Race: Changelings

"I've compiled report after report, headcam footage from multiple Emergency Response Teams, poured through documents all the way back in the beginnings of the Phoron Wars. And yet, these creatures, these 'Changelings' continue to elude me. Why did Roanoke find it necessary to go to this extreme? What was it trying out-adapt? Out-live? The question rocks me to my core." -Excerpt from Central Command Research Director Ikanto, NanoTrasen Biological Research Department.

Introduction

A collaborative report taken part in by multiple Galactic Powers. Together, with our minds combined we can unlock the secrets of Roanoke. -Roanoke Initiative Founder, Hasan O'Siriah

A prime example of the lengths Roanoke is willing to go to adapt to its environment and thrive. With their origins and objectives unknown, dating all the way back to the beginning of the Phoron Wars, Researchers and Historians have sacrificed much to discover more about these Extremophiles.

Physicality

Report Written By Orion Confederation Head of Biological Research, Atkin Soello.

Introduction to ROE's

ROE's (Ronaoke Organism: Extremophilic), otherwise known crudely as 'Changelings' have been classified as a ROG (Roanoke Organism: General). While it is clear that they share the cell of 'Roanoke' with their distant cousins, those being the much more well known 'Xenochimera' and lesser 'Mimics'. However, multiple deviations have been noticed from the common strain of Roanoke. These biological functions will be broken down into different categories, as there is a lot to go over.

Biology

Diet

ROE's main diet seems to consist of something quite concerning, DNA extracted directly from their Preys biology. Multiple reports conclude that this is acheived by a proboscis extending from the ROE's mouth, which quickly burrows itself into their Preys neck and extracts a substance identified as pure bone marrow directly from the preys spine. It's important to note that the spine is targeted first, through unknown means nearly every piece of DNA is extracted from the body, if the ROE is given proper time to feed. This results in a one hundred percent mortality rate, and usually ends with their prey resembling something akin to a 'Crushed Juice Box', as stated in previous reports. No other forms of feeding have been identified, though it may be possible more exist. ROE's diet lead to them being exceptionally aggressive with their hunting tactics, having no regard for eco system collapse or running out of food. Entire habitats have been destroyed simply because an ROE infiltrated them. The main issue with this is, they have no issue with choosing an installation or vessel as their hunting area, leading to a wide variety of problems.

Basic Bodily Functions

While we lack a captured ROE to truly take a peek at what's inside, we can safely estimate what their biology may look like based on a variety of reports dating to the Phoron War and beyond. As mentioned prior, ROE's contain a special strain of Roanoke cell that requires DNA to sustain itself on. It is safe to assume that the only things ROE's share in common Biology wise is their rare strain of Roanoke Cell and an organ to process DNA with. The rest? It could be left to anyone's interpretation. Direct video evidence points to ROE's being able to adapt on the fly, all the way from forming their arms into chitinous blades that can easily pierce through multiple layers of riot armor, to screaming so loud they disrupt the electromagnetic current around them. Additionally, while they may lack any ability to go 'Feral' like Xenochimerae do, it's been proven that the more damaged their form gets the more desperate the colony becomes. Horrific mutations have been observed from those unlucky enough to face one in combat, to the point the ROE in question would look more like a pile of limbs connected by weak ligaments and muscle rather than an actual person. Their shapeshifting knows no limits, and their hunger follows close behind.

External Stimuli/Adaptability

ROE's, as explained by their status as an 'Extremophile' are extremely resistant to their environment. If it exists, there's a good chance an ROE can adapt to it. This makes them even more dangerous, as it's been observed multiple times that an ROE can lay in a 'hibernation' state when no food around them exists. Many vessels have been unfortunate enough to pass by a astral body containing a hibernating ROE, only to be unceremoniously boarded and used as a hunting ground. Getting down to specifics, ROE's can utilize their shapeshifting abilities to survive practically anything thrown at them or any environment they enter. Vacuum of space? Their skin and bones harden, relying on internal oxygen reserves to breathe for an extended period of time. Too cold? Their Hearts BPM increases, allowing them to stay warm even when the environment around them is completely frozen. Too hot? Now, that's where it gets difficult. One of the few observed ways to seriously injure or ward off an ROE is fire. Attacking their colony directly seems to be able to temporarily disrupt their cohesion, resulting in this being the most effective way to deal with them. Now, if they are given a chance to respond? They'll adapt to it just like they do anything else, usually resulting in fireproof scales and an improved internal cooling method.

