HIWG: HIWG Document: # HD3420 revision 1 Date: 04-01-1993 From: David Burden and, Leighton Piper Gushemege Sector Analyst Gushemege Sector Developer 47 Middle St 11 Skeffington Rd. Brockham PRESTON BETCHWORTH Lancs, PR1 5UP Surrey RH3 7JT UK UK To: Kevin Parry, HIWG UK Clayton Bush, Quadrant 1 Editor J Duncan Law-Green, Vland Domain Editor AN OUTLINE OF THE MINOR RACES OF GUSHEMEGE AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SECTOR Abstract: The impact of minor races on the development and history of Gushemege sector is discussed. The races outlined are: Loesklath, Lancia, Smrii, Tapazmal, Ael Yael, Hrachddrumm, Traypih, Vapethi and the Padansch-Mitloi. Gushemege is a melting pot sector. As well as the influence of the major races ( Vilani, Solomani, Aslan, and Droyne ) Gushemege has also been influenced by the minor aces within and without its borders. Statistical analysis published in AAB2 suggests the following figures for "typical" distribution in the Sector: - 2 minor humaniti - 20 minor intelligent non-human ( 12 star-faring ) ( 4% and 2% ) - 160 non-intelligent races ( 30% ) The races discussed here are: - Loesklath (humaniti) - Lancia (humaniti) - Smrii (star faring - non Gush) - Tapazmal (star faring - non Gush) - Ael Yael (non star faring - non Gush) - Hhrachddrumm (non star faring) - Vapeth (star faring) - Traypih (non star faring semi-intelligent) - Padansch-Mitloi (non star faring) - Edlun (non star faring) - Giiguuglum (star faring) LOESKLATH An aggressive and warlike race of humaniti that was based in subsector M. It gained the Jump drive from a Vilani client about - 5700 and began a fierce campaign in Gush M, and occasionally Reft P and Ilelish A to establish its own sphere of influence, exploiting the Jump-1 mains. Amongst other races raided were the Tapazmal of Dlaekan (Reft 3134). At thier height the Loesklath Empire embraced most of Gush M. The Loesklath Empire was typically of TL9 at its core, and TL8 at its fringes. About -4300 the Vilani destroyed the Loesklath Empire and absorbed the civilisation into the mainstream of Vilani culture after a long and drawn out violent struggle. LANCIA The LANCIA culture has its roots in the Lancia, a minor race of humaniti seeded in Subsector D by the Ancients. It was conquered by Vland during the consolidation wars (-5400 - -4000). Lancian resurgence during the first century of the Third Imperium lead to it being brutally ravaged by Vland and being resettled by Makhidkarun. Lancian culture consisted of more than one race (mostly humaniti), including one that was war like, acting as the Lancian mercenaries, and responsible for the Smrii wars. SMRII The Smrii are a race of reptilian hexapeds from Mimu (Dagudashshaag 0208 ). Through generation ships they had by -9000 settled 3009, 3110, 3208, and 3212. 3110 was later devastated during the Vilani Pacification Campaign and resettled by Makhidkarun. They are experts in neurotechnology. TAPAZMAL An artisic, peaceful and hard working minor human race native to Dlaekan/Moibin (Reft 3134). Dlaekan is a hot world, and the Tapazmal lived on the mountain slopes. They have a low birth rate which has limited their full impact on Imperium space. They are a conservative, unaggressive, and mystical people, their roles in society are strictly defined. Individuals defy the old standards at substantial risk, nonetheless they are hard working and at peace. Interstellar contact was made in -4700 with the Loesklath. Vilani power was asserted around -4300, and offers of technological aid and protection were greatfully accepted. The result though was a submergence of Tapazmal in the Vilani Way. Under Solomani tutelege the Tapazmal were given colonies in 6 Reft worlds, and Choltonrul (0136). AEL YAEL The Ael Yael are an avian/reptilian race from Jaeyelya (M/0437) They are an artistic and sympathetic race eager to learn modern technolgy from the Imperium. However they are distrustful of business. They can be found on many small/dense atmosphere worlds in the region. Recently Strephon has recruited a number of Ael Yael as special assault troops in his campaign to liberate worlds from Dulinor and Lucan. These troops are dropped into target areas in advance of main forces, their usual objective to knock out key strategic targets: communications, transport, and munition centres, etc. HHRACHDDRUMM The Hhrachddrumm are a non-human minor race from Gelhhach (A/0810). They exhibit unusual three-fold symmetry - three limbs, three eyes, three sexes, a triplex nucleic acid, etc. The race were only first discovered by solomani explorers near the end of the Rule of Man. Contact was irregular at this juncture with the solomani scouts mounting a monitoring operation of the culture. During the Long Night the Hhrachddrumm were forgotten. To the Hhrachddrumm the humans were only the vaguest of memories over the intervening centuries before contact was reeastablished by Sylean scouts. At the time of first contact the Hhrachddrumm were principly a pastoral society, dispersed over Gelhhach in agrarian communities at a tech level of 1. On rediscovery the Hhrachddrumm had elevated themselves to tech level 4. The Hrachddrumm are rarely found off their own world and have contributed little in a direct manner to the development of Gushemege. But Gelhhach is an agricultural exporter and thus is an important link in the well-being of the average citizen of the sector. VAPETHI The Vapethi are an intelligent star faring aliens originating on Imapiirn (F/0723). They are only a metre tall will pale green complexions. They are as alien to humaniti as it is possible to envisage. Although they have a roughly similar biochemistry to humaniti the major physiological preoccupation of the Vapethi is the need to conserve water. The Vapethi have an internal stalk-like skeleton around which a series of muscles are attached like spokes on a wheel. This muscles are separated by bands of muscles set in concentric rings. These muscles allow the Vapethi to alter the general shape of their bodies to suit the prevailing environmental conditions. In controlled environments their bodies tend to be shapeless blobs. The limbs (anywhere between two and six) are contractile with a core of a cartilage like substance. They end in two-way prehensile digits. Discovered early on in the vilani explorations of Gushemege, the Vapethi had already surveyed their own system and had begun to branch out to explore the neighbouring stars. The vilani first noted intelligent life in the system when a scout ship ran into a sophisticated unmanned probe. Observations of the Vapethi indicated a thriving tech level 8 culture. The vapethi were instrumental in the removal of the vilani from Inapiirn when the solomani advanced on Vland during the Nth Interstellar War. The vilani withheld their technology from the vapethi who resented this action and thus sowed the seeds of the later vapethi rebellion. With the rise of the solomani the vapethi could be found wandering the border of Verge, Gushemege and Ilelish exploring space out of pure curiosity. The current scene shows increased tensions within the vapethi colonised worlds of the Inapiirn cluster with The subsector Duke of Balech attempting to annexe the region. Feeling betrayed by the central Gushemege government the vapethi are beginning to arm themselves in an attempt to forestall the Duke's excesses. The vapethi councils are in favour of siding with Dulinor who has guaranteed the vapethi independence/indentity. TRAYPIH The world of Divkar (Rure 1518) is the home of the amphibious Traypih. A race of squid-like sophonts who dwell in the large, shallow lagoon-like seas of Divkar, thriving in the warm upper layers and the abundant mud flats. The Traypih are in the process of developing full intelligence and are thus under the intense and watchful eye of the IISS. The Traypih are approximatelly three metres long when fully mature with a cluster of short tentacles at the anterior end. One of the tentacles is a highly developed sensor cluster containing the Traypih equivalent of eyes, nose and tongue. There are a series of pressure sensors present on the flanks of the Traypih which are capable of picking up the slightest changes in water displacement brought about by the slightest of movements. Parallels have been drawn with the Githiaskio of Githiaski (Dartho 0806, on the edge of the Lesser Rift). PADANSCH-MITLOI The Padansch-Mitloi (the nearest equivalent in galanglic) are native to the world of Pex'scheen, in the Phoenaeg system (Vipach 0338). They are a race of huge eight-legged herbivores; they are three metres long, are two and a half metres at the shoulder, massing some ten metric tonnes. There is some evidence that there has been some artificial modification of the Padansch-Mitloi genetic material. It is not known by who's hand this change originates but it is interesting to note that the recognised main world of the system, Phoenaeg, is home to Droyne, the accepted descendents of the Ancients. EDLUN Mulanje (2306) is the home of the Edlun, non-human sophonts, decended from hunting stock, who developed sentience about 150,000 years ago. The Edlun are large spindly creatures that have been likened to a cross between a terran stick-insect and a vilani valushi (a long slender reptile). Individuals reach up to four metres in height, with limbs extended. The limbs (eight in total) extend up to two metres and are situated around the centre of the body, just below a sensory cluster. The Edlun share Mulanje with Chirpers who make up three-quarters of the sophont population of the world. The Edlun are in decline, the population has falling by 90% in the last 200 years, now numbering only about three thousand now. Efforts to aid the recovery of the Edlun have been hampered by the number of fierce skirmeshes by Ilelish, Strephon's and Lucan's forces. Part of the plan has been to transport some Edlun to other worlds. GIIGUUGLUM The Giiguuglum are probably, to humaniti's eyes, one of the most alien of sophonts in known space. They are a sedentary fungal species native to the world of Seaport (2216). All communication between the Giiguuglum is of a biochemical nature through the use of spores. They have no sense of taste, touch or hearing and thus contact with other races has proven difficult to say the least. In addition to the spores, communication is achieved through direct body-to-body contact via physical cell cross-linking where biochemical 'data packs' are passed between each other. The Giiguuglum have consequently developed an advanced biochemical technology where they are able to coax other lifeforms, especialy plants and other fungi to grow as they wish, whether for food or to form complex structures which are used the Giiguuglum equivalent of housing, etc.