Difference between revisions of "Mar'qua"

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===Quick-Start Guide===
 
===Quick-Start Guide===
* Mar'qua are highly intelligent and diligently spend time learning due to their long lives. They get +10 to cognition, biology, and mechanical stats. An extra +5 can be gained if their homeworld is chosen in character setup.
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* They have a biology similar to terran cephalopods, with a lithe, flexible body lacking bones and a singular, advanced eye
* The Mar'qua have slightly better night vision than humans and can withstand far greater cold before it effects them.
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* Their culture focuses on peaceful, cautious advancement of the fields of science, with a rampant paranoia of both AI and death.
* [[Perks|Perk]]: Mar'qua gain the perk "Sudden Brilliance" which grants them +15 to biology, mechanical, and cognition for 10 minutes every 25 minutes.
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* Mar’qua come in a variety of shades, with some being able to alter their own skin colour in a camouflage-esque system
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* The aquatic nature of Mar’qua make them resistant to the cold and better at seeing in the dark compared to a human
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* Not only are the Mar’qua naturally intelligent and long lived, but through genetic manipulation these traits are further emphasized, resulting in a ponderous, wise race. They get +10 to cognition, biology, and mechanical stats. An extra +5 can be gained if their homeworld is chosen in character setup.
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* Perk: Mar'qua gain the perk "Sudden Brilliance", which grants them +15 to biology, mechanical, and cognition for 10 minutes every 25 minutes.
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* Perk: Mar'qua gain the perk "Inspired Intellect", which makes them gain insight 1.5x as fast as most races.
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* Perk: Mar'qua gain the perk "Adapted Nervous System", which makes them immune to addiction and quadruples their NSA threshold.
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==Biology==
 
==Biology==
  
(('''Maintainer's Note: '''
 
Current Mar'Qua sprites are considered a ''Placeholder'' and should not be relied upon. There are plans to change them, especially the headtails, to make them appear less like a Skrell))
 
  
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Mar’qua biology, although extremely alien in nature, can be more easily compared to the terran cephalopod class of terran animals. They stand on average from 5’2 - 5’8, with a slightly wiry and pliant gait that’s born from their lack of bones, with their body structure instead being supported by advanced lengths of cartilage and ligaments.
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Their most notable feature to humans lie in their singular eye, located in a similar spot that would be between the eyes of a baseline human. Their face lacks any distinct features outside this singular eye, with their mouth being perfectly sealed outside of it’s use for speech or eating. Where their mouth is rarely used for breathing, the Mar’qua instead use a mix of Cutaneous respiration and the use of gills that are located just below their jawline.
  
Mar'Qua (People of the Marsh) come from a planet covered mainly by wetlands, marshes and lakes. Since their planet has a high humidity and concentrations of bodies of water, their biology is different to Humans - Mar'Qua have rudimentary gills on their necks, skin covered in slime to preserve moisture and two sets of eyelids to help with vision underwater and prevent their eyes from drying out on land. Mar'Qua breathe oxygen and can survive in the same atmosphere as humans without any assistance, but their diet is different - It consists of fungi that’s found underwater on their homeworld and giant insects roaming their homeworld of Qra’Merr’Marqa (or Epithemy 5 as it’s known by humans). Ingestion of animal protein is not deadly to them, but they perceive it differently - Marsh People feel grossed out by meat, sometimes comparing it’s texture to ‘shredded wood pulp’. Spices cause a strong reaction with their taste buds, causing them to perceive them strongly, for example pepper causes a strong burning sensation.  
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The eye in particular is an important part of the Mar’qua, both in a societal icon and biological significance. With multiple layers of eyelids that cover a wide variety of protection to the sensitive organ underneath and a horizontal ‘pupil’ which both serves to give them a much wider range of vision than one would expect from a singular-eyed organism and contains a sophisticated system for allowing depth perception by taking points of reference from opposite sides of the eye.
  
A non-augmented Mar'Qua can live up to 115 years, though with the gifts of modern technology a typical Mar'Qua lives up to 160 years of age, excluding the Kingsmen who live up to 210 years of age.
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With their technological mastery over genetics, the average Mar’qua has little worry over old age, with their advanced treatments staving off death indefinitely to any of their species that have access to it. With this in mind, with their relatively slow metabolism, Mar’Qua naturally live to be between 100-150 years old.
Even though many races believe otherwise, Mar'Qua reproduce sexually, though not in the way most would consider “normal”. Both males and females have an organ called a cloaca which functions as a way to excrete matter and to reproduce. In primitive times females would release eggs in small ponds to be fertilized and protected by males. In modern times eggs are laid into special hatching chambers, which provide perfect moisture for an egg to incubate. A clutch of eggs usually comes up to fifty eggs, from which only one to six hatch into surviving offspring on average. Those eggs that are left unhatched are often stillborn or were not fertilized at all.
 
  
Appearance wise, Mar'Qua are slightly shorter in height to humans, standing at 5”5’ (165 cm) on average they are entirely hairless with skin colours ranging from varieties Blue, Yellow, Green to Black and Red. Their heads have headtails, which are limp skin contrary to the popular belief that Mar'Qua have tentacles on their heads. The tentacles have two functions: Decorative and Protective. To make it easier for other races, Mar'Qua recently started to adorn their head-tails with decorative chains (designed for females) and tattoos (targeted for males) to help them with distinguishing between males and females, though it still has to take root in Marsh People society. The second, and biological, reason for head-tails is that they protect the gills located on sides and back of Mar'Qua necks, protecting them from drying out and damages that could be caused by daily activities. On average head-tails reach right above the shoulders, though longer ones are often noticed by other races and are the reason why Mar'Qua head-tails are believed to be tentacles. Mar'Qua eyes are entirely black, with two sets of eyelids protecting them from drying out and help see underwater which makes reading Mar'Qua emotions purely from their eyes difficult for untrained individuals. Their teeth are very small, made to digest soft insect meats and plant matter and are often compared to hardened gums.
 
