Von Detten

	Vehicle Type: Space

Information: An automated space ship of sorts sent by an unknown race. There’s really only one in the entire universe and all it does is send smaller probes out to explore alien planets, possibly in the search for life.

It’s believed that the probes are designed to look like the race from which this robotic space ship was constructed by, but who knows if that is really true or not. Those that have followed the ship take note that it only goes to planets emitting radio signals. The louder the radio chatter, the more likely it will be knocking at that empire’s door.

A lot of empires fear this ship, mostly because of the mystery behind it as to where it came from and what it is actually looking for.

5H-17

	Vehicle Type: Space

Information: This speedy little space ship is a single-seater with no weapons for offense or defense. It’s notorious for being a spy ship by some military empires because of its speed and small size. However, due to its unusual design, it has earned the popular nickname of Flying Poo-Poo in Earthling English. The brown and green paint job doesn’t really help the unfortunate nickname, but at least it doesn’t smell like dung.

Tahook

	Diet: Omnivore Danger Level: Medium Social Ability: Low

Information: A nasty creature that can rip out large chunks of flesh from anything it can get its jaws on. It was once believed to be poisonous, but it was discovered it lacks any kind of venom. Victims claiming to be poisoned by it were actually infected by air-borne bacteria and viruses.

They like to hang out in brightly colored jungle swamps where they can blend it effortlessly with the flora.

Okal

	Diet: Omnivore Danger Level: Low (Pack x10 - x25) Social Ability: Low

Information: This cute little bird likes to travel rainforest areas on foot. It only flies when trying to avoid predators and is known for some amazing mobility tactics when such an event occurs.

Occasionally, you’ll see one use the bulb on its tail to knock down fruit from trees branches too thin to support its weight. You can tell which ones are the most experience and who is just starting out by watching how they use the bulb. Those that break the branch with them are newbies. Those that are able to loosen the fruit but not break the branch are experienced experts.

The bulbs harden shortly after they hatch, and there are several pictures showing newborns accidentally knocking themselves out while playing. Most of these pictures end up as holographic "Get Well Soon" gift cards.

Mohop

Diet: Carnivore Danger Level: Low (Pack x5) Social Ability: Low Culture: Aggressive, Economic Galactic Class: N/A

Information: The only thing I know about this race that isn’t in their file is why they do not have a Galactic Class, but I’ll talk about that later.

First off, these guys are small. We are talking about the size of an Earth pea plant small. But they can jump great distances with little effort. Some members have been known to cross several thousand miles before getting tired. Or is that kilometers? I can’t tell.

The races is a civilized society with an emphasis on raw machine technology. Gears and cogs and springs and the like. It’s the only thing that keeps this race occupied long enough to cull their aggressive tendency. You would think that they would use their technological obsession to construct weapons of mass destruction. Thankfully, they have not, as their home planet is not capable of any kind of combustion. It’s a space phenomenon that has a lot of astro-biologists curious as to the atmosphere of the planet.

This is why they haven’t achieved a Galactic Class. Much like Earth, they need to have an active space program with colonies in other systems in order to qualify for one. Unlike Earth, they have yet to reach their own space age. But that hasn’t stopped them from communicating with other space races. Again, another space oddity that has a lot of people curious as to why that’s happening.

Patrenchilsatl

	Diet: Unknown (assumed Omnivore) Danger Level: Unknown Social Ability: Unknown Culture: Unknown Galactic Class: Trader

Information: Like the file suggests, there is not a lot known about this creature. Heck, I’ve never even come across it myself! But I have heard stories.

See, they often travel in groups of threes. The central figure will often do the talking for the other two, and they only appear to other races when it is of the most benefit to them. In other words, if they can gain something from meeting your race, they will show up. No doubt about that, and you’d be a fool to bet against it.

They often come baring gifts that will advance a culture several centuries ahead of where they currently are, both technologically and spiritually. Their intent is purely economic, but they only visit once and offer huge lump sums instead of a long-term trade agreement. On the face value, the trade seems like a net loss for them, as they often ask for things that are obsolete. However, observers of this race have noticed that the obsolete items they ask for are key components to their next big technological advancements that they trade to another race.

They never visit the same race twice.

