Shal'ha

The Shahla are an avian race, covered in feathers but with a leathery body underneath. They wear masks on human-worlds, to add vital gases for comfortable breathing, but can survive a while without them. Some mistake these mask for their actual beaks, but their true faces resemble the Earth fauna called 'dogs' and 'bats' the most.

They hold themselves as a wise people steeped in tradition, dedicated to re-learning the history of the sector and their ancestors. They have never been any trouble on Numerius: Somewhat stuffy and a little odd about 'The outcome of this world', but never impolite and willing to compensate for any inconvenience their pilgrimages cause. On other worlds, however, they are treated as thieves and raiders, hoarding alien artifacts for themselves, and holding themselves superior to mankind. The evidence for why is usually scant, referencing decade-old events perpetrated against distant relatives on minor colonies, but the pattern is widespread.

They are the most commonly seen alien race in the sector: The Dinesh seem dedicated to hiding in obscure places, and Komoro are mostly inclined to stay in one place and avoid meeting interstellar travellers.

Most Shal'ha you've met were of a caste called 'The Finding Ones', seemingly a religious caste who explore planets that their races apparently once lived on. Shal'ha ruins dot Numerius but are usually overgrown or buried far beneath the thick soil of the equatorial valleys, and only a few can be visited easily. Other castes include 'They Who Defend', and 'Discoverers', each with a unique dialect or caste-cant. All defer to the Finding Ones, because of presumed wisdom.