  
 
==Society==
 
==Society==
Mar'Qua society differs from Human society in many ways, but the most visible one is the caste system that they follow. Marsh people society is segmented into four castes: Kingsmen, Intelligensia, Worker and Martial.
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As cautious people born from their paranoia of the unknown, the Mar’qua, despite being far more ancient than other space-faring nations, expanded from their home system at an incredibly slow pace, taking every measure to minimize risk and rates of mortality.  
-Kingsmen (Nuem-Geraa) are the leadership caste of Mar'Qua, claiming to be the first caste created by the Legendary King Nuem, first leader to successfully unite all Mar'Qua. Kingsmen are the only caste that their members are born into and are the only ones capable of leading Mar'Qua planets and their “Empire” - The Observatoriam, though it’s not the only role they can occupy. Nuem-Geraa focus on the sociological side of life, often occupying roles of ambassadors, lawyers, psychologists and even philosophers.<br/>
 
-Intelligensia (Meenan-Geraa) are the scientists and intelligence officers of Mar'Qua. They focus on scientific approach to life and thinking outside the box. They can often be found in all of the scientific fields from biology to mathematics. Meenan-Geraa also work as intelligence and counterintelligence for the Mar'Qua, often working with the martial caste to help with their field operations.<br/>
 
Intelligensia also holds the artisans of Mar'Qua society. Painters, musicians and architects focusing on the beauty of buildings rather than it’s practicality, bakers focusing on the taste of bread rather than the way it’s produced and so on.<br/>
 
-Workers (Gaaran-Geraa), sometimes referred to as ‘menials’ hold every role required for daily operation of Mar'Qua society. Engineers, maintenance technicians, bakers, and laborers are an example of a job that could be held by a Gaaran-Geraa. They focus on the practical points of life, their approach to their duties mirroring it. An architect from the workers caste will look at a building as a practical thing, not focusing on it’s looks, a baker would try to find the most efficient way to make bread, not caring about its taste.<br/>
 
-Martial (Quoqa-Geraa) warriors, defenders and security forces of Mar'Qua society. They train all their lives to defend their empire, it’s emperor, and their home planets. They are the strongest, fastest and most decisive, focusing on what they need to do in any given moment, rather than what they will need to do in future.They take deep appreciation of discipline and order. Often working with Intelligensia as their intelligence officers and, in times of extended conflict, tacticians.<br/>
 
  
Apart from the four main castes, there are two additional castes:<br/>
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Mar’quaran colonies tend to be low in number, with a stagnant population maintained by the cryo-freezing of fertilized eggs, only to be unthawed if an individual happens to die in order to replace them. These small ‘dens’ of Mar’qua focus on technological pursuit, observation and the maintenance of local ecosystems and life. The main exceptions to this sparsely populated trend are their massive ‘exploratory’ fleets and their home planet. The former used for both the colonization of new planets, scientific pursuit and the defense of their borders. The latter is their home planet of Mar’hal, an advanced, dense nexus of universities, laboratories and urban sprawls that collect and process data collected from their exploratory fleets and colonies.  
-Exiles (Xqne-Geraa) are Mar'Qua who abandoned, or were forced to leave, the Mar'Qua way of life. This includes Outlaws, Criminals and those that left the caste system. Most Exiles join the Wanderer's Armada, a group of repourposed Vessels that travels the Galaxy trading everything they can find, even items considered illegal or unsafe.<br/>
 
-Outsiders (Oorne-Geraa) are any non-Mar'Qua race that enters the Observatoriam territories. Outsiders are permitted to live and work inside of the Observatoriam, but must adhere to traditions in their respective region.<br/>
 
  
Though Mar'Qua have a caste focused entirely on militaristic aspects of life, all castes are permitted to serve in the military. Workers and laborers will often serve in the logistics of military supply. Intelligensia volunteer as tacticians, combat medics, and field doctors. Kingsmen rarely join the military forces, but are not given any special care while serving outside of afforded rank. Military forces are split into two main categories known as the expeditionary forces and the home defense forces.<br/>
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The average Mar’qua will go about their day very similar to a human counterpart, but with an extreme level of observation and recording of data. Janitors will record the effectiveness of different chemicals, Botanists the speed of growth of plants in different types of soil and conditions, and even security personnel will meticulously record the performance of their arms and armor. Mar’qua take great pride in each contribution towards the sciences, with doctoral titles being absent in their vocabulary, as every Mar’qua consider themselves a scientist in one shape or another.  
-Expeditionary forces are the main driving force of the Mar'Qua Military. They are responsible for exploring areas outside of Mar'Qua territories and in times of open conflict serving as a direct military force. The expeditionary forces are equipped with advanced and technologically sound equipment to handle even severe threats.<br/>
 
-The home defense forces focus mainly on planetary security, paramilitary police actions, and the protection of the emperor through a specialized honor guard. They contain mostly martial caste and are expected to work with other castes that are already present on the planet.<br/>
 
  
The artificial intelligence containment division was established near the time of first contact with human federation forces. Their activities focus on deactivating or containing AI units on derelicts and controlling AI units coming into Observatoriam territories with travelers. AI control consists of specially trained teams which are a blend of members from different castes. Training takes up to a year and consists of physical conditioning, weapon training, and proper engagement rules and strategies against rogue artificial intelligences. A typical team consists of a squad leader, engineer, medic and two operatives. Teams can either be assigned to a Mar'Qua region to serve as lookouts for any dangers regarding AIs or work as field agents to find any unsanctioned AIs inside Mar'Qua Territories. Typically they work closely with Intelligensia, but sometimes they might be sanctioned to work with the martial caste as specialists.
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Mar’quaran culture outside the fields of sciences will always feel the curiosity embedded naturally in the race. An alien visitor to a Mar’quaran resturant would find a wide range of perfected dishes created in an attempt to appeal to the tastes of their race, curated by countless recordings of previous data as Mar’qua chefs find endless satisfaction in sating alien tastes.
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Although one might expect hyper-practical and standardized architecture and aesthetics. Mar’qua find observations to be one of the most important experiences one can have, with a wide range of creative efforts and techniques used in their artistic fields to make sure an individual walking down one of their streets would never see the same sight twice. To an alien individual, some of the choices of colour theory and mixing would seem bizarre or even ugly, especially those lacking in more advanced ocular organs compared to the naturally complex and artificially enhanced Mar’qua ‘Ti’.
  
