Vox

The vox are a nitrogen breathing avian species that has little, if any, formals ties with any entity outside their territory.

Game Mechanics

• Vox are playable as crewmembers for 45 karma.

• Breathe only Nitrogen. (Given a Nitrogen tank at round start to accompany this. NOT to be mistaken for N2O)
  

  Vox Scientist

• Cannot wear hardsuits fit for humans.

• Special Vox language, :V.

• Screech sound effect when speaking in Vox language.

• Are Resistant to Low Pressure.

• Bleed light-blue.

• Cannot be Cloned.

Overview

Naming

Unintelligible strings of shrieking and jabbering. Heavy on the i's and a's.

Examples: Kikakarat, Hitakhaatiki, Yahakata.

Language

Vox can understand common fairly well but speak it poorly. They tend to creel or shriek as punctuation. KHAAAAK! SCRAAAAHK! Their laughter sounds like 'kikiki'.

Vox often insult other species. Humans are 'meat'. Unathi are 'rotten' due to their colour. Skrell are 'leaking' or 'slippery'. Tajarans are 'mouldy'.

Vox tend to jeer a lot about how their victims are treeless, that their lungs are full of dust, and such. People usually have no idea what they're on about. Which is fine because the Vox don't put much thought into it either.

Vox have two tongues - one large one for swallowing and tasting, and another in the roof of the beak for vocalizing softer/subnotes within Vox-pidgin. Vox-pidgin itself is bewilderingly complex and defies any concerted study by linguists.

It would be impossible for a human (or humanoid) to speak Vox-pidgin without drastic and disfiguring throat and facial surgery.

Behaviour

Vox will never willingly surrender unless the only other alternative is death. However, they will happily fake surrender if it puts them in a better position to escape. They lie as easily as they breathe and appear fearless despite their propensity for running like the clappers at the first sign of trouble.

A Vox will never willingly stand and fight if running is a viable alternative, except if it's a challenge from another Vox in front of their crew. Vox are fond of darkness and hiding in lockers.

Arkship groves are very important to Vox culture. Vox who are away from the groves too long tend to get sick and die. It is not clear if this is due to withdrawal, or some other factor.

Raiding crews usually consist of one to three warriors and one or two engineers. Engineers also double as medics. The leader of a vessel of any size is called the Quill.

Civilian crews have no staff roster, just families. If a ship has no families that work a certain trade they will try to exchange families with another ship or ark.

Behavior of NT Vox Crew

Unlike the typical traits of Vox trade or raid crews mentioned above, Vox that appear as staff on Nanotrasen vessels behave differently. To begin, Vox that appear on crew aboard NT vessels are often not there by choice, but are restrained by a contract, debt, or otherwise. While it is rare for Vox to willingly work for NT, some are forced to do so because they are not fit for work as a Raider but still wish to work freelance, Trader Rejects if you will.

While Trader Vox have oaths of pacification and wish to flee rather than fight, Crew Vox are quick to find that in certain situations these will no longer be viable options and as such they must adapt. Breaking the Inviolate is often no issue for crew Vox, many of which are not expecting to meet up with a larger group anyway. Overall, crew Vox react to combat and the Inviolate as they need to be for their chosen profession.

Biology

The Vox species can be divided, generally, into four groups: Vox primalis, Vox armalis, Vox auralis and Vox apex.

Due to the mysterious nature of Vox reproduction, and the complete lack of specimens from the three latter categories, much of their genetic and physiological compatibility and similarity are unknown. All four groups are known to possess cybernetic enhancement, sometimes to an extreme degree, and all of them are known to share at least one common dialect, designated Vox-pidgin, irrespective of their vocal capacity, distance from each other, and cybernetic equipment.

The Vox tail is a curious organ, acting as a prehensile limb, temperature regulator, and balance aid all in one. Long, flat scales on the underside of the tail are laced with capillaries, and when in atmosphere a Vox can bristle them to help dispersing excess heat. Sub-nodes in the Vox redundant nervous system are present in the limb, and it has demonstrated twitching movement up to three hours after the tail has been severed.

Vox colouration varies wildly between settlements, ships and crews, but the most common palette is a mix of olive, muddy brown and yellow.

Vox bones are light, porous and very flexible. Vox can turn their heads almost a hundred and twenty degrees to the side due to their long necks. They tend to sway when interested in something, or anxious, and shriek at glass-fracturing volume to drive off attackers.

Vox Primalis

The majority of observed Vox belong to the Vox primalis category, and range from three to four feet in height. Skin is thick, reinforced with keratin scales, and appears to act as an insulator and pressure-suit combined. The molecular complexity of the skin suggests that extensive engineering has been undertaken to adapt it to low-pressure environments, and attempts to grow samples in the lab have resulted in highly acidic compounds burning through the dish, the table, and the hull beneath it.

Despite their size, Vox primalis musculature is highly dense and capable of extremely powerful rapid movement, ideal for sprinting, leaping and kicking. Sustained effort is less effective, and prolonged exertion will cause lactic acid buildup that can reach crippling levels. An exception to this rule is the beak, which is capable of reflexive and prolonged pressures in excess of 500PSI.

