Kari

The Karidephians are the sole sapient species native to the planet Karideph. The Karidephians are small insectoids, with black exoskeletons covering most of their bodies. They walk on two powerful legs, with two small arm-like appendages used to manipulate objects. Due to the huge, city-like structures which dominate the surface of the planet, many Karidephians live in a vast system of underground tunnels, and have never seen the light of the planet's primary star. Much of their effort is spent growing food, as the population of Karideph is nearly 100 billion Karidephians.

The Karidephians are also adept at creating small appliances and machines, which they export in exchange for food. The basic societal element of the Karidephians is the Hatch, which describes a family of 20 to 30 individuals. It is the Hatches, not the Karidephians themselves, that form the individual personalities of Karideph, as the Karidephians have a true hive society. As a whole, the Karidephians have limited intelligence, but they have developed a system of songs that maintain histories and lessons from generation to generation. Bards are among the most important of the Karidephians, and each Hatch has at least one singer to preserve their history and to communicate with other Hatches.

The Empire banned the Karidephians from participating in - or even developing - space travel, fearing that their impressive birthrate would allow the Karidephians to quickly overrun human society.