Tumacoom

### **Summary**

Once hailed as the saviors of the galaxy, the tumacoom were recruited to the Coalition by the tlecians decades ago.  They fought in multiple engagements across the galaxy and received much acclaim from their allies.  Due to their regenerative abilities and, at the time, comparatively impressive constitution, they were admired as a species where each and every conscript had physical capabilities on par with that of a chantar Roq.  Their toughness and biological diversity from other member species meant that the denazra initially struggled to counter them in combat, and the tumacoom enjoyed several years of immense popularity on the galactic stage.

Unfortunately, the joint tumacoom-tlecian taskforce that assembled an array of deep space observation equipment in orbit of the tumacoom’s home planet of Orm detected an incoming fleet of denazra ships a mere five years after construction was completed.  After a bloody campaign to defend the system, the Coalition fleet was either forced to retreat or abandoned their allies when the fighting became too tough, depending on whom you ask.  The Coalition did assist in relocating those few tumacoom willing to abandon their home planet, but it is unclear if these survivors represent enough of a critical mass to preserve the genome.  While the large majority of the tumacoom were unwilling to abandon their planet, the idea of evacuating billions of inhabitants from a solar system is laughable anyway; even a moderate birthrate would outstrip the transportation capacity of the entire combined Coalition fleet.

When the Coalition fleet was forced to retreat from the outskirts of Orm’s solar system, the tumacoom fortified near orbit in earnest.  The Coalition fleet, which had to defend the gate or be cut off from retreat entirely, reluctantly stood off from the planet.  After several probing attacks, the denazra allowed the organics to split their forces and concentrated their efforts on Orm itself.  When Orm’s orbital defenses fell, the tumacoom dug in on the ground.  When the denazra released non-lethal bio-engineered diseases to pacify the population, the tumacoom sealed off their settlements and outfitted their armed forces with defensive gear.  When the denazra were forced to rely on military means, the tumacoom retreated to hardened fortifications and used civilian “shields” after it became apparent that the denazra wanted to process as many live subjects as possible.  When the denazra ground and air forces pushed into the planetary capital and began herding together survivors, the tumacoom detonated a fusion weapon over their own city.

As the denazra began to employ increasing brutal tactics to preserve at least some of the tumacoom for their own purposes, they also renewed their interest in the Coalition fleet that was still attempting to reinforce in sufficient numbers to liberate the planet.  In a series of bloody engagements, the Coalition fleet was defeated and retreated after rescuing as many of their ground forces as possible.  The task force severed the gate connection between Orm and the rest of the network as the tumacoom broadcast their last message of moral condemnation planet-wide.   No one, except for a handful of extremely theoretically minded “armchair-admirals,” has actually proposed a strategy that would have allowed the Coalition to win.  Allowing a working gate to fall into the hands of the denazra would have been disastrous.  Even so, the Retreat from Orm remains an extremely controversial issue.

Unless the denazra have moved or altered the now dormant gate, it is still sitting in occupied space, waiting for a rescue mission that will never come and unable to connect with the rest of the galaxy.  The Coalition has no reliable intelligence on further developments on Orm.  Presumably, some limited information will become available once the slower than light speed transmissions from Orm reach the Sagittarius Arm in a few decades.

### **Biology**

Native to a system in the nearest verge of the Centaurus Arm of the galaxy, the tumacoom are arguably best categorized (at least by human terminology) as a plant.  The debate (i.e. do they lay eggs or seeds, etc.) has thrilled biologists both on Earth and elsewhere in the Coalition but holds little interest for the average citizen due to the continuing extermination of their people.  They mature and breed slowly but are extraordinarily resilient to disease.  A tumacoom can live for over 200 years, but they become stiffer and more sedentary as they age.  Eventually, they become entirely dormant and atrophy.  When an individual does not wake for an entire week, they are “planted” underground and return to the soil.

On average, they are about the same height and weight as a chantar Roq (1.25 – 1.5 meters, 80-100 kilograms), but are very differently shaped.  Tumacoom have four legs and two arms.  Normal tumacoom have four prehensile toes, including a powerful thumb, on the end of each leg.  The arms are much thinner and weaker than the legs and have smaller, more delicate five fingered hands with another set of thumbs.  On both feet and hands, they sport retractable claws (or thorns) that are typically kept cleaned and sharpened as part of routine hygiene for adults.

