Jindarians

The Jindarians have no known homeworld and have been encountered throughout known space. It is not known if they originated within our sector of the Galaxy or arrived from elsewhere. They actually live inside their ships. The Jindarians have been in space for perhaps 100,000 years, while the other races of the Star Fleet Universe have been in space for as little as two centuries. This history, plus their nomadic lifestyle and their long individual lives, gives the Jindarians a decidedly disinterested view toward events around them. They do not form alliances or take part in wars simply because they consider all such affairs to be transitory in nature and of no real relevance to their lives.

Jindarian ships are built from asteroids, riddled with tunnels and fitted with warp engines and other systems. These asteroid ships are virtually indistinguishable from other asteroids, at least until they start moving or fighting. The ships have only "minimal" shields, using rock and Anti-Transporter Fields for defense. Their weapons include phasers and Warp-Augmented Rail Guns, which have an offensive capability with a single large energized projectile and a defensive capability that can flood regions near the ship with tons of projectiles deadly to fighters and seeking weapons but harmless to ships. Most Jindarian asteroid ships have only very small amounts of gravity (0.1Og or less), and in many areas this falls to as low as 0.02g.

While walking is possible, most Jindarians move around inside their own ships by “swimming” through the air. The Jindarians use a “gravity suit” when forced to go to another ship or a planet, and these suits are often lavishly decorated with the crest of the current Jindavo-Captain. While there are distinct variations of suits between Caravans, a gravity suit will allow between 3-4 hours of operation in an environment up to 1.5g. (Salvagers, the Jindarian “equivalent” to Prime Teams, will have no problems with these gravity suits created to allow them to interact with other races, although the standard Jindarian will have little or no opportunity to use these suits.) The Jindarians have had this technology for thousands of years, but the Galactic Powers have never matched their quality.

It can be presumed that the Jindarians originally evolved on a planet, although any memory of this is lost to them (or they have not cared to share it). Presumably they moved into asteroids at some point in the dim past and never went back to their planet of origin.

Adult Jindarians vary between 1.85 and 2.45 meters in height and mass between 75 kg and 140 kg. Jindarians reach half of their adult height and are able to begin productive work in about 8-10 standard years, and reach full adulthood in about 20-25 years. Jindarians are thought to live more than five centuries, partly explaining their attitude toward the events of the galaxy they inhabit. Skin coloration varies from tan to dark-brown and is covered with small scales. Their two eyes are widely-set, enabling a 240° field of peripheral vision, the better for a wider three-dimensional view in low-gravity locomotion. While Jindarians are humanoid, they differ from Humans in that their skeletons are composed of an intricate variably-ossiform cartilage and each limb has three discernible main joints; however, due to the cartilaginous nature of the Jindarian skeleton, the limbs may bend somewhat in other places. Each limb terminates in a six-digited hand, with four fingers and two thumbs, one on either side of the palm. A tough, pliant web of skin extends from the palms to the first joints of the fingers, with the remainder separate for fine work. The webbing along with the retractable scales provides the majority of the Jindarian motive force when moving through low-gravity atmospheres.

Chief among the differences between Jindarians and other known Galactic humanoids is the flexible skeleton, consisting almost entirely of elastic cartilage, save for the skull and upper 7/8 of the spinal column, which are the only portions of the skeleton composed of bone. The percentage of bone in the skeleton is usually directly linked to the strength of the gravitational field in a given Jindarian’s home asteroid. Of great biological significance, however, is the inverse correlation between calcium levels in the skeleton and the amounts of calcium oxide compounds in the bronchial and alveolar mucus lining the lungs (needed for efficient respiration in micro-gravity). Due to the flexibility of the skeleton, the Jindarians exhibit fantastic dexterity and agility, just another beneficial adaptation to life in low gravity. Their muscles are well suited for constriction and torsion, enabling Jindarians to exert tremendous force upon anything which they can grab with two hands (and/or prehensile
feet). Jindarians can hold their breath for 15-25 minutes, depending on the individual.

Federation scientists speculate that it would take at least 100,000 standard years of evolution to reach the degree of adaptation to microgravity they now exhibit.

