Overview
Kretonians are a warmongering humanoid race first encountered in 2651 when the Vanguard scout vessel Gettysburg suffered an OS Drive malfunction and zoomed across the galaxy. On the return from Kretonian space, Gettysburg sparked the supernova of Kreton's star. Their world destroyed, the Kretonians embarked on a mission of destruction and conquest in late 2651. They ran roughshod over the Parallax, then the independent worlds of the Fringe, and finally in the Consortium. After killing or enslaving billions, the Kretonians were wiped out sometime in the 29th Century - either by human-created Specialist clone armies or by the Nall and their allies (depending on who you ask).
Summary
Take cunning, intelligence, wrap it in a leathery shell, and you have a Kretonian. Descendants of mutated Otherian colonists that settled the planet Kreton from Otheria in 1790, Kretonians are for the most part a bad-tempered lot. Kretonians are not generally believed to still live in this universe.
Physical
The average Kretonian stands around four feet high when fully grown. They have leathery gray skin, and large bald heads with large, shiny black eyes. They have no hair on them at all, and they typically live to around the age of 90.
Cultural
Kretonian culture is based around survival of the fittest. Young children that do not learn early to fend for themselves and look out for number one typically end up dead before completing their first year of school. Physical training and discipline are common in Kretonian schools. Those children that make it through school are required to serve in the military for a period of 35 years, and many choose to remain in even longer. Males and females alike share in the military duties of the planet. There are a select few among them who do not believe in the ways of their people, but for them, showing this displeasure would end in a very quick death, and thus they remain silent.
Lem'ing Conflict
Lem'ing were known to the Kretonians as the Ip'ling L'hitumok, or Bearers of Death. According to Kretonian trader H'itupek of Hope Colony, Grand Admiral Krechek, during his exploration ventures, entered Lem'ing space on January 7, 2806, six months prior to the uprising of the Nall. As was his way, he began a campaign to conquer them. This proved to be the most disastrous mistake of his career, for the resulting war decimated half the fleet in two weeks. Krechek reluctantly retreated, and the Lem'ing were seen no more. Unfortunately, such a monumental loss of the fleet resulted in Krechek being unable to hold all the territory he had claimed. The Nall, seizing this opportunity, began their rebellion, which the severely weakened fleet could not resist. Within a month the Nall had decimated the Kretonians that had remained, with the exception of H'itupek's grandfather and his companions, who set out to found Hope Colony. Had the Lem'ing not destroyed the fleet, the Nall would have been utterly destroyed as an example to other would-be rebels.
Other Data
The Kretonians as a race were almost entirely wiped out by the Nall in 2806, ending their invasion of the known worlds in 2652. The Kretonians had travelled to the known worlds in search of revenge against those reponsible for the destruction of their planet, Kreton. What few that survived founded Hope Colony, which eventually was destroyed by a nova. Travelling to Val Shohob, these remaining Kretonians found a somewhat normal life with the Mystics until the Lem'ing invasion. It is believed that they were killed by the Lem'ing, as they were never heard from again.