Chimera Subsector

The Chimera Subsector is a remote southern part of the area of space commonly referred to as the Koprulu Zone. On standard galactic maps it is designated as U-29/V-28. Bordering the Cevaukian Ascendancy and the United Solarian Sovereignty, but with a hefty dose of Bragulan, Imperial and Karlack influence, it is home to several minor species in various stages of technological development, and thus despite its remoteness of some significance to the overall long-term balance of power in the Koprulu Zone. The subsector is dealing with several issues: not only are the polities that call the subsector home trying to deal with the various external forces that wish to influence the course of affairs in the subsector for their own gain (notable amongst whom are the Bragulan mafiya, Solarian megacorporations, and the various crime-rings of the Cevaukian Ascendancy), but there are also matters of contentention between the denizens of the subsector. As such, the Chimera Subsector is a potentially very rewarding, but also potentially very volatile area of space, even by K-Zone standards.
==Species==
===Conch===
The bright, outgoing Conch are short marsupials, rarely taller than a meter, with a superficially primate-like anatomy and an outward appearance not unlike that of Terran squirrels. They have three fingers on each hand and a thumb on either side of the fingers, all of which end in short, thick claws, ideal for climbing on rock faces and holding purchase on unstable ground. They have a prehensile tail, and rather than cranial hair a system of "dreadlocks" which are also prehensile, and much stronger and dexterous than their flimsy appearance would imply.
The Conch homeworld, Conch Key, is a warm and friendly place, heated both by its relative proximity to its sun and the turbulent volcanic activity of all young worlds. Its people are peaceful and not very conflict-minded, and were exploring space with natively developed Heim Drive technology when they ran into the first Solarian strikestar patrol. In the years since First Contact, the Conch have become the primary partner of the Sovereignty in the Chimera subsector, offering the USSF a fleet anchor over their homeworld in exchange for hyperdrives and other galaxy-standard technologies. However, despite having formed a sort of partnership with the Sovereignty, the Conch frequently find themselves concerned about the heavy-handed approach to conflict resolution preferred by the Solarians. They tend to express this concern in tongue-in-cheek protests which, oddly, seem to work far better in attraction actual attention in the Sovereignty than the armed revolts that take place on the Sovereignty's own fringe territories.
===Exodite Apexai===
The Chimera subsector is home to a handful of Apexai worldships which, having fled the destruction of their homeworld by the Bragulan Star Empire, now eke out an existence on the fringes of this area of space. The exodites are possibly even more arrogant than their cousins who fled to the Sovereignty, and lust for vengeance against the Bragulans and, in particular, their Imperator.
===Itaan===
===Orthii===
The Orthii are put simply cat-people. Not in the sense they are all very fond of pets but in the sense they were evolved from them as humans evolved from apes.
In appearance Orthii are a bipedal species, and average about 6 foot in height with a deceptively slender built. Their bodies are covered in a light soft coat of fur and most (male and female) also have thicker mane like growths of fur on top of theirs which resemble style human hair and develops at puberty. As with in cats, fur colour is determined not by genetics but by environmental factors, so fur patterns are not entirely hereditary. An Orthii’s fur can be many colours, with the most common being various shades of brown, all though yellow, red and blue fur is also possible, albeit in the last case usually in so dark a shade it approximates black. In some cases Orthii can have spots or stripes or mottled patterns in their fur. Their eyes have diamond shaped pupils and a coloured iris taking up the rest of the visible portions of the eyes. Their feet and cats are four fingered (including an opposable digit on the hand) and resemble paws with soft gripping pads but with an extra joint and greater dexterity to enable tool use.
Similarly to humans, and at odds with most other know human species, Orthii females develop constantly swollen breasts at puberty although to a lesser extent than a human would. Contrary to popular opinion, that Orthii are essentially identical to terrestrial cats only anthromorphised, Orthii’s possess only two nipples.
The life span of a healthly Orthii with full medical care is slightly shorter than that of a modern human being approximately 90 years of age. Orthii go into puberty between 10-13 years of age and come to full physical maturity at around 17-19 years of age.
There are at least 2 races of Orthii: Ground based predators, heavy boned and thick muscled, this race is evolved from land predators that chased down animals on plains and grasslands. They are fast and stronger than their build would suggest to a human. They are based around quick movement on relatively even terrain. Their tails were not of great import to them and evolution has caused them to disappear as needless and their claws are evolved toward dealing damage to prey.
2nd race: Evolved from agile forest dwelling cats, this race has much lighter bones and springier muscles, they have better sense of their surrounds and are more flexible than the first race as they were previously ambush predators that droped from above or leapt out of cover on their opponents and dispatched them with a quick bite. Their claws were based around climbing holds rather than fighting. They’re tails were essential for balance and were retained to this day.
Of course in the modern space ages, the differences of their origins count for less and the difference between the two races is shortening as they meet as a mid point. Visual identification of an Orthii’s race is not a definite identification of the individual’s abilities any longer but among the Orthii such stereotyping is still common by the media and the average man.
In human media Orthii are typically depicted as rather simple playful creatures, often highly interested in scratching objects with their claws or with a liking for catmint and balls of wool. This depiction is exceptionally annoying for Orthii, who purposefully and smugly refrain from ever offing a human a banana and pointy sticks in a similar stereotyping.
[Written by Crazedwraith]
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Araneiae===
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Suzougu-Go===
==Places==
Valhalla
A remote human colony mostly unknown to the galaxy at large, Valhalla is ruled by Lord Mordecai Moonbeam the 267th. Bragulan hitmen have attempted at several times to whack the eccentric lord in order to take over his world, but a bodyguard of elite Thanagarian warriors (the so-called 'Hawk Men') have thusfar managed to prevent the mafiya from succeeding.
Category:National Information