Shadekin

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Very little is known about these creatures. They appear to be largely mammalian in appearance. Seemingly very rare to encounter, there have been widespread myths of these creatures the galaxy over, but next to no verifiable evidence to their existence. However, they have recently been more verifiably documented in the Virgo system, following a mining bombardment of Virgo 3. With the most sightings coming from NSB Adephagia, on and above Virgo 3b. Something in the resulting reaction seems to have drawn them in, as there has been a huge spike in sightings all across the Virgo system.

Being as these creatures are such an unknown, a call to action among the research department has been mustering, to study these aliens. They seem mammalian, but their ability to come and go as they please with no sign of entry would appear to betray some serious lack of understanding in just what they are, and where they come from. The name and classification for this species is as yet, unknown.

The crew of NSB Adephagia have taken to calling these creatures "Shadekin", and the name has generally stuck and spread, being as they seem to lack an actual species name as far as we can tell.

Overview

• Large brightly colored eyes
• Huge expressive ears
• Pawbs
• Long tail
• No pockets
• See also Black Eyed Shadekin

Biology

Seemingly very difficult to scan. Their body systems may very well be different to those of previously encountered species. Research specialists are working on scanning devices which can study the creatures.

At a glance though, they appear to be mammalian. Perhaps evolved from some kind of unknown species. They seem to typically have thick fur, large expressive ears, and large brightly colored eyes. No pupils seem to be present in these eyes however, suggesting a very different structure to those of most traditional mammals. Soft, pliable flesh, and long tails. The shape, structure, and colors of these creatures seems to vary to some degree, more than one might expect from a traditional mammal of the same species.

Gender Differences and Reproduction

No reliable data yet. There are reports of somewhat traditional male and female genitals present. These reports are however very inconsistent, and the genitals of the creatures seem to be hidden ordinarily. The creatures do not appear to have any obvious tells for gender or sex ordinarily. There are reports of some with more traditional feminine or masculine body structures, but these do not seem to be consistent among their species. It's ordinarily somewhat difficult to tell without asking them, or seeing their genitals.

Lifespan

Insufficient data

Diet

They do not seem to be picky. Reports are coming in from all over, of the creatures accepting, or stealing all kinds of food from crew.

Behavior

These aliens appear to be primarily bipedal, and have been confirmed to be of similar level of mental development and faculties to other space faring species. They also seem to have some kind of language with which to communicate, and there are reports that this can be done at range. The creatures have been shown to posses a high capacity for learning, as there are a number of them who have been reported to have learned Galactic Common well enough to communicate with crew to varying degrees of competency.

Primarily, encounters with these creatures have been peaceful, the creatures primarily seem to be curious explorers inspecting our facilities, though there have been reports of kidnappings and even attacks by a few members of their kind.

It is notable to mention that these creatures seem to have a means of travelling space without the use of any technology that has been detected, and have been known to escape confinement even when such should be impossible.

There has been one reported kill on these creatures, though no body was recovered.

Following a number of reports on the creatures, it has been determined that there appears to be a correlation between eye color and general temperament:

• Blue eyes have been by far the most common that have been encountered, and in general these seem to be the most likely to possess a curious, friendly temperament, and have been the fastest in learning Galactic Common.

• Purple eyes are the second most common, and appear to be more reckless. Not outright hostile, but more likely to retaliate if offended or attacked. Like blues, these seem to be curious about us, but seem more likely to be aggressive in seeking out their curiosity.

• Green eyes have been the second most rare to have yet been encountered, and these have been primarily evasive or defensive of an area. They do not typically respond well to being approached casually or in large groups.

• Red eyes have been the third most rare to have been seen, and it's a good thing too, as they have been almost exclusively aggressive and hostile. There are reports of reds who have been able to be reasoned with, or who have made deals with the crew, but these seem to be outlying cases. It is advised that the crew be extremely careful and on guard when dealing with Red eyes.

• Orange eyes have been the most rare color to have been seen. Very little data has been gathered on them, though they seem to only be present for short periods before departing. They seem to be highly evasive and sneaky ordinarily.

It should be noted that while these trends in temperament have been recorded, the eye color of the creature does not exclusively seem indicative of their intent or personality. There have been reports of red eyes who are non-hostile, and even helpful at times. And likewise, there have been reports of some hostility from most of the other eye colors somewhat in line with trends one might expect from an intelligent, self determining set of individuals.

Standard Operating Procedures

Simply put, these are strange aliens whom seem to defy containment, and communicate with one another through unknown means. It has been determined that it would probably be a supremely bad idea to make enemies of these creatures, as in our present state, there is little we could do to counter them.

Lucky for us, they seem to be relatively peaceful and compliant with our rules. As such, they are to be treated as visitors. This means they should only be allowed into restricted areas with the permission of at least one of the crew in the area. They should not be using restricted equipment. They should not be vandalizing or damaging the station. The exception to this is in of course, dress code. They are not required to wear clothes or possess and display ID cards, though it is encouraged to issue guest passes to them with their name on them if they are allowed into an area.

Now, naturally, it should be assumed that these creatures may not be aware of our laws, so a bit of lenience should be allowed while they are learning so long as they are not actively sabotaging or otherwise damaging the station.