All healthy tumacoom have a bark-like skin, with a faint pattern of soft scales.  While the color and shape of scale can vary widely across regions, they are uniformly flexible and sturdy.  While the tumacoom scales provide less natural armor than harder varieties, they remain surprisingly mobile.  Despite their six limbs and quadrupedal build, tumacoom can climb over very steep obstacles.  While they may become disoriented, tumacoom are even capable of hanging upside down for limited amounts of time.

Tumacoom have wide faces, with two eyes facing forwards and another pair on each side of their heads (granting approximately 270 degrees of vision without turning its neck).  Their noses are small and short and, while sensitive to smell, are comparatively much weaker than their eyes.

Despite frequent stereotypes about their biology, the tumacoom are surprisingly resilient to physical harm, including fire.  They are even capable of regeneration of lost body parts, provided the injury is not to a critical area and they have a long time to rest and recuperate.  For comparison, while a tumacoom could eventually grow a new limb, it would be killed by less severe injuries than what it typically takes to kill a human. Most of their bodily functions, including their brain, are somewhat decentralized into multiple smaller organs spread throughout their person.  This has the advantage of limiting critical damage and allowing for many redundant systems, but it also means that a tumacoom can find itself afflicted with partial brain damage if it is sufficiently injured in either of a half dozen places.  While even a minor brain injury can be regenerated, the tumacoom’s personality will irrevocably change and many learned skills can be lost.

Biologically speaking, the tumacoom consume food at a remarkable pace for a plant.  Typically, a tumacoom will passively absorb energy from its environment throughout the daylight hours and then retire to a dormant state during the night with a supply of organic material.  Tumacoom can consume a medium sized plant or animal over the course of one night simply through absorption.

Tumacoom survive off of a complex diet involving solar energy, water, chemical compounds in the atmosphere, and organic matter.  Their wide range of food sources provided an evolutionary edge on their home planet, but also made settlement of other worlds more difficult.

### **History**

The tumacoom evolved from simpler organisms, tree-like creatures that could move slowly across the landscape, using stored up energy to survive while they looked for a fertile location to begin feeding again.  They thrived, in many ways, due to their ability to adapt and survive on nearly any type of fuel.  Solar energy and water were present in abundance, and they could utilize vital nutrients from a wide variety of sources.  In lean times, they could survive off of fertile soil.  When better options were available, they could digest a wide variety of plant and animal matter.

Despite an array of useful evolutionary adaptations, a propensity for tool use, and the ability to harvest sections of their own body for tools in dire circumstances, the tumacoom advanced at a slow pace.  Perhaps due to their slower march to maturity and longer life span than many other species, the tumacoom have advanced deliberately and carefully throughout their history.  They quickly learned the nuances of horticulture and this aptitude for the cultivation of other living creatures is obvious in their living spaces and customs.

Different tribes (literally translated as something closer to “limbs” or “branches”) settled down, farmed, and traded.  In time, they learned to make war.  But the ability of even groups of tumacoom to subsist off of largely uncontrollable resources meant that scarcity was rarely a problem.  Even population pressure was not as great as for other species, due to the slow breeding rate for most tumacoom.  This led to a greater level of communication and interdependence between the different settlements.   The planetary history of Orm is not without episodes of extreme violence, but they enjoy a comparatively more peaceful history than most other sapient species.

Ironically, the cause of the worst violence perpetrated by the tumacoom against themselves came about as the result of the philosophical teachings of Orm.  That name has become so ingrained in the culture of the tumacoom that it is used interchangeably as their homeworld’s name.  But, once, Orm was a female tumacoom of a small province on the continent of Pretor.  Orm’s early life is shrouded in mystery, but the tumacoom’s holy books record that she was the daughter of a high priest.  Forsaking the material wealth and possessions that came with her father’s position, Orm began to write and preach about the need to reconnect with the cycle of life on their planet.  The symbol of her movement became a spoked wheel.  The tumacoom were the hub around which the wheel turned, but the other creatures and the planet itself were all part of the structure.

