Oresrians

Oresrian Trader from Selezen's S-Ships OXP

PLEASE NOTE: This information is NOT CANON for the Elite: Dangerous setting.

The Oresrian race is a species in the Insectoid family of horrific appearance to the human eye in their own right, but no less so due to their uncanny resemblance to the Thargoids. Ironically, these races that are so difficult to distinguish from one another, are sworn enemies for reasons, evidently, too ancient for anyone alive to remember.

History

Although historical sources are not forthcoming from the Oresrian separatist government (nor their Thargoid counterparts for obvious reasons) it is inferred from coincidental information that the two races have been engaged in an ongoing, ruthless war for more than 1000 standard years.

GalCop scholars have over the years issued several theories speculating on the initial cause of this conflict, but the hypothesis that Thargoids and Oresrians once were tribes of the same species, often resurfaces. Many, however, have difficulty accepting that a millenial war could have started over slurs of cowardice, or as the published thesis states, "being called chicken", finding the reasoning circumstantial and the inferrence from the two races' extreme militancy and bravery-fixation, to be conveniently superficial.

Appearance

The common Oresrian warrior is a dark-chitin covered insect measuring just over 7 feet in height. They have six limbs, two of which are dedicated walking limbs (legs). The remaining four limbs have jointed hands each posessing three digits, one of which is an opposable thumb.

The head is a triangular ovoid in shape, with prominent faceted eyes mounted to the front. In general, the overall impression is similar to that of a praying mantis. There are two short antennae that protrude from the top of the head. The mouth is on the underside of the front point of the triangular head, and is relatively small. It is surrounded to two strong mandibles. The neck is very short but thick and sturdy, and can rotate 60 degrees.

The body of a Oresrian is segmented into two distinct sections. The upper segment is approximately egg-shaped with a slight distention at the upper end just below the junction to the neck and head; this is where the upper limbs join the body. The lower segment is a tapered oval that arcs slightly towards the rear and forms a rounded point. The junction of these two segments is a heavily muscled narrow waist which the Oresrian can twist to approximately 100 degrees.

The lower four limbs are attached to the lower body segment. The lowest pair, or the traditional legs, are attached just above the point where the segment begins to bend rearwards. These legs have knee joints and ankle joint, and are terminated with clawed appendages. The ankles allow the Oresrian to use the lowest part of the limb as feet, providing stability and agility when standing erect. These legs are also double jointed at the knees. The middle pair of limbs are primarily used as manipulating limbs, but are also seen as propelling limbs when an Oresrian is running. These limbs are jointed at elbow and wrist, and end in clawed hands. There are four digits, including an opposable thumb, and these are clawed. The claws are short and horny. These legs are usually held folded against the front of the body.

The upper limbs are dedicated manipulatory limbs. These are jointed at the elbows and wrists. The elbow is jointed to the rear, similar to human arms. The hands end in four clawed digits, one of which is an opposable thumb. These digits are more flexible and agile than the ones on the middle limbs.

Oresrian can walk erect on the hind legs, but have been seen to drop to four legs when running, using the middle limbs in addition to the rear legs.

Behaviour

Of high intelligence and extreme convictions of conformity, Oresrians are never alone, and must always be dealt with in groups, with delicate, shrewd courtesy. To what end their collective consciousness bonds them mentally is unknown, but conducting a conversation with Oresrians will be done to the group as a whole, and any Oresrian statement made may switch from one speaker to another, not uncommonly in mid-sentence. They will also resent the use of the pronoun I, as individuality is considered a gross weakness.

It is often stated that Oresrians are peaceful by nature, in comparison with Thargoids, but many who have experienced an Oresrian encounter would beg to differ. In fact, where Thargoids may seem cold and calculating, Oresrians have been known to have hot tempers with short fuses. Nothing will trigger this quicker than being erroneously confused with a Thargoid. Certainly no less than in any insectiod encounter, it is not recommended to engage unprepared.

Distinction

Unfortunately, it takes a highly trained eye to tell an Oresrian apart from a Thargoid. The standard advice is to assess the thorax markings, and look closely at the shape of the hind leg's fourth joint, which in Oresrian anatomy should be noticeably more convex. It is often equally, if not more, helpful to contemplate the contextual situation of an encounter.

Further Reading

• First mention is in The Dark Wheel - page 32
• Additional background can be found in Drew Wagar's Finis.

Musings

Where do the Oresrians come from? There are 3 possibilities with similar names within The Eight:

Galaxy 1: Oresri - Rich Agricultural Communist TL7 (Rodents)

Galaxy 8: Oresrati - Poor Agricultural Corporate State TL5 (Humans) - the famous "lost system" in the bottom left corner

Galaxy 8: Oresreat - Rich Agricultural Corporate State TL9 (Humans)

If they actually come from one of these, then they must be a minority species living on the planet. Possibly the original indigenes, given their name. Since G1 is the next on the list once leaving G8, either G8 system would provide a limited number of Oresrians trading in G1 but without a homeworld in G1 - so their presence would be reasonably spread out (they would arrive in G1 at Lave, but have no reason to stay there).

Since the Galactic Hyperdrive needs to be bought from a TL11 system, this makes Oresrati less likely as the home system - but of course, once a wormhole is opened, many ships can then jump through before it closes again, so it is not impossible. And Oresrati is the most interesting system of the three.

Of course, in terms of the scuttlebut one hears in the bars, the origin could be any of the three - and it could also be from an external galaxy - just like the Thargoids!

Links

• Oresri
• OXP: Oresrian Trader Ship