Asurian

Asurians are a very young, small race of people that should have never survived, but against all odds, they did. They live on a set of spaceships as opposed to a planet and are still searching for a home to call their own.

Physiology

Asurains have a long life span usually ranging from three hundred to four hundred years. Their skin is usually naturally pale and all have white hair. Their normal eye color varies in color, but are usually close to their blood color due to lack of pigmentation. It’s common for some Asurians to have dark eye colors, such as greens, blues, and browns, due to mutations introduced by old Sheromi genetic enhancement. Their ears are slightly pointed, but do not give them a stronger sense of hearing.

Asurians have a tail stemming from the pelvic area that can be anywhere from three to five feet long. The top part of the tail is typically covered in light scales, and the bottom part is exposed, highly sensitive flesh. A common adage in Asurian culture states that one can go blind from playing with their tail too much. This is untrue.

Asurian scales are typically light in color. They cover the more sensitive parts of the Asurian body, such as genitals, inner thighs, parts of the torso, between the shoulder blades (covering the Velsren sac) and down the spine. These are simply the most common places to find scales. Each Asurian has a unique pattern of scales across their body, some may even find scales on their face or across their hands and feet.These scales can be removed, but it’s painful to remove a healthy scale. (Dead or damaged scales don’t hurt and usually fall out on their own, much like dead hair.) There are treatments available to stop the growth of scales in unwanted places, but the Velsren sac will occasionally restart this growth.

Their normal blood color is an incandescent white coloring.

Females and males both have ‘horns’ atop their heads. These horns are not true horns, in that they are not bone sheathed in keratin. Asurian horns are made of just keratin. Females tend to have smaller horns, males will have larger ones. The horns are not attached to the skull in adulthood and a hard impact can be enough to rip a horn out. Being a head injury, it bleeds a lot, but is usually not fatal. (It’s akin to ripping out a fingernail: painful but won’t kill you.) After a horn is removed, it may not grow back until the next wave of Velsren fluid. A common marriage ritual involves males locking horns in battle for the affection of a female. Horns can be removed, but the horns don’t usually require removing. For males, sanding down horns every few months works well enough. Occasionally the follicle around the horn becomes infected, but daily washing is enough to prevent this.

Velsren Sac

They have a small specialized gland, called the Velsren sac, that rests between the shoulder blades. It contains a unique cocktail of endorphins, adrenaline, stem cells and other hormones. This gland operates with the sympathetic nervous system to release hormones to kill pain, stifle panic reactions, and heal wounds. It’s possible to draw Velsren fluid from the sac, but it can be very painful and can sometimes result in a burst sac.

The production of this fluid requires a very high caloric intake, and it cannot be used constantly. Depending on the height, weight, diet, metabolism, and fitness level of an Asurian, it can take anywhere from a few days to a month for the Velsren sac to recover. An emptied sac typically results in a lethargic, sluggish Asurian, as their body needs to rest and recover. Injury recovery varies with the size and severity of the injury. Most minor injuries don’t elicit a strong enough response to activate the Velsren sac. (Stubbed toes and scraped knees aren’t enough, but some Asurians respond to having their tail stepped on. This requires further study.) Most cardio-respiratory injuries may still result in death if the blood can’t reach the injured area and heal it in time. The Velsran sac will not continue working if there is no blood flow.

The sac sometimes has to be removed. Severe infections, Velsran sac scarring, mutations and deformities, and sometimes very strong hits to the shoulder blades can be just enough to render a Velsren sac defunct. It’s important to remove the sac as soon as possible because it can become an infection hazard, which can lead to a blood infection. Asurians with a removed sac have a low pain tolerance and hormone disruptions throughout the rest of their lives, and may suffer from osteoporosis, early menopause, infertility, and a weakened immune system in old age. With hormone treatments, an Asurian can live a healthy long life without a sac.

Back massages are considered an intimate thing, only to be performed by someone highly trusted. Massaging the sac can sometimes cause it to produce small amounts of Velsren fluid entering the bloodstream, which can produce a pleasant, relaxing sensation.

