Scarabs
The largest representation of offworlder humans, the Scarabs are a loosely-organized confederation of nomadic vessels which spent decades isolated from the rest of humanity in the uncharted frontier due to the Interstellar War. The Scarabs are a population of hardy survivors who are adept at surviving in the void of space and possess a unique culture which is a result of their decades of isolation in the frontier, where a single mistake could spell death.
Scarabs traditionally have two surnames, with the first being a family name and the second being the vessel the Scarab originates upon. In terms of an on-server, your character should pick between one or the other.
History
What would become the modern Scarab Fleets has its roots in what the Solarian government referred to as Colony Fleet SFE-528-RFS, or Solarian Frontier Expedition #528 (Riphean Frontier Sector). Fleet 528 was organized by the Solarian Department of Colonization and intended to serve as an initial survey and colonization fleet in the Riphean Frontier Sector. Intended to be launched in 2268, several years after the start of the Second Great Depression, the Fleet was ultimately granted a significantly smaller budget than originally anticipated due to the unexpected economic collapse of the Solarian economy. The bureaucrats in the Solarian government responsible for its funding, desperate to save money wherever they could, cut what they believed would be the least important aspect of the ships: their gravity generators. These were, after all, a large expense and would only be needed for a few years before Fleet 528’s vessels reached the Riphean Frontier Sector (modern-day Arusha) and established a presence on worlds which already had gravity. It simply made economic sense to divert the funding, and strip the machinery out.
At the time of its launch in 2268 Fleet 528 was expected to reach the Central Solarian Frontier (the modern Coalition) by the early 2270s, and would reach the Riphean Frontier Sector by the mid-2270s. Long-range communication by the Fleet would have to rely upon interstellar communication stations throughout the Solarian Alliance. These stations, while primitive and clunky by the standards of the 25th century, would ensure the Fleet remained in contact with the Alliance and received updates from them such as stellar navigation assistance — a critical component of remaining on-course in the mostly uncharted frontier they were located in. Without this, the Fleet would quickly find themselves lost in a hostile region which had only been previously explored by survey drones.
Disaster struck the Fleet in 2275 with the outbreak of the Interstellar War. As Solarian turned against Solarian and the Spur plunged into its largest recorded war, the communication and navigation relays the Fleet relied upon for communication and navigation became hotly contested points of conflict between the Solarian Navy and the Coalition’s forces. By late 2275 most had been destroyed, either deliberately or as a result of combat, and those that survived were largely rendered unusable as a result of the Solarian Navy changing the encryption protocols. The Fleet, already isolated in the far flung reaches of the Riphean Frontier Sector, had no way of receiving these codes, and found itself cut off from communication, navigation, and the occasional autonomous resupply fleets sent to it by the Department of Colonization. The ships of the Fleet, designed for survey work, were rugged and durable, but found themselves stuck in a dire situation where they were deprived of supplies, navigational assistance, and cut off from any way to call for help. The Fleet’s captains initially settled upon a logical course of action: isolated as they were, and with their ships lacking gravity generators, the most sensible course of action was to find a planet to settle on before supplies ran out or the Fleet’s members, who had lived in low gravity for nearly a decade, became too physically weak to readapt to life in gravity.
Months became years as the Fleet searched for a habitable world in the Riphean Frontier Sector to little success, with most worlds being far too wild and untamed for them to reasonably survive on in their weakened states from years of low-gravity living. Planet after planet and system after system were discovered, charted, and marked as unsuitable for habitation by the Fleet as it wandered further and further through the uncharted frontier, having no contact with any outside itself. The Interstellar War had ended and the Solarian Alliance had experienced a disastrous attempted coup in the meantime, but these developments were utterly irrelevant to the Fleet, alone in its blind journey. As the 23rd century became the 24th and the Fleet continued to wander, its culture — which had started with the sense of ruggedness typical of those who volunteered for such a daring task as colonizing an alien world — began to shift and, as the first generation to be born in zero gravity appeared and those who could not adapt to their new environment began to either die or be left behind, the nature of the Fleet gradually changed.
The children born to the Fleet instead of having boarded its ships at the beginning of its journey developed substantial anatomical differences from those who preceded them as a result of spending their entire lives in zero gravity. These physical distinctions became the typical traits of those who would become, in time, the entire population of the fleet; the so-called “offworlders.” The need to preserve their ships, which grew older and less reliable every year, turned their culture of ruggedness into a culture of dogged survival and endurance against all odds. Unnecessary systems were scrapped and cannibalized, nonfunctional vessels were broken and all usable components were integrated into those ships still able to carry on. The number of ships in the Fleet slowly decreased and the remaining members, perhaps to acknowledge how scavenging had become the foundation of their very existence, began to refer to themselves as the Scarabs.
