Ulayavi
The ulayavi were first mentioned by Gre7g Luterman in Skeleton Crew and first appeared in Fair Trade. The further design and development of this species has tentatively been undertaken by Ember, as her introduced species palowan had many features in common with ulayavi as thus far described, so the two have been merged.
Writing Ulayavi
For those writing Ulayavi, be mindful of the following, but feel free to operate outside their tendencies.
Appearance and Biology
Ulayavi are pangolin-like, averaging 1m tall standing, but requiring a crouched position to walk with stability. They have 1m long tails and tongues. They have keratinous scales and a tolerance to gravity up to 1.5 times the galactic norm. Genetically modified ulayavi can up to double these features. Ulayavi are omnivorous, but tend towards insectivory, having domesticated various species of Na, a honey-ant analogue. They favor combinations of sweet and savory, and tend to require less water than most sapients, having evolved on a largely semi-arid planet. They are oxygen breathers, and can curl into balls for protection or to roll for movement. Ulayavi scales tend to be earthy brown colors with a slight blue tinge at the base, but there's a middling population of blackscale ul' and rare populations of ulayavi with albinism, often called flower-scales because of their white and pink or yellow-based scales. Outside of their scaled features, ulayavi have a short layer of fur (2mm typically) over their hide. Ulayavi sexual organs are all hidden behind slits, and are single-purpose, sharing no relation to their excretory systems, which produce entirely solid waste in cubiform unless overhydrated. (Yes, they shit like wombats.) Clothes, when worn, tend to be geometrically patterned, often with triangles or diamonds.
Homeworld
Ayavi is a world largely composed of savannahs, jungles, and rainforests. Most water is freshwater, and the planet features one ocean formed in a large crater from some ancient cataclysm. Thus, much of the planet is regarded as continents bordered by major mountain ranges, and it is quite possible to walk around the planet. Deserts are often the sites of heavy industry, their sands tainted by waste products layered according to variations in regulatory adherence and eras of differing safety and recycling campaigns. Ice caps cover the northern and southern poles, with both often draining into Ayavi's sole ocean during summer months. The planet has two moons, one located at a gravitational stability point while the planet spins beneath it, and the second orbiting farther away. Approximately 10 times a year, the moons will cross, marking ulayavi months on traditional calendars, which are largely divorced from modern precision timekeeping. There are 8 gravitational anomalies within the planet's crust, but recently, three have disappeared. Whether or not this has something to do with the planned city ships is unknown, but the coincidental timing has led to many conspiracy theories.
History
Twelve hundred years ago, the ulayavi were enslaved by an expeditionary fleet of geordians, whose experiment with gate technology nearly destroyed their homeworld. After accidentally opening a gate into the ocean of Ayavi, their gateship was destroyed, and as punishment their krakun overlord decreed they would spend a millennium fixing their error and seeing how susceptible the "palowan," as the enslaved came to be called, were to slavery. During this time, back on Ayavi, the Ulayavi Polity formed as a socialist government and began to reverse-engineer krakun and geordian technology from the wreckage of their ships, focusing particularly on gravity manipulation.
The Ulayavi of 600 years ago were high-minded idealists. They fought tooth and nail, regardless of sacrifices, to expel the Krakun and reclaim their people, with three pyrrhic wars called the Punitive Wars. The palowan rejoined the Polity and kept their name for all diasporic ul' and eventually any race that joined the polity.
The Ulayavi of 300 years ago believed themselves secure in their space, thanks to the Dark Star Range- a set of gravitic anomalies that make approaching their region near the galactic center difficult -and a growing disconnect began between the worlders and spacers. Great Nomad fleets began to form as some found the conditions on the homeworlds increasingly frustrating, especially for non-ulayavi rescues from slavery under the krakun. And after the loss of the palowan's homeworld, increasingly disillusioned. Their efforts in sustaining the fight eventually produced the Neutral Zone between Ul' space and the Krakun Empire.
