M'shinn

The M'shinni (singular M'shinn), ruled the planets of the M'shinni Sector from their homeworld of Genassa. These humanoids were easily recognizable thanks to the moss-like plants that covered their entire body surfaces, save only for their palms and the soles of their feet. This covering led to the common nickname, Mossies. Their plant covering could be various shades of green, depending on the M'shinn's health and light conditions. An ill M'shinn's covering would sometimes dry up and turn brown. M'shinni had a symbiotic relationship with the plants which formed their mossy coats. In return for nourishment from sweat and dead skin cells, their plant covering gave them accelerated healing. If the covering was removed, however, injuries took about fifty percent longer to heal. Their coats also needed sunlight to survive&mdash;a M'shinn held in total darkness for ten or more days would lose her coat. M'shinni were vegetarians, with bony plates in their mouths for grinding vegetables instead of teeth. An adult M'shinn stood between 1.5 to 2.2 meters tall.

All M'shinni were females who reproduced parthenogenetically. Each M'shinn was a near-exact copy of her mother, though small random mutations existed as in all natural reproductive processes. After generations of subtle mutations, individual families or "rootlines" of M'shinn would develop a distinctive appearance. Individuals would clip their plant coverings and wear jewelry to distinguish themselves visually from their mothers, aunts, daughters, and sisters, who would otherwise look almost identical. (Clothing, of course, would block sunlight to their plant coverings.) Reproduction was triggered by climate and food availability: in a favorable climate with plentiful food, they would give birth one every three years. The young were carried in a pouch on their mother's belly for about one hundred days.

M'shinni were strongly loyal to their rootline. Each M'shinni could trace their ancestry back to the "firstmother" of their rootline&mdash;the woman from the extinct M'shinni precursor species who first joined with a plant symbiotically. Each rootline controlled a particular family business. The arable land on M'shinni colonies was divided between rootlines according to ancient laws. The government on each world was made up of a "Council of the Wise", consisting of the eldest member of each rootline present on the planet. Competition between rootlines was often fierce, but rarely violent. Covert sabotage was common, however.

M'shinni ventured into space early in their history, starting by constructing orbital biospheres, and moving on to colonize and terraform Genassa's moon and the other six planets in their home system. After the discovery of the hyperdrive, they colonized dozens of nearby systems and joined the Galactic Republic. Agriworld-2079, the Skrilling homeworld, was one of their colonies. The M'shinni became famous galaxywide as experts on agriculture, botanical genetics, solar power, and terraforming. The Ithorians, who had a similar specialty in the Galactic economy, were friendly rivals of the M'shinni.

Thanks to the fertility of the M'shinni colonies, and the sector's location along the Celanon Spur, the M'shinni Sector was an important exporter of food. When the Galactic Empire arose, their trade to Rebel-aligned planets was restricted. Some M'shinni supported the Empire in their tactics, seeing it as a process of "weeding out" harmful elements. On the other hand, some rootlines showed distaste for the Empire, preferring to remain as neutral as possible and deal with them only through intermediaries.