Species Template: Suchaki

Species Template: Suchaki
By Charles Durfee

Attributes
Fitness 3 [6]
    Strength +1
Coordination 2 [4]
    Dexterity +1
    Reaction +1
Intellect 2 [5]
    Perception +1
    Logic -1
Presence 3 [5]
    Empathy -2
Psi 0 [5]

Skills
Athletics (Gymnastics) 1 (2)

Typical Advantages/Disadvantages
Excellent Chemoreception, Slow Healing, Poor Hearing, Zero-G Training

Special Abilities
Their bodies are covered by boron nitride (BN), a near-diamond strength material (Mohs hardness 9.5), which provides Armor +4 (physical), +2 (energy). They possess a magnetic detection organ, a necessary adaptation to detect lava movement and to predict planetquakes. They can produce local strong electrical arc currents on exterior surface through velvety shell covering, which is used to form their exterior BN shell, but is useless as a weapon. Their BN-covered forearms can be used as Clubs (Acc 6, Blk 1, Dmg 2d6+2).

Size: Roughly as tall as a 10-year old human (125 cm), comparable mass.

Homeworld: Suchaka IV
Home Region: the Suchaka system, exploration teams have extended to nearby systems.

Common Traits: White, chitinous armor, protected sense organs in head, insect-like body structure, large lung in abdomen (inhale methane, exhale hydrogen). Walk on four legs, two arms with zygodactyl claws (like a parrot's foot, two sets of two digits). Shell vulnerable to alkali solutions. They grow by creating a velvet-like excretion which dissolves the shell of the inside and reforms it in a ihgh ambient current enivornment, similar to the way that deer grow their antlers. Their velvet also acts as an insulator to prevent fires in the highly-flammable atmosphere. Since the Suchakan atmosphere scatters most visible light, they use active high-frequency sonar to "see." They have a strong sense of balance.

The Suchaki must be careful to eat enough foods to produce the correct enzymes to allow them to function at incredible speeds (well, incredible for their environment, normal speed to us). Without a good diet, a Suchaki would function at about sloth speed. In today's society, only those Suchaki who are designated guards in a herd function at such life-shortening speeds. (A Suchaki who is hasted would be like a human on adrenaline -- all the time.) However, such speed was necessary to avoid becoming a casualty in a natural disaster.

Cultural Notes: Suchaki form herds, and attract each other not for sexual reasons, but for mutual protection. They create decorative horn structures along their bodies through a combination of self-immolation (produce velvet) and banzai (shape growth). Colors are obtained by ingesting a variety of organic substances which contain trace elements. The Suchaki reproduce through internal fertilization. Their seed pods are excreted with a velvet covering out the abdomen and protected by a low-level electric field. After a time, the velvet eats a hole through the cocoon and a youngling emerges. After a few years, the Suchaki harvest the survivors, kidnap them, and hopefully assimilate them into their culture.

Suchaka, their sun, is becoming more active, and is depriving the planet of needed boron. This has led to an evolutionary spurt, creature cannabalizing boron from another. The Suchaki are lucky; they already had the BN coating to prevent heat loss. The Suchaki sprung to sentience when predators, in particular horse-sized aracnoid pouncing alkali-spitters developed hominid-level intelligence. Even with their advanced technology, the Suchaki have not yet been able to destroy these spiders, who may or may not be sentient themselves. Combine them with the volatile weather and you get a intense hatred to nature. The Suchaki would say that their gods have turned against them.

Due to their chitinous shells, the Suchaki have little sense of touch, so they compensate by methodically looking around. It is subconscious, but make them look very busy, swoosing their heads from side to side in 4/4 time.

Technology
[Star Trek has talked about basically two particles associated with space/subspace interations, the tetryon and the verteron. Based on technical discussions (Joshua Bell's Subspace FAQ, most notably), I'm supposing here that the tetryon strengthens subspace interactions, and verterons weaken them.]

Suchaki ships blink-warp, like a stone skipping in and out of subspace. Their warp generators create verterons, which immediately destabilize the warp field. Suchaki warp theory says one cannot create an opening into subspace without creating verterons, so it is considered a dead-end technology. Suchaki ships can reach a maximum of about Warp 1.44 (3 times light). They use an odd consequence of high-level gravitomagnetism to create a subspace rift. By doing this continuously, they can skip through subspace. They sense their way by sending out an echolocation beam of verterons. (As a consequence, Federation warp fields are useless in Suchaki spacelanes.) They have a theory which will allow them to build jump gates (Treknology uncertain right now), but gates are only on the drawing boards.

The Suchaki communicate through gravitics waves in a sort of telegraph network. Huge space-borne listening stations would allow interstellar communications, though none have been built as of yet.

Suchaki ships are armed with lasers and railguns. Ground forces use railguns as well, propelling slugs through armor. Arc-lasers are also used, in which a laser creates a path for an electrical arc. Such a beam will stun a Suchaki, but would fry a human. Masers see demolition and armor-busting use only due to their long wavelengths and the scattering effects of the atmosphere.

The Federation would be well advised to equip cognizent Away Teams with sonic grenades or some other sonar-disrupting effect. Enemies are advised to employ hit-and-run tactics with lots of zigging and zagging, possibly with an alkali analogy to "Greek fire". Phasers would be partially effective, but the Suchaki have natural protection due to the insulative qualities of BN.

System Name: Suchaka

Affiliation: Independent
System Type: K6 V
Inhabited Planets: Suchaka IV (Class G, NH3), Suchaka IVa (Class F, atmospheric gear), Suchaka V (Class D, domes)
Other Planets: 11 in all, unremarkable (5 Class J, other Class F)
Other Stellar Objects: (to be determined)
SIS: "Home system to first-known sentient methane-breathers, uncertain to their place in the galaxy."

Where located? In the Hinterlands, a previously ignored section of space under the Federation nearest the Cardassians.
How does sector interact? Previously unknown
What species/cultures dominate? Suchaki
Unusual phenomenon? Epsilon Uchanis, a Lazarus star, is in the far corner of the sector.

Suchaka IV
Class G
System Data: Large, class F moon (native name Estalba) orbits extrememly close to planet. Otherwise unremarkable.
Gravity: 1.2 g
Year/Day: about 500 / 28 hours
Atmosphere: Ammonia-based with high concentrations of methane. Sea level pressure: 0.8 atmospheres. It is remarkably efficient at screening cosmic rays, although this protection is eroding as the planet warms up. As a side effect, much of the planet's surface boron is being converted into carbon.
Ammonosphere: 57%, falling
Climate: hot and wet (for a ammonia world)
Sapient Species: Suchaki, 750 million
Tech Classification: Level 5, borderline 6. Much more below.
Government: Feudal
Culture: Cooperative structure, nature is the enemy
Affiliation: Independent
Resources: Meager in-system
Places of note: Geophysicist's paradise. If it's nasty, it's here. Extreme gravitational effects by Estalba, causing tectonic stress, volatile tides, unstable air currents including strong vortices and lightning, which ignites the atmosphere and produces sweeping firestorms. Think a toxic Genesis planet.
Ship Facilities: On Estalba, but not suitable for non-Suckhaki ships.

Editor's Notes
This race is of non-canon origin and is an original design.

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