The mystery behind their true intent as well as their culture as a whole has led several political powers to be, well, afraid of them. Even the most violent of warrior races fear these guys who have been often described as The Walking Death Bell by some translations.

They are also a secretive bunch. Those that have tried to observe their behavior often end up missing. Some believe that they end up being assimilated into the culture and sent off to continue their mysterious mission.

Spooky bunch, huh?

Trlaeubtn

	Vehicle Type: Space

Information: That’s the best I can translate its name to Earthling English.

It’s a rescue ship designed to transport refugees to safer planets and systems. The main bulk of the body is a rotating cabin. It spins around a core tunnel so that connects the engine room to the cockpit. The core has multiple doors so that the main cabin can still be accessed while it is rotating.

The rotation acts as a primitive artificial gravity for the various rooms. While traveling, it will keep at a constant speed in order produce centripetal force that pushes passengers to the outer wall. Upon re-entry, the cabin will upright itself in order not to injure passengers. This causes a moment of weightlessness just before the ship enters any atmosphere, much to the entertainment of child refugees.

They tend to be unarmed and always escorted by at least two smaller fighter ships from a neutral party during times of war.

Claw-Shark

	Vehicle Type: Space

Information: I got into a bit of a snag while I was in my culinary-induced nap. With this ship no less. It is a pirate vessel, so when you spot one or more in an area, you best get the blazes out of quadrant. The claws on either side are able to pry open even the most armored of ships. But where they get you is with the long-range weaponry. This baby can hit the small end of a single-passenger cruiser at a distance of the average width of an asteroid belt!

So, yeah, needless to say, I had a rude awakening and needed to get myself out of the area before suffering the penalties. Thankfully, I only suffered minor damage and was able to find a nice system to rest up and repair.

Why did Ross take over for a while?

I have to apologize for not posting for quite a while. We are getting a flood of information back from the exploration mission we launched back in September, and everyone here is both in a state of awe and panic. We are trying to organize everything, as well as write detailed reports based on transmissions being sent to us. Unfortunately, this takes time, since the planet is several light years away.

For now, Ross will be the one posting information he’s found from one of our back-up satellite databases.

I should also note that there are some alien races that are greatly affected by the ingredients that the Sammie empire uses in their dishes, many of which avoid those planets during the celebration of Icky Ta Maass due to their race being sent into a comatose state because of the food. (This information came from Al.) In Ross’s case, the Haxxor race just gets very drowsy.

I have to get back to work, but hopefully Ross will be on here again from wherever he is to continue posting.

~Zeek Slider

Heaullin

	Diet: Omnivore Danger Level: High (Predator) Social Ability: Low

Information: If you only knew how bloated I feel right now. Eating so much good food slows me down so bad. That’s kind of why I haven’t left the Sammie’s empire yet. I’m still digesting all the food I ate during their festival.

It’s a good thing I’m not too stuffed to post at least one more creature before I go back to this gluttonous coma I’ve found myself in for the last week.

Basically, this creature is a very aggressive monster that would rather rip you to shreds before figuring out what you are. The fact that it will eat anything makes it all the deadlier, so, needless to say, it is best to avoid at all costs.

Thankfully, there are so few of them in the universe that if you find a planet with them on it, you can avoid them altogether. Unless, of course, they become sentient, at which case you probably should run and hide.

The Sammie Sushi Empire

Diet: Omnivore Danger Level: Medium Social Ability: High Culture: Industrious, Economic Galactic Class: Trader

Information: Wow, sorry for the delay, but there’s several reasons why it took this long to post my so-called exclusive race to your database. For one, their home planet is rather difficult to find. Second, when I did find their home, they were in the middle of their month-long celebration known as Icky Ta Maass where they prepare and consume as much food as they can handle for the month. And for the record, a month on their planet is the equivalent to about three weeks of Earth’s time. So to be in the middle of it means that I will have about another week left before I can willingly leave the planet.

Don’t get me wrong, they are not keeping me hostage or anything. They are a friendly race, but during Icky Ta Maass, guests are encouraged to stay the entire duration of the celebration or they will miss out on some delicious food that may not be around after the party.

Anyway, now that I got that cultural trivia out of the way, let’s get down to some more historical things that would interest you guys on Earth.

