User:NikoTheGuyDude/Cindarite

ROUGH DRAFT TODO: Rewrite initial summary to flow better and introduce new ideas and concepts added, update quickstart guide, maybe add stuff about lisps? lisps are always nice

The Cindarites (named after their home planet) are a fractured and scattered species of anthropomorphic reptilians, ravaged by eons of harsh stellar radiation and centuries (or more) of far more recent - but also far more deadly - nuclear fallout. It's commonly believed that their homeworld, Cindar, was once a veritable eden; Flora covering the entire surface with a thick, green canopy, innumerable amounts of Fauna hiding beneath said canopy, grass as tall as a typical human, oceans of freshwater covering much of the planet, and deep, dark blue skies. A true miracle world, as described in certain religious texts.

But that was in the past. Today, Cindar is little more than a planet-sized crater, the only planet to receive the designation of "tomb world", a monument to the self-destructive nature of sapience, so uninhabitable and destroyed no life will ever naturally sprout again. It's once rich, black, fertile soils have been scorched into a dull grey, with orange glowing seas of radioactive sludge replacing the oceans, and the lower atmosphere is perpetually plagued by dull yellow storms, scorching the surface with ionic heat for eons to come.

While to the layman the Cindarites may appear to be little more than somewhat reclusive, primitive, and "dumb" creatures that nuked themselves to near-extinction, anyone who has spent any time with a Cindarite will tell you that there is far, far more to be seen.

THE GOLDEN RULE: Lore is not meant to be a strict guideline in which you can play your character. If something isn't explicitly clarified to be impossible, and doesn't go against common sense, you can probably get away with it! Just make sure to have an explanation.

Quickstart Guide

ROLEPLAY

• Cindarites are an extremely fractured race; there is no solid culture between most of them.
• If you originate from a bunker, you are likely to be isolationist and paranoid to SOME degree, as you have spent (however long you've been in a bunker for) in a nuclear hellhole, constantly living under fear that other bunkers learning of your location would spell doom.
• You are relatively primitive, and quite new to the galactic stage, so it is a good idea to act like it, depending on your character.
• Most first-wave Cindarites (the first wave of Cindarites to be introduced into galactic society) haven't been officially acclimated to modern life. You may be socially awkward, you may not fully understand some concepts, however you are still a fragment of a respectable civilization. You are NOT a caveman, and you know this.
• The other species KNOW you're relatively primitive, and also know you haven't been acclimated fully. Even if you don't act this way, there is a noticeable chance that you will be subject to prejudice for your species.
• While you are immune to radiation, you are still susceptible to long-term damage from it, at least in a roleplaying sense. Act like it, unless you can come up with a reason as to why you shouldn't.
• There are no naming schemes for Cindarians. Go wild.

MECHANICS

• Cindarites 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 (short-term) radiation while taking only half the toxin damage a human would. Mechanically, they are completely immune to radiation, but you may want to consider the idea that your character might experience negative effects after the shift ends.
• Cindarite scales are quite tough and resilient even to intense heat and take 15% less burn damage than others.
• Perk: Cindarite 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.

Home system and planet

Cin - the home system of the Cindarites - is a system with a single K-class star, "Cin", named after the system it resides within. It is located within the Jordas nebula, a new frontier for the SolFed, with Cin being the closest jump-point to SolFed space by quite a large margin. Within Cin lies only four planets - Kyle, a barren world in the outer reaches of the system with only dust and rock, Gaiyhen, a ammonia-helium green-tinted gas giant about 50 AU out, Yorsh, a tidally-locked volcanic world with literal rivers of molten metal on it's surface, so close to Cin it practically hugs it, and finally, Cindar, the home of the Cindarians. While it lies in the habitable zone of Cin, it is sporadically barraged by stellar radiation from Cin's hyperactive solar activity, which causes Cin to sporadically fire off devastating CMEs and solar flares, leading astrologists to assume it was just another lifeless world barraged by radiation. But they could not be more wrong: Despite this, Cindar was teeming with all sorts of life. In it's hayday, it is theorized to have been one of the most populated planets in all of surveyed space (in sheer population of sentient beings). While each CME triggered another mass extinction, the remnants always returned hardier and more resistant to radiation - eventually resulting in a certain reptilian race achieving sapience, and dominating the surface of the planet.

