NEEqik

Created by: Garry Stahl
Appearance: Starbase 600 game.
Number of Members: In the hundred millions.
Nature of Members: Telepathic 400 pound fish with subspace sonar. They look similar to small belugas with a blunt head and smooth skin. Their locomotion is closer to plesiosaur with four long flippers and a rudder like tail. the flippers are not located on the ventral side of the body but more along the center. They could briefly hump their way onto land, however they are water breathers. They are a handicapped species.
NEEqik are omnivores. They ether hunt small fish or feed from the vast mats of floating plants. that can cover square kilometers of ocean. Hunting is usually successful as they seem to be the only lifeform on the planet that uses subspace to sense. Some species of fish can sense the pluses but not make them. These fish have an easier time of getting away.
NEEqik are live brooders producing one offspring at a time. They have two genders.
NEEqik move in family pods of from 10 to 30 adults and what ever juveniles and children they have. They do not pair off and will mate with whomever when the mood strikes. On reaching maturity both males and females are forced from the family pod.
Organization: Family pods.
Game Role: Life in all it's wonder.
World Role: Much the same
Relative Influence: Non existent.
Public or Secret?: Recently discovered.
Publicly Stated Goal: Have fun
Relative Wealth: None.
Group advantages: NEEqik like many native species in this region of space have a high degree of second order elements in their bodies. NEEqik have a subspace based radar in their heads. It it is low power low band system with an effective range of "only" about a million kicks. They easily sense object in space and it qualifies as line of sight for their telepathic abilities.
Special Abilities: NEEqik are telepathic as well as communicating with subspace clicks. Telepathy is more common as the local subspace band can get noisy with everyone clicking away. Click communication is usually used for broadcast and telepathy for person to person.
Group disadvantages: Handicapped water breathers. They are about technology proof. 
Special disadvantages: No hands, water breathers, it needs to be more special?
Those who favor them: Looks like the Federation
Those opposed to them: Deep demons, but it isn't so much opposed as they consider them good to eat.
Area of Operation: Nee. (Chan Sector 1.1/-17.2 Just inside the Lavender Nebula) This is a water planet with oceans an average of 5 miles deep. Islands are present but they are all small and barren. Geophysics says that a continental system does exist on this world, but it is drowned beneath the deep waters. There is no sign of river valleys or other structures that would indicate these masses were ever above water.
Headquarters Location: Nee The planet has less than 10,000 square miles of land surface. Most of the islands are active volcanoes. The atmosphere is thin and lacks a proper ozone layer.
Public Face: "Let's play!"
Notable Members: NeeEEk: The one they have been talking to.
History of the Organization: NEEqik have existed as they currently exist for about 100,000 years. History has not been a big thing on their minds as they lack the typical political structures that land creatures develop.. As to date their world has been big enough and full enough that conflict over hunting grounds has not broken out. They are not immune to interpersonal violence.
They do have a rich and varied tradition of tales. These are woven to impart lessons to the young, to pass the time between huntings, and to simply occupy the mind that developed sentience over a sophisticated sensor system. Tales are usually sung over the subspace clicks and wails. A tale can start with one pod and travel from pod to pod, sometimes with a thousand square kilometers of ocean singing in harmony together. Tales are varied and developed as they are told. Good ones are remembered and elaborated on further. Some of the longer tales can take days to sing completely.
There most dangerous predators are the deep demons. Great sightless fish that live in the eternal abyss. These creatures are near transparent to subspace and difficult to sense with telepathy. One's life can be quickly ended when one of these comes out of the void. Deep Demons are the main reason the NEEqik do not dive deep. The Demons seldom come in to more shallow waters, so encounters are rare.
Currently: The Ane Confederation has sponsored a science settlement on the largest of the tropical islands of Nee. Everything must be imported or made with replactors as not even a single blade of grass exists on land. With the lack of Ozone Ane are uniquely suited to contact and study the NEEqik. 
Category:Races
Category:Far Sector
Category:Epiphany Trek