Sluissi

[Jenno]

The Sluissi were the indigenous sentient species of the planet Sluis Van, located in the Outer Rim Territories. While their bodies above the waist were humanoid, their lower halves were serpentine, long and heavily muscled. Sluissi were noted for their calm temperament, aversion to rushing and impatience, compliance to protocol, no matter how trivial, and their technical aptitude. Like most reptiles, Sluissi could use their forked tongues to sense heat.

Renowned for their ability to repair and maintain starships, the Sluissi were active in Galactic society almost since the beginning of the Republic. This was because the Sluissi's technology was almost on par with other space-faring races such as Duros and Humans.

Sluissi's upper torsos were similar to a human's, with two arms, each with four-fingered hands. Their fourth finger was an opposable digit. Their arms had almost winglike extentions of skin, which aided their movement while they were flat on the ground. The bottom half of their body was similar to a snake's, with a long, heavily muscled, singular tail. Their bodies were covered in fine scales which ranged in color from light brown to dark green. Other colored scales on Sluissi were not unheard of, however they were quite rare. Sluissi had round black eyes and a swooping, hoodlike fold of tough skin at the back of their heads. They had forked tongues that aided their sense of smell.

Sluissi were patient, sociable, relaxed, easy-going beings, famous for remaining calm under pressure. Their patient, calm nature—combined with their seeming inability to have become genuinely upset or angry—often baffled, and sometimes even infuriated other species. Extremely industrious, Sluissi loved to tinker with gadgets and mechanical objects, and Sluissi technicians were able to improve the engine efficiency, power output and system response in even archaic, worn out ships.

The Sluissi were extremely methodical, and worked extremely slowly at their work. To them, starship construction was an art form. Although jobs done by Sluissi always took longer than expected, most clients were willing to be patient, because Sluissi technicians could make improvements upon or salvage vessels when no other mechanics could.

As well as Sluissese, their native language, Sluissi spoke basic, though they tended to slur and lisp many words, due to the snakelike structures of their tongues and mouths.