Merchanters And Stationers - Setting Up the Spyrate Setting #2

Here is another interesting thing. One of the points the players made in the card phase was that the lone methane breathers, the Vool'k, who have the most systems inside their borders, have a potential enemy at their back. The Vool'k got assigned a card which said a strange alien species is behind their space. This card was meant to mimic the situation in Compact Space, where the Humans are behind the Knnn - that is on the other side of the Knnn from the rest of the compact.

So, the Humans are loose behind the Vool'k. And what do the Vool'k have in their bit of space? The only settlement-free earth-like world in the compact. See, the Vool'k, being methane breathers, have no particular use for this world, in fact the Vool'k have three extra settled methane worlds, but the humans certainly would!

If they could somehow get transit rights through Vool'k Space...

If they could somehow communicate with the Vool'k, which only the Tamberlin can beyond a rudimentary level in our setting - the Vool'k being giant serpects who communicate to a great degree by changing color...

If they don't just assume the Vool'k are space monsters - as Cherryh said, never pick a fight with something you can't understand!