Teshari

Nomadic pack hunters originally found exclusively in the world’s coldest habitable regions, Teshari are a short-statured people relatively new to the galactic community. They are known for their communal nature, colourful appearances, and rapid leaps and bounds in technological advancement.

Overview

• Teshari speak Schechi, a somewhat songlike language that consists of many different chirping sounds. This language is accessed with ,v by its speakers.
• Teshari are omnivorous but tend to favour meat. They run faster than most space faring species, have the ability to detect movement through walls by vibration, can effortlessly vault over low obstacles like tables and railings, can squeeze under objects to hide, and negate damage from falls completely.
• Teshari are perfectly capable at any job they study and apply for, but they struggle to lift heavy objects and are exceptionally fragile. They excel most in medical and scientific fields, as well as civilian fields such as entertainment, service, or piloting.
• Teshari are a social, communal people and tend to have an easy time forming bonds with others of their kind. A Teshari in an environment with a diverse array of species will typically have no problem adjusting into social circles, for similar reasons.

Biology

The Teshari are very small, rarely reaching more than 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 meters) in height, and weigh less than 100 pounds (45 kilograms). Teshari stand bipedally, with digitigrade poise. They are covered from head to toe in feathers of varying length and soft fuzzy fur which acts as a good insulator or pillow. Teshari also possess two large, wing-like appendages that serve as arms with digits at the end that offer the Teshari great dexterity despite their stubby nature.

They have very efficient digestive systems, and thanks to medical technology shared by the Skrell, they tend to have robust and effective immune systems, dramatically improving their average lifespan beyond the original 80 years to 100 years. They are naturally adorned in earthen colors such as browns, greys, whites, etcetera; however, more modern Teshari have been known to utilize gene modding to permanently change the colour of their feathers and fur to all sorts of vibrant and expressive hues.

They evolved for very cold and very barren areas. Because of this, their fur and feathers combine to make a very effective insulator and many of their internal processes operate well at lower temperatures. As a result, they do not handle high temperatures well, with room temperature skirting the border of comfort. Consequently, although their internal body temperature is notably low, they do not require large amounts of heat like cold-blooded creatures on Sol 3 do. Their unique biological makeup and insulation will often trick medical scanners into identifying them as having a below-freezing body temperature.

Teshari also have four long, pointy-tipped ears on the sides of their head which the Teshari can control either purposefully, emotionally, or through expression. Their hearing is exceptionally sensitive to the point that they can detect a person moving on the other side of a wall, but comes at the cost of being extremely vulnerable to sonic weaponry like flashbangs, which has been known to cause long-term hearing damage or even permanent deafness in some recorded incidents.

There are two subspecies of Teshari that are commonly known. One takes on a slightly more raptor-like appearance, having more fur than feathers and slightly more muscle in their legs with thicker tails. Their arms end in hands typically consisting of two fingers and a thumb. This subspecies was originally most commonly found roaming tundras.

The other subspecies takes on a slightly more bird-like appearance, having more feathers and longer feathers in their wing-arms with thinner tails. Said wing-arms are instead structured closer to conventional wings, though these Teshari have four digits on the “wrist” that grant them impressive dexterity. This subspecies was originally most commonly found roaming alpine regions.

Reproduction

Physiologically, both sexes of the Teshari are similar, generally lacking sexual dimorphism, aside from their reproductive organs. Traditional Teshari do not mate for life, and so pairings are usually simply decided by physical attraction or friendships. The cityfolk Teshari, however, are more likely than the nomads to choose a mate for life and raise a more conventional family, influenced by modern culture through media and exposure to other species.

After fertilization and a gestation period of 3 months, the female will lay large, leathery eggs. Production of eggs is very nutrient-intensive, but there have been cases where particularly healthy Teshari have laid up to three or four eggs per clutch. Teshari eggs typically take upwards of 4 months to hatch in a natural setting.