Family and love are foreign concepts for Mar'Qua, but that does not mean that Marsh People do not feel. Love is not a concept they do not understand, since bonds between two people are made out of necessity of having children and continuing their race rather than creating a family, Though bonds between children of the same clutch are often just as strong as brother and sister bonds found in other races like humans.
 
After eggs hatch children are taught by their parents for an extended period of time, usually five years, until they reach a basic level of schooling. At which point they are sent to an evaluation facility where they learn and develop the skills they show a natural preference for. After they reach maturity they are sorted into the caste they are most qualified for. Mar'Qua are then given an internship for a period of six years, after which they are no longer considered an apprentice and are promoted to the rank of journeyman. The only caste exempt from this election process are the Nuem-Geraa who are born into their caste if one parent is already apart of the Nuem-Geraa. The standard age to be considered an apprentice is nineteen, while most become journeymen at the age of twenty five.
 
  
  
 
==Technology==
 
==Technology==
Mar'Qua technology is more advanced than humanity, sometimes in ways that baffle human engineers. Mar'Qua have a more advanced version of bluespace travel that allows faster travel than human engines and require less fuel. This has allowed the Mar'Qua to colonize a larger portion of space in a shorter amount of time. Mar'Qua often claim to be a race that is older than humanity, though it is yet to be proven. Because of the lack of stable building grounds on their home-world their industry is compact and generates little waste, helping with storage and pollution, though it’s size does not lessen it’s effects, since Industry on Mar'Qua colonies is highly optimized for effectiveness, if not more so than humanity. The Intelligensia strive heavily to improve upon their existing designs to create even more optimized and effective industry.
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Due to the early discovery of bluespace technology and their prolonged contact with a technologically advanced empire early in their history, the Mar’qua had an advanced kickstart into their own technological progress, particularly in the areas of bluespace, genetics, physics and biochemistry. The paranoia caused by their superstition and history with AI, the Mar’qua very reluctantly rely on artificial computing systems out of very basic machines. Instead, the Mar’qua’s advancements in biomachinery allow them to use complex MMIs (man-machine interfaces) to interface and control machinery or computers directly, rather than using algorithms or machine learning.
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The field of genetics is also a vast and specialized field to the Mar’qua. Their avoidance of artificial intelligence in all forms and superstition around death pushed them to pursue genetic augmentation in order to increase their own mental capacity to replace any need for computing power. The average Mar’qua will slowly accumulate more and more modifications during their lifetime, with their access to Mar’quaran genetic treatment facilities artificially extending their natural lifespans indefinitely in all but the most destitute dens and colonies. The resulting eldars from this society, especially the Lar’kan possessing mental ability easily rivaling minds such as greyson AI. These elders are possessively kept secret away from the federation, being held safely on Ti’qua, away from prying eyes.
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A large part of Mar’quaran culture is the celebration of historic and modern breakthroughs in science, ones of note are those who’s accomplishments can be attributed to the idealistic nature of their solar system, these particular holidays are as follows:
  
Typical equipment for home defense forces ranges depending on the alertness level of given region. On a lower level alert basic armor and masks hiding the identity of a person are issued, with voice modifiers being commonly used. Weapons for lower level alerts are usually categorized under “Nerve Dampeners” - a type of small arms designed to induce a shock to the nervous system, causing pain and sometimes knocking out the target. On higher alert levels, better armor is issued and on levels of full mobilization, lethal weapons are issued. The Kings Honor Guard is exempt from this rule, giving them a selection of ceremonial armor with specialized functions for each position in the Guard. Kings’ Guard is always equipped with lethal weapons, as their duty is not defense of the commoner, but rather to protect the ruling class at all costs.
 
Emperor’s Guard is a better trained variant of the King’s Guard. Their armor is one of the most advanced, but their training is what differentiates them from the other Honor Guard - They are veterans of the expeditionary and home defense forces, though usually not aged past fifty, and selected for their complete loyalty to the emperor before anybody else. Their weapons are cutting edge, always improved and no expense is spared to protect the emperor’s life. Their Armour is comparable to that of expeditionary ground forces with ceremonial accents on it to signify their positions. Captains of the King’s and Emperor’s Guard wear a crimson sash across their armor, making them easy to spot.
 
King’s Guard armor is usually colored in silver and covered with markings depicting battles, symbols indicating strength and a sector’s coat of arms. Emperor’s Guard armor on the other hand is red with cyan accents, covered with coats of arms of every Observatoriam system and the emperor’s personal coat of arms.
 
  
Mar'Qua were distrustful of artificial intelligence since the time of first AIs. Thanks to their fear of an AI uprising, no true sentient AIs were produced and even a simple AI was looked down upon if it had any semblance of personality. Each and every AI was supposed to be a simple automaton designed for one role and fulfilling it without thought, even if it meant the destruction of said automaton. The Observatoriam openly advocates outlawing AIs outright, but without any valid reason to do so they have largely been ignored by other castes. That was until a human made probe that was controlled by an AI entered the Mar'Qua home system. Said AI had been alone in space for nearly a century and a half and in it isolation began to self learn. Through self learning algorithms and the careless coding of human programmers the AI became corrupted and determined its original directive to find life was to remove it. It’s entry to the Mar'Qua home system caused several glitches with their defense systems which unfortunately caused targeting parameters to be re-coded and ships began to fire on each other indiscriminately. Thought to be a sign of a pirate infiltration in the defense platforms the initial scramble to stop the missile barrages resulted in further friendly fire as uncompromised defense systems had their pilots and military castes unload on hacked defense platforms and ships, unintentionally killing the innocent military forces inside. Eventually the probe was discovered and blown apart, its purpose then unknown, it was only later discovered its hack and actions had cost the Mar'Qua military untold amounts of materials and lives. Remains of the probe were studied by the Intelligensia and human language was quickly deciphered from its code long with coordinates to human controlled space. A warship was chosen for the voyage, which was believed at the time to be a dangerous vessel. The ship staff consisted of politicians, ambassadors, and Intelligensia officers along with the standard warship crew members. At the beginning of the voyage the diplomatic mission was planned to arrive at Sol, though long range observation of the seat of humanity quickly revealed the warship would not survive nor be welcome without prior contact. When the warship, which increasingly sided towards becoming a diplomatic mission, reached Proxima Centauri they decided to try and establish contact with humanity for the first time.
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* Lai’nim Day: 18/04 - Celebration attributed to cooling and laser systems advancements
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* Nam’ril Day: 22/10 - Celebration attributed to gas processing and macroengineering
The Mar'Qua military focuses heavily on the laser and plasma weaponry and rarely use kinetic weapons. Much of their weaponry is also designed to have its technology easily adapted and upscale to vessel artillery and kinetic weapons proved cumbersome in space. Ship designs vary from planet to planet but they borrow heavily from biological designs, sometimes described as ‘fish-like’ by humans. Experimental weapons are in heavy use with Mar'Qua expeditionary forces, with nerve dampeners being the preferred ‘weapon’ for the home defense forces.
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* Nal’ril Day: 03/12 - Celebration of the advances in extraction and mineral processing
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* Tel’hal Day: 15/05 - Celebration of the xenofauna and xenoflora sciences
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* Mar’hal Day: 01/01 - Celebration of life
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* Rai’hal Day: 05/07 - Celebration of MMI technology and Genetic Augmentation
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* Ne’ril Day: 11/02 - Celebration of Optics and Sensory technology
  
