Peacekeepers of the Vast/Vesper

The Vesper are a species in the Interstellar League. They are politically organized into the Vesper Hierarchy, which is an associate member of the Interstellar League, represented by the Trilinthians as their Voting Member.

Biology

The Vesper are an arthropod species, standing around 1.75 m tall with six limbs; four of them function as "legs" while two function as "arms". Vesper grip strength is significant, and allows for easy movement across many surfaces; as such, their ships lack ladders, and instead feature a sort of fire-pole system for moving between compartments.

The Vesper require an atmospheric oxygen concentration above 21%; under this threshold, their biology is unable to function properly and death will occur within 15-20 minutes, with unconsciousness preceding. Humans briefly aboard Vesper ships have noted that the increased oxygen saturation does grant the usual effects on the Human physiology, but extended time aboard leads to headaches and bad sleep.

Vesper communication is developed from their biological ancestors' arthropod physiology, and includes vocalizations combined with physical contact, and pheromone secretion and sensation. Non-Vesper species often have a hard time picking up on the full meaning of Vesper communications, unless they are specifically intended for non-Vesper recipients; this leads to occasional cultural misunderstandings. Their writing system is somewhat more broadly comprehensible, as the concept of smell-o-vision still doesn't really work.

Political Organization

The Vesper Hierarchy comprises the vast majority of Vesper citizens on colonized worlds; there are not many Vesper involved in offworld polities that are not significantly similar to their own. Government within the Hierarchy takes the form of a constitutional monarchy.

The Vesper are ruled by a Queen, whose genetic lineage is widely believed (and demonstratively claimed to be) to descend from original ancestral arthropod colonies on Vesper IV. A number of castes of semi-specialized evolutionary expressions of Vesper physiology make up the different parliaments and councils that comprise the Hierarchy.

Colonies

• Persa IV

Civilian and Military Organizations of Note

The Vesper Merchant Navy officially comprises the shipping concerns of the Vesper civilization.