Chah'nas

In minor roles, chah’nas appear in Renegade and Drysine Legacy

chah'nas and alo[]

chah'nas were first to meet the alo, about 2,000 years ago. Chah'nas records indicate the alo spoke a deepynine-type language:

“There are ancient records in Chah'nas space that they don't touch, not being curious, of the very first recordings of the Alo, when they first made contact with the Chah'nas. For a long time, Alo only spoke to Chah'nas. Since then, Alo language has changed drastically, but ancient records show clear similarity between Alo and C-9, the primary tongue of the DP9s.” (R-27)

“Twenty five thousand years ago, one of the most vicious and devastating branches of the AI race disappears into what is now alo space. Twenty three thousand years later, just one thousand before humans appear in space, the alo appear and become friends with the chah'nas and chah'nas only. Alo today claim they killed all the deepynines. But what kind of species adopts the language of its enemy?" (R-27)

chah'nas and humans[]

chah'nas aided humans when krim invaded earth (R-1)
“Were it not for the Chah'nas Continuum, all of humanity would have ended a thousand years before, at the hands of an entirely different enemy. The chah'nas liked to remind humans frequently” (R-1)
- the alo told them to aid humans
"allied with the alo for a few thousand years” (R-22) well before the krim came on the scene

“Do you know that the alo were behind the chah'nas first sending aid to earth, when the krim first invaded Sol System? Chankow explained... It was the alo's idea. They're the true masterminds behind the chah'nas plan to push back the tavalai from the center of Spiral power...We don't know why, but we've known for a long time there's a very old AI connection. It's one of the most well kept secrets."(DL-16)

chah'nas and tavalai[]

Chah'nas hate the tavalai, apparently

After the chah'nas turned on the parren and took control of the Spiral, they ruled for 8,000 years, giving the detail-oriented tavalai responsibility for management, and positions with some prestige, along with an honorary caste (tenth caste), with a temple on Merakis (R-20)
eventually the Froggies revolted their static caste position and won the leadership, announcing the First Free Age of the Spiral (R-13 and R-20)
that was about 8,000 years ago, but only recently the chah'nas melted hundreds of tavalai with glee (R-19)

descriptions[]

Chah'nas were big, towering over humans, with long heads and ferocious faces, jutting jaws and an assortment of sharp teeth. Their four arms made them seem hunched and ready, as though always preparing to spring, shoulders flexed back and lower back arched to keep that over-weight of arms from toppling them forward. (H-27)

Seven-foot-plus with broad shoulders, elongated shoulder blades for extra pair of arms (R-17)
four 👀 • 👀 and four arms, like kaal (R-1)
tusks, inverted nose:

“Greetings ally,” this one said, in contemptuous deadpan. A chah'nas mouth didn’t look particularly well-suited to human speech, with big lower tusks and underbite, but like humans they were omnivores, and had nimble vocals. This one spoke in a deep, bass growl, four eyes fixed unerringly on Erik about wide, inverted nose." (R-17)

somewhat similar to kaal:

Tif knew she wasn’t the first to notice the similarities between kaal and chah’nas. Each were six-limbed and four-eyed, but there the similarities ended. Kaal were huge, half the size again of even large humans, in height and girth. Their homeworld had nearly 2.5 Gs, and they’d evolved accordingly” (KV-13)

caste competition[]

traditionalists, male dominated, strict
- but some warriors are female (R-19)
caste system, with strict rules, with nine castes, including military caste
during chah’nas empire they made the organized, detail-oriented tavalai their tenth caste, until the tavalai revolted, disliking the static system (R)
caste competition

“chah'nas used genetic engineering to differentiate specialities among themselves, like animal breeders selectively isolating desirable traits. They did not try for species purity, but rather species complexity through caste competitiveness —which meant they tried to strengthen castes against each other in endless competition...”

and Fleet[]

Humanity's Fleet has made deals with chah'nas:

at Merakis, the chah'nas told Major Thakur that Fleet gave them permission to do what they wanted (Renegade ch. 19)
Fleet may have made deal with chah'nas before Triumvirate War started, to allow chah'nas access to human assets, as the new ordinance suggests:

"Fleet’s passed an ordinance, and Chairman Ali signed it....Emergency legislation,” said Erik. “It bypasses the usual Congress vote in an emergency, just needs the head of Fleet and Spacer Congress to sign it....It seems they’re putting a fifteen percent limit on Worlder ownership of Spacer assets. Also, um… limitations on Worlder citizenship, they’re saying any Worlder working for a Spacer institution for more than two years has to give up Worlder citizenship for Spacer.” (R-22)

Erik Debogande explains the logic:

“I suspect that somewhere, probably a century and a half ago or longer when the plan for the Triumvirate War was being hammered out, Fleet Command did a deal with the chah'nas.”
“What kind of deal?” Tricia asked suspiciously.
"Shared sovereignty,” said Erik. “Theirs of our space, us of theirs. Or something like it. More than just trade —— cross-investment, possibly even cross-habitation. That’s the only way I can see the investment shortfall being made back.” (R-24)

The chah’nas kidnapped Tif and Skah, and interfered with human attempt to modernize kuhsi patriarchal laws and traditions regarding gender equality. Chah'nas told kuhsi not to modernize or educate females, even though the kuhsi world was discovered by humans, and supported by them.

“It just confirms that the chah'nas are up to things, politically. The kuhsi are our allies, human allies, but now the chah'nas are playing games and trying to win them over. It means hitting Tek-to-thi was worth it, because Tif and our chah'nas prisoner just confirm we’re on the right track." (R-18)

characters[]

“Kel-ko-tal” from ship Tek-to-Thi, grappled and stormed by Phoenix Company
“I am of Ko-sheel caste, warrior third-grade, by way of Ama-shaal caste, warrior fourth-grade." (R-16 & 17)
intimidated merchant ship Abigail of Debogande Industries
Kel-ko-tal kept kuhsi Tif and Skah hostage

the tavalai historian Chis killed Kel-ko-tal (R)