Deltan

The Deltans were a humanoid species which originated from the planet Delta IV in the Alpha Quadrant. The Deltan government was the Deltan Union.

Deltans largely resembled Humans with the exception of having no surface hair except for eyebrows, lashes, and (occasionally) a very thin layer of soft down along arms and legs. They are, on the average, slightly slimmer than Humans, and their cheekbones, eye shapes, and jawlines are slightly more symmetrical, Humans (and many other humanoid species) often find Deltans quite attractive.

Deltans were telepathic and empathic allowing them to sense other peoples emotions and administer medical aid by absorbing and minimizing pain, this mind meld anesthesia meant Deltans made excellent medical personnel.

Deltans were perhaps best known for their high sexuality, both sexes emitted some of the most potent pheromones known to Federation science. As a result, Deltans were something of natural aphrodisiacs, most intensely among their own race, but with a strong effect on most other humanoid species. Because of this Deltans swore an Oath of Celibacy when off-world, they also developed chemical applications to diminish their phenomenal effect. To limit exposure to Deltan pheromones, off-world visitors are not permitted to visit Delta IV itself, instead being restricted to the planet's moons Seyann and Cinera, or given an inhibitor shot.

The Deltan oath of celibacy served not only to curtail sexual promiscuity with other races but also ensured the safety of non-Deltans; the long evolution of the Deltan race not only heightened their sensuality but has also resulted in the sex act becoming a complete union in which both body and mind are shared. For Deltans this was natural and pleasant, but the experience of actually becoming part of another person's mind almost always incapacitates a human partner. It was sometimes said that a non-Deltan who entered into a physical relationship with a Deltan risked insanity.

Delta IV's unpredictable tides and otherwise inhospitable ecology have promoted a culture at once polyglot and unified. Although many micro-cultures evolved throughout the expansive planetary chain of island archipelagos, they could never remain isolated long enough to develop either xenophobia or devastating cultural and technological advantages over one another. To forestall inbreeding, the island-bound Deltans also cultivated an extremely open sexual culture. Indeed, stranded mariners were often adopted into large group amours in order to refresh local gene pools. Brought together by ties of sex and geography, Deltans learned to peacefully coexist and relate well, by necessity. With the bountiful, renewable resources of so flourishing a natural environment, and a low species birthrate, wars over resources were almost unknown among the Deltans.

The Deltans were also drawn to cultural unity by their genetic predisposition toward empathy along with related psionic abilities. The capacity to experience another's suffering rendered violence and armed conflict anathema, and even excessively hurtful personality conflict and quarrel, unthinkably impolite. Yet ordinary social hypocrisy was impossible due to the intense Deltan pheromones and acute sensitivity thereto, rendering Deltans so transparent to one another, emotionally. And so, their culture evolved toward a remarkable global ideal of supportive, nurturing behavior founded upon time-honored Deltan sexual openness. A deep-rooted sense of species and personal security remains unshaken by their subsequent contact with the Andorians and later other space-faring cultures of the region. Their greatest concession to existence in a dangerous galaxy was the adoption of the renowned Oath of Celibacy out of necessity and good manners when dealing with those whom they came to regard, perhaps with somewhat patronizing deference, as less sexually-mature species and cultures.