Orbis

The Orbis are a reptillian warp-capable civilization native to the Typhon Expanse.

History

Ancestral Orbis were solitary creatures that ended up evolving into sentient life. Civlization came later for them in their historical development compared to other species and as a result there is less warfare and violence and more merchantile transactions when it came to developing their society. Great labor guilds and merchant houses dominated their government and over time Orbis Customer Synergies was able to buy out or crush all their competition, unifying the planet under one giant corporation.
When the Xanid Suzerainty expanded into the solar system, the orbis willingly joined the Xanids and their natural inclination gave rise to the Orbis continuing as merchants and guilds within the Suzerainty. Eventually Orbis Customer Synergies re-emerged and by putting pressure on local politicians for hundreds of years OCS was able to carve out enough autonomy that outside observers considered them a separate government entirely.
By 2376 with the Xanid state in decadent delcline, Orbis expanded its control by 400% threatening to devour Xanid territory from within through a combination of corrupting Xanid politicians and distracting Xanid population through cheap consumer goods and trashy entertainment programs.
In 2378 the entire leadership of OCS was asssassinated by the Tzynn causing a scramble and period of intense corporate civil war to elect a new board.
In 2378, King Diocourides began a series of bold declarations that severely curtailed the power of OCS and combined with the recent destruction of their board, now OCS is on the decline.

Biology

The Orbis are cold-blooded reptile with thick scaly skin, and large eyes that can see into the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums. Their vision is primarily based around color, not movement, and as a result they prefer loud and vibrant contrasts that can be offputting to other species. They have very limited senses of smell and taste and a highly efficient digrestive process gives them partial immunity to most drugs and toxins. Instead they view drugs and alcohol as things to export to other species for a profit.

Society & Culture

Orbis society and culture is entirely built around capitalism and market transactions. Children owe their parents a considerable debt from the cost of being raised and educated, workers owe the government every time a pirate raid is thwarted and so on. Everything in Orbis has a market built around it and a computer-controlled algorithm provides up-to-date price exchanges to allow for seamless transactions. While Orbis does use currency their preferred method of exchange is through bartering and they use entertianment credits as a way to fill in the gaps that a pure bartering system would have. The idea of charity or social services is foreign to them and there is an entire class of Orbis that are in permanent debt. To these poverty slaves the worst and most dangerous jobs are given.
Orbis have some entertainment and culture but most of their works are derivatives or outright copies from other cultures. They are skilled with adapting entertainment for specific audiences and customers but produce little of their own original works.