Shapeshifting

The prime component of a ROE's strength. Unlike a normal ROS (Roanoke Organism: Social, Xenochimera) ROE's shapeshifting abilities are completely unmatched from anything we've seen. As stated in External Stimuli and Adaptability, they can adapt to any environment at any time, and this includes combative situations. Arms morph into chitinous blades capable of piercing platinum, skin morphs and twists into a chitinous exoskeleton that can shrug off even bullets and so much more. It is assumed that they have complete and total control over their biology, to the point it may be possible that they can shapeshift into more primitive forms, like a Canine or Avian. Even after-death, they are not finished. Many people have assumed that once a ROE falls, it is dead and gone, however this is not the case at all. As witnessed in ROS's, ROE's enter some type of comatose state where they appear dead. The only difference being is that they aren't using their old form as a cocoon, they are directly repairing the damage done, and their colony remains completely intact. This process can take the minimum of a minute, and after that they are up as if nothing had happened. Solutions present themselves on how to prevent this. The most viable ways are through complete incineration of their body, causing so much damage that the ROE's body is completely unrecoverable and often rendered into multiple scattered pieces. If no other option prevents itself, toss the offending ROE into space.

Mentality

"The last God-damn words I heard were.. 'Ị̵̓ ̵̖̾t̵̞̋h̶̫̉o̵̟͋u̶̠͑g̶̹̈́h̸͈̋t̸͔̓ ̴̖͋ẃ̷̮e̴͉͛ ̸̯̈́w̶̞͗è̸̦r̵̲̕e̵͝ͅ ̵͌͜f̶̰͋r̷̥̋i̴̫̓e̶̛̞n̸̡̛d̷̪͐ŝ̸̬,̵̮͊ ̸͔̀J̵͙͋o̵̤̕h̸̝̎n̴̙͊.̶̼͋'" - John Nut, Head of Security. Post-shift report, midst of the Phoron Wars.

Report Written By Moghes Hegemony Chief Psychologist Triskund Etika

General Behavior

An important aspect of ROE's to realize is that not all of them are fully intent on being killing machines, at least to our modern day understanding. Some have gone under the radar for multiple decades, blending in as whatever prey they consume next and carrying on their life until their hunger gets the better of them. Even then, those that do hunt frequently for one reason or another, seem to rely on stealth over overtness. If a ROE does forgo its advantage, than either it is impossible to keep the masquerade going, or something else has gone wrong. For instance, as witnessed multiple times on Unathi owned planets, despite our efforts multiple ROE's have snuck by. Though their appearances have significantly diminished since the end of the Phoron Wars. Due to collaboration with the Orion Confederation and NanoTrasen, we've been able to gain further insight via comparing reports about sightings, incidents and further information. We believe the most important part of delving into the minds of ROE's is discovering their drive. There has to be something more than simply endless hunger, at least we hope.

Emotional Disorders

Many ROE's seem to suffer from some sort of 'God Complex', which can be mixed with narcissism, sociopathic tendencies and quite a lot more emotional disorders. Despite their near perfect biology, it seems that at least a few of them (Or ones that have actually managed to be talked to.) need to cope with their hunger, and the fact that it usually ends with them murdering another sapient being. The default being, ROE's develop a God Complex, seeing themselves as above everything and everyone, mostly registering other sapient beings as 'Prey'. Interestingly, this seems to extend to other ROE's as well, though they've been referred to as competition instead.

