Sharajj

The Union of Sharajj Peoples arose from the ashes of a civilization that almost entirely destroyed itself in a nuclear war shortly after developing spacecraft. The biosphere of their homeworld, known as Varabai, was severely damaged, and only a few dozen thousand individuals who lived in underground communities survived on the planet. Additionally, a handful of cryogenic seed ships and generation ships were launched just before the catastrophe. Of these, most failed to establish new colonies, but three did.

The Varabai nuclear catastrophe occurred in the year 34609. It was not until more than 400 standard years later that the various survivors on the planet Varabai made contact with the colonies established some 80 to 120 years prior and the Union was formed. The Sharajjans joined the Imperium in 3522A.

After joining the Imperium, a vast emigration took place not only from the planet Varabai but from other Sharajjan settlements as well, as the Sharajjans overwhelmingly preferred living conditions in the greater Imperium than on their own worlds. One system, Ul Oko, was entirely abandoned, and the Union sold it to the Imperium, making it crown space. Today, only 3% of Sharajjans live inside their own sovereign territory.

Sharajjans evolved on a hot, rocky planet with no large oceans and higher than average gravity. They are Type-1 bipeds averaging between 9 and 12 units in height with notably thick limbs and have relatively large, fleshy ears that adapted to radiate heat. They tend to be hairless and have thick, rough skin.

Culturally, since the nuclear catastrophe, the Sharajjans have insisted on peace and nonviolence. Obligate carnivores, they eat only lab-grown or otherwise artificial meat and do not hunt or kill animals. They are entirely demilitarized, and weapons of all kinds are illegal on their planets and in their ships. Most Sharajjans will not resist using physical force in any circumstance, abhorring violence as the cause of their near-extinction.

The expertise of Sharajjan scientists from former seed ship colonies has given them an edge in cryogenic technology, which is still in use in many places in the Imperium as a less expensive manner of transporting people long distances.