The ulayavi of today have magnified that disconnect, with many worlders believing peace is possible with the krakun, while the Navy and Nomad fleets fight against endless waves of privateers and regular wars from krakun mercenaries, especially the Anup. Worlders have grown distrustful of aliens who cling to narratives about krakun cruelty, while the Navy and Nomads keep a more cosmopolitan view, emphasizing meritocracy where they can, but still ultimately keeping ul' at the highest echelons. The latter can sense the end is coming, especially since they hold the secret that for twelve hundred years, they have only faced a single krakun opponent, the patient and cruel Kranodur.
They are a people split between the deluded and the desperate, as the central government lies to provide the illusion of control and negotiation with their principal foe, while funneling resources to a new threat in the galactic west. The contradictions have piled up such that, away from their five held worlds, the Ulayavi Polity Navy maintains a delicate balance to prevent the full might of the krakun from being brought down upon them, even if that means committing terrible acts like selling their own into slavery. Because a new threat has arisen on the open galaxy west of Ul' space, and the claws and fangs of the Turek strike deeper with every decade.
Culture
Under the Ulayavi Polity, modern Worlders tend to behave more as idealists, believing that they should spread the goodness of the Ulayavi systems of governance to other worlds. A largely materialist people, they have heavy focuses on production capacity and industrial output, believing that material conditions and the means of production are the foundation of society and history. The utopian ideals of earlier eras were largely expressed by and for Worlders, and not the ever-increasing diaspora of Nomads, stations, and resource fleets that provide the material for the Worlder's needs. As their culture has shifted, the Worlders are increasingly distrustful of palowan (diasporic ul' and aliens) and believe peace with the Krakun Empire is just a matter of diplomacy over arms.
Worlders tend to treat their scales more as a canvas for art, often preferring elaborate scenes and patterns.
Modern Nomads and the Polity Navy are more cosmopolitan in their outlook, owing to their position on the front line of receiving emancipated slaves and strays from the perpetual conflict with the Krakun Empire. Most of their presence is within the Shax Corridor, a stable passage through the Dark Star Range, guarded by a mighty but aging fortress station. Their beliefs often align with supporting rebels and freedom fighters who wish to strike back at the krakun, but their resources have grown increasingly strained and aged because of the politics of the Worlders. Over time, most ulayavi forgot that they've still been fighting Kranodur for more than a millennium, but not the Navy. The Nomads are highly active between the Neutral Zone and Ul' space, but even if they could combine all their fleets, supplying the Navy without direct access to worldly production is a daunting challenge, as is convincing worlders that the Dark Star Range is far more porous than the Polity will admit.
Spacers tend to treat their scales as a means of telling stories or showing achievements. Behind a Navy officer's rank collar will often be lists of battles or ships served upon, written in the formal triangular form. Even non-ul' palowan often shave or dye such forms into their fur.
Any alien can come to be considered a palowan if their loyalty is proven. The term has evolved from referencing diasporic ulayavi to indicating anyone who lives off-planet or is an alien. Some Worlders treat it as a pejorative for "warmongers." As a rule of thumb, ul' are all ulayavi, while not all palowan are ul'.
The Ulayavi Standard Calendar is 408 days long, the same as the orbit of Ayavi around its host star. Mooncross is their term for a month, consisting of 40 days and reflecting the dual moons that orbit Ayavi. At the middle and end of each year are 4-day holidays. The first Tetrurn is a time to celebrate life, while the winter Tetrurn is a time to be mindful of the dead before the next year starts.
Ulayavi work culture is focused on maintaining employment between the ages of 50 and 200. Entrepreneurship is encouraged, but corporatization is viewed suspiciously, and corporations above a certain size inevitably become state-owned if they are an on-planet one. Ulayavi and palowan alike are distrustful of any body of people that seek to emulate the krakun in seeking monopolies or exploitative labor. But they often make allowances for the military and government as long as it's argued as necessary. Every workplace belongs to a union, and unions form the largest political bloc for Worlders.
Personality Tendencies
Diasporic ulayavi (palowan or spacers) tend to be more open-minded and less judgmental. Living in space is hard without being at each other's throats. Those with a more peaceful bent tend towards simply taking themselves elsewhere if things get too tense, especially when dealing with Worlders. They often make do with fewer resources and worse living conditions than the equality-focused Polity will acknowledge. A common saying amongst them is "Worlders fill out requisition forms. Palowan make do."
