Casstauilli

General Information

Species Name: Casstauilli
Homeworld: Casstaul & Resshixs
Base: Ophidioid
Mode Of Governance: Monarch, headed by the Arch Duchess
Tech Level: (Alpha: Pre Warp. Beta: Warp Capable. Delta: Able to harness ALL available resources. Gamma: Q level.) Beta

Physical Descriptors

Casstaulli can range from five to ten metres in length, with size neither denoting gender or station within society. They are closely related to the Ophidia of Earth, in the fact they arose from large invertebrate reptiles with overlapping scales and cold bloodedness. In their evolution they retained the use of forelegs as they grew in intelligence, becoming quite adept tool users and insightful philosophers.

A cornucopia of species traits can be seen throughout Casstauilli society, from downer and plain patterns of scales, to flaring hoods of impressive design. These features are often augmented through the use of dyes and staining agents.

Key Points

On the arid moon of Casstaul, the ancestral home of their race, they dress in simple mass produced wares and aspire to little technical innovation. Fibre optics and microwave transmitters are the height of their society, as seen to by the Myriad who act as their overlords.

But within the clouds of Resshixs, on one of the many floating cities that hide within the clouds of the gas giant, they dress richly in veils and shawls of molecularly treated silks and spun meta diamond.

But this dichotomy is not an advent of evolution, as both Casstaulli and Resshixi are of the same species. It is a ploy used over the past three hundred years to hide away the advanced nature of their society from the prying and harmful intent of the Myriad. When the Casstaulli first ventured into space, they did so not to spread out in all directions but to explore and know fully all things. They spent a long time in their own solar system, and it was through this dedication they learned of the Myriad. A survivor from a world euthanised by their ire limped to Casstaul, and warned them.

“If the Myriad visit your world, leave.”

With the evidence of the alien and their warp vessels’ records, the Casstaulli began a crash program of development and concealment. Evidence of their spread across their star system was eradicated and obfuscated, and the creation of the first ariel metrpollis’s in Resshix’s atmopshere began. Their great work took a hundred years (1534CE) and in their success they divided their society in two. One would remain hidden, advanced and always preparing for the day of their unveiling. The second would exist on Casstaul, depicting a prewarp culture on the cusp of breaking out into the unknown.

This ruse was used without need for nearly 30 years, before the Myriad arrived. A single ship entered orbit, revealing itself as the beneficial ambassador of a grand interstellar trading empire. Over the centuries that followed the home system of the Casstaulli was pillaged, the asteroid belts mined, the lesser moons and worlds of their home system ravaged by the unscruplious greed.

But they await their moment, preparing for the day that will signal the end of the Myriad’s hold over Messier 4.

The Burning Of Casstaul & The Exodus

With the knowledge that there was an advanced race within Messier 4 friendly to Federation interests, it was decided to approach the Casstaulli in regards to an official First Contact and the opening of diplomatic relations. The USS Traveller, with its history and working relationship with the Casstaulli diplomat Mazarian, was chosen for this mission. Arriving on the outskirts of the system the Traveller discovered a camouflaged starship hiding in the Oort Cloud. This turned out to be the current instantiation of an artificial being calling itself Innocent Bystander, the progeny of the Benefactor who had sheltered the Casstaulli so many centuries before.

Following this discovery, the Traveller sent a stripped-down fighter on a ballistic course across the system with a one time use quantum communication system, which would allow the larger Starship to perform a micro slipstream jump into the upper atmosphere of Resshixi. Once within the shielding clouds of Resshixi the Traveller docked with the megastructure created by the Casstaulli to house their population from the Myriad: the City Of Brass. Once docked within the City of Brass the crew of the Traveller were greeted with welcome arms by most of the officials of Casstual.

But no sooner had talks begun, than word reached them that their ancestral homeworld, still populated with a token civilisation, was aflame. Using a Prior device called a Spitting Cobra, the Myriad had unleashed a close-range Coronal Mass Ejection event. They then turned that weapon onto the clouds of Resshixi, and the Traveller's crew and the Casstaulli rushed to evacuate. During a battle held high above the clouds of Resshixi the Traveller was able to deploy one of Starfleet's new Silver Bullets, subspace weapons banned by Milky Way treaty but allowed in intergalactic space. The weapon's effectiveness was not witnessed, as the Traveller warped away with the Castaulli following them.