The planet that the Sammie race live on is quite the oddity. Every evolutionary chain of their existence still lives and thrives on the surface, with a few others living under the water. So, from one point of view, they seem to practice cannibalism since they are essentially eating their own kind. But then again, some of you Earthlings eat monkeys despite a large pool of you guys foolishly believing that you weren’t an evolved form of that species of animal. But hey, who am I to judge? My race believes we spontaneously grew six arms and originally was a bird-beaked worm.

Anyway, as anyone who has eaten at any of the Sammie’s planets in their empire, the meat of their animal forms is so delicious that it is often severed raw. There is no need to cook it, as introducing heat actually spoils the taste and causes all kind of nasty illnesses. Because of this, they’ve developed a method of preparing food exactly like the Earth Asian delight known as sushi. Ironically, they call it sushi as well! Great minds think alike, I suppose.

Each Sammie family has a unique technique and a trademark secret recipe that they pass on from generation to generation. To learn the secret is an honor, but the real challenge brought on by the new generation is to take this family secret and modify it to make it better. Those that succeed often bring great wealth to their family, but even the most mediocre chef is able to produce a meal worthy of a repeat visit.

	Vehicle Type: Sea Class: E Armor: 42% Threat Level: 26% Speed: 32%
	Vehicle Type: Land Class: E Armor: 23% Threat Level: 31% Speed: 46%
	Vehicle Type: Air Class: E Armor: 12% Threat Level: 19% Speed: 69%

Information: Even though they run normal forms of transportation, they do have some unique vehicles that are appropriately themed for their enterprise. Early on, they were a sea-based delivery system, supplying food to each other in an attempt to better the planet. It made sense, because all they had to do was split up the catch among the various port towns. Sammies that started early on in this industry eventually grew very wealthy and continue to supply the planet with the various fish and marine life found in their local waters. As their empire grew, so did the variety of sea life and the vastness of their menu.

Around the same time, they developed land-based transports that were used to deliver both orders and supplies to customers and cooks alike. Just because the majority of the Sammies can cook doesn’t mean they all can, and what few business tycoons that found this out became just as wealthy as their sea-based suppliers. An interesting cultural trivia to take note of is that whenever these vehicles are seen on the road, other drivers pull to the side in order to let them pass. The story is that there was once an order placed by a customer who was on the verge of starving to death, and by the time the order got to its destination, the customer had died from starvation. The cause? Traffic jams.

Now as far as their air ship goes, that’s all for show. See, their planes are often used for marketing purposes, as they are completely impractical for transporting anything, let alone members of their own race! It’s a wonder how the laws of aerodynamics works with it given the unusual shape. However, any highly televised event that doesn’t have a Sammie Sushi Bar as a sponsor is not spending their money very wisely. It is whispered among the universal rich and influential that a Sammie sponsorship will bring in large amounts of monetary capital to anyone that signs a contract with them. The reason being is because they already make enough money on their own that they have more than enough to give back for the chance at advertising their product.

	Structure Type: Commercial
	Structure Type: Industrial
	Structure Type: Residential

Information: Their buildings are the same way. There are normal, non-descript buildings throughout their empire, but the ones that stand out are dedicated to their craft. It used to be that their entire product was produced within their restaurants. These buildings were modest in their scale, but housed at least two floors. The first floor was where all the dinner guests would go and eat all they can eat. The upper floor was reserved for private functions and parties. Whenever there wasn’t anything reserved for the day, large parties would be seated there. The kitchen sat in the middle of the circular building to insure quick distribution.

Eventually, the kitchen was slimmed down when the demand for food starting to increase to a frantic pace. Everything, with the exception of the sushi themselves, is prepared offsite and flash frozen. You can tell which of these prepping factories were the first to be built because they are closer to the restaurants than the ones they build now. The reason is because of the dislike of freezing and then reheating food for the guest. The trade off is that these historic locations actually make more money than the newer locations, despite having the same menu and the same quality of food. Why? Because they sell their novelty of being a historic landmark. And I mean they really sell it! Offering tours to first-time guests as well as to any large party investors that may be stopping by the planet for a quick meal is just a hint of their methods.

