The Batra evolved on an ecologically precarious world. Only the species most aligned with their environment were able to survive in their world’s capricious biomes. The Batra are a bipedal, frog-like race, standing taller and wider than a human. They evolved as the apex predator of their world. Batra live for several centuries and so by nature are patient and wary generally preferring to act at the right moment rather than committing to rash action. The Batra live in a complex society comprised of clutches and clans and most Batra are aligned with many clans during their long lives.
When the Batra developed radio technology they prohibited the creation of global radio transmitters due to an abundance of caution. This caution saved their race. Their first radio telescopes aimed at the stars captured multiple alien transmissions the very first time they received a signal. Their world was in the heart of a stellar cluster which was favorable to the formation of life. The stars around them were awash with other civilizations which evolved at roughly the same time as their own race.
A dozen races within a few thousand light years had managed to reach technological development and were communicating amongst themselves. The Batra Elders convened after this discovery and elected to prohibit any sort of transmission. Electing instead to listen they began to plan a mission to the closest source of the transmissions, which could be reached in a couple of centuries.
Even as their interstellar ship was built they realized that there was some force acting on these alien races. As decades passed the transmissions began to disappear. Something was silencing them and the Batra knew that this threat might reach their own home world. With increased urgency their first interstellar ship departed. It was this ship which observed the Niphal at work. Eradicating a civilization not unlike their own. The Batra on the ship elected not to return home instead sending their vessel into the nearest star to prevent its discovery by the Niphal. They did however send their findings home in a high-speed stealth probe. When this data reached the Batra they were horrified and spurned into action.
The clans united to build The Great Lattice. A collection of thousands of satellites which completely encompass their world. These generate a grid-like field which suppresses any signal which might leave their planet as well as projecting a holographic image of the world locked in a prehistoric state. This prevented the Niphal from detecting them. They continued to develop their stealth technology and carefully began to expand to other worlds around the galaxy taking great care that their home world never be discovered by outsiders.
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