Aut'akh

= Overview =

The Aut'akh Movement is the extreme in terms of modernization for Unathi - the rival to many Izweski and Traditionalists. Originating on Oureaea during its occupation by the Jargon Federation and Sol Alliance, Unathi were exposed to prosthetics that would allow better survival and adaptability to those that needed it. Before metal prosthetics were formally disowned by the Sk'akh church and from most Th'akh shamans, the movement had formed a tight niche in many clans that could finally see their elderly and disabled active again. These clans refused to turn back, and have isolated themselves in the mountains of Oureaea.

Elsewhere, the Aut'akh movement has seen small communes sprout up as well - mostly in the underbellies of cities. Many disabled, wounded, or otherwise left-out members of Unathi society seek refuge in Aut'akh communes in cities - seeking to finally find use in a culture that would otherwise leave them behind and forgotten. It is, however, dangerous to have metal prosthetics visible in most cities - and it is not uncommon for prosthetics to be completely destroyed in assaults on Aut'akh followers.

The Aut'akh movement is a universal spiritual movement - meaning, both Th'akh and Sk'akh believers can find a place in it.

Tech Priests
Tech Priests are Sk'akh Priests that believe in the Aut'akh movement and are augmented themselves, however have deviated from the Central Church's doctrine - often believing them corrupt or simply incorrect. They will often work with Roboticists, Mech engineers, or others proficient in prosthetics to properly spiritually oversee augment installation and repair. Priests in particular focus on imbuing the power of one of the Aspects of Sk'akh into an augment.

Tech Shamans
Tech Shamans are Th'akh shamans that believe in the Aut'akh movement and are augmented themselves. They will often work with Roboticists, Mech engineers, or others proficient in prosthetics to properly spiritually oversee augment installation and repair. Shamans in particular focus on the individuals spirit, as well as their connection to their Ancestors - often calling upon a specific Ancestor to help the augments work better. Both Tech Shamans and Tech Priests can be roboticists themselves, learning from both experience and college courses with Nanotrasen.

The Aut'akh Valley
A large commune on Oureaea surrounded by mountains, the Aut'akh Valley is the First Commune that the Aut'akh created - a place for specifically augmented Unathi to find sanctuary from the violence often found against their kind in cities and towns. It is largely disconnected from any government, and is heavily guarded by the Aut'akh that would defend the clans living there with their lives. Life here is simple, and almost 60% of the population is elderly or disabled with augments. The area is foggy and filled with natural lakes, and the area gets cold enough to snow in the cold season.

Tajaran and Human merchants often fly in trade for supplies, with the community coming together to pay for shipments of meats and other goods for credits. The Valley is far from rich and actually requires workers in other cities, even other systems to supply it with credits. Tau Ceti is one of the best places for credits to be earned - and Nanotrasen has even benefitted from recruiting directly from Aut'akh Valley. Many of the recruited are the younger Aut'akh who wish to send funds back to the Valley to keep the elders fed.

Although technically safe, the Aut'akh Valley has seen struggles - food supply in particular. Hunters are sent out to try and collect meats, but Hephaestus mining activity in the region has completely unsettled the wildlife. Instead of coming back with meat, many hunters decide to destroy Hephaestus mining drones instead - using their valuable salvage to attempt to recreate, repair, and modify the prosthetics they originally recieved from the Skrell years ago.

The Undercity Communes
Beneath almost every city on both Moghes and Oureaea is a small commune of Aut'akh, created by one of the original Aut'akh from Oureaea. These communes have become safe havens for individuals with augments. Augmented Unathi come to these Undercity Communes when they are in need - a new prosthetic, a repair from an assault, or simply for a place to sleep until they can find somewhere to go to. These communes are often heavily guarded by Aut'akh warriors set on keeping these people safe, and because of the possible danger of attacking these communes, many rarely see attack. It is not unheard of, though - and whole communes have been arrested by the City Garrison, attacked by Maraziites, or lynched by mobs led by Nobles.

Life in the Communes
The Undercity communes are often located in warehouses, beneath market squares, or otherwise hidden from general sight. The best way to learn about these places is word of mouth. If someone seems to be missing a limb or struggling to move in public, an Aut'akh may attempt to speak to them - searching them for their desire to be more able-bodied. If they obviously wish for it, the Aut'akh will continue to be suspicious - not revealing the location of the Commune in the city until after they are augmented or trustworthy.

An undercity commune can range in sizes - and there can be multiple per city. The largest known one is in Skalamar, the Izweski capital, where it manages to keep itself safe in the expansive sewer system. Leaving the Commune's protection requires cloth coverings - which do well enough to hide the prosthetic that is often painted the color of the individual's scales. Some Unathi even go so far as to take the scales from their dismembered limb and implant them onto their new prosthetic.

