Neyel - Notes

Universe :	Prime Timeline
Species Name :	Neyel [1]
Quadrant :	Other

Descendants of the Human residents of the O'Neil-class Vanguard asteroid colony, the Neyel were separated from the rest of humanity in 2053 when contact with Earth was cut off by World War III. Five years later the asteroids were thought to have been destroyed in an experiment aimed at generating a stable subspace field. In reality the Vanguard colony survived the experiment but was thrown some 200 light years across space. [1]

A month after this event, the asteroid was discovered and attacked by Nausicaan raiders. The "tuskers" killed 252 of the inhabitants before being driven away. This was a formative event in the history of the Neyel, as it led most Vanguard inhabitants to regard aliens only as a threat. They treated all future first contacts as invaders to be killed on sight. [1]

In 2155 Vanguard encountered a region of interphasic space and was catapulted more than 210,000 light years across space to the Small Magellanic Cloud. Whilst here the Neyel started using extensive genetic alteration, modifying their bodies to be more suitable for life in space as well as increasing durability and damage resistance. The Neyel would eventually have a very thick gray skin, feet with opposable thumbs which could be used as extra hands, and a prehensile tail. They were even capable of withstanding vacuum exposure for short periods. [1]

After drifting in the Magellanic Cloud for nineteen years the Neyel encountered and captured an alien spacecraft with an intact warp drive and artificial gravity system, allowing them to reverse-engineer these technologies. In 2204 they encountered the planet Oghen, inhabited by a primitive iron-age civilisation. The Neyel easily conquered the planet. Although their reign was initially at least somwhat beneficial to the Oghen themselves, this changed in 2219 when Drech’tor Hanif Wafiyy died. Subsequently the Neyel treated the Oghen as nothing more than slave labour, and much of their population was killed off over the next few decades. [1]

The Neyel used the resources of Oghen to build fleets of warships, conquering neighbouring planets and founding a large Empire called the Neyel Hegemony. Their domination seemed secure until regions of interphase space allowed contact with the Tholian Assembly, leading to war beytween the two species. In 2298 the USS Excelsior, under the command of Captain Sulu, and with the help of Federation Ambassador Burgess, was able to broker a ceasefire between the two sides. It was discovered that the Neyel had forgotten or distorted most of their history, granting almost divine status to what they referred to as "Auld Aerth". Burgess remained in the Small Magellanic Cloud with the Neyel, in an effort to prepare them for further contact with Earth by teaching them the truth of their history. [1]

By 2380 Ambassador Burgess' work with the Neyel had born considerable fruit. Their militaristic conquering phase had been brought to an end and the Neyel slave races had become citizens, albeit second class ones. However, elements of the Neyel retained their aggressive ways and sought to undermine these changes by assassinating Burgess, which resulted in her becoming widely regarded as a martyr and a revered figure in Neyel culture.
[2]

A cult known as the Seekers After Penance arose, composed of both Neyel and alien races. Seekers believed the existance of a supernatural entity they called the Sleeper, which would one day awaken and punish the Neyel for their sinful past, purging them of their guilt. When a subspace anomaly opened in Neyel space, the Seekers After Penance took it to be a manifestation of the Sleeper. The anomaly swept a fleet of Romulan ships into Neyel space, resulting in a battle with Neyel forces there. [2]

It also destroyed the planet Oghen, killing most of the population there. Thanks to the efforts of the USS Titan and the Romulan fleet, some 2 million of the natives were evacuated to "Holy Vangar" - the original Vanguard asteroid habitat, which had orbited the planet since the Neyel had arrived in it. The colony was subsequently returned to Federation space via the anomaly. The closing of the anomaly marked the end of contact with the Neyel. [2]

Colour key

Canon source

Backstage source

Novel source

DITL speculation

References

#	Series	Season	Source	Comment
1			The Sundered
2			Star Trek : Titan, Book 2 - The Red King

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Last updated : 27 Feb 2016