Cautus

The second species to join the Citadel, the Cautus are humanoids with the traits of leporids (rabbits and hares) which can be seen from the shape of their ears. They do have tails, which is largely unnoticeable due to the short length. As a matter of fact, they are often called "rabbits" by humans. Cautus possess a hyperactive metabolism; they think fast, talk fast, and move fast. Unfortunately, their metabolic speed leaves them with a relatively short lifespan; Cautus over the age of 60 are a rarity.
Cautus are known for their observational capability and non-linear thinking. This manifests as an aptitude for research and espionage. They are constantly experimenting and inventing, and it is generally accepted that they always know more than they are letting on.
Cautus excel at invention, preferring to use cutting-edge technology rather than settle for anything less. For example, their starship defenses put emphasis on high performance over reliability even though a malfunction could cost lives.
The cautus see information gathering and even spying as a matter of course when dealing with other races, but to them this is not underhanded: they simply embrace the dictum of "knowledge is power". Alliance counterintelligence agencies are constantly uncovering cautus agents and cyber-warfare incursions, but there is little they can do to stop them. As a cautus information broker once told an Alliance Admiral, "Your species has been transmitting data across the extranet for less than a decade. My species has been directing the primary espionage and intelligence operations for the Council for two thousand years."

Government

The cautus government, since at least the formation of the Council in 500 BCE, is called the Cautus Union. It is a labyrinthine web of matrilineal bloodlines, with political alliances formed through interbreeding.
In many ways, the cautus political network functions like the noble families of Earth’s Medieval Europe. Structurally, the government consists of fiefdoms, baronies, duchies, planets, and marches (colonization clusters). These are human nicknames, as the original cautus is unpronounceable. Each area is ruled by a single Datatrass (matriarchal head-of-household) and represents an increasing amount of territory and prestige within the cautus political web.

Military

In principle, the cautus military is similar to the Systems Alliance, a small volunteer army that focuses on maneuver warfare. What differentiates the cautus is not their equipment or doctrine, but their intelligence services and rules of engagement. The cautus believe that a war should be won before it begins.
The unquestioned superiority of their intelligence services allows them to use their small military to maximum effectiveness. Well before fighting breaks out, they possess complete knowledge of their enemy's positions, intentions, and timetable. Their powerful intelligence network is spearheaded in the field by the Special Tasks Group (STG), which is responsible for monitoring developing situations and taking necessary action, usually without the shackles of traditional laws and procedures. This may be as simple as scouting and information gathering, or as complex as ensuring a conveniently unstable political situation stays that way.
In every war the cautus have fought, they struck first and without warning. For the cautus, to know an enemy plans to attack and let it happen is folly; to announce their own plans to attack is insanity. They find the human moral concepts of "do not fire until fired upon" and "declare a war before prosecuting it" incredibly naive. In defensive wars, they execute devastating preemptive strikes hours before the enemy's own attacks. On the offense, they have never issued an official declaration of war before attacking.
While capable of defending themselves against most threats, the cautus know that they are small fish in a universe filled with sharks. As a point of survival, they have cultivated strong alliances with larger powers, particularly with the aegir. Though the relationship between the two species was rocky at first due to the sarkaz uplift fiasco, the cautus take pains to keep this relationship strong enough that anyone who might threaten them risks aegir intervention.