Osaarian

			Intelligent Lifeform Index

Osaarian
Four Letter Code	OSAA
Federation Status	Neutral
Planet of Origin	Oki’palnosa
Encountered	ENT: Anomaly
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	N
List of Named Osaarians
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"Trade. Sounds like a great idea. What do you need and how much is it worth to you?"

a Osaarian remark.

The Osaarian are a humanoid species well known for their driving interest in trade. Unlike the Ferengi all most all of their business is the transportation of goods from one world to another.

Home System

• Quadrant: Alpha
• Location: Beloti Sector (coordinates A25-0004-1302)
• Proper Name: Palnosa
• Star: It orbits a class F (Yellow-White) star
• Distance from Star: it's orbit is approximately 47 million km
• Companions: It is the 4th of 16 planets in the system
• Moons: it has 2 moons.

Home World

• Proper Name: Oki’palnosa
• Diameter: 21,504 km (13,362 miles)
• Gravity: 0.98 standard gravity with a density of 3.2
• Axial Tilt: 9.3%, with minimal seasonal changes
• Orbital Period: 342 days
• Rotational Period: 23.8 hours
• Classification: M
  • Surface Water: 53%
  • Atmosphere: 1.07% is a standard pressure with 73% nitrogen, 25% oxygen, 2% trace chemicals
  • Climate: Mainly a temperate planet with semi-tropical and arctic zones.
  • Terrain: Large rolling hills and plains with some deserts, swamps, rocky hills and mountains.
  • Population: Just over 10 billion

History

When one considers the fact that their world is made up almost entirely of small and large islands it is not hard to understand how they developed over time. Trade of any kind between islands required ships, in order to visit islands that were far away those ships needed to be big, well made and designed for both the comfort of the crew and for the easy handling and storage of various types of cargo.

As a result they developed a very large merchant navy. One that both transported people and goods to even the most remote island on the planet but ships that spent long months collecting the bounty of the oceans and then trading that bounty in various ports.

Development was slow, but they had few wars and none of those that they did have involved more than a token force of men and ships. Because of this they were able to settle differences and slowly over time merge together each region until they had a unified central government.

As technology advanced so did the living conditions for the majority of the population, the massive merchant navy being able to ensure the spread of new technology to even the smallest remote island on the planet.

So it came as no surprise that once they had developed space travel and discovered the existence of alien species that they immediately started to develop a fleet of merchant vessels suited to spending long periods of time in space and able to cover massive distances.

Prior to 2153, two Osaarian merchant ships entered the Delphic Expanse, looking for new trade routes. While in the Expanse, the ships were hit by a distortion wave, causing the crews to decide to return home. One of the ships was destroyed trying to return through the thermobaric cloud perimeter. The second ship remained in the Expanse, and the crew was forced to turn to piracy to survive.

In 2153 an Osaarian merchant ship was encountered by the Enterprise NX-01 in the Expanse. The vessel raided Enterprise and then led the starship to its first encounter with a Sphere. Enterprise disabled the Osaarian ship and took its Xindi database for use in the search for the Xindi weapon.

Once the merchant vessel rescued from the Expanse managed to make its way back to Oki’palnosa, their home world the merchant council was dismayed by the actions the crew had taken to survive. Great efforts were taken to find all the species that had been victimized and to make restitution. As it turned out in most cases this completely unexpected action on their part was often parlayed into new trade deals, some of which are still in effect in some way even now after all these years.

They established friendly relations with the Federation and were the first non-Federation member species to be granted full and complete access to all markets, worlds, facilities and outposts with in the area governed by the Federation.

Today they operate one of the largest independent merchant fleets in the Federation and while they have never applied for membership they do enjoy a large number of the perks that come from being a member.

They have maintained a strict policy of neutrality but this has not prevented them from operating as a supplier of much needed goods, food, medicine and other supplies to those species that needed it such as the Bajorans after the Cardassian Occupation or the Federation during the Dominion war.

Government

High Council

They are governed by a High Council which is made up of a single representative from each of the 15 regions that their home world is divided into and another 6 minor representatives that do not have voting rights but represent the colonies and can bring forward issues and discuss and comment on policies.

Merchant Fleet Council

This council also has 15 members but these are selected from a roster of retired merchant captains. They create and police the policies that govern the conduct and actions of the entire merchant fleet. An example of their policies at work, they voted unanimously to authorize the transport and selling of goods to Bajor for 3 years at cost following the end of the Cardassian Occupation.

Description

In many ways they are your typical humanoid species with a wide variety of heights, weights and body types. However both males and females tend to have a high forehead and ebony black hair. Males keep it fairly short and the females tend to grow it longer, usually down past their shoulders and tied back out of the way. Their eyes seem to be deep sunk but that is only because of the bony ridges that start at the nose and circle over the eye and down the side of the face and then back onto the upper cheek.

