Introduction
Shadekin, or sometimes lovingly called "Interdimensional Floofers" are a species closely resembling biped canines, with four ears. While outwardly appearing like a standard furred race, in reality, they are shrouded in mystery and unsolved questions. Generally accepted in stations and cities of the Orion Confederation and the Vikara Combine, they are less accepted in the Moghes Hegemony.
Biology
Physicality:
Physically, at a first glance, Shadekin appear to be very similar to canine species like the Vulpkanian. While they look mammalian in nature, they are not mammals. Their exact definition is still unknown, since they seem to defy common rules of biology in multiple ways. Shadekin have basically no sexual dimorphism, both male and female share body shape and voice. Male Shadekin have no visible genitals, female Shadekin have no breasts. Neither have nipples or a navel.
The head is very similar to that of a Vulpkanian or other canine: a snout with nose, sharp teeth in the mouth, and two big ears on top. In addition to the two big ears, Shadekin have two more ears lower down, giving them an exceptional ability to discern if a sound comes from above or below, on top of their exceptional hearing. Shadekin eyes are unusually large and are fully mono-colored: there are no discernable pupils, irises, or similar. For all intents and purposes, the eye of a Shadekin is a solid orb of color and, perhaps, their most defining trait.
A Shadekin's tail is much more flexible and controllable than a tail of a Vulpkanian, and Shadekin can even control their tail almost like a third arm, capable of wrapping it around people or objects, though it's not capable of fine manipulation.
Compared to other crew, including Humans and Vulpkanian, Shadekin are less sturdy. Their bones break more easily, and their fur seems to catch on fire more easily. There are some known cases, especially with Red-Eyed Shadekin, who have shown to be more sturdy, but this information is true for all Black-Eyed Shadekin that could have been observed for an extended period of time.
Throughout all of observation, Shadekin have not been observed to age, after a certain point. Some may look older and some younger, but there has been no observation of them aging, even after hundreds of years of study, but this process seems to stop when the Shadekin is in their 20s. Equally logic-defying, Shadekin have no lungs, and thus, no need to breathe. Their entire body carries no oxygen.
Reproduction:
After multiple observations, full body scans, and questioning of Shadekin employed by NanoTrasen, the following could have been deduced:
- Shadekin have two genders, Male and Female, and reproduce sexually.
- Male Shadekin have internal testicles. Their sheath is flat against their body and thus invisible unless erect.
- Female Shadekin do not seem to have a cloaca.
- Neither male nor female Shadekin have nipples or a navel.
- The female Shadekin produces between 1 and 3 hardshell eggs. Those eggs are usually white in color.
- During the female’s period, roughly once every two months, the female lays the eggs her body produced.
- Fertilization of the eggs happens by penetrative sex, during which the male deposits his seed inside of the female.
- Unfertilized eggs get laid, but will never grow.
- Fertilized eggs will grow a new Shadekin kit over the course of 11 months after being laid.
So far, there are no signs of interspecies breeding being possible. It is assumed to be unlikely, since the Shadekin body has no oxygen, and thus is incompatible with other biological processes.
Mentality/Eye Color:
A multitude of vastly different personalities exist among Shadekin. Their core personality is mirrored by their eye color.
- Blue = Curious, eager for knowledge
- Green = Eager for knowledge but shy
- Red = Determined to reach a goal, not shying away from confrontation to reach it
- Purple = Eager learners who are willed to seek out knowledge more than others
- Orange = Shy people who will fight when cornered
There are rumors that other colors exist as well. In addition, those Shadekin who lose their ability to travel between dimensions, have black eyes, no matter their other personality. Those are also the kind of Shadekin that make up the highest number living in Realspace.
History
Origin System:
So far, no one Origin system has been found. Shadekin seem to appear in various sectors and various systems.
Homeworld:
While no home system or homeworld has been found, some Shadekin talk about dreaming of their homeworld, describing a lush and green world.
History:
Shadekin are creatures native to a so-called Pocket Dimension, a part of space which is unable to be accurately pinpointed and visited by most people. From there, Shadekin visit our worlds, and sometimes a large number of them are forced into our world and then live among us. What exactly caused those mass migration events is unknown.
While the beginnings were a little bit difficult, by now Shadekin are more widely known and accepted, with some Governments openly accepting them, and some being cautious.
