History

The Idara system is located far from the Federation core worlds, near Gorn space. Federation survey teams first encountered the K’kinnin nearly 70 years ago, but left them alone because they had only attained Level 5 technology. The situation changed markedly in 2352, when the crew of the U.S.S. Crazy Horse discovered that a large band of Orion rogue merchants had set up base on Idara II and developed a cooperative relationship with the K’kinnin, trading advanced technology for the K’kinnin’s assistance in undersea mineral mining operations. Although the Orions were rounded up and dealt with, the damage had already been done; the K’kinnin now knew there was other sentient life in the galaxy, and after seeing the wonders of replicator technology and advanced energy systems, they were very interested in being part of the galactic community.

Federation survey missions to Idara II went well. The K’kinnin already had a planetary government, and in fact the K’kinnin society had always been fairly uniform, save for minor regional variations in architecture, cuisine and similar cultural trappings. K’kinnin only very rarely fight among themselves, and war was unknown to the species. As the K’kinnin demonstrated remarkable adaptability (including reverse-engineering of warp drive technology from Orion ships damaged during the Crazy Horse’s interdiction) and were very interested in joining the Federation, the K’kinnin were granted membership in an unusually short period of time, receiving full member status in 2363. Some in the Federation have pointed to the K’kinnin to argue that the Prime Directive need not always be rigidly applied, but this is a minority view. The K’kinnin are considered an exception, due to their placid and curious nature, to the chaos that typically occurs when pre-warp societies are contaminated by outside interference.

After receiving Federation membership, the K’kinnin have done fairly little with it, other than bringing in new technologies aimed at improving their lives, accessing new knowledge and the means to generate further knowledge, and interacting with Federation science teams and tourists who have started visiting Idara II with increasing frequency. Their curiosity about the galactic community satisfied, and their access to its benefits guaranteed, the K’kinnin have largely gone back to doing what they have done since achieving sentience: taking care of themselves and studying the natural world.

Family is also not a factor in K’kinnin society. K’kinnin take turns throughout their lives raising and educating the young in their communities, with no favoritism based on genetic lineage. Work is also divided equally among K’kinnin, though individual preferences and skill are taken into account in choice (or, as necessary, assigning) of tasks. Most of the time, each of the K’kinnin does whatever she wants with her time, and most of the time this consists of solitary study, observation or experimentation. The K’kinnin travel freely between communities, and most end up living in at least five different communities during their lifetimes. This wanderlust seems to be driven mostly by curiosity and a desire to experience and learn new things, but some biologists theorize it also serves to maintain diversity in the gene pool. Theft is unknown among the K’kinnin; if somebody has something another needs or finds useful or interesting, it is shared or given away freely. Each K’kinnin has two names, the first designating the individual, the second the community he or she was raised in. The K’kinnin find it somewhat annoying that other species are usually unable to pronounce their names with the appropriate resonance; in order to avoid or minimize this minor irritation, they typically use the shorter of their two names, or a shortened version of the individual name, when dealing with off-worlders.

All mature K’kinnin are considered equals in their society. The K’kinnin government is a Council, consisting of one representative from each K’kinnin community, chosen by vote of the community members, typically because of demonstrated problem-solving skill or understanding of group process. The Council members serve for as long as they are able, and all matters are decided by binding majority vote, typically following extended discussion. Fairly few issues actually require Council action, as the K’kinnin tend to think very much alike and to be fairly unconcerned about differences; sometimes the Council does nothing during a given year other than discuss issues of personal interest and share information. The K’kinnin Council chooses Federation representatives from among its members.

Ever since achieving sentience, the K’kinnin have focused on understanding themselves and the world around them. Long before the Orion interference, the K’kinnin had developed fairly sophisticated science and technology on their own, sometimes using remnants of Idaran science as a model but avoiding the exploitative and lethal paths which typified the predecessor species’ technology. Life, physical, planetary and basic space sciences are all widely studied among the K’kinnin. Traditionally, relatively few K’kinnin have focused on study of social structures, but this has started to change as they have started interacting with other societies; similarly, with the arrival of the Orions and subsequent Federation involvement, some K’kinnin have gravitated toward advanced space sciences.

The K’kinnin are minimally warm-blooded, but their bodies do not function well in prolonged cold temperatures. When exposed to prolonged temperatures lower than approximately 15 degrees C., a K’kinnin falls into a state of hibernation. Sustained, unprotected exposure to freezing temperatures is very quickly fatal to K’kinnin. They are amphibious, able to breathe equally well underwater and on land. Aspects of the K’kinnin brain structure make them innately non-psionic, though their brains are not so different that their thoughts and feelings cannot be detected psionically. The K’kinnin have extremely efficient neural-muscular systems, such that they also do not become fatigued and do not sleep, though they can be rendered unconscious by systemic shock or concussion. Throughout their growth cycle, K’kinnin periodically shed and replace their exoskeletons. This process takes about 3 days, during which time the K’kinnin isolates himself and is physically inactive but mentally aware; the K’kinnin report that they use this time for deep, uninterrupted thought. Mature adult K’kinnin shed approximately every other year.

Among the K’kinnin, reproduction is an unusually unemotional affair. Mature females produce eggs every 3-5 years, during which time they feel a weak biological imperative to seek out males. If mating occurs, the female lays a clutch of 6-10 eggs a day or two later. That is typically as involved as the parents get in the matter, unless by chance one of the parents is taking a turn caring for the eggs/young in their community during that time. Proto-K’kinnin buried the eggs in sand and left the hatchlings to fend for themselves, but with the development of higher sentience and culture, the K’kinnin recognized the logic of caring for their young. K’kinnin achieve maturity at age 14. K’kinnin have an average life-span of 60 years.

The K’kinnin mindset is characterized by a desire to find things out, to know how things work and understand the rule and order of things. Once something is understood, however, it becomes less important, except as a step toward further understanding. The K’kinnin do not react well to situations in which the rules change, and their focus on order and understanding makes them very conservative in some ways. As a rule, the K’kinnin love puzzles, mysteries and exploration and are natural problem-solvers.

Perhaps because they have never really had enemies or been significantly threatened (even their relationship with the Orions was more cooperative than exploitative), or perhaps because they were genetically engineered to work together, K’kinnin tend to be helpful and to work well with others. They are not particularly social, as a rule; they interact as necessary to perform tasks for the common good, or to work together on large problems or projects, but they also value their own time, which they typically spend studying and researching topics of interest to them. K’kinnin ideas about equality and the value of the individual make them uncomfortable in command roles, though their conservative nature usually means they have no problems submitting to a command structure or following orders once they understand the rules and what is expected of them. So far, relatively few K’kinnin have joined Starfleet, but that is starting to change as more and more young K’kinnin develop interests in branches of knowledge that can best be explored off-planet. K’kinnin who do enter Starfleet uniformly request postings that will involve research, exploration and travel. Most enter the Science or Medical branches; for reasons noted above, K’kinnin make poor Command personnel, and their placid nature makes them very poorly suited as security officers.