Far Less Humanoid Than Most Sapients...

"Lance-Corporal McKay and Omega Squad reporting Captain!" I say saluting smartly.

"At ease, the Oshunites are not due to dock for another twenty-five minutes." Lieutenant Tilloth says as me and the rest of Omega Squad stand to attention.

"These data tablets contain a brief dossier on the Oshunites, I suggest you read it in the 20 minutes or so we have left, they might be rather unsettling otherwise."

I looked over the Dossier and was immediately struck by the Oshunites physical appearance...

In the alpha quadrant, with the notable exceptions of the Gorn, Horta, and Tholians, almost all races are quite humanoid. This is apparently VERY MUCH not true of the Oshunites. With eyes that are entirely receptive, symbiotic water-grass growing from their backs, and feet and hands adapted for aquatic life the Oshunites physical appearance is barely humanoid at all, and quite clearly NOT Alpha Quadrant normative...

The creatures are obviously not only not like us, but hardly part of the Precursor Program which seeded humanoids throughout the galaxy.

The Dossier further goes on to say that they don't have gender separation: all Oshunites are, as far as human geneticists are concerned, 'female' there having been a period in their history where a monodominant and xenophobic masculine cult tried to enslave and/or destroy all female members of their species and only a radical lesbian separatist group who retreated into a deep oceanic cavern complex survived the resulting nuclear war.

These so-called 'years of encroaching darkness' resulted in the Oshunites being able to reproduce in a mono-sexual manner by psionically exchanging and fusing two pairs of ova to produce viable pregnancies. This event, known as 'Recognition' is the most sacred event in their entire culture and happens perhaps five or six times at most in a woman's life, rarely with the same partner twice. In fact, a fifth Recognition is known as a 'thumb recognition' and basically is considered a requirement for being elevated to the very highest levels of their planetary government, as it is, among other positive traits, an indication of very stable genetics and highly developed mothering instincts, both of which they perceive as positive qualities in their rulers.

I would keep reading, this is fascinating, but the alerts are sounding to tell us to prepare to receive the visiting dignitaries, so I clip the tablet to my belt and prepare to give this diplomatic visit my all!