This same species would be it's undoing. Some long time ago, Cindar fell victim to devastating nuclear warfare, destroying much of the landscape and rendering it uninhabitable for eons. As for why and what happened, historians are still puzzled, but the important part is the results of this devastating nuclear incident: The atmosphere is now entirely antithetical to life, with a average surface pressure of 185.2 kPA, and a composition of 60% ammonia, 30% nitrogen, and 10% misc. gases. Violent, scorching ionized storms scorch the surface 24/7 with both extreme heat and radiation, and the previously fertile soil of Cindar has been bastardized into a hardened rock-like substance, constantly emitting trace amounts of radiation. Although you probably wouldn't be able to tell, as above this "rock", meters of hard-packed radioactive soot cake the surface, hiding the earth below, and giving the planet it's grey appearance from orbit (when not obscured by the ominous yellow clouds). The grand oceans have been replaced with seas of glowing orange sludge, emitting enough radiation to kill a man in only a minute of exposure. Cindar is generally considered a "tomb world": The final resting place of a civilization, rendered so hostile to all forms of life, no natural life will ever sprout again. (TODO: Maybe expand apon bunkers here? might get fragmented if i do it later)

Even without the very remarkable (and depressing) Cindar, however, Cin is of interest for many reasons: Unlike most systems, a thin layer of stellar dust is omnipresent throughout the system, giving it a "cloudy" look, especially when coupled with the nebula it inhabits. It harbors numerous clusters of asteroids, rich in minerals and easy to mine, spawning numerous mining stations and operations within the system. The most notable phenomenon, however, is the disproportionately large amount of valuable hydrogen and helium isotopes present within Cin's local nebulaic volume, prompting a very large gas skimming operation from various parties. In modern times, one could easily be put into a state of awe by simply the skimmers alone: Fleets of exotic-looking vessels with massive, glowing bluespace attraction nets often twice as tall as the complete length of the ship, with the glow complementing the blue appearance of the nebula quite well. It's said they emit a truly other-worldly rumbling and crackling noise as they deploy, stretch, and activate. These lumbering behemoths are a popular tourist attraction of the system, trailing behind Cindar, of course.

TODO: Delete the lower paragraphs later, keeping them for reference for now

Cin is host to a meager four planets, and a fantastic number of orbital stations and installations. Kyle, a barren world, orbits Cin from the same distance as pluto to Sol, and has no redeeming features aside from ammonia ice on it's southern pole. Gaiyhen, an ammonia-helium gas giant located about 50 AU away from Cin, is yet again mostly unremarkable (aside from a quite popular casino in orbit), and Yorsh, the volcanic world tidally locked with Cin, only about 3/4ths of the distance of mercury to Sol, is rarely skimmed for it's valuable molten metal deposits within it's deep crevices. Cin itself is located within the Jordas nebula, a quite important nebula which has been reported to have a high concentration of hydrogen and helium isotopes, and Cin is one of those areas with high concentration. It is not uncommon to see vast skimmers flying in formation, gas collectors glowing with bluespace attraction feedback. Aside from this, it is used as a valuable waypoint and refueling depot for ships exploring the vast nebula and the stars within, and is caked with a thin layer of dust and asteroids, the latter of which is known to contain rare and precious metals within their cores, which mining ships and stations exploit to great profit.

The Cindarian homeworld is a tomb world known as Cindar, an irradiated planet with orange glowing seas of irradiated sludge and dominated by powerful storms that scorch the surface. While the majority of the planet's surface is untouched by the glowing seas, the ground itself is cracked and infused with radioactive isotopes, making life under meters of thick lead a necessity for survival, even for the rad-hardened Cindarians. From orbit, it appears to be a brown-grey planet with dull yellow storms constantly dominating the atmosphere in all places except the southern hemisphere, where the localized weather controllers keep the storms at bay and the terraforming drones make the ground more appealing every day.

Prior to SolFed intervention, Cindar was a paradise for illicit activity; ships that descended below the radiation belt were undetectable by most sensors, and ships that could pursue were often lacking any sort of radiation shielding. On the surface, criminals would often trade, plot, store goods, fight, betray, and backstab eachother, as well as attempt interaction (with numerous intents) with the local Cindarites. To some, it was known as the homeworld of the Delirium syndicate, which was a low-level smuggling and burglary crime ring which quickly rose to power in the system when "Slipspace Jones" revealed the concept of Cindarian bunkers to the syndicate. Nowadays, Cindar is home to little more than a few Cindarite bunkers still undergoing integration, a plethora of waystations in orbit (which Cindarites are known to use as a jumping point for employment), orbital stations which seat the SolFed Military Governship, and a small, concentrated terraforming effort in the southern hemisphere within the smaller continents, which is mostly a thinly veiled excavation effort masquerading as an effort to "Give the cindarites back their home! (SolFed system governor of Cin, October 20th, 2605)". While a large number of Cidarites reside within the terraformation zone, often in habitation spheres to protect from residual radiation from the nuclear fallout, many Cindarites simply opt to seek a life aboard space stations, particularly ones within Cindar orbit, not quite willing to leave their hellish home just yet. This has had the effect of causing a societal split between the two largest areas of Cindarite population: Cindar orbit, and cindar ground. 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.