There is only one house in all of the residential areas that is unique enough to call attention to. It is the mansion of the Sammie chef that discovered sushi. The residents of this particular house will often give tours of the main floor, but the family will never let anyone see their private bedrooms located on the upper floor of the two sushi-shaped towers. The family is currently in their 103rd generation, so it kind of gives you an idea of how long the Sammie Empire has been at this business of making sushi and essentially dominating the food market in their area of space.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I still have an Earth’s week worth of food to enjoy!

Blowie

	Diet: Carnivore Danger Level: Low Social Ability: Low

Information: Huh, that’s interesting. You guys have a record of a fish that is only found on the planet that makes the universe’s best sushi. It’s similar to your Earth blowfish from the Asian waters, but it walks instead of swims. Another interesting note of trivia is that it is also amphibious.

Yes, the records show no relationship to the Sammies, which is interesting. In fact, it doesn’t look like you have a record of the Sammies to begin with!

I think I found my exclusive race to report on for you guys!

Holy Dove

	Vehicle Type: Space

Information: This spaceship is designed to look like, as its name suggests, an Earth Dove and is primarily used by religious zealots who travel the galaxy aggressively forcing their belief system on anyone and anything capable of conversation.

Sound familiar?

The Mighty Saucer

	Structure Type: Government

Information: From what I remember, this building used to give public tours of the area until a terrorist act caused them to shut down the entire building. I don’t remember much about the building, but they had an excellent cafeteria!

Cheese Wheel

	Vehicle Type: Land Class: R Armor: 28% Threat Level: 29% Speed: 43%

Information: Not much is known about this vehicle, but whenever I’ve come across it, it’s normally used in traveling circus shows as the clown car.

Romance Boat

	Vehicle Type: Sea Class: E Armor: 27% Threat Level: 53% Speed: 20%

Information: I believe Earth has these, but they go under a different name and they aren’t powered by an electric battery. I think they’re called Paddle Boats.

Battle Bike

	Vehicle Type: Land Class: M Armor: 33% Threat Level: 34% Speed: 33%

Information: A variation on the sport Kraksharr exists called Macha-Bike. The premise is the same, but the rules are different. Instead of pitting two players against each other, it is more like a death race where racers arm themselves in these bikes. The winner is determined two ways. The first is who crosses the finish line still in one piece or with the majority of the bike still in tack. The second is whoever is left the lone surviver.

Mach Mi

	Vehicle Type: Land Class: M Armor: 16% Threat Level: 42% Speed: 42%

Information: A popular sport among the violent races is known as Kraksharr. Loosely translated to Earthling English, it means “drag boom.”

The basic idea is to put two dragster cars, heavily armed, at either end of a long strip of road. At the sound of the bell, they fire up their jets and charge at the other at ramming speed. The entertainment starts when you realize that both players in this game are allowed to fire all sorts of weapons at each other with the intent of blowing the other vehicle sky high. If neither can destroy the opponents vehicle in time, the two will crash into each other. While rare, it is often the largest explosion you’ll ever find in a professional death sport.

Naturally, gambling on who the winner will be is legal wherever this sport is held, though places where the sport is actually legal are few and far between in my experience.

PDWAT Unit

	Vehicle Type: Land Class: M Armor: 25% Threat Level: 50% Speed:25%

Information: The acronym stands for Police Department Walking Assault Tank. As a walking assault tank, it is primarily used for situations and scenarios where the criminal has holed themselves into a building that conveniently has a large cache of assault weapons. You know, like in your Earth action movies.

For security reason, any Police department that has these only has one PDWAT per police district office. This is to insure that they can quickly locate any stolen units should something happen and it falls into the wrong hands.

Golden East Buildings

Heh, sorry about not posting any updates until now. Those art documentaries are just so fascinating to me, despite the fact that my race primarily favors technology and engineering information. I guess I’m just different and can see something they don’t.

Oh well, while I was visiting The Art House, I discovered a new section of the city of Aamsef had been redeveloped with and Earth Asian motif.

	Structure Type: Government

Information: This impressive building is apparently the districts governing office. The two towers are said to represent the two functions of government: the legal side and the diplomatic side. They have a very impressive court room where guests can take tours when there isn’t a state trial going on. It’s rather beautiful, I have to admit. Naturally, they wouldn’t let anyone in to the diplomatic side of the building for security reason.

