Chondrites

The Chondrites are arguably the strangest of races in the Zambarau Concord. They were discovered much later than the rest of the races of the Concord as they never developed a proper civilization, being a very solitary, nomadic species. The Chondrites never even had a single agreed-upon name for themselves (they were originally referred to as the 'Chondrites' by a group of Sceen, drawing from the fact that they were commonly found on carbonaceous chondrite asteroids, the name caught on quickly). The Chondrites have been found on a many asteroids in a red dwarf solar system with no true planets, just dwarf planets and asteroid belts.

The Chondrites are germanium based (a form of life not thought possible by Concord scientists until its discovery), look very similar to trilobites and are generally a silvery grey colour. They vary wildly in size from centimetres to metres in length. The Chondrites grind up and consume rocks and dust from asteroids and develop a thick shell from an early age that allows them to survive huge amounts of radiation and vast variations in temperature and pressure. They are able to burrow into asteroids but tend to stay above 'ground' where there is plenty of dust that is easy to suck up. When afraid or in danger Chondrites tend to 'clamp down' into the ground and attempts to remove them forcably have resulted in the piece of ground they are attatched to breaking off before they do. Chondrites have several primitive eyes (able to discern light from shadow) spaced along the tops of their shells in two rows and their main sense is touch, able to sense vibrations in the rock, they communicate by 'tapping' hard on the ground.

Chondrites used to look like leeches and live underground for protection but as they became more resilient they moved above ground where the dirt is easier to eat. They are very solitary and don't even meet to mate. A female buries her eggs (which are grey spheres less then a millimetre across) for a male to arrive years later to dig up and fertilise them, before re-burying them much deeper. The eggs develop (they do not 'hatch') into tiny worms that eat through the rock and eventually become tough enough to come out on the surface. Competition for the best nesting spots is harsh and the Chondrites have developed more and more elaborate strategies to get the best nesting sites, which resulted in their intelligence (and a notorious reputation for being shrewd and strategic).

There are still Chondrites on many asteroids that have never mande contact with the Concord, but those that have have very quickly been assimilated into the culture of the Zambarau Concord. It is a mystery as to when, how and why the Chondrites signed the Concord, but if you ask a Chondrite or even the Zambarau themselves, apparently they signed it.