The world of IKAREE · Member of the Planetary Union since 2241
Khurgani
Massive, 2.1 metres and about 180 kg, with grey-green leathery skin, a bony brow ridge and lower tusks. Their small deep-set eyes are made for red light, so under the Union's white light they wear tinted goggles. They braid their black hair with metal rings, and every ring is a debt, given or received.
History
Debt is the foundation of everything: whoever saves your life owns a part of it. In 2158 a human survey ship took water from a sacred ice field and started the Debt War. It ended when the human captain Aldana Reyes came to Durgh and offered her own life for her crew. The Khurgani accepted the gesture, not the death. The Repaid Debt of Aldana became a founding myth, and in 2241 they joined the Union.
How they live
Clans called Holds, led by chieftains. Shared feasts, singing contests, duels of honour. Loud and unexpectedly hospitable: once you have eaten with a Khurgan, you are a guest forever.
Technology
Brute force: heavy armour steel, overdriven reactors, plasma and projectile cannon. Weak sensors and navigation. Brilliant improvisers who can fix anything.
Ships
Angular, asymmetric hulls of dark iron with a ram at the bow and an exposed reactor glowing orange-red. Armour plates carry painted clan marks, and battle scars are never repaired: they are decorations.
Friction inside the Union
The backbone of Defense Command on the Ashline. They push for a harder line against the Sarrakh. The Blood Clause is not negotiable for them.