly hunted lizards known as orbos or as a draw for larger carnivorous predators.

What altered this more ‘greater good’ mindset was the coming of the forced genetic modifications of the species and knowledge that life existed among the stars. The first was the change in mindset, a subtle and social shift noted only by academics as the newly evolved kriosans began to become the majority population. The tampering of genetics had a resounding effect on the instinctual and mental build of the average kriosan that synced more functionally with small groups similar to the structure of quill hound packs. The small shift completely changed societal dynamic, causing many kriosans to seek approval more in their respective friend groups over their community. To compound this, quill hounds are a pack animal but often hunt alone or in pairs to cover as much area as possible when retrieving a kill for the pack. This resulting individualism in the animal became reflected in the minds of gene-spliced kriosans as they began to lose the sense of their former self from the primitive splicing effects. The more succinct and direct societal change was the knowledge given to them that unknown alien life existed in the deep vastness of space. This subtle but societal wide knowledge shaped how the civilization grew as it entered the industrial age with rampant speculation shifting between fear and excitement at the potential new allies. However, coupled with the shift in mind set that genetic tampering came with and the leaking of several photos of the bones of monstrous animals from the original looted lab the general consensus towards these star born strangers became increasingly fearful. This vague fear was further exploited by the fledgling government that later became the Castellens caste who used this notion of an external threat as an excuse to push policies that broadened their power and influence. Spending and work towards a future war against this unknown enemy became the common industry, forming a pivotal profitable sector in the kriosan economy. The fact such defensive spending supplied and armed the police and military, solidifying the castellen castes as the defacto leaders, was merely a coincidence noted only by conspiracy theorist or so the government funded news outlets would say.

The divide created by the iron grip of the ruling castellen class gave way to three distinct cultural levels of kriosan society. At the top was the castellen who are rigidly trained and schooled at birth to become the leaders of the kriosan confederacy. The castellen are the most disciplined of the three kriosan castes with a heavy emphasis on schooling in statecraft, political maneuvering, and physical combat. A castellan is from birth both coddled and deprived of comfort that another caste would have, the early life of a castellan is rigidly structured towards physical and mental conditioning. A castellan is expected to be intelligent, cunning, and physically able to appear as superior to other castes and fit for rule. To create a greater distinction many castellens are fed growth hormones or genetically altered to grow larger in size, supporting a greater bulk for the purpose of having a commanding aura and the physical strength to become imposing as many reach an absolute maximum height of eight feet. While castellans are rigidly disciplined through out their life this does come with drawbacks, with many of this caste lacking a personal charisma due to living in an environment based on rigid power structures. Many castellans come off as stuck up and arrogant to other castes and alien groups, in particular when they do not have the authority that allows them to assert dominance over others. For this reason most castellans are loathe to leave kriosan space as the power they exert in there homeland does not extend pass their borders. More than any other caste the castellan focus on adhering to a strict rules of conduct, respecting the chain of command and authority openly but often times using political savvy to undermine and position themselves in seats of power.

The second caste and the most common is the vorhut or the ‘common kriosan’ that makes up the general populace. The vorhut are by and large smaller than the castellen due to a less rigid diet and genetic tampering to make them larger and stronger, with the average vorhut being between six and a half feet to seven feet tall. The vorhut are more concerned with the self and their small social groups than the societal care the castellan have. The vorhut share the core value of caring only for select individuals and will rarely go beyond the expectation of aiding family and friends. Unlike the rigid and superfluous castellen the vorhut are both lacking in modesty but acutely aware of manners. Vorhut will commonly speak of their prior accomplishments with pride and see personal success as something to boast of when dealing with strangers, often making them appear prideful and vain. What most outsiders do not understand is that is boasting is a competitive contest between kriosans that establishes the attitude, skills, and strengths of those they often times work with. Between kriosan, this is modesty, but to everyone else this comes across as prideful boasting. Looking past this the vorhut are quite focused on manners if they possess an understanding of there audience and take great pains to be polite to others to avoid any misaligned interpretations, this can often lead to assumptions and misinterpretations but the vorhut as they often judge a person at face value by race and background alone until getting to know them.

