Naut

The **Nauts** are a semi aquatic species which evolved on the planet Hydro. They died out due to disease around 1600 CE.

## Biology

They are a humanoid species possessing two arms, two legs, one head.
However, their physiology is unique in that they possess both lungs and
gills. They have webbed feet and hands and a smooth hydrodynamic body
allowing them to achieve relatively high speeds when swimming under
water. These traits make them perfectly adapted to living on both land
and water. The Nauts as a species tend to have milky white skin on their
 front side while their backs are bluish gray providing natural
camouflage when under water.

Nauts come in all shapes and sizes. Your average male Naut
 is taller and has more muscle mass than the females. Male Nauts average
 height is around 6 feet four inches while female Nauts average height
is around 5 feet, eight inches. Male Nauts have virtually no hair on
their head. Instead they have three small fin like ridges sticking out
the top of their heads. Male Nauts also have similar fin like
structure’s coming out of their forearms. Female Nauts tend to have a
smooth head with a single cluster of hair growing out the top. These
strands of hair often grow to be several feet long and are often
braided. All Nauts have long fingers with spike like appendages at the
end.

## History

The Naut home world was an earth like
planet. The planet was 80% water with most of the land mass being taken up by one large Super Continent. Naut
civilization developed both on the land and the sea. The Nauts build
large under water cities suitable for their semi aquatic existence.
These under water cities were often connected to floating cities built
right on top of the ocean surface. Naut civilization was not limited to the water with many settlements created on dry land. However, early Naut
 civilization was unstable at best with entire cities being wiped out by
 plagues or wars. These wars shaped the political landscape of the Naut
 civilization and created the Empires that would ultimately struggle for
 control during the Great War. The war extended into the solar system
with the warring powers struggle for control of space itself. Nuclear
weapons were used for the first time. These weapons rained death upon
the land with half a dozen cities disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Upon seeing the unparalleled destruction, the nations around the planet
vowed to throw down their weapons and end the fighting once and for all.
 A new planetary government was created uniting all the Nauts under one
government. This heralded the beginning of an unparalleled period of
peace and prosperity.

Under the new government, the Nauts pursued the arts and sciences with a
 new vigor not seen before. The development of the Warp Drive allowed
the Nauts to extend their civilization to the stars. Dozens of solar
systems were colonized with the Nauts gaining a true interstellar
empire. This period of peaceful exploration and expansion was suddenly
cut short when the star orbited by Hydro went Super Nova destroying the Naut home world, killing billions and shattering the government.

Everything the Nauts do is driven by their artistic nature. All Naut
 creations are considered works of art. Every building, every ship,
every piece of furniture has its own unique flare to it. The Nauts
prefer smooth flowing organic shapes rather than stark lines and angles.
 This is perfectly demonstrated by their space ship construction. While
the Nauts designate ships within classes much like humans, it is common
for no ship in the class to be exactly like the other. For example, a
ship might be a foot longer or shorter than its sisters or have an
ornate design engraved into the hull plating. Even minor differences
like the length of a communications antennae are considered important
artistic statements by the designers and ship builders. The Nauts do
have a healthy respect for mass produced items but one will often find
each item being individualized by the people who purchase them. The
Nauts also value natural beauty. Their love of smooth lines can be
traced to their origin’s in the sea.

Naut existence has always been tied to
the ocean. Much of their art reflects this with bright colors mixing in
with smooth lines and organic shapes. The Nauts who demonstrate master
seaman ship are often among the most respected Nauts. Accomplished
sailors, merchantmen, fisherman and fighting sailors all have places of
honor in Naut history and legend. Traits
common and desirable in these professions are taught to all Nauts at a
very early age. Courage, honor, determination, sense of duty, and moral
conduct are all essential for a Nauts life. It is somewhat ironic then
that the Naut civilization has
experienced wars that make many human wars look like a simple bar brawl.
 It is perhaps because Nauts are not easily dissuaded from a course of
action once they determine it is the correct one. This determination
common to all Nauts often borderlines stubbornness. Even if the cause is
 doomed, a Naut will continue to fight
for that cause as long as they feel it is right or just. This sense of
higher morality and justice is also important to a Nauts life. Despite
the horrible wars fought throughout Naut history, such evils like genocide, slavery and oppression are virtually non existent throughout Naut history.

When the home world was destroyed, panic and chaos broke out on many
colony worlds. Planetary governments tried to assure their people that
everything would be alright but local police forces were overwhelmed by
the riots and panic. Hoping to restore order, a former Naut
 General rallied military forces to his cause and declared martial law
on the planet Guylos. Troops were sent in and order was restored. The
General then declared himself Emperor. Unlike most rulers throughout
history, the General did not seek power for himself. His goal was to
guarantee the safety of the Naut people.
He established a civilian government called the Imperial Senate. The
senate assumed many powers essentially creating a democracy within an
Empire. Many of the surrounding planets flocked to this new government
in order to gain the support of the Empires resources. As it stands, the
 Empire is comprised of 12 different solar systems with roughly 6
billion people between them.

The Republic of Emmeria is an interplanetary government formed after the destruction of the Naut
 home world. It began as an alliance intended to provide disaster relief
 for the survivors of the super nova. The planet Reach began and
outreach program to bring in as many planets as they could to support
each other. This alliance consisted of 5 solar systems and roughly 2
billion people with 1 billion of those living on Reach itself. Reach
eventually became the center of the alliance and evolved into the
Capital of the new interplanetary government.

The Belkan Federation is a conglomerate of corporate entities which
seized direct control of their planets after the destruction of Hydro.
The planets are ruled by a civilian senate but members of this senate
are paid off by the corporations on the planet. The Federation controls
only two solar systems but these systems are rich with resources. The
Federation is also quick to sell these resources to both the Empire and
Republic. The Federation only has a small military force consisting of
corporate security forces. However, they have an extensive intelligence
agency which uses subterfuge to undermine the efforts of the Empire and
Republic. The Federation only appears interested in profiting off the
ongoing conflict between the Republic and Empire.