The Beyond Subsector G: I'Sred!Ni Heptad

Note:

The next Subsector contains the Sred!Ni race.

Note that I used a bang (!) and not a star (*). Mainly that's because the conversion process I use to import systems into travellermap.com output relies on a * as an intermediary step. Since my understanding of the intent was for the * to represent some sort of click, I figured ! works well enough (although from what little I understand about click phonics, it's a different type of click- but it's all pops and clicks to me).

The thing about the Sred (see, shorthand circumvents the problem) is that the only information on the race seems to come from the original The Beyond supplement, which fortunately I purchased an ungodly number of years ago and recently found in a box in the basement. The entry in the traveller wiki is pretty much a copy of the library entry from the supplement. The race is listed as non-canon and I couldn't find any more information on it.

As I elaborated to write up the race, government and world (it looks a bit redundant in the post below, but when the whole sector comes together, the sections on worlds, governments and races will be split out enough for the redundancy to be tolerable) I couldn't wrap my head around the inconsistencies of a hierarchical caste-based communal society with no sense of self and castes that seem unlikely to have existed prior to contact with an outside entity.

So, I had two choices, write it up as is, or change it. I didn't change it that much, but what I wrote contains a section on the race called "Outstanding Questions" which lay out what I see are fundamental issues with the race as written and a couple of ways to sort of explain them away. The only things I really changed was renaming "percipiences" to  "castes" and "Coalescers" to "Healers", which might not have been the original intent, but I lack a ouija board.

Anyway, here is Subsector G:

The Beyond Subsector G: I'Sred!Ni Heptad

System Data

Hex  Name                 UWP       Remarks                  {Ix}   (Ex)    [Cx]   N B  Z PBG W  A    Stellar                

---- -------------------- --------- ------------------------ ------ ------- ------ - -- - --- -- ---- ----------