Vox talons are very hard, approximately equivalent to twice the hardness of human bone, and appear to be insulators against electrical current. The hardened skin on their forearms and lower legs is of similar consistency, ribbed in the manner of Earth birds, and exhibits a healing factor against surface damage characterised by leading researchers as 'absurd'.

Vox Armalis

Vox armalis are a smaller subgroup within Vox populations, never observed outside of frigate-class or larger vessels belonging to Vox crews. They stand twice the height of their primalis kin, statistically, and are far heavier and more armoured. In most cases, sensory organs like eyes and tongues have been completely replaced with cybernetics of bewildering complexity. No sample of an armalis or their cybernetics has been recovered due to inbuilt, extremely subtle self-destructive measures. Spectographic analysis suggests that almost every internal cavity within the average armalis is filled with semi-organic circuitry and cybernetics, their specific purposes unknown.

Vox Auralis & Vox Apex

Very little is known about the Vox auralis and Vox apex, and their inclusion in reviews of Vox physiology is generally a footnote. Sightings of the individuals are rare, bordering on unheard of, but consistent enough to warrant acceptance as a facet of the Vox species. The auralis stand approximately the height of the armalis, and weigh three to four times as much. Badly corrupted records of analysis from destroyed probes suggest that they exist at least partially within bluespace. The veracity of this information is suspect and pending review.

The Vox apex is known about solely from records, and acts as a physical god within Vox mythology. This is the full extent of recorded data on the entity or entities.

Background

Relations

The Vox have no formal declarations of peace or war with any known intercluster government. Their dispersed and independent nature makes it impossible to enforce any sweeping policy against the shoal, as individual ships will act in wildly different manners.

Standard protocol in the Moghes hegemony is deployment of a soghun breacher crew to destroy the Vox and claim their equipment, irrespective of the flag displayed, due to frequent and repeated failures of the Vox to live up to their promises of peace.

NanoTrasen maintains a shoot-on-sight protocol for all Vox ships above the skipjack class, or in other words, any ships with more than forty Vox crew, that stray within visual distance of an NT establishment.

The Skrell have declined from commenting on the Vox, stating simply that they are something of an irritant, but a generally peaceable one.

The Tajaran government maintains no facilities with sensors powerful enough to detect cloaked Vox vessels and has not reported any contact with the Shoal.

Culture

Outsider Known Information

This is information available to most non-Vox characters. The veracity of this information is suspect, as it has come from interviews with the Vox themselves.

The Vox have no homeworld. Vox society is encapsulated by their huge, moon-sized arkships and the Shoal.

Each arkship houses a population of at least ten million to half a billion individuals, if not more. They're very large, very slow, and usually surrounded by clusters of smaller Vox frigates and barges. There are only around twenty of them in existence, and they collect names over the course of their existence. An example ship might be 'Rolling Vessel of Seeking Souls Built on Bones of Leviathans, Scarred by Sunheat from Fifteen Systems, Scored by Weapons of Lesser Foes, Taproot to Thirty Tribes, Host to Six Trees'. Understandably, ships are given use-names, such as 'Sunheat Leviathan' for the previous example. Poetry is preferred over meaning in a lot of Vox naming conventions.

Each arkship shares the feature of being roughly spherical - the central component and by far the largest is the grove, a sphere of metal containing soil and flora from the lost Vox homeworld. Dozens, if not hundreds, of prefabricated modules, stolen and scrapped ships, or the space equivalent of shanties, are bolted to the hull and to each other, forming a thick cluster of chaotic wreckage referred to as the arkship's 'shroud'. The strongest of the factional warlords on a ship usually get there by adding ships to the shroud, by force, commerce or trickery.

The very oldest is simply referred to as 'First', and contains the largest grove of the entire disparate fleet. It's considered a holy site and maintains a skeleton crew to prevent strain on the ecosystem. Each prospective Vox fleet leader will make a pilgrimage to the First to add a new ship to the shroud, and to cement their fitness to command.

Vox crews have a rigid pecking order, established over many many years. Newcomers to a Vox ship have to fight for a position tooth and nail, almost always displacing a previous member to the bottom of the pile in the process. Older, unfit or injured Vox will occasionally accede to the newcomer voluntarily, taking up a post on the home arkship to allow a fitter crewmember to serve.

Crews without a pecking order, such as new groups freshly booted off an arkship and set to raiding, will have an internal structure that is highly chaotic. Traditionally, they choose an item such as a 'leader hat' to determine who is in charge, and then fight over it constantly until a clear heirarchy is established. Young Vox are loud, energetic, and proud to a fault.

Vox raiding crews are almost always made up of young Vox, rowdy and champing at the bit to prove themselves; hence the Vox's reputation as violent, warmongering thieves. Older Vox, or Vox established on civilian vessels, tend to be somewhat more sedate, though in all honesty no less likely to fleece an unwary customer out of everything they own.

Ritualized conflict is the cornerstone of Vox crews and Vox society as a whole. Contest-by-insult and contest-by-combat are the two most common means of this. A challenged Vox is allowed to choose the manner of contest, and refusing to choose or participate is considered forfeiting. A contest is called by rattling quills, flashing neck-markings and declaring it vocally to the person being challenged. All nearby crewmembers are expected to form a circle and witness the contest, irrespective of whether or not they know the combatants or care what's being decided.