Language & Naming Convention

The Teshari native language is known as Schechi. It is an almost song-like language that mainly consists of various chirping sounds. It is possible for non-Teshari, non-birdlike people to learn this language, but they may have difficulty pronouncing it as it consists of sounds that are not naturally learned.

Much like their language, Teshari names can often sound songlike in nature and the most common syllables used include:

"ca", "ra", "ma", "sa", "na", "ta", "la", "sha", "scha", "a", "ce", "re", "me", "se", "ne", "te", "le", "she", "sche", "e", "ci", "ri", "mi", "si", "ni", "ti", "li", "shi", "schi", "i"

A few examples of names include: Arische, Schairashi, Cita, Lisimemi, Seni, Mea, Ninere, Itane and Eniashi. However, growing contact with the outside world has caused greater diversity in pack names and individual names. Modern names incorporate words and syllables inspired by other places and cultures.

Teshari typically place their pack names before their given names on official documentation. This means that, for example, Mishi Rilaesha is Rilaesha of the Mishi pack, and would expect to be called Rilaesha by others. It is also possible for teshari to possess only a given name. This signifies that they are packless - whether due to exile, tragedy, simple disagreement, or simply being raised without one.

Teshari names are traditionally structured as [Pack] [Name] or [Pack]-[Name]. However, several common variations have emerged:

• [Name] [Pack]: Often found in other regions of space, this one conforms to the more typical name structure to avoid confusion.
• [Name] [Lastname]: This naming convention is common among Teshari who were raised in cities or among other cultures. It’s also found with packless Teshari who choose to adopt a name for themselves.
• [Name]: A single name indicates a packless Teshari - by choice, circumstance or upbringing outside a pack.

Society & Culture (Background)

The Teshari nation and place of citizenship is the Teshari Union (TU). They assume control of all Teshari territory on the surface of Sirisai (their name for Qerr’balak) and govern the laws and management of it and any Teshari colonies and government-owned vessels.

Uplifting

Uplifted by the Skrell - who will NOT stop reminding the galaxy of their success - the Teshari were originally nomadic with no one centralised government. In the modern day, Teshari live in entire districts of Skrell cities dedicated to them as well as a few of their own cities, enjoying the benefits of generously-gifted Skrell knowledge and technologies.

They soon established themselves within the galactic community under the guidance of a Skrellian advisor who taught the first Teshari diplomats and politicians how to establish and maintain relations, and what major pitfalls to avoid.

Nowadays the advisor role has been phased out, granting the Teshari the opportunity to work their way towards becoming fully independent. Teshari are still frequently found in Skrell cities, universities and workplaces, however.

Government

The Teshari Union consists of a parliament made of representatives hailing from the major contributing packs to each facet. This is considered the ultimate prestige and responsibility.

Each representative is expected to treat the entire species as their pack and act in its best interests. So much so, that their legal packname is changed to Teshari for the duration of their service to further instill that fact into them. The facets represented include:

• The Commission for Research is in charge of bringing attention to and acting upon matters relating to technological and scientific pursuits that may benefit the Union.
• The Commission for Expansion is in charge of bringing attention to and acting upon matters relating to exploration as well as the colonisation of unclaimed space.
• The Commission for Trade is in charge of bringing attention to and acting upon matters relating to the galactic market, commodities, general logistics and trade deals with other societies.
• The Commission for Civilian Interest is in charge of bringing attention to and acting upon matters relating to working conditions, education, health & safety investigations and the general quality of life of the populace.
• The Commission for Defence is in charge of bringing attention to and acting upon matters relating to armed defence of Union settlements, infrastructure and vessels. This typically pertains to pirates, as the Union has made no enemies and is a protected state under the Skrell and therefore is not in danger of an independent war.
• The Commission for Foreign Affairs is in charge of bringing attention to and acting upon matters relating to diplomacy, the establishment of embassies, negotiations and the Union’s general relationship with other societies.
• The Commission for Medicine is in charge of bringing attention to and acting upon matters relating to medical advancement, healthcare plans, outbreaks, hospital infrastructure and the general well being of the populace.