Current Racial Status/Government:
There currently exists no Shadekin goverment, and with Shadekin being as rare as they are, they tend to fit into currently established societies and civilisations, with varying degrees of success in the past. In recent years, however, many cultures have taken to accepting shadekin as another galactic constant, going as far as allowing them lives simillar to those that any of the other species would lead.
Vikara Combine was the first galactic power allowing such, with Shadekin appearing near Skrell Bluespace Testing sites around 2150's, with Shadekin being, at first, captured and tested upon for means of utilising their powers in technology, and even to recreate them using, at the time, experimental technologies. The tests failed, and Skrell deeply apologised to the Shadekin that appeared in their regions for their behaviour, designating them as a sentient species.
Orion Confederacy, however, truly came in contact with Shadekin via NanoTrasen Research Facility NSB Adephagia constructed in the Virgo-Ergone system. While it's not known when precisely Shadekin appeared in the system, it's speculated it happened around the 2400's, with the Facility having to handle various Shadekin interactions during it's operation. It's the NanoTrasen research staff that dubbed the race "Shadekin", in relation to their preferance of dark spaces, and the name stuck. After stable contact with the planet's Black-Eyed Shadekin was established, various NanoTrasen representatives started introducing them to Orion Confederacy space, where they were relatively quickly accepted into day-to-day life, with Humans affectionately dubing them "Interdimensional Floofers".
Moghes Hegemony on the other hand is still reluctant to accept Shadekin into their borders, with each one being treated on case by case basis. However, much to the dismay of the Pracausal Division of the Hegemony, in recent years Shadekin have been spotted inside of their borders, without any explanation on how they got there. In answear to a swelling in Shadekin population, the Hegemony created what they dubbed Reality Anchors, which block a Shadekin's ability to utilise their powers, while also reportedly giving them varying degrees of psychological pain. Moghes Hegemony does not utilise said devices in public places, however govermental buildings, such as Planetary Administrations, are equipped with them.
Notable Racial Factions/Entities
There are no known Shadekin factions. Some Shadekin in Realspace form communities, but those are communities for people of the same species to stick together, not to pursue political ideas. Notable entities are limited and mostly come from Pop-Culture and from the actions of individuals, such as...
Rose, a Shadekin who worked in the film industry, most times playing the female lead role in romantic movies.
Blink, a Shadekin film star, most well known for the trilogy "Call B for Blink", a classic Noir Detective story where Blink uses his powers and wits to uncover a galaxywide conspiracy.
Azrael, a Shadekin pirate who somehow started to work with Vox pirates. The name was given by those observing camera footage of his attacks, where he used his Shadekin powers to teleport onto ships and cut down the crew with a sword. When a Orion Confederation decoy ship was attacked, Azrael was reportedly shot by multiple tasers and lasers while the pirate ship exploded, but since the Shadekin simply disappeared after he was hit but before he hit the ground, many theorize that he might actually be alive.
Technological Advancements as Understood by NanoTrasen:
Shadekin lack any major technological advancements, however in lieu of that majority of their species is capable of utilising what many colloquially refer to as "magic". Each one of the galactic powers has a different nomenclature for Shadekin powers, ranging from Hegemony's Type Green to Combine's Extra Dimensional Access properties category C or EDA-C.
Culture
The Typical Experience:
Most times, life is pretty normal. A Shadekin can have a job, go to the job to work, then spend some time off with friends. Fact is that most times of the day, the small abilities one might have are nice, but not overly useful. Sure, a Shadekin could create a sphere of darkness to dim the lights, but at the same time, the Shadekin could also just flick the lightswitch. However, it can sometimes happen that when a Shadekin slept in and needs to get to work quickly, they might just teleport to work. Some people might be overly wary of you, some might be drawn towards you. Many Shadekin use to not wear clothes, which can lead to some situations, but those are generally the same situations any other furred race might run into when walking around nude. However, it can happen that someone asks you to show them a "magic" trick...
Language:
The only recorded spoken Shadekin language, is an unusual language which was named "Mar", named after the fact that every single word in this language is the word "mar." Spoken in different tones, with more or less emphasis on the various parts, or by drawing out parts of this word, a multitude of different "mar"s can be created, but they follow no apparent conventions. Shadekin can perfectly understand each other though and discuss complex topics using only this one word. Shadekin tend to learn one or more languages of Realspace. The capability in such learned languages depends fully on each single Shadekin, where some have only very broken capabilities, while others are fully fluent.
