Kalit

Little is known about the inhabitants of νίκη. They call themselves the Kalit and have never been seen without their environment suits. The Kalit have turned these necessary pieces of protective equipment into works of art, they call the Kaluluwa (Ka-lu-lu-wa). Rippling colors, and styles that seem to change almost organically from one form to the next, make it hard for outsiders to recognize or differentiate individuals, something that seems to amuse them. To add to this confusion the Kalit don’t always have the same number or arrangements of limbs. While the suits appear almost organic many of the inspirations clearly are not, which makes sense given the lack of biosphere. Star, and nebula based color schemes as well as gem or mineral designs are more common than flora or fauna based patterns. Some of the forms and light levels the suits emit are hard for outsiders to look at, something that seems odd to the Kalit given their ability to modify and filter their visual perception.

The Kalit do not believe themselves to be native to νίκη. Instead in their history their ancestors were placed on the planet by the Overlords to mine its resources. Eventually the Overlord’s empire fell and the Kalit were abandoned to their fate on νίκη. In the early conversations between the Concord’s exploratory fleet and the Kalit it became clear that the Overlords and the Jailors were one and the same, and much to the horror of many in the fleet the Kalit are still able to replicate some Jailor technology. Despite this snag the Kalit were amicable to joining the Concord of Mutual Disdain, and have agreed to restrict the sale and transport of Jailor technology off planet.

Physiology
The Concord diplomats faced a strange fact when it came to identifying the citizens of Vikn. For while they all use the name Kalit there are two distinct species on the planet. While they collectively refer to themselves as Kalit internal Concord records have classified the two into separate identifications.

Obelisk Kalit
One of the races of the Kalit are creatures made of rock, metals, and crystals. They are born from obelisks and statues crafted by others. However, awakening a new Kalit from an inanimate monument is an extended and uncertain procedure. Statues need to be made from materials of the highest purity, and sculpted with flawless precision. These monuments are called Kaluluwa (Ka-lu-lu-wa). Many Kalit spend decades making a single statue. When a monument is completed the sculptor needs to meditate by its creation for months before it can awaken. Even then, some statues never awaken. Perhaps due to some overlooked imperfection or the sculptor being subconsciously dissatisfied with their creation.

When a Kalit awakens, the statue is filled with a rippling colourful light that stays with them as long as they live. The makeup of minerals blend and mix, creating shifting patterns. Their form also softens somewhat, allowing them to move with grace and precision. The artistic expression of the sculptors has resulted in a Kalit population of varying appearances. A fair amount are humanoid, but often with more than just two arms. Kalit cannot die from old age, but if they are considerably damaged their light will fade and they revert to inanimate statues.

Siebe Kalit
The second species on the planet has never been seen by outsiders without their environment suits. These Kalit have turned the necessary pieces of protective equipment into works of art, they call their Kahduwa (Kah-du-wa) or twin and are composed of rippling colours, and styles that seem to change almost organically from one form to the next. While the designs appear almost organic many of the inspirations are clearly not, which makes sense given the lack of biosphere. Star, and nebula based colour schemes as well as gem and mineral designs are more common than flora or fauna based patterns. Individuals don’t always seem to have the same number or arrangement of limbs, and are capable of changing the number and arrangement at will. These changes are easily accommodated by their suits.

The Kalit have become reliant on a rare isotope of the Nakahalina (Naka-ha-lina) ore that is found on νίκη. Without almost constant exposure they fall sick and die. Even with TL5 technology Nakahalina is quite costly to refine and prohibitively expensive to artificially manufacture. To address the scarcity, applications for children are only approved once it has been demonstrated the applicant has enough Nakahalina to support a 100 year lifetime.

First Contact
When the Concord strike fleets first arrived to νίκη they expected it to be completely devoid of life. It therefore came as a great surprise when the fleet received a broadcast from the planet that overrode their comms network. The video feed showed a huge four-armed figure in a environment suit with dizzyingly shifting colours. The stranger demanded to know what business war ships could have in their domain, and implied strongly that their own vast military forces were ready to respond. In actuality, the νίκη military was practically non-existent. The sudden appearance of war ships in their otherwise desolate system was a disaster for νίκη. Many inhabitants believed this was the return of the Overlords that were here to resume their oppression. The Kalit leadership hoped that they could intimidate the invaders into leaving with a massive bluff.

The Kalit's brief display of technological prowess had put the Concord explorers on edge. Attempts to scan the planet to quantify the military threat failed miserably. Rumours and speculations spread amongst the crew about this planet being a Jailor outpost. Whilst the strike fleet commanders were not convinced, they had seen enough to know that they should proceed with caution.

With both sides were facing an unexpected foe of unknown strength, this led to weeks of tense communications between νίκη and the circling Concord strike fleet. Eventually diplomats from both sides were able to arrange a meeting on neutral ground. It was during these talks that they discovered and bonded over their common history. Finally, it became clear that neither side wanted to eliminate or dominate the other.

Given the considerable distances between the planets of νίκη and Kardakouk the first integration of the Kalit into Concord systems was to appoint a new permanent position to the Council, the Minister of νίκη. Unlike other Ministers who are the top authority figures in their respective domains the Minister of νίκη instead acts as the main liaison between the Concord and the Kalit, offering advice from the νίκη perspective and particularly their technological expertise. Naturally this post is appointed to a Kalit and as such is exempted from the human majority rule.

Organisation
This section contains the typical organisation of this species, such as nomadic, tribal, etc.

Society
Much of Kalit society is dedicated to the continuation of their kind. There are only a few million Kalit living on νίκη and their population grows incredibly slowly. Any loss of life is a tragedy and a massive setback for their work force. While individual Kalit have the protection of their non-organic forms or high-tech suits, their population is fragile. As such, the Kalit leadership are incredibly careful and risk-conscious. Before the arrival of the Concord, they had made no attempts to explore other planets, despite having the technology. They did not want to risk being noticed by a hostile adversary. Any loss of life in a skirmish, let alone a war, could set back the Kalit population by hundreds of years. The Kalit have also taken great measures in minimizing conflict amongst themselves. The Jailor technology that was once used to shackle them are now tools used to ensure transparency and trust. Many engage in calming meditation to share thoughts and restore balance.