Community Consensus
Typically if an individual commune is going to perform a larger-scale movement or action, the community comes together for consensus. The most common large-scale consensus is whether or not to risk a public march or strike for augmented unathi to be respected in society. A misreading of the city at the time can result in a full scale mob riot - either fights with City Garrison, Maraziites, or angry mobs. Some vocal minorities in the communes advocate for cutting off the hands of other Unathi and see if they'd listen to their cries then - however, they are often berated by the elders.

Skalamar Commune, "The Sewers"
The largest undercity commune, and the one that's seen the most violence - the Skalamar Commune finds itself in what would resemble 'gang wars' with the local populace and the remaining Maraziites. Living in the capital of the Izweski Hegemony has made life hard, since the Izweski and many of the Noble class simply want to remove this 'mistake' from the gem that is the Capital of the Hegemony.

Life is hard here, with commune leaders constantly on the defensive. Some of the most active Aut'akh defenders in the commune have taken to using bladed weapons and aiming to maim and dismembering their attackers - usually Maraziites - and then tending to their wounds with an augment as a 'mark of defeat'. These violent Aut'akh are one of the reasons the whole movement has been given a bad name - however, some individuals believe that to come to an understanding, non-Aut'akh should step into the shoes of those who have to be augmented.

S'th Commune, "Siro"
The communes in S'th have found a way to hide in plain sight - using intricate wrappings or loose clothing to hide their augments. Augmenters here specialize in camouflage, using makeup or faux-scales to cover their prosthetics. There have even been specific ways to muffle the sounds of whirring whenever a prosthetic is moved, deceiving even a Tajaran's accute hearing.

Camp Integrity, "The Veteran's Commune"
The group of Aut'akh at Camp Integrity are almost completely made up of Traditionalists - whether it be those descended from the Unathi who lost the Contact War, or actual veterans from the war. With a rejuvenated sense of revenge, and the ability to return strength to their bodies with augments, many have ignored claims of damaging their spirit in exchange for a chance to get back at the Hegemony.

The older men often make the choice to become augmented, and then will bring their families with them - however marriages have been torn apart in some cases.

Eridani Underworld Commune, "The Factory"
In the depths of Oran under the city, a small town of Unathi have made some sort of order to their section of the anarchy. The first Aut'akh to come here didn't have the credits - or the legal standing to make it on top in the corporate overworld, however they did have enough muscle to clear out a mining drone factory of drug-addicted dregs. A few years is all it took for a community of Aut'akh to grow, walling off The Factory and setting up a safe spot for them to fit. Over time, the surrounding local dreg community came to accept the Aut'akh in - however, some have treated the augmented Unathi as just another gang they have to deal with.

The Underworld commune still respects the rules of honor, and have made promises to never leave behind Unathi who need augments. Jury-rigging the factory with the help of Dreg locals, Aut'akh-fabricated augments are being made by Unathi, for Unathi across the galaxy. The augments are shoddily made at first, shipped to one of the other communes on Moghes or Tau Ceti, and then customized to fit by an Augmenter on location.

The Eridani Underworld Commune is where most of the augments for other communes come from, and has jury-rigged a telecommunications radar to communicate with other communes. Maintaining contact to Moghes is hard, however, as the Moghesian communes may have their communications destroyed by local enforcers.

= Mechanics = Prosthetics and augments can be selected in the Character Creator, allowing for unique Unathi-specific augments.

Prosthetics and Augments
Unathi are a proud and stubborn race, embedded in tradition even when going against it. Many Unathi prefer to have Unathi-made augments, and so the Aut'akh augments were created - combinations of modern prosthesis and brute force coalesce into these 'working' augments.

Arm and Leg prosthetics - Simple but sturdy, the Aut'akh limbs are extremely customized by Au'Tech Shamans/Priests in communes. They can often include Sk'akh scripture or names of the individuals ancestors - inscribed into the metal to imbue it with spiritual energy.

Soul Anchor - A Soul Anchor is a mirror or a piece of glass placed behind the eyes. To many Aut’akh, a Soul Anchor is a way to repair the damages to your soul, rebuilding it into a new, concentrated WISP, a floating ball of pure energy, once you die and enter the spirit world. This would effectively make the wounds you received to your physical body no longer exist in the afterlife, allowing your spirit to roam freely without pain or damnation as the other religions believe.

Soul Anchors are known to sometimes cause BAFFLES, moments where unexplained figures from the individuals memory randomly appear. Many who experience these often describe seeing themselves - in a different way, in a different life, past present or future. Baffles are said to be moments where someone should self-reflect, and take a look at themselves in a mirror.

Calf Overdrive - Originally created with stolen pistons from a Hephaestus mining droid on Oureaea in the Aut'akh Valley, its design has been replicated and made even more dangerous by removing the safety mechanisms usually in place. These pistons, installed into the rear calves, give sheer power to a Unathi's speed at the cost of being extremely damaging to the body.

Protein Breakdown Valve - A small valve on the body that releases a traditional Unathi medicine into the stomach - forcing rapid digestion for immediate adrenal stimulation. Causes long-term damage to the stomach that must be cured with a hearty herbal tea, prayer, and rest.

