Poicxh

Starport	D	Poor: No Construction, Minor Repair, Unrefined fuel
Size	4	Small (6,400 km, 0.32g - 0.46g)
Atmosphere	3	Vacuum (very thin)
Hydrographics	5	Wet World 50%
Population	5	Moderate (900 thousand)
Government	H	Aslan split clan control
Law	3	Low Law (no automatic weapons)
Tech Level	A	Early Stellar (jump drive)

Primary Star

M0 V

Atmosphere

Very Thin (tainted)

Off-world presence

Yes

Zoetic individuals

Yes

Source

Reference

Michael J. Maley - High Tortuga

Canon

No

Also see

The Poicxh are a small, ant-like insectoid minor race allegedly native to Hleakhawa (Beyond 2832).

Description (Specifications)[edit]

This species may have some evolutionary connection with the Maskai.

Physiology & Environment (Ecology)[edit]

Physically, Poicxh stand a half meter in height, with their back two pairs of limbs acting as legs, and their forward pair as manipulators ending in three-fingered hands. The Poicxh are a hexapodal species (six-limbed; four locomotor limbs and two manipulator limbs). Shells range from purplish-black for queens, through bluish-silver for princesses, to brown-gold, gold-green, and red-gold for workers and warriors. Drones are black-silver in color.

Poicxh exoskeletons are naturally laser reflective and can be treated as (jack/reflec) for combat purposes. Poicxh mandibles do little damage, but warriors are equipped and trained in the use of G'viv, artificial mandible blades that do dagger damage. Strong for their size, Poicxh strength is comparable to baseline human norms while Poicxh dexterity is less capable than human norm.

Poicxh stamina is less than that of humans (-2 stamina for queens, -1 stamina for all others).

By design or evolution, Poicxh drones are very intelligent.

Psychology & Philosophy (Mindset)[edit]

Poicxh tend to be xenophillic as a species, and work well with other races. They also take a "live and let live" attitude towards life, living one day at a time. The past is non-essential to the Poicxh, except for drone scientists. An example of this is their attitude towards the Aslan, against whom they show no ill will for driving them off their homeworlds. This attitude has been very bewildering and irritating to Aslan who meet Poicxh.

History & Background (Dossier)[edit]

The Poicxh gained the jump drive from Human traders nearly 700 years ago, slowly expanding to Eteasteah (Beyond 2735) and several other nearby worlds. In a war with local Aslan clan forces (801-814), they were driven off these planets and now live a largely nomadic existence, except for one Sept based at Northstar.

Culture & Society (Ethnology)[edit]

Poicxh organize themselves socially under queens like many Terran insects. New queens come about when an old queen dies, when a group breaks and forms into new Septs, or when a new Sept is declared and organized by the queen of the base Sept. In the latter case the new queen is selected by the existing queen. In the case of an old queen dying, a new queen is selected by ballot by the Sept's princesses from among their own ranks. When declared queen, this princess must undergo a biochemical process to convert her into a fertile female Poicxh.

Social Organization[edit]

Poicxh society is hierarchical with a Queen for each Sept, whether it is a battle fleet, a corporation, or a planetary enclave. Each Queen, no matter how small her following, is treated as an equal by her fellow Queens.

Ship command, actual business operations and running society are tasks handled by royal princesses. All other work is handled by workers (sexless females). Warriors are sexless females trained in combat skills and tactics from birth. Caste is determined by feeding the immature Poicxh specialised diets until maturity.

Drones (male Poicxh) lead a sequestered life of research, writing, mating, and being the memories of their race. Each queen keeps a harem of six to twenty-six drones, fertilizing each clutch of eggs with a different drone.

All career categories are open (except assassin) for Poicxh characters of princess, warrior, or worker castes. Queens will be of noble career only, no matter their prior careers. However most Poicxh adventuring independently of Poicxh Septs will usually be communications-sensor specialists, or techs.

Names are a sign of rank among the Poicxh. Queens take one-syllable names, which make some queenly names like Kiklik hard for non-Poicxh to pronounce, while princess take two-syllable names. Drones possess three-syllable names while workers can possess names that range from four to twelve syllables.

Colonies (Septs): Poicxh society is organized as colonies (Septs) with a Queen for each Sept. Septs may be formed in a static location such as planetary enclaves or asteroid outposts, and also as nomadic and highly mobile Septs such as free traders, spacegoing (ship-based) corporations, or mercenary battlefleets. While Septs cooperate, trade, and support one another, each Sept will be organized as a separate self-sufficient entity.

