Jaradan
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The Jaradans hail from the planet Torona IV. Jaradan space has great strategic importance to the Federation. Jaradans have a mass somewhat less than humans, but they can reach heights of up to two meters. The most notable trait of the Jaradans is their extreme sensitivity to protocol.
Physiology
The Jaradans are an insectoid species with four arms and four legs protruding from a large thorax. They have large, multifaceted eyes and large mandibles surrounding their mouths. They are covered with bristly gray fur like that of a tarantula, and move with a jerky quickness.
Culture
The Jaradans are a spacefaring race with profoundly reclusive tendencies. The carnivorous Jaradans were cannibalistic in the distant past. As they learned to domesticate herd animals, they realized that they needed to find a way to cooperate with others of their own kind. They developed an elaborate set of signals and greetings to distinguish friend from foe, so that members of the same community would not attack and eat one another. Although cannibalism is now practiced only by a few traditionalists, the social rituals derived from these signals remain the center of Jaradan social interaction. Jaradans refuse to deal with any stranger, Jaradan or alien, who fails to choose the correct greeting for the situation and then deliver it in impeccably accented ancient Jaradan. Diplomatic contact with the Federation was suspended for a twenty-year period because an ambassador made a minor pronunciation error in the delivery of one of these greetings. This error was rectified in 2364 by Jean-Luc Picard, and negotiations with the Federation over access to Jaradan space have continued since then, although they proceed painfully slow.
Reference(s)
- Moore, Christian, et al. Star Trek: The Next Generation - Core Game Book, New York: Last Unicorn Games, 1998.