Cindarite

Cindarites are a reptilian race highly valued for their ability to work in hazardous environments after adapting to their irradiated home-world of Cindar. Cindarites are alien in nature and were first discovered by smugglers before later being incorporated into the Sol Federation for various tasks befitting their adaptions.

Quickstart Guide

• Cindarite are widely skilled and reasonably tough due to their hard upbringing. They receive +2 to biology, mechanical, cognition, and toughness. An extra +3 can be gained if their homeworld is chosen in character setup.
• Cindarites become cold much easier than humans but can withstand heat significantly better.
• Cindarites are adapted to highly toxic and dangerous biomes and are entirely immune to radiation while taking only half the toxin damage a human would.
• Cindarite scales are quite tough and resilient even to intense heat and take 15% less burn damage than others.
• Perk: Cindarites gain the perk "Purge Toxins", which allows them to purge their bloodstream of toxins and remove addictions, though the effect makes them extremely tired and may make them fall asleep as a result. This can be used every fifteen minutes.
• Perk: Cindarites gain the perk "Uncanny Resiliance", which allows them to cure their own diseases once every thirty minutes. (Really, they just give themselves a dose of spaceacillin.)
• Perk: Cindarites gain the perk "Second Skin", which lets them instantly remove their own clothing and ignore all slowdown normally caused by any clothing they wear.

Biology

Cindarites, while largely uniform in terms of their reptilian nature, lack a large amount of genetic conformity due to generations of insular bunker life and radioactive mutations. The results being some Cindarites that are around 4'9 with two kidneys up to some specimens that are 7'3 with 4 kidneys. Efforts are being made to correct many of the more unhealthy mutations, these efforts have been met with mixed results. However this is not to say they are so mutated that there aren't some common physiological differences between males and females, male Cindarites often are more brawny, broad-shouldered, and often have more angular snouts while females of the species are more lithe with slender figures and rounded snouts. Both genders are often observed with horns, feathers, or a combination of both. These usually correlate with age and gender, with larger horns usually being seen on mature males while female Cindarites will often have smaller horns at the same age.

As expected for most reptiles however, Cindarites are cold blooded in nature and most of their body is covered in scales or a leathery feeling skin. Popular depictions of Cindarites show them with green scales, however collected data studies show there is a near equal distribution of tropical greens, reddish golds, and muted woodland brown colored Cindarites. It is still unknown whether these variations are inherited, random mutations, or as one popular theory suggests, a generational adaptation to environment.

One surprising facet of their biology is that they are not as agile as they are often believed to be and yet they don't seem to lose much agility when they wear various hardsuits. One SolFed observer has famously coined the term of calling it their "Second Skin" as they seem to be able to wear and shed the armor with ease just like their own coat of scales. This is undoubtedly because of the generations spent wearing such suits in harsh environments.

Homeworld

Cindar, an irradiated planet with orange glowing seas of irradiated sludge and dominated by powerful storms that scorch the surface. For decades as the solar system grew in importance as a waystation for stellar traffic in a myre of resource rich nebulae. It wasn’t long until the planet became a hotspot of smugglers hiding from system patrols. Those very smugglers became the first to contact the local Cindarites. Residing deep inside nuclear fallout shelters and ancient government bunkers the Cindarites were largely insular but generally welcomed the trade once they realized the visitors were not hostile.

Modern Cindar is devoid of the sprawling mega cities and urban jungles of most contemporary homeworlds. Most of its settlements and cities consist of habitation domes on the surface- particularly centered on the smaller southern continents where the terraforming efforts are centered, and orbital stations where the SolFed Military Governorship is seated. Furthermore, a societal split has occurred between the population that remains on the surface, waiting for the long process of environmental restoration, and the population that has fled to orbit to reside in SolFed and privately owned orbital habitats. This divide has proven somewhat useful, as orbital workers have succeeded in significantly bolstering the new Cindar economy as they work for and trade with the spacers passing through their system.

Culture and History

Early historical accounts of Cindarite civilization are difficult to find, as much of the planet was destroyed during a brief nuclear exchange. However significant numbers of Cindarites were able to survive in a myriad of bunkers and shelters which allowed the post nuclear population to grow and adapt with some degree of success.

These bunkers were often extremely insular and due to an oppressive amount of paranoia from the nuclear exchange were often times very secretive. Radio communication was often limited to a very short range and encoded broadcasts only to keep in touch with the most inner security patrols, and even then it was often reduced for fear of other shelters picking up the signals during cloudy weather.

