Vaurca

Overview
Vaurcae, (/ˈvaʊrkə/ VAUR-kah, Vaurca in singular term and Vaurcae in multiple) are an arthropodous species that naturally organize themselves into eusocial groups. Humanoid in shape, with a pair of arms, hands with four digits, divided equally between thumbs and fingers, and legs, ending in feet perfect for climbing the tunnels and caverns they used to dwell in on their homeworld. The Vaurcae are one of the oldest surviving civilizations in the known galaxy, with a history that can be traced back 730,000 years ago. Now they arrive in the Orion Spur as colonists, reluctantly taken in by other civilisations.

They form eusocial groups, hives, lead by a High Queen, whom the hive is usually named after. Under them, Lesser Queens held jurisdiction over specific hive functions. Queens, lesser and high, are the only type of Vaurcae capable of producing eggs to spawn new ones. Being born under a specific Queen places a Vaurca in their brood, where they would often hold unique traits compared to others, and a variant carapace color. More information on these structures, and broods, can be found on the Vaurca Hives page.

Their civilizations are separated into three castes, with members of each caste having their biology, psychology, and education determined before they are even even born. Each individual Vaurca is made often for a specific function pertaining to their caste. Vaurcae are separated further between being Akaix (Unbound) and Viax (Bound). Akaix are no less of a person than any human, whereas Viax are incredibly simple minded, running on no more than a desire to do what they are told, designed for their function rather than versatility.

Vaurcae have mechanical extras such as extensive xenowear loadout and their homeworld’s flag. K’ois as a product is available in-game and they have a rather grand set of unobtainable event-spawn objects and mobs. Massive Vaurcae Breeders are playable as consular officers, and their lore can further be explored through artifacts and merchant items.

Vaurcae can come from the Zo'ra, K'lax, C'thur or Lii'dra hives. The Lii'dra are exclusive to antagonists and events - this does not mean antagonist vaurcae have to be Lii'dra, however.

To apply to be one of the insect-like Vaurcae, apply here.

Important notes: Vaurcae can't be any Heads of Staff, including being elevated to an Interim command position. They require and Avowal of Responsibility to be in any position higher than civilian level.

Mechanics

 * Global Hivenet, accessible via ,9 and heard only by other Vaurcae and station-bound synthetics.
 * Pressure and cold resistant, allowing them to survive in space with internals.
 * Unaffected by phoron gas but require it to breathe
 * Have natural insulation.
 * Immune to slipping.
 * Can only healthily consume food consisting of k'ois paste and byproducts.
 * Do not self-heal.
 * Takes 2x the toxin damage.
 * Suffer from additional blood loss.
 * Can be permanently rendered blind by flashing them several times in a row.
 * Vaurca Warriors can bite and are more resistant to burns.
 * Vaurca Workers cannot bite but are more resistant to radiation

Non-mechanic traits:
 * Dislike light.
 * Generally very specialized, often no inter-department knowledge.
 * Face severe discrimination in human space.
 * Be incredibly sensitive to smells.

Biology
The Vaurcae of today bear little resemblance to their original forms. They appear as humanoid insects, with two pairs of eyes —a larger pair and a smaller— four arms, with two being vestigial, ending in hands that hold two thumbs and two middle fingers each. They rest on two digitigrade legs which can end in a variety of feet structures, and antennae sprout from their heads. These antenna are used for greater perception of their surroundings, with the predominant sense being smell. Some Vaurcae are capable of smelling two different types of rock apart —and this is because of pheromones, which, along with the Hivenet, are key to communicating with others of their kind. Pheromones are like words encased in very fine smells. What one could infer from an inflection or tone of a word, a Vaurca could from the intricacies of a pheromone. As a result, their olfactory sense is highly tuned.

Before a larva is hatched, its purpose is determined by a Breeder in a process called imagotis. Essentially, the Breeder can imagine what they want a specific Vaurca to look like and think like, and subconsciously alter certain factors regarding the larva's development to facilitate their growth into the Breeder's image.

More information on the intricate workings of Vaurca-kind can be found on the biology page.

