Chith

The Chith, Profunda Sapiens, are a soft-bodied invertebrate species from the planet Schas-Uiabte, in the Hask region of the Milky Way, within the borders of the Nyctosian Empire.

Biology
Chith are translucent marine flatworm-like creatures, on average 1.8 - 2m in length. They possess two infrared sensory pits located above a brain-like structure on their dorsal side and several long tentacles for propulsion in water extending from their posterior end. these are also used to manipulate tools and sense vibration, along with several rows of smaller tentacles located on the underside of the body. their diet consists of free-floating microorganisms filtered through a set of simple eating organs, and they communicate chiefly through chemical signals, requiring specialized translator units to converse with most races.

Average Chith
The typical Chith citizen lives near the ocean floor on Schas-Uiabte or a colony world, and works as a researcher or engineer, with most labor in Chith society performed by machines. They wear no clothing, have limited contact with non-Chith individuals, and live in relative isolation, able to focus almost entirely on their chosen field of work. However, a significant number of Chith also find employment in the Chith Warfleet, which is used as a proxy military by the Nyctosian Empire in exchange for access to resources and scientific knowledge.

Prehistory
The Chith evolved in the high-pressure environment of Schas-Uiabte's deep oceans, filter-feeding microorganisms and sifting marine snow from the seafloor. Their evolutionary path to intelligence is unclear, and some theorize manipulation by one of the many advanced races which inhabited the Milky Way during its previous cycle of intelligent life, which ranged from approximately 80,000,000 to 40,000 BCE. Once they had developed intelligence, they began to use tools made from the bones of dead animals which had fallen to the floor, and were able to construct devices to collect marine snow for consumption, analogous to the development of farming in most terrestrial societies.

Abyssal Era
The Chith's ability to efficiently collect food on a large scale meant that larger settlements could be built. Huge cities were constructed from enormous bridge-like structures that hung across marine trenches. During this era, Chith first experienced war, leading to the development of the first dedicated weapons. They trailed long ropes, embedded with shards of bone and animal teeth, from their tentacles, swimming across the backs of their enemies and slicing their gelatinous flesh into ribbons. Drifting vehicles were developed, propelled by currents and temperature difference and steered with fins, and trade lanes between cities became dictated by the shape of the currents.

Terrestrial Era
everything from here is not done yet, obviously