Brunali

The Brunali were a humanoid species whose homeworld laid at the mouth of a Borg transwarp conduit in the Delta Quadrant. Once an advanced spacefaring civilization, frequent Borg attacks in the late 24th century forced them to become an agrarian society, with only scattered settlements of less than ten thousand.
The Borg designation for the Brunali was Species 2461. ()
== Physiology ==
Brunali generally resembled Humans in appearance, distinguished by a raised cranial ridge from their nose to the top of their forehead. Brunali blood was red. (, )
Compared to the genome of a typical Brunali male, Icheb's third, thirteenth, and seventeenth chromosomes were modified through microgenetic alterations to produce a Borg-fighting pathogen. ()
File:Brunali chromosomes.jpg|A typical Brunali male's genome, compared to Icheb's
File:Icheb recovery bioscan.jpg|thumb|Brunali bioscan
File:Icheb cerebral implant analysis.jpg|thumb|Brunali cerebreal/implant analysis
== History and culture ==
While the Brunali had developed the capacity for space travel, their homeworld's location at the mouth of a Borg transwarp conduit left their planet a frequent target for Borg attacks. Leucon indicated that "since the Borg first attacked us, we've taken great pains to hide whatever new technology we develop." In just one decade, the Borg attacked the planet in 2367, 2370, and 2375, leaving only settlements of less than ten thousand scattered across the northern continent.
By 2376, the Brunali didn't have "particle weapons or powerful starships" at their disposal. Most of their vessels were destroyed by the Borg. One type of vessel used by the Brunali was an unarmed transport, designed to emit a false warp signature of a capacity for warp 9.8, strong enough to penetrate subspace.
Leaning instead on their expertise in genetic engineering, they developed sophisticated techniques in agricultural genetics to allow them to grow crops in inhospitable environments. Without traditional weapons capable of fighting the Borg, Leucon and Yifay also engineered their son, Icheb, to produce a pathogen deadly to the Borg. Though Icheb spent his youth among his people, he was launched in a Class 1 transport to be assimilated by a Borg cube in Grid 649 as a biological weapon. The pathogen would kill all the adult Borg drones aboard, though the would recover Icheb and four other Borg children that had been in maturation chambers. ()
Captain Kathryn Janeway encountered the Brunali at some point prior to encountering Icheb's cube, and recognized Icheb's species upon meeting him. After the encounter, Voyager sent out a call for Brunali ships, though did not receive a response. ()
Later that year, Voyager made contact with the Brunali homeworld, intending to reunite Icheb with his parents Yifay and Leucon, unaware of what they had done. Icheb's parents, however, once again hoped they could use him to destroy the Borg and sent Icheb off to the conduit for a second time. Voyagers crew were able to rescue Icheb, and left the planet behind. ()
Poma was a Brunali food. Pala was a Brunali sport. ()
The Brunali used second names. Icheb was named for his father Leucon's second name. ()
== Individuals ==
;Named
* Icheb
* Leucon
* 
* Remi
* Yifay
* Yivel
;Unnamed
* Unnamed Brunali
== Appendices ==
=== Background information ===
Yifay and Leucon's primitive Brunali home was designed by Tim Earls. Earls described the design as "It's basically a frontier kind of thing. We knew that they had a very high level of technology, because they had warp drive, but they were living in primitive conditions. The idea was to start with a stone structure – they had used material that they found around them to build a base – and then they created a framework on top of that with a kind of high-tech thermal blanket." Earls' design also included water purifiers and a wood-burning generator (jokingly labeled "Honda.") ()
=== External link ===
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