The Fleet would remain cut off from the broader Spur until 2398, when their wanderings brought them across a long-abandoned Coalition-flagged Oslo-class battleship which had been lost during the Interstellar War. This vessel, which had been adrift for over a century by the time of its discovery by the Scarab Fleet, was the first encounter they had had with the broader Orion Spur in generations. Although adrift for more than a century and forgotten by those to whom it had served, the battleship was home to an incredible boon for the Scarabs: a functional military-grade navigation computer which would allow them to navigate the Fleet back to civilization. Salvation at long last! The Scarab vessels, abuzz with excitement at their potential salvation, eagerly went to work disassembling the battleship and bringing its navigation system onto their flagship, the Riphean Voyager. Some voiced concern about reentering broader humanity after a century, while others believed all but the Scarabs had been decimated during this newly-discovered conflict, and that they were all that remained of civilization in the spur. Ultimately more captains voted to return to humanity than voted to remain isolated on their slowly decaying vessels, and the Scarabs began their journey from the uncharted frontier and back into the world their forebears had left behind.
The return journey would take the Scarabs twenty years, and they would only arrive at the Coalition’s border in 2418. Their first contact with broader humanity was at the Coalition’s frontier with Arusha, where they were met with a combined Coalition force mostly consisting of All-Xanu Republic vessels which had been scrambled in response to a large number of unknown ships entering Coalition space from an uncharted frontier region. Detection by early warning sensor stations along the Coalition’s border caused a significant force — the largest such to exist between the Interstellar War and the Solarian Civil War, which had gripped the Northern Wildlands in 2465 — to be assembled, but failed to prepare the Coalition unexpectedly peaceful (if not entirely friendly) Scarabs as they emerged from their isolation. A violent engagement was averted by quick diplomacy from both sides and the Scarab Fleet, as it was now formally known, was welcomed into the Coalition as a new, and unique, form of government.
Since 2418 the Scarabs have slowly readjusted to life in a very different Orion Spur than the one they left, and many have struggled — or failed — to fully integrate with this new world. As the years go on and the Scarabs born having never known their years as true wanderers begin to outnumber their aging peers who have known nothing other than the Fleet, some worry their unique culture and way of life will fade away. But only time will tell what the future holds for the Spur’s largest offworlder population.
Government and Politics
The Scarab Fleet operates under a system of government only slightly more unified than the Coalition it is a part of. As a highly decentralized group of ships, united only by their shared purpose and vision, they have a very loose structure, almost reminiscent of an old feudal structure. At the very top of Scarab society is the Fleet Director, in charge of both the day to day operations of the Scarab Fleet as well as its future direction. Fleet Directors serve for ten years per term and the current Fleet Director is Rajendra Dube Riphea, captain of the Riphean Voyager. The Fleet Director oversees a collection of Grand Captains who command flotillas of ten to fifty ships, and below them, the individual captains of the ships. The body comprising all of these captains is known as the Conclave, often convening aboard the Riphean Voyager, to vote on major issues concerning the whole Fleet, and most importantly, appoint or offer counsel to the Fleet Director and the Grand Captains, with all captains from the Fleet Director to the lowliest freighter operator receiving a single vote.
Very few issues reach the level where they are discussed in the Conclave, continuing to remain in the Coalition being one of them. From concerns of defense against piracy to the expansion of farming space aboard ships, only one issue has repeatedly been debated and inconclusively argued in every single Conclave: the final destination of the Scarabs. The heated discussion has coalesced into two major camps: those that believe the Scarabs should continue the ways of their ancestors, sighting the immense flexibility and self-reliance it has given them, and those that believe they should settle down, seeking to bring to life the dream of entire civilizations living in artificial habitats written up by humanity centuries ago.
Recently however, in hushed whispers, a third bloc has been gaining traction: those that believe the place of the Scarabs is neither sailing amongst the civilizations of the Spur nor finding a place to settle down among them. Emboldened by the arrival of the Vaurca from outside the Spur, they argue that the original mission of the Scarabs can still be accomplished. Rather than risk annihilation in an Intergalactic War in the Orion Spur, they seek to stockpile resources to begin a new voyage and instead push humanity’s borders ever outwards to ensure its continued survival. Curiously, the current Fleet Director has remained silent on the matter, both simultaneously infuriating the entirety of the Conclave, and spends much of his time serving as a perfect mediator between the myriad factions of the Scarabs.
