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Selonian

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Selonian

Biological classification

Designation

Sentient^[1]

Physical characteristics

Average height

2meters^[2]

Skin color

Brown

Hair color

Brown^[2]
Black^[2]

Eye color

Black

Distinctions

Needle-sharp fangs and claws
Powerful tails
Long pointed faces with bristly whiskers

Average lifespan

75 years

Sociocultural characteristics

Point of origin

Selonia^[2]

Language

Mandaba

"Still, would it kill them to wear pants?"

―LordKanno^[3]

Selonians were asentient humanoid species from theplanet ofSelonia in theCore Worlds and were large mustelinecarnivorous mammals with long, flexible spines.

Biology and appearance[]

"I won't have to warn you to take the Selonians seriously, because you'll know to do that five seconds after you see one. They are big and strong and quick, the average adult a bit taller than me. Most humans think they are a very refined-looking species. They're bipeds like humans and Drall, but they have long, slender bodies, and they can go on all fours if they want to. They probably evolved from some sort of active, nimble, swimming mammals. They have sleek, short fur and long, pointed faces with bristly whiskers. And very sharp teeth, and long tails just right for whapping you if you don't behave. They live underground mostly, and they are very good swimmers."

―Han Solo^[4]

This fur-covered, sleek and powerful species werecarnivores who were believed to have descended from aquatic mammals.^[5] They were furry bipeds who stood at an average height of two meters tall making them taller than mostHumans with slightly shorter legs and arms.^[2] In fact, adult Selonians were capable of standing between 1.8 meters to 2.2. meters tall with the female members of the species being larger. Their bodies were covered by a sleek brown or black fur and they normally did not wear clothing on their homeworld. However, when working or visiting elsewhere, they wore the appropriate clothing or outfits.^[6] Their long bodies were equally comfortable walking on either two legs or on all four.^[2] On two legs, they were able to reach a base speed of 10 meters a second though were capable of reaching 12 meters per second on all four which was the same level of speed they were capable of accomplishing when swimming in water.^[6]

The half meter long tails served as a counterbalance for their bodies when standing upright.^[2] These tails were equally capable of being used as potent bludgeoning weapons in combat.^[5] Short glossy hair covered their bodies which was usually brown or black in color. At the end of their paw-like hands were retractable claws which not only gave them the capacity to dig but also made them excellent climbers. They had long pointed faces with bristly whiskers as well as long teeth.^[2] Selonians were able to see 20 meters in the dark with their dark-vision traits being black and white only. They also were able to see twice as far in dim lighting with them capable of distinguishing color and detail under such conditions.^[6]

Selonians were capable of living over 75 years of age with specific range during their growth to adulthood. Those between 1-8 years were considered children whilst 9-14 were young adults and 15-35 age were adults. A Selonian between the ages 36-55 were considered middle aged whilst those being 56-74 were held to be old and any older than 75 were considered venerable.^[6]

Most Selonians were infertile females. One in every hundred was male, and one in every five hundred were fertile females.

Society and culture[]

Psychology[]

"The agreed-upon we do at once. The inevitable can take a little while."

―An old Selonian saying^[7]

Despite the massive starship traffic to the Corellian shipyards, many visitors and even some native Corellians knew very little of the Selonians and their distinctive unique alien culture.^[5] In mindset, they were a thoroughly grounded and serious race who were primarily concerned with the safety of their people. This meant that the protection of their familydens and their species as a whole was a chief concern. The basis for this line of thinking was because they viewed that the needs of the society outweighed the needs of the individual.^[2] To those unaware of the deeper intricacies of the race, the Selonians appeared as an outgoing, friendly and charitable species. However, their interests rarely went beyond securing the good of their respective den.^[8]

They also had a deep psychological need to reach a consensus when taking action.^[6] As individual Selonians felt that the actions of an individual impacted an entire den, they refused to lie as they believed such an act was a crime similar to murder.^[2]

Behavior[]

Social structure[]

"Chances are the only ones you'll ever see are going to be sterile females, and it's always a sterile female who's the boss. All their males, and all the females who can have children, have to stay at home, in the dens, all the time.""