Psychology

As a race, Asurians did not develop organically. The Federation doesn’t have any modern examples of a species with a tampered development because the Prime Directive disallows it. Many examples of Asurian behavior would be considered strange by the Federation.

Asurians do not see anything wrong with deception, guile, and violence. It’s a natural way of life, as far as they know. They don’t have a concept of universal humanoid rights. When they believed they had killed all of the Sheromi left, very few Asurians felt guilty. The main concern for the Sheromi in Sheromi-Asurian relations is that the Asurians still do not see anything wrong with their heartless massacre of all Sheromi left on the ship.

With that said, Asurians also believe violence shouldn’t be the first answer to everything. Often, it’s easier and more worthwhile to make friends instead of enemies.

For now, the survival of their race and finding a new home are the top priorities for the Asurians. There’s an unspoken hope this will lead to the race being able to find themselves at last.

Nervous breakdowns are common among Asurians. Speaking to or hearing voices, random weeping, and other emotional outbursts are not seen as strange or frightening, just a minor inconvenience. Asurians have not yet developed a truly effective study of their own psychology, so therapists don’t exist yet.

Language

The Asurian language sounds very flowery when spoken aloud. They rely on open mouthed sounds and vowel sounds more than they do consonants. The language is still relatively primitive. Although it follows a subject-verb-object format, certain elements such as gendered pronouns and contractions don’t exist. Asurian is similar to many creole languages, with some Sheromi influence.

Asurian writing began as primitive pictograms that could not express full concepts. With the introduction of the Sheromi, Asurian language began to evolve. Instead of a pictogram representing an object, each symbol began to represent a concept as well. Asurian writing does not reflect sounds made with the mouth, the way English does. Their writing is more like many Chinese languages.

Home World

Primitive Asurians developed on a Class-L planet which was only marginally habitable. Their home planet, Asuria, had two suns and three moons. The pull of two celestial objects and three moons meant the planet suffered from tectonic chaos. Earthquakes and volcanic activity were common.

Asurians did not spend very long on their own planet. They had not developed a written language at the time of their kidnapping, so all information of their home planet come from Sheromi ships and oral history.

It is known that Asuria’s orbit around her two stars was elliptical and wobbly. She was torn apart by her stars’ massive gravitational pull some time recently. The debris that once made up Asuria show signs of former life, but are otherwise unremarkable.

Culture & Customs

Asurians never had a chance to develop culture organically, like most other species. They have no major religion, although spirituality is prevalent among most Asurians. Their calender is based off the Sheromi 403-day calender and contains very few festivals or celebrations. They have relatively little history to reflect on, compared to other races of their caliber. They never had time to develop true classical novels or their own forms of music. Overall, it can be said that Asurian development was heavily stunted thanks to Sheromi interference, and that the Asurian race is a good example of why Starfleet has a Prime Directive in the first place.

What little culture they do have revolves around their hardships, and how they endured. The will to go on is considered a highly valuable trait. Stories and songs typically center around protagonists that continue forward, often against impossible odds. More contemporary themes in Asurian literature revolve around what it means to be Asurian, and finding their identity.

Literature is the predominant form of entertainment. Writers tend to have the same sort of romantic connotations that painters in Renaissance Italy once held. In the same vein, calligraphy and text-based artwork are popular forms of art.

History

Asurians began development on Asuria several centuries ago. Sheromi records indicate that they may have evolved from a reptilian-like mammal, and still had many vestigial traits before their genetic engineering.

The harsh climate and lack of resources on Asuria hindered their development. They did not reach Type I civilization and only just began developing into societies. The small Asurian population had only just begun creating written languages. Most of their history of this time was passed down orally, so many details about their home planet are lost or uncertain

At some point during their history, all Asurian records go dark. Common stories regarding the Dark Day describe the suns being blocked out by massive circular shadows in the sky that did not move according to the laws of nature as they knew them. A few civilizations went missing, but many were left behind to some unknown fate. History as Asurians know it is carried on by the kidnapped.