Ka, The Workers (Type A)
Type A are the most common and can be seen as the 'backbone' of Vaurcesian societies. Their most prevalent feature is their hardened exoskeleton, varying in colors in accordance to their hive. It is approximately half an inch thick among all Type A Vaurcae. This exoskeleton provides protection against harsh radiation, solar and otherwise, and acts as a robust pressure-suit to seal their soft inner core from the outside world. This allows most Type A Vaurcae to have extended, several day-long EVA expeditions, assuming they have phoron. They can be bipedal or quadrupedal, with bird-like talon toes. Their hands consist of two middle fingers with small talons at the end, and two opposable thumbs, a left and a right, on either side of their hand. Type A ranges from 5ft to 7ft tall on average, though outliers of both spectra are not unheard of for the more specialized tasks.

It is important to note that Workers explicitly avoid violent situations wherever possible. This is not their function, and they are always more use to the hive in peak condition. Nearly all Ka are designed to find violence almost abhorrent —the sight and smell of blood instills fear and worry for most.

Za, The Warriors (Type B)
Type B are the second most prominent of Vaurcesian society, taking the form of heavily augmented warriors. Type B can range in size from 5ft tall to 8ft tall, with Za Bound rising to as much as 20ft tall. They can be bipedal, quadrupeds, or hexapods, which are called types BA, BB, and BC respectively. They usually have weapons physically attached to their bodies, making them unwieldy or impractical for any situation other than combat.

Warriors, unlike other types of Vaurcae, are not typically passive. This means that they tend to be more suitable for combat orientated positions, while Worker and Breeder types tend to be poorly suited for the disposition these types of occupations demand. Unlike workers, their exoskeleton is not as well equipped for such extended EVA expeditions, however it can withstand a few hours long excursions.

The majority of Warrior-caste Vaurcae employed by NanoTrasen are drone tier type BA, meaning that they are deprived of most advanced augments and mostly differ from other types simply in that they are more mentally suited for combat or are involved in the function of something that could be considered a weapon.

Ta, The Breeders (Type C)
Type C are rare among Vaurcae, in that they make up around 2-3% of their entire species. They are the only individuals in Vaurcesian hives that are fertile except for the Queens and Lesser Queens themselves. The males are raised as Bound while the females are raised as Unbound, and both of them historically served little practical purpose beyond ensuring that their respective hive-cells possess the resources they need to function and to fertilize eggs or to replace a dying Lesser Queen and to even become an additional Lesser Queen if the hive needs more growth. The males are considered CA and the females CB. Lately, Breeders have been used as representatives for their respective queens, a departure from their traditional duties of overseeing eggs and maintaining the numbers of the hive cells they oversee.

This extension of their duties comes about from their keen social intelligence, making them ideal candidates for negotiating with aliens on economic and political matters. They easily grasp the nuances of social context, contracts, and systems that other castes have difficulty navigating.

It is possible to play as a Ta as the Liaison/Representative role.

Playing a Hive Representative
As a Ta, you are more valuable than Workers and Warriors, simply due to the virtue that you are capable of making them. You aren’t a logical thinker or a fighter, however, you are the head of the hive cell you produce, providing emotional support and advice, like a mother would. Sometimes you will be called to represent your Queen of your brood, perhaps speaking their message or sharing their ideals.

Below are rules for playing a Ta. Any bends of these rules must be clarified with the species maintainer prior to playing the character. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in punishment.


 * No height taller than 11 feet tall.


 * As a Breeder, you are allowed to have a three-syllable name instead of the usual monosyllabic.


 * Auto-hiss basic (s becomes z(zzz) or not at all). You’re made to work on a station full of aliens that speak Basic, so you’d have a vocal implant aiding this significantly due to your status.


 * Avoid combat, avoid doing any labour or specialised work. You are neither Warrior nor Worker, do not act like them. You can, however, inspire others to do something.


 * Avoid social ignorance. You possess a high social intelligence, being literally made for this job, so you’d be knowledgeable on whether trying to clean a Unathi’s horn would upset them or not.

