Kresh

The Ancient Ones
The Kresh are an ancient and mysterious humanoid alien species that remains hidden amongst the stars. Their ships are hardly ever seen, and then only on long range sensors, and only a handful have ever visited the Accord. The Kresh do not seem to have a language, at least not one we can understand, but still seem to communicate with each other. Kresh ships have been seen in areas near destroyed scouts and recon craft and odd energy signatures are on the wreckage.

Make no mistake, the Kresh are hostile- Rangers have had dozens of run-ins with them on supposedly uninhabited worlds and their martial prowess and exotic weapons are things to fear.

Biology
Kresh seem humanoid on the surface. They stand about 7-8 feet tall and are very thin. Their bones (or whatever passes for bones) seem to be inflexible- made of a material almost as strong a steel. They are weaker, on average, than a human but still stronger than a Eufrem. Their eyes can see in the dark and they are capable of great speed due to their long limbs.

Males, by human standards, are uglier- with gnarled faces, sprigs of hair, and greater size. Males seem to be bestial in their intelligence and cared for by the intelligent females. Females seem to be able to calm them and guide them in their tasks. Males are almost always the warriors that Rangers run into and their brutality is unmatched. To say they are "stupid" is to sell them short- they have an animal cunning and innate understanding of tactics that would put the craftiest general to shame.

Females are thin, smooth-skinned, things of exotic beauty that seem to possess a very high level of intelligence (even by Eufrem standards). They are the physically equal to their males in most aspects but males seem to live a life that builds muscle while the females often appear to serve more administrative functions.

Kresh either do not have a sense of smell or have a very different definition of what smells nice. Kresh are detectable at a good distance by their distinct odor. It smells acrid, like a lemon or vinegar and it quite overpowering.

Technology
Kresh are, by far, the most technologically advanced race the Accord has encountered. They are probably 100-300 years ahead of the Accord in some respects (energy, sensors, communications, etc) but are about their equal when it comes to military technology. Kresh weapons are all pin-thin energy weapons and have the power to punch through a man a mile away. They often have thousands of tiny pin-sized rays that can pierce an armored vehicle on their heavier weapons. They are also quite adept martially, even a sloppy Kresh male can give a veteran Ranger a run for his money.

The fact that so few Kresh ships have ever been detected and non have ever been seen implies one of two things: the Kresh have very few ships or that their ships are so advanced we cannot detect them normally (and when we have they were just being sloppy). Whe is understood about them is that they have a great understanding of Underspace as many of the long-range sightings were done by submarines while in underspace.

Hunting Kresh
Rangers don't often hunt Kresh, rather Kresh hunt Rangers foolish enough to come near them. The standing order from the Ranger's Council is to "let the Kresh be". Only Master Rangers are dispatched to deal with Kresh threats and then, only when it is VITAL that they do so. Kresh, one discovered, tend to disappear soon after. For example: If a Ranger is doing a survey on a planet to see if it is a good candidate to be colonized and he finds a thriving Kresh settlement- when he comes back a week later it will be gone and no trace of it ever having existed would be able to be found.

When confronted, Kresh will fight. They start with an impromptu horde of males and they are soon joined by well armored and well equipped males and finally they are joined by long range sniper fire. Kresh will not fight unless they have to or if they are a vastly overwhelming force.