Minervettes

Minervettes are a race of tall lanky humanoid women from the planet Minerva.

History
In the year 2784 Soon after the formation of the League of Suns the planet “Minerva” in the “Tau Ceti system was colonized. it seemed to be an idyllic world covered in shallow oceans and small islands. The planet was much like what most people define a paradise, but soon after colonization the planets dark past was uncovered.

Ruins were discovered, ruins of an ancient humanoid civilization. There was an uproar over whether or not the colonization of the world was ethical, the planet was searched extensively for any remnant populations of this humanoid sapient species, but these searches were fruitless.

The people of the planet, the Vaeon, were completely extinct. 2000 years before human colonization they had reached a technological level that resembled earth in the 1960s, but resources were scarce and the island nations fought until nobody remained. Despite the fact the species was extinct there was still the lingering question over whether or not inhabiting the planet was right.

The solution to the controversy was for the planetary government to fund a project to resurrect the ancient species and its culture through advanced cloning techniques. The genetic material for the project was harvested from countless sources, and even to this day all the remains of the Vaeon that are discovered must be examined to retrieve their genetic information.

Within twenty years of the project beginning the Vaeon were reborn, but only the female half of the species, Vaeon sexual genetics are extremely complex and even to this day they have yet to be able to produce a viable male embryo (although significant advances have been made).

These days the common name for the Vaeon is “Minnervette” and they generally co-exist with humanity peacefully. They have made some effort to reclaim their lost culture, but most feel that without the male half of the species it is a pointless endeavor.

Biology
Minervettes are a tall humanoid species, but they internally vary from humans drastically. They posses two tertiary small hearts located near their main heart, and if any one of them fails the others compensate while the other heals. This does not mean the Minervettes are immortal, but they do have a natural lifespan of up to 150 years, which can be extended greatly with medical aid.

Because their homeworld is largely covered in water they posses far more adaptations to aquatic movement than humans do, their sleek dolphin-like skin is nearly water proof and they have very little body hair. Their skin when exposed to sunlight begins to darken like humans, blue skinned Minervettes become almost purple, as do the lavender skinned Minervettes. Another adaptation is that they can hold their breath for up to a half hour, which has created a myth that they can actually breath water.

Reproduction and sexuality is a complicated aspect of Minervette life. Most Minervettes are heterosexual and they seek out partners of other races, homosexuality is not unknown amongst the Minervettes but it is still rare to take partners from their own species. There is actually a higher number of transgendered Minervettes that assume the role of males in their society than there is homosexual, the reasons for this are complex and highly varied between each individual.

Because there are no males when Minervettes choose to have children they visit a local hospital and an embryo is implanted. They can opt to have an Embryo of new genetics or derived from their own genetic material, typically Minervettes that have children usually try both options as they feel both contributes something to their society.

Culture
Minervettes have no real unified culture or religion as of yet, they live spread out amongst the human citizens of Minerva and the Orions Arm. There are small groups trying to reclaim their former cultures, but most Minervettes believe that their culture was worthless as it led them to their extinction.

Some old fairy tales survive though, stories of their small moons which they called the “running stars” are popular amongst small children. And the legends of strong men, generals, soldiers, and other great men of their history are particularly popular amongst young women of the species.

Minervettes have been treated really well by humans, especially young men. Most human men who meet Minervettes are unprepared for the reality of their size, typically standing at least a foot taller than most men. Because of their status as a “beautiful alien race” they have drawn much tourism to the world, and as such most companies operating on Minerva will put Minervette workers in places where they are visible. Everything from news anchors to pizza delivery women.

Behind the Scenes
The creators of the comic wanted an archetypal “beautiful alien woman” species in Dan’s Voyage, so they made the Minervettes. They turned out a lot more in-depth than they originally intended, and they work well to break up the monotony of human characters.