Cephalon (Type D)
The Cephalon is the strangest of all Vaurcae beings, if it can still be considered such. They are bombarded from birth by special hormones designed to expand their brains. Their bodies are bombarded with special treatments designed to hypercharge their thyroid and pituitary glands. This results in a brain that will continue growing far, far beyond the needs even of the Unbound. It will grow so much that the Cephalon's handlers can cut live samples, spread them across trellises and racks, and treat them with more hormones and chemicals to keep them growing further. After a decade of pruning and racking, and some cybernetic wire-work besides, the end result is a new Cephalon —a biomechanical supercomputer that houses a large portion of the Virtual Reality Network, and will live for hundreds of years. Its processing power is somewhere in the tens of zettaflops, if it can even be measured that way. Each Lesser Queen tends to keep several of these, acting as servers from which their Virtual Reality is hosted. Cephalons are not generally considered Bound or Unbound, but inert, motionless equipment. As such they hold no name or designation to any hive at large.

The Unbound
The Unbound make up the upper castes of Vaurcae society and form the only sentient and self-aware parts of its greater population. Their eggs and larvae are given more graceful care by Bound Workers and they are born with fully developed organs, though Unbound not meant to become Ta or Lesser Queens are still sterilized. They are perfectly capable of making rational, thinking decisions, and are naturally intuitive and curious, much like a human. However, Unbound are not raised in a traditional manner. While in its early years VR was meant as an escape from reality, for modern Vaurcae in known space it's become every aspect of their lives and supposed afterlife.

Although Unbound are sentient and self-aware, they still typically maintain unwavering subserviency to the respective hierarchy of their hive, due to a combination of pheromone excretion and indoctrination methods imposed during the growing process of an Unbound. However, when they are not under the direct instruction of a Lesser Queen, they will typically pursue their own or their own hive cell's interests.

Unbound disconnected from VR can still connect themselves to the 'internet' of a hive, called the Hive Network, where the Unbound all connect their consciousness. Unbound Vaurcae can share their knowledge, memories, and even feelings through the Hive Network. The Bound are barred from most non-utilitarian aspects of the Hive Network, due to biological constraints.

The Unbound take up jobs that require more critical thinking skills or greater abstract thought than simple Bound. In this respect, Unbound Vaurcae can simply be considered on the same level as any human. Integration in the Orion Spur and other alien communities has some of them living alone or in small groups in their own apartments like any other citizen or family, working to support themselves, rarely having monetary aid from their Hive.

The Unbound can be any of the types mentioned above except for Type D.

Playing Unbound
Unbound are the human-like part of the Vaurcae species and are capable of playing any non-command role in terms of ability. They can either be unique individuals having lived out of their Virtual Reality for some time, or can be fresh from the hive birthing chambers and or from their Lesser Queen's virtual heaven, barely knowing anything. They almost universally hate being outside of VR, as the extended stay within an environment free of strife, hunger and death have sensitized them to the presence of such things in the real world. Likely because of their biology, Vaurcae are generally passive and hold more value in a groups opinion rather than their own.

'''Unbound are restricted in the jobs they can pick. By default, you are unable to be anything higher than an apprentice or a civilian level job without an Avowal of Responsibility.'''

All jobs listed in bold require an Avowal of Responsibility. Security: Security Officer, Warden, Investigator, Security Cadet Medical: Surgeon, Physician, Psychiatrist, Pharmacist, First Responder, Medical Intern Engineering: Station Engineer, Atmospheric Technician, Engineer Apprentice Science: Scientist (all titles), Xenobiologist, Xenobotanist, Roboticist, Lab Assistant Service: Chef, Chaplain, Librarian, Bartender, Gardener/Hydroponicist, Janitor Cargo: Quartermaster, Cargo Technician, Shaft Miner (all titles) Civilian: Assistant, Visitor

Nanotrasen has introduced a "Peer Review" system to accommodate promotion to higher positions. Read the "Avowal of Responsibility" form available in the requests console for more information.

The Bound
Bound Vaurcae are chosen even before their egg is laid. Eggs designated to be Bound are put in a warm, moisture-rich environment while Worker Bound oversee their care. The larvae that hatches from the eggs is then taken to another specialized, moist environment to be raised and slowly augmented before the Bound are then quickly and efficiently sterilized. Bound are incredibly simple minded, due to effectively being lobotomised —grown with some parts of their brain missing.