Intra-specific Interactions

ROE's have been documented coming into contact with each other. While the chances of this happening are a practical miracle, it has of course happened much more often within the raging chaos of the Phoron Wars. Information obtained by NanoTrasen points to a.. Few specific outcomes, when this happens. As such, they will be listed in bullet points and explained upon below.

Coordination

ROE's, under specific circumstances can work together to achieve their goals. That usually being harvesting their hunting grounds for as much DNA/Genomes as possible. One alone is.. Quite a hassle to stop, but two? It is a crisis. There are some draw-backs however, including higher difficulty staying covert as well as running out of Genomes to siphon. Usually, these alliances seem to be often temporary, as the ROE's may turn on each other in an attempt to harvest each other's Genomes after their food source has run out. Or, conflicting interests simply drive them away from each other.

Isolation.

The most common reaction to another ROE. ROE's, naturally, are isolated hunters. While they will not seek out specific interactions with each other, Isolationist ROE's may even choose another hunting ground entirely if they see that another has already set-up shop, so to speak. Rarely, Isolationist ROE's may even engage in territorial disputes if they were unwilling to leave another ROE's hunting grounds, but this is few and far between.

Rage

The rarest of the reactions, ROE's may be induced into a 'rage' like state. Somehow, ROE's which undergo this have some sort of internal mechanism which allows them to 'sense' other ROE's in proximity. Perhaps this might infer that ROE's which are affected by this unusual mechanism might purposefully seek out other ROE's to feed. Whatever the case, ROE's induced into a rage state will be much more overt with their feeding and may even abandon all attempts at stealth, specifically to assimilate any other ROE's in range. It isn't exactly known why there are differing Intra-specific Interactions, we don't have enough information to base a solid hypothesis either.

Inter-species Interactions

Rarely, ROE's may engage in interactions with separate species that aren't assimilating their Genome or for the purpose of disguise. These interactions are few and far between, ranging from simple actions to entire conversations. Large amounts of data have been parsed through this, though with reward comes great risk. While ROE's do not intentionally reach out for obvious reasons, some can be a lot more talkative than others. Based on the conversations in question, it seems the more social ones are also a lot younger and are yet unaffected by the many emotional disorders which affect them the older they get. Protocol for these social interactions are to attempt to gleam as much information as possible, then sedate and detain. Obviously, every attempt at capturing a specimen have been non successful, usually ending with the death of the security team meant for containment. As of now, these recorded conversations are under heavy encryption and may be released once this report compilation gains traction amongst the higher echelons.

History

Timeline

572 BCE: Skrellian survey vessel picks up strange biosignatures within an asteroid belt. Contact is lost with the vessel hours later, until it reappears on a trajectory towards populated Skrellian space. Vessel does not respond to any attempts at contact, landing without clearance on a frontier colony. Upon further investigation, the vessels crew is found dead with every single piece of bone marrow removed from their bodies.

2038 CE: Moghes Hegemony loses contact with a newly developing frontier world, local fleet asset dispatched to investigate. Acts of purposeful sabotage were found, including deliberate deactivation of communication systems. Reports indicate that the suspect was never found, however an advanced type of 'cancer cell' was located on the scene.

2194 CE: First substantial reports within Terran history. Various murders occur across Terran space, culprit never identified save for every victim having been drained of every fluid in their body, resembling 'Crushed Tin Cans' according to authorities.

2301 CE: Due to frontier colonization efforts, incidents begin to sky-rocket. Old cases are re-opened as newly formed corporations assign fresh mercenary teams to investigate, while more modernized galactic governments assign military assets to investigate.

2314 CE: First video evidence captured of a ROE. Unfortunately dismissed as something that 'could never be real', and subsequently filed away and ignored.

2340-2450 CE: Silence occured for over a century, with no new incidents being reported. Whatever happened, most ROE's seem to have gone quiet.

2451 CE: Reappeareance of ROE involved incidents. Few, at first, which steadily began to increase. Authorities driven to panic.