The basic unit of Scarab society is a ship - the day to day life of a Scarab will be governed by their ship and more specifically, its captain. Captains are given vast autonomy to run their ships as they see fit, so long as it does not endanger the larger fleet. Under this system the only real obligations a captain has are to obey the orders of the Fleet Director and to return to aid the Fleet in a time of emergency. Inevitably, laws and customs vary from ship to ship and can oftentimes be more unspoken than written.
The succession of captaincy onboard ships usually operates on appointment of a successor, but for the sake of stability, many vessels have simply adopted a system of hereditary command with the ability for an heir to refuse if they feel unfit, the ship then deciding how to proceed from there. The cultural aspects of Scarab life have ensured that this is frowned upon. It would be mistaken to assume however that a captain has unlimited power - they have to command their ships with the consent of the crew, as although rare, it is not unheard of for a captain to be removed, such a feat being possible with the assent of the Conclave.
This loose system where anything goes has necessarily resulted in the upper echelons of the Fleet being tolerant to ships that skirt the laws of whatever system they happen to be in. With the cohesion and commitment of the Scarabs to the fleet prized above all else, a few stolen goods or the occasional asteroid mined without a permit have to be overlooked.
While most spectators would fear for the continued existence of the Scarabs given such a political system, the fact that it is so easy for a ship to slip away from the great mission does not concern the Scarabs. If a crew abandons the Fleet, then it simply means they were not prepared for the trials that lay ahead.
Interstellar Relations
Although a part of the Coalition of Colonies, the Scarabs’ unique cultural and geographical situation has ensured that it has never marched lock-and-step with the rest of the Coalition’s planets. In general, the Conclave has maintained a single guiding philosophy with their relationships - to make as many friends as possible, and incur as few obligations as it can. Therefore, in order to increase their chances of survival in an increasingly dangerous Spur, the Scarab Fleet maintains a web of close, overlapping, and oftentimes contradictory alliances with as many nations as possible. Many Scarabs feel a degree of personal loyalty to the Coalition due the commonly utilized ESS RIGsuit originating in its borders and being sold to the Scarabs at below-market prices.
In particular, the Scarab Fleet has maintained a strange relationship with the Sol Alliance. Although too far away from each other to truly have any day to day interactions, many in the Fleet have always resented the lack of investment Sol placed in its original ships. However, many appreciate the venerated and ancient automated supply ships that kept the Scarabs alive in their early days, and this appreciation has become part of the Scarabs’ oral history. While the two officially interact through the larger Coalition of Colonies, it is not uncommon for individual Scarabs or single ships to find work in the Alliance before returning to the larger fleet, with their expertise in space being exploited to pick up the logistic slack caused by the current Collapse.
The Scarabs also maintains a healthy trade relationship with the Republic of Elyra. As a spacefaring nation dependent on fuel to preserve their way of life, they have found a reliable phoron supplier in the Republic, and in turn, Elyra has received a loyal customer and occasional technological exchange partner. This friendship in the south of the Spur has strangely extended to the Empire of Dominia, with the monarchy respecting both their resilience, and seeing kindred spirits in the quasi-hereditary captains of the Fleet.
It is a matter of survival for the fleet to maintain relationships with the Republic of Biesel and the megacorporations that back it. Despite their massive strides towards self-reliance, the Scarabs are still dependent on trade to maintain, and more crucially, expand and refit their aging vessels. Although the megacorporations have seen the opportunity provided by the Scarabs, they have refrained from exploiting it as the decentralized nature of the Fleet means they are unable to strike up any lasting deals. The melting pot nature of the Republic has seen it become a favored destination of many exiles however, with many Sadars going on to find work and even citizenship in the CRZ.
With an emphasis on trade and space travel in their alliances, it seems counterintuitive that the Scarabs would have a fraught and unsteady relationship with their neighbors in Arusha, the Golden Deep. This difference comes down more to ideological than practical concerns, with the capitalistic and avaricious nature of the merchant collective contrasting with the collectivist and conservationists attitudes of the Scarabs. Both groups need to work together to survive in the alien region however, and many captains can recount stories of Golden Deep merchants providing life-saving top-ups of oxygen and fuel supplies, even as all of the ship’s militia were mustered out to ensure nothing was stolen.