Orm championed gentle ideas, urging her people towards stewardship of the natural world and charity towards all living creatures.  All things perished, and to kill a creature was not in and of itself a moral sin.  But to kill needlessly, without compassion or contemplation, was a waste.  Orm’s religion tied its adherents to the well being of their ecosystem.  Even after her death of old age (an exceedingly rare thing for a prophet anywhere in the galaxy), her movement kept spreading.  Orm repeatedly and explicitly forbade the creation of a church hierarchy after her passing.  It was a mass movement and politicians learned to direct its energy rather than seek to control it.

Over time, some version of Ormism had spread across most of the globe.  The religion eventually fractured into at least 38 different sects, but a history of debate and communication left a remarkable peace between the adherents.  But for close to half a billion tumacoom, Ormism was a dangerous set of ideals that threatened to choke off industry and technological development.  An impasse between the faithful and those who rejected the word of Orm developed.

While many revisionists claim that the secular tribes all practiced horrific abuses against their own members as well as the other living creatures under their care, the truth was somewhat more nuanced.  Many tumacoom killed plants and animals with little remorse and rejected the idea that creatures of higher intelligence owed a duty to those beneath them.  It is also true that many dictatorships existed and that abuses did occur.  But the followers of Orm tolerated dictatorships amongst their own ranks, relying on the strength of their own movement to gradually erode away the foundations of control these aberrants enjoyed.  And many non-believers lived relatively blameless, if secular, lives.

The Unification War was long and exceptionally violent.   The believers contended that they were liberating both their fellow tumacoom as well as the billions of other living creatures living, through no choice of their own, in essentially occupied territory.  It was undeniably, however, a war of aggression by the faithful against those who did not believe.  Declaring that they could not sit idly by while others debased life itself, the followers of Orm began a great campaign that would reshape the very planet.

When the dust settled, millions had died.  But Ormism was triumphant.  No tumacoom was forced to convert, but governments were toppled and cultures upended.  New, inter-state laws were enacted forbidding the “inherently immoral” practices that Orm had singled out in her texts and preaching.  Few were sad to see the worst of the dictators fall, but the secularists and non-believers were increasingly marginalized and ignored by the triumphant majority.

The planetary order that emerged was not entirely unified in authority but was in law.  In effect, it became a benevolent oligarchy where the very rich and influential directed the course of events while subject to a limited but very strict code of conduct that could be enforced against anyone who openly flaunted them.

When the tlecians arrived, the tumacoom accepted them with equanimity.  The tlecians openly praised the preserved and beautiful ecosystem of Orm.  The two species shared a wide variety of ethical similarities.  They offered non-despoiling technology and a connection to a group of other peaceful aliens.  And what they wanted in return was help against a foe that stood as a direct and dire threat against everything Ormism championed.

The tumacoom contributed vast resources, millions of soldiers, and advanced military equipment to the Coalition’s war effort.  Their military doctrine relied extensively on engaging enemies at extreme range using barrages of missiles and other artillery.  On the ground, at least, this strategy forced enemies to close the distance with them, where their natural resilience and propensity for heavy weaponry gave them a key edge.  The tumacoom proved their worth to the Coalition again and again, cultivating a strong relationship with the tlecians from the start.  The religious fervor with which many tumacoom defended other living creatures was inspiring to many and variants of Ormism sprang up even on alien worlds.  As the tumacoom’s faithful predicted, the last dictatorships on Orm fell to peaceful uprisings and a golden age of prosperity, art, and culture was in full swing.

The tlecians helped the tumacoom build an orbital network of deep space monitoring devices in order to better secure tumacoom against a potential surprise attack by the denazra.  Its construction was heralded as a marvel of tlecian science and tumacoom ingenuity.  Five years after it began operation, the tumacoom discovered a denazra armada nearing the outskirts of their solar system.