Playing Bound
Bound, or as humans sometimes call them, Drones, have a lot in common with station synthetics in personality and playstyle. They are members of a slave caste trained to obey orders without question. They have no concept of the self and can only act independently in matters of personal survival, maintenance, or self-defense. The Vaurcesian Drones probably speak slowly and have trouble speaking Basic.

Bound typically focus on performing their duty. If asked to do something outside of the scope of their duty a Bound will always use their duty as a reference to the task at hand. Because they are working under the decree of the Hive's Queen, only with good reason would an Unbound Vaurca ask a Bound from its respective hive to deviate from their duty. Otherwise, Bound are taught and expected to follow station protocols to the best of their ability as it is their duty to do so. Only their hives' Unbound, and heads of staff can order a Bound to deviate from its duties.

Bound do not need an Avowal of Responsibility to take a job, however their positions are easily dismissed if their performance is unsatisfactory.

They can only take the jobs listed here. If a job title is not on this list, you cannot play them as a bound.

Security: Investigator Medical: Physician, Pharmacist, First Responder Engineering: Station Engineer, Atmospheric Technician Science: Scientist, Phoron Researcher, Roboticist Service: Chef, Bartender, Gardener, Hydroponicist, Janitor Cargo: Cargo Technician, Shaft Miner (all titles) Civilian: Assistant

Modern Day
For most hives, co-habitation with the other species they have encountered has led to large changes to their way of life. Already suffering a shortage of resources, their advanced weaponry has lead to a lot of fear regarding their potency and supposed ease of mass production. While it is unknown how rumours circulated that the Vaurcae had large-scale means of producing weapons, and the materials to do so, no one can deny the military domination a war-ready hive would impose. From tachyon-based weaponry, gauss cannons, condensed thermal energy and the infamous warforms, most believe it to be a miracle that the Vaurca have yet to attack and seize control of the galaxy.

However, all hives (barring the unknown machinations of the Lii'dra) do not have the potential to do this. Weaponry was a lower priority on the list of supplies brought on Hiveships, as though while large, there needed to be space for broods as well as materials. Figures such as Ta'Akaix'Zoleth'akeh Zo'ra were insistent on bringing a plethora of weaponry, to ensure their survival among the unknown threat of the stars. Their pleas, however, only resulted in minor increases to ship defenses. During their long journey, the majority of resources they had brought were used for maintenance of the ship, and by the time they arrived in the Orion Spur, their lack of materials, and subsequently, repairs, have resulted in the pitiful states the three known Hiveships are in. Their food supply was limited in terms of places to grow aboard the Hiveships, and as a result, a high majority of warforms and the larger Bound Workers were culled, due to being unable to sustain many of the cryogenic storage pods used to contain them.

Politically, all but the Zo'ra have yet to make any substantial political hold in Tau Ceti. The C'thur and K'lax are being used primarily as either labor or military by their allies, with the K'lax as vassals/tributaries to the Hegemony, and the C'thur reliant on the Federation for the survival of their High Queen. However, especially with the recent investment into the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion, the Zo'ra have begun their ascension into the political web that connects the inhabitants of the Orion Spur, despite being locked into debt with Tau Ceti. Though some may attribute this to certain Queens over others, the Zo'ra hive as a whole is benefiting from their increased power.

Technologically, all but the K'lax have failed to make much progress in terms of adapting to their lack of advanced materials. In recent years, batches of new-generation thermal drills developed by the K'lax and manufactured with common materials were shipped and often cheaply sold across the Orion Spur, with mining facilities seeing huge increases in yields as a result. This was inspired by the hive's collaboration with the Unathi on Moghes, their agreement to help terraform the planet. Requiring terraforming technology to efficiently carry out this task, the K'lax have been attempting to re-create the machines of old using newer parts and materials. The Zo'ra hive's most notable technological advancement was the hybridisation of the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion's current weaponry and their own personal designs. These resulting weapons are currently employed by the Foreign Legion, and while not the most high quality or effective weaponry, many agree that it is a certain improvement compared to their last.

