Neyel

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The Neyel are a fictional race in the Star Trek universe. They were introduced in the novel The Sundered by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin.

The Neyel originally hail from Earth and were humans who lived and worked on the O'Neill colonies, which were built from asteroids in Earth orbit. The O`Neil colonies helped Dr. Zefram Cochrane with his early warp experiments and during one of the experiments there was an accident which propelled the colonies out of Earth orbit.

The colonists found themselves light years away from Earth and made first contact with the Nausicaans. The first contact did not go well and many people were killed, prompting the survivors to adopt a 'kill or be killed' attitude in regards to outsiders. As time went by the people of the colony altered their genetic structure to help them withstand radiation and to live in low gravity environments. As a result of this extensive genetic engineering, the Neyel - while still technically human - retain little of their ancestral appearance. Only their eyes are outwardly recognizable as human.

The Neyel in appearance are bi-pedal humanoids with thick gray skin and a tail. Their skin is thick enough to allow them to survive short periods in space unprotected. Neyel are militaristic and expansionist, always intent on conquering other worlds by force and absorbing them into the Neyel Hegemony. After Ambassador Aidan Burgess spread the Federation philosophy of peace to the Neyel, the species has attempted to halt its brutal traditions of slavery and conquest, however the process is still ongoing (Burgess was eventually assassinated by rival Neyel factions, however she is generally revered by the whole race as a prophet).

The Neyel language is a derivative of English, accounting for a considerable amount of 'drift' in word spellings over the years. Some common Neyel terms are:

• Drech'tor: A starship commander. Derived from the English word 'director' (the administrator of the original O'Neil colony was called Director)
• Efti'el: A faster-than-light drive. Named for the acronym FTL.
• Klomter: A unit of distance measurement, derived from kilometer.
• Pars'x: Another distance measurement, originally parsec.
• Mennet: A unit of time measurement, originally the English word minute.
• Clade: Clan or family unit.
• Desig: One's personal name, i.e. 'designation'.
• The word 'Neyel' is itself inspired by the word 'O'Neil'.
• Auld Aerth: Old Earth.