2452-2487 CE: Research into ROE's enters a new light as differing mercenaries, research institutes and Galactic Governments obtain undeniable evidence. Counter-measures for ROE's begin to be developed.

2492 CE: ROE's begin to specifically target NanoTrasen Stations, carrying Syndicated Gear and targetting specific objectives. NanoTrasen scrambles to mount a effective counter-effort.

2502 CE: Major Information Quarantine breach. News of ROE's spread across the Galaxy, tales of abominations capable of slaughtering entire stations without issue. Chaos ensues as NanoTrasen desperately attempts to get things under control.

2505 CE: Research conducted into behaviour of ROE's. Information disseminated to NanoTrasens allies. Syndicated Corporations continue using the surplus of ROE's to their advantage, ROE population mysteriously increases rapidly as more work becomes avaliable.

2514 CE: Research efforts abandoned due to a lack of meaningful progress, captured specimens and leads to go off of. Established that explosives and fire work best against offending ROE's.

2515-2542 CE: Presence of ROE attacks steadily begin to decline. Whether due to lack of population, or perhaps another exodus to elsewhere. Xenochimera presence soon to be discovered, leading to a mass culling.

2543-2559 CE: Presence of ROE's blamed on ROS's. Galaxy wide culling ensues, leading to a sharp decrease in population. Subsequently, ROE population drastically decreases as the Phoron War ends. Researchers aren't certain as to why.

2560-2568 CE: ROE's return to a status of myth, while various Corporation, Goverments and persons of interest keep an eye on their eventual exodus back into the Galaxy as a whole. Interlopers still seem to exist, as rare as they are.

Culture

"A common misconception about ROE's is that they're unthinking killing machines. Not only is this blatantly untrue, it harms our perception and understanding of them. They think, they feel, they cope in their own ways for all the things they have done and will do. Understanding this gap between them and us is critical to gain a greater understanding." - Excerpt from Head of Terran Cultural Affairs.

Report Written By NanoTrasen Cultural Affairs Advisor Ethan Willow

Migration Patterns

ROE's, as observed throughout the centuries tend to simply come and go from civilized galactic space. While a solid reason for this remains to be found, and the duration they go into their migration period is unknown, it seems to be hardwired into them. Some have been observed simply abandoning their current hunting grounds to partake in it, however those donning a deepcover disguise will refrain from breaking the masquerade to join the others. Whatever the case, it is purely instinctual, however even instinct can be over-ridden given enough willpower and effort. A few destinations have been identified, however not every ROE chooses the same destination. A few of their primary migration locations will be listed in bullet points below.

Frontier Space

Sometimes, if rarely ROE's decide that hibernating amongst the large amount of uninhabitable planets and asteroids that rest upon the frontier are ideal spots to migrate to. Whether it's due to lack of means to reach the other primary locations, or simply out of preference to remain close to inhabited space, the Frontier is not the ideal means to hide. Many a spacer has encountered a hibernating ROE upon these locations, those who survive carry horrifying tales which are quickly dismissed as simple Space Madness.

Deep-Space

By far the most common place(s) for a migrating ROE to head to. While it is not exactly known why, as is the same with most things on this document, quite a significant portion of ROE's simply choose a direction in frontier space and keep going. Eventually, we lose track of them, but they must be going somewhere. Perhaps they are choosing another sector of extraterrestial civilized space to feed in that we do not know about? Or maybe there is a specific planet they rely on to properly hibernate.

Orion Confederation - Moghes Hegemony Territorial Void

The void that rests between the Orion Confederation and the Moghes Hegemony is also a popular spot. Much closer to civilized space without needing to venture too far into the abyss. While these ROE's can be tracked a lot easier, they seem to converge on one system in particular that we haven't been able to identify, and sending anything to attempt to investigate would likely be suicide. Whatever the case, after a point, no drones or probes can follow them due to some sort of electromagnetic disturbance.

