Illosian

When humans first entered the Outer Reach they encountered small alien civilisations already occupying many systems. Despite a marked strain of xenophobia amongst the earliest colonists, when the Dindrenzi broke away from Terra and formed the Federation it was easier to include these aliens in the process rather than begin a long, costly campaign of subjugation or genocide. The Illosians were one such race.

The Illosians appear as giant crab-like creatures with heavy natural armour in a riot of colours and shapes. Clusters of visual-receptor organs peer from beneath multi-hued plates of bone as they scuttle along on several sets of multi-limbed legs. In combat the shells of these aliens are further enhanced with spiked, lacquered plates rendering them nearly impervious to most weapons carried by human boarding crews. Although lacking any natural weaponry and thus limited in attack, most attempts to board Illosian ships bog down against the heavy armour of the defenders, a trait used to good effect by Illosian crews to this day.

When the Illosians were first discovered they shared an area of space known to humans as the Stars of Ephemus with another minor civilisation, the Ryushi. An uneasy peace existed between these two alien races as both vied politically and economically for control of their sector. With the birth of the Dindrenzi Federation both races were invited to join, but the Illosians had gained the attention of the Rense System delegation. With the help of this powerful alliance, the Illosians were able to push the Ryushi out of the Federation altogether through a campaign of espionage, economic sabotage and limited secret military actions.

Most of the Ryushi race fled the Stars of Ephemus and the Federation itself. For their assistance the Illosians were granted dominion over the sector while the Rense absorbed the industrial and financial assets of their routed rivals. As final conditions to the agreement the Illosians now provide the Rense system with the use of large portions of their war fleet and a bloc of dependable alien support within the Legislature. The only unified faction with the governing body organised enough to offer the Illosian-Rense System alliance any serious challenge is the Kedorian Coalition.

Soon after the Ryushi exodus, the Illosians announced the development of Arc Field Technology. Unkind rumour suggests that this technology is based in part on research left behind by the Ryushi. An Arc Field Generator is a very versatile device; with the correct array of emitters and reflectors the Arc Field can be used as a defensive shield or reconfigured into a focused, deadly beam weapon. Using a battery of capacitors and energy reservoirs, an Arc Field Generator can be used as an energy source and defensive array for border outposts or research stations. The technology can even be miniaturised to arm tanks and other smaller vehicles.

The Illosian fleet is one of the largest amongst the alien faction fleets in the Federation, having been built up in the conflict with the Ryushi. These ships often accompany Rense System Navy formations on their tours of the Federation, but are also seconded to Dindrenzi Main Line units. With the declaration of war as Federation forces surge into the Storm Zone, the Illosians were among the first to join the Zenian League against Terra and her allies.