Habitats

Cities are often very open, leaving lots of room for inhabitants to gather together for social activities. Teshari homes tend to be very minimalist in structure, but often very vibrant due to the generous use of canvas banners, awnings and flags in decorating their residence, hearkening back to their pre-uplifting lifestyles. They make full use of modern Skrell - and now Teshari - technology in their homes. This includes computers, games, handheld devices, entertainment, appliances and the all-important exonet. There are also communal areas that place emphasis on games and other group activities such as grooming and preening, crafts, social eating and more.

Plenty of the more traditional Teshari packs live out in the wilds of Sirisai and more recently, of newly-colonised worlds. Typically these nomadic packs will camp in the same place for up to two months before rotating over to another established campsite. An exception to this is breeding season, where they will remain in their chosen camp until the new generation hatches.

Teshari tents are decorated in much the same way as the city buildings that imitate their aesthetics. Although at first there was plenty of land and prey to go around, territorial disputes gradually became more common as the population grew. While this rarely led to bloodshed, most packs would adhere to an honour code to prevent fatalities. This code would differ depending on the individual pack’s values, leading to disputes being solved by anything from skirmishes or duels, to competitions or games. Packs that didn’t uphold such a code and instead tried to aggress and kill their way into territory were shunned.

Two packs that encounter each other will often trade supplies and information. There are no currencies involved in these exchanges; each pack simply hands over what the other wants if they don’t need it. Trading this way with each other and sometimes even the city Teshari has allowed technology to spread to the nomads. Power generation, handheld devices, land-based vehicles, entertainment devices and powered weapons make up some of the myriad technologies that they now benefit from.

Using their own knowledge, as well as what they can access from the Skrell, the Union is perfectly capable of running an education system all the way up to doctoral programs. However, Teshari scholars are often inspired - and encouraged - to travel and experience other cultures. This gives the Union a much greater overall picture of how a spaceborne society functions and what technology and trades they benefit from.

Raising Young

Eggs tend to be left in the care of a communal hatchery before and after hatching. All of a pack's eggs are tended to as a singular clutch traditionally done by members of the pack, though the modern trend is to use incubators provided by the Skrell.

Among the nomads, after hatching, the young are raised and educated by the pack rather than their natural parents. The intimate parenthood of the hatchlings as seen by most cultures is generally irrelevant to these Teshari; the hatchling's entire pack are their family and their protectors. Education through the pack’s collective knowledge tends to be sufficient, although sometimes it can result in knowledge gaps that a proper educational institute would have covered.

Among the cityfolk, after hatching, the young are sometimes raised in much the same way, with dedicated buildings serving as hatcheries, care centers and schools. However, those who have chosen a lifelong mate will often choose to raise their young themselves, but will still send them to appropriate educational facilities for a time.

Technology & Fleet

Significantly more primitive at first, the Teshari were introduced to the advanced tech of the modern age by the Skrell during the uplifting. Their natural ability to adapt and newly-formed society working together allowed them to get a swift grip on how to use these new gifts, and Teshari were soon practically flooding universities to learn more and gain skills.

Space Travel

Over the years, Teshari society collectively learned about space travel, the true reach of the stars and so much more that they needed to catch up to the other societies on. When individuals with newly-developed skills returned to their people, Teshari-produced tech and commodities soon after started rolling out into their homes and into the markets..

During the initial formation of the Teshari Union, the Skrell donated several of their ships to the cause. This allowed the Teshari to establish their own income of resources and commodities directly, further accelerating their expansion.