Belief System

As is the case with ROS's, ROE's are not a unified species and lack a government. This makes their belief system and culture exceptionally hard to keep track of, though some seem to take to already established religions while others adopt their own personally made ones. Keeping track of every single one is nigh impossible, considering that a large portion of ROE's are simply non cooperative. However, we do have information on atleast one group that multiple ROE's have taken part in. That being…

Il'Nasa

Il'Nasa follows the belief that the entire Galaxy, not just civilized space, was made so that ROE's could hunt and thrive in it. Other species are simply considered prey, and a way to move up the evolutional ladder before eventually ascending into another hunting ground (Perhaps another Galaxy?) leading into some sort of transcendance. ROE's which partake in Il'Nasa have a variety of ways to achieve this that conforms to standard ways of hunting. Whether this involves blending into their environment, acting as another person and using clever espionage to drain their feeding grounds of prey, or some more overt methods to faster reach their so called 'Ascendance/Transcendance.' Confirmed ROE's which have been questioned seem rather open about explaining this religious belief, if they are apart of it. Most interestingly, ROE's partaking in Il'Nasa have been observed attempting to indoctrinate ROS's or intentionally feeding sapient creatures to ROG's to attempt to force an evolution into an ROS.

Kevantno

Kevantno is what can be essentially described as a 'Cult', while its members are exceptionally few considering their belief only accepts ROE's. As described during questioning of a temporarily detained ROE, Kevantno follows the ideal that the Cults leader must transcend to a variation of 'Godhood' via assimilating as many people and ROE's as possible into their form. They believe only through this method can ROE's unify into a greater whole and claim the Galaxy for themselves. Obviously, there are a variety of flaws in this Cult-like system. However, it's believed that one ROE is selected to lead and the others essentially bring their leader 'offerings.' Beyond that, we aren't sure how they operate.

Hiring Methods

With undeniable evidence, not just corporations but multiple Groups of Interest have managed to 'hire' ROE's in the past. The Phoron Wars showed the greatest increase in ROE's ever seen in Galactic History, primarily due to the fact that war brings opportunity. The Syndicated Corporations exploited this to its full potential, offering many alluring opportunities to ROE's in an attempt to undermine NanoTrasen. From recovered Phoron War documents, some of these offers included offering the accepting ROE a new identification which they could blend into to lead a normal life. This evidence suggests that not all ROE's wished to constantly pursue this way of espionage and murder, which opens an entirely new line of speculation. Whatever the case, even to present day, it's believed that Groups of Interest still partake in hiring avaliable ROE's. The main issues for this is finding one, and getting it to be cooperative. It's important to note that this would likely ruin a corporations of groups reputation, considering the light ROE's are seen in, so it's likely only done under the table.

OOC Notes

Etiquette Guide for Changelings

Keep in mind Changelings are pretty rare, though they'll be made more common when Storytellers releases as part of their migration period coming back to civilized space within lore. There are a variety of valid ways to play them, and if you have any doubts about your specific Changelings backstory, goals and etcetera, ahelp and ask if your story is valid.

Important Racial Terminology

ROG: Roanoke Organism: General. (Refers to Mimics)

ROS: Roanoke Organism: Social. (Refers to Xenochimerae)

ROE: Roanoke Organism: Extremeophile. (Refers to Changelings)

Changeling is often used as a slur against Xenochimerae, those that use it often aren't aware Changelings are an actual thing.

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No one IC should know any of this, unless they somehow encounter a Changeling and gleam the info off naturally. This can change if a CCO or whoever gives access to this report compilation. Please, for fucks sake, don't act like you know everything magically.

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Author: Odysseus

Galactic Species
Common Species	Humans, Synthetics, Skrell, Tajara, Teshari, Unathi
Uncommon Species	Akula, Alraune, Auril, Dremachir, Naramadi, Zaddat, Dnin-Nepids
Whitelisted Species	Adherent, Dionea, Phoronids, Proteans, Shadekin, Vox, Xenochimera, Xenohybrids
Misc Species & Data	Minor Races, Scori, Changelings