Xi'Dec/Legends

The Xi'Dec are a highly variable insectoid race from the planet Stic.

Stic is a world of constant climatic, biological, and geological change. The Xi'Dec have responded to this pressure by evolving a wide variety of different genders. Over 180 different genders of Xi'Dec are known, each so different from the next that they could easily be mistaken for completely different species. Each gender is adapted to particular environmental conditions or to a different role in society. For example, during times of war, soldier Xi'Dec evolved with natural weapons. As the Xi'Dec civilization advanced, and information transfer became more important, small, fast-flying Xi'Dec evolved as messengers. The most common and least specialized form of Xi'Dec, the Xi'Alpha or Stictex, have eight limbs (any of which can be used as hands), twelve eyes on short stalks, and lacy wings on their back. Xi'Alpha make up about six percent of the Xi'Dec population.

Xi'Dec can reproduce by laying eggs, bearing live young, or budding young from an adult's body, among other options, depending on the gender of the parent or parents. Xi'Dec society is based on family units, containing at least two adult Xi'Dec of different genders. Families go to great lengths to attract rare types of Xi'Dec to add diversity to their family -- which often leads to embarrassment when off-world visitors are mistaken for an unfamiliar type of Xi'Dec and are proposed with marriage.

When the Xi'Dec were first contacted by Old Republic scouts, they had recently developed nuclear fission and primitive computers. By the time of the Empire, they continued to lag the rest of the galaxy (partly because the wide variety of Xi'Dec forms made mass production impossible). However, Xi'Dec experts in planetary and biological sciences were able to find work throughout the galaxy. An additional source of income came from tourists coming to Stic to observe the diversity of Xi'Dec genders.