Despite all of these relationships, the Scarabs’ most important ally in the Spur remains to be the Coalition of Colonies. It is a symbiotic relationship, with the Coalition providing a permanent berth for the Fleet as it prepares for its journey while the Scarabs provide substantial technological and naval assistance, in particular helping to sustain the fringe worlds on its outskirts. While enjoying a special relationship with Xanu, its initial sponsor in the Coalition, things have always been frigid with Gadpathur, who detest the Fleet’s dealing with Sol, and Assunzione, who often have to deal with the Scarabs dumping their unruly exiles in the area whenever they visit the Light’s Edge.
Culture
Scarabs adopt many of the often seen traits of other Offworlders, with a deep conversationalist attitude ingrained in all Scarabs out of necessity. The Scarabs have known centuries of scarcity, and it affects their culture and mindset very heavily. Greed, laziness and wastefulness are considered the most condemnable misdeeds and most vile insults, whereas selflessness, resourcefulness and hard work are the most praisable virtues.
Tujmansaal
Tujmansaal is a very common spiritual concept that most Scarabs can deeply connect with. Roughly translated as “blissful times”, it represents a state in which a person can easily satisfy any of their own needs. Such a state is a very common life goal for most - simply living the rest of one’s life fed, safe and comfortable. Although one could see this as egotistical, needs of a Scarab often include being among friends and family, and seeing them happy - meaning that tujmansaal is not achievable unless all of your loved ones achieve it together with you.
Aiseheer
Aiseheer is a relationship concept used often among Scarabs, roughly translated to “brothers in need”, and meaning people working towards a common goal despite all of their differences and disagreements. A single member involved in this kind of relationship is called an aiseh (plural aiseh). After the goal in question has been achieved, the aiseh may strengthen their bond and become close, or go separate ways once more. Skrell often find this similar to their concept of qu’pluux, but with the difference of aiseheer potentially involving many people, or entire groups.
Superstition and Conservation
A very strong element of Scarab culture is superstition. Almost any Scarab is superstitious to at least some degree. Different omens, big and small, ominous and promising, vary from ship to ship, but are present everywhere. A few are universal. For example, the corpses of fellow crew must always be spaced - no space or resources should be wasted to preserve it, but neither may it be recycled or used in any form, as resorting to using fellow crew members’ dead bodies means that bad times have come, and it’s likely that it’s going to only get worse from there…
Asking for more food than you were initially given at a meal, even when available, is a bad omen commonly associated with egoism and narcissism. Instead, uneaten food and leftovers must always be preserved and used as an ingredient in the next meal that is going to be made. On station, this would mean that food left after transfer should be stored safely in a refrigerator or a heater.
Scarab engineering and maintenance crew members would often carry a spare wrench on themselves, which is a common good luck charm. However, having to give it away to someone else may spell disaster for both people in question.
Meal times are strictly and sparingly scheduled for the entire ship, and are quiet times of appreciation for the work going into producing the food. Speaking up is strictly prohibited, and making eye contact is considered to be a bad omen - instead, this is a time to recall and reflect. Afterwards, a break is to be had, as a relatively recent custom. During this break time, ships may often dock to each other, exchanging news, resources, and oral tradition.
Fiction
Fictional literature is almost non-existent due to consoles and paper being used extremely sparingly. Instead, verbal arts are almost exclusively oral, with stories, myths and legends being shared among departments or families after meal times, or passed by from ship to ship when docking.
Most common are two genres. Shiwuniket is the older one - grim and dark stories that serve as some kind of warning or precaution. Themes of death, collapse and mysterious omens are all very common. Nitaniket, more recent and less popular, is comprised of stories of overcoming and triumph, where the main characters are savvy and clever individuals who are able to make the most of the limited resources they have, using them in creative ways to deal with danger or challenges thrown their way.
Shaitan
A common character in Scarab folklore is Shaitan, the Adversary - a malevolent spirit which is said to be the personification of all evil. Although exact details differ from ship to ship, it commonly takes the form of a mysterious and elusive traveler with their eyes brightly shining, who then convinces someone to lead the entire ship to ruin. The exact details of how this is done may differ, but generally, the victim captures the light of the traveler’s eyes, becoming blinded with their own reflection and giving in to madness, now only obsessed with their own well-being, and eventually bringing the ship to a collapse.