With little time to prepare, world leaders convened a great conference.  The tlecian ambassador assured them that help was on the way.  Despite tlecian advice to the contrary, the tumacoom decided that preserving the genome meant little if it came at the cost of the entire ecosystem that gave their life meaning.  They issued a species wide call to arms, begging every tumacoom anywhere in the galaxy to come home and fight.  Hundreds of thousands left the colonies, the trade fleets, and alien worlds to defend Orm.  Millions enlisted over the next year and close to a billion more were drafted as the demand for more personnel increased.  Orm’s local governments instituted civil defense training for every member of the population and the planetary authorities organized the dispersal of vast mountains of weaponry and other equipment from every Coalition member state.  It was called “the Undertaking” and it was the single greatest effort by the tumacoom as a people in their entire history.

Coalition soldiers began to arrive as well.  No species did as much as the tumacoom had hoped, but the Coalition fleet was a critical asset that was absolutely vital to the defense of Orm.  The tumacoom had always excelled at diplomacy, even convincing the recalcitrant kral’shir clans to send more troops and ships despite the lack of a treaty obligation to do so.  If the chantar were happier sending armaments than soldiers, the tumacoom simply looked for a way to make that work to their advantage.  Despite the lack of time available to them, the tumacoom accomplished great feats of diplomacy, logistics, and militarization.  By the time the denazra arrived, the tumacoom had transformed their solar system into a fortress.

The tumacoom plan revolved around denying the outer planets, and the harvestable resources there, to the denazra by launching an all out assault before the hostile fleet was able to disperse into the solar system.  Failing that, they intended to force the denazra into a lengthy war of attrition while their allies across the Coalition mobilized reinforcements.  Tumacoom researchers converted all manner of scientific projects to military applications, even weaponizing many of their domesticated plant and animal companions.  Propaganda and training efforts went on planet wide.  Given the time scale involved, the results were truly impressive.

The denazra appeared to have been monitoring at least some of the developments on Orm as they approached the system and the time lag grew increasingly shorter.  Earlier than Coalition planners anticipated, the fleet broke into smaller segments and began burning towards the solar system at a much faster (and easier to detect) pace.  Long range observers noted an increase in activity as the denazra fleet seemed to swell drastically in size.  For the first time, tumacoom authorities quietly agreed to begin shifting some small groups of volunteers off world in order to preserve their genetic heritage as well as that of other species native to Orm.

The first battles that took place in the outskirts of the system were disastrous.  A previously undetected detachment of denazra ships, whose appearance has still not been adequately explained by Coalition analysts, rapidly opened a second front in the outlying asteroid belt.   The tumacoom plan to overwhelm the denazra defenses with barrages of missile fire failed after the denazra dispatched vast swarms of drone fighters in waves ahead of their main fleet, apparently anticipating the tumacoom’s strategy.   After the drones deployed huge fields of countermeasures, they simply plotted intercept courses with the missiles that breached the line and sacrificed themselves to protect the larger ships.

Despite these disadvantages, the Coalition fleet managed to fight the first wave of denazra ships to a standstill.  The mammoth dreadnoughts lurking out of range, however, simply churned out new replacements for their admittedly heavy losses.  The detachment of attackers in the asteroid belt was proving difficult to dislodge and had already set up mobile factories.  The denazra vessels which had angled off from the main fleet entered the system and forced the Coalition to either split its forces or fall back to Orm.  Faced with the prospect of a risky all out assault against the denazra, and with the knowledge that the loss of his fleet would leave the entire Coalition dangerously undefended for a decade, the Coalition commander decided to retreat.  The tumacoom contingent protested, but they had already planned for this possibility and began prepping their orbital defenses.

The next waves of denazra assault forces were even better tailored to take advantage of their opponents.  The denazra employed no trickery after their initial assault.  They simply began to harvest resources, produce new reinforcements for their growing armada, and to force direct combat with the Coalition forces in the system whenever possible.  The denazra consistently focused the brunt of their attacks against the native tumacoom forces, allowing the Coalition fleet the option of retreating before being totally defeated.  Time and again, the Coalition was forced to take advantage of this opportunity and retreated closer and closer to the gate while the tumacoom forces took an increasingly high share of the casualties.  By the time the denazra broadcast their usual, impeccably translated request for a surrender planet wide, Coalition strategists had already privately conceded that the tumacoom system was lost.  Coalition reinforcements continued to muster, but the process slowed as military professionals realized what the politicians could not yet admit.  New recruits across Coalition space were advised that the war would likely be done before they had finished training.

