The world of IKAREE · Beyond the Union
Skeyr
Small, 1.3 metres, and light, with hollow bones. Feathers in the colours of dust and rust, four eyes (two forward, two to the sides) and slim, nimble fingers. They speak fast and chirping, and through a translator they sound slightly ironic.
History
Their world, Skeyra, disappeared about 400 years ago. According to the Skeyr it was taken by the Custodians: probes arrived, scanned everything, and then the planet was no longer there. Union scientists talk about stellar instability. Since 2379, when the probes appeared at the Union's border, nobody is laughing.
How they live
Traders, salvagers, information brokers and sometimes smugglers, living on some 3,000 ships with two million people. The Roost never stays anywhere longer than a year. Families are divided by ship. They have a phenomenal memory for debts and jokes.
Technology
Everything and nothing: they assemble ships from the wrecks of every species. The best repairers and hackers of alien systems. No warp cores of their own: they buy or steal vaeril crystals.
Ships
Patched-together ships made of parts from many civilisations, welded seams and mismatched plating. For long journeys the small ships lock on to giant clusters around mother ships that look like flying marketplaces.
Why it matters to the IKAREE
The Union argues with itself about whether they are refugees or smugglers.