Economically, all but the C'thur have struggled to make any real money, reliant on collective money pools brought in by employed Bound and Unbound. Being harboured by the generous Jargon Federation has opened up a large amount of opportunities. Queens often hold a share of the total funds of a hive, an example being Ta'Akaix'Athvur'zekt'azi Zo'ra recently investing the majority of her saved personal funds into the reformation of the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion. The C'thur have bought a significant portion of Einstein Engines, opening a connection to the Eridani Corporate Federation, and many job opportunities. These factors have resulted in the C'thur being the most economically progressed out of all hives.

Individuals
For many Unbound, adapting to their new lives has been a tough ordeal, but one that is short suffered. Once settled, most hive cells are capable of sharing a single bedroom apartment due to their tolerance of confined spaces and their tendency for practicality over personality. Personal possessions are not uncommon, however, but usually serve some sort of purpose. An Unbound may purchase a refrigerator, but instead of preserving food, it may instead use it for the construction of an experimental device.

Workers mostly shifted from serving the hive to employment well, with only a few incredibly specialized Unbound finding difficulty. While confusion was apparent at the complicated process of the simple act of going to work, once clarified, many Vaurcae brought their specialised knowledge and pragmatism into like-minded fields, typically able to share their intricate knowledge with great practical success. On a social level, however, many Unbound are prone to varying levels of discrimination. Such acts can be extremely discreet, such as being made to do a less desirable task. On the other hand, some overtly voice their dislike —often showing their ignorance of how Vaurcae operate and live. The recent incidents involving Tajara gangs reacting violently to the Lii'dra invasion, going as far as to murder, have demonstrated a more obvious dislike.

Warriors, however, did not have such an easy transition —while there were some who could transition as well as most Workers, many of the Unbound purely bred for combat struggled to find applicable work. Some of these soldiers slowly managed to trickle into work as private security, bodyguards, and alike, while some found trivial work doing menial or laborious tasks. K'lax warriors mostly serve in the Hegemony. Recently, many Zo'ra Za, and a few of other hives, finally found a place doing what they do best in the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion.

Language
Before the invention of the Hivenet in the Era of Augments, Vaurcae would communicate by distributing pheromones from mouth to mouth for complex messages, and vibrations with their antennae for simpler messages, sent via larger distances. Since Vaurcae don’t possess a vocal tract, spoken language was unknown to them until their arrival to the Spur. The invention of the Hivenet allowed for a better and more long-range method to communicate with each other, making cooperation more efficient. While to a stranger Hivenet might just sound like rhythmic vibrations, for a Vaurca the received message, which are encoded pheromones coded and transmitted as signals, ‘sounds’ in their head, which is how the Vaurcese vocabulary has been incorporated in Human, Skrell and Unathi space.

These encoded pheromones can also transmit emotions and other kinds of warnings. Because of the lack of facial expressions available for Vaurcae, it is common for individuals to express themselves by sending a message such as this on the net. Other simple encoded messages, such as small onomatopoeic sounds or reactions such as an eye-roll may be sent too. Images and video are too heavy to be encapsulated by pheromones, and can’t be transmitted via this method.

Vaurca have the ability to speak with voice synthesizers, which are responsible for their peculiar accents. These voice modulators are cheap, and based on alien technology in some cases. It also allows the Vaurca in question to be able to translate the message in their heads. Thus, no Vaurca is able to audibly receive or reproduce a xeno language without the aid of this augment. However, despite not having a written language themselves, Vaurcae are able to learn to read and write in Basic, and for an employee on board the NSS Aurora, part of their education would have consisted in such.

Speaking like a Vaurca
Vaurcae working in alien space often have augments that allow them to have an easier time speaking the Languages of the Orion Spur. However, due to the desperate times the species is in, speech augments tend to be of variable quality. Vaurcae typically expresses an unfamiliarity with most alien languages, preferring to use basic words and sentence structures over more complex ones, and often may be unaware of the exact meaning of words, or the names of objects, instead describing them. This tends to happen most to those who aren't used to alien culture.