―Han Solo^[4]

It was known that the Selonians did not recognize relations in the same manner as most Human cultures;^[8] Despite their mammalian appearance, the social structure of a Selonian family was more similar toinsectoid races as they possessed a eusocial society.^[5]

Selonians made their massive dwellings and intricate tunnels underground with their sharp claws.^[8] The underground nature of their existence meant that the Selonians suffered from agoraphobia and were more comfortable in confined spaces compared to open environments.^[6] Selonian dens consisted of a single fertile female who was the Queen^[2] orden mother,^[3] a few fertile males and a large number of infertile females.^[2]

The Queen and few fertile males were responsible for siring all members of the den.^[5] Within the den were sub-groupings known assepts that were offspring fathered by the same fertile male.^[2] Females born of the same father and thus were members of the same sept were genetically identical.^[5] The Queen herself was capable of being pregnant five times a year where they gave birth to five or more children.^[2] Despite their importance, the fertile males were treated scornfully as holding little use beyond breeding^[5] and at best as prized breeding stock. Thus, a rare group had formed amongst the fertile males that attempted to promote breeder rights.^[2]

The much more common element within their society were the sterile females who performed all the other functions of Selonian life.^[5] The breeding arrangements made by the Queens kept each den as a close knit operation with each sterile female being trained specific duties.^[8] Some were, in fact, responsible for both the males' and the Queen's safety. Den members were responsible for keeping the fertile Queen away from harm and protecting their home.^[2]

Competing dens controlled regions of territory on their homeworld with the ruling group being known as the Overden.^[5] Their cities were actually a collection of several dens with each specializing in a skill or craft. These dens supported and aided each other by way of a complicated system of bartering and favor exchanges.^[6]

Material culture and technology[]

"Selonians are fierce. Warrior's blood flows through our veins."

―Murthil^[3]

Though they maintained a seemingly primitive existence, the Selonians were in fact an information age level civilization.^[8] They were, in fact, considered technologically on par to galactic standards with their dens linked through computer networks and rapid transit systems.^[6]

Their industrial capacity was also able to help feed the ravenous production needs of theCorellian Engineering Corporation who the Selonians provided with high-tech components.^[6] They had mastered shipbuilding technology and even created starships capable of traversing their home system.^[2] Selonians had possessed the ability for space travel for many years, though their reluctance to do so had more to do with their mindset.^[8] As they had little desire to go beyond the Corellian system, the Selonians did not constructhyperdrives for their vessels.^[2]

Selonian warriors, who were almost always female, created their ownpersonal glaives, in a manner similar to a Jedi's creation of their lightsaber.^[6] However, during theGalactic War, some warriors ofMurthil's den made use ofelectrostaffs,blaster pistols, or ablaster rifle during combat.^[3]

Interspecies relationships[]

"Republic, Empire... politics mean nothing to Selonians. We fight because you invade our home."

―Murthil^[3]

A select number of Selonians were specifically trained to deal with aliens and Humans.^[2] These individuals were known to integrate themselves into Human societies where they put their carefully learned mannerisms and attitudes at work with aliens in order to interact with them better.^[8]

The Human-centric Empire, in an effort to spread xenophobia among the Human population of the Corellian system, spread propaganda saying that Selonians were warlike and prone to violence. Few Humans from the system believed it, however, as the species hadn't been warlike in centuries and the two races co-existed in relative peace.^[6]

However, several Selonian groups were known for xenophobia, including theOverden,Absolutists, andSacorrian Triad.^[6]

Language[]

"We Selonianscan do lying, but we have no practice at it. We see it is a bad thing. Not a little bad thing, as with you, but abig bad thing, like murder."

―Dracmus^[9]

The species had their ownlanguage,Mandaba, which was both spoken and written, though those members of their kind that were accustomed to speaking to outsiders were able to speak inBasic. Selonians also spoke a modified language among their dens which was not diminished by auditory echoes in their burrows.^[6]

Etiquette includedladies of some fashion.