1715 Examma               X911000-0 Ba Ic Fo                 { -3 } (500+2) [0000] - -  R 010 9  NaXX M5 V                   

1720 Wi                   C100263-B Lo Va Mr Sa              { 0 }  (E11+1) [227E] - M  - 233 15 CoLg K4 V M4 V              

1812 Shalukin             B211211-B Lo Ic Co                 { 1 }  (A11+3) [135E] - -  - 300 8  CoLg M6 V BD                

1817 Torgau               B433455-B Ni Po                    { 1 }  (C32-1) [256B] - -  - 522 16 NaHu K2 V                   

1917 Rolland              B645544-A Ag Ni                    { 2 }  (B44+5) [1718] - -  - 512 9  NaHu G6 V                   

1918 Beriel               BA67835-9 Ri Ph Pa                 { 2 }  (674+3) [BAA9] - M  - 603 8  NaHu G9 V                   

2011 I'Sred!Nillol        B434588-C SredW Ni Ht              { 1 }  (943-1) [865D] - -  - 902 7  IHPr F6 V                   

2012 I'Sred!Nispr         A665888-C SredW Ga Ri Ph Pa Ht     { 3 }  (C79+1) [8B5D] - -  - 523 17 IHPr K3 V                   

2016 Tanasi               C854684-9 Ag Ni                    { 0 }  (B55-4) [5638] - -  - 421 14 NaHu G9 V M8 V              

2020 Excalibur            A966745-C Ag Ri Ht                 { 4 }  (C6C+1) [9B4D] - K  - 413 12 ShRp K4 V M3 V              

2113 I'Sred!Nihil         A668988-C Hi Ht (I'Sred!Ni) Cx Pr  { 3 }  (A86+4) [9C4B] - K  - 711 13 IHPr K0 V                   

2115 I'Sred!Nilun         A571788-C SredW He Ht Pi           { 2 }  (D69-5) [895G] - -  - 622 8  IHPr G6 V                   

2116 I'Sred!Nixtu         B000588-C SredW As Ni Va Ht Ho     { 1 }  (847+1) [466B] - -  - 432 16 IHPr K5 V                   

2120 Levahnu              B311214-B Lo Ic Co Sa              { 1 }  (711-1) [535E] - -  - 613 11 ShRp M0 V M5 V              

2218 Dismal               B334441-B Ni Co Sa                 { 1 }  (C32+1) [354B] - -  - 702 9  NaHu F5 V M7 V              

2312 I'Sred!Nilal         B000488-C SredW As Ni Va Ht        { 1 }  (E37+2) [7569] - -  - 612 10 IHPr M2 V M4 V              

2319 Sastri               B75678D-9 Ag Ga Pz                 { 2 }  (869+1) [799B] - -  A 910 12 NaHu G6 V                   

2413 I'Sred!Nity          B000488-C SredW As Ni Va Ht        { 1 }  (C36+3) [2558] - -  - 512 9  IHPr M0 V                   

2414 Retribution          X610000-0 Ba Fo                    { -3 } (A00-3) [0000] - -  R 001 8  NaXX M1 V                   

2420 Lahasha              C453543-A Ni Po Ho                 { 0 }  (A42+2) [95A7] - -  - 412 15 NaHu K3 V K7 V              

The I'Sred!Ni Heptad subsector consists of 20 systems and has a population of approximately 8.3 billion of which more than 7.5 billion are members of the Sred!Ni race. Of the 735 million Humans residing on 11 worlds across the subsector 600 million are residents of the independent world of Beriel. The subsector is dominated by the I'Sred!Ni Protectorate, sometimes called the Heptad, which controls seven systems and only allows visitors under very controlled circumstances.

Worlds

Beriel (1918 BA67835-9)

Beriel was colonized by Sword Worlders in 423. A failed claimant to the throne of the Tizon Empire, Beriel Natskov, led his followers into exile, settling the high gravity, but otherwise habitable world. Beriel and his descendants ruled as absolute dictators for two centuries, until his line failed after the death of Astrid II in 631 during Astrid's Plague, an epidemic which killed a quarter of the population and left the economy in ruins. Aid from the Corellan League stabilized the faltering world and provided a cure to the plague, but with the growing Federalist movement working towards centralization, Beriel rejected membership in the League and instead accepted Imperial settlers to replenish its population and to help set up a new feudal monarchy with the ruler elected by a moot of noble families. Grants of fiefs and titles brought several wealthy families to Beriel; many of these had supported losing claimants in the Imperial Civil War. While Beriel's protectionist policies have slowed technological progress to a standstill, it has shielded and helped develop local industry. The world enjoys a high standard of living and has experienced only limited unrest among the lower classes.

Excalibur (2020 A966745-C)

Excalibur was settled from Garrone, now Stormhaven, in -450, during the Third Expedition. It fell to the Aslan with Garrone in -402 and was recovered with Garonne in -376, expelling all Aslan ihatei settlers. Since that time, Excalibur has held a flanking position, protecting first the Corellan League and now the Stormhaven Republic from Aslan incursions toward coreward. As the key world on the seven system Excalibur Main, the planet is the second most important member of the Republic and has the highest per capita ratio of citizens who achieve the rank of Storm Knight.

I'Sred!Nihil (2113 A668988-C)

The homeworld of the Sred!Ni is seldom visited by outsiders and only experienced under careful escort through choreographed tours. While the physical characteristics of the world are well established, its history and culture are filtered through the lens of official Protectorate dogma.

Physical Characteristics

Peppered with more than a dozen subcontinents and three-quarters the diameter of Terra, I'Sred!Nihil is a world with a wide variety of ecological niches that defy generalization other than to observe that desertification affects only small regions of the world and forest-like cover remains prevalent where rainfall patterns allow. Seven billon residents have not significantly upset the world's ecological balance. With low axial tilt and eccentricity, the world experiences little climatic change over the course of its year of 201 standard or 205 local day duration.

History

Officially, Sred!Ni civilization has always existed. Unofficially, there is evidence of Sred!Ni space travel and settlement of asteroids by c. -800. By Sred!Ni accounts, they observed occasional "alien" transits of their system, presumably by Corellan or Aslan vessels and in -113 seized a Corellan transport refueling at their system's gas giant. Within a decade, the Sred!Ni had begun exploration of nearby systems and established the I'Sred!Ni Protectorate. By 1100, more than one billion of the system's seven billion residents live in offworld habitats, mostly in the asteroid belt that separates I'Sred!Nihil from its system's gas giant.

Social Characteristics

The government of I'Sred!Nihil is a component of the government of the I'Sred!Ni Protectorate. As such it is a collectivist meritocracy in which society is divided into hierarchies of eight recognized castes arranged into three classes. Telepathic linkage between individuals and an emphasis on the fusion of biological and mechanical technology makes I'Sred!Nihil's society into a cohesive whole in which both population and infrastructure seems to merge. Outside access to Sred!Ni society is rare and heavily supervised.  