Cindarite Biology

Cindarites - due to both eons of harsh stellar radiation, centuries of ravaging nuclear fallout, and the same timespan's worth of extremely insular bunker life - have very little in the way of genetic conformity from widespread genetic mutation. One Cindarite may have twelve fingers, three kidneys, digitigrade legs and the wrong genitalia for their gender, and another may have a complete lack of scales, three hearts, plantigrade legs, and a lack of knees, to say nothing of the countless other types of mutation. Despite this, there are numerous commonalities between all Cindarites, no matter how mutated.

Outward appearance

• All Cindarites are of a reptilian nature, and thus, are cold-blooded. There is (thankfully) no variance in this.

• Due to this, all Cindarites are cold-blooded: Their bodies cannot regulate their body temperature, so they must seek out heat on their own. This has the effect of causing Cindarites throughout the galaxy to complain about the low temperature. The colony is no exception to this.

• A typical Cindarite is covered in scales from head to toe, protecting the soft, leathery skin underneath. More sensitive areas are not covered in scales, however, such as the throat, belly, groin, or any point of the body that must be able to flex, such as areas around joints. Some Cindarites have excess scales over these parts, and in the case where it becomes uncomfortable/restricts movement, it can be designated as SED-C, or "Scale excess disorder-Cindarite". The opposite is true as well, with the extreme variant being classified as SDD-C (Scale deficit disorder-Cindarite).

• These scales are notably strong and rigid, and while failing to protect against most physical threats outside of most scratches, are quite effective in stopping a small amount of excess heat from reaching the vulnerable skin underneath, granting Cindarites minor resistance to damaging levels of heat.

• Cindarites' scales/skin are of various colors and often depicted as green in popular media, thus creating a common misconception that they are universally colored green. This is plainly wrong, as while plenty of Cindarites have a green coloring, the actual scale/skin coloring is quite diverse. Of all SolFed registered Cindarites, 23.2% are colored in tropical greens, 22.6% in red hues, 21.8% muted woodland browns, and the rest are far more miscellaneous and hard to measure individually. Note that all demographics seem to have a slight chance per individual for non-consistent (ala birthmarks) coloring on the entire body, albinos are existant within the species, and not a single neon Cindarite has ever been recorded.

• It is still hotly debated on whether these vivid scale/skin colorings are a result of generations of mutation, random chance, or as a new theory suggests: Adaptation to environment.

• Most Cindarites can be spotted with horns, feathers, and/or frills atop their heads, although some can be completely absent of such features. While it is most common for Cindarites to only possess one pair of horns, it is certainly possible for Cindarites to possess multiple pairs, with no apparent limit. Note that horns grow with age, and female Cindarites often possess smaller horns.

• TODO: maybe make horn size important for culture?

• Most Cindarites possess classic reptilian eyes, with a vertical slit making up the pupil instead of the more common beady pupil we see in most species, however some Cindarites have been recorded to have different types of eye(s). The color of the iris can vary wildly, although the most common colors are yellow, green, red and brown, with the more uncommon colors trailing not very far behind in commonality.
• All Cindarite faces sport a reptilian snout of some type, although size and length can vary wildly. Inside this snout, 1-3 lines of mixed, omnivorous teeth reside, depending on their age. Cindarite teeth are quite thin, so three rows doesn't interfere with their ability to eat or speak.

• Cindarite children are often born teethless. As they age, their teeth rows start coming in, with the back row appearing first. Consequently, it is the back row that is the first to fall out as Cindarites begin to age even further. Teeth typically begin coming in around the age of 3, and will continue coming in every 4-7 years. After all rows are finally present, Cindarites will typically age 40-80 years until they begin losing teeth again, in which case rows will fall out at a rate of 1-13 years apart.

• In the case that a Cindarite is genetically pre-disposed to having one more/less row of teeth (Cindarite Dental Excess/Deficit respectfully), the biologic process may proceed normally (with the process stopping when all rows are present/gone), skip a step, or overlap steps, and can lead to a gap in the tooth array or even multiple rows growing in the same place, painfully pushing eachother out.