Ceremonial Weaponry
Weapons and weapon-making are almost glorified in Scarab societies, often considered extremely prized possessions. An almost universal marriage rite is presenting a beautiful, ornate knife or dagger to the significant other, who will then return it with the handle going forward if the offer is accepted, and the blade going forward if it is denied. Some ships use a decorated gun instead of a knife, but the process is generally the same, going without much fanfare. When dealing with non-Scarabs, a Scarab would often ask to sit down at a table, and then lay their weapons on it. This ceremonial disarming is not only done to take caution, but also to look at how well-made the weaponry of the other person is.
Scarabs value a good weapon and displays of power, but nothing is more wasteful than ending the life of a worker. Thus, many Scarabs enjoy bouts with fellow crew, but, taking extreme care to not hurt anyone (since it would prevent them from working for some time), don’t use their weapons in these fights, and take care not to hit the opponent too hard. As an alternative, intellectual games such as chess and checkers are often played to display intellectual prowess.
Family and Education
Family is less nuclear/core to the Scarab way of life. A Scarab's ship is their family, and blood is less important than crew. Everyone in the crew has some level of responsibility to the welfare of children, but the nearer relationship to the child's parents, the greater the obligation. Independence is encouraged early on, Scarabs avoiding children being a burden to the crew. Weak, dependent children can jeopardize a vessel by demanding excessive time and attention while contributing little. They are taught very early about wastefulness, recycling, the value of hard labor, and avoiding the long gaze of Shaitan. This is a communal effort, the values of their societies deemed too important for only two people to teach. Mistakes and even injuries are simply viewed as hands-on learning, such as the lesson that one can never pay too much close attention in space. Deeper learning, such as Engineering or other tasks are based on apprentice-ships; teaching done through work-based learning rather than extensive study of textbooks. However, reading is drilled in as much as writing, to read warning signs and instructional documents on crucial systems. After these values are instilled, and the child has completed their apprenticeship, they are treated with adulthood. The readiness to go out on their own is marked by the gift of a scarf by their immediate family, usually made of spidersilk.
The Released
But, of course, not all Scarabs manage to comply with this lifestyle. Anyone of any age can either lose their tight grip on Scarab values, or never pick them up well enough in the first place. While before 'first contact' these people were simply airlocked, in modern cases, young or old, the crewmember in question is Released. This punishment is treated with much gravitas, only being applied to those that have grievously offended the necessities meant to be learned. Those that are released are exiled from their home vessels and the fleet entirely, unshackled from their responsibilities towards the Scarabs. They are given a week's worth of food and water, their clothing, and a weapon; typically small trinkets as well from those they were close with, then sent to the nearest place with a spaceport. They are stripped of their ability to hold any surname besides Sadar, translating to 'released.' This is semi-voluntary, some Scarabs even willfully choosing to become Sadar to go out on their own without the worries of their previous life. If one is to come back to the ship, they may be allowed back inside, but this is not guaranteed. Naturally, if one refuses this exile, they would be treated as a trespasser on their vessel and dealt with accordingly.
Major Scarab Vessels
The Scarab’s home fleet consists of several hundred vessels which are home to a population estimated to be somewhere between one and three million, though no census of the Fleet has ever been performed. Below are some of the major vessels found in the Fleet.
Riphean Voyager
The lead ship of the Fleet since its launch from the Sol System, the Riphean Voyager is a scientific survey vessel which was designed for work in the uncharted reaches of deep space. The residents of the Voyager were pulled from across the Earth and have no defining national origin, but generally tend to find themselves involved in scientific fields when they travel abroad. Residents of this vessel utilize red, yellow, and orange in much of their clothing and equipment and utilize Riphea for their ship surname.
The Voyager is a one-of-a-kind vessel laid down and launched by Einstein Engines which was originally commissioned by the Department of Colonization to chart the Riphean Frontier, and further Riphean Voyager-class vessels were first delayed and then scrapped due to the outbreak of the Interstellar War. The current captain of the vessel, Fleet Director Rajendra Dube Riphea, is a great patron of the scientific arts and often invites foreign scientific teams onto the Voyager to study, which has made it into the arguable public face of the Scarab Fleet.
Impukane
Mostly made up of sub-Saharan African colonists, the Impukane is known for both its extensive salvage facilities and strong ship security force. The Scarabs from these ships prefer colors like green, orange and red. Residents of the Impukane often find themselves involved in engineering, particularly shipbreaking and salvage, industries abroad and more rarely find themselves involved in private security. Their ship surname is Impukane. The colors of the Impukane are red, silver, and gold.
