(Photo by barbarian_j-d9levbi)
Niqhtlord’s wondrous world of aliens present “An introduction to Alien Species”
The Predatorian species are a race of humanoid figured fish people resembling upright sharks that have evolved over the millennia to grow additional extremities such as arms and legs at the expense of their tails, though there are recorded a few Predatoria that have kept their tails.
Predatorian’s have the unique ability to retract their finger and toe webbing at will turning powerful flippers into full dexterity hands and feet with control over every toe and finger.
Depending on the individual Predatorian some are able to breath oxygen through their gills with relative ease, others have been noted to be able to breath oxygen normally as well but require to take breathers from a special neck brace filled with water from their homeworld, and there are those that require the specialized neck brace 24/7 to remain above ground. Scientists have speculated that this may be a result of the depth of water each individual resided in for the majority of their lives with more oxygen rich water residing near the surface allowing for easier breath while heavier water resides in deeper portions of the planet leaving said individuals to breath through the neck braces. These effects often force the Predatorian body to adept which results in specific changes that can not be altered.
As a result of the intense gravity, Predatorian muscles are nearly ten times stronger than the average galactic life form. Their genetic makeup compresses several dozen layers of muscles over each other to the point that they become so interwoven that even though a knife may break the skin it snaps upon contact with the muscles. As a result surgery often requires special living crustaceans from their homeworld to be used as scalpels as only their claws have evolved to cut through the muscles.
With regards to the Predatoria brain scientists have been astounded by the possibilities it opens. It appears that all Predatoria, regardless of age, have a perfect memory and can remember anything that they have experienced during their lives. Be it a physical encounter, a face of a stranger, a the words of a book read in school, anything and everything is remembered.
What may seem like a potential overload of information also has a genetic fail safe in place to stop Predatoria from going mad. They possess the unique ability to manually shut down portions of their brain as to not per-say forget something, but to have it never have existed at all. The process in which they can achieve this level of mental control is unknown, but it has been proven that they can deactivate and reactivate portions of their brain and memory at will. This gives them the false appearance of being slow or dim minded when in reality they are searching their memories and reactivating which ones are relevant to the current situation why deactivating those that are not.
Incidentally the Predatoria are acutely aware of this and when giving themselves names tend to keep them short and simple as longer names can trigger secondary memories as understandings behind each meaning become active.
The Predatoria homeworld is roughly 95% water and under higher than normal levels of gravity. The landmass has remained relatively devoid of higher forms of life and has remained largely jungle rich fields with the exception of the newly created star port and small settlement adjacent the star port.
The majority of lifeforms reside in the natural oceans clustered into coral cities that dot the underwater landscape. Much of the infrastructure is carefully created organic materials that have been bred by Predatorian’s for specific purposes and it is rare to find refined materials within the underwater domain.
Orbital scans show that much like any other world the landscape under water has mountains, hills, ravines, plains, and other naturally formed landscapes.
All trade is conducted on the surface at the star port under strict regulations. No machine is permitted to enter the waters of the world as Predatoria see their oceans as sacred and any outside material as sacrilege to enter. They have been more relax with offworlders taking a swim in their oceans, but react harshly in the event they leave trash behind as punishment for littering is having the limb in question that littered devoured by a swarm of Shredder fish that strip flesh from bone in seconds.
To this end the rare metals, gems, and food found in the ocean is entirely harvested by the Predatoria population. It remains unknown how the Predatoria conduct these practices as any attempt to send recording devices beneath the waves have been crushed by the pressure or eaten by curious sea creatures.
WARNING: While not impossible to visit the planet for tourism purposes it is advised that offworlders refrain from swimming. Due to the intensity of the planet’s gravity if not careful a person could be pushed down into the water and drown. To swim through the oceans of Predatoria would be the equivalent of swimming through sand underneath ten feet of additional sand.
Initial contact with the species remains unconfirmed. What is known is that first contact was made by a group of outlaws on the run. Their ship had been damaged in a recent scuffle with the Cosmic Federation’s police forces and landed on the Predatoria homeworld to make repairs. The ships engines sent disturbances through the water as it passed over it alerting the Predatoria who quickly came to investigate.