Vox Known Information

This is information only available to Vox characters.

The Vox have a code of conduct and ethics, rigidly enforced, maintained and shared in an unknown manner. Ships with wildly varying cultures will still share the same core tenets despite being millions of lightyears apart. This is referred to as the Vox Inviolate.

• Kill as little as necessary.
• Waste as little as necessary.
• Preserve the arkships.
• Preserve materials.
• Adapt and expand to all circumstances.

The Vox have three distinct naming conventions that appear to be part of their Inviolate.

1. Formal names. A long string of descriptive titles, clan affiliations, notable jobs, military service, and physical or mental features of note. Stalwart Second-Deck Overseer of Rolling-Wave, He of Many Quills, Lancer of the Third Wing, Strong-arm, Born to Yellow-Tree.
2. Use-names. A single physical or mental feature, the name of the current clan of the individual, and a unique, short sound (one syllable). Ex. Vicious Darting-Minnow Lex. This mode is only used when speaking to friends or family. Very close friends are permitted to use the last term of a use-name.
3. Raider names. Call-signs, in other words, also common in military crews. These are usually one or two words at best, chosen or given informally to describe the subject. Ex. Red Hegga. Calling someone by their raider name is usually considered an invitation to violence if you aren't part of their crew, or if they are no longer raiding or in the military.

Technology

Outsider Known Information

This is information available to most non-Vox characters.

Vox have space faring ships. They are mostly ramshackle and crude-looking but very quick and very hard to hit. Their weaponry is universally stolen from other species and is generally several years behind the curve. A lot of their technology is traded from the Syndicate or alien species.

The weapons technology of the Vox is either stolen, or reverse-engineered from stolen tech. The same goes for their sublight engines. Vox FTL drives are completely bewildering to human scientists, as they consume little to no power and have no moving components. They take the form of large globes about two feet across, set into the nose of the craft. No indication is given that any of the Vox aboard ships with FTL have any idea how it works, or how to use it; FTL jumps by Vox vessels seem to happen at random, without any consent or input from the crew.

Vox medical and engineering technology appear to be approximately on par with humanity, and chemicals and materials similar to those required by humanity are frequently taken in their raids.

The state of Vox science is entirely unknown. No propensity for advanced research has been shown by the Vox specimens captured by NanoTrasen.

Vox Known Information

This is information only available to Vox characters.

The Vox apex are the groves in the arkships. They are in fact colossal organic computers, every single one of them linked via an incredibly sophisticated, several million year old bluespace network. This network hosts the vast majority of Vox communications, technology, culture and science, well outside of prying eyes.

The apex are entirely single-minded (in a figurative sense). They are devoted to preserving the sanctity, purity and continuity of the Vox line their arkship is hosting. They maintain the archives of dead Vox via the cortical stacks, and choose which Vox are to be revived when the time comes for a population hike. They also provide access points and tremendous data processing capacity to the auralis.

The Vox auralis are the true Vox. The primalis and the armalis are bio-engineered subspecies intended to serve as labour, resource accquisition and military. The auralis themselves are shut-in and insular to the extreme, and as a whole, refuse to believe that the Universe outside of the Vox arkships is real; efforts to convince them otherwise are akin to a dream pleading with the dreamer.

The auralis are devoted to transcendence. They desire to leave this Universe behind, or to break through the veil and move on to true reality. They've been working at this for about seven point five million years, and their understanding of theoretical and applied physics, intelligent systems and data processing/analysis is immense. Much of their mentality exists outside of realspace, and is coordinated by the Vox apex and their ceaseless maintenance of the bluespace network. They are also highly, dangerously telepathic, and the parallel processing power and independence from realspace provided by their network means that five hundred psionics can focus their power to pinpoint precision anywhere within a thousand light-years of a single auralis.

Vox Reproduction

The apex are where the biomass of dead Vox is reintegrated, their cortical stacks are removed, and new Vox larvae are spawned. The larvae are bioengineered creatures built wholesale by the trees of the ark, carefully modified and monitored to fit the genetic profile of the arkship.

Larval Vox are generic, genderless slugs until they are chosen to host a cortical stack. The type of stack dictates what the auralis do with the larva and the form that the larva will take.

Newborn Vox auralis are entirely overwritten by the cortical stack of their predecessor, and are for all intents and purposes considered to BE that auralis. Since the vast majority of an auralis' persona and memories exist in the bluespace network, the original persona is functionally removed entirely when the auralis matures enough to link to the apex.

Newborn Vox primalis and armalis are not overwritten by the cortical stack, but their ancestry and access to memory-lines is considered a significant portion of who they are and the rank they are assigned. A Vox is not considered dead while another Vox hosts their cortical stack, and their name is passed on to the new Vox.

Species on Paradise Station

Dionae

Grey

Humans

Kida

IPC

Plasmamen

Skrell

Slime People

Tajara

Unathi

Vox

Vulpkanin

Drask

Nian