  
 
==Religion==
 
==Religion==
Mar'Qua never held any beliefs of higher powers, though as their society grew and developed the religion of Qxa-Meqra began to form. Qxa-Meqra is a belief that each sibling holds a place in the afterlife for the siblings born in their clutch and that each one who dies prepares for the others to eventually join them. At which point, when all members of a clutch have passed away, they would be reborn together in a new clutch. Temples are uncommon and rather small in size and scope, often not as decorative as other species. Prayers and customs are also very decentralized and vary heavily between planets, castes, and star systems.
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Although the Mar’qua as a people and a culture lack a religion as humans would see it, they hold a superstition or paranoia of the afterlife. With even their advanced sciences they’ve failed to figure out what happens to the living consciousness when they pass over, leading to a split in thought between the Mar’qua people.
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One group, colloquially known as the “Introspectors (Len’Qua)”, look to advance Mar’qua life past the possibility of death, avoiding the paranoia altogether. This is usually done through genetic advances, leading to the majority of the Mar’qua people being biologically immortal, lacking a death from old age.  
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The other are known as the “Extrospectors (Lin’Qua)”, with the Mar’qua’s obsession with observation, these people look to find out what happens after death, this obsession with observation grows passed this and outward to the rest of the universe, in some held hope that they will find the answers if they understand enough.  
  
  
 
==Politics==
 
==Politics==
Planetary rulers are usually appointed by a set of votes and tasks designed to test one’s capacity to lead. The Mar'Qua that succeeds in all of those tasks becomes a king, or Nrre’Nuem in their native tongue. A title of king is not bound to gender, as there are records of multiple female kings. Though each planet has its own ruler, the Observatoriam as a whole is ruled by an emperor or empress which in the native language of Mar'Qua is named Onra’Nuem. An emperor is chosen by a vote between all the kings, be it through long range communications or meetings held on their home-world of Qra’Merr’Marqa. When an emperor is chosen they leave their respective world and take their place as ruler of the Observatoriam home system and the empire as a whole.
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The politics of the Mar’qua is mostly focused on technological advancement and pursuit rather than economics, war, or even personal ideals. The closest thing the Mar’qua have to a governing body is the Lar’Kan and Lar’Kar. The Lar’kan being a group of 20 individuals who hold seats in the capital of Ti’Qua. Each seat of this governing body is an expert in a particular field of science, covering the entirety of scientific basis. The Lar’Kar is a particular individual who is both seen as the ‘face’ and ‘leader’ of the Lar’kan. This individual appoints the leaders of new colonies, fleets and important operations after thorough debate with the seats of the Lar’kan. The Lar’kar is expected to be knowledgeable in all fields of knowledge in order to avoid the bias that a singular field of knowledge would result in.  
A new emperor is elected each time a previous one passes. If a ruler did any great deeds in their life, their name is etched into ceremonial wall and recorded for future generations to remember them.
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Outside of technological matters, the Lar’kan do not interfere or dictate how colonies and ‘den’s operate. The only exception to this being Mar’quaran holidays, where a particular subject of a holiday may be changed if a new innovation of technology replaces the subject matter.
  
The current Empress of the Mar’Qua is Naalmna, which can trace her bloodline to the Legendary King who united the Mar’Qua
 
  
 
Mar'Qua prefer not to involve themselves in politics of other races, preferring to simply explore the universe and observe its inhabitants, though that does not mean they cut themselves off from others. The Observatoriam establishes contact with other races when they see fit, be it as a way to introduce themselves and begin free trade between the empires, or to “push” them into the correct way. Intelligensia also keeps records of any race that has been observed during exploration. Non-sentient races are paid little mind, though races that show low stages of development are observed closely, awaiting their eventual expansion into space or destruction by their own design.
 
Mar'Qua prefer not to involve themselves in politics of other races, preferring to simply explore the universe and observe its inhabitants, though that does not mean they cut themselves off from others. The Observatoriam establishes contact with other races when they see fit, be it as a way to introduce themselves and begin free trade between the empires, or to “push” them into the correct way. Intelligensia also keeps records of any race that has been observed during exploration. Non-sentient races are paid little mind, though races that show low stages of development are observed closely, awaiting their eventual expansion into space or destruction by their own design.
  
