Goblins are slight of stature, roughly equal to halflings, but with larger ears not unlike the elves and chloroplast skin similar to their orcish cousins. The orcs hold that goblins are a product of interbreeding between halflings or dwarves and orcs themselves, while the goblins believe themselves to be the heirs of the extinct, and possibly mythical, gnomes. In either case, they embarked on the same exodus from the Garden World as the orcs, only to soon find themselves reduced to menial labor with no rights, enslaved by the very fellow-slaves that had emancipated them.

A major series of Goblin Rebellions shook the orcish people for nearly two centuries, with the result that the majority of goblins broke away and asserted their own culture. A significant minority, perhaps 10%, still live among the orcs, though their social standing has increased and most orcish settlements have banned chattel slavery.

The remainder now have their own settlements and colonies, though the majority of goblins live itinerantly in one of several large fleets that establish temporary colonies and infrastructure for a decade or so before moving on. This is done both for self-defense, to prevent a feared orcish counterattack, and to forestall any future attempts at conquest. Even those goblins living on other worlds among other sapients or in permanent colonies owe allegiance to a fleet, being able to call upon its local representatives or ships in a mement of need.

Goblin fleets all contain megastructure-class colony ships, mobile wildcat resource extraction platforms, and a number of other passenger and military craft. Each major fleet is named after a color, with Green Fleet, Blue Fleet, Yellow Fleet and Red Fleet as the main operational units.

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