Venomous Rest Implant - A small compartment connected to the blood system that administers a traditional Unathi healing agent - the venom of a Moghesian wasp.

Farseers Eye - Augmented eyes to allow farsight, it strains the eyes heavily with use. Originally made by a tech shaman in the Wasteland that was constantly being chased by Maraziites, he traded his only weapons for a Hephaestus drone lens, and then crafted it into an eye-patch binocular. This was later replicated by his meeting with the Aut'akh commune on Oureaea, and then the process repeated throughout the rest of the communes.

Hunters Eye, Eye Flashlight - Augmented eyes that glow brightly red, used for intimidation and utility. Used by communes that are primarily anti-Hephaestus, the hunters that use these do not hunt for food - instead, hunting Hephaestus robots for their parts. Primarily seen use in the Wasteland.

= History of the Aut'akh =

The First Augmented Unathi
While the Contact War was destroying the Unathi homeworld of Moghes, refugees were moving to Oureaea in droves. Some were already wounded from the initial ground battles, some scarred by nuclear fires, and some crippled while constructing more spaceports in the overcrowded New Skalamar. The Federation Skrell and Sol Alliance who had taken temporary occupation of Oureaea simply saw installing prosthetics on them as a way to assist them medically - providing relief to worrying Clans. The initial reaction was great, with hundreds of Unathi of all ages augmented with the ability to help. With the Sk'akh Church's focus completely on the war, and almost every Shaman on Moghes being drafted into levies to provide spiritual aide to warriors - no one had thought that their souls could possibly be damaged beyond repair.

For years, there was almost no communication between Moghes and Oureaea besides the stream of refugees. Panic kept focus completely on the war, on the dozens of Kingdoms that had fallen with each year that passed - on attempt to find lost Clan members. This continued and eventually, Oureaea had begun booming in population - bringing eyes to the now thousands of augmented Unathi.

Anger Against the Aut'akh
The first calls to action against the "Augmented Spirits" - now commonly known as "Aut'akh" - began when the High Priest was visiting Oureaea to oversee the construction of a Holy Church in New Skalamar. The High Priest noticed that the local construction guild in charge of building the Holy Church was run by a group of augmented Unathi veterans - veterans of the Traditionalist Coalition. Following this, the High Priest was said to begin acting aggressively and forced the City Garrison to evict the Aut'akh from New Skalamar. The following month, a council of Priests communed with the High Priest to enact a reform to Holy Doctrine - stating that such Un-Living Prosthetics Do So Cause Terrible, Irreversible Pain To The Soul - And Thus Angers Sk'akh's Image.

Following this doctrine, the Sk'akh Priests of New Skalamar began to encourage the general public to 'act harshly upon those with augmented spirits that taint the image of Sk'akh', and thus began the New Skalamar Augment Riots

New Skalamar Augment Riots
By now, there was a sizeable population of New Skalamar that had been augmented by the Skrell and Humans. Never out of request, only out of necessity - and the Federation had made everything until then free of charge. This meant that both Noblemen and Peasants that had been wounded received the same treatment - something extremely uncommon in Unathi society.

This population of augmented were now all targets of the general public - and the Sk'akh church had pushed forward this command of 'acting harshly' so vaguely that some took it as a call to attack. Violence erupted - with augments being ripped or cut off and thrown into a pile in the city center. Federation Skrell police attempted to step in, however a Skrell was killed in a struggle forcing the whole policing force to pull out and simply watch. Augmented individuals and some of their clan-members fled the city if they could, hiding their augments as well as they could.

Foundation of the Au'takh Valley
Migrant Aut'akh fleeing the riots of New Skalamar formed together outside the walls, and decided to leave the city that turned against them. Hundreds of Aut'akh would try to find other places to live - some attempting to settle in the wilds of Oureaea although still keeping in touch with other clans they fled with after the Augment Riots. Eventually, their augments began to fail without maintenance, and unable to seek aide with the cities the Aut'akh moved to a central, safe area - the Mountains to the west of New Skalamar.

This initial settlement would eventually become known as Aut'akh Valley - a central, large town of Aut'akh that has operated outside of Oureaea's government in the comfort of a foggy valley.

The Newfound Aut'akh Movement
Now that the Aut'akh Valley has seen prosperity in their peaceful valley, they are attempting to spread their idea of living to those who need it. There are thousands of Unathi missing limbs from war, the Wasteland, and from dangerous work-sites. The Aut'akh claim that although Hegemony society enjoys the story of a valiant hero - they do not see a disabled individual as a hero anymore, and that society glorifies death but abhors the wounded that cannot return to a fight.

With these words, there are many underbelly 'communes' that form together in cities - becoming places where people with augments can come for repairs, spiritual guidance, and meals. Augmented warriors are often posted inside these communes that function as a safe haven, and even Guwan who are augmented or wish to be can find a small section to be safe from attack or beratement.