Naming Conventions:
Shadekin tend to name themselves with a singular word, ranging from states of being, such as Lone and Collected to words that describe their memories connected to their supposed home dimension, like Dreamer. However, other names are taken as well, allbeit much more rarely. Names hold a great deal for Shadekin, because of how closely they are often tied to describing who they are. Following life changing events, Shadekin might even choose to take on a new name.
Religion:
There is no unified religion known for Shadekin. Even when asked, many claim that there is no one in The Dark to pray to. Some simply pray to The Dark itself, similar to how some cultures pray to the weather in hopes for rain.
Relationships With Other Species:
Humans: Humans pack-bond with anything, including Shadekin. The nickname "Interdimensional Floofer" came from humans, and exists up to this day. Overall, relations between Shadekin and Humans went rather peaceful, with Humans letting them integrate, and most human governments and corporations accepting them with open arms.
Unathi: With Unathi societs greatly based on blood relations, and Shadekin not being of their blood, the Moghedi treat them as outsiders. Even worse, as outsiders they cannot control as well as other outsiders. As such, Shadekin were under scrutiny, with many officials believing or fearing that they were spies, and many Shadekin found little hospitality throughout the entire Moghes Kingdoms.
Naramadi: Naramadi Society is split on Shadekin should be treated. With the Ascendancy putting high emphasis on personnal strength, improvement and skill, Shadekin possesing extradimensional properties is seen as cheating by some, and as a valuable addition by others. The Landsmeet currently orders all Houses to treat Shadekin as any other species, and to look at them on case by case basis.
Skrell/Teshari: When Skrell and Teshari met for the first time, the Skrell were quick to see that they prossess an unique ability for travel and captured Shadekin, conducting experiments on them. However, soon after, Skrell learned that the Shadekin are sentient and the testing stopped, with the Skrell apologizing. Ever since then, the Skrell and Teshari tried their best to integrate and welcome Shadekin, to passively learn from them, and now most Shadekin hold little ill feelings towards the Skrell. Maybe mostly because most Skrell who were involved in this died to old age.
Rumors and Speculation:
Rumor says that Shadekin are being from another dimension, capable of performing feats others could only describe as "magic", with no scientific explanation. It is speculated, that Shadekin actually have a whole nation in their own dimension, and those that come to Realspace simply collectively refuse to talk about it. Sometimes Shadekin mention a "Hub", which is obviously just further proof of a Shadekin nation. An Urban Legend says that Shadekin are the Vulpkanian crew of an expedition ship which disappeared a hundred years ago, even though the first Shadekin sightings were long before that. Obviously, this expedition ship performed time travel.
OOC Notes
Secret Shadekin knowledge:
Homeworld/Origin System:
The Homeworld of Shadekin was a beautiful planet with lush forests and tall mountains. In the nightsky, the Galaxy at large could be seen stretching over the nightsky. And while no Shadekin exist anymore who actively remember being on that planet, many Shadekin have visions of their long lost home in their dreams. Where exactly the planet was in the galaxy is unknown, but given that the milky way can be seen in the nightsky, according to the dreams, the planet is likely somewhere in the outer third of the galaxy. Which, truthfully, does not make finding it any easier.
History:
Thousands of years ago, Shadekin lived on this lush forest planet, using primitive technology to work with metal, create tools, and build stone buildings. According to the dreams, Shadekin back then had forged tools and blades, but no electricity, presumably putting them at a medieval technology level.
In a sudden event, everyone and everything organic suddenly found themselves in an alternate dimension, sucked straight out of their previous home. Now stuck in this alternate dimension, Shadekin changed a lot. They stopped ageing and with time they developed the ability to use the energy of this dimension to power unusual abilities. And even later, they learned how to leave the dimension and travel to realspace and back again. However, as the eons passed, memories became shady. Many Shadekin forgot more and more about their thousands of years that they have lived, reducing memory on the more important closer time. However, in dreams Shadekin, even those born in the pocket dimension, often have visions of their home planet. And some trigger events, like meeting someone they knew from the past, can cause flashes of memories to appear. As such, it can happen that two Shadekin meet and remember that they have met hundreds of years ago.
Soon, the first Shadekin started to travel around the Galaxy, while others were content with staying in their home dimension. However, in total three "dimensional ripples" happened where a lot of Shadekin were randomly ripped out of the dimension and put into Realspace. And while a lot of Shadekin could simply travel back, the black-eyed Shadekin had no easy means of travel and as such stayed in realspace.
