Metu

===The Metu===
The Metu are a quadrupedal race that lives mainly underground, With their home planet being Epsilon V. Metu have three fingers, as well as opposable thumbs. Their fingernails are long, very sharp and shaped so that they can be connected to each other to form a spade, of sorts. The adult Metu have a scale-like epidermis composed of an iron oxide, which is developed by consuming the abundance of hematite and magnetite found underground. Metu cannot actually process the Iron, however, and if excess ore is consumed it will be regurgitated. These scales protect against predators, as well as the majority of the solar radiation output by the dual stars. They slowly flake off and have to be replaced. The Metu have developed three eyes, with the bottom two seeing the average spectrum and the upper third eye seeing the infrared spectrum. This third eye is mainly used for underground vision. It is closed above ground, as the excessive heat energy would blind or otherwise damage it. Metu have been seen to consume Dragonrock on rare occasions, which causes the consumer to develop nigh-impenetrable scales.
===Technology===
The Metu have developed FTL warp drives recently, but they are still rather unreliable. Instead, Ion engines are much more commonly used. Ion engines were discovered accidentally by the renowned scientist and researcher Etul Taelou. He was attempting to develop a more efficient energy generator, but discovered that by bombarding xenon gas with electrons, it generated a large amount of ions when the xenon atoms changed polarities. This discovery sent the Metu's technology decades in the future, as well as sparking a new age of space exploration. The Metu have minor outposts on Epsilon III and VI that are used for mining and research. Epsilon IV was deemed unsuitable for colonization due to it’s extremely thick atmosphere. The Epsilon II base project was under construction, but was cancelled when an extraordinary large blast of radiation from Monocerotis β shut down all communications between the base and Epsilon V. The Epsilon II incident was heavily censored by the government, as they refused to send a shuttle to see if the colonists had survived. Recently, the Metu have discovered Perderot, a material that conducts with little to no energy loss. This new material is being researched, but progress is slow due to the extremely limited quantities of Perderot on Epsilon V. A new research project is underway, titled Project Erebos. Details are currently unknown.
===Culture===
Metu culture is heavily based around tradition and order. The Metu who violate the code of laws are first given a warning, then incarcerated, and if their behavior continues exposed to the worst shame possible for them. This shame is where the convicted are forced to let their scales flake off completely, leaving them an outcast from society and forced to stay entirely underground at risk of dying from radiation. These people are referred to as the Etnon Pellum, or the scaleless ones. If the crime committed is severe enough, the felon will immediately become one of the Etnon Pellum. Occasionally, Etnon Pellum band together and form their own settlements, although they are quickly stamped out by the main government. Religion is also oddly absent from Metu society, although small pockets of worshipers exist on the fringes of civilization.
===History===
The Metu have a long and occasionally sad history. One event in particular, roughly translated to the Month of Tears, was an attack by a group of Etnon Pellum who detonated a bio-weapon in the Metu capital city, Kazisirea. The contagion released caused the scales of the Metu to solidify, leading to asphyxiation and death. In only a month, it killed about two thirds of the entire Metu population, including the entire population of Kazisirea. The capital is still contaminated, and quarantined by the government to insure a pandemic of that volume never happens again. The Metu originally started as a large amount of tribal groups, which constantly warred and squabbled with each other. Eventually, the largest tribe decided the Metu race needed to be unified and went on a crusade, converting and absorbing any other city-states or tribes they encountered. This group eventually evolved into the modern Metu government. Although, some of the other tribes still exist, far away from the main civilization. They rarely encounter each other, but when they do they keep their distance.
===Government===
The Metu government is structured with a council of five holding power over the entire government. These five Metu are selected by the citizens via voting. Another council member is selected when an existing member dies. Council members can be voted off the council with an appropriate reason and a majority vote. This is a rare occurrence, however, and is usually a punishment for extreme power abuse and other severe crimes. This has only happened once in Metu history, when M'lai Sunghali was forcibly expelled from the council for transferring large amounts of government resources to his personal reserves.
===Military===
The Metu race have a large but rather primitive military. Almost every non-essential able Metu citizen can be drafted if need be, although this has not happened as of yet. The military technology of the Metu is rather primitive, however, with tubular combustion weaponry still being widely used. Research into energy-direction technology for military uses have been started, but it is still rather early in development. Many Metu citizens are unhappy with the current military policy, but due to the government structure have no choice but to obey the laws.
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