Initial contact was somewhat hostile as the outlaws, startled by the appearance of the Predatoria, attacked and killed several that had come ashore to observe the new comers. The blood of the dead slowly dripped back into the sea triggering a blood frenzy among the people at the death of their own. Within hours swarms of Predatoria began emerging from the ocean seeking revenge and quickly slaughtered the remaining crew just as they set off a distress beacon.
With the intruders dead the majority of the Predatoria retreated back into the ocean while several remained out of sheer curiosity to inspect what the outlaws had left behind. Several days had passed when one of the Cosmic Federation’s police ships landed on the planet to investigate the distress signal. There they discovered several Predatoria studying the outlaws ship, though they still only had the basic understanding of its functions.
Unlike the outlaws the police force had been trained in “new contact” scenarios and was prepared. The officer in charge ordered that one of his men send a signal to the Cosmic Federation for a diplomatic detail while they initiated friendly talks. Several of the Predatoria had retreated back into the ocean when they saw the police forces, thinking they were the same as the outlaws that attacked them before. The remaining ones had taken up the weapons of the outlaws and mimicked what they had seen them do. Some of the officers wanted to fire but the officer in charge ordered them to place their weapons on the ground and show no hostility.
From this point forward additional diplomatic talks were eventually held and through trial and error an understanding was established with Predatorian’s.
Lacking space fairing technology, the Predatorian’s were not able to become a member of the Cosmic Federation. However, they were given the status of a “Protectorate” allowing them to trade with the Cosmic Federation as well as being protected by the law. With the general desire to make refined metals from their homeworld it is unlikely that the Predatoria will ever develop space fairing vehicles, though this mater seems of little importance to them as they have embraced interplanetary communication and can easily negotiate travel from another species if desired.
With the sudden influx of interplanetary trade Predatoria culture was hit with new technological wonders that attracted several thousand of their species to leave their homeworld for the first time.
Given their natural physique, many of their kind have been recruited into manual labor positions as a single Predatorian can do the work of five power loaders.
A somewhat ironic turn of events has also brought the attention of the criminal underworld as Predatorian’s are brought in as added muscle or bodyguards. Some underground fight rings even trade in captured Predatoria slaves, though due to the cost needed to contain a single Predatoria only the more high end fight ring establishments have been crazy enough to attempt this.
Some have used their skills and knowledge to become powerful crime lords themselves with their own private pocket underground empires.
As of yet there have been no recording of major conflicts instigated by or against the Predatoria. The nature of their homeworld and positioning of their critical facilities underwater greatly inhibits enemies from attacking them as they would be fighting the planet itself. Blockades are also useless as the planet is near entirely self sufficient with the exception of technology brought in from off world.
The only instances of aggression that have been recorded are often from individual members of the species. Such individuals include one Mr. Fig, second in command of the Amelia Starfeld, pirate queen of the asteroid fields.
Mr. Fig was at one time a considerable pirate in his own right before joining the crew of Amelia Starfeld with a list of wanted posters and misdeeds long enough to fill several books with bounty notices alone. The exact reasoning behind the sudden joining is unknown, but there are rumors with regards to a certain lost card wager. Since joining her crew he has proved an able bodied second in command and a staunch bodyguard, saving his captain’s life on several occasions.
The second individual is slightly less known, going only by his alias “Mr. Big”. His true name has never been discovered while his alias was given to him by a human child who is by all means his second in command.
Mr. Big may be considered by some politicians as nothing more than a common criminal, but that is only to downplay the reality that he runs one of the largest private armies past the Sleisian Belt.
Earliest records list him on board a slavery ship bound for a massive auction. The guards threw a young girl into his cell thinking he would eat her on the spot and it would amuse them. He did not eat her, if for the only reason at the time to pass the boredom of being alone in the cell. This proved beneficial as the young girl was able to memorize the access code to their cell door by listening to the subtle tones of the keypad outside that even the Predatorian could not distinguish and free the two of them from their cell.
Proceeding swiftly they freed many of the other prisoners and instigated a ship-wide riot that saw the death of every slaver. Afterwards the little girl refused to leave his side and he had grown rather fond of the young girl and took her on as his daughter. The pair then took the ship to the nearest black market and sold it, using the profits to fund what would become their criminal empire.