Northstar (Planetary Enclave) Sept: The Northstar Sept (TUV, Ltd.) was founded by Queen Thli in 930 and is one of the leading innovators of sensor and communicators in the Beyond. TUV has recently opened a new division manufacturing psi-blockers for the Imperium. Located on Northstar.
Intercourse (Planetary Enclave) Sept : A new Sept under Queen Choich has organized at Corella/Corella (Beyond 0315) producing robots as well as communication devices and sensors.
Thyk-Nest (Corporate) Septs: A spacegoing concern, Queen Thyk, with her consorts, operates out of a three-hundred year-old 40,000 model liner. The ex-liner, called the "Thyk-Nest" or "JN-Thyk" is commanded by Queen Thyk and primarily manufactures various goods for other Poicxh customers. The Thyk-Nest cruises the Nakris Subsector; with twice a year stops at Aerhy at which time JN-Thyk Sept holds a bazaar open to all races.
Free Trader (Corporate) Septs: There were, at last counting, eighteen spacegoing Septs operating under princesses as free traders scattered throughout the Beyond.

Government & Politics (Leadership)[edit]

Poicxh organize themselves socially under queens like many Terran insects. See "Poicxh Social Organization".

Language & Letters (Communication)[edit]

Poicxh communicate using a system of natural transmitters/receivers of which their antennae are the focus.

Any non-Poicxh commos tuned to the right frequency and equipped with a translator may communicate with Poicxh. The Poicxh also manufacture jilkai (human slang: “bugspeakers”) for sale to other races. Poicxh antennae also act as the focus for natural passive sensors (range: 1/2 km). These sensors are artificially augmented in sensor specialist warriors.

The Poicxh with commo and sensors skills have their difficulties lowered by (-1 point).

Normal Poicxh communication transmits in harmonic musical patterns. The race however has learned to alter their transmissions, often mimicking other races, or even hiding among alien broadcast signals (referred by the Poicxh as 'wave riding').

Calendar & Timekeeping (Chronology)[edit]

The Poicxh calendar is based on the period of Hleakhawa/Aslani (Beyond 2832), the alleged Poicxh homeworld, around Hoelle, its star.

Technology & Trade (Economy)[edit]

A TL–12 race (except for communication devices and sensors which are TL–15; and robotics at TL–14), the Poicxh today number at least 300,000 sophonts leading the life of traders and scientists.

The Poicxh have a vibrant economy based upon trade, research and development technologies, and the production of manufactured goods. All Psoixch Septs exchange goods with not only other Septs but with any nearby sophont societies. In many cases, Psoixch far traders and scouts actively search for new trade routes and markets for their goods.

A rumor has surfaced from humans doing business with Aslan scholars that the Poicxh may have originally developed further rimward than previously thought, driven to Hleakhawa by an ancient war with the Hierate. Also, it is rumored that the Poicxh had jump drives before first contact with the Aslan.

Military & Intelligence (Force Projection)[edit]

Not all Poicxh are peaceful. The Imperium has been recruiting Poicxh for reconnaissance and intelligence work for nearly 240 years.

Poicxh excel at combat due to their experiences with the Aslan, and stress the use of ranged weapons, powered battledress, grav sleds and the use of warbots (Poicxh bots tend to resemble Aslan body forms) or non-Poicxh mercenaries for close combat. Poicxh manufacture their own power armor suited to their smaller frames and favor plasma weaponry.

Six known Poicxh vessels operate with Dark Goddess pirates, with dozens of individuals scattered throughout the Goddesses' fleet as techs.

The Sred*Ni are rumored to be negotiating with Queen Kiklik of the Tch'ictl Battlefleet to fight against the Aslan.

Poicxh Fleet Composition[edit]

TCH'ICTL (MERCENARY BATTLEFLEET) SEPT: Queen Kiklik commands the mercenary Tch'ictl Battlefleet, based on Pascal Base. The fleet contains:
- Two 300+ year-old Poicxh battleships
- One Aslan armoured cruiser
- One light carrier
- Three ex-Imperial light cruisers
- Eight destroyers
- Seventeen serpent class scout/couriers
- One light carrier
- Two repair tenders
- One hospital ship
- Nine transports

Astrography[edit]

This race is primarily located in the following areas:

Beyond Sector

Homeworld[edit]

The homeworld of this race is in the Hoelle system:

Eatleiousta (Beyond 2832) (aka Hleakhawa)

World Listing[edit]

Significant communities of this race are known to dwell within the following systems and worlds:

1 of 1 World articles in Poicxh

Hleakhawa •

startbacknext(1 listed)

References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

Author & Contributor: Michael J. Maley - High Tortuga
Author & Contributor: MIMIC - Minor Imp of the Ministry of Information and Communication
Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science