The Asuri Republics has introduced an emergency space-travel ban for its newly formed one planet minor client state, the Lepido Foundation.
The Lepido, a species of pre-sapient mothoids, were discovered serendipitously last month by the xenophilic Asuri, who promptly uplifted them and granted them protectorate status.
However, since discovering sublight travel, the Lepido have repeatedly launched all of their civilian and military spaceships into Kibbith, the K-class star of their home system.
Image: The mothoid colony ship LER Lumia, pictured moments before flying directly into the K-class Kibbith star.
The doomed voyages made pan-galactic headlines last week after the Lepido's first colony ship carrying 100,000 mothoid pioneers was piloted directly into Kibbith, with all souls on board lost, presumed incinerated.
The Asuri government, spurned by pressure from internal xenophilic factions, has intervened in a bid to prevent domestic unrest.
"The travel ban may seem extreme but at this point we have exhausted all other options,” Asuri matriarch Pelessarya told Xenonion. “We spent 200 thousand energy credits on an education campaign for the Lepido trying to explain why flying into stars may not be a viable long term behaviour. Unfortunately it seems that during the uplift process the Lepido gained slow learning, fleeting and non-adaptive traits, which has left them... not very receptive to much."
Image: Asuri matriarch Pelessarya wonders if xenophilia may have gone too far with regards to uplifting the Lepido.
Asuri naval forces have now surrounded the Lepido's only planet, their homeworld of Lepido Jor, and offensive armies have occupied primary spaceports to ensure no mothoids are allowed to pilot ships.
Lepido pops have reacted angrily to the news of the blockage. Citizen Ir Vak told Xenonion: "This treatment is degrading! We are quite capable of taking -- oooo -- shiny light...."
Image: Lepido everymoth Ir Vak was outraged at various things that are expanded upon if you read the rest of the article and not the image sub-descriptions.
The interview was cut short as Ir Vak became entranced by appearance of a bright light from one of Xenonion's floating eyeCameras.