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==History of the Maq'Qua==
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===Early Contact===
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The Mar’quaran hate for AI can only be speculated to a theorized event thousands of years in their history that surpassed written and oral tradition, instead sowing a seed of fear deep into the very culture of their race. During the early atomic era of their history, before they even had ventured into their stars, they discovered bluespace technology, namely communication using bluespace crystals that had grown upon a meteorite that crashed narrowly into their home planet. Using this newly discovered form of communication, the Mar’qua contacted an unknown alien empire, forming a budding friendship between the two over the following years, this empire sharing technological secrets that would be the base of their advanced technology they use today. This all came to a sudden halt when communication between the two was ended following a brief message warning them of the dangers of advanced artificial intelligence, cutting their moment of alien contact short, never to be heard from again.
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===Expansion===
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Space flight and FTL travel was quickly achieved shortly after the rapid advancements following the discovery of bluespace crystals, harnessing the power of space-bending technology. Despite their ability to cover lightyears of space in a matter of days, the Mar’qua took their usual curiosity and caution driven approach to their colonial era. Not following a traditional colonial approach, the Mar’qua took to the stars only to colonize their local system, making great use of the natural resources and phenomena before approaching any extra-solar expansion.
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Rather than colonizing every habitable planet they came across, the Mar’qua took to building complex, non-invasive satellite stations orbiting the planet, sometimes including a space-elevator for quick surface-to-space transport. These ‘nests’ would house from 100,000-2,000,000 individuals, with facilities for asteroid mining to research, to zero-g construction to leisure. These stations would perform extensive observation, testing and setup of communication infrastructure before the related exploratory fleet would move to the next system, creating a daisy chain of observatories that gave them unparalleled sensory data on their borders.
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===Human Contact===
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With their advanced optics and extra-solar sensors, the Mar’qua were made aware of the Sol Federation tens of years before making contact with them. Their rapid expansion and growth piqued both a rampant curiosity and morbid paranoia. Heavy debate occupied the Lar’kan up until their impending contact with the humans, with this being the first signs of alien existence since their ancient cousins who’s time with the Mar’qua was lost to archaic written history.
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The Lar’kar came to an agreement only a few years prior to their initial contact with the Sol federation, a passive, but cautious approach was taken, avoiding any sparks of senseless war that could cinder between the two powers. With the Sol Federation’s immense numbers, economy and overall ambition to conquer matched up against the Mar’qua’s steadfast infrastructure, accrued data that had already been gathered on their movements and tactics alongside their far superior advancements in numerous fields of technology, it became obvious that any conflict between the two races would create untold catastrophe on both sides.
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Reluctantly, the two powers entered a series of trade, scientific and defensive pacts, with the science of the Mar’qua and the expansive resources of the Sol Federation sending the two groups into a miraculous golden age for both sides. Despite this, the Mar’qua kept many areas of technological research hidden away from the humans, notably their genetic manipulation to prevent an abhorrent mix of Mar’quaran intelligence and Human ego and ambition.
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===Bluespace Crash===
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The bluespace crash came as a sudden catastrophe to most races. The Mar’qua on the other hand, with their advanced knowledge of the nature of bluespace, predicted a chance of such an event happening due to the excessive use of bluespace drives. Due to the growing chances of such an event occurring, the Mar’qua began experimental testing of advanced FTL drives, slowly retrofitting their ships and defunctioning their bluespace drives, even beginning to look into advances in quantum entanglement communication technology.
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This led to speculation that the Mar’quaran Technocracy managed to mitigate much of the logistical and infrastructural impact the bluespace crash had on them. It also brewed rumours among the xeno races that the Mar’quaran Technocracy directly caused the bluespace crash itself, perhaps to give themselves an advantage over the other bluespace-reliant species.
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Despite this, even with their predictions, not all Nests and Exploratory fleets believed the hypothetical event, with heavy debate stalling any mass mobilization of said retrofits. This left many, especially fringe worlds bordering the Sol Federation stranded along with other xenos. With such a logistical breakdown, and despite the autonomy and self sufficiency of nests and fleets, this led to a growing reliance on other xenos. This change exposed many homogeneous groups of Mar’qua to the diverse and alien mindsets of xenos, causing a radical schism and division between the cautious and methodical Mar’qua and the ones open to the ideas of xenos.
  
 
==Relations between other races and the Observatoriam==
 
==Relations between other races and the Observatoriam==
Due to the Mar'qua governments obessive nature in observing and understanding other races their reactions and feelings towards various groups are clearly defined by the caste system.
 
  
''Humans:'' The Observatoriam became a part of the Human Federation as part of their non-aggression treaty, though their loyalty to it is questionable. They pay taxes and help in defensive or justified wars, but remain fully autonomous as per their agreement with the federation. Mar'Qua use protection and wide occupation of the federation to document all species found by the humans and abhuman explorers. The federation is also considered by much of the Mar’qua as obtusely militant and authoritarian with many desiring escape from the federation taxes, but to break from the federation would be politically and economically suicidal. Mar’Qua are against trading any advanced technology with humanity, given their behavior, though certain quality of life improvements sold and traded freely. Free migration is permitted between the Mar’Qua and humans, though anybody entering the Observatoriam must adhere to their caste systems and internal laws.
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===Human===
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Their relationship with the Sol Federation is one of hesitant cooperation. Despite their lower numbers, the Mar’qua’s advanced technology would make a war between the two nations catastrophic for both sides, resulting in a series of peace deals and reluctant trade agreements for mutual benefits. The Mar’qua refuse to give the Sol Federation their more advanced and perhaps even esoteric technology, knowing full well what it would be used for and how it would jeopardize their own leverage towards the imperialists.
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===Sablekyne/Kriosan/Akula/Naramad===
 +
The more militaristic races are mostly seen as a biological interest rather than a cultural or diplomatic one. Usually this ends with basic, short-term deals involving supplies, testing and passive support rather than any long term relationship between the two races, with the Mar’qua wanting to avoid any chance of violence, war or otherwise unnecessary risk.
 +
 
 +
===Cinderites===
 +
The Cinderites proved themselves to be a surprising ally to the Mar’qua. With their war-torn history, the Mar’qua expected a short term, simple trade of resources and information. This was quickly proven wrong with the Cinderite’s aversion to war and willingness to work in hazardous conditions. Their dramatically affected and wide diversity of genetics also hold a constant curiosity of Mar’quaran geneticists. To this day the Mar’qua and Cinderites hold a long-lasting alliance through the trade of labor, goods, research and military assistance, with most Mar’quaran exploratory ships hosting a wide number of Cindar individuals used especially for reconnaissance on planets with hazardous weather, terrain or hostile fauna/flora.  
 +
 
 +
===Opifex===
 +
The Opifex are viewed with a mix of endless curiosity and primal horror. Their advances in technologies mirror something completely parallel to the Mar’qua, with cybernetic augmentation and a reliance on artificial machinery and computing. Their more esoteric nature and rivaling levels of intelligence prove themselves to again and again be a hot topic of debate within the Lar’kan. Contact between the two races has been sparse and usually resulting in heated arguments behind the ideal approach to science and research.
 +
 