The kidnapping race turned out to be a far more advanced species of aliens called the Sheromi (Asurian, literally “Dark Ones”). Their main ships were large spheres, and their shuttles resembled the ‘frisbee with a bump in the middle’ that became so famous in human history. The Sheromi had lost their own home world and were a slowly-dying race. They believed themselves to be products of the Preservers and felt that this meant they were obligated to be a sort of galactic conservationist force. They spent a long time observing and studying ‘at risk’ species and had determined that Asurians had an extremely low survival rate on their current planet.

Having classified the Asurians as a primitive race, they kept them in holding cells and treated them like basic animals for a very long time. Unfortunately, some of the weaker members of the Asurian society, such as the young and old, contracted a disease from bacteria naturally present on Sheromi skin. The Sheromi scrambled to analyze the still-living Asurians to develop a vaccination for them.

For a long time, the kidnapped believed the many deaths caused by disease were intentional, and that the injections and experimentation were products of cruel intention.

After the mass die-offs, the Sheromi figured that, in order to help the Asurians survive on any planet other than their own, genetic enhancement would be necessary. Some of the improvements made were altering mating season to be year-round, stronger immune systems to combat the soup of germs that most Class-M planets host, and more complex brains. The most important genetic enhancement was enlarging the size of a gland between the shoulder blades now referred to as the Velsren sac.

Despite the good intentions of the Sheromi, there still existed a massive language barrier between the two species. The Sheromi still believed Asurians to be primitive, lesser beings, and the Asurians believed the Sheromi to be cruel kidnappers that did not care for the Asurian fate. The unrest, combined with frequent disease outbreaks that shaved down Asurian numbers, finally came to a head.

They rose up en masse against the Sheromi. The Sheromi’s diminutive insect like appearance hid their vast intellect and tactical genius. The battle across all three ships raged on, many stories about the Three Wars are still subject of stories in Asurian culture today. The Sheromi had great numbers compared to the Asurians, but they at last surrendered. When the Asurian took control of the ships they learned much. They learned the Sheromi who had taken them were the last of their kind, their home world having been destroyed through pollution. They learned how big the universe was and found they were somewhere on the farthest rim of the Delta Quadrant.

The day they took the ships and earned their freedom was known as the Day of Liberation. This day above all others was a cause of much celebration. But it also left them in an unexpected place. Of top priority was returning home, and they were a very, very long ways from home. The computers on all three ships agreed that Asuria had likely experienced a massive tectonic upheaval. It’s not clear if the remaining Asurians were destroyed, but it seemed likely. On top of that, projections indicated that Asuria would orbit unusually close to one of its stars within the century, and the force and heat from the star would bake the planet and tear it apart all at once.

This was a time of great upheaval and uncertainty. Their home was about to be destroyed, and though they could read computer screens, there were no more Sheromi left to pilot the ships back home and the Asurians certainly didn’t know how. In an act of genocide, the last few were slain. Finally what could be described as a monarchy was established that gave them a purpose and direction. Their first order of business would be racing against the clock to achieve space flight.

Their race spread out over the three massive domes changing and adjusting them the best they could to suit the needs of a growing population. Because of the Sheromi, were already afraid of the universe around them. Fear turns to anger, and anger to hatred. Ironically, the Asurians figured out Sheromi weaponry first, and then navigation. For some time, preying on unsuspecting transport vehicles responding to a Sheromi distress signal, was their main source of new resources.

Pirating just wasn’t enough though. Their population was growing again and there wasn’t enough food and space for everyone. Once more, unrest surged through the three ships. Though they finally had learned to fly through space, many Asurians began to believe returning home to rescue the remaining Asurians was a lost cause. If they can’t support their own population, how could they possibly hope to support new refugees? Were the old Asurians really 'Asurian'?