• Cindarites average around 5'4" and 6'4" tall, however, due to mutation, it is not a terribly rare sight to see a Cindarite as short as 4'9" and as tall as 7'3". It is important to note that there appears to be no height difference between genders of the species.
• While it is impossible to declare any type of tail (or lack therof) "typical" for Cindarite, we can say with certainty that all Cindarites will either lack a tail, or possess a thin, lizard-like tail (with varying length), a large and bulky snake-like tail, or a strange, segmented and boney "render" tail (as described by Cindarites with said tail), all protruding from the base of their spine where a human's tailbone would be.
• While most Cindarites possess a pair of plantigrade legs (70% of all known Cindarites), a smaller population possesses digitigrade legs, purpose-built for fast traversal. Something interesting about these legs is the fact the plantigrade legs are an obvious evolution of the digitigrade legs: the knees are not as developed as they should be, the structure is still ever-so-slightly bent backwards, and the feet are very slightly raised.
• A strange anomaly within Cindarites is the variation of blood color; Cindarites can have the exact same blood content as a human, and yet bleed green, yellow, orange, blue, anything. Despite the iron in the blood, it is not always colored red, although it certainly is the average. Scientists are absolutely perplexed over the topic, and have nothing in the way of a possible explanation.

Gender-specific/sexual features

• While most Cindarites fall into the binary figure of "male/female", hermaphodites (those possessing both male and female specific features), sexless, or intersex individuals have been reported to occur naturally, as a result of mutation.
• Male Cindarites are typically more brawny and broad-shouldered, with more angular snouts and larger/more curved horns in comparison to the females of the species, although mutation can cause this to vary quite a bit.
• Most males possess a genital slit in their groin, wherein a strong average of one simple penis resides, with extra penises likely a result of mutation. Length and girth can vary wildly (and is often more biased towards the "large" spectrum of things), although the average is slightly larger and noticeably longer than the human standard. And as with more reptiles, the testicles often reside inside the body, although certain Cindarites may instead have an external version, likely caused by generations of slow mutation.

• Note that genitalia size/count does not 'often' (it can) correlate with genital slit size, and many Cindarites with excessive penis size/number (anything 9 inches long and above, or anything above 1 penis) as well as a slit may report it to be uncomfortable, as their penis(es) constantly press(es) up against the edges of said slit. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: Dick count was not put in for horny, a lot of lizard races in shit have multiple dicks, and I don't know why. also bitches be horny so throw em a bone)

• As for the females of the species, they possess typical female genitalia where you would expect it. While length and width varies wildly, they are (on average) typically slightly larger than a human vagina, likely to compensate for the large genitalia of the males. Being reptiles, however, females possess reptilian ovaries, meaning they do not give birth to living children, no, they instead lay eggs. These eggs often take between 1-3 years to hatch, and follow many commonalities of reptillian eggs.

• As with standard reptilian biology, almost every female Cindarite has a complete lack of mamillary glands, and therfor, breasts. As with all things Cindarite, however, there is bound to be someone that defies this commonality.

Internal and misc. biology

• Cindarite organs are surprisingly static. It is quite rare to find a Cindarite with multiple hearts, livers, stomachs, eyes, or any organ that is typically considered a vitable/extractable organ. As for what organs a Cindarite /has/, it is the same as a human. (OOC: Basically, if the organ can be extracted from you by any means, it must be normal. Imagine if a doctor could take two hearts out of you.)
• Cindarites possess a startling ability that was long since considered mostly impossible by world-renowned (on earth at least) biologists: a near immunity to radiation sickness and cancer. While the cancer resistance is not much of a shock (anti-tumor antigens exist within nearly all life), Cindarites are seemingly unaffected by radiation exposure /regardless/ of the dose received, at least in the short-term. In the long-term, Cindarites still suffer from DNA degradation and disabilities stemming from high levels of radiation, making them sadly vulnerable to the aging process.

• Due to the only recent discovery of Cindarites (and the enigma that is Cindarite genetics), very little progress has been made in understanding this faucet of their biology. Some theorize there exists a DNA archive that all DNA is checked against periodically, others suggest the DNA is simply built differently. There is very little evidence to support either (and any) of these theories, so the true reason is, for now, unknown.

• Cindarites are unusually resilient to traditionally toxic materials. Things like spider venom have a reduced effect on them, and the reason for this is unknown, due to lack of study on the topic.
• Cindarites are occasionally forced to shed their scales in the exact same way a snake would. This occurs about every 5 years, and has the same effects on them it would a snake.
• Members of this species are unusually proficient in managing heavy equipment such as 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. Many biologists presume this was an evolution caused by generations spent wearing these suits in harsh environments, therfor necessitating affinity in using them, however these same biologists often face harsh criticism for attributing what is likely just skills passed down generation to generation to biology.