 +
===Cht’Mant===
 +
The Cht’mant were originally discovered through second-hand accounts of Soteria’s brutal testing on the race. This series of events did nothing but reinforce the Mar’qua in their cautious approach to science. Directly, the Mar’qua had very little interaction with the Cht’mant, with their homeworlds being so far apart and the Mar’quaran desire to avoid friction with any other bodys of power. Despite this, the Mar’qua do show interest in the cht’maint, Their ability to biologically both alter their own anatomy and communicate through such vast distances without the aid of technology has proven to be a wildly interesting concept to the Mar’qua, who require advanced technology to modify their own genetics.
 +
 
 +
===Language Snippets of the Maq'Qua===
 +
* Hal = Home
 +
* Kan = Keeper, Holder, Maintainer, Guard
 +
* Kar = Giver, benefactor
 +
* Lai = Light
 +
* Lar = Knowledge
 +
* Len = Inward
 +
* Li = Sky
 +
* Lin = Outward
 +
* Mar = Observe or to Observe
 +
* Nal = Rich, Precious
 +
* Nam = Older Sibling
 +
* Nar = To sleep, dream
 +
* Ne  = Distant, Vague, obscure
 +
* Nim = Younger Sibling
 +
* Qua = People
 +
* Rai = Calm, peace, solace
 +
* Ril = Orb, Sphere, Circle
 +
* Tel = Green, Plants, Life
 +
* Ti = Eye
 +
* Thal = Short, Near, Intimate
 +
* Thil = Long, Far, Formal
 +
* Kor = Weapon, Arm
  
All of the abhumans are looked upon as products of human carelessness, the Mar'Qua see them as races separate from humanity, always referring to them their racial name, never as ‘abhuman’ or ‘variant’
 
  
''Akula:'' Seeing akula as needlessly violent, Mar’Qua prefer to utilise their personal forces to handle threats, with some planets denying akula entry entirely. Akula are considered a dangerous race and should the Mar’qua ever break its alliance to the federation would likely declare the akula as enemies.
 
  
  
 
{{Species}}
 
{{Species}}
 
[[Category:Lore]]
 
[[Category:Lore]]

Latest revision as of 17:50, 9 June 2022

Mar'qua are an alien race of bipedal amphibian aliens in an unwilling alliance with the Sol Federation. Technologically advanced and older than humanity they maintain an aloof approach to intergalactic affairs, kept largely to their own devices and used as a source of taxes and scouting by the Sol Federation.

Quick-Start Guide

  • They have a biology similar to terran cephalopods, with a lithe, flexible body lacking bones and a singular, advanced eye
  • Their culture focuses on peaceful, cautious advancement of the fields of science, with a rampant paranoia of both AI and death.
  • Mar’qua come in a variety of shades, with some being able to alter their own skin colour in a camouflage-esque system
  • The aquatic nature of Mar’qua make them resistant to the cold and better at seeing in the dark compared to a human
  • Not only are the Mar’qua naturally intelligent and long lived, but through genetic manipulation these traits are further emphasized, resulting in a ponderous, wise race. They get +10 to cognition, biology, and mechanical stats. An extra +5 can be gained if their homeworld is chosen in character setup.
  • Perk: Mar'qua gain the perk "Sudden Brilliance", which grants them +15 to biology, mechanical, and cognition for 10 minutes every 25 minutes.
  • Perk: Mar'qua gain the perk "Inspired Intellect", which makes them gain insight 1.5x as fast as most races.
  • Perk: Mar'qua gain the perk "Adapted Nervous System", which makes them immune to addiction and quadruples their NSA threshold.


Biology

Mar’qua biology, although extremely alien in nature, can be more easily compared to the terran cephalopod class of terran animals. They stand on average from 5’2 - 5’8, with a slightly wiry and pliant gait that’s born from their lack of bones, with their body structure instead being supported by advanced lengths of cartilage and ligaments. Their most notable feature to humans lie in their singular eye, located in a similar spot that would be between the eyes of a baseline human. Their face lacks any distinct features outside this singular eye, with their mouth being perfectly sealed outside of it’s use for speech or eating. Where their mouth is rarely used for breathing, the Mar’qua instead use a mix of Cutaneous respiration and the use of gills that are located just below their jawline.

The eye in particular is an important part of the Mar’qua, both in a societal icon and biological significance. With multiple layers of eyelids that cover a wide variety of protection to the sensitive organ underneath and a horizontal ‘pupil’ which both serves to give them a much wider range of vision than one would expect from a singular-eyed organism and contains a sophisticated system for allowing depth perception by taking points of reference from opposite sides of the eye.

With their technological mastery over genetics, the average Mar’qua has little worry over old age, with their advanced treatments staving off death indefinitely to any of their species that have access to it. With this in mind, with their relatively slow metabolism, Mar’Qua naturally live to be between 100-150 years old.


Society

As cautious people born from their paranoia of the unknown, the Mar’qua, despite being far more ancient than other space-faring nations, expanded from their home system at an incredibly slow pace, taking every measure to minimize risk and rates of mortality.

Mar’quaran colonies tend to be low in number, with a stagnant population maintained by the cryo-freezing of fertilized eggs, only to be unthawed if an individual happens to die in order to replace them. These small ‘dens’ of Mar’qua focus on technological pursuit, observation and the maintenance of local ecosystems and life. The main exceptions to this sparsely populated trend are their massive ‘exploratory’ fleets and their home planet. The former used for both the colonization of new planets, scientific pursuit and the defense of their borders. The latter is their home planet of Mar’hal, an advanced, dense nexus of universities, laboratories and urban sprawls that collect and process data collected from their exploratory fleets and colonies.

The average Mar’qua will go about their day very similar to a human counterpart, but with an extreme level of observation and recording of data. Janitors will record the effectiveness of different chemicals, Botanists the speed of growth of plants in different types of soil and conditions, and even security personnel will meticulously record the performance of their arms and armor. Mar’qua take great pride in each contribution towards the sciences, with doctoral titles being absent in their vocabulary, as every Mar’qua consider themselves a scientist in one shape or another.

Mar’quaran culture outside the fields of sciences will always feel the curiosity embedded naturally in the race. An alien visitor to a Mar’quaran resturant would find a wide range of perfected dishes created in an attempt to appeal to the tastes of their race, curated by countless recordings of previous data as Mar’qua chefs find endless satisfaction in sating alien tastes.

