Argalian

Argalians are native to the planet Argalia, a planet not unlike Earth, with approximately 75% of the surface covered in water.

Although Argalians are mammals, the more politically incorrect regions of the galaxy, and children, tend to refer to them as the jellyfish heads. Their skulls are translucent, showing the brain and top of the spinal cord; the rest of the body is semi-translucent, showing visible transparency when the skin is stretched, such as during pregnancy. Argalian skin comes in various shades of pink, and has a general sheen to it, although the skin is not oily or rubbery in any way. Rather than a skeleton made from bone, Argalians have a cartilage skeleton which also accounts for their great flexibility.

In the place of head hair, the Argalians have flexible tentacles that wrap around the skull. These can be moved independently by the Argalian, and were once used as a defence mechanism during the species early development; many Argalian children have been known to use their head tentacles in this manner when being raised in mixed-species environments.

Iasci

The Iasci are an aquatic species that originate from the planet Iasc which lies within the Carina-Sagittarius Arm of the galaxy. Iasc is a wetland planet, where large pools, lakes and rivers are surrounded by dense forests, and large areas of the planet are covered in a light mist.

Iasci are able to survive for a limited time out of the climate of their home world but if they are away from the dampness for too long, their scales begin to dry out and they have difficulty breathing. To enable prolonged interaction with the galactic community, the Iasci wear ‘wet’ suits to keep their bodies moist, and they wear water collars around their necks and gills. The collars constantly filter the water via a small pump, removing carbon dioxide and continually replenishing the dissolved oxygen content. The suits and collars are not worn at home, where the atmosphere is kept as damp as their wetland home world, and where there is a swimming pool or waterbed within diving distance. Visitors to an Iasci household will tend to wear more water-resistant clothing, and an Iasci host will always have a supply of mini-rebreathers on hand should the guest find breathing difficult in the damp atmosphere.

Indrogeno

From the ocean planet Aigua, the Indrogeno are an eel-like species that cannot survive outside of water like some aquatics.

Indrogeno males are slimmer and longer than the females, with darker skin and a significantly longer illicium. Historically, the illicium were used to lure smaller sea-dwelling creatures, much like the Earth anglerfish. Over the last few hundred years, as the Indrogeno developed more efficient methods of food production, the luring of prey has gradually ceased to be part of the species’ day-to-day lifestyle.

All Indrogeno starships have to be filled with water, which initially led to very few of their kind venturing out into the wider galaxy. The difficulty in building and launching such a ship from the ocean was such a mammoth engineering challenge that very few ships were built. In more recent times, contact with other galactic species, and eventual admission into the GSF, has allowed to Indrogeno to contract out the construction of their ships.

Some Indrogeno interact with the greater galaxy in mechanised bubbles, but most find this an undignified and awkward way to conduct oneself and therefore very few are seen to do so. The only known Indrogeno to use the bubbles serve on the SCS Galileo as members of the science team. There are only 3 entirely Indrogeno crews in the Space Corps aboard the SCS Ura, Voda, and Akvo; each ship has a relatively small ‘dry deck’ to cater for non-Indrogeno visitors.

Tintahal

The Tintahal originate from the planet Grinthal in the α-quadrant and evolved from one of the planets numerous cephalopod species. There is no direct comparison to any Earth-based species but visually they are a cross between a squid and an octopus; they are physically more squid-like with elongated bodies; however they have 8 tentacles and their heads lack the spear-like protrusions of a squid.

The four lower tentacles are incredibly strong as these are the primary swimming appendages, and are used by the Tintahal to ‘walk’ when out of water. Their preference is to remain naked but choose to wear a minimal and modest style of clothing when interacting with the wider galactic community, regardless of the fact that they do not have outwardly visible genitalia and lack of mammary glands.

Grinthal is 90% water, including the two frozen polar regions, with thousands of small equatorial islands. making up the remaining 10%. The equatorial islands are home to a number of crab and tortoise-like species as well as a multitude of plant and insect species. Mammals are not native to Grinthal and their introduction is kept to a minimal number of closely regulated and licensed species that are kept as pets by the Tintahal.

All native Tintahal technology is organic based powered by bioelectrogenesis, and they use a variety of coral species to grow their towns and cities.