Most physical attributes not listed are either entirely unremarkable, or far too inconsistent to measure (e.g. it's up for interpretation). It is important to note that even the listed attributes may be subverted by mutation if not explicitly stated that it is universal (Reptiles, cold-blooded, no neon skin).

Discovery

In 2582, a corporate survey fleet entered the "Cin" system, within the Jordas nebula. The system was known to have four planets, however they were mostly overlooked as the survey fleet was short on time. The preliminary survey of the system revealed high concentrations of valuable Hydrogen and Helium isotypes, as well as metal-rich asteroids ripe for mining. This would ensure Cin would be exploited quite heavily by mining and siphon stations. It's unique location would also secure it's place as a important waypoint for fleets navigating the Jordas nebula.

Aside from this, however, nothing of major interest was revealed. The only thing of immediate interest was Cin's (the primary star) hyperactive solar storms, but this was hardly worth investigation. However, before the fleet left the system, a sensor ship fired off a sensor burst at the single planet within the goldilocks zone; Cindar. The results they received were fascinating: It was giving off readings indicating it's atmosphere was covered in nuclear storms perpetually ravaging the surface with radiation at a rate of 500 Roentgen/hour, which is extremely remarkable, as no recorded non-gas giant has ever even gotten close to such extreme "natural" radiation emissions. Despite this, the fleet left the system (begrudgingly), and the corporation they belonged too saw much more use in exploiting the system's resources, not investigating this likely inconsequential anomaly.

Nav buoys were constructed, sensor arrays established, waystations created and mining operations underway. The Cin system was now extremely valuable for many parties: Commercial, Industrial, Navigational, and even criminal. The mass amount of goods travelling in-system, massive amount of traffic now moving through, and minimal system patrols (due to the fairly new status of the system) made it a valuable target for pirates. However, even a skeleton patrol is effective at tracking down and intercepting pirate vessels... that is, at least, if they CAN track them. Criminals quickly realized that if they welded lead plates onto their ships, they could survive the journey below the Cindar radiation belt, where all but the most powerful sensors could not hope to penetrate the ionic storms. On the rocky surface, rad-suited crew would unload valuables into craters and caverns, and conduct business with eachother, all while under the impression that no sensors could detect them. While this was true, and their business was safe from the prying eyes of system authorities, it turns out that their every move was being watched by a particular people holed up in bunkers built into thick mountains, fear and paranoia in their eyes. But some of these people - some of these Cindarites - were critically low on supplies, and would not last even a year without more. As these strange people unloaded what appeared to be essential supplies for life, some began looking at them not with fear... but with hope for survival. And soon, desperation would take hold, and overwhelm years of paranoia and fear.

First Contact

At an unknown place and time, a Cindarite had left their bunker, and approached a crew member unloading ammonia water (which appeared to be normal water) from their cargo hold into a crater, cindarian rifle in hand...

and offered the rifle, which had no magazine, was unchambered, and had it's "safety" on, as they pointed to the water, and spoke in an unfamiliar, forlorn and fearful tone, all in an unknown language. The inexperienced crewman panicked, grabbed the rifle from their hands, tried to fire it, undid the safety, tried again, screamed in terror, and then sprinted back to the ship, screaming and flailing about a pirate. The captain laughed him off and disciplined him for the loss of ammonia water, but was intrigued by the rifle, which was of unknown design, and clearly wasn't made by any known organization. Soon after they realized it wasn't a pirate, but a trader, offering the rifle for the water (or so they thought). Word of this mystery arms dealer spread quickly, prompting numerous smugglers to repeat the same tactic; stand outside their ships with water. This tactic worked surprisingly well, although the rate and consistency at which these "Cindarites" (which the smugglers had aptly named them, based on the planet's name) arrived was far less than desirable. At least, it was, until a sensor officer noticed a sudden flash of light across the terrain, as a door opened and a strange man in a rad-suit stepped out. Said sensor officer frantically grabbed the sensor-data from the for-deletion backlog and sent it to the ship's captain, the infamous 'Slipspace Jones' of the Delirium syndicate. This is how the Delirium syndicate came to almost industrialize the Cindar underworld in the brief period it had this data, and how Slipspace Jones became one of the most powerful men in the system from the finder's fees he gained from distributing the enticing data. Following this, smugglers would regularly park near any oddly-shaped outcroppings reminiscent of the sensor data passed along within the syndicate, finally turning this into a worthwhile endeavor, as the materials gained from such an activity had the capacity to flood the system's small black market with unlicensed weaponry, exotic foods and goods, and simply well-crafted objects.