On the tour, they will often point out various form of ancient artwork that traces the history of the building and/or the governing body. It's a rather boring tour unless you like history. Which I don't.

	Structure Type: Residential

Information: Now, what’s interesting about this area is that these houses seem to dot the area at an enormous rate! From what I was told, they are the homes of the various actors and actresses that perform nightly at one of the many theatres in the district. They are paid for by the government as a tribute to their art and craft in entertaining. The most successful actors don’t have bigger houses, which I like. I wish we would adopt that on my "ex"-home world with how we celebrate inventors and engineers, but it’s a cultural thing.

	Structure Type: Commercial

Information: These buildings are the giant theatres that dominate the area. They form a wall that surrounds the district and each one features a different stage play. Now, they are not strictly limited to the Earth Asian style of theatre. They do all sorts of art forms from around the universe! The largest of these building is an intergalactic art gallery displaying works that have been collected from various planets.

The art gallery has been under protest form its construction, from what I understand. Something about questionable methods used when acquiring certain items. Many races have gone so far to say that they were stolen from their home planets or empires!

The Art House

	Structure Type: Commercial

Information: I don't care what anyone says. I like visiting this place whenever I'm in the Ethal system. They show some really interesting documentaries and beautifully shot films. I can't say the same thing about some of the stories, and I don't like reading my films (especially since they don't offer any universal translators at the theatre), but for the price you pay is still worth the artistry you'll see.

Now that I think about it, I think I'll jump over to the Ethal system and pay a visit. I haven't seen a good art film in a long time.

Fat Dart

	Vehicle Type: Space

Information: Once bragged as the fastest ship in all the galaxy even though it looks like a watermelon with an obsessive amount of jets, it was bumped out of that title about thirty Earth years ago by another ship that was able to complete the Kessel Run faster than it could. Since then, this ship has been used in smuggling runs for wanna-be drug lords that will ultimately get caught.

Abode

	Structure Type: Residential

Information: You would think having six arms I would be more efficient, but I'm not. One of my six hands bumped a button and the next thing I knew, my long-range radio dish was sent flying into space. Oh well, I have four other hands to construct a new one while I type these updates for Zeek and Al.

According to the data on this building, it's just a simple house with no furniture other than a bed, a chair, and a desk. It's designed as a form of galactic urban development that is affordable for low-income families. Still, it doesn't look like it offers much living space.

Holy Hall of State

	Structure Type: Government

Information: Basically, a building that used to be a church and was turned into a city hall due to the religion gaining too much power and influence over its people. Whatever works for whoever, I guess.

Ohseadee

	Diet: Omnivore Danger Level: Low Social Ability: Low Culture: Industrious, Economic Galactic Class: Trader

Information: These guys are weird. They do things by the book, by the numbers, and are obsessed with making sure things are always in order. If even one thing is out of order or a number is off by even the smallest of fractions, the entire race loses it! Their planet is so organized that it’s a wonder why they didn’t try to straighten out the rivers and make sure the evaporation rate of the atmosphere is at a constant rate.

They hate visitors, by the way. It disrupts their normal behavior and daily routine. They tend to keep to themselves, and rightly so if you as me.

Pollination Package

	Vehicle Type: Land Class: E Armor: 26% Threat Level: 53% Speed: 21%

Information: The way I understand it is that this vehicle delivers a variety of products from all over the planet to places that need it for one reason or another. You know, like if you need a blanket, it will find a place that has blankets and then deliver the blanket to you. Only the products it delivers are kind of strange and often go unnoticed unless by random chance you end up seeing it deliver something you’ve never seen before.

Yeah, it’s a confusing piece of work with just as confusing use.

The Big Banger

	Vehicle Type: Sea Class: M Armor: 15% Threat Level: 73% Speed: 12%

Information: This bad boy is a slow moving assault ship that can take out a dock-side turret in a single, well-aimed shot! Or so I’m told. Unfortunately, because it runs heavily armed, it’s easy to blow up if you can land a well-aimed bomb on to its large deck. Carrying all that military power at once does bite you in the most painful part of the back side.

I bet you're wondering what happened.

Hey guys! If you're reading this (that means you guys reading this entry and not Zeek and Al), that means the server outage is going on longer than expected. Those little monsters are tough, huh?