Retribution (2414 X610000-0)

Originally known as Distruit (X632000-0), the entire Retribution system is off-limits in accordance to treaties signed by the I'Sred!Ni Protectorate, Corellan League, Monarchy of Lod, and many Aslan clans. The planetary surface of the world was wiped clean by a sustained I'Sred!Ni high velocity mass driver bombardment in 694 in retribution for the establishment of an unauthorized settlement. The trace atmosphere is a thin outgassing from still active magma pools covering much of the world. Even refueling at the system's single gas giant is prohibited by treaty and enforced by a large Protectorate presence.

Sastri (2319 B756678D-9)

Rules are all on Sastri. Regulation covers everything from the size and shape of cutlery to the proper use of toilet paper. Pervasive surveillance enforces regulation in all public and many private areas. If the world wasn't on the only jump-2 route from the Stormhaven Republic to the Florian League and if the system had some other source of fuel, nobody would visit. As it is, landing at the Downport (there is no Highport) and completing the authorizations for refueling can take days. All ships and passengers, even those in transit, are subject to intrusive and exhaustive inspection and fined for infractions to rules no reasonable person would believe could exist. Sastri is why a strong market for collapsible and drop fuel tanks exists on both Levahnu and Tellus.

Shalukin (1812 B211211-B)

A tiny cold world in orbit around a dim red dwarf with a brown dwarf companion, Shalukin is owned and operated by the Shalukin Consortium, a corporation dedicated to conducting official trade with the I'Sred!Ni Protectorate, and, to a lesser and non-exclusive sense, trade with Die Weltbund through Tartakover.

Shalukin is home to an I'Sred!Ni Protectorate embassy that inspects and authorizes trading vessels bound for the Protectorate and authorizes visas for visitors to the alien realm. While tourism is not a valid reason for travel, the Sred!Ni are more lenient in approving Corellan League visa applicants than the embassy at Web Edge is in approving any visitors at all.

Very few Corellan League trading vessels make the trip into the Protectorate. Instead, Sred!Ni starships transport most goods purchased or sold by their embassy. By treaty, neither the League nor the Protectorate maintain more than a few corvette or frigate class vessels at Shalukin, but it is understood that both parties will react forcefully to any treaty violations, especially by a third party.

Wi (1720 C100263-B)

Wi is a gas giant moon located just outside the stellar jump shadows of its host binary star system. It is the site of a Corellan League Star Fleet military outpost supporting the refueling operations of ships traveling to and from the Stormhaven Republic. Civilian refueling is only available to Corellan and Stormhaven registered ship engaged in military, commercial, or diplomatic travel between the two states. The gas giant is patrolled by CLSF forces and mined to prevent unauthorized use by hostile forces.

Articles

Sred!Ni

The Sred!Ni are a race of fur-covered spider-like octopods with a cohesive, possible hive-like society and advanced biotechnology. Their interstellar state, the I'Sred!Ni Protectorate is not welcoming to outsiders and independent information on their biology and society is limited.

Physical Characteristics

An adult Sred!Ni is a 100kg bilaterally symmetrical octopod with an internal skeleton, whose appearance is most reminiscent of a Fulacin trapper or a Terran tarantula. The basic body shape of a Sred!Ni is ovoid, with a separate head separated by a short flexible neck. The head contains a single pair of eyes, a snout-like mouth, and gill-like organs on the "cheeks" that support hearing, smell, and respiration. The Sred!Ni's eight limbs all end in four thick graspers, allowing any limb to act as leg or arm, but in practice the rear four act as legs and the forward four as arms. Sred'Ni are adept at climbing and often use several limbs to hang from grasp-holds attached to the walls and ceiling of their structures.

Life Cycle

Sred'Ni are born live from their Breeder caste, usually singly, but occasional as twins. The newborn Sred!Ni masses up to 20kg and is more advanced than Human, Vargr, or Aslan infants, capable of fending for itself. The newborn develops a prenatal telepathic link to its parent and is able to participate in rudimentary discourse at birth.

Sred!Ni are divided into eight castes of which only the hermaphroditic Breeder is capable of reproduction. Influences from communal telepathic links initiate hormonal activation that determine caste development, matching capabilities with societal needs.

The eight castes are:

·        Breeder: Hermaphroditic conceiver and bearer of Sred!Ni, normally through sexual reproduction but apparently capable of parthenogenesis. Lower intellect.

·        Technician: Operator and maintainer of inorganic machinery.