That said, should they repeatedly break our regulations, they are to be brigged, as with any other troublemaker. Should they resist this, they should be made to leave. Do ensure you make an attempt to deal with these creatures diplomatically. They should be made to know that they are guests here, and that we have rules.

Research Directives

As with most early contact scenarios, these creatures are largely unknown. As such, brave individuals are needed to study these aliens. It is important to note that these potentially dangerous aliens. As yet they do not appear to be hostile outright however. Should these creatures present themselves, they are to be protected for study so long as the subject is not plainly hostile. (Plainly hostile being: Attacking people for no apparent reason.) Should one of these creatures take issue with an individual's presence, said individual is to be removed, and a report to be made regarding their interactions with the creature, and any notable differences between them and other crew.

These creatures are not to be allowed to meddle with vital station services, and should be discouraged from doing so with force if necessary. It should be noted, that these creatures seem to prefer low light environments, so visibility when dealing with them may be reduced.

As for directives, we have determined that these creatures are of similar intelligence to other space faring species, though their views on the nature of the universe seem to be strange.

• Establish contact, attempt to assist compliant individuals in learning Galactic Common. Many of them seem to be attempting to learn it, and if we hope to learn from them in turn, we need to be able to understand them.

• Test the range of ability to manipulate their surroundings, such as writing or tools.

• Determine what their primary method of communication is (if any), and learn to utilize it if possible.

• Study what exactly their method of 'disappearing and reappearing' is, and how we might be able to utilize, or prevent it.

Lore things

Everything below this point should be unknown to anyone encountering a shadekin who hasn't seen it demonstrated in character, on station. Don't read it if you don't want it spoiled.

If you're wanting to play shadekin, it's required reading.

Going over some quick points:

• Shadekin have a similar level of intelligence to humans. They are thinking, feeling, learning creatures. Not feral beasts.

• Light doesn't hurt shadekin. They're most comfortable in dimly lit places, but it causes them no injury or pain to be in well lit areas, ESPECIALLY as Blue eyes. Now, they're unlikely to like brightly lit things, but just keep in mind, there's a difference between someone turning on the lights in a room, and someone following you around with a floodlight.

• Pay attention to your intro text. Certain shadekin behave in different ways. Please pay attention to the way you are supposed to behave.

• Shadekin names are very important to them. It's their whole identity, their reputation, everything. They're proud of them. Now, there's no real rules on what those names can and can't be, but treat it seriously. They should not just be some random common noun. They typically only have one name. If they have an additional name, it is typically related to something they are well known for. Additional names are not given out lightly, so to have more than one denotes serious skill, accomplishment, or notoriety, recognized by their kind.

• Shadekin do not typically answer to a species name. The term Shadekin means nothing to them unless they've spent a lot of time around other kinds of people.

• Shadekin do not speak Galactic Common to start with. They can however learn it, given time.

• Shadekin are primarily emphatic among their own kind. They can talk to each other with ,m They do however utilize simple vocalization. They have difficulty actually identifying one another by empathy alone. They may say some variation of the 'mar' sound, usually in appropriate intonation. "Mar?" "Marmar." "MAAAR!!" They may also respond to other species marring at them, but their empathy only works with their own kind. They cannot hear the thoughts or feelings of other species ordinarily.

• Shadekin come and go via bluespace tunneling into other dimensions/planes. They do this to get around when other paths to where they want to be are otherwise unavailable.

• Phase shifting is taxing on them normally, so they typically only do it when in trouble, or other methods to get where they want to go are unavailable. It is easiest to phase shift in darkness, so they tend to prefer it.

• Shadekin come from, and go to a place they call The Dark. This place is a higher dimension, one molded by thoughts and expectations. Shadekin are masters of traversing this environment, and can use it to travel basically anywhere. Yes. That means they are not restricted to one world. They can and do travel the stars.

Here's a small lore dump. While you're not expected to know it in and out, you should read over it if you're asking to play shadekin. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FWpMejeXeZee4Xp-Tn1jQDkJfv7uhIIP0kUfFWE6TK4/edit?usp=sharing

Lore
Essentials	Factions	Locations	Species	News	Miscellaneous
Vital Lore Backstory Timeline	NanoTrasen Commonwealth of Sol-Procyon Ares Confederation Unitary Alliance of Salthan Fyrds Free Trade Union Trans-Stellar Corporations United Federation United Solar Defense Force Unathi Culture	Virgo Orbital Research Establishment Virgo-Erigone Virgo-Prime Al'Qasbah ITV Talon Moghes (Unathi Homeworld) Sol Infernum Sanctorum	Akula Alraune Altevian Black Eyed Shadekin Diona Hanner Lleill Human Lleill Nevreans Promethean Proteans Shadekin Skrell Synthetics Tajaran Teshari Unathi Vasilissans Vox Vulpkanin Xenochimera Zaddat Zorren Custom Species	Periphery Post Free Anur Tribune	Infrastructure Thaler Standard Operating Procedure Admiralty law Bluespace Phoron Languages Personal Lore Catslug
Legend: Up-to-date Partially outdated Heavily outdated Partially outdated pages need a pass from lore masters to ensure they conform to current lore, but may be correct as they stand. Heavily outdated pages directly contradict established lore OR are severely lacking in lore.