The tumacoom sent increasingly desperate calls for aid even as they fortified near orbit and the surface of Orm.  A steady trickle of evacuees, often those less enamored with the idea of dying to protect a planet when there was an interstellar gate only a few hours away, began to leave the system.  The Coalition fleet spent an increasing amount of resources guarding these convoys and less helping to secure Orm’s orbit.  This change did not go unnoticed by the tumacoom, and the communiqués between native forces and their allies grew increasingly bitter.

When the reinforced denazra fleet assaulted the Orm orbital fortifications, the real fight began in earnest.  Tumacoom soldiers flew aero-strat fighters in desperate sorties while orbital batteries and surface defenses engaged the enemy.  The denazra relied on simple overwhelming force and the fact that it is always easier to shoot “down” at a planet than it is to propel ordinance away from it.  The only saving grace was the denazra’s tendency to avoid extreme damage to a planet and its population during an invasion.  Using the planet as a shield from the denazra, the Coalition fleet was able to keep maneuvering while evacuations continued.  In addition, supply lines were kept open and troop reinforcements kept arriving in the system despite the mounting losses.

Eventually, however, the denazra’s capacity to absorb casualties while inflicting damage on the gradually thinning defenses turned the tide.  As the denazra fleet’s advantage grew increasingly lopsided, they were able to occupy a wider swath of Orm’s near orbital space.  Denazra forces arrived via drop pods on both poles and began to establish ground facilities.  Heavy fighting gradually spread across the planet, with elite Coalition soldiers fighting alongside countless tumacoom infantry.  The denazra escalated the lethality of their tactics from paralyzing bio-engineered diseases to surgical strikes and irregular warfare.  As it became apparent that the tumacoom would use any tactics to deny their homeworld to the invaders, the denazra increasingly relied on deadly force to salvage at least some prisoners for their own purposes and limit damage to the planet while they commenced terraforming.

As the tumacoom were increasingly relegated to fighting a ground war, the denazra shifted more assets towards destroying the Coalition fleet.   The denazra, who had been at first content to split their enemy into smaller groups, began to actively hunt the elusive Coalition space forces.  The Coalition fleet soon abandoned all hope of interdicting the denazra in orbit as they increasingly struggled to even keep their supply lines open from the gate.

Finally, the Coalition launched a daring assault against denazra space forces around Orm.  A rallying cry on Orm went up and the tumacoom high command launched counter attacks across the globe.  The denazra lost significant swathes of territory and their operations were temporarily disrupted.  Morale was higher than it had been in a year.   This made the pill all the more bitter to swallow when the Coalition transports landed and, instead of disgorging reinforcements, called a general retreat for their personnel.

Several million Coalition soldiers were unable or unwilling to reach the retrieval craft.  The fleet left them stranded with orders to avoid capture or even the recovery of an analyzable corpse if at all possible and fell back towards the gate.  The denazra’s military response was brutal and the Coalition fleet was almost destroyed in the process.  The reports of the situation on the ground from the recovered soldiers were uniformly horrifying.

Coalition intelligence last recorded reports of heavy ground fighting in urban centers around the globe.  When denazra forces entered the planetary capital, the tumacoom detonated a fusion weapon over the city and vaporized the millions of inhabitants rather than allow them to be captured.  After entreaties to the Coalition fleet failed to produce results, the tumacoom broadcast a message in the clear condemning their former allies for “base cowardice.”

Shortly thereafter, the Coalition fleet retreated through the gate and wiped its databanks clean to prevent the denazra from accessing any critical information about other worlds.  As a political compromise, the gate was left active in case the Coalition was able to muster a relief mission to return to Orm.

After much deliberation, the Coalition declined to sacrifice more forces in the name of a lost cause.  The tumacoom were left to their fate and Coalition military planners began to work on a new plan for the next invasion.  Pro-war advocates were pacified with generous aid shipments to the tumacoom refugees and Coalition assistance in evacuating the endangered colony of Horut.  The names of the killed and missing Coalition soldiers were added to the Memorial Walls and business quietly got back to normal.

