Mendazians

Created by Captain Nycolas Temple on Fri Dec 11th, 2020 @ 5:45am

The Mendazians were a humanoid race from the planet Salvaxe, located within the Expanse. Starfleet first observed the planet during the USS Merrimack’s initial crossing of the region in 2376, noting they were a non space-faring but technologically advanced race, entirely self-contained in their quiet pocket of the Expanse.

Origins:

The Merrimack crew believed the race were once a colony of the Talarians; owing to the protruding lobe on the crown of their head, and use of similar imagery on insignias and decorations. However, their populace has developed entirely independently and separately over the course of their history, having no existing ties or interactions with their founding species. According to current star charts, the planet is not listed within Talarian territory, nor do they acknowledge the planet’s existence.


Most notably, the Mendaz live without the militaristic focus and patriarchy found in their biological ancestors, indicating the species founders had purposely split from the Talarian home world at some point in their prior history, in order to establish a more peaceful existence. This has lead to a boom in progress on technological and societal advancements; as they have become an enlightened and intellect-focused species.

Interactions with other species:

Owing to the Prime Directive, the USS Merrimack observed the Mendaz from a safe distance, as the planet lacked the facilities for space-travel or inter-planetary communication; however satellite sensors were present in their lower atmosphere. Curiously, they found the major cities of Salvaxe to be highly protected through strong dome-like shields and the presence of missile silos. Further studies concluded the species to be entirely self-contained and inwardly focused, disinterested but perhaps still aware of the wider galaxy around them.

Physiology:

Much like the Talarians, Mendazians were characterised by a distinctive enlargement of the coronal area of the skull extending in two lobes to the back of the head. However, their lobes are not hairless, and indeed Mendaz hair was generally longer and noticeably thicker, often worn at length in a singular ponytail on both males and females. They also appeared to be at least 30 centimetres taller on average than their distant cousins, with more upright and stronger postures. Their skin tone is also darker, the presence of dual suns in the local system equating to a more olive-to-light brown appearance. The Merrimack observed they were generally of superior physical fitness, with only a tiny number of recorded Mendazians appearing to be over weight and obesity was entirely non-existent.

Home World:

Salvaxe is an L-class planet, slightly larger than the size of Mercury in the Sol system, with a radius of 3440 kilometres. The local region also contains two stars, around 124 million kilometres away from the planet. One star is similar to the Sol system’s sun in size, but only 84 percent as bright. The second star is diminutive, measuring only one-third the size of Sol’s sun and less than one percent as bright. The planet rotates around largest star and a complete orbit takes roughly 303 days.


The population was estimated to be over 100 million people. The people were mostly contained within the twin cities of Verdade and Mentiras, on either horizontal pole of the planet. They were both generally equal in size, advancement and development, enclosed within a circular border wall and dome shield. Outside of Verdade was the farming and agriculture zones, while Mentiras was surrounded by the manufacturing industries. The USS Merrimack observed a central Parliament at Mentiras city, heralded by a significantly tall, narrow building in the city centre.

Due to the conditions of the planet, their food sources are entirely from vegetation grown from a large series of man-made cultured crop fields, greenhouses, and orchards, thus making the Mendazians solely vegetarians. It is possible that other vitamins are synthesised by replicator technology, given their significantly advanced abilities.

Society:

Within the Mendazians, intellect, education, and progressive ideas are the ruling caste of society; a highly enlightened and philosophical species that praised new technologies, advancement of their self-reliant civilisation, and protection of their intellectual freedoms.

Unlike their Talarian cousins, the Mendaz are an equal society, with either genders able to hold any position within government, politics, or society. In addition, while it appeared some advanced weaponry exists, including their dome shields around the cities, the Salvaxe military appeared to be only a defensive measure and did not play a notable role in their civilisation. The Age of Decision was not present on Salvaxe, and children were encouraged to compete intellectually, though peacefully and based on the merits of logical argument.


Money and economics were entirely non-existent, similar to the advanced thinking of Federation society. The Mendaz work for each other and share their resources equally amongst themselves. Though there were clearly delineation of duties between those who farm and produce goods, and those who govern and lead; they were observed with the same regard for one another. Housing was similar between both cities, as living domains were on average of equal size and endowment regardless of occupation.

The Talarian influence in the Mendaz was still present in other ways — as observed by ritual bowing as a sign of respect on multiple occasions. It was generally regarded as a way of greeting one another, with closer bows reserved for family members and friends. In addition, a Mendazian funeral was punctuated by a chorus of high-pitched shrieking and rocking back and forth, lasting around seven and a half minutes; a shorter, modern adaption of the ritual of B’Nar.

It is unclear if the Mendazian’s isolationist state is a symptom of xenophobia against other species (much like their Talarian ancestors), or whether they have any contact with outside planets at all. Given their lack of interplanetary communication and travel, it is assumed that they are not involved with events outside of their planet. However, the presence of their strong protections and weaponry, they must be aware that other species exist in some capacity. Further analysis of the history of their species would discover why this has come to be.

Government:

The planet was ruled by a senate, the Boquilla, consisting of eight to ten Mendazian Elders, those who were deemed of the highest intelligence and esteem in Salvaxe society. The Merrimack witnessed the beginning of a Boquilla election during their observation period, noting it was a contest between the brightest and most progressive ideas. There appeared to be a higher focus of election events around the city of Mentiras, where the Parliament was located; however it is believed both cities had either four or five Senators each, creating equal representation.

The harmony of society is generally maintained by a strong sense of pride in their planet and cities, with no obvious police force visible within the city walls. While it appeared the borders around the cities did contain noticeable garrison-like structures, the existence of security forces could not be determined. It is unclear how law and order is administered on the planet.

Technology:

Due to the dual suns in Salvaxe’s system, the planet was entirely solar-powered, as evident by the large screens present on the roofs of almost every building in the twin cities. Recycling plants ensured their society was entirely environmentally responsible, and contained no wastage.

Federation observers noticed small flight-capable vehicles in the sky around Verdade and Mentiras, however no interstellar space industry was present. Further observations noticed the used of personal transports between short distances, indicating they had beaming technology present. In addition, a circular monorail ran around each of the cities, also powered by solar energy.

A long underground tunnel was believed to travel between Verdade and Mentiras, as subterranean scans revealed this was typically how the Mendaz travelled between the two cities, without requiring the lowering over their dome shields. It is unknown if this tunnel was also capable of other facilities, as the Merrimack could not ascertain their exact construction.

The cities were covered by large domes of Deflector Shields, emanating from the border walls around them. Though the Merrimack did not witness their full power, it was clear from the Shield Generators located within the cities that they were of significant magnitude that could theoretically equate to the density and resistance of a modern Federation Space-station.

Weaponry was detected on the planet’s surface, with scans revealing several missile silos surrounding the cities, another means of protection for the species. It gave the clear impression that they were isolationist and preferred to keep it that way.