Sheromi mother-ships were not equipped for settlers. They were primarily science and exploration vessels. They couldn’t support a surging population. Even still, settling on a new, uninhabited planet would be a difficult mountain to climb. The anti-settlers were those in power, and the pro-settlers felt the needs of the common people were being ignored. In the Federation year of 1984 civil war broke out among them. The pro-settlers were the eventual victor, at the cost of an entire Sheromi sphere and many Sheromi saucers. The Cholimon, the Zajra Yucholl and the Slofaa were the three original ships. The remaining pieces of an imploded Zajra Ycholl was left behind somewhere in empty space. Despite their victory, the pro-settlers had not found a planet to settle in yet, and they still survive by pirating and stealing from cargo ships and small outposts.

In the year 2375 they have found themselves in an area of space they had never seen before. Word came through of Klingons and Vulcans and Humans. With xenophobia still very strong in the hearts and minds of the Asurian people, they elected to remain silent and observe these new races. However, the Cholimon picked up an old human radio transmission from the 60’s describing Sheromi ships abducting and studying humans. After further eavesdropping, the Asurians believe the Sheromi may still be alive.

Asurians were still divided on what to do about the Sheromi when one of the Sheromi motherships made contact. The two races were finally able to communicate after centuries of oppression and misunderstanding. Discussions are still ongoing, but the first true contact between the two races gave Asurians hope. It has been decided that Asurians, being closer to human than Sheromi, would join Starfleet for two purposes. The first and most important reason was to evaluate the benefits of joining the Federation for the Asurians and Sheromi. The second and slightly less important purpose is to provide the Sheromi more information about human culture. This agreement was made to make way for peace agreements--and most importantly for the Asurians, trade agreements for much needed supplies.

Currently, the Asurians remain outside Federation space for safety. Sheromi shuttles (flying saucers) deliver supplies to the Asurian ‘spies’, forge documents, and provide a means of communication to the spies. They also continue their observations on Earth, and supposedly other factions observe other humanoid races across the galaxy as well.

Government & Military

Asurian government is still very young, compared to the age of the race. There’s an unsteady hereditary monarchy in place, but there’s certain unrest among the Asurian common people and the upper echelons of the government are considering an elective monarchy instead.

The current monarch is expected to make all decisions regarding the ships and the Asurian people. In a way, they’re like a fleet captain of a very very small fleet. The monarch keeps a sizable group of advisors, hand-picked by the monarch in question. Each ship has a respective ‘captain’ that answer to the monarch, and each captain chooses senior staff that advise them and distribute some of the decision-making among them. There are then department heads which lead their specific departments. This is in accordance with the way the Sheromi piloted their ships, which is again copied from the Federation.

All Asurians eventually learn how to defend themselves and their ships, should the time ever come. Just as all Starfleet personnel must know how to respond when their ship is damaged or under attack, so do all Asurians. Families often practice their emergency plans with their children and many adults know how to operate the ship’s weaponry. Armory access is made open to all during emergencies and any able adult is taught how to use Sheromi weaponry, which resemble phasers. Kel-fur, a defensive martial art similar to Judo, is a widely taught subject. Beyond that, the general population has no more formal training.

The Civil war revolutionized the way Asurians practice warfare. The war against the Sheromi, the Three Wars, was essentially a Guerilla war. The Civil war changed what being a Warrior meant to the Asurians. Discipline, determination, patience, and intelligence became highly valued traits. Shortly after the Civil war, and thanks in part to the efforts of the Arintha-Neleo family, the Asurians developed training programs, and eventually the first formal Asurian military. The practice of Kel-fur, Aru-fur (Aru-fur is an offensive type of hand-to-hand combat, based off some of the stances found in Kel-fur) and Sindt-fur. (Sindt-fur is a type of martial arts involving an arm-mounted blade, referred to as a Sindt.) became standard for all Asurians in the military. The manufacture and use of Asurian weaponry increased as well.

This new military has not yet had a chance to prove their mettle, but Asurian hopes are high.

Technology

Asurian science draws heavily from the Sheromi. Everything from the basic laws of physics to FTL travel and advanced genetics comes from the Sheromi.