The Jindarians appear to operate in groupings referred to as “Caravans”, which can be anywhere from 3 to 12 of their asteroid ships. For reasons that are unknown, it appears that any Caravan about to become larger than 12 ships will subdivide into two or more Caravans, each moving in a different direction. There is no “national government” for the Jindarians. Each Caravan is led by a Jinbaro (often translated as “king”) who recognizes no senior authority beyond himself (or herself) and no particular obligation to come to the aid of any other Caravan (although this has happened). Each ship is captained by a Jindavo (often translated as “prince”). The relationship between any given Jindavo and his Jinbaro varies widely, both over time and from Caravan to Caravan, and even within the same Caravan. Some follow their Jinbaros out of loyalty, others out of convenience. It is not unknown for a Jinbaro to “remove” a Jindavo from his command, even by assassination. Neither is it unknown for a Jindavo to promote himself to a Jinbaro, either by murdering the current Jinbaro or by convincing other Jindavos to leave and form their own Caravan. All-out civil wars within a given Caravan are not unknown, although these are very destructive and, hence, quite rare. (It is more efficient to assassinate the Jinbaro than to wreck half of the Caravan to kill him. This is not always possible.)

There are sometimes “blood feuds” between two (or more) Jindarian Caravans. It is not unknown for one Caravan to “pursue" another across space, trying to drive it out of business or force it to be reincorporated into the larger group. Caravans totally unknown to each other may fight for control of a given asteroid field. This may explain why there are not more of them. Without bases or a true homeworld, Jindarian ships carry complete family units. The “government” within a given ship (which is essentially a village) can range from a monarchy to a democracy to a commune; there is no standard type.

The Jindarians conduct mining operations in asteroid belts of planetary systems (or sometimes the Oort clouds). This is virtually their only activity and is the basis of their economy. The Jindarians use much of their processed ores themselves, but are not unwilling to trade some of the extracted minerals to outsiders. The Jindarians never completely “mine out” a given asteroid belt (there are simply too many asteroids) but move on (for reasons of their own) after a period ranging from months to decades. During their operations, they not only mine asteroids, but also convert likely candidates into more ships. If a Caravan remains in a single system for extended periods, it will probably divide as new ships are built, with new Caravans leaving periodically. Most Jindarian Caravans operate in systems that are not inhabited, hence their activities go on almost unnoticed. When they move into an inhabited system, however, problems quickly result. They try to drive out any miners already there (and often succeed) rather than tolerate interference with “their” claims. In an uninhabited system, the prospectors simply move on to less disputed stakes. In an inhabited system, the effect is generally ruinous to the local economy, as the Jindarians keep most of the fruits of their labors and what they sell is at prices just below what the material can be imported for.

They appear to have no real interest in either contact with, or the affairs of, any other Government beyond some occasional trading. To some extent, the Jindarians appear to operate as “Gypsies”, establishing themselves in a system’s asteroid field, and later moving on. Several races have tried to form alliances with the Jindarians, only to find out that without a central government, each deal can only be with a given Caravan. While the arrival of one Caravan in one occupied system can cause local economic disruptions, it proved impossible to “hire” any significant number of Caravans to cause any more widespread impact. Because of this, their impact on the overall strategic situation has been minimal at best. No one knows how many Jindarian Caravans are operating at any given time. At various times, there have been campaigns to eradicate them (or drive them from some areas), all of which have failed because of the ability of Jindarian ships to “hide” in asteroid fields, for years if need be, until the local government gives up the effort.

Generally, the Jindarians take no part in the actions of others. They have proven to be more a menace to the Orions than anyone else, partly because the Orions consider asteroid fields to be good places to loot captured ships, and the Jindarians appear to believe that there is nothing wrong with robbing a robber. Still, the Jindarians do occasionally intervene in combat actions inside of their asteroid fields. The circumstances are usually a surprise to the warring sides. The Jindarians sometimes attack both, and sometimes side with one or the other. The Jindarians sometimes simply wait (unnoticed) for a battle to end so that they can partake of a rich bounty of salvage left by the combatants.

The only way to stop a Jindarian Caravan is, effectively, to intercept them while in transit and thus in deep space. Pursuing Jindarians into an asteroid field has been found to be sheerest folly unless overwhelming fleet elements can be gathered against them. Because their ships are essentially asteroids themselves, the Jindarians are able to shut down active emitters and conceal themselves in any asteroid field. There are simply too many asteroids in any given field for the computers of any ship (or even a starbase) to track the movements of all of them and determine which are Jindarian ships and which are simply rocks. More than one warship sent hunting for Jindarians found them only when the Jindarians opened fire at point-blank range. Any ship engaging a Jindarian asteroid-ship must accept that there may be (and probably is) another, undetected, Jindarian in the immediate vicinity.

Jindarian ships of all types possess numerous and very large hangar bays from which they operate prospecting shuttles. While not fighters, the sheer numbers of them present a considerable threat to any warship at close range. During the General War, the Jindarians began to carry fighters in place of some of their prospecting shuttles. Some Jindarian ships later carried Interceptors and PFs of their own design.