Peppalexan

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			Intelligent Lifeform Index

Peppalexan
Four Letter Code	PPLX
Federation Status	Nonaligned
Planet of Origin	Unknown
Encountered	2392, USS Garuda; Records From Antiquity
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	N+
List of Named Peppalexans
Full ILI Gallery • Permitted Species Gallery

Home System

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Home World

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Starfleet Intelligence Files

The Peppalexans were warp-capable, starfaring species that, before 2392, known only from records of the Ancient Alliance that once operated in the Menthar Corridor. According to those records, the Peppalexans were once an integral and powerful member of the Alliance before they disappeared from Alliance records at the beginning of the Alliance's decline. Historians have long assumed that their disappearance was due to several socioeconomic and political factors and that fragmentary records that indicated that the entire species had "vanished without a trace" were records of some myth or morality tale.

However, when the Peppalexan homeworld suddenly appeared in the Piktar System in 2392, the USS Garuda was immediately dispatched to investigate. The homeworld's appearance, which occurred directly on top of a strange stellar phenomenon that orbited the Piktar star but hasn't been seen since the planet's appearance, brings with it the entire homeworld population of Peppalexa -- some several billion individuals -- who will no doubt want to know when they suddenly find themselves.

Historical Records

A Peppalexan individual

Ancient Alliance records indicate that the Peppalexans had a dominant culture that supported trade and exchange with the rest of the Alliance but was, in a word, lackadaisical. Much of the members of that dominant culture seem to have spend their time pursuing activities that kept them close to or on the homeworld, made use of the natural environment, and cherished the creation of art -- cloud sculpting, tectonic craftwork, and other pastimes that have no direct modern equivalent -- though there was a minority culture that operated in tandem and represented most of the Peppalexans who would travel beyond their homeworld.

This minority culture seems to have had a counter-Federation approach to dealings with aliens: Rather than leaving pre-warp aliens alone to develop on their own, the Peppalexans would directly interfere, helping races to achieve warp travel, technological prowess, and artistic nirvana. The Ancient Alliance seems to have been counted among its number several of the Peppalexa's former "pupils," though how they fared after the Peppalexan homeworld's disappearance is unknown.

Planet characteristics

• Class M (bordering on Class O, much like Earth)
• Lower gravity than earth norm to allow for tall/graceful appearance
• Thinking smaller radius (maybe ⅔ Earth standard), lesser mass -- not quite walking on the Moon, but definitely a lesser g than Earth’s
• Oxygen-Nitrogen atmosphere
• Diverse biosphere - jungles, deserts, arctic/glacial, mountain/alpine, etc.
• 77% of the planet’s surface is water
• Land consists of two smaller landmasses (continents) and several large islands. Many smaller island chains are found throughout the planet’s oceans. As technology advanced, artificial islands were often used to supplement areas where burgeoning population made space a limited commodity.

Planet Locations

• Armattin University
• Cavern of Our Legacy
  • Seat of Power for the Elders. Island of Miswella
• Jungle Island where the Separatists are based.

Physical Traits

• Amphibious (capable of breathing in air or water).
• Smooth skin with a ‘slimy’ membrane. It’s thick enough to provide minor protection from phasers set on low stun settings.
• Gills in neck skin flaps.
• Comfortable both in and out of the water, though high humidity environments are strongly prefered. Prolonged time spent in extremely dry environments would likely require a special moisture suit to keep them from drying out too much.
• Tall, slender bodies
• Bipedal, strong legs. Can walk on all fours to ‘sprint’ for short distances on land.
• Long tails with fins to allow for faster swimming
• Skin flaps and bioluminescent hues that change based on mood
• Thin elongated nose. Strong sense of smell.
• Lizard-like eyes
• Three long fingers on each hand.
• Cold-blooded
• A very small proportion of the population is larger and more ornate, and in the case of the females, able to bear more young. It is difficult to distinguish with certainty in the males, but easy in the females, who are denoted ‘Ooyi’faen’. Normal females are ‘Iiya’fret’. It is an ancestral type that was largely selected against due to overpopulation pressure, before the rise of civilisation.

