Z e t o   a n d   C a y

O l e a    R i e c e 

I n t r o d u c t i o n

The Minkans had always been a peaceful people. They grew, and traded, and thrived. They cherished their sense of freedom. Their sense of pride. Not long after their first steps into the great unknown, space, things had been very different. Their intentions had never been bad. They were explorers. Their sense of curiosity, however, almost lead to their extinction.

When the first Minkans made it off their native world, everything they had known suddenly changed. Maltinium Prime, the home world of these people, was a land of extremes. The planet's horizontal axis had torn the their home between a never ending day, and an eternal night. One half of their world never saw the light of the sun. The other never saw the dark of night. The light side, as it was known, was a barren, desert wasteland with temperatures far too high for any living thing to stand. On the other side, the dark side, ice stretched for miles thick. Nothing had ever survived on either side of the planet. Only a tiny ring, where the day and night met, was inhabited. Rain forests blanketed the hillsides on the side closest to the sun. Tundra and grasslands lay to the dark. Here, in the ring of life, beings known as the Klu'klo, "the Ancestors", evolved. However, these beings were not meant to be. It has never been found how far they evolved, but before long a mass extinction took place. An underground sea of magma on the light side of the planet collapsed, throwing enough debris into the air to block out the sun. Nothing survived. Every living thing not killed by the initial explosion was suffocated by the ash spread throughout the atmosphere. It was another two million years before the second series of life began to bloom. The Varai, the "Second Life", evolved into the Minkan people. Maltinium Prime was once again a harbor of life.

The Minkans would not have lived either, if it were not for the creatures they evolved from. These creatures were the Ko'ninka. The Ko'ninka were unique in that they could survive the transverse between the two extremes of the planet, instead of being held on the side of which they evolved. This was made possible because of a specialized organ they had evolved with. This organ was known in the light side as the Treau, and in the dark as the Vinera. The word Treu'vera was deprived from both words, each in their own way meaning "soul". The organ was designed to be able to superheat and supercool a liquid element, Maltinium, to aid with regulating core body temperature. The treu'vera sits just over the Minkan's heart, at the direct center of their chest. Maltinium is likely the rarest element in the known galaxy, a modified, naturally liquid form of oxygen. Minkans can consciously change the temperature of their treu'vera, though it takes a few minutes for any heating or cooling to take affect. Also, they are able to inject small amounts of Maltinium directly into their bloodstream as a replacement to oxygen, so they can "hold their breath" for long periods of time.

Despite the obvious advantages of bearing this organ and it's unique element, it was because of this that the Minkan people were hunted nearly to extinction. When the Minkan people first ventured out of their own solar system, they soon encountered a reptilian species known as the Vor. The Vor learned of the Minkan's Maltinium, and, hoping to both use and trade the element for helping to regulate the temperatures of  their intergalactic star engines, hunted the Minkans for their small amount of Maltinium. Because the element is either in a superheated or supercooled state at any given time, extracting it without it either melting through or freezing and killing all tissue around the treu'vera was impossible. Thus, any Minkan captured to have their Maltinium "harvested" had no chance of survival. This dark age in the Minkan's history was known as "The Marring". Many magnificent designs and volumes of prior history was lost in the struggle to survive. The Vor were a far more powerful and advanced species, and they were merciless in their gathering of the Maltinium. The Minkans numbers went from just over 3 billion to a mere 700 in the period of one hundred and twenty years. Yet even then the Vor hunted them mercilessly. Some Minkans even became bounty hunters, searching for and killing their own in exchange for their own lives being spared. It seemed as if there was no hope for the once-great civilization.

Then, one man rose stood up for his people. His name was Darian U'vector, and his name would be remembered by every Minkan during and after his lifetime. Darian went out into the far reaches of the galaxy, searching for help. He happened upon an alliance, a great Republic of thousands of species, ruled by three separate senators; each of a different species- Mortis, Zyna... and Human. Darian pleaded for somewhere where his people could take refuge without fear of being hunted any longer. Without hesitation The Trilogy came to the Minkan's aid. The Vor were subdued, and the Minkans were accepted into the Trilogy as one of the the main species. Another thousand years passed, and the Minkans grew to be on par with the three species; the Minkans became considered the Fourth species. Soon, their technology was the envy of everyone, and everything else in the galaxy. They were allowed to thrive and grow larger and stronger, increasing their former glory tenfold. They prospered under the protection of the Trilogy, and became an active part in making the Republic stronger. The Minkans were renowned for their magnificent ships and defensive weapons, and for thousands of years were a peaceful people.

Then, everything once again began to change. A woman by the name of Rinetsi came to power as ruler of the Minkan Republic. She was a power-thirsty and ruthless tyrant, though the Minkans remained loyal to her. Rinetsi led the Republic to break free from the Trilogy. With just leaving, however, she was not satisfied. The once peaceful Minkans declared war on the Trilogy. Lead by Rinetsi, the entire galaxy fell into turmoil as the Minkans turned on their friends... and saviors.