Many Vaurcae, and their vocal augments have difficulty producing sounds related to the letter "s", and instead substitute with a harsh buzzing in the throat. ("May I please have some k'ois?" becomes "May I pleaze have zome k'oiz?"). Some Vaurcae may have difficulty producing soft consonant sounds such as those produced by "f" or "ph", and instead substitute them with a more guttural "vh". ("Phoron gas is fine!" becomes "Vhoron gas is vhine!". Some unfortunate specimen may even be plagued with both impediments at once. ("The phoron in these k'ois lets me breathe." becomes "The vhoron in theze k'oiz letz me breathe."), or even further, more exotic impediments.

Naming System
The traditional naming system is complex, with first names being made of three parts. The first part is either Ka for Workers, Za for soldiers, or Ta for breeders. The second syllable is Viax for Bound, or Akaix for Unbound.

Finally, the last syllable of the name is unique, decided by the player. In Vaurcese, this segment would translate to a number —like a serial code, it is a unique identifier. The only restriction is that it should not be longer than a single syllable, at the very most two syllables. For a Worker Unbound it might be: "Ka'Akaix'Siith Zo'ra." With 'Siith' being created by the player. The surname is the hive that the Vaurca is a part of, in the example's case "Zo'ra".

In summary, you create a single unique name, which is slotted after your caste and whether you are Bound or Unbound, and your surname is the Hive you are from.

Inter-caste Relationships
Relationships between each type and each caste tend to be a universal constant among Vaurcesian hives. The Bound are thoroughly exploited by the Unbound whenever an opportunity for such arises. It is typical for an Unbound to delegate any menial labour to the nearest Bound whenever possible. While especially "lazy" Unbound are not prevalent on human stations, all Unbound tend to display this mindset towards the Bound to a degree. When encountering a dangerous situation, the response is similar —the Bound are expected to attempt to make the situation safer for the Unbound in any way possible. Bound are perfectly subservient to the whims of the Unbound, and do not begrudge this exploitation.

Worker vaurcae tend to be esteemed more highly than Warrior Vaurcae, especially in Unbound circles, and especially in these difficult times when the value of labour to the Vaurca is more important than the value of defense. Unbound Breeder Vaurcae are esteemed very highly, especially those at the top of the hierarchy. Bound Breeder Vaurcae tend to rarely interact with other Vaurcae, except for Bound caretakers.

As for different types of the same caste, Unbound Ka or Za of the same 'duty' tend to organize themselves into hive-cells. For example, a Worker who works in construction may live, sleep and work with the same people within their hive-cell. A hive-cells size can vary drastically, but ultimately, they tend to organize the labor of Ka and Za into the most efficient means, with each hive cell reporting to a particular Ta, usually their birth mother. Vaurcae tend to be closest to those that they work with, and so many Vaurcae consider their hive-cell their closest relatives.

Inter-hive Relationships
The Zo'ra and K'lax hives maintain warm relations, while officially the diplomatic tension between the C'thur and K'lax hives is tenuous at best. The Lii'dra hive is universally hated. The Zo'ra percieve themselves the rightful rulers of the K'lax and C'thur, and the K'lax have thus far made no official statement against this. Meanwhile, the C'thur changes their announcements constantly. The Bound of each hive serve other Vaurcae of their hive firstly and are completely subservient to the will of their hive's rulership. The K'lax Bound however will also serve Zo'ra Vaurcae should there be no conflict with the desires of K'lax hierarchy. The same can be said to a lesser degree with the C'thur. Zo'ra Bound will rarely ever service K'lax Vaurcae, and only when instructed to do so by Zo'ra Unbound. Zo'ra, C'thur and K'lax Unbound typically do not intermingle except on an individual basis and remain subservient to the desires of their respective hierarchy.

Inter-species Relationships
The Zo'ra tend to be cooperative with humanity out of necessity, but on an individual level opinions vary between each Unbound. This approach is largely shared in reference to all other aliens, viewing them as potential benefits to their hives. Perhaps in response to, or as a result of this, the Zo'ra hives have begun to re-imagine themselves as something aliens can identify with. Supporting cross-species initiatives that further increase cooperation between each species feeds into this idea of ultimately benefiting all species involved. Besides this, the servitude that Bound abides by is a topic of concern for humanity in particular, because Bound are hard-wired to satisfy the needs of other Unbound of their hive firstly, it creates the possibility for conflicts of interest between the humans that use cheap Bound labor, and any Unbound Vaurcae of the same hive. However, such situations are unreported if they do occur, and the cheapness and effectiveness of Bound labor tend to surpass potential dangers.