### **Culture**

The tumacoom are historically well regarded for their horticulture, architecture, and music.  Their gardens are renowned as being almost universally stunning across the entire range of Coalition species (thankfully, they were well documented before the gate connection was severed).  The melodious voices of the tumacoom go from pleasing to stunning when raised in a harmony during one of their open air operas.

Despite the gentile nature of much of their philosophy, the tumacoom are socially quite uncompromising. They are frequently misinterpreted as being aggressive or blunt.  Tumacoom frequently believe in an order of things that can be objectively applied to a society.  When two tumacoom argue, it is a slow, drawn out, and surprisingly ruthless affair.  Even so, escalating such a debate to a physical confrontation is a harshly punished crime and morally reprehensible.  Tumacoom frequently get along well with kral’shir, even when they disagree, although there is some friction around the subject of shoving.

In general, the tumacoom focus on works that accentuate natural features or phenomena.  Their cities are covered in verdant plant life, populated by a wide variety of partially domesticated flora and fauna.  The widespread religious influence of Ormism is very evident in their work and celebration of the natural world.

More recently— as they were increasingly called on to serve as defenders of organic life both at home during the Great War and across the rest of the galaxy— the tumacoom began to promote something of a warrior culture amongst many of their people.

What will happen to the culture of the tumacoom after the loss of their homeworld is unclear.   The most ardent faithful and proponents of the old ways are presumably dead or dying as their world burns.

#### **Religion**

On Orm, the large majority of the population was unified under “the Reasonings.”  Orm is also the name of the first Scholar that laid out the religious tracts in written form.  While the faith is divided into 38 sects, all recognize the importance of Orm.  The foundation of all of these faith groups is that the tumacoom occupy a unique position of stewardship on the planet.  All life is connected.  Just as the tumacoom draw sustenance from many different sources on their homeworld, so does their world draw sustenance from them.  As the most intelligent and powerful creatures on the planet, the tumacoom are the “hub of the wheel” and have a responsibility to keep the system turning. There is no moral prohibition against killing other creatures, but it must be done humanely and only in need.  Arguments differ on death.  Different Scholars have posited the existence of an afterlife, reincarnation, or simply re-absorption into the planet’s ecosystem.  Orm herself merely spoke of spiritual unity and stressed the importance of living well.

One of Orm’s explicit teachings was that there should be no church hierarchy established after she was dead.  While the lack of a hierarchy, and the equally rare fact that her followers did not edit out that particular instruction in later years, led to a surprising peaceful co-existence amongst the faithful.  This camaraderie did not, however, extend to disbelievers.  Wars raged across Orm for two centuries before victory was achieved.  In many instances, these were seen as wars of liberation both for the tumacoom living in the targeted communities as well as the abused herd animals and lesser plant species kept there.  Often, however, the simply secular were swept up in the religious fervor and persecuted if they would not convert.  Eventually this practice ground to a halt, as the faithful finally came to terms with the moral ambiguity of their own actions.  But the damage, at least in terms of population numbers, had been done.  No non-religious group of tumacoom has ever risen to real prominence on the homeworld.

The colonies, however, have been a different matter entirely.  Due to their perceived connection with their home planet, most religious tumacoom declined to settle off world and would only visit other solar systems before returning home.  Similarly, when the denazra came, those that did leave largely elected to return home and defend their planet.  This return of the faithful home to defend their ecosystem has been the dramatic inspiration for numerous creative works across the Coalition, but in practice it meant that the marginalized secularists and atheists who felt most comfortable leaving Orm behind now form the core of those who survived their world’s ending.

Many of these non-believers hold a deep respect for the teachings of Orm, but the tumacoom’s largest religion seems doomed to extinction.  While some few have embraced the old teachings in this time of crisis, the total loss of their planet and all of the creatures they were supposed to protect and nurture has taken the heart out of all but the most devout followers.