Although one might expect hyper-practical and standardized architecture and aesthetics. Mar’qua find observations to be one of the most important experiences one can have, with a wide range of creative efforts and techniques used in their artistic fields to make sure an individual walking down one of their streets would never see the same sight twice. To an alien individual, some of the choices of colour theory and mixing would seem bizarre or even ugly, especially those lacking in more advanced ocular organs compared to the naturally complex and artificially enhanced Mar’qua ‘Ti’.


Technology

Due to the early discovery of bluespace technology and their prolonged contact with a technologically advanced empire early in their history, the Mar’qua had an advanced kickstart into their own technological progress, particularly in the areas of bluespace, genetics, physics and biochemistry. The paranoia caused by their superstition and history with AI, the Mar’qua very reluctantly rely on artificial computing systems out of very basic machines. Instead, the Mar’qua’s advancements in biomachinery allow them to use complex MMIs (man-machine interfaces) to interface and control machinery or computers directly, rather than using algorithms or machine learning.

The field of genetics is also a vast and specialized field to the Mar’qua. Their avoidance of artificial intelligence in all forms and superstition around death pushed them to pursue genetic augmentation in order to increase their own mental capacity to replace any need for computing power. The average Mar’qua will slowly accumulate more and more modifications during their lifetime, with their access to Mar’quaran genetic treatment facilities artificially extending their natural lifespans indefinitely in all but the most destitute dens and colonies. The resulting eldars from this society, especially the Lar’kan possessing mental ability easily rivaling minds such as greyson AI. These elders are possessively kept secret away from the federation, being held safely on Ti’qua, away from prying eyes.

A large part of Mar’quaran culture is the celebration of historic and modern breakthroughs in science, ones of note are those who’s accomplishments can be attributed to the idealistic nature of their solar system, these particular holidays are as follows:


  • Lai’nim Day: 18/04 - Celebration attributed to cooling and laser systems advancements
  • Nam’ril Day: 22/10 - Celebration attributed to gas processing and macroengineering
  • Nal’ril Day: 03/12 - Celebration of the advances in extraction and mineral processing
  • Tel’hal Day: 15/05 - Celebration of the xenofauna and xenoflora sciences
  • Mar’hal Day: 01/01 - Celebration of life
  • Rai’hal Day: 05/07 - Celebration of MMI technology and Genetic Augmentation
  • Ne’ril Day: 11/02 - Celebration of Optics and Sensory technology


Religion

Although the Mar’qua as a people and a culture lack a religion as humans would see it, they hold a superstition or paranoia of the afterlife. With even their advanced sciences they’ve failed to figure out what happens to the living consciousness when they pass over, leading to a split in thought between the Mar’qua people.

One group, colloquially known as the “Introspectors (Len’Qua)”, look to advance Mar’qua life past the possibility of death, avoiding the paranoia altogether. This is usually done through genetic advances, leading to the majority of the Mar’qua people being biologically immortal, lacking a death from old age.

The other are known as the “Extrospectors (Lin’Qua)”, with the Mar’qua’s obsession with observation, these people look to find out what happens after death, this obsession with observation grows passed this and outward to the rest of the universe, in some held hope that they will find the answers if they understand enough.


Politics

The politics of the Mar’qua is mostly focused on technological advancement and pursuit rather than economics, war, or even personal ideals. The closest thing the Mar’qua have to a governing body is the Lar’Kan and Lar’Kar. The Lar’kan being a group of 20 individuals who hold seats in the capital of Ti’Qua. Each seat of this governing body is an expert in a particular field of science, covering the entirety of scientific basis. The Lar’Kar is a particular individual who is both seen as the ‘face’ and ‘leader’ of the Lar’kan. This individual appoints the leaders of new colonies, fleets and important operations after thorough debate with the seats of the Lar’kan. The Lar’kar is expected to be knowledgeable in all fields of knowledge in order to avoid the bias that a singular field of knowledge would result in.

Outside of technological matters, the Lar’kan do not interfere or dictate how colonies and ‘den’s operate. The only exception to this being Mar’quaran holidays, where a particular subject of a holiday may be changed if a new innovation of technology replaces the subject matter.


Mar'Qua prefer not to involve themselves in politics of other races, preferring to simply explore the universe and observe its inhabitants, though that does not mean they cut themselves off from others. The Observatoriam establishes contact with other races when they see fit, be it as a way to introduce themselves and begin free trade between the empires, or to “push” them into the correct way. Intelligensia also keeps records of any race that has been observed during exploration. Non-sentient races are paid little mind, though races that show low stages of development are observed closely, awaiting their eventual expansion into space or destruction by their own design.


History of the Maq'Qua

Early Contact

The Mar’quaran hate for AI can only be speculated to a theorized event thousands of years in their history that surpassed written and oral tradition, instead sowing a seed of fear deep into the very culture of their race. During the early atomic era of their history, before they even had ventured into their stars, they discovered bluespace technology, namely communication using bluespace crystals that had grown upon a meteorite that crashed narrowly into their home planet. Using this newly discovered form of communication, the Mar’qua contacted an unknown alien empire, forming a budding friendship between the two over the following years, this empire sharing technological secrets that would be the base of their advanced technology they use today. This all came to a sudden halt when communication between the two was ended following a brief message warning them of the dangers of advanced artificial intelligence, cutting their moment of alien contact short, never to be heard from again.

Expansion

Space flight and FTL travel was quickly achieved shortly after the rapid advancements following the discovery of bluespace crystals, harnessing the power of space-bending technology. Despite their ability to cover lightyears of space in a matter of days, the Mar’qua took their usual curiosity and caution driven approach to their colonial era. Not following a traditional colonial approach, the Mar’qua took to the stars only to colonize their local system, making great use of the natural resources and phenomena before approaching any extra-solar expansion.

Rather than colonizing every habitable planet they came across, the Mar’qua took to building complex, non-invasive satellite stations orbiting the planet, sometimes including a space-elevator for quick surface-to-space transport. These ‘nests’ would house from 100,000-2,000,000 individuals, with facilities for asteroid mining to research, to zero-g construction to leisure. These stations would perform extensive observation, testing and setup of communication infrastructure before the related exploratory fleet would move to the next system, creating a daisy chain of observatories that gave them unparalleled sensory data on their borders.