Worlder ul' tend to be distrustful of aliens, who they see as warmongers. They tend to believe that things are better than they appear to be, and that outsiders and nomads complain or lie to get more resources than they should rightfully be allocated. The recent trend towards attempting peace with the krakun has put them at odds with their spaceborn populations, who fear that one day a naive council will form and undo a millennium of effort and sacrifice.
Populations of ulayavi do exist outside of ul' space, often as bred or cloned slaves. They are relatively rare compared to other slave populations, as Kranodur is intent on monopolizing the market. Thus, owning ul' can be considered somewhat of a status symbol for krakun if they're a rare breed, with blackscales and albinos often kept as pets. Normal ul' are often placed in high-gravity labor or environments with high potential for kinetic impacts, owing to their gravity tolerance and armor. Their personalities are just as varied as any other race enslaved by the krakun.
Sexuality
Ulayavi tend to be pansexual and polyamorous. Marriage is a nice way of making things official, and securing larger housing, but is less used amongst Worlders as most needs are provided for on an individual basis. A family is often called a "clade" in the context of a likeness of mind and affection, a divergence from the terms the word is often translated to. Because ulayavi sex organs are internal, voices tend to be similar, and so guessing the gender of ul' partners is often the subject of many romances. Both the ul' penis and vagina are triangular, with ul' vaginas sporting three clitori and ul penisis sporting three "prongs" in addition to their prominent bulging musculature, which serves to control the ejaculation rate of seed. Ul' with penises have a large internal organ called a seed organ or seed vessel that can produce up to a gallon of seed for particularly endowed individuals. The tendency of ulayavi with wombs is to produce twins, but triplets and quadruplets are also common, and some with a penchant for pregnancy have even produced sedicimplets. The tongue occupies a particularly revered place in ulayavi sexual play, as lovers might use it for any number of activities, such as finding which scale covers a sensitive spot, or sounding. Almost all ul' figure out autofellatio at some point.
Disposition and Intelligence
Ulayavi tend to be very collectivist and willing to cooperate within their groups. They are trusting of their governments and leadership, tending to provide great trust as long as their leaders do not prove corrupt or callous. Their society tends towards the matriarchal, and their governments tend towards a bottom-up approach of ensuring basic needs are always met for everyone, regardless of status. Ulayavi intelligence has more room to grow than many species owing to their longer lifespans, but there is a tendency to focusing on perfecting a craft as far as it will go before seeking a new thing to learn, which often holds back individuals from being widely knowledgeable outside their chosen fields. This tendency is more muted amongst Spacers, who have to master many different talents to survive amidst the cruel void.
Most Ulayavi names tend to start with softer consonants or vowels. S, Z, X and Ys names are common. The Ulayavi language is often sussurative, with three forms of the S sound depending on prefixural letters and duration. Ulayavi sign language requires still arms and transitioning between finger or claw positions for the thirty letters of their alphabet.
The base currency within Polity space is the Scale, which tends to be red-gold and triangular or diamond shaped depending on denominations. For digital transactions, credits are the preferred term.
Ship Conventions
Ulayavi ships tend to be more vertically oriented for military ships and more horizontally oriented for civilian models. Both often feature a domed section of hull and military vessels or up-armed civilian ships often go for powerful gravity-based tractor beams.
The most well-known ship of the Ulayavi military is the Star Defender, massive shield ships with emphasis on defensive capability, but able to use a complex tractor beam system to rip enemy ships and stations apart at close to medium ranges. Their radial designs have largely gone unchanged for the last 600 years.
The Ulayavi are presently experimenting with the creation of city-ships, at the behest of the Stellar Nomad Collective, a project favored by both Worlders and Spacers alike. Currently, there are 8 hulls planned, each named after a star in Ul' space.
Aging
Ulayavi can live up to 300 years on average, with some genetically blessed or privileged individuals making it well into their 400s. They are considered adults at age 20, which is roughly equivalent to 23 by the normal galactic calendar. In older eras, all ul' would be sent to military school around age 30.
AI
The Ulayavi are presently unable to create generalized artificial intelligence, but they use robotics often in industry.
