Croma

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The croma species is introduced in book 5, CROMA VENTURE, but they are briefly discussed at the end of book 4, Defiance.

**Location**: “...out here in croma space. That’s the edge of the Spiral.” (D-32) The species evolved on a high gravity world, Ron’chep (RS-20) but they’re moved out to inhabit numerous planets. Nearest neighbors are the Corbi on Rando, but the Reeh have overtaken that planet. The status-bound Croma created "The Croma Wall" across their space, made of navigation buoys, beacons, fire stations, etc.

## Description

* Tall, more than 4 meters for the very oldest
* Strong, able to withstand heavy G atmosphere
* Thick skin, natural hard leathery horned armor, able to withstand bullets
* Long-lived, either naturally or through some genetic or medical intervention. However, less-powerful old croma voluntarily die — a traditional ritual suicide — at a younger age.
* Live in clans

## Language

* Primary: Kul'hasa
* The words and names tend to be long, more than one syllable (but not as long as Tavalai language)
* Many (possibly all) words, including names, contain a pronunciation stress mark (example: Ro'Gana)

## Clans

* Clans are dwindling but there are still about 90: "Croma space was composed of about ninety major clans, Erik knew. Croma'Dokran was neither large nor small on that scale, but they were obviously recalcitrant toward the Croma'Rai." (CV-15)
* croma'Rai -- the ruling clan, secretive, controlling
* "These would be Croma'Rai, the only croma forces allowed by croma law to access this adjacent region of reeh space beyond the wall. Croma'Rai had an obvious interest in making sure that Phoenix did not report what they’d seen here to anyone else." (CV-21)
* croma'Dokran -- near Ro'Gana, on Do'Ran
	+ clan chieftain Sho'mo'ra -- ancient, massive
	+ host to a small enclave of refugee Corbi
* etc.

## Specific Characters

* Sho'mo'ra— clan chief Croma’Dokran
* Rhi’shul Shon’kai — “investigator” and special ops, maybe intelligence. She’s a disenchanted member of clan croma'Rai. On planet Dul'rho, during the Tali’san, Rhi’shul accompanied Erik Debogande on the Shur'do Kon’do Rey’kan across the Do’jera desert, from Cal’Uta to Stat’cha. See book 6, Rando Splicer.
* Commander Li'stra — Sho’mo’ra’s representative to attend meeting with Captain Debogande and team on drysine warship D-1, with Styx over coms (QD-2)
* Admiral Cho'nuk. Ambitious glory hound in charge of the evacuation. His warship is Jay'ko (see Qalea Drop)
* Admiral Ku'tala, replaced Admiral Cho'nuk as commander of evacuation battle. His warship is To'ba (see Qalea Drop)

## Places / Settings

see also Places

* Croma live out near/on the rim of the Spiral Galaxy, the Milky Way (D-32)
* Croma Space, the "Croma Wall" that supposedly keeps the evil Reeh species out
* system Do'Mela (see Croma Venture)
* Homeworld planet of Croma origins: **Ron’chep** — “Ron’chep is a high-gravity world, by your standards.” Ron’chep, Erik knew, was the croma homeworld, far from here. (RS-20)

* planet Do'Ran
	+ "The world was Do'Ran, primary world of the Croma'Dokran Clan, holder of ninety-three percent of the croma population in Do'Mela System. Do'Ran had one-point-one-nine standard human gravities, though the croma homeworld was closer to one-point-four." (CV)
	+ Ro'Gana: big city on Do'Ran, surrounded by mountains
	+ Home to clan Croma'Dokran, led by clan chieftain Sho'mo'ra.
	+ Sho’mo’ra provides a country home to Corbi refugees who were denied entrance to inner spiral worlds

* planet Dul'rho — capital world for ruling clan Croma’Rai. Major setting for book 6 Rando Splicer and the first-ever Tali'san (a bloody political contest / election) held on this particular planet. Phoenix is restricted to orbit Dul'rho, but if Croma’Dokran wins the Tali'san they may be allowed to leave.
	+ Cal'Uta — city of 8 million croma on capital world Dul’rho, governed by Croma’Rai clan. Phoenix contingent lodged in a large ranch compound outside the city. Dan’gede “investigator” Rhi'shul works in Cal’Uta. (RS-3)
	+ Stat'cha — big city on planet Dul'rho. The Croma'Dokran Tali'san council meets there. Stat'cha is 7,000 kilometers away from Cal'Uta, across a vast desert, so it takes 15 days to travel by hovertrain from Cal'Uta to Stat'cha. Croma’Rai Intelligence has a division in Stat'cha, containing classified info from the past millennia.

**Spoiler book 7–** Qalea Drop

* His'do — planet near Croma Wall where Corbi refugees settled

> "His'do was different from Rando -- roughly the same gravity, similar air... But even the warmer regions of His'do were not as warm as Rando. It rained more here, the nights were darker..." (QD-34)
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## Croma vs Reeh

* As the Reeh Empire expanded, consuming worlds for thousands of years, it approached croma space
* Croma’s great struggle against the Reehempire began 7,000 years ago. (QD-2)
* Croma battled the reeh and lost or merely held the reeh at bay.
* Some croma leaders made secret pacts of passification with the reeh

## Croma Wall

* An invisible boundary line in space, connected by thousands of nav beacons, etc.
* Many beacons are several thousand years old and no longer work
* These beacons are named, so they also serve as clan status symbols

> excerpt: " A vast line spread between the star systems, like a great, red wall. Identifying the English nametags helpfully affixed to some, Erik quickly recognised it — the Croma Wall. It was a myth, of course — walls could no more exist in space than plants, but it described the rough boundary between croma and reeh territories. Croma liked to pretend that it had always been there, solid and immovable as all the croma’s preferred fortifications. The reality was far more disturbing — a slow and inexorable backward slide, leaving many dead and captured worlds in its wake.” (QD-2)
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Excerpt Croma Venture: “The corbi homeworld is Rando. They had a small number of other systems at the time the reeh reached them —at the time they were fighting alongside the croma, perhaps a thousand years ago. But the croma retreated past them to the present position of the wall, and left the corbi isolated. The croma still don’t like to talk about it, they like to give the impression that their wall has always been permanent. In reality, all things shift and move over time, and the Croma Wall is no different."

## Excerpt, CV-12

(Trace and Erik discuss first contact)

"So is it true that croma can grow to three metres tall?”

“Romki says more like four metres, some of them. Ask him for the briefing, it’s worth the time.”

“Haven’t had a lot of time for alien education tours. Mostly I’d like to know what they’re armed with.”

“Shouldn’t be an issue, Stan says they’re very stable and predictable, not easily upset. When they decide to kill you, they give plenty of warning.”

“Comforting. I hear they’ve got natural armour too. Will smallarms penetrate that?”

“The small ones, sure. The biggest ones, even your Koshaim might struggle.”