·        Merchant: Externally engaged with commerce, internal purpose probably related to logistics.

·        Hunter: Originally purveyor of fresh game. Currently act as scouts or smaller, more intelligent soldiers.

·        Warrior: Soldier caste; no leadership duties, but able to operate complex technological weaponry. Highest mass caste, sometimes reaching 200kg.

·        Leader: Coordinator of activity. Leaders appear to have greater telepathic abilities than other castes.

·        Sage: Scholar, scientist, retainer of knowledge.

·        Healer: Medical provider. Operator and maintainer of organic machinery.

Breeders develop sex organs by an age of six standard years. Mental capabilities are enhanced for Leaders, Sages, Healers, Technicians, and Merchants. Physical capabilities are enhanced for Hunters and Warriors. Healers, Technicians, Hunters, and Warriors also develop greater agility than other castes.

Sred!Ni compliment hormonally-triggered genetic changes with augmentation from biomechanical implants or symbionts to tailor themselves to their primary roles in society. Unconcerned with individually, lifespan of a Sred!Ni is not extended by technological means and Sred!Ni will voluntarily self-euthanize as physical and mental characteristics decline to the point that they are no longer productive members of society. This lifespan seems to vary by caste, with Sages persisting for more than a standard century and Warriors for less than two decades.

Evolutionary Development

Sparse outside knowledge of current and past biological activity on I'Sred Nihil limit understanding of Sred!Ni evolution. When asked, they will say that they have always existed. Likely, they evolved from communal forest-dwelling pack hunters who developed greater intelligence to overcome some environmental challenge. Many outside researchers speculate that the current caste structure evolved from a simpler organization earlier in Sred!Ni development.

History and Society

The Sred!Ni are not forthcoming about their historical development. Officially the race has always enjoyed a collectivist philosophy and neither warfare nor class distinction drove the civilization's progress, but apparently the Warrior caste has always existed, which baring some external threat raises questions in the minds of many sophontologists. Whatever their technological and societal development, the Sred!Ni achieved spaceflight and began settling the asteroid belt in their system by approximately -800. Some Corellan records from ships transiting the system over the next six centuries mention fleeting contacts with unknown spacecraft and indications of industrial activity on some asteroids, though these were dismissed as Aslan or even Vargr activity. The seizure of a refueling Corellan transport in -113 led to the acquisition of jump technology and within a century the Sred!Ni expanded to six nearby systems, establishing outposts in each. After this quick seizure of nearby systems, which established the current Heptad or Protectorate, I'Sred!Ni expansion stopped and they adopted a strict quarantine around their systems.

Establishment of interface systems containing Protectorate embassies at Shalukin and Web Edge in 347 and 648 are the extent of constructive engagement with outside influences. The only overt aggression by the Sred!Ni has been the destruction of an unauthorized settlement by effectively sterilizing the world of Retribution in 694.

Sred!Ni society is communal to the extent that individuality is not acknowledged in anything but the strictest physical sense, with the eight castes all fulfilling a role within the society as a whole. As best as outsiders understand it, there is a hierarchy of castes, the three i-Zreen "classes", of which the Primary consists of the Leader, Sage and Healer castes, the Secondary of the Merchants, Hunters, and Warriors, and the Tertiary of Breeders and Technicians. In this Hierarchy, castes have different roles and different levels of authority. Any decision appears to require consensus between all but the Breeder caste, rendering the actual utility of the i-Zreen hierarchy within a communal telepathic society obscure.

Sred!Ni technology has a closer relationship with biology than the technology of most Charted Space races. Genetically altered organisms, symbionts, and cybernetics seem to blend, with starships seeming nearly organic inside their crystaliron shells. Individual Sred!Ni often sport enhancements that are at least partially biological. As the only known psionic ability among the Sred!Ni is telepathic, and even this capability is very limited outside their own species, some genetically engineered biological devices have brains capable of receiving Sred!Ni telepathic input in much the same manner as a Zhodani might manipulate machines with telekinesis.

Interstellar Relations

The Sred!Ni are not welcoming to outsiders. The Protectorate limits contacts to the interface systems of Shalukin and Web Edge and those who receive visas to visit the homeworld of I'Sred!Nihil are carefully supervised in the few zones admissible to visitors.

Outstanding Questions

Several inconsistencies or oddities in outside knowledge of Sred!Ni society remain open questions:

·        If Sred!Ni society was always unified and cooperative and the Sred!Ni are apex predators, why does a Warrior caste exist separate from the Hunter caste?

