ETs

The humans of the Terraform Reach have only limited contact with other intelligent species, though of course they have records of hundreds of others. Only five starfaring species normally visit the Reach, and none of them are likely to compete for territory.

Nartheby Sprites [from Schmidt]:

A humanoid species from a low-gravity planet. They are rather shorter than humans, and much more delicate in build. They have huge eyes with a full iris, like an animal, and a fluffy mane of hair starting from the brows and sweeping back. Their ears are pointed, mobile, and fox-like. The nose is tiny, the chin delicate and pointed. They have six four-jointed digits per limb.

They can survive in most human habitats, but their worlds are far away and they are not politically aggressive or expansionistic. They are omnivores, their families being sororities and bachelor bands; they strike humans as detached and playful. DK Status: 3 (normal).

Grik Dogs [from Schmidt]:

A dog-like species, about knee-high, heavier of limb than real dogs, almost a bit bear-like, the head rounded and the face slightly (very slightly) more humanoid. The coat varies from white through lemon-yellow to green. They are intelligent and can speak (some with eloquence), but have no natural manipulators.

They are rugged and can survive a wider range of environments than humans or Nartheby Sprites, but are limited by the travel range of their patrons. They are, in some manner, clients of the Nartheby Sprites, though there seems to be little subservience or condescension in the relationship.

They are carnivores, their families being monogamies; they strike humans as dour and blunt. DK Status: 4 (weakened).

Both Nartheby Sprites and grik dogs contact the Reach through Karres, but this is not generally known. Nartheby ships, with their twi-racial crews, sometimes appear at ports on the in-western borders of the Reach. They are unwelcome in the Empire and never venture there openly, because of their ties with Karres and the Empire's recent covert ties to Manaret.

The Nartheby Sprites and grik dogs are relatively recent members of the extended Ecumene, the Grand Convention, though on the outermost fringes of the Convention's stellatory. They have a psionic level of technology, and the ones encountered in the Reach are all psychically talented.

Muldhal:

A shivanoid (four-armed humanoid) species, with pear-shaped heads, the stem of the pear curving into a camel-like muzzle. The face is further complicated by a loose, wrinkled skin like a bloodhound's, the wrinkles shifting in complicated facial expressions. The four hands are mitten-like, the upper pair being noticeably more delicate and the lower pair more powerful. They have leonine, tufted tails and two-toed feet. They have velvety buff fur, but still wear voluminous robes in assorted styles. They stand seven to eight feet high.

They are native to an F-class system and require a dash of ozone in their air mix. This makes the worlds of the Reach unattractive to them. Visiting Muldhal stay in conditioned quarters, if possible, and take ozone pills. They are also less tolerant of CO2 than are humans, but are more tolerant of high gravity and cold. They are browsing herbivores; their families are harems and bachelor bands. They strike humans as patient, ceremonious, a bit labrynthine. We strike them as disorganized and hectic, but cute. DK Status: 5 (criminal).

Timpf:

A sauroid species with no forelimbs, manipulating with a pair of slender, elephant-style trunks. They are small – three to four feet tall – and look like two unequal egg-shapes of pink fluff, joined at one end. The smaller egg is fluffier and is, in fact, the tail. The larger egg is the body, with a pair of black-skinned legs and rather dog-like feet, at one end, and a black face at the other, with amber eyes and the two slender trunks tipped with three fingers each.

They are native to a one-face world circling a red dwarf, and are very intolerant of ultraviolet. They also require low gravity. There are only a few worlds in the Reach that they find comfortable. They are pair-bonding omnivores, and this plus their basically cute looks makes them appealing to humans, whom they find visually and technically formidable, and occasionally distressing in behavior. In short, we think they're cute and they think we're intimidating. DK Status: 4 (weakened).

Sooun:

A sauroid species, about three times human mass, lean and lithe in build, with bird-like beaks of dark green, ranging from crow-like to hawk-like in shape. They have pelts in a range of patterns similar to those of domestic cats, but colored in peacock hues of irridescent violet, blue, green, and silver. Their eyes are larger clusters of simple, fixed-focus eyelets, in a variety of colors.

They are native to a G-class star system, but they are comfortable at a higher temperature and a substantially higher pressure than humans or, apparently, Old Terraformers. Visiting Sooun take oxygen pills and low-altitude medicines, and bundle up. They are omnivores with matrilineal familes and no pair-bonding, but with a same-sex "ally" system reminiscent of dolphins or baboons. They strike humans as romantically larger-than-life; most of us strike them as dull. DK Status: 4 (weakened)

 

The Muldhal, Timpf, and Sooun contact the Reach mostly through the Aondoar Stellar Republic.