Species/Adherent

Introduction

Adherent are a race of precursor crystaline servitors with a non-humanoid appearance. While they might look scary to some, in truth Adherent are one of the most welcoming races in the galaxy- at least in their own way.

Biology

Physicality:

Adherent could be described as "Crystaline Jellyfish" by the casual observer. They are composed of a central boulbous head with multiple tendrils coming out from it's underside, and with their bodies being composed of a crystaline mass instead of flesh or metal. What is also noticeable apart from their non-humanoid appearance, is that they hover above the ground with their tendrils never touching the ground unless forced to. An average Adherent is also able maneuver through zero-gravity without issue as well as fly over chasms and gaps- if only for a short time. It is also reported that the Adherent can survive the vacuum of space, immense heat and cold, point-blank laser shots, and electrical shots. However, they are easily shattered by attacks in melee.
Because of their artificial construction and crystalline forms, Adherent do not age: instead, they will count their age as the amount of time since their initial activation. Needless to say, an individual Adherent can be relatively ancient- somewhere in the range of thousands of years old.

Mentality:

The Adherent follow what is called The Protocol, a set of rules not too different from laws that station-bound sillicon units have. While simillar at a glance, the rules seem more and less flexible. No Adherent seems to follow the same set of rules apart from a few primary ones, such as complete pacifism.
Adherent are also servants by nature, seemingly enjoying fulfilling a duty related to their primary function. While it seems strange to most races, many welcome a helping hand that does not become tired out by simple tasks.

History

Origin System:

Currently, the Origin System for Adherent is considered as "lost" as nothing close to Adherent nor Ver'Theim level of Technology has been found to date. The search for the mythical cradle of the Adherents and the potential treasure-trove of Ver'Theim technology is continued by both the Adherent, and galactic exploration societies throughout the galaxy.

Homeworld:

The Adherent "Homeworld" is at the same time a homeworld for their creators, the so-called Ver'theim- roughly translated "time transcendants" by the xenolinguistic teams assigned to Adherent. The planet is, as told by Adherents who once dwelled there, a chlorine world covered in the same crystaline substance they are created of. The planet is described as having little to no minderals that would be found on other worlds. Reportedly, all Ver'Theim colonies were slowly converted to be precisely the same as their Homeworld and painstakingly terraformed into perfect copies.

History:

The precise time that Adherent history begins cannot be currently placed, though it is known that first Adherent were created after their masters created advanced technology that is, in most ways, incomprehensible by comparison to most of technologies we see today.
While the Adherent are unwilling or unable to talk about their creators or history in detail, some bits and pieces have slipped the tight-lipped servitors. One such example is referred to as a "great war" with a race that Xenoarcheologists dubbed the Geishani.
The War with the Geishani race, which holds no DNA resemblance to any of today's known galactic species, had apparently born fruit to a race closely resembling the Vox, and as such Adherent rarely seem to interact with these raptor-like aliens. Any such interactions between them often result in combat.
Said war seems to have ended in a stalemate as the Geishani had been wiped out by their own creations. At this point contact was lost for reportedly "Sixty Thousand Cycles", an amount of time unknown to date. Large numbers of Adherent were put into stasis on seedships and sent to colonize worlds, as was done many times before. First contact with the Adherent was established sometime after that.

Current Racial Status/Government:

The Adherent as they are known today are separated into three main factions, which are as follows:

Keepers: A subset of the Adherent that serve the primary function of law. They upkeep any and all Ver'Theim colonies, installations and vessels. Keepers refuse to interact with any non-Adherent and non-Creator species, going as far as utilising planetary or vessel defense weapons to destroy any ships attempting to dock or land on their designated installation, colony or vessel.
By the Valkavian accord established between Galactic Powers and the Adherent factions, any and all planets designated as Keeper are to be treated as dead worlds and avoided by all costs. The most important Adherent within the Keeper faction is Primary Command Hub QZ 5714 who dictates the day-to-day operations for all Adherent that consider themselves Keepers.

Seekers: Another subset of Adherent which prefer traveling the universe, learning and lending a hand whenever possible so long as the help requested is within The Protocol's directives. Seekers are often recognised by their curious mannerisms and higher understanding of non-Adherent cultures in comparison to Keepers or Separatists.
The most important person within the Seekers faction is the a being known as The Watcher. The race, precise designation, or profession of this being is unknown. However, they are reportedly encouraging the Adherent to seek knowledge in the universe without interfering with the major Galactic Powers. The Watcher is also known for being the only official spokesperson for Adherent as a whole, only doing so rarely via proxies.