The Sheromi were a highly advanced race that had time to develop cloaking mechanisms superior to anything the Romulans or Klingons were using at the time (though both Romulans and Klingons are rapidly catching up.) They also developed methods of propulsion that allowed their ships to move as if the laws of physics and aerodynamics didn’t exist.

Their saucers had the ability to stop suddenly, turn on a dime, and move straight up into the air, even in an atmosphere. The key to this lies in both the paneling used on the outside of the saucers and the engine on the inside. The paneling is made of an alloy similar to what’s used on Federation ships, but covered with a specially formulated coating that reduces air resistance to zero.

The saucer engines are called RF resonant cavity thrusters, a kind of technology considered theoretical by the Federation. This enables omnidirectional travel with no directional radiation. This same engine is present in all Sheromi motherships (‘Spheres’). Though the motherships aren’t meant to land on and take off from a planet, it’s sphere shape allows it to do so with minimal air resistance.

Sheromi hand weaponry relies on cold fusion instead of plasma. On low settings a Sheromi hand phaser would deliver a shock of cold as well as a stun by using the plasma particle's effect on the nervous system. Asurian weaponry took the same principles used to make the Sheromi phaser and made a rifle with a longer range and a smaller, more powerful shot. The Asurians also created a hand held canon that would emit a steady stream instead of just one shot.

The primary use of Saucers is observation and scientific testing, so weaponry is minimal. Most saucers rely on deflector beam arrays. Saucers are usually equipped with a powerful tractor beam. The usual image of a Saucer lifting humans up into the ship with a beam of light is only partially true: the tractor beam emits no light of its own. Lights were installed for saucers observing humans because the Sheromi noticed that humans were drawn to mysterious lights far more than the usual phermone-emitters the Sheromi had been using up until the nineteen-thirties.

Sheromi motherships use a geodesic fold array, which weaponizes folds in space. They’re very powerful and are to be used sparingly, according to Sheromi protocol, but the Asurians overlook that rule when pirating. Motherships also keep a set of four Sheromi torpedo launchers. The torpedo explosion itself isn’t very large, but it leaves behind massive amounts of tetryon radiation meant to disable ships without breaching their hulls. All torpedos were expended in the Three Wars. Because the Asurians do not know how to replace the torpedos, currently they posses none, which is the main reason why Asurians did not assault the new Sheromi at first.

Mythology

Asurian mythology is not very well developed. What the Asurians call their mythology is actually just their history as they understand it. Asurians are not a very religious group of people and their beliefs about what their place in the world is, where they go when they die, and what is truly right are severely fragmented. They have a hard time understanding other cultures’ mythology because they have no frame of reference with which to compare it to; telling an Asurian that the Chinese believed in dragon spirits would result in that Asurian believing literal dragons lived with the Chinese.

Special Notes

Asurians and Sheromi are currently in the middle of peace negotiations. The Sheromi seek peace, as is their nature, and the Asurians desperately need resources and a new home. In order to solidify the peace agreement, Asurians agreed to send an unspecified number of spies to pose as Starfleet cadets, and eventually officers. The Sheromi have a distinct insectoid appearance and have no chance of passing as human, but the Asurians were human enough to pass with some modifications. The Asurians chose some of their best and brightest for the task.

The Sheromi and Asurians worked together to invent a number of procedures that would make the chosen Asurians look human, including tail removal, de-scaling, de-horning, and suppression of the Velsren sac with regular injections of hormone. Asurian blood could not be changed, the procedures to do so were irreversible and potentially dangerous. The Sheromi transplanted the Asurian spies across Earth and gave them five years’ worth of time to adjust to the new culture. They also forged paperwork and records that these spies were without family for some reason or another. Their Saucer type craft would deliver hormone injections to control their Velsren sac and any other material they might need. On top of that, the spies were to report back their findings on Earth culture and the Federation. This data would aid the Sheromi in their study of humans, and it would help the Asurians make a decision regarding whether or not to join the Federation. The spies were instructed to not reveal their true form under any circumstances.

In spite of this, the Asurian known as Sar-unga Neleo revealed her true form to the crew of the Theurgy recently. Very few can predict what will happen next.