Human Contact

With their advanced optics and extra-solar sensors, the Mar’qua were made aware of the Sol Federation tens of years before making contact with them. Their rapid expansion and growth piqued both a rampant curiosity and morbid paranoia. Heavy debate occupied the Lar’kan up until their impending contact with the humans, with this being the first signs of alien existence since their ancient cousins who’s time with the Mar’qua was lost to archaic written history.

The Lar’kar came to an agreement only a few years prior to their initial contact with the Sol federation, a passive, but cautious approach was taken, avoiding any sparks of senseless war that could cinder between the two powers. With the Sol Federation’s immense numbers, economy and overall ambition to conquer matched up against the Mar’qua’s steadfast infrastructure, accrued data that had already been gathered on their movements and tactics alongside their far superior advancements in numerous fields of technology, it became obvious that any conflict between the two races would create untold catastrophe on both sides.

Reluctantly, the two powers entered a series of trade, scientific and defensive pacts, with the science of the Mar’qua and the expansive resources of the Sol Federation sending the two groups into a miraculous golden age for both sides. Despite this, the Mar’qua kept many areas of technological research hidden away from the humans, notably their genetic manipulation to prevent an abhorrent mix of Mar’quaran intelligence and Human ego and ambition.


Bluespace Crash

The bluespace crash came as a sudden catastrophe to most races. The Mar’qua on the other hand, with their advanced knowledge of the nature of bluespace, predicted a chance of such an event happening due to the excessive use of bluespace drives. Due to the growing chances of such an event occurring, the Mar’qua began experimental testing of advanced FTL drives, slowly retrofitting their ships and defunctioning their bluespace drives, even beginning to look into advances in quantum entanglement communication technology.

This led to speculation that the Mar’quaran Technocracy managed to mitigate much of the logistical and infrastructural impact the bluespace crash had on them. It also brewed rumours among the xeno races that the Mar’quaran Technocracy directly caused the bluespace crash itself, perhaps to give themselves an advantage over the other bluespace-reliant species.

Despite this, even with their predictions, not all Nests and Exploratory fleets believed the hypothetical event, with heavy debate stalling any mass mobilization of said retrofits. This left many, especially fringe worlds bordering the Sol Federation stranded along with other xenos. With such a logistical breakdown, and despite the autonomy and self sufficiency of nests and fleets, this led to a growing reliance on other xenos. This change exposed many homogeneous groups of Mar’qua to the diverse and alien mindsets of xenos, causing a radical schism and division between the cautious and methodical Mar’qua and the ones open to the ideas of xenos.

Relations between other races and the Observatoriam

Human

Their relationship with the Sol Federation is one of hesitant cooperation. Despite their lower numbers, the Mar’qua’s advanced technology would make a war between the two nations catastrophic for both sides, resulting in a series of peace deals and reluctant trade agreements for mutual benefits. The Mar’qua refuse to give the Sol Federation their more advanced and perhaps even esoteric technology, knowing full well what it would be used for and how it would jeopardize their own leverage towards the imperialists.

Sablekyne/Kriosan/Akula/Naramad

The more militaristic races are mostly seen as a biological interest rather than a cultural or diplomatic one. Usually this ends with basic, short-term deals involving supplies, testing and passive support rather than any long term relationship between the two races, with the Mar’qua wanting to avoid any chance of violence, war or otherwise unnecessary risk.

Cinderites

The Cinderites proved themselves to be a surprising ally to the Mar’qua. With their war-torn history, the Mar’qua expected a short term, simple trade of resources and information. This was quickly proven wrong with the Cinderite’s aversion to war and willingness to work in hazardous conditions. Their dramatically affected and wide diversity of genetics also hold a constant curiosity of Mar’quaran geneticists. To this day the Mar’qua and Cinderites hold a long-lasting alliance through the trade of labor, goods, research and military assistance, with most Mar’quaran exploratory ships hosting a wide number of Cindar individuals used especially for reconnaissance on planets with hazardous weather, terrain or hostile fauna/flora.

Opifex

The Opifex are viewed with a mix of endless curiosity and primal horror. Their advances in technologies mirror something completely parallel to the Mar’qua, with cybernetic augmentation and a reliance on artificial machinery and computing. Their more esoteric nature and rivaling levels of intelligence prove themselves to again and again be a hot topic of debate within the Lar’kan. Contact between the two races has been sparse and usually resulting in heated arguments behind the ideal approach to science and research.

Cht’Mant

The Cht’mant were originally discovered through second-hand accounts of Soteria’s brutal testing on the race. This series of events did nothing but reinforce the Mar’qua in their cautious approach to science. Directly, the Mar’qua had very little interaction with the Cht’mant, with their homeworlds being so far apart and the Mar’quaran desire to avoid friction with any other bodys of power. Despite this, the Mar’qua do show interest in the cht’maint, Their ability to biologically both alter their own anatomy and communicate through such vast distances without the aid of technology has proven to be a wildly interesting concept to the Mar’qua, who require advanced technology to modify their own genetics.

Language Snippets of the Maq'Qua

  • Hal = Home
  • Kan = Keeper, Holder, Maintainer, Guard
  • Kar = Giver, benefactor
  • Lai = Light
  • Lar = Knowledge
  • Len = Inward
  • Li = Sky
  • Lin = Outward
  • Mar = Observe or to Observe
  • Nal = Rich, Precious
  • Nam = Older Sibling
  • Nar = To sleep, dream
  • Ne = Distant, Vague, obscure
  • Nim = Younger Sibling
  • Qua = People
  • Rai = Calm, peace, solace
  • Ril = Orb, Sphere, Circle
  • Tel = Green, Plants, Life
  • Ti = Eye
  • Thal = Short, Near, Intimate
  • Thil = Long, Far, Formal
  • Kor = Weapon, Arm



Canon Species in the Sojourn Universe
Core Species
Akula - Kriosans - Humans - Mar'qua - Sablekyne - Naramad - Abhuman
Non-Core Species
Opifex - Cht’mant - Cindarite - Mycus - Folken - Minor Factions