Alacasha

The Alacasha are a quietly proud species and demand a lot of respect for their culture. They see it as a crime to disrespect one-another based on physical appearance or social being and that life in all its forms is to be respected; sentience is a gift and should not be taken lightly but levels of intelligence are not necessarily linked to actual sentient development as many creatures classified as “animals” can be smarter than many warlike and violent sentient species. While they believe that war is always a factor in people, in animals and even plants, stupidity is most prevalent in sentient species, and a sign of ignorance.

They believe that the universe exists within another universe, created by a race called ‘Helac’ that used giant machines, referred to by ancient scriptures as “the machines of alltime” as an experiment, although they don’t believe them as “gods”, were said to have learned to enter the universe they created by transforming their bodies into light.

In stories and legends a Helac became stranded on Crad after a rebellion in the Helac’s universe and unintentionally divulged the information to the Alacasha. However the Helac was sought and attempted to kill by others of its own kind, mortals of this universe were not supposed to know of the truth lest it bring pity and despair to them.

But the Alacasha defended the Helac from its own kind, claiming it brought good luck and peace. So the Helacs took away its power and cast it in to the body of an Alacasha where it lived his days as an mortal. Today many Alacasha truly believe this is most likely the case for the universe’s creation and have applied scientific studies towards its investigation. Although yet no evidence of Helacs are known to exist, claim that as this galaxy is only one of countless in the universe, it is still a possibility.

They had a clan-based family system and their last names were altered when two clans marry, although by definition it is not what we understand as ‘marriage’ by individuals, but mutually agreed friendship of many individuals, if love and mating comes of this then all the better.

They are part of the Galactic Confederacy, are governed by an inter-colonial democratic union known as the Cruyx World's alliance, which includes Crad itself and also have a series of smaller independent unions outside the Cruyx Juncture, however within the Confederacy are not opposed to being represented by Cruyx.

Their language is drawn-out and hard to understand even through translators, with some of their language existing in ultrasonic frequencies, the beta-wave field of UT's often giving them a “blocked nose” accent based on the use of their trunk in producing sounds that the translator perceived and combined with brainwave patterns. This extenuates Z’s and S’s, especially the ‘Sesz’ sound, so that “session” sounds like “zeszson.”

Biology and appearance

Being gastropods the Alacasha possess no legs and have a comparatively stubby, worm-like body, and several thick tentacles which they are able to undulate and ripple the undersides of, providing surprisingly fast movement if need be.

Their skin varies in colour from greenish blue to greyish green and a rare pale gray and speckled.

They have a short trunk-like nose that ends in 6 nostrils, three each side, and have two mouth openings either side of the upper section of this trunk, which contains an array of sensitive scent receptors and ultrasonic communication organs. They have red or orange, compound eyes that lets them see in to the infra-red spectrum.

As Crad is a whole G above that of Earth's, they are on average slightly stronger than if they had evolved on Earth, although to compare them to Humans would be unfair as they are not in the least 'humanoid'. Their bodies are very muscular supporting their entire weight on a system of strong but flexible cartilage hoops that intersect at the top and bottom of their bodies, this makes them unusually flexible for their shape, able to squeeze in to spaces much smaller than themselves and absorb impacts more easily without damage, although their healing rate is actually slower than a basic Human's, their toughness enables them to survive much more than any normal Human could. The average lifespan of an Alacasha was also greater than a Human’s by over 300 years.

Their skin is quite thick and they sweat a slimy substance that aids in perspiration, although it has no odour initially, it may develop one if left unwashed for a time.

The Alacasha have 2 tube-like hearts, 7 small liver-like organs but only one set of intestines, rather than upper and lower, instead having at two-chambered stomach that acts as a pre-intestinal storage. They are hermaphroditic but need to mate with another to become impregnated. They use the term "eif" as "him" or "her" but do not mind that bigender species call them "him" or "her" based on their opinion of the personality of the individual.

History

Very little is known about their planetary history prior to their early extra-solar missions, but most likely developed technology under the eye of the Zeltura. The Alacasha were one of a few species to hold the fort at the Nulani Nebula during the Bicentury Wars where the Zeltura had taken over the Nulani Station trading post. Nulani was created by the Alacasha as a waypoint between Crad and her colonies in the Cruyx Juncture, an important hyperoute node towards Xantu and the rest of the Galaxy.

During their early years in space some 3050 years ago, Nulani Station was the first structure built outside of their system’s icy outer cloud. Some 300 years later the worlds and the station had become a home-away-from-home for many species. The Zeltura decided, however, the juncture to be of high strategic importance and stationed the Ga’n Matriarch Lyneg the Petulant there to control the three colonies of Acrsasi, Nashala and Cralra and gain control of their vennimite mines. The harsh matriarch slowly weaved her web of control and virtually enslaved the Cruyx worlds, which was fine by the Zeltura. For political purposes Lyneg didn’t want to enslave their homeworld Crad, so that they believed they had some sort of freedom, although at the time the Alacasha cooperated fully, having no choice against the powerful and advanced Ga’n and Zeltura, were to be major players in helping the Orchestra of the Stars bring down the empire.

They brought in massive fleets of their own along with the K'tarn and Mahju around the station at the start of the Bicentury Wars and drove out and killed Lyneg. The ensuing fight between the Orchestra and the Ga’n was to be known as the Battle of Nulani and was to be one of the first aggressive acts that set the Orchestra’s plans in motion.

After the Orchestra’s tragic but necessary genocide of the Zeltura on Xantu, the Alacasha were in fact against the creation of the Galactic Confederacy, but soon warmed to the idea when they were assured that the Confederacy would not force worlds to be annexed as part of a greater galactic government; since many Alacasha are supremely pro-Confederacy.

Technology Level

The Alacasha are at least 2000 years ahead of Human technology by comparison in most, if not all aspects. Their starships use a unique propulsion system consisting of a free-floating quantum reactor held within a red and black technoplastic membrane within a gravitational flux between the ship’s rear mandible-like structures, which is permeable to whatever particles they choose and enables omnidirectional movement by manipulation of internal mechanics to produce gravitimetric and photonic energies similar to the Focused Point Gravity Warp engines of the Sual. When active these external reactors appear to be shimmering balls of red and white energy. Their vessels are capable of a hyperspace speed of H27.