#### **Economy**

While previously known for their art, sculpted plant life, and biological science, the tumacoom have been much reduced.  Most of their civilian trade fleet was converted to refugee transports and Sana’s economy relies heavily on Coalition assistance to keep its population fed and the terraforming project ongoing.  For now, the Colonial Administration seems intent on converting Sana into as close a match to their old home world as possible while pushing production of staple foods that will allow the planet to survive on a subsistence level without outside aid.

**Civilian Ship classes:**

  Cargo Train
  Freighter
  Corvette
  Fighter/Bomber
  Shuttle

#### **Language**

While the tumacoom have over a hundred different languages originating from different regions of Orm, three dominant dialects emerged on their planet before the tlecians came (Turk, Seel, and Crounce).  The tumacoom communicate by using a set of vibrating diaphragms to produce a complicated melody of hums.  Coupled with body language and the release of a remarkable variety of chemicals, the tumacoom are an incredibly verbose people.  The tlecians were able to translate their languages with only a little more than the average amount of work.  However, the sound of tumacoom talking is considered exceptionally beautiful by almost every species in the Coalition.  Learning the native tongue of the tumacoom is difficult, but it is not impossible for a non-native to at least gain working understanding of the basic vocabulary.  Even without a translation, listening to a community of tumacoom humming and singing to one another in the evening is a stunning experience.

### **Military**

The tumacoom have only a handful of combat ships still available to them and no more than a battalion of ground troops that escaped Orm.  Politically, the tumacoom have struggled to steer a clear course going forward.  Risking the precious genetic heritage of even one survivor could have drastic consequences for the rest of the species.  As such, the tumacoom have officially withdrawn to Associate status with the Coalition so that they would not be obligated to draft soldiers or send their drastically reduced forces into combat again.  There is a surprisingly large minority on their surviving colony of Sana who advocate for a return to active participation in the Coalition, arguing that their duty to the rest of the biological life in the galaxy supersedes any concerns about their own future.  For now, however, the remnants of the tumacoom’s military remain firmly entrenched in and around Sana.

While they have fielded impressively designed space ships, the real strength of the tumacoom has always been in their ground forces.  While there are few of them remaining, an average adult has at least the stopping power of a genetically engineered chantar Roq or one of the bulky kral’shir.  While they lack the impressive constitution of the recently discovered humans, their regenerative capacities are unparalleled in discovered space.  In addition, their low center of gravity and general sturdiness allows their infantry to carry heavy weapons into battle without assistance and fire them while on the move.  Tumacoom military doctrine relies on heavily fortified depots and a highly mobile army with overwhelming firepower.

**Military Ship Classes:**

### **Notable Planets**

Orm – The homeworld of the tumacoom was once a place of extreme bio-diversity and a beautifully preserved ecosystem.  The tumacoom lived in spired cities and beautifully integrated parks which, in temperate zones and gentle weather, allowed residents to sleep communally outdoors.  It is now under denazra occupation and has been largely devastated by the fighting and the denazra’s standard terraforming practices.

Horut – The first colony the tumacoom established never grew very large.  The extensive effort and money required to adapt the ecosystem to the tumacoom was always seen as something of a boondoggle on Orm.  Now, Horut’s close proximity to Orm also means that it is the obvious next target of the machines.  Evacuation efforts began shortly after the Coalition’s defeat at Orm.  Horut was completely abandoned before the denazra turned their attention from Orm to its nearest settled neighbor.

Sana – A low gravity world with an atmosphere close to Orm’s, it was gifted to the tumacoom as a sign of the Coalition’s respect decades ago.  Despite its distant location in the Orion Spur, the tumacoom made a concerted effort to settle it, not least as a symbol of cooperation.  Now, it is the only destination for the handful of refugees and survivors from the defeat at Orm.  Terraforming efforts have redoubled; the tumacoom have neither the resources nor the time to settle another world.  The comparatively lower gravity has at least made physical labor easier, but the main goal of the Stewardship (the last vestige of governmental authority) is still to beg and borrow enough ships and funds to bring every willing tumacoom survivor “home,” while focusing on altering the planet’s native atmosphere.  The only structure in near space of any note is a large space station, cobbled together from older vessels that the struggling colonists found superfluous in the new, reduced economy.