Biology:
An additional eye color exists, Yellow, who are very secretive and cautious. In reality, the three main colors of Blue, Red, and Yellow, mix to create the other colors of Green, Purple, Orange. If a Shadekin's personality changes drastically, their eye color will change as well.
Shadekin are ageless beings. Some look younger, some look older, but that is merely a visual representation of how they feel about their own age. Roughly 20 years after birth, a Shadekin stops ageing and in all of Shadekin history, no instance of a Shadekin dying of old age is known.
When a Shadekin reaches adulthood, they undergo a "Ritual". During this Ritual, they intentionally overload their energy reserves, forcing their energy capacity to expand rapidly in order to gain enough energy to travel between dimensions. Most Shadekin pass and that's it, but some Shadekin perish during that ritual. Others again fail the ritual, but do not die. Those then have black eyes. Also Shadekin who pass the Ritual but later on damage their energy organ, due to overuse or accident, also get black eyes.
Language:
The Language of "Mar" is not a Shadekin's main language. In reality, Shadekin communicate with each other using empathy, where they can simply feel what the other is talking about and feel their emotions. Such "Shadekin Empathy" could not be confirmed by any of the Xenolingustical Research conducted on Shadekin, and officially remains in the realm of speculation.
Racial Factions:
Not really a faction, but in The Dark exists a place called "The Hub", which is a place where many Shadekin go to meet other shadekin, share stories, trade (non-monetary trades, Shadekin don't print a currency), rest, and relax. There is no government, just other Shadekin.
Additionally, Shadekin are banned from the following roles:
- Command, including Secretary
- Security, excluding IAA
- Pathfinder
Notes for Medical
Shadekin respond to most chemicals in ways as expected. The Shadekin body is less sturdy than those of most other humanoids. Their bones are also somewhat brittle, breaking slightly more easily than a human's.
Despite Shadekin not having lungs and thus not breathing, it is still important to apply CPR to them as during CPR their heart is artificially kept pumping and as such their blood keeps flowing.
When doing surgery on a conscious Shadekin, the N2O mask (which is standard in most OTs) does not work on Shadekin. The usage of Soporific however is discouraged, because it takes a long time to start working, does not reliably keep them under during the surgery, and then continues for a long amount of time after the surgery. Instead, use Chloral Hydrate in moderate amounts to quickly make the Shadekin unconscious and thus make surgery easy.
Etiquette Guide for Shadekin:
Even though Red-Eyed Shadekin are stronger and more conflict seeking, do not use the excuse of being a formelry Red-Eyed Shadekin as a reason to needlessly cause trouble.
Shadekin learn other languages at different rates. Some may speak Galactic Common fluently, some very broken. Pick your own language capabilities and don't let anyone else tell you how your char should speak. But keep in mind that NT will only employ Shadekin who are able to communicate decently.
Important Racial Terminology:
Shadekin: The name given for your race. While your race doesn't have a name for itself, this is how most of the Galaxy calls you.
The Dark: The other dimension where you are from. There are theories that The Dark and Bluespace are connected, but you don't know details about that. The Dark is a dimension where strange rules apply. For outsiders who enter it, whatever they imagine to be there when they enter The Dark, they see there. If one imagines a dark place, one sees a dark place. If one imagines the station's bar with all its details, one sees the station's bar with all its details. However, if what one imagines is too complicated, like the bar with all the details, or a detailed forest with fifty different animals and insects, then this construct quickly crumbles and leaves one alone with just dark void. If one imagines a much less detailed environment, like a basic forest with a handful of animals, and without too many expectations, then this is what one sees in The Dark, and such a construct holds far longer before it crumbles.
Only Shadekin, thanks to them being at home in this dimension, see The Dark for how it really is, and can form The Dark to their wishes. They see The Dark as a seemingly endless pain of darkness, but with strong emotions and willpower, they can change parts of the dimension to their liking, shaping the Darkness to create hills, buildings, roads, and whatever they imagine.
Mar: A word used to verbally communicate feelings, emotions, wishes, hopes, ideas, and whatever, in addition to your Empathy. Happy? Mar! Confused? Mar? Seductive? Maarrrr~
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Author: C0rtana, also known as Alina First image provided with permission by page author.