Physiology

As with most intelligent humanoid species they have a very complex system with specialized organs, and unique hormones, chemicals and enzymes, one that seems well suited to prolonged periods spent in space. As a result it is not uncommon for members of the merchant fleet to spend their entire adult lives on one ship or another and never develop any unusual ailments.

Psychology

As a species they can become prone to a collective mental instability if subjected to unusual and highly stressful circumstances that are beyond their control and that last for any significant period of time. It causes them to do things they would normally never do. This seems to have been the case in regards to their first contact with the human vessel Enterprise. Fortunately the condition is not normally permanent and with the proper care, most patients enjoy a full recovery.

Religion

They have a very strong belief in rebirth and reincarnation. So much so that all of their beliefs center around the possibility that they have lived many times before. As a result a quasi-religious order has evolved that spends all most as much time in scientific research to prove and increase their ability to delve into a person’s memories and touch the majesty and wonder of their past lives.

Some experts believe that one of the driving reasons that their merchant fleet can be found roaming practically everywhere, including outside of known and explored regions of space is their drive to find new and better methods of being able to pierce the veil and understand who and what they were in past lives.

Mythology

As can be expected all most the entirety of their ancient and even modern lexicon of tall tales and legends have to deal with the miracle of rebirth and past lives, all of them detailing the slow progression and development of an individual’s inner spirit or soul. They believe that everyone learns from experience and that in each life they can draw on the knowledge learned in their past lives. Some exceptional few are able to do this better than others. These individuals have grown, prospered and done exceptional things.

Society

They have a well-organized and efficient public transit system, health care and infrastructure. Cities are well laid out, people have access to a well-designed educational system. For the most part they are happy and the crime level is well within manageable levels. So with all this it is not surprising that the quality of life for the average citizen is better than fair with plenty of opportunities and possibilities.

Culture

They have a wide and diverse appreciation for many of the different forms of artistic expression. This includes many of those that they have become exposed to over the years. As a result is not uncommon to run into shops dedicated to alien cuisine, alien art, music and other forms of artistic expression. Nor is it uncommon to hear or see alien art forms anywhere in their communities.

Customs

Joining the Merchant Fleet

When someone is fortunate enough to be selected to serve on a merchant vessel for the first time, their family throw a huge celebration, one that involves as many of the family and friends as possible. These celebrations can last for up to 5 days as everyone involved toasts and says goodbye to the young person.

Technology

They have a strong technology base, one that allows them to remain competitive with most of the species around them.

Economy

They have a very strong economy, one that has been strengthened greatly by their large fleet of merchant ships. Osaarian merchant ships can be found just about everywhere both inside and outside of the Federation. It is not uncommon for them to be found inside the Cardassian, Romulan and Klingon borders.

While not as competitive or driven by the desire for profit as a Ferengi they are still very well known for their ability to drive a fair bargain. In fact they were one of the species that delivered much needed goods at cost to the Bajoran people at the end of the Cardassian occupation of their home world.

In orbit of their home world is one of the largest commercial space stations around, easily the equal of anything the Federation has ever produced. It is capable of docking almost a 1,000 ships and providing repair facilities for another 20.

Military

An Osaarian merchant ship was a type of starship utilized as part of the Osaarian merchant fleet during the mid-22nd century. This class of vessel was heavily armed, possessing at least two forward particle beam emitters. The hull of this class of vessel is constructed of polyduranium.

The majority of their fleet is still heavily armed merchant ships that while mostly privately owned are still considered to be part of their defensive fleet. These ships now come in 3 sizes which are considered to be frigate, destroyer and cruiser classes.

Other than these they only have 18 destroyer class patrol ships. 9 of these never leave their home system and are considered to be the last line of defense. The other 9 are seldom within their system and usually are out conducting long range patrols of their sector of space and ensuring the safety of the shipping lanes for all species.

In orbit of their home world is a military space station able to build new warships if needed and able to service and repair all 18 of the destroyers they currently have at one time with space left over for another 22.

Federation Intelligence Files

The Osaarian people populate an area near the Delphic Expanse in the Alpha Quadrant.

According to the Vulcan database, they owned a large merchant marine fleet in the mid-22nd century; this was one of the very few facts about them known to the Vulcans, as these two species had only met rarely.

Captain Archer and the crew of the Enterprise NX-01 encountered these aliens during their mission to the Delphic Expanse. Two Osaarian ships had entered the Expanse looking for new trade routes. One was destroyed; the other resorted to piracy. The Osaarians kept their stolen goods in a massive sphere surrounded by a cloaking field.

Data regarding the Osaarians was deleted by the Triannon D'Jamat.

Sources

Both Memory Alpha and Memory Beta were used as sources as well as the TV episodes ENT: Anomaly, ENT: Chosen Realm and DS9: The Search. The ST reference book: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual was also used.

SDC

This file was updated and approved by the SDC on 31 October 2014.

Content from this article may have
come partially, or entirely from
 Memory Alpha

		SPECIES PROFILE UPDATED This profile was revised by the Species Development Committee.		REV 239204.17
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