In any event, while traveling the cosmos, I found one of your data satellites that must have fell out of orbit and just drifted off somewhere. I bet you’ll be surprised to know that it’s up to date to just before the data crash happened!

Because I seem to be the only one that has access now to the blog, I’ll be posting all these updates for you! How’s that? It should be fun!!

Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll be putting the proper labels on them so that you readers can find them easily. I’m still looking for that exclusive knew race for your records, but I figure it’s best to just update the blog as best as I can since you guys on Earth are kind of out of commission right now.

You know what? I think this message was meant more for Zeek and Al than it was to the readers. Oh well!

Later!
Ross

Spode's Vessel

	Vehicle Type: Space

Information: When the followers of a deity known as Spode made it to the galactic space age, they took the idea of a space "ship" to a very literal place. Everything from the solar sails to the automatic ore fans have been mocked by any space race that encounters this ship. Their laughter has resulted in a quick display of the ship's destructive power.

The followers of Spode are known to have a large cache of WMDs that should be avoided at all cost.

~Zeek Slider

I-RV (E-Class)

	Vehicle Type: Space

Information: Advertised as an interplanetary recreational vehicle, it comes equipped with all the needed gadgets for anyone that wishes to camp among the stars in the very literal sense of the phrase. Mounted on the central back is a series of radio dishes that can send and receive four different forms of alien radio waves for those trips where you find yourself hopelessly lost. The upper cabin is where the commanding bridge is located while the lower is designed for living space with an intent of sight seeing.

Interestingly enough, some models of this ship include a few civilian-class weapons as an added option. They are often advertised as the "thrill seeker" model.

~Zeek Slider

Traditional Saucer

	Vehicle Type: Space

Information: We've fallen behind. There's no hiding that. We've had a few "incidents," and then there's Al completely abandoning his job in the name of trying to find out what has happened to his race, so things have piled up. That said, I'll be trying to post some of the simpler profiles, which are mostly buildings and space ships.

This file is one of the oldest. Remember those old science fiction movies that feature pie-tin flying saucers? Well, it should come to nobody's surprise that this particular kind of model does exist in the galaxy. It is often used in solo exploration missions and traded as needed. As such, no one particular race is associated with this model.

The interior of this ship is not like how it is depicted in the films. In fact, it's rather cramp. There is no real cargo bay of any kind, but it does posses a kind of molecular replicator which will take atomic data from laser scans and replicate biological life using elements from the air and earth. However, it cannot create life in the traditional sense. If anything, it creates corpses for scanned life for study.

~Zeek Slider

Nosiwee Buildings

	Structure Type: Government

Information: This building is known as the Tree of Wisdom by the Nosiwee race. Al's been furiously digging into the information associated with this race and these buildings in the hope of contacting them, but from the information provided about this building, there appears to be no way of making contact with it. For one, the building is primarily made out of wood with stone blocks acting as supports for the upper chamber. Due to their ability to fly, access to the governmental offices are strictly air-based. There is a door on the ground floor, but access to the higher areas is kept under tight security, which is strange for a reportedly peaceful race. What little information we have on the inner workings of this building suggest that the Nosiwee that gather there channel their psychic energy in order to observe the best path to take in global matters and intergalactic politics.

	Structure Type: Commercial

Information: The Coop Club is an oddly designed building that defies the law of gravity. Though each wooden bulb is connected to the other via a stone stairwell, there is noting supporting the actual weight of the building underneath it. The only thing more mysterious about this building is the top VIP room. There is no information about what goes on in that room. The rest of the building apparently is attuned to specific alternate realities based on their position in space. It is here where the Nosiwee go to entertain themselves by observing the most extreme "what if" scenarios.

	Structure Type: Residential

Information: The housing structure for the Nosiwee are a series of elevated duplexes. They are built extremely high to prevent members of the race from accessing the private homes of others through flight. The only way into any of these buildings is through a secured elevator or stairwell. Both are locked by a form of psychic technology that can only be opened through brain waves. Once in the actual living area, the view is said to be spectacular. The structure even has an open common patio for anyone who wishes to spend their time out doors instead of inside. Though the interior is said to be just as lovely and fully furnished.

~Zeek Slider