#yautaung

[twentytwo0one]

Yautaung

The Yautaung are a cephalopod-like species originating from the planet Yau in the Minoan Wasteland. They maintain an embassy in the Confederation, but are generally uninvolved in galactic matters.

Appearance

Yautaung look very similar to the cephalopods of earth such as squid or octopi, their “body” is comprised of thick tentacles fused together to form a torso and limbs, with the large head on top and running the length of the back being the converging point for these tentacles, and the housing structure for most of the internal organs. Two or more eyes sit on either side of the head, and the spider-like mouth is constantly hidden by 6-8 tentacles protruding around it. Yautaung have limited chromatophores which allow them to change colour, but only in spectrums most other species cannot see. Otherwise they may appear gray blue or purple. Their DNA is extremely diverse, and one Yautaung may not look anything like another, with small spines, extra tentacles, spots or patterns, and other such differences.

Biology

The Yautaung evolved from other mammal-cephalopods like beings that lived and dwelled in the shallow seas close to land on Yau. To escape the very large predators living in the deep oceans of their home, the Yautaung eventually evolved in order to thrive on land, and adopted the convergent, bipedal form that most sapient spacefaring species possess as well.

Yautaung are invertebrates, their entire bodies comprised of flexible boneless tentacles that they use to walk and manipulate objects. The head, which contains all of the major organs, is very large and extends along the “back” of the yautaung to form the dorsal organ cavity. Most of the primary organs lie in the dorsal cavity, which can be actively protected due to their positioning, but are vulnerable from behind. The “body” which consists purely of fused tentacles, is anatomically referred to as the false torso. The muscles in the tentacles that make up the false torso need to be able to support the individual without bones, out of water, and in an upright bipedal position, and thus are incredibly dense. Despite their flexibility, a yautaung tentacle would feel as solid as wood to the touch, which is mirrored by their innate physical strength; most adult yautaung can crush a human femur to powder simply by squeezing it.

Because most of their bodies are muscle, the Yautaung require very powerful circulatory and respiratory systems. To breathe, a yautaung has hundreds of small spiracles lining the edge of the dorsal cavity where it meets the false torso. These spiracles contract and expand to force air/water in and out over a series of and thus possess five hearts. Four brachial hearts compliment the systemic heart - itself large in comparison to those of most other sentients – and are positioned in pairs along the lower and upper portions of the body, acting as boosters and therefore relieving significant stress off the systemic heart.

Yautaung eyes are each trinocular, seeing three different images separately, and six when combined. They also detect fourteen colour wavelengths. While it is difficult for Yautaung eyes to decipher colours that a human can see, they are the only eyes that can see the colours that their chromatophores can output. While to other species would simply see a yautaung as being grey, another yautaung might see another as any one of a number of alien and unknowable colours. On at least one occasion an individual has had their eyes surgically or cybernetically altered to be able to see these yautaung colours; however, as the brain cannot yet be altered in a way that would allow it to process these new colours, the subject would suffer dementia and at worst permanent psychosis.

DNA of a Yautaung is the most diverse of any recorded species, and results in Yautaung looking severely different from one another. Rarely will one encounter one whose tentacles fuse in the same direction as another. Secondary eyes, spines, webbing and a plethora of other features numbering so many that splitting the yautaung into subspecies would be effectively impossible. The most extreme variances could be the presence of an additional pair of arms, or a lack of individual legs in favour of a single column, that can grind across the ground using muscle contractions. The yautaung genome seems to be highly mutative, and even parents with similar features may not have a child that bears significant resemblance to them.

Yautaung reproduce via females generating unfertilized eggs after puberty. Once an egg is developed, a female lays it’s egg which is coated in powerful pheromones, which (prehistorically) drew a male to the egg. Eggs do not have a hard shell, and need to be laid in water. If the male is unimpressive, the female may turn him away and wait for another. The female may also choose not to lay an egg at all, causing it to be broken down inside and used for nutrients. If the male is suitable, the male swallows the egg through a special canal near the mouth, which brings it into a chamberin the upper chest where it is inseminated, the male will then carry it until it hatches. They usually mate for life and are very social, usually living in groups of several families. A Yautaung separated from its own kind will take to frequenting social abodes, similar to primitive shoaling.

Homeworld

Yau is a world 90% coated in shallow seas and deep ocean, orbiting an energetic white star, resulting in a permanent, but thin blanket of clouds. The only land masses are found in tropical archipelagos along the equator. Fossilized land-based fauna found on the bottom of the seas and a massive crater on the southern hemisphere suggests that this was not always the case and that Yau was once a topographically diverse world with many biospheres like Earth.

Science suggests that while Earth-like once, it was considerably colder and it’s poles were significantly larger, until it was struck by a cosmic body with such force that it was released from stable orbit, knocking it closer to its very active star. The chaos of this event wiped out any advanced life on the planet and warmed Yau enough to melt it’s poles completely, flooding all but the tallest mountain ranges. This occurred approximately five hundred million years ago. Life started over on Yau, evolving into massive creatures not limited by space like land-based animals.

Almost uniquely, Yau’s oceans apparently contain trace amounts of vehementium particles. While slight vehementum concentrations in seas and landmasses is not uncommon on worlds with confirmed progenitor ruins, Yau possesses no such remains, though the deepest areas of it’s seas are as of yet unmapped. Yau’s vehementum contamination is slight compared to the sheer volume of it’s oceans, so the presence of the radically contrary element does not appear to have altered the growth of the local fauna, at least not in any way that can be better justified by other zoologic foundations such as abyssal gigantism.

