Deltan

			Intelligent Lifeform Index

Deltan
File:Deltan.jpg
Four Letter Code	DELT
Federation Status	Member
Planet of Origin	Delta IV
Encountered	Star Trek: The Motion Picture
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	N+
List of Named Deltans
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The Deltans are a humanoid species originating from the planet Delta IV. They are members of the Federation.

Deltans are identified by their healing ablities that manifest in the form of tactile contact. This ability does not, however, heal injuries. Deltans believe Humans to be a sexually immature species. Because of their high sexuality, Deltans must swear an Oath of Celibacy upon service in Starfleet, as a promise not to take advantage of any "sexually-immature species".

Physical Description

Deltans have no surface hair except for eyebrows, lashes, and (occasionally) a very thin layer of soft down along arms and legs. Other than this, they closely resemble Humans or Betazoids. Deltans are, on the average, slightly slimmer than Humans, and their cheekbones, eye shapes, and jawlines are slightly more symmetrical, Humans (and many other humanoid species) often find Deltans quite attractive.

Subliminal scents called pheromones are released by both Deltan males and females, triggering hormonal responses in most humanoid life forms of the opposite sex. When in the presence of unfamiliar males, an automatic reaction in Deltan females will cause them to secret pheromones.

Celibacy oath

There is a very practical reason for requiring an "oath of celibacy" of Deltans serving on Starfleet vessels. The long evolvement of the Deltan race has not only heightened their sensuality but has also resulted in the sex act becoming a complete union in which both body and mind are shared. Deltans, of course, find this natural and pleasant, but the experience of actually becoming part of another person's mind almost always incapacitates the human partner.

Personality

Among themselves, Deltans are relaxed, comfortable, sensual and receptive to each others' interests, needs, and emotional states. Non-Deltans do not always react well or predictably to a bath of physical and emotional support; among outworlders, Deltans can be stiffly formal until they form close friendships.

Culture

Delta IV's unpredictable tides and otherwise hospitable ecology combined to create a culture at once polyglot and unified; although many microcultures evolved on the planet's myriad islands, they could never remain isolated long enough to develop either xenophobia or devastating cultural advantages. To avoid inbreeding, the island-bound Deltans also developed a very open sexual culture; stranded mariners were often adopted into large group amours to blend genes more effectively. Brought together by ties of sex and geography, Deltans learned to get along with each other by necessity; with a nurturing planet and a low species birthrate, wars over resources were almost unknown.

Deltans were also pushed in the direction of cultural unity by their genetic predisposition toward empathy and other psionic abilities; their ability to feel each others' pain soon made war, and even serious emotionally-scarring argument, unthinkably impolite. Unlike other psionic races, Deltans' strong pheromones made them physically unable to hide their emotions; the smell gave them away every time. Their culture evolved toward a global ideal of supportive, nurturing behavior based on time-honored Deltan sexual openness and a deeprooted sense of species and personal security that not even their encounters with the Andorians (and eventually the other starfaring cultures of the Beta Quadrant) could shake. Their sole concession to a dangerous galaxy was the adoption of an Oath of Celibacy out of necessity (and simple politeness) when dealing with less sexually-mature species and cultures.

Deltans are also known to have an inherent talent for mathematics and geometry, thinking along rational and practical lines but, unlike the more logic centered Vulcans, they allow their familiarity with emotions to mix in, giving them the best of both worlds.

Notable Deltans

Lieutenant Ilia, the navigator on the first voyage of the refit USS Enterprise, had also worked closely with the Starfleet teams assigned to Delta IV after the Deltans became full members of the Federation in 2259. She formed a strong attachment to Captain Willard Decker, with whom she was reported "missing in action" after the Enterprise encountered the V'Ger probe in 2271. Her example further cemented Deltan-Human friendship.

Niro, the Deltan sage who guided the planet through its tumultuous decades from first contact with the Andorians in 2182 to Federation membership, developed the Oath of Celibacy and wrote much of Deltans' modernized legal code. He was also a gifted poet and sexual artist.