Rish

From FEInfobase

Revision as of 03:51, 26 April 2009

The Rishare a species of sentient reptiles which control a six-system pocket empire who externally most nearly resemble Terran dinosaurs of the dromaeosaurid and carnosaur types. They have been members of the Federation since shortly after the Khitomer Accords, though contact during the Borg invasion was occasionally strained. They have a long history of rivalry with both the Klingon and Romulan Empires, and a substantial military as a result, particularly in comparison with the relatively small size of their star nation. Due to biological and social constraints, Rish rarely operate off-world except in ships of their own design, though a handful may be found integrated into Federation society.

Body Structure and Biology

Early adult females tend to mass between 190 and 210 kilograms, with a length of between nine and twelve feet, though they continue to grow throughout their lives, which can measure as long as two hundred years; elder females can stand as tall at the shoulder as 2.5 meters and mass over half a metric ton. Males grow less rapidly, beginning at roughly 15% smaller than their female counterparts at adulthood and growing proportionally smaller with age. They combine scales, which range in color from sandy orange and yellow to deep reds, with a variety of feather color patterns that range across the visible and ultraviolet spectrum - feathers are particularly noticeable along the brow and upper neck, growing to substantial length as a sort of plumage and framing the longer, heavier spines which run from the base of the skull to the upper two-thirds of the tail. Rish hands are four-clawed and quite dexterous, though their smaller arm size gives them a proportionally low strength compared to their mass, while their jaws exert a disproportionate level of strength for their size. Combined with the obsidian-sharp and very dense black substance that makes up their teeth and bones, this allows for bite strength that challenges most materials not engineered for space travel or combat.

As much as Rish may resemble certain Terran reptiles in appearance, their internal anatomy is substantially different from any Earth species. The exact nature of this anatomy has not been a common feature of study, but includes three hearts, back-ups for most of the major organs and a set of dietary requirements that include a number of heavy metals fatal to most humanoids.

Several Rish senses are also notably keener than is the case in humans - their eyes perceive a wider range of light, including much of the ultraviolent spectrum, and can operate efficiently at much lower light intensities. Two internal eyelids allow for increased regulation of the kind and intensity of light admitted to the eye. Additionally, the Rish sense of smell is on par with many of the galaxy's most effective hunting creatures, and their kinesthetic sense rates among the most sensitive of any species in the Federation. Conversely, the Rish language is extremely complex and their vocal structures decidedly non-humanoid, so the universal translator is occasionally an imperfect mode of communication - during the initial contacts between the Rish and the Federation, it took well over a year for the translator to begin providing anything more than very simple sentences from either side, and neither Rish nor most humanoids have the vocal structures to produce each other's languages naturally. Additionally, the relative similarity of facial structures among most species of humanoids can make it difficult for most Rish to visually distinguish one individual from another without relying on cues like dress or context.

Social Structure

Rish society is matriarchal and polyandrous, with Rish females forming extended clan structures built of individual households in which the males perform most of the childrearing and domestic functions.

Rish females who operate outside the homeworld and home fleet, particularly the handful who have joined Starfleet, sometimes take growth suppression hormones beginning shortly after finishing puberty. This allows them to remain at a more manageable size, though at a substantial cost to their social standing.

[expansion pending]