Ionians

The Ionians are a calm and genteel people; at least they are once they’ve reached adulthood. Like most species throughout the galaxy, their children are enthusiastic, energetic, and very excitable. As their body chemistry begins to change, so does their disposition. Once they have passed through the sullen and moody teenage phase they come out the other end as a well-adjusted individual and after completing the rite of accession, they have complete control over their emotions.

Due to their calm nature, Ionians make excellent traders and negotiators as they do not allow their emotions to interfere with proceedings. The slight whistle in every Ionians speech also appears to help calm even the most excitable species, even the notoriously boisterous Gregorans. As a result, the Diplomatic Corps has the highest proportion of Ionians than any other section of the GSF.

The gravity on Ionia is approximately 75% that of Earth, which has resulted in Ionians being one of the tallest species in the galaxy. Consequentially, their buildings and spacecraft have high ceilings, and many of the ship controls are overhead. This has led to there being very few Ionian craft outside Ionian ownership and those that are have been heavily retrofitted to accommodate the average galactic citizen.

Ionians serve meals in the form of a small ceremony which traces its origin back to when most believed in some form of deity. Like many species, the Ionians no longer hold on to these out-dated beliefs, but continue the tradition as a way of thanking the animal or plant for giving up its life to sustain the Ionian; even if the meal was produced from an EnMat Convertor.

Calaxians

Calaxians are cold-blooded, or poikilotherms to be more precise, once of the few known mammals in the galaxy to be poikilothermic. This is not generally a problem on their home world of Calax, which has a relatively stable climate and a higher than average surface temperature  On other worlds, this has led to mixed misconceptions about Calaxians. On colder worlds, Calaxians tend to wear numerous layers of clothing covering almost every accessible surface of their skin, which leads the locals to believe that they are very introverted. On worlds where the temperature is warmer than their native Calax the opposite is true. Calaxians will wander the streets in as little clothing as they feel they can get away with, which leaves the locals believing they are unashamed exhibitionists. This combined with their forked tongues has also led to the further misconception that Calaxians evolved from serpent-like creatures; however, the evidence strongly indicates that they evolved from a small, hairless and cold-blooded primate originating from what is now the largest equatorial continent on Calax. Regardless, a forked tongue definitely males for an interesting French kiss.

All Calaxians are born with white hair, which changes colour during puberty. The colour of a Calaxians hair will match the colour of their eyes, which suggest that the eye colour dictates the hair colour; however, research indicates that the opposite is true. Regardless, a, Calaxians will know what colour hair they are going to have long before they reach puberty and therefore can't prevent the teasing of lilac-haired children, even before the colour change takes effect. Their pupils are asterisk shaped with an out-ward-slanting slash through the centre.

Though not one of the founding members of the GSF, Calaxians were instrumental in the independent mediation during the drawing up of the original GSF charter, and were the third non-GTU species to be admitted into the GSF.

Genmetics

Genmetics is the medical practice of genetic cosmetics and they are one of the few regulated and legal forms of genetic manipulation in the galaxy. Seen as the holy grail of cosmetic alteration, genmetics has replaced traditional cosmetic surgery in all but the poorest regions of the galaxy, and is seen as a much safer alternative. Depending on what outcome is required, some changes are permanent while others are temporary to spur the required change, and are then restored to the patients original coding once the desired change has occurred.

The changes that can be made using legal genmetics are limited to those physical characteristics of the species; i.e. it is not possible for a Human to change their hair pink and grow the antennae of an Antaran. The most common practices throughout the galaxy revolve around those practices, surgical or otherwise, carried out by many species to change their appearance.

As with most things which grated against the status-quo, genmetics was not without controversy. Whilst procedures do not require the manual cutting and manipulation of a patient’s body, changing of their genetic makeup, even on a temporary basis, can be problematic. Today, the risk is negligible and issues only tend to arise when patients do not heed their doctor’s warnings to rectify any issues. This is not to say that genmetics has not had headline grabbing incidents. One such incident occurred during the early days when only the Anderson Institute, based in Los Angeles, Earth, offered the treatment. Ms. Ivona Sykora was obsessed with cosmetic surgery and had had undergone surgery on more than 100 occasions. As one of the earliest to undergo the treatment she refused to heed the advice of her doctor to have her genes restored. A medical order was finally issued and she spent the rest of her life in a bizarre state of ecstasy with breasts the size of small bungalows, lips the size of tractor tyres, and a backside larger than a double-decker bus.