In the modern day, the Teshari Union has grown immensely, becoming a state in the stars filled with various vessels of various roles. The few donated Skrellian ships have been given bright, ceremonial paintjobs to honour their service, and now fly alongside several purchased Skrellian ships. A significant number of Teshari-made ships now make up the bulk of the fleet, flagshipped by the Teshari Union Vessel, TUV Sirisai’s Wings. The largest ship built by Teshari hands, designed to function as a logistics hub and a mobile shipyard.

Newly introduced to the stars, Union ventures have been fraught with troubles and danger. A shortage of resources severely limited their ships’ range, and every planet or asteroid belt they tried to lay claim to - even despite the lack of any other presence - would always turn out to be claimed. This caused some friction between the Union and other claimants, as they could not understand why a celestial body could be claimed 20 years ago and have nothing done to it, yet still belong to the supposed claimants. Threats of legal action or violence were a very strong deterrent, as the Union could not defend themselves on either front.

Further still was the issue of pirates. The Union would occasionally successfully negotiate trade deals or cargo shipping contracts, but almost every time they were preyed upon by pirates. Out-armoured, out-performed and out-gunned, Union ships had no choice but to submit and hand over all of their cargo. It was during this time that they consequently accrued a lot of debt under the Skrell Consensus, which covered the expenses of their lost cargo and the damage accrued by their vessels when more aggressive or flighty packs tried to fight back or flee, as well as the expenses of the Skrell fleet when they assigned escort ships to resolve the problem.

Although a lot of modern Teshari equipment has been patented by the Union, an equal amount has been copyrighted by mega corporations seeking to profit from the new designs that a Teshari body type requires. With the Commission for Research only so capable of completing working, tested and certified designs so fast, the Commission for Trade fights a constant uphill battle to get a foot in the galactic market’s door, severely limiting the Union’s total income from such a venture

The Union’s military presence is very minor, fielding only a few warships that serve as escorts to the Union fleet and rapid responders to pirate attacks, but the Sirisai’s Wings possesses several weapons to defend itself, and plays the role of mothership to countless fighters. Due to its primary role as a civilian ship, however, it does not actively engage in combat unless directly under attack.

Teshari ship design follows a doctrine of minimising mass, eschewing the extra armour plating of many other societies’ ships to improve mobility, power efficiency and fuel efficiency while consequently reducing their signature; this follows the philosophy that the best defence in an engagement is to not be acquired as a target in the first place (although originally it was a simple consequence of a resource shortage during earlier days). This is especially important, as the majority of the fleet possess no more than energy shields and point defence turrets.

The Union’s civilian vessels are sorted into various divisions depending on their roles. Research ships, exploration ships, hospital ships, mining ships, trade ships and factory ships are included among their number, and will often be sent out solo or in small squadrons to perform their duties. This includes sampling and studying exotic material and objects, long-range probing for unexplored regions, unclaimed inhabitable planets or asteroid belts, medical care, casualty response and outbreak containment, resource extraction, cargo transport and trade, and production. Several vessels are also designed to ferry diplomats on missions to establish embassies and improve relations with their galactic neighbours.

Relations

• Skrell: As their uplifters and direct protectors, the Skrell are held in high regard by the Teshari. Often enjoying the fruits of each other’s labours, the Teshari are always open to working together towards a common goal with the Skrell. Sometimes there can be friction on an individual basis, where a Teshari feels more like a pet to a Skrell that they work for due to the inherent dynamic of uplifter and uplifted and Skrellian society’s penchant for bragging about their success, but there is no bad blood between the two societies.
• Human: Humanity’s relationship with the Teshari had a rocky start. Supervised and guided by a Skrellian ambassador, the Teshari ambassador was first mistaken by the Elysian Colonies’ ambassador to be an exotic pet in fancy dress. Live on camera, they petted and prodded at the Teshari ambassador’s face which resulted in their hand being bitten. Since later shaking hands, the Teshari have maintained a neutral relation with the Colonies - and later, the rest of Humanity’s factions - ever onwards. The incident is lightheartedly remembered by many as the Teshari Union’s first conflict and first victory.

Lore
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