Kreetassan

A Kreetassan male

A Kreetassan at a bar in the Pernaia system

The Kreetassans were a warp-capable humanoid civilization native to the planet Kreetassa in the Alpha Quadrant.

Culture and tradition

The Kreetassan race were particularly concerned with proper etiquette, courtesy and adherence to certain, sometimes complex social codes. As a result, they came to have a reputation for being easily offended, and a number of such offenses occurred during their problematic early encounters with Humans.

The Kreetassans considered eating a taboo to be performed privately in the same manner as mating. In fact, in the Kreetassan language, which was very complex by Human standards, the words "eat" and "mate" were very similar. Thus they were offended when, circa 2151, they saw the crew of Enterprise NX-01 eating their food in public, which caused them to storm off the ship in rage. Their anger was alleviated, however, when Travis Mayweather apologized on behalf of the entire crew and assured them that no insult was intended. (ENT: "Vox Sola")

In front of the Kreetassan Hall of Diplomacy stood a row of Alvera trees that, by 2152, were over 300 years old, and which were considered cultural treasures by the Kreetassans. Defacing them in any way was a major offense to their people; however, if it was done accidentally, there was a special, elaborate apologizing ceremony that involved cutting the tree into many pieces.

When a ship was in orbit of Kreetassa, it was, as a courtesy, expected to align its chronometers with that of the Kreetassan Capital City. (ENT: "A Night in Sickbay")

Physiology

Kreetassans were a humanoid race who had an elaborate facial structure. They had heavily-ridged faces with a row of purple-tinged rectangular scutes along the midline of the forehead (nose to hairline), covering one-third of its width. They wore their hair long and in braids and dressed in long, brown, embellished gowns.

History

The strange symbiotic lifeform

During the Kreetassan's visit to Enterprise, a fibrous, web-like organism, accidentally removed from its homeworld during their research, was transferred to Enterprise and took over a cargo bay. (ENT: "Vox Sola")

Kreetassans were famous for manufacturing plasma injectors, and they were one of the few races in their particular vicinity that did.

In late 2152, Enterprise visited Kreetassa to make up for the political mishap a year earlier. They were invited down to the Hall of Diplomacy, and after sending the Kreetassans their genome, Captain Archer, Hoshi Sato, T'Pol, and Porthos (the Captain's dog) went down to the planet. After the initial meetings went well, the Kreetassans were shocked and sent them back to Enterprise, for reasons the Enterprise crew couldn't comprehend. After asking what had happened, T'Pol informed Captain Archer that Porthos had urinated on one of the sacred Alvera trees.

File:Kreetassan ritual.jpg

A PADD showing how the log rings should be arranged

To apologize to the head of the Kreetassan government, they asked that Archer perform a ritual. Down in the Hall of Diplomacy, in a ringed arena, he would have to cut the tree's trunk on a special base with a chainsaw, and arrange the 5 cm thick rings in a special pattern (pictured right). Throughout the whole ceremony, he would wear beads in a special pattern in his hair and have Kreetassan markings on his chest in red ink. At the conclusion, he had to say a message in the Kreetassan language.

After the ceremony, the Kreetassans happily gave them the plasma injector they needed, and also an additional two spares. (ENT: "A Night in Sickbay") A Kreetassan merchant also recommended Tessic's mining colony as a source for deuterium. (ENT: "Marauders")

While looking for Menos in the Pernaia system, T'Pol encountered a large Kreetassan man. (ENT: "The Seventh")

List of Kreetassans

• See: Kreetassans

In the novel The Buried Age, Onna Karapleedeez, one of the apparent victims of the neural parasites mentioned in TNG: "Conspiracy", is identified as a Kreetassan.

Science and technology

• Kreetassan ship

Appearances

• ENT:
  • "Vox Sola"
  • "A Night in Sickbay"
  • "The Seventh"