Clawing for their spot at the top in galactic affairs, the Delphi are rapid innovators and skilled fighters.
The Delphi were the last race to enter the galactic sphere, discovering a joint Valen-Ventara research vessel during one of their own scientific expeditions. They are the only race to develop their own galactic flight tech without prior contact with Valen technology. They still continue this independence, serving as healthy competition with Blackwood.
The Delphi's home planet is Kallos.
The Delphi are very visually similar to possums in color and overall fur patterns, although the exact details of those fur patterns can vary greatly between individuals. They're taller on average from most races, ranging from 5'11 to 6'8, the lower end of the range dominated by female Delphi.
All Delphi feature large, mostly rounded ears that are somewhat similar to those found on rats or mice. Male Delphi typically feature longer canines that protrude from their upper jaw, something not present on females. Delphi also feature prehensile tails, being the only race other than the Kismek with this ability.
They feature possum-like tails and aren't most often strong or weak, members of this race varying greatly in physical form. The Delphi are a very strong race for their size, reflected in the fairly significant muscle mass they can build on their bodies. The strongest Delphi are less agile due to this, but it's a trade-off like anything else.
Unlike most other races, the Delphi don't have a proper, single, unified military or government operating their planet. Countries have remained separate even as competition and international conflict has largely subsided, the focus of most powers on the planet turned to Magnus itself.
This unique situation on Kallos has proven to be quite effective in the success of the race in general, the Delphi becoming quickly known for their excellent designs that push limits and break new ground in weaponry, defenses, and engine tech. They've been second to the Valen for a long time, but have been pushing the envelope as their fleets quietly test new technologies long thought impossible. Prism is the leading company in these industries on Kallos.
Each independent nation on Kallos has its own galactic fleet of sorts, often ran by their own talented pilots. Many nations provide contract security services for people, locations, or transports. Others simply pursue bounties, selectively of course. These differing missions don't matter much at home, private enterprises on Kallos piloting new technologies with all of the locally-grown military forces.
Most fleets in space report to an organization known simply as "Kallos Command," a group composed of representatives and officials from each nation. Kallos Command is rarely involved with most of the going-ons in space, however.
At the beginning of their relationship, the Delphi and Valen had a great distrust for each other. The Ventara seemed to have a far more genuine interest in understanding the Delphi, whereas the Valen researchers seemed almost intimidated by how far along the Delphi were. They were hesitant to share their designs with the Delphi, mainly out of fear of being outpaced. The Ventara, however, insisted they must. After a lot of pressure from the Ventara researchers, those designs were shared with the Delphi.
In recent history, the Delphi and Valen remain in casual competition. Blackwood has acknowledged how well the Delphi have kept up with them in their galactic arms race, but hasn't commented much otherwise. Prism has made some recent leaps in progress, but nothing has been publicly released about these innovations.
Delphi culture is fairly typical, prioritizing direct family over strangers. It's overall all about looking out for your own, whatever that means in a given context. There's some sentiments of care for the prosperity of the species, but the biggest thing Delphi want is their name cemented in history. They have a strong desire to make a long-lasting impact on the galaxy.
Delphi have always been fairly artistic and expressive. Many historical pieces of artwork, literature, and music have been published to the Exogrid. While they remain largely outshined in this regard by the flourishing art scene of other races, many Delphi have grown to be somewhat notable in that scene.
Similar to the Valen, the Delphi are quite vengeful in their punishments for severe actions. They're uniquely difficult to pay off, especially if they believe you've unjustly killed one of their own. Simply offering money in exchange for peace is never an option. The Delphi expect far more than that in exchange for a life, sometimes referred to as "equal suffering" by them.
Delphi are very upfront people and speak in clear terms, similar to the Valen, but differ in that they act with clear intention. Breaking a promise is not considered an option for many, and intentionally acting deceptively is treated like an illness. They're an incredibly honest people for this reason. They make it clear they expect the same back.
Despite this rather vengeful and vindictive nature built into their culture, the Delphi are quite agreeable when you're upfront with them. Little lies and harmless half-truths don't matter much to them. If you're not trying to screw them over or kill them, they're easy enough to talk to. Many have