Finally, you have the third and smallest caste, the jaeger and the frontiersmen of the kriosan empire. The jaegers are the most individual of the kriosan, often focusing even less on matters of pride and appearance outside personal accomplishment through hunting. The common jaeger is often far more aware of his relation compared to other aliens, as in the advent of exploration they more commonly encounter intelligent xeno life. Jaegers carry less bias towards non-kriosan and often boast less as a result, often times opting to show there talents over stating them. Jaegers prefer aesthetics along the lines of practical, appreciating things that appear good but useful above all else. Their individualism is further compounded by the core value of self reliance and tight knit relationships with few others, often in the form of family and mates. This pride, however, is not without its pit falls. A jaeger has a defined set of personal justice and beliefs and is often rigid to the point of stubbornness and it isn’t uncommon for a jaeger to be belligerant and rarely violent to enforce what they believe is right. This puts them at odds with all groups, kriosan or not, but is luckily an exception rather than a rule, as kriosan morality is similar to most dominant cultures. Jaegers do have one of their own art style unique to them in the form of scrimshaw. They like to incorporate the sturdy bones and natural weapons of large and dangerous predators into their armor or as bayonets for their rifles, and decorate them differently for the purposes they serve. Specifically, Jaegars will carve their life histories into their armor; places they have seen and want to share the experience of with others, beasts they have hunted and what weapons they hunted with, and other personal milestones that they wish to be remembered for; which will be worn by life-sized statues carved to their likeness from the stone in their communal, subterranean tombs after death. The actual acts of killing their prey, however, are carved into their rifles and kris-knives, and passed down to their children, or the children of their siblings failing that. In this way, Jaegars attribute kills to their weapons, but the act of hunting with those weapons to themselves.

Of the greater whole of kriosan culture the empire is each city in Krios is governed by a Lord Castellan, whose seat of power is a large under-ground bunker complex referred to as a bastion. These bastions are massive, the size of a small city themselves, and using advancements in hydroponics technology introduced by Sol, are built to be self-sustaining. Each bastion houses and supplies the Lord Castellan and the Bascinets serving under them and, in times of peril, can house the civilian population.

On the more civilian note, a heavy emphasis is placed upon a wide range of artisan crafts, ranging from brewers on up to gunsmiths and shipwrights. Kriosan are a people of toil and often seek work constantly, all castes generally find themselves uncomfortable with long periods of rest or relaxation and prefer to keep laboring longer than most people. The mind set of consistent labor has led to a refusal to buy something when it can be made by the individual, making the trade of tools and materials far more important than a finished product. Kriosans by and large do not buy something if they are open to and capable of crafting it themselves unless it is a good bargain. For example, a housewife would prefer to start her own garden in order to feed her family, rather than buy from a farmer on a regular basis. A jaeger would sooner collect the steel casings from the ammunition he expends and handload his own rounds, rather than buy extra boxes of ammunition that would take up space he can use in his pack for more vital necessities.

Despite their emphasis on crafts, however, most Kriosans do not value the arts very much, and have a reputation for being terse in both speech and in literature. Castellans are famously laconic, often communicating in as few words as possible and rarely use flowery dialogue if it can be avoided. Imperial citizens also by and large tend to view a number of species, particularly humans, Naramads, Cht’mants, and Marqua as being lesser than them until something significant enough is accomplished to earn a measure of respect. Sol citizens with no interest in joining the Empire post-crash, for instance, have been forced to live in the bastions under guard of the Castellans, more or less making them second-class citizens. Only Sablekyne, Cindarites, and Akula have largely avoided this, having by and large established themselves as species that the quill-dogs respect due to common beliefs.

The kriosan empire is prone to solving problems it has with other groups in the surrounding space through the use of military force, when a significant portion of those problems could more easily have been solved diplomatically. Indeed, the Kriosans almost never deign to bother negotiating if they have a position of military superiority unless it is obvious to them that there is something more significant to gain through diplomacy instead of conquest, or unless it is with a known power that has earned their respect. Doing otherwise is seen as a sign of weakness, akin to bending the knee to a commoner. The Vorhut are mostly to blame for this, due to their fanaticism towards their empire post rebellion, and their desire to exert their perceived superiority over those neighbors who do not fall within their good graces. This is often seen in how the kriosan empire deals with pirates, often times attacking them openly and wantonly, even if said pirates plead mercy or attempt to avoid engagements. In many ways, this mirrors the aggression of Sol, but on a smaller and less sustainable scale. Xianjian and Krios have a famously poor relationship, largely due to the former’s tendency to claim the bodies of the slain, regardless of origin, for their marionette program. Naturally, the Kriosans are disgusted by the resurrection of their dead, and twice as affronted by the fact that those risen dead are made into mindless slaves, or receptacles for the soul-less positronic brains. Even despite this, they are not at war with one another, with Sol as a common foe.

Of the nearby Nadezhda colony the kriosan confederacy has good relations, having established contact through jaeger scouts before brokering a treaty. The confederacy saw the young colony as an ally against the sol federation should they ever return to put down the rebellion and greedily desired the advanced weaponry, mecha, and resources the colony held a monopoly on. Thus, they’ve pledged support to the colony economically by buying most of its exports and providing imports through the intermediary of the Lonestar Shipping Solutions. Should the Sol federation ever appear, despite the bluespace crash, the confederacy retains a defensive pact with Nadezhda, something many castellans privately doubt will ever need to be fulfilled but brokered with the colony to ensure a tighter alliance.

Canon Species in the Sojourn Universe
Core Species Akula - Kriosan - Humans - Mar'qua - Sablekyne - Naramad - Abhuman
Non-Core Species Opifex - Cht’mant - Cindarite - Minor Factions