Fw'Sen
- "What about the analogy to the Fw'Sen? Don't they mate only once, before they're sexually mature?"
- ―Hiram Drayson
The Fw'Sen were a species that mated only once, prior to being sexually mature, and retained the resulting fertilized eggs within their bodies until a later stage in their reproductive cycle. The reptilian Ssi-ruuk designed and produced a Fw'Sen-class picket ship.
Behavior
The Fw'Sen were a species notable for mating once before they were sexually mature. The resulting fertilized eggs were then retained within their bodies until the Fw'Sen reached sexual maturity, at which point the reproductive process continued.[1]
History
The Ssi-ruuk, a reptilian sentient species from the Unknown Regions, named one of their warship designs the Fw'Sen-class picket ship. In 4 ABY, twenty of these ships[2]—manned solely by P'w'ecks, a Ssi-Ruuk slave species[3]—were part of the taskforce that assaulted the Bakura system, before being defeated by a combined Imperial–Rebel Alliance force.[2]
Later, New Republic Admiral Hiram Drayson was familiar with the species. While trying to uncover the origins of the Teljkon Vagabond—a mysterious organic ship of alien design—in 16 ABY, Drayson suggested an analogy between the stored genetic code in the ship and the Fw'Sen mating process. However, this was dismissed by biologist Joi Eicroth as an inappropriate analogy to make.[1]
Behind the scenes
The word "Fw'Sen" first appeared in The Truce at Bakura, a novel written by Kathy Tyers and published in 1994, in which it was part of the Fw'Sen-class starship designation. It was not until the release of the novel Tyrant's Test in 1996 that the Fw'Sen were identified by Michael P. Kube-McDowell as a specific creature. However, he made no explicit identification with the spacecraft. While the species' name is capitalized in Kube-McDowell's work, there is no indication that it is sentient.
Appearances
- Tyrant's Test (First mentioned)