Today, while much of human civilization thinks of them as primitive for failing to pass the great filter, the Sol Federation values Cindarites quite highly for their eagerness to leave their homeworld and sign up for work aboard fuel tankers and transports that navigate the nebulae surrounding their home. This reputation among SolFed officials has largely been cultivated by Rear Admiral Almir Paiva of the Sol Federation Merchant Marines, who began a practice of recruiting Cindarites to reinforce manpower losses aboard military supply ships during the last of the pre crash wars. Today nearly every SolFed naval Depot and waystation has a dedicated cadre of Cindarites who maintain the facilities with their dedication going so far as to bring their families with them.

Modern Cindarite culture is defined by three major pillars:

-Willingness to work in harsh conditions where others have refused. Generations of hazardous surface patrols and dangerous living conditions have resulted in a large sense of pride and tradition for bravely accepting tasks deemed uncomfortable. While this is often imagined as being a lone Cindarite to reset a dangerous reactor, it usually translates into more mundane tasks such as asteroid mining, large amounts of paperwork, or even just cleaning up a lunch room after a disastrously messy party.

-Desire to demonstrate their products, services, or knowledge. Oftentimes during their early contact with spacers they would engage in a number of trades and it became quite common for the various parties to demonstrate that the items worked before they would agree to trade. Thus Cindarite gunsmiths often employ a number of mercenaries who use their weapons, mechanics would sponsor racers, and tailors would often keep a number of dancers in their employment to show off the quality of their stitching.

-And lastly is their desire for communal living. While humans might complain about bumping elbows on shuttle rides, or request private quarters, Cindarites will find great enjoyment and even comfort in residing inside barracks. Oftentimes this communal mindset is key to helping Cindarite communities and ship crews survive and strive.

First Contact

Traditionally, first contact is made by the legions of Explorers, Scientists, and frontier Pioneers of a civilization. Working tirelessly, in hazardous conditions, to befriend and understand potentially hostile alien lifeforms and civilizations. First contact for the Cindarites was far less glamorous, with smuggler groups such as the Delirium Syndicate making a habit of hiding their goods on the storm surface of Cindar being the first to discover that the inhospitable world had hidden a small and fractured race of reptilians. These reptilians would become known as Cindarites by the smugglers, used as a means of concealing their business dealings from SolFed auditors who were beginning to grow suspicious of the legal and less than legal goods the local ‘traders’ were selling. Eventually the Sol Federation got wise to their smuggling operation and arrested a number of Syndicate pilots- including the infamous ‘Slipspace Jones’, who were making ‘surface runs’. Most of the pilots kept silent, with Jones being the only exception. He regaled the local authorities with tales of hidden, populated bunkers, of ‘shy aliens’ that were slowly starting to buy and sell goods with the smugglers who were visiting the surface, all for a reduced sentence and chance to keep his flying license. The Delirium Syndicate was quickly dismantled by the Sol Federation, but the discoveries made by those smugglers proved to be a turning point for the system, as SolFed explorers and ambassadors were quick to capitalize on the good relations the smugglers had established with the Cindarites, leading to a full integration of the reptilian people into the Sol Federation.

Present Day

-"I have two hearts and the man next to me has one, what does it matter if it's a room full of xenos and a room full of Cindarites?"

Today the military governor of Cindar is attempting to pursue a policy of 'Genetic Standardization' among Cindarites by increasing the amount of genetic tailoring available to the population. The stated goal of this is to make it easier for medical professionals to treat illnesses without needing to worry about the various mutations each individual Cindarite might have. This has however drawn a large amount of ire from Cindarites currently working aboard various SolFed ships in poor conditions and often times for very little pay compared to their xeno crewmates.

-"Oh yeah, the Buyan will get you wherever you need to go. It's Cindar rated too."

Cindar is located on one of the primary SolFed trade routes, nestled among a large swath of difficult to navigate nebulae. It is for this reason that it has a well earned reputation for being a hotspot for pilots trying to prove their worth and while being 'Cindar Rated' isn't an officially recognized qualification for pilots or ships, it's a rare occasion when a spacer- military, civilian, or criminal, would overlook a pilot that had such a trip in their logbooks.

-"A military shipyard? Here? No, we have had too much war already and refuse to see Cindar destroyed again."

One current issue dividing Cindar currently are SolFed plans to construct a shipyard in the system to be paired with the major supply base. While this has a myriad of logistical benefits for the SolFed Navy and economic benefits for the system, it is meeting a large amount of pushback from the Cindarites who are concerned that such military installations will put their homeworld at risk of being destroyed again. While most Cindarite communities enjoy the benefits of buying and selling mercenaries, they are largely apprehensive about the idea of participating in a large scale war, and more importantly, being a target in a large scale war.

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 - Aulvae - Minor Factions