Overall, few Cindarite communities chose to interact with the smugglers. It was simply not worth the risk to potentially give away their position to rivals. Those that were critically short on essential goods were more willing to approach the strange men, however, and those that were interviewed (and could speak english) often reported the trading experience as "surprisingly pleasant", with the smugglers noting their lack of fluency in english and using basic, universal hand gestures instead to communicate. Some, however, reported less pleasant experiences. Ranging from armed guards watching their every move, to being straight-up robbed, going as far as having their bunkers raided and their families killed, and this is only from those that survived. There are numerous accounts from surveyors hailing from official SolFed expeditions that paint a dark picture: Old, rotting reptilian bodies strewn across the barren earth, with trails of bullet casings leading into a breached bunker. Inside, varying levels of damage, and varying levels of death. Without fail all valuables are stripped out, with it going so far as to have the lead plating removed as well. Occasionally, one of these destroyed bunkers had a number of living Cindarites who were too weak to even talk, let alone walk. Most of these individuals expired before even making it to a hospital. It has been confirmed that a few Cindarites have survived such an ordeal, however current records are very vague and fragmented, meaning that, sadly, no information can be garnered about these individuals, who they were, how they are doing, and where they are now (this is just to expand the horizons of roleplay).

Official contact

The extremely high criminal activity in and around this planet eventually prompted SolFed intervention, causing a special task force to be assembled, with rad-shielded sensors and high-powered engines on all of the ships. This task force was tasked with instituting a blockade onto the planet to choke out anyone still on the surface, forcing them to break orbit (and be intercepted immediately) or starve to death. Before they could reach Cindar, however, a fleet of ships rapidly breached the upper atmosphere and scattered, aiming for the densest patches of dust and asteroids in the system. Needless to say, they were intercepted almost immediately by the heightened system patrols and the extremely fast picket ships of the fleet.

Of those arrested in the operation, the infamous "Slipspace Jones" was one of the most high-profile. In the past few years, they had ascended from the rank of lowly frigate pilot to valuable information broker and operation manager within the Delirium Syndicate, all because of the simple discovery their Sensor Officer had made with the Cindarian bunkers. While most other individuals arrested stayed silent, likely due to loyalty to the syndicate (or threat of death by the syndicate), in an ironic twist of fate, it was the very man who brought the information they fought so hard to protect that gave it up. When interrogated on what was so important about Cindar, he began spinning them a tale of hidden riches, foreign goods, and "shy aliens" that tentatively engaged in trade with them, all for the chance for a reduced sentence and a chance to retain his piloting liscense. While this was initially dismissed as an embroidered tale, it was quickly confirmed by a SolFed survey ship that was beginning to explore the surface of Cindar, after spotting a "bunker" reminiscent of what Jones had described.

Jones was found guilty on all charges, and the syndicate was dissolved. All that was left to do was transmit the findings to high command and support the integration fleet that was almost certain to come.

Integration

To say this process was "bumpy" is an understatement. The Cindarites had lived in isolation and paranoia for hundreds, maybe thousands, maybe TENS of thousands of years, and while some communities were more receptive to the sudden presence of aliens knocking on their external airlocks (likely due to either ideological difference or positive interaction with smugglers), there was not a single community that did not act with alarm at first. Despite this, there was very little open conflict between ambassadors and Cindarites, and any that did occur was often diffused by simply asking a Cindarite to broadcast a message over broadwave radio for the other communities to hear, advertising promises of escape from the tomb world they have been trapped on for all of their lives. It turns out, even when extremely isolationist and paranoid, living on a tomb world for generations on end builds a cultural want to leave for better pastures. And so, they did. Despite their hesitance to join an unfamiliar and utterly terrifying galactic civilization, they joined, just to escape the hellish nightmare that is Cindar.

In order for Cindarites to gain citizenship, and thus, the right to travel as they pleased, they were required to either prove their worth to a special council, or work for 6 months on a SolFed sanctioned station, ship, or installation. Many Cindarites were able to prove themselves as tradesmen, craftsmen, engineers, doctors, and many other professions. However, a smaller demographic of Cindarites, while skilled in engineering and medicine, did not quite reach the qualifications for such a profession by SolFed standards, and thus were ordered to work at one of the aforementioned sites instead. In mere months, half of the population of Cindar had been found and integrated, with a malcompliance rate of only 5.2% (In this context, malcompliance is defined as failing to comply with an order of integration. Such actions that fall in this criteria may include hostile action, or refusal to leave for any reason whatsoever. Such acts were typically resolved with force, or more uncommonly, coercion.)