·        What is the current main role of the Hunter caste in society? Are they explorer, NCOs, or actual hunters?

·        What is the purpose of Merchants in a communal society? How did they evolve prior to contact with outsiders? Are they more accountants and quartermasters than actual merchants?

·        What is the purpose of the three class hierarchy in a communal society with consensus decision-making and no individuality?

·        Why within these classes is the Breeder caste excluded from decision making, while the equally low class Technician caste is not?

·        Prior to the advent of automation and genetically manipulated organisms as the mainstay of manufacturing, was there ever a Worker class? Are the Technicians remnants of this caste?

Human researchers have attempted to address some of these questions by postulating an evolution of the caste system based on hormonal changes or deliberate manipulation after the Sred!Ni achieved a technological civilization. Professor E.X.U. Norbert theorizes that the original caste structure involved two castes in each class: Leader and Shaman, Hunter and Clerk, Breeder and Worker, with Shaman evolving into Sage and Healer, Clerk evolving from a storeroom accountant to Merchant with logistics expertise, and Worker splitting into Technician and Warrior castes. Doctor Henrietta Vaaliniin postulates a simpler model of three original castes: Leader, Hunter, and Breeder. Others have postulated a consolidation from a larger number of castes, but in all cases, the Sred!Ni have not cooperated in this research, stating that their caste and class structure is as it always was.

I'Sred!Ni Protectorate

The I'Sred!Ni Protectorate is the government of the Sred!Ni of I'Sred!Nihil. Details of the workings of the secretive race's society are limited, but the Sred!Ni have little concept of individuality beyond that which focuses their species into eight castes with different societal roles. The I'Sred!Ni have had interstellar capability since they seized a refueling Corellan transport  in-113. Their government is also referred to as the I'Sred!Ni Heptad, reflecting the seven systems controlled by the Protectorate. In three of these systems, the I'Sred!Ni occupy only a number of habitats in the systems' major asteroid belts, but squadrons of asteroid-hull monitors and swarms of system defense boats patrol their systems from starward to far beyond the outermost planet. Sred!Ni biological technology is at least as advanced as its mechanical technology and comprises much of the export goods channeled through the two Protectorate approved interface ports at Shalukin and Web Edge.

History

The Protectorate as an interstellar government dates to the discovery of the first Sred!Ni interstellar settlement at I'Sred!Nispr in -97. Corellan records indicate the existence of a small Human settlement on that world, then named Valemin, in -120, but a CLSF sweep during the Eighth Expedition encountered the Sred!Ni instead and were greeted with a message indicating the world was part of the Protectorate; the fate of the Human settlement is unknown. During the following century, the Protectorate expanded to include the systems which contained asteroid belts at I'Sred!Nilal, I'Sred!Nixtu, and I'Sred!Nity as well as the systems of the worlds I'Sred!Nillol and I'Sred!Nilun. After claiming and occupying these systems, seven including their home system, the Sred!Ni did not expand further, but did proclaim the systemnow known as Retribution, originally Distruit, to be an off-limits buffer system. This proclamation was formalized in 234 by the first Sred!Ni treaty with another interstellar state, the Treaty of Waypoint with the Corellan League.

Further agreements allowed limited trade through the ports of Shalukin and Web Edge and led to the establishment of Protectorate embassies in both systems, Shalukin in 347, and Web Edge in 648.

In 694 the Protectorate reacted to the unauthorized Human outpost on Distruit, now known as Retribution, with a sustained high velocity mass driver bombardment that eliminated the outpost and devastated the world's atmosphere and hydrosphere.

During the following centuries, visitors have reported significant habitat-building activities in the asteroid belts of all Sred!Ni systems except I'Sred!Nillol, which has no significant asteroid belts and where activity is focus on the rings and smaller moons of the system's two gas giants.

Structure

Outsiders are not privy to the details of the Protectorate's governing structure. It appears to function through specialized bureaus. Internally and cross-functionally, links between bureaus seem to be informal. Externally, the Protectorate expresses itself through the embassies at Shalukin and Web Edge. The ambassadors are Leader caste individuals with a significant staff comprised of all castes. Turnover at these installations appears low and likely some staff is provided by Breeders on-site, not regular rotation, at least for lesser caste personnel. Telepathic consensus-making and direction, combined with a lack of individuality and a weak sense of "self" provides an amount of cohesion unknown in Human experience, even among the Zhodani, making comparisons and comprehension of actual government and social processes unreliable.

