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.

Overview

• Large brightly colored eyes
• Huge expressive ears
• Pawbs
• Long tail
• No pockets

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.

Reproduction

No reliable data yet. There are reports of somewhat traditional male and female genitals present. These reports are however very inconsistent.

Gender Differences

None determinable yet.

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.

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 are unknown, potentially dangerous aliens. As yet they do not appear to be hostile. 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. It should be noted, that these creatures seem to prefer low light environments, so visibility when dealing with them may be reduced.

-Establish the level of intelligence. Find out how well they comprehend the world around them and their place within it.

-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.

OOC things

So you're playing as a shadekin? Well there's a few things that you should know! All of this should be unknown to anyone encountering a shadekin who hasn't seen it demonstrated in character, on station.

• Pay attention to your intro text. Certain shadekin behave in different ways. Please pay attention to the way you are supposed to behave.
• Shadekin have a similar level of intelligence to humans. They are thinking, feeling, learning creatures. Not feral beasts.
• 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 ,s 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 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. Their individual name is extremely important to them however, and all of them have one. This name can be anything, within reason. 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 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 taxxing 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.

Species on Vorestation
Station Crew Akula - Angels - Demi-Humans - Demons - Dionae - Humans - Nevreans - Promethean - Rapala - Sergals - Shadekin - Skrell - Synthetics - Tajaran - Teshari - Unathi - Vasilissans - Vox - Vulpkanin - Xenochimera - Xenomorph-Hybrids - Zorren - Alraune - Custom Species