Okkar

These crustacean aliens are the bureaucratic masterminds behind the Commonwealth. Hailing from a low-gravity world, the Okkar are a semi-hive like species. They live in close proximity and in constant communication with pheromones and body language. Until their space age a strict uniformity or personality was ruthlessly maintained, lest there be disorder in the hive.

As they began to spread across the face of their planet they split into multiple hives. In time they even reached the stars, one of the first species to do so. Distance allowed for individuation to become more acceptable and the concept of unity changed from absolute loyalty to the hive into loyalty to the collective good of the species.

Their desire for unity is what first drove them to reach out to other species. It is said every Okkar is born with an innate hatred for disorder. So they set to put the Orion arm into it's proper shape. What made them different from the Ryleth or HIssho conquerors is that they were a nonviolent people. Even managing to escape the warring states period most civilizations go through before discovering alien life.

So with a united purpose, a powerful economy, and the cutting edge of xenolinguistic tech they began to recruit worlds and, eventually, whole species into their "Commonwealth". This was not always enough and while the Okkar are, on the whole, non-violent they are not defenseless. The warlike Ryleth and battle obsessed Hissho put up severe resistance. When one of their planets joined this new Commonwealth is sparked a new chain of bloody battles.

In time the Okkar have come to include the majority of civilized space in the Orion Spure in their Commonwealth. Some have conquered. Other liberated. Most however joined out of a sense of mutual economic gain and a common diplomatic ground to settle disputes. So today the Okkar are everywhere. Their society has always revolved around a sex based class system. The neuters do the labor, the males organize and fight, the queens think and lead. Thus so is the Commonwealth's bureaucratic system is run.

As the Okkar spread out across the Orion Spur greater individuation has been seen throughout the species. There are many instances of Okkar leaving their hive to live amongst another culture, adopting its mannerisms and traditions. One thing hasn't changed. A bones-deep loyalty to their fellow Okkar. There are mercenaries and soldiers who have killed fellow Okkar but they always do so with a sense of respectful duty to their victim, often returning valuables or even the body to their victim's hive for proper mourning.

* **Carapace:** Okkar have a hard carapace that provides +2 Armor.
* **Stability** Cannot be easily tripped or knocked prone, +2 bonus to trait checks to resist such maneuvers.
* **Diplomatic:** Okkar's overriding desire for unity and ability to sense pheromones gives them Charisma +4.
* **Weak:** -1 Strength penalty on all Strength based trait checks (including melee damage).
* **Unusual Shape:** Vrusk hands are not the same as most humanoids, Okkar are considered to have the All Thumbs hindrance (-2 Repair, on a 1 device is broken, 1d6 hours to fix) for equipment not designed for them.
* **Cyber Resistant:** Due to the peculiarities of their physiology they cannot handle cybernetics.