From the stone age to the space age, they are savage hunters from a night-bound world, enslaved by a powerful stellar nation and thrust into the light of the 26th century. Fighting to sustain an ancient culture amid the scientific wonders of galactic civilization, the sesheyans are held by many as an example of humans’ unfair treatment of alien species. Primitive aboriginals living on the largest moon of Gamma Leonis III, sesheyans were discovered by VoidCorp explorers. The corporation took advantage of the seshey- ans’ primitive nature and ar- ranged a contract placing them in service of VoidCorp in perpetuity. In effect, a stellar nation turned an entire alien race into its slaves. The sesheyans have learned a great deal about the galaxy since signing that fateful com- pact more than two hundred years ago, and many have be- gun to work in secret to free their people.

Sesheyans are perhaps the most “alien” species encountered thus far by humans. They aver- age 1.7 meters tall with sleek, whipcord muscles. The sesheyan skeleton is composed of light, strong cartilage, so sesheyans weight only an average of 40 kilograms and have extraordinarily flexible joints and posture, allowing them to crouch and bend for ex- tended periods of time without discomfort. Sesheyans are hexipedal, having six limbs. The upper arms end in four fingers (including an op- posable thumb), and the lower legs end in three splayed toes. Both of these sets of limbs have short claws, allowing sesheyans to climb trees and perch on branches in their native jungle. The two middle limbs are slim and end in six long slender “fingers” with flaps of leather skin stretched between them, forming a pair of wings with a span of six meters. The wings allow sesheyans to fly on their homeworld and other worlds with Earth-normal or lighter gravity and sufficient atmospheric pressure. The sesheyan head is wide and round, with four small eyes on each side and topped with a pair of elongated ears. Their eyes are highly sensitive to light, having adapted to the twilight environment of the jungles of Sheya. The blunt snout covers a wide mouth filled with sharp, bony ridges rather than teeth. Sesheyans have a voice box capable of producing a wide range of sounds, and they have no trouble learning and speaking human or other alien languages. Sesheyans have long, finned tails used for balance and flight control. The tail ends in a series of spines connected by leathery skin. The spines can flex to widen or narrow the “fan” at the end of the tail, providing steering while in flight. Sesheyans also open or close their tail fans to dis- play emotions: those in an excited mood open their tail fans, while those in a quiet, contemplative mood close their tail fans.

According to sesheyan fable, their race origi- nated in what is known as enoshai, or the “Twilight Dream,” a timeless state of being connected with the vastness of space and the night sky. The first seshey- ans were created by Vec’t’lir, the Brood Mother, whom the sesheyans associate with the second- largest moon of Gamma Leonis III. Her twin sons are Tal, the Hunter, and Neshii’en, the Trickster, associ- ated with the gas giant’s two smaller moons, which chase each other endlessly across the sky. Sesheyans were created to be the greates15 15 15 15 SESHEYANS hunters of Sheya, “the hunting land.” (The name sesheyan means “hunters of the land.”) In the days of the Twilight Dream, great heroes like Tal and Ne- shii’en lived among the sesheyans, teaching them. Over time, they became a part of the history and cul- ture of the sesheyans, their names invoked by hunt- ers and shamans. For millennia, life on Sheya was largely the same. The tribes hunted (and warred occasionally), shamans kept the wisdom of the past, families mated and grew, and the cycle of life went on. The seshey- ans existed in the timeless realm of the Twilight Dream – until the arrival of VoidCorp.

On July 13, 2274, a VoidCorp exploratory ves- sel landed on the largest moon of Gamma Leonis III. There, project leader JT795 42IWQ (Erim Ollander) made contact with the sesheyans. To the primitive sesheyans, the arrival of the explorer ship was noth- ing less than the appearance of ghosts from the night sky, as in their ancient fables. The visitors dis- played magical powers: Their weapons spat fire, blinding light spilled from their instruments, and their bodies were tall and strange. Sesheyan shamans called the arrival of these strangers aikeita, “the Day of Ghosts.” The VoidCorp crew had little difficulty mak- ing peaceful contact with the sesheyans, who consid- ered them visitors from the Twilight Realm. Under- standing the value of their discovery, JT795 42IWQ decided to remain on Sheya and conceal her discov- ery, even to the point of not sending transmissions to VoidCorp management, lest they be overheard by agents of another stellar nation. Immediately after translating their language enough to converse with the sesheyans, JT795 42IWQ negotiated the Sesheyan Compact with the leaders of the most powerful tribes. The Compact granted the sesheyans right of passage off their homeworld and access to advanced technology. In exchange, the sesheyans agreed to serve VoidCorp in perpetu- ity. In essence, every sesheyan became a VoidCorp employee, subject to VoidCorp rules and authority.