The Lytasians were a species native to the Alpha or Beta Quadrants. They once fought the Ferengi at the Battle of Prexnak and were victorious. (DS9: "The Magnificent Ferengi")
This species was only mentioned in dialogue.
The Lytasians were originally mentioned in Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe's Pocket DS9 book Legends of the Ferengi. Formal first contact between them and the Ferengi took place on the Plateau of Drul on their homeworld. During this initial diplomatic meeting, after the Ferengi Alliance made a gift to the Lytasians of a diamond-encrusted latinum bust of Grand Nagus Zek, the Lytasians offered Zek an empty sack. The Lytasians meant this gesture to indicate that they had nothing to give Zek that he might want, and any gift would insult his dignity. This prompted Zek to reply, "Dignity and an empty sack... is worth the sack," which later became the 109th Rule of Acquisition.
According to Star Trek: Star Charts ("United Federation of Planets I") and Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library ("Federation Historical Highlights, 2161-2385"), there was a star system named Lytasia, which might possibly be the system of origin for this species, in the Alpha Quadrant. This was a binary system with a pair of G-class stars. In the late 24th century, it was an independent system.
External link[]
- Lytasian at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works