Ousan

The Ousan (//, singular also "Ousan") were a sentient species of reptilian omnivores native to Oourb'Rest in the.

Biology and appearance
The Ousan had heads and two arms and legs, but were unlikely to ever be mistaken for s or any other species. Their hides had thousands of scales, each a rough hexagon in shape. Their bodies were completely hairless, and their eyes a uniform, milky pink color. Ousan had twelve sharp fore teeth (six on each jaw) for stripping flesh, and a number of flat teeth in the back to grind food. They had no distinct noses, but had circular nostrils through which they inhaled and perceived scent.

It was the flesh of the Ousan, however, that made them immediately distinguishable. Their "resting" color was blue-gray, but Ousan could change color based on emotional states. Their scales had variable pigments which reacted to the biochemical changes accompanying intense emotions. Color change was not instantaneous, and could spread from one part of the body to others rather than occurring in all areas simultaneously. With small variations in hue, the same shades signified the same emotions in every Ousan. Among those known were: Very old Ousan sometimes lost the ability to change color as the pigmenting chemicals in their scales malfunctioned. Some diseases caused uncontrollable color change or made even the resting flesh multiple colors at once.
 * Dark blue: Fear
 * Red: Arousal
 * Pale green: Discomfort or deceit
 * Dark green: Anger
 * Yellow: Disgust

Ousan had broad builds that matched their heights, and the digits of their hands and feet had sharp black claws.

Female Ousan laid a single egg at a time, and infant Ousan were born without arms or legs; these grew within two years of birth. Ousan reached full maturity around the age of nineteen standards years. Ousan had a variety of genome encoders which encouraged reproduction between some Ousan while making it difficult with others. There had once been clear pheremone markers to attract Ousan to ideal mates while repelling them from poor ones, but the ability was lost during Oourb'Rest's climatic catastrophe.

Society and culture
Ousan could learn to regulate their color changes by maintaining internal calm, but the skill took extensive practice and was rarely mastered before puberty and its accompanying emotional upheaval. As a result, Ousan were an atypically honest people compared to other sentients, since their emotions were hard to hide. Rin Sakaros once remarked that, "They're the only species I've ever encountered for whom dishonesty is a learned behavior, not an instinct".

Unlike some other reptilian species, Ousan mated for life. However, some partners with deep emotional bonds found that reproduction was difficult. In these cases, it was considered acceptable for mates with their partners' consent to sire children with more reproductively compatible partners. In such cases, the children of the union belonged to the mother. The advent of genetic testing led many Ousan to get themselves tested and compile lists of "acceptable mates", and dating services matched Ousan to those reproductively compatible with themselves. Other Ousan refused to subscribe to what they felt was a soulless, purely biological system and took their chances finding love more traditionally.

Monastic communities existing on Oourb'Rest devoted to maintaining emotional tranquility at all times. These monasteries considered the color change reflex a shameful holdover of an animal nature and taught their disciples to master their emotions at all times. Monks of such sects usually worked and traveled only in loincloths or other minimal coverings, so that any change of color could be immediately detected and addressed. For similar reasons, prisoners being interrogated were usually stripped naked.

History
The Ousan evolved from prey creatures, despite their size. Their ability to change color was a defensive adaptation; since the majority of foliage on Oourb'Rest was blue, the instinct of turning dark blue when fearful could camouflage them from predators. Biological historians discovered ancestors of the modern species whose DNA suggested they changed other colors when fearful, and consequently were bred out of the gene pool by being eaten before reproducing.

Ousan societies were largely collaborative and open, given their difficulty in hiding emotional states or intentions. During states of war, Ousan who could control their color-changing reflexes were highly prized by generals and politicians, since they could serve as spies. In democratic societies, political debates were often conducted in town hall or other question-and-answer forums, as they forced candidates to think on their feet and minimized the possibility of preparing in advance to lie.

In the 70s ABY, Oourb'Rest experienced its first invasion by the Peoly, a neighboring alien race. Initial plans for a direct invasion were complicated when it became apparent that Ousan blood was an intense for the Peoly, and the Peoly began to hunt the Ousan for consumption rather than occupation. The Ousan united to form a single front of resistance, beginning the Ousan-Peoly War. During the war, the Peoly used a toxic chemical agent on Oourb'Rest. Though poisonous to the Peoly themselves, it did not kill the Ousan. However, it did alter the atmosphere of Oourb'Rest itself, preventing pheremone markers which helped identify ideal mates from being transmitted by air. Ousan religious and political leaders called for reprisals, claiming the attack was an assault on the natural process of lifegiving.

In 89 ABY, the Golden Empire came across Oourb'Rest in the middle of a Peoly assault. Massassi troops from the Royal Army forced a standstill between the two parties on the surface; the Peoly fleet attacked the Royal Navy, but the attackers were annihilated. Both sides sought the Empire's favor, with the Peoly seeking to join the Empire and complete their conquest of the Ousan, while the Ousan wanted the Empire to assist them in carrying the battle to the Peoly homeworld.

Queen Rin Sakaros tried to hold a middle course, offering to take both species and their worlds into the Empire and forcibly maintain peace between them. Neither side was overly enthused, but the Ousan and the Peoly attack troops agreed to a ceasefire. The Peoly brought the Empire back to their homeworld of Yuclawav, which agreed to the Empire's terms as well. However, the Peoly soon attacked the Ousan again; when the Empire intervened, the Peoly sent an attack fleet to Zorabos too. An outraged Rin Sakaros retaliated by completely decimating Yuclawav and the Peoly.

The Ousan avoided becoming a target during the Great Liberation, but were attacked during the Nightmare War in the initial blitz by the Reawakened. Oourb'Rest was largely devastated by the Skavik invaders and their Dark Jedi masters, but unlike Dolomir, Klee`shlyoo`hshee, and other worlds hit early, Oourb'Rest still had the guerilla fortifications and equipment left from their struggle with the Peoly. The Ousan quickly developed a vibrant underground resistance, carrying on the fight against the invaders until help arrived in the form of a vengeful Breek Zagrev and her Romasi Sector Fleet.

Government leaders estimated that close to a quarter of Oourb'Rest's population had been killed; while this was nowhere near the wanton slaughters on Dolomir and Klee`shlyoo`hshee, it still surpassed even the worst depradations achieved by the Peoly.

In the galaxy
Given their imposing size, claws, and strength, Ousan often found work as bouncers, bodyguards, and soldiers of the Royal Army. Some poor Ousan who could not find work off their homeworld tried to develop control over their color changing to amuse crowds and earn some meager sustenance.

Appearances

 * The Fall of Keltrayu
 * "It Takes Only One"