The Skrell of the Jargon Federation have taken to using a work drafting system to assign duties to Vaurcae of the C'thur hive. The Federation or an empowered representative would requisition an amount of C'thur for a particular job, which would then be supplied by the hive. These C'thur would complete this assignment and then return to their hive. This entire process is overseen by a legal counsel comprised of both species, providing fair and equitable exchanges for all parties. The largest orders of labor come from the Federation itself and the Nanotrasen corporation.

K'lax tend to maintain terse, but warm relations with the Izweski Hegemony, sharing cultural and sometimes technological advances for the betterment of both species. Beyond this, they maintain little contact with the galaxy at large, save for their begrudging but needed trade relation with the human owned Nanotrasen corporation. Due to their unfavorable circumstances within this deal, the K'lax tend to view humans in a negative light.

Overall, the approach all hives have taken when sending their populations to work with aliens is to treat their 'workplaces' as an adopted hive cell. All hives encourage the development of social bonds that normally come with working closely between Vaurcae in the same hive cell. This has led to some Vaurcae considering their co-workers a second family.

Queenless
The Queenless are simply Vaurcae that do not fall into the lineage of any current queen or lesser queen but remain from the same hive. For whatever reason, these Vaurcae were sourced for the Hiveship outside of the lineage of the lesser queens, perhaps for different traits only found within their line or brood. In the case of the four hives, The Queenless is only an issue within the K’lax and Zo’ra hives. Cut off from the high queens, these 'Queenless' Vaurcae may believe that the Lesser Queens currently in command of the hive have gone outside of what the High Queen originally intended for them. Other broods may view them with pity, or see them as restless servants of the hive without a queen to call their own. In general, they are often ignored by the larger hive populations, with many having little to no oversight by the other hive-cells or broods within their own hives. Despite this, the Queenless are still supplied eggs, albeit at a greatly reduced amount than other cells, and given access to their hives VR when available, though, they are the most likely to be denied access, if limited. It's partly because of this that most Queenless Ta tend to hide within the interstice, VR worlds sewn from the vast data streams of the hive. These VR realms are small in comparison to the queens, and vary in their multitudes. Instead of the Queens, these communities of Vaurcae tend to build themselves around their mother Ta, and try to be as self-sufficient as possible. They may idolize Xakat'kl'atan brought with them when they first left Sedantis. Indeed, it is these two pillars, the Ta and Xakat'kl'atan, that define the Queenless Vaurcae populations. No matter which hive, however, the Queenless recognize the authority of only the true high queen or their own nonexistent lesser queens, and to that end, seek above all else to recontact Sedantis.

In reality, the Queenless of Tau Ceti’s Zo’ra and K'lax hive is amongst the poorest, and secretive of the Vaurca upon Tau Ceti. Some may resort to crime, drugs and other less than legal means to maintain any comfortable standard of living they might possess. Typically the mother Ta of a Queenless Vaurca is the highest authority one can go to, but there have been documented cases of multiple Queenless Ta working together, though, for what purpose, none can say. As for the Ta themselves, they are comfortable with ignoring and being ignored by the lesser queens as a whole, recognizing the shadow that they live under, and the roles that they must carve out for themselves and their spawn if they are to survive. Above all else, they believe that the light of their high queen will never truly be lost, that out of the horrible illumination of the unknown, The High Queen will return to right the direction of her wayward daughters, and to align all surviving broods under her will.

Klat'xatl
Because of the size and organization of the C’thur Hive, as well as the fact that they are still reigned by their original Queen, the concept of Queenless Vaurcae is foreign to them. However, some Tas have fallen into the category of punished or Klat’xatl, alongside their respective hive cells. Despite what the name originally implies, not all punished communities have been disdained by the Queens. Some have simply fallen out of communication from the Hive, which has isolated them further. Punished Tas don’t receive any eggs and, thus, their populations can only decrease. This ultimate wish for survival is what fuels the leaders of these communities, who may