Caitians
From FEInfobase
Pronounced Kay-Shun
The Caitian race is the sole sentient species native to the planet Cait in the 15 Lyncais star system. Sometimes the race is referred to as "felinoid" due to their unique bipedal body type and ability to use all four appendages as legs if need be. The race has had to endure a mostly Human stereotype of being referred to as "cats". In reality, the race has significant biological differances to the terran feline. In appearance though, they do look similar.
Caitians walk upright like any other humanoid, but still rely on their tail for an acute sense of balance. Caitians have fur, but this is an evolutionary left over, as they evolved from a cat like primate. Caitians have the ability to jump higher then most other species, and have more acute hearing and vision from the point of view of most others. On the other side, they are far more prone to physical injury then others. Their lightweight and fairly flexible bone structure lends itself to injury from blunt impacts. When facing an impact, a Caitian will naturally attempt to roll upon contact and distribute the impact evenly throughout their body to the opposite surface without any sudden jarring.
Biologically, Caitians are surprisingly similar to the much more violent and aggressive Khintzi race, both from a physical and genetic standpoint. So much so that a common theory is that the races split off from one another at some point in the past. Given Cait's well documented history that goes back to pre-industrial times, it is difficult to support this theory with any kind of recorded fact. The Khintzi however, have a less documented past with significant gaps in their timeline. In addition, Khintzi history, while fragmented, extends back tens of thousands of years farther then recorded Caitian history. This raises many questions, but the medical evidence is such that a vast majority of scientists can only come to the conclusion that the races share a common distant ancestor.
Over time, scientists noted a distinct evolutionary gap in Cait's fossil record. All creatures there could be traced back for millions of years, but Caitian remains only extend back approximately 10,000 years. Beyond that, there is no fossil evidence of ancient Caitians even existing. The leading theories propose that Cait was at one time an ancient Khintzi colony world. The Khin have been warp capable for as long as anybody can recall, but have always been very territorial, rarely leaving a somewhat small area around their own world except for resources. To find a colony 100 light years away is rare. The theory also proposes that Cait is a "lost" colony, one that was either independent from Khintzi rule, or the Khin simply never knew about it. There is practically no way to verify this theory, but medical evidence supports the idea that the Caitians descended from the Khintzi.
Caitians have a slight split between males and females in terms of general appearance. Males tend to have short, hair that is almost always a similar but sometimes slightly different shade of color then their fur. It does continue growing, so it is possible to see a male with longer hair, but it is generally trimmed and grows very slowly. Females on the other hand have faster growing manes that tend to be fuller and may be a significantly different color then their fur. Most scientists have agreed that this is due to the genetic diversity now found throughout the race. In previous centuries, an individual's fur color was related to the continent and region that they were from, but with modern diversity and the global nature of the race, such distinctions are no longer evident. In fact, many commonplace color patterns have emerged only in recent centuries. Striping patterns were once confined to the continent of P'irrem, a tropical environment, and only occurred against brighter colored fur. Now, it is just as likely to find such a pattern anywhere.
Caitians have had war in their history, and suffered through a particularly brutal world war termed as the "Polar Wars" in the time around 1200 to 1300 AD, human time-frame. This hundred year war, which amounted to mass genocide due to differences in fur color and native origin had a lasting impact on the planet and was not forgotten. Though Caitians still have aggressive instincts due to their natural hunting prowess and ability, most are pacifist. Unless provoked, Caitians will rarely attack first.
The Borg War did not so much change this belief, but it did cause a shift in global thinking. Cait is now more concerned with itself and its own people then it was before the war. While family has always been more important, self protection has become more so on top of this. The current government headed by Chancellor Aa'reth T'arren is not interested in re-joining the Federation. While he believes that friendly relations must be maintained for mutual benefit, attempting to re-join would spark a massive planet wide civil disorder. In time, they may re-join, but not for at least the next few generations.
Several pirate groups have popped up in the Cait system after the war. The largest native group was referred to as the "Crimson Claws". It was made of groups of former Caitian starfleet personnel, or former (and sometimes current) members of the Caitian Defense Force. They were technically pirates, but operated specifically for the benefit of Cait rather then the accumulation of their own wealth. They were one of the major forces that kept the Orion Syndicate at bay within the Caitian system. Since the 2407 overthrow of the government, the group has been disbanded re-organized into the official Caitian Defense Force.