Thanks to modern AR language training hardware, most Cindarites could be given a robust understanding of the english language in only two months of continuous training with only a few falling behind, so this was not much of an issue for integration purposes. However, the cultural acclimation (or lack therof) certainly was. Those that succeeded in proving their worth were given surprisingly little, however they did receive an apartment and an effort to acclimate them to the galactic culture. Many of these individuals found themselves with a meager, but functional understanding of how everyday life functioned, and were able to live a semi-successful life in their respective professions, even if the pay was less than stellar and others typically looked down apon them for being "primitive". Those that failed (for any reason), however, were forced to take what many would call "refugee employment": Low paying, high risk work, which is often unfulfilling and strenuous. Some of the jobs these people were forced to take include, but are not limited to, hull repair technician, reactor technician, maintenance worker, janitor, mining drill operator, and many, many more equally low-paying and unfulfilling jobs. These same workers were often given next to nothing in the way of cultural acclimation (outside of basic instructions on how they were expected to act, an explanation that credits = items, and work = credits), causing a severe and very noticeable culture clash between the more well-adjusted standard crew of workplaces and the isolated, more subdued maintenance crew filled with Cindarites. They were rarely interacted with, and when they were, it was often a manager begrudgingly barking orders at them, or reprimanding them for making a mistake stemming from their lack of understanding of life outside the bunker. This separation between Cindarite and crew was certainly not helped by the speciest attitude certain people took towards them, viewing them as "primitives" who barely understand modern life, that constantly make mistakes, that are simply leeches, who would be better off sent back down to Cindar. And even after graduating from whatever backwater position they were in initially, they found themselves short on options: few trade-less cindarites had skills that would be suitable for any position other than a grunt worker, and those that did were typically shunned for the common sterotype of them being unskilled workers that are reclusive, stupid, and overall undesirable, although there have been some exceptions to this rule.

Nonetheless, the Sol Federation considers Cindarites quite valuable to the economy in general; Their engineering prowess and eagerness to leave Cindar to work for low wages (often aboard stations within Cin or ships that navigate the Jordas nebula) had cultivated a quite positive outlook on the strange species, climaxing in Rear Admiral Almir Paiva of the Sol Federation Merchant Marines beginning a military tradition of recruiting large swaths of Cindarites to compensate for manpower losses in military supply ships during the final pre-crash war.

Culture and History

History

Early historical accounts of Cindarite civilization are difficult to find, as much of the planet was destroyed and rendered uninhabitable during a brief nuclear exchange, and those that would remember have long since passed away. However, significant numbers of Cindarites were able to survive in a myriad of bunkers and shelters that had been built prior to the nuclear apocalypse. It is unknown as to why these bunkers were made, and why they were so heavily radiation-shielded, but the common theory is that Cindarites would shelter within them during particularly violent solar storms. This would also explain the stockpiles present within said bunkers, as Cin's solar storms could theoretically last for days, or even weeks at a time, given how intense its solar activity is.

The true name of the Cindarite species is unknown, and the subject of much debate. The memory of it so heavily fragmented within their people, that it is simply impossible to declare one as the "most likely". Instead, we must name the most popular and most agreed-apon names within Cindarian society: The "Haris-Thox" (5% of population agrees), the "Heth-hen" (4% of population agrees), the "Mah'hn" (4% of population agrees), the "Meh-z'hen" (4% of population agrees), and many, many more, that are futile to list. Experts theorize that the true name, over time, became fragmented as it was passed down generation to generation, and it is unlikely that any of the most popular names are the truth. The only similarity between theorized names is that they tend to have one to three contractions within the name. The name, and the meaning behind it, is often debated between Cindarites, or simply curious historians with nothing better to do. These discussions are known to occasionally grow particularly aggressive depending on the Cindarite, due to how much sentimental value it can hold. In current time, most Cindarites begrudgingly accept the term "Cindarite" to describe their species, however some may prefer another term, such as their personal idea for the name of their species.