Culture

• Mestafar council - A scientific body similar to the Daystrom Institute. It once spanned the entire Alliance. Members of the council received the title of “Scion.” (Example: Scion Kiren-El)
• Council of Elders -philosophers, artists, ambassadors, and thinkers
• Generally egalitarian: all are equal. The councils are more like salons (in the high society sense, without the ‘society’ aspect) -- they’re groups of folks who have spent years and years devoted to something (also, think Ba’ku).
• The Piktar star is referred to as Ooyiin and receives feminine pronouns. Perhaps a reference to mythology or religion?
• Children of Thought / The Uplifted - Prewarp races selected as ‘pupils’ by Peppalexa. They were tutored into a warp-capable species, and some (many?) eventually joined the Alliance. Traditionally, such races are considered to owe the Peppalexa a ‘debt of learning.’
• Traditionally there was a certain amount of status associated with Ooyi’faen females and males suspected of carrying the trait, but in modern society there are a mixture of attitudes, from great respect to dismissal as a primitive holdover.
• Possible Breen Ties - The Breen referred to the planet as the World of Heroes.

Naming Convention

• Two names joined by a hyphen. The second name is usually a single syllable and is passed from a master to apprentice during adolescence. Proven leaders of the society are sought out by youth who wish to literally give themselves a strong name. Two syllable (or larger) second names might indicate a lineage involving multiple names combined into one for one reason or another (political marriage, multiple masters,etc.)
• An additional part to the first name, separated by an apostrophe, can indicate certain personal states or ancestries.

Language and Body language

• Flared skinflaps are something similar to a nod, and may indicate agreement. Rapid movements might indicate agitation. *
• Whistle-like noises are often used as vocal pauses (similar to “umm” or “ah” or “hmm”).
• “Water voice” is a kind of whisper they use to communicate while underwater, similar to the kinds of whistles and clicks that dolphins use. Some words are similar to those spoken with their ‘air voice’, some are very different. They essentially have two languages, with one being a derivative of the other.
• Khuri-Tael’s Gift - Peppalexan equivalent of a Trojan Horse.
• Dependant upon their dialect, some Peppalexans have difficulty with the pronunciation of Federation Standard words, evidenced in the way they say proper names. It is quite probable that both their perception and ability to pronounce the nuances of the spoken language is limited. Those who have been trained as orators, diplomats and debaters - masters of language - have less difficulty.

Technology

• Weapons: Common energy weapons are chroniton-based plasma weapons. Beams appear to be violet (nearing the ultraviolet range). Other weapons based on other technology likely exist, but are not as widely used.
• Ships: Most of the fleet was away during the accident, so there are only a few ships in orbit. Mostly civilian shuttle-type craft with perhaps one or two larger military ships.
• Orbital infrastructure: ?
• Defenses: Prototype orbital shield array that uses chroniton particles. Testing the new array is what the Peppalexans believe triggered the accident.

History

• War with the a race of subspace-native aliens with non corporeal properties, possibly the subspace aliens encountered in the TNG episode “Schisms.”
  • Kiren’s flashback referred to them as the Void. The Ancient Alliance (or just Alliance to Peppalexa) was formed in response to incursions of these aliens into normal space, which caused significant damage to subspace. A massive quadrant spanning war took place between the Alliance and these aliens that lasted for at least 200 years. The temporal accident took place roughly thirty years before the last known Menthar colony was destroyed.
• Some Peppalexans refer to the subspace aliens as the ‘Others’, one of many names which avoid referring to them directly.
• First Kingdom Era: ?

Known Members

Contemporary

• Kiren-El: Leading researcher at Armattin University. Field specialty of temporal mechanics and chroniton-based technology. Scion of the Mestafar Council.
• Astra-Om: An admiral of the Alliance fleet. Senior most military official. Presumed dead.
• Mola-Ra: Leader of the Council of Elders
• Ula-Ytalo: An Elder of Clouds, one of the great atmospheric sculptors.
• Jhuul-Lan: An Elder of Speech, one of the great orators.
• Yais’lyan-Oora: Separatist physicist. Former pupil of Kiren-El.
• Kohr-Ital: Separatist military leader.
• Vhae-Al: Separatist Lieutenant.

First Kingdom Era

• Virah-Latyi: Her Majesty, Queen of the First Kingdom
• Tru-Dar-Orr: First Minister
• Tura-Fe: Royal Historian
• Je-San: Captain of the Guard
• No-Lahn: Brother of Tru-Dar-Orr
• Meed-Mon: Physician's Apprentice