Mekling

Meklings are a sapient species native to Vulkanis, a volcanically active world with expansive mineral-rich caverns and subterranean networks. They are renowned for their engineering aptitude and for a modular approach to both anatomy and technology, enabling extensive machine integration and rapid repair.

Physically, Meklings are stocky bipeds, typically 1.4 to 1.7 meters tall. They wear a tough exoskeletal carapace and possess four articulated limbs ending in dexterous digits. Many individuals bear a cranial crest studded with photic sensors that can interface with machines.

Society and culture: Meklings organize into guilds governing metallurgy, robotics, architecture, and mining. Technocratic councils, chosen by demonstrated technical achievement, oversee policy. Apprenticeship is lifelong, and craftsmanship is valued as both art and infrastructure.

Technology and economy: They are skilled in mechanical engineering, automation, mining, and metallurgy. Urban life is built around forge-cities embedded in rock. Their propulsion uses magnetohydrodynamic drives and gravity assists, enabling practical interplanetary travel, though trade focuses on tool-making and machine parts.

Language and relations: The Mekling language combines analytic speech with vibrotactile signals in workshops; sign and gesture are common in dense work environments. They maintain cautious but constructive relations with neighboring species, prioritizing trade, shared infrastructure projects, and mutual technical exchange.

History: First contacts occurred during early galactic exploration; they pursued selective exchanges and avoided coercive diplomacy. Their present relations center on trade networks with several species, while defending autonomy of their forge-cities.