Not From Around Here
Humanity has discovered a few dozen worlds with active biospheres and a handful of other recognizably sapient species. Four of them are fellow space-travelers and have had major impact on the expansion of human settlement:
The Dowb are massive semi-aquatic predators, often described as a cross between a T-Rex and a Killer Whale. Dowb tools consist of tailored bio-machinery and semi-sapient servitor and drones, making each of the intimidating beasts the voice and core identity of an adaptable colony of crawling, chittering, and creeping symbiotes. Masters of the biosciences, the Dowb have even produced complex bio-augment symbiotes adaptable to human use.
The Fissal are refugees from a dying world. Resembling large Cranes, they are among the most ardent proponents of cybernetics in human space, and often have a variety of mechanical implants. Accorded limited citizenship in many several human societies, their high birthrate and rapid maturation has raised many concerns about their rapidly growing influence in some democratic nations.
The Syrix are a race of amorphous clay-like quadra-pods. Controlling a region of space at least as large as the Nine Reaches, they are divided into a number of competing (and even warring) states along hereditary lines difficult for outsiders to fathom. Intensely scrupulous in their business dealings, Syrix nations are aggressive buyers of T’ien Lung dragonpearls with deep pockets. For them, the pearls are a key component of their industrial base.
The Clocks (sometimes transcribed as Clox) are highly individualistic machine intelligences grafted to centipede-like mechanical bodies. The most rapacious Clocks capture their own peers, devouring their minds and replicating their own identities into the vacant, body, creating whole cities or fleets of Clocks ruled by a single sociopathic seed-mind. With their advanced grasp of computational sciences, Clocks have become both crucial allies and amongst the worst of raiders for many of the smaller interstellar nations.