The Minoan wasteland in which Yau resides is in fact named after it’s evident lack of significant progenitor sites. Whether the area does not contain such relics or if they have simply not been discovered yet is subject to interpretation, but the sector receives little attention from the archeological community, as there are many other unexplored reaches of space with much more promising hints to their contents.

Culture and Government

As the first species the Yautaung encountered were the Ashiik, and considering their social demeanor, many Ashiik cultural traits have rubbed off into that of the Yautaung, particularly in fields where there was little before, like the military.

The yautaung government is officially referred to as the Courts of Yau. They follow the recommendations of Elders, each representing a different island on Yau. The Elders decide all proceedings in any given situation on Yau, and due to their conservative nature, their government is very stable. Any actions taken have been analyzed, discussed, and then analyzed again. This innate caution is reflected by their nature of keeping backups and records, a repository of which is kept in a grand library in the capital. The true downside to their governing methods is that if enough research is done, their methods and outcomes will become somewhat predictable.

Outside the courts, Yautaung live in tightly-knit groups each in control of their own island. While they generally mind their own business, they are almost always welcoming to outsiders. Yautaung are not seen particularly often outside their space or off their colonies. Many have difficulty with the prospect of living in areas where there may be very few or no other Yautaung.

While their economy is relatively small, being only about the general size of that of the Humans, it is far better developed. They do not rush developments and frequently make lengthy, century long development plans. Also, they only ever trade in finished goods, having colonies rich in the resources they need to support themselves. This makes any attempt to embargo their space a fruitless endeavor.

The Yautaung as a collective are extremely talented geneticists, having accomplished much even before being introduced into the galactic community. The genetic diversity shared by them and the animal life native to Yau allowed for experimentation and developments not possible for many other species. This aptitude has inevitably carried over to medicine, and Yautaung founded corporations are responsible for many of the galaxy’s most cutting edge medical tech. This applies to both sides of the moral spectrum, an infamous example of which is GenEx Industries, who created the potential for clones to inherit the memories of their hosts. Splicing together specific Yautaung genes allowed for their genetic memory trait to carry over. How GenEx developed this technology would most likely have been through extensive (and illegal) experiments, and there are no public records on the development of this cloning technology. In addition to the taboo nature of cloning, the process of introducing yautaung genes into any clone is an unstable one due to the radical diversity of their species, and will inevitably cause medical complications later in a clone’s life. (Note that the cloning of sentients is not currently possible)

Religion

The polytheistic mainstream Yautaung religion is Zindro, which teaches the Yautaung that they have souls separate from their bodies. When death occurs, the soul leaves the body through the eyes, and it departs for Zeymah, the great underwater city; the body is not prepared in any special way, unless the eyes have been damaged and the soul cannot escape, in which case it is burned instead. Zeymah – the city of the dead – supposedly lies in the deepest, fathomless depths of the global ocean, and is extremely hard to get to as it is guarded by evil monsters. The religion contains at least thirty two deities including Bahlok, the god of land, time, communication, mercy, and funeral rites, Vaal god of destruction, change, revolution and ambition, and Maatim goddess of the sky, rain, love and sadness. It is also host to countless other minor beings such as Meibelmok the soul eater; a beast whose sphere is storms, the unknown, forbidden knowledge, secrets and fear.

While a great many Yautaung are religious, since encountering other space faring species many older ways have begin to die out as younger generations turn to other ways to interpret their place in the universe.

War Doctrine

The Yautaung as a body rarely if not never engage in active combat, and instead prefer to keep to diplomacy. This does not mean however that they are incapable warriors, as they have suffered assaults from organized crime groups, hoping to gain access to their medical technologies or considerable supply of unrefined resources.  The Yautaung keep their own small military force, mostly comprised of atmospheric combat vessels –of which they have a considerable preference - and planetary troops. Their space fleets are quite small, and mostly rely on the neighbouring Ashiik for support in that field. The Ashiik will aid the Yautaung in any war they may find themselves in, and the Yautaung will do the same for the Ashiik. They have only ever produced one warship - the Tuanuk - that while the only ship of it’s class, is remarkably well armed. It’s broadside cannons and main gun are all MHD-U and MHD-O beams respectively, and it probably is the most powerful individual ship of its kind to date.

The Yautaung method of organizing their military strongly resembles that of the Ashiik, units are organized not unlike tribal bands organized by locals. The more populous the area, the more well equipped and sizeable the unit will be. Their military is still not an irregular militia however, and again like the Ashiik, those who serve are full time professionals. There is no uniform standardized for troops either, as Yautaung biodiversity would make distribution of one similar suit a difficult undertaking.

Yautaung ground and space forces are generally very limited, relying heavily on the ashiik for support; where they excel however is in the atmosphere. They prefer airpower when dealing with threats, and maintain several flotillas capable of combat in any atmosphere, deployable from carriers in space. Their atmospheric forces are alone capable of defending their homeworld from most threats that get close enough, as the lack of solid land gives them a significant advantage.

Because of their reliance on allies for combat, most technologies used by the Yautaung are utilitarian in nature, and ships are usually designed for support roles next to larger, more front-line capable vessels. The most often used technologies in vessels include fusion thrusters and reactors, radar sensor, weak linear shielding, carbide composite armour plating and almost exclusive reliance on MHD beams for offense.

History