However, the mystery of the Cindarian species' name pales in comparison to the mysterious origins of the so-called "bunkerspeak", the term used for the obscure language traditionally spoken by bunker-bound Cindarites. Each bunker has their own dialect, speech patterns, language rules, words, and more, thus making it mostly unrecognizable by those from other bunkers, and even to those from the same bunker, due to how aggressively SolFed has been trying to scrub out bunkerspeak from the common Cindarite dialect. Despite their efforts, however, certain Cindarites will speak in their own bunkerspeak, most often when under durress as an expression of strong emotion. The only consistency between all versions of bunkerspeak is 1. The lettering used, and 2. MOST variations of "bunkerspeak" feature liberal use of apostrophes/contractions to conjoin words and phrases. Ex. If "Phret" meant "Ham", and "Therzyn" meant "Bread", it would be contracted into "Phret'erzyn", meaning "Ham sandwich". However this is by no means universal, and many variations of bunkerspeak lack this rule entirely, push it to an extreme, or a mix of the two. Linguists are completely baffled by this, as most fractured societies at least maintain some level of common ground between variations of the original language, but Cindarites completely defy this.

(Bunkerspeak is not a mechanically supported language. As long as you don't turn it into a language actually viable for communication between people, though, it's probably fine to say some gibberish now and then.)

What little of Cindarian history we do know (Cindarian history was passed down generation by generation of Cindarites, likely fragmenting it in the process) paints a cloudy picture up to much interpretation: All Cindarites agree they never made it off the planet. Most Cindarites agree the civilization had only recently weaponized nuclear materials prior to the grand war. Everything else, though, is extremely vague and scattered. What little we can gleam from the remnants of the past society is that a truely tremendous amount of nuclear weaponry had been detonated, and (based off the vast ruins buried beneath the tens of meters of radioactive soot) the fact that Cindarian society had once been an advanced, heavily industrious society, what with the high amount of excavated metallurgy plants, refineries, mining wells, each possessing startling innovations within their equipment (some of which had only recently been developed by the galactic community). Despite this, it is commonly theorized that Cindarian society had only just exited their equivalent of the human industrial revolution prior to the grand war, as all other industries and equipment (aside from medical equipment) are primitive in comparison to said plants and factories. Many experts draw connections between these advanced industries and the robust materials the many radiation-shielded bunkers required. In order for the Cindarian species to survive, they had to innovate and improve their own technology to the point where mass-production of reliable, rad-shielded materials was possible without undue cost and time to manufacture.

Culture

Prior to SolFed intervention, Cindarites lived an extremely fractured, isolated, and lonely life, with only their bunker buddies to keep them company (who were oftentimes what they considered their families). 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. The communities within these bunkers were often extra-ordinarily tightly-knit, which makes sense considering how much of their lives these people spent together. Any disagreements were dispelled by the sound of a bulkhead cracking, and the frantic shouting and shuffling to fix it, or a scaled hand resting on your shoulder as a soothing reminder that you're all in this together. This is not to say that conflict did not occur, however; many groups have records detailing arguments between people, fights, injuries and even deaths. Some bunkers were even left derelict as a result of in-fighting causing catastrophic failure of the atmospheric sealants. It is very easy to hate someone when you get to know them, even despite a cultural push for tolerance.

When Cindarites were thrust unto galactic civilization, SolFed gave no thought to acclimating them and conditioning them to this new environment. As such, it came as no surprise when these paranoid and isolationist reptiles began replicating their age-old behavior of isolating themselves within groups of close friends. What did come as a surprise however, was the difference between who most Trade-proven and tradeless Cindarites chose to be with. As trade-proven Cindarites are on average better educated and better conditioned to modern culture than tradeless Cindarites, the more progressive of these individuals felt more comfortable with non-cindarite associates, to say nothing about the noticeably lower need for companionship expressed by some of these Cindarites, depending on their personality. And even with this "isolationist" mindset so many Cindarites seem to harbor, they are by no means anti-social; many Cindarites find great enjoyment in communal activities and don't mind bumping shoulders with many people, as long as they TRUST them, and most can certainly at least tolerate the presense of unfamiliar people, especially with how much the paranoia from bunker life has faded over time, although some are still constantly on edge.

Aside from this, however, there is very little "culture" to speak of in regards to Cindarites, as there is no existing (or even recent) central civilization of Cindarites. One thing of note, however, is that like most subpopulations, Cindarites within cities and towns do indeed develop their own culture, usually a mix of their isolationism and whatever culture is most prominent within said city.

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.

-"We are not a species of brutes, of dunces, of fools; we are one of architects, engineers, and doctors."

Civil Rights activists work day and night to undo the cultural/institutionalized prejudice against Cindarites, both trade-proven and tradeless, as well as those that don't fit into either of these labels, including second-wave Cindarites. While some progress has been made, particularly in the field of education, other fields have been slower than others. Cindarites still work for lower pay on average, are still occasionally ridiculed for their somewhat odd behavior, and face reduced job opportunities.

-"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