Military

The military of the Protectorate is structured rather like the Stormhaven Republic, focusing on strong defense with squadrons of massive monitor-class asteroid-hull ships and swarms of system defense boats. Offensive or external jump-capable forces are miniscule in comparison, both in numbers and size. The Retribution Fleet was an exception, but much of that fleet arrived as mass-driver equipped asteroid-hull battleriders, many of which are still in orbit around the devastated planet more than four centuries on. Otherwise, jump-capable forces focus on small corvette to frigate-sized ships such as the 800-ton meson bay-equipped Fireship.

Relations

The first discourse between the Protectorate and other races occurred in -97 with contact between the Corellan League and Sred!Ni at I'Sred!Nispr. It is unknown what became of the Corellans captured at I'Sred!Nihil in -113 or any remaining settlers from the Valemin outpost at what became known as I'Sred!Nispr. The Protectorate has never directly answered any inquires into their fate. The Treaty of Waypoint, signed at the world now known as Tartakover was delayed for decades because of this issue, but the Corellan League finally accepted that centuries had passed and developing relations based on mutually agreed upon terms and principles was more important than the fate of a few hundred long-dead people.

Since the signing of that treaty in 234, relations between the Protectorate and the Corellan League have been stable and, if not cordial, at least based on respect for each other's borders and other, non-physical, diplomatic boundaries. Still, more than a century passed before the establishment of the Protectorate embassy and trade enclave on Shalukin in 347. Relations with other states came later.

The Sred!Ni were not aggressive outside their declared borders, but did not initiate or respond to contact from non-Corellan states. The first contact with the Imperium came through Corellan intermediaries at Shalukin in 638 and cumulated in the Web Edge Agreement of 648 that established a second Protectorate embassy and trade enclave on Web Edge. Shakulin and Web Edge remain the only touchpoints for dialog and trade. The Web Edge Consortium is currently composed of Imperial, Hierate and Lod interests, but in the past have included Vargr and Stormhaven representation. For unexplained reasons, the Protectorate has refused to allow participation at Web Edge by either Die Weltbund or the Florian League, but have provided no explanation. It is known that Protectorate ships have come into conflict with Sternhansa ships in neutral space; the Sternhansa claim that the Protectorate was the aggressor and the Protectorate has not commented.

I'Sred!Ni Fireship

The I'Sred!Ni Protectorate does not encourage visitors, maintaining strict visa requirements and limited access points. Large asteroid-hull monitors and swarms of system defense boats protect the seven systems of the Heptad. Intruders who violate Sred!Ni space do not survive to tell the tale. Outside the Heptad, Travellers may encounter two types of spherical starships: armed trader that generally do not stray past the two interface ports of Shalukin and Web Edge, and the 800-ton Fireship, also known as the Spider's Eye for the 100-ton meson bay "eye" mounted forward on the spherical ship. Armed additionally with a small missile bay, three torpedo barbettes, and three quad pulse laser turrets, the Fireship may not be the fastest or most heavily armored ship of its size, but it definitely packs the most punch. The Sred!Ni show no hesitation in using nuclear torpedoes and missiles in combat, generally discouraging confrontation by all but the most aggressive or foolhardy foe. Like all Sred!Ni technology, the Fireship relies heavily on bio-mechanical automation, and while the ship itself is not "alive", many of its components are. The crew of the ship varies greatly depending on mission objectives, which are often inscrutable to outsiders. As reported by the few non-Sred!Ni who have boarded their vessels, the ships can support up to two dozen crew or passengers, but seem to be able to operate with a crew of as few as half a dozen, with weaponry and basic ship's systems controlled by a biomechanical computer, that, though not full sentient, seems to be integral to the ship to an extent not seen in Human-developed equipment. The Fireships tend to remain within a few parsecs of the Protectorate, but a few have been spotted on missions as far away as the Trojan and Vanguard Reaches.

Excursion Boat

The Excursion Boat is carried on Fireships for landing and scouting purposes and on Sred!Ni trading ships as a secondary boat to the main cargo shuttle. A tapered cylinder with morphable wings, the Excursion Boat is capable of high performance in and out of atmospheres and is difficult to detect by conventional means. The I'Sred claim that the stealth properties of the hull are only a byproduct of the streamlining and heat shielding techniques that give the Boat its performance characteristics.