HISTAH
Histah look like an evolved form of the Terran dinosaur, Velociraptor. They
are from an Earth-like world on the other side of the Federation from the Klingons
and/or Romulans. Their star is slightly larger than Sol, and their planet is
virtually all tropical in nature, except at the poles, where the climate is
moderate. The gravity is Terran normal.
Full grown Histah
are about 2.5 meters in height. On their head is a tall, fin-like dorsal ridge
that extends through the center of the scalp and down the back to the base of
the spine. They have sharp teeth and claws, and a large tail that is longer
than their legs. They have three fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand,
and three claws and one dew claw on each foot. Their reptilian appearance distracts
most humanoids.
Histah reflexes are
sharper than normal Terran reflexes, and they can move quickly for a creature
of their size and weight. Their skin provides extra protection from damage.
They have nictating membranes to protect their eyes from extremes of light.
Their eyes are on opposite sides of their head, giving them peripheral vision
in addition to forward vision. They are used to a hot climate, and do not like
cold. They have a second sense for dangerous situations. They live much longer
than average, and have a very strong will.
Despite their danger
sense advantage, they do not like psionic individuals. Their danger sense reacts
to psionic use with "psychic static" causing mental discomfort. Other
crewmembers with psionic abilities can use their powers outside their range
of "psychic effects".
Histah once had a
very violent society, with a lot of fighting between families, tribes, and clans.
In addition, they had to overcome other predators on their homeworld. Over time,
this feuding was replaced with a desire to excel in fields like science, business,
or engineering. This was not an overnight conversion, but started with a single
family and spread slowly; first to the rest of their tribe, then to the rest
of their clan, and finally to the entire race. This has continued up to the
current time.
Their Code of Honor
devotes them to family first, tribe second, clan third, and race fourth. They
still have some clan, tribal, and family feuds, although these have mostly been
changed to the "We can do better than you" stage. Enemies" frequently
take the form of a different clan, tribe, or family. They also have close ties
to the Histah race. Given the choice between anything and another Histah, a
Histah always chooses another Histah first. The interrelationships between family,
tribe, clan, and race are considered by Federation historians to be similar
to Terran Native Americans.
Histah society is
now exploration/colonization based. They have finally reached the borders of
the Federation. They have several dozen systems under their control, called
the Collective. Strangely enough, Histah never had encountered any other intelligent
races up to the point when their border met the Federation. The Histah and the
Federation are tentatively investigating a union of their borders, in a compact
similar to the Klingon peace treaty. This is the first time in Federation history
that an intelligent race has contacted them first.
Histah have a three-part
name. The example we will use is: Barshen'kas Li'Ar Shan'hadar. (This is pronounced:
Bars- hen-khas Lee-Arr Shan-ha-dar.) The first part is really more like a planetary
rank than a name. The "Bars" section shows that this individual has
been decorated by the government of the Histah more than once. One decoration
is indicated by "Bar". No "Bar" or "Bars" would
indicate no decorations. The decorations are not given by the Histah government
easily or lightly. It is considered a great honor to be decorated once. More
than once indicates an exceptional individual. The "Hen'kas" is a
rank, in this case close to our "Captain". The "Li'Ar" is
similar to our first name. The example would allow friends to call him "Lee",
but only in private. The "Shan'Hadar" is a combination of a family
and a tribal name, with the "Shan" being the family name, and the
"Hadar" being the Tribal name. Clans are indicated by decorations
on their clothing or bodies.
Histah prefer to eat
their food live, but have made small concessions in their diet since their meetings
with the Federation First Contact teams.