Some common Selonian names were Cavisek, Maronea and Vissica.^[6]

History[]

"Patience, Major. The Selonians are fierce warriors, and those tunnels are their nest. Your men wouldn't survive five minutes."
"You don't know the half of it. I've seen holos of a gang that attacked the tunnels... clawed to pieces..."

―Darth Decimus andDarbin Sull^[3]

Han Solo battles , a Selonian — Han Solo battlesDracmus, a Selonian

Selonians were seemingly natives to the planet Selonia within the Corellian system. The species were believed to had origins from anaquatic mammal species that lived in riverside burrows which they still used as their homes. Many Selonians also lived onTalus,Tralus, andCorellia, with additional dens on planets scattered throughout the galaxy. Much of the criss-crossed tunnels on both Selonia and Corellia were actually the result of the hard work of the Selonians.^[8] The tunnels on Corellia were in fact known as theSelonian Tunnels. At some unknown point, a den of Selonians were exiled from their homeworld for a dishonorable act which led to their banishment to the world ofSacorria. During theCold War era, theSith Empire invaded Corellia and the rebel Corellians allied themselves with the Selonians who allowed the use of their tunnels to combat theSith's offensive.

Around400 BBY, theAfarathu sect terrorized the Corellian system for many years until their destruction in380 BBY at the hands ofKeiran Halcyon. Another notable group of Selonians were theDoloria who were a cult of assassins founded by the Selonians of Sacorria and operated in the Corellian sector. In22 BBY, the SelonianPumav came seventh in the quadruped race and seventh in the biped duringMobquet Presents: Fastest Land Beings. One known Selonian who left his peoples society wasZonder after he was discovered to beForce-sensitive leading to him joining theJedi Order by the time of theClone Wars.

Their lack of involvement in galactic affairs saved the Selonians from domination during theRise of the Empire era.^[6] During theImperial Period, theGalactic Empire used the near forgotten actions of the Afaranathu to spread fear in the Corellian system. In addition, they attempted to cultivate xenophobia amongst the Human populations of the system by using propaganda to spread the belief that the Selonians were a war-like species that were prone to violence though this was never believed by the Corellians.

A Selonian was known to work forJabba Desilijic Tiure as a chef.

Following the destruction ofAlderaan in0 BBY, the Selonians became more sympathetic to the plight of theRebel Alliance after seeing the destructive actions of the Empire. After the destruction of thesecond Death Star, the glimmer of hope inspired the Selonians to fully embrace the Rebel cause in the resultantGalactic Civil War.^[10]

The Selonians were swept up in the power struggles that broke out in the Corellian system following the collapse of Imperial rule leading to the very real prospect that their world would be destroyed in the process. This caused them to become even more withdrawn from other cultures, even amongst the ones inhabiting their home system. However, the resultant shock to Selonian society led to a rare few individuals seeking to change their culture so that they could deal with other species more honestly.^[6] Certain Selonians still supported the Rebel Alliance and in4 ABY, LadyLeyli who had ties to the TralusQueen, provided information toRogue Squadron on an Imperial outpost on the planet.

Also in4 ABY, a female Selonian namedChertyl Ruluwoor enteredCorSec as part of a transfer program. That year, officerCorran Horn escorted to her theAnnual CorSec Awards Ball and the two shared a brief but passionate romance. However, their relationship was complicated by both different long term relationship goals and incomparable body chemistry, which left both with uncomfortable rashes. They parted amicably and remained good friends.

After the emergence of theNew Republic, the system was represented by only a single member which was met with protests by both the Selonians and the Drall. By18 ABY, radical groups such as theAbsolutists and theOverden emerged on Selonia which had secretly allied itself with theSacorrian Triad in their bid to gain independence from the NewRepublic. This led to theCorellian Crisis where the Overden worked alongside theHuman League and theDrallists to take over the system. The separatist Selonians had to battle loyalist members of their kind such as theRepublicanists who included theHunchuzuc Den which brought about an undeclared civil war. During these hostilities, the rebel Selonians fired theirplanetary repulsor which left theBakuran starshipWatchkeeper a ruined wreck. By the time of theBattle of Centerpoint, the Selonian loyalistDracmus along withMara Jade were successful in getting the aid of the Overden which ended the conflict.