The Night Fantastic

Endless night stretches away on the other side of the foot-thick glass window. Occasionally you glimpse a small planet out there against the backdrop of stars.
Where are you? You're on a recently-deserted cruise liner.
How did you get here? Only you know that.
Who are you? Well, let's find out.

In this setting humans are newcomers to spacefaring. We've only been at it for a few centuries but already we have carved out a name for ourselves here. We get along well with some other races, and generally keep our piece with the others. After extensive genetic testing, the psychic gene has leaked out into the general human population, in both weak and strong forms. About one in 100 people may have the weak form, and most of those will only ever be navigators. About one in 1,000,000 ever has the strong mutation. Watch out, thoguh. The stronger your powers the more they damage your sanity.

So, who are you?
Let's find out.

I would like to add that I may ask to use your characters in a book, if that's okay with you.

Races and Factions:

Humans:
Humans tend to be either part of the CFP (Coalition of Free Planets), or the Harvest Moon Combine. However, a significant number also work as pilots for both sides, yet staying on their own personal side. They can be anything from psychics and their bodyguards to cutthroat pirates to spacefaring saints. cybernetic implants are kept discreet and elegant in the CFP, extreme to the point of raising ethical questions in the Harvest Moon Combine, and almost unheard-of in the unaffiliated pilots and crew. While the humans of the Harvest Moon Combine tend towards vaguely priestly robes, the unaffiliated humans and lower-tech CFP planets tend to look wear rough-made long-lasting clothes that appear vaguely nineteenth-century in appearance. Current fashion for instruments and ships also favours a slightly steampunk/dieselpunk air.

Xauld:
The Xauld are heavy-set, brutish quadrupeds, consisting of four legs leaving the bottom of a hefty torso at right-angles to each other. They seem somewhat reptilian, and have a hide tougher than thick kevlar. They have bony plates on their foreheads, forearms, shins, and stumpy fingers. They have large teeth, and are on average stronger than humans (although exceptions exist). The main starfaring culture of the Xauld is an almost feudal, knightly culture, in which women have supreme power but are bound by ancient traditions, and the men are considered subservient but fearsome warriors. However, other Xauld civilisations exist. The Xauld have a large number of representatives in the CPF, and almost no presence in the Harvest Moon Combine. Those outside the CFP tend to band into large system-wide conglomerations, but unaffiliated Xauld do exist. Xauld rarely manifest psychic powers at all, let alone telepathy or telekinesis.

Koet Achi: The Koet Achi are one of the most psychically powerful races yet found. The Koet Achi resemble nothing so much as angler-fish with long legs and a small grouping of tentacles on the chin that are rough analogues to human hands. They have representatives in the CFP and the Harvest Moon Combine, but generally keep to themselves. Unlike the Xauld, the Koet Achi seem to have a single culture and religion shared amongst the entire race.

There are probably other races and factions, so feel free to make something up.