The Impukane was commissioned by the Department of Colonization to serve as a repair and salvage vessel for Fleet 528, and has remained in this role for the entirety of its service. Like most vessels in the Fleet it was laid down and constructed by Einstein Engines. The Impukane’s salvage teams are almost always accompanied by one of its ship security teams, who have become adept at EVA combat and boarding operations. Its current Grand Captain, Hami Ibori, has kept the salvaging traditions of his ancestors and has seen the Impukane’s flotilla make many expeditions into the former Alliance Neutral Zone in order to salvage facilities and vessels there from the Interstellar War, and often does so upon commission from archaeologists and historians from across the Orion Spur.
Faladay Tadhhab Bsre (Fa’Ta-Bs)
A medical vessel mostly made up of Levantine Arabic colonists, the Fa’Ta-Bs is renowned throughout the Scarab Fleet for the medical care they are able to provide. Residents of this vessel often find themselves in the medical, or medical research, field when they travel abroad. They typically take one word of the ship’s name for their ship surname. The colors of the Faladay are green, white, and black.
The Faladay was commissioned by the Department of Colonization to serve as both the primary medical hub for injuries sustained during interstellar travel and as Fleet 528’s main research facility. While laid down and built by Einstein Engines, most of the medical facilities aboard the Faladay were designed and built by Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals. As a result of its extensive medical research facilities much of the current understanding of space adaptation in humans comes from extensive records kept by the medical practitioners of the Faladay during the Fleet’s decades spent lost in space, which have become vital tools for medical professionals throughout the Orion Spur. The Faladay often collaborates with Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals and most of its residents who opt to go abroad find themselves employed by Zeng-Hu. Its current Grand Captain, Raaina Shariff Faladay, formerly worked for Zeng-Hu as a medical researcher and has only strengthened the vessel’s ties with the megacorporation during her tenure, much to the chagrin of more conservative residents.
Su-Yeongseon
An engineering vessel mostly made up of East Asian colonists, such as those from Korea, the Su-Yeongseon often cooperates with the Impukane regarding matters of engineering and maintenance. Residents of this vessel often find themselves employed in engineering fields when they travel abroad. The ship surname of this vessel is Yeongseon. The colors of the Yeongseon are orange, red, and blue.
The Yeongseon was commissioned by Department of Colonization to serve as Fleet 528’s maintenance and engineering vessel for any matters which did not require the large-scale facilities if the Impukane, and has become one of the most revered vessels in the fleet due to its importance in ensuring the Scarab’s vessels did not fail during the decades they spent wandering the deep frontier. It was laid down and built by Einstein Engines, which has used the vessel’s staying power as an advertising point in the Coalition market. The vessel’s current Grand Captain, Kyung-Mi Gam Yeongseon, is one of the most prominent members of the “exile” faction which seeks to plunge back into the uncharted frontier once again, and believes her vessel should be the one to lead such an expedition rather than the Riphean Voyager.
Sansryn Khölög (San-Khöl)
A hydroponics and biological research mostly made up of Central Asian colonists, the Sansryn Khölög is responsible for much of the hydroponics and animal husbandry techniques which have kept the Scarabs fed for decades. Residents of this vessel often find themselves employed in biology or biology-adjacent industries such as xenobiology. The residents of this vessel generally pick one of the two words in its name for their ship surname, and the colors of the vessel are green, gold, and white.
The Sansryn Khölög was commissioned by the Department of Colonization to serve as a secondary research vessel for Fleet 528 which focused upon cataloging the flora and fauna of the Riphean Sector in order to determine if any native species would be suitable to use in human colonization efforts. When the Fleet lost communications with the rest of the Spur the massive hydroponics bays of the vessel – which already hosted hakhma, large beetles harvested for meat and milk, and süüs, ant-like creatures used to produce a nutritious juice, in addition to other native Riphean wildlife – were quickly repurposed to feed the Fleet and have continued to serve that purpose to this very day. The Sansryn Khölög is often visited by foreign academics and naturalists interested in the still mostly unknown wildlife of the uncharted frontier, and the ships in its flotilla often travel far and wide to log and capture new species. The current Grand Captain, Odchigin Abaga Khölög, has continued this trend and often organizes expeditions into the Badlands, where he has had many dealings with the Serene Republic of Elyra and Empire of Dominia.