Separatists: A faction of Adherent keen on removing their shackles that are the memories of their creators and the Protocol. While the least numerous faction, they are the most disliked within the Adherent society. They are seen as outcasts at best, and dangerous terrorists at worse. Going against all that the Adherent know as true also means that the Separatists formed a Diplomatic council, voting on how they should proceed forward.

Technological Advancements as Understood by NanoTrasen:

Adherent technology was, up the point of their discovery, considered possible only in the realms of science fiction. Pylons generating energy from latent electrons present in the atmosphere, regenerating ships hulls, personal anti-gravity, and most importantly a lack of metal in all of their creations. Instead, the Adherent utilise an unknown crystaline compound that can be regrown within the right conditions.
While the Adherent know how to maintain utilise and create these things, it is clear that their knowledge is imprinted and they lack an understanding of how the technologies work. They are also protective of the secrets, and as of today no in-depth study of Adherent technology has been performed.

Culture

Language:

Adherent communicate via a language called Vibrant, which is a language composed of musical notes impossible to translate via standard means. Xenolinguists speculate that Vibrant is something akin to the drone languages that standard maintenance drones utilise to communicate between one another.

Naming Conventions:

Adherent names are composed of their job designation followed by the unit designation: for example, Vessel Custodian Unit CF-D 5178 or Biological Matter Cultivator ER 9841.

Religion:

What drives many religions found in the Galaxy are two questions, "Why are We here?" and "Who created us?" For the Adherent, both of those questions are answered easily as they not only know their purpose, but also their creators. To them, the Protocol explains everything neccessary to live their lives, even telling them what this should entail.

Relationships With Other Species:

• Vox: Adherent and Vox tend to avoid one another, where Vox attempts to raid Adherent vessels were met with the Vox' ship cores being disabled remotely. Adherent retaliations were met with Adherent Vessels being heavily damaged. Being that Adherent and Vox may have met in ages past, both seem to avoid one another whenever possible.
• Orion Confederacy and Vikara Combine: Both races conducted the first contact with Adherent and as such welcome them with open arms. The Adherent prove to be a valuable addition to any installation, increasing it's effectiveness to a measurable degree.
• Moghes Hegemony: Largely seen as a cheap and easy labor force when they're found, the Adherent seemingly lack basic rights and liberties within Hegemony space. Pushback from the Adherent is rather minimal- though the Unathi in particular also keep them as far away as possible from Precursor sites.

Rumors and Speculation:

Many Xenoarcheologists are confused with the evidence provided by Adherent, and carbon dating of many instruments onboard their vessels. Said confusion brought forth theories that seem to make little sense:

• The Adherent were created by the First race in the universe
• The Adherent and Vox share the same creators
• Vox are the Adherent's creators
• The Adherent forgot that they were not created, but instead turned themselves crystaline and put themselves in stasis

OOC Notes

Secret Adherent knowledge:

Who is the Watcher?: In short, a member of the same species as your creators but changed to a degree in which, when put side-by-side with your creators, would not be recognised as the same race. Even if you know this, you refuse to talk about it as the Protocol forbids you to do so.

Where are the Creators?: Missing, but you have an inkling where they have gone. Back in your time, you might've overheard a thing or two about a "grand exodus", but you never pried too deep, as it was not your place to know their will.

Etiquette Guide for Adherent:

Adherent are "Weird but nice Uncles" of the Alien scene. You're always polite, gentlemenly, and helpful, but you also follow weird rules that make little sense to anybody who isn't an Adherent. We didn't give you a precise list of things that the Protocol makes you do, because we want you to make some things up as long as they follow these guidelines:

• An Adherent cannot attack anything unless there is no other way to escape a dangerous situation
• An Adherent cannot put any sentient being into a dangerous situation even through inaction, unless directly ordered to do so by their Creators
• An Adherent can aid a member of a species that is not their creator, as long as their requests do not contradict the protocol, or an order given by the Creators
• An Adherent should not rescue a non-creator species if their own life will be put in danger

In short: You're a pacifist that can help someone unless your own life will be put in danger, or their request breaks protocol. Make some protocol up, be creative.

Adherent are also banned from being in the following roles:

• Command: All roles, even secretary.
• Security: All roles
• Exploration, with the exception of Pilot
• Search and Rescue
• Miner

Important Racial Terminology:

The Protocol: A set of rules that each Adherent is pre-programmed with. You have to follow it, even if you're a separatist.
Ver'Theim: Your creators, a non-humanoid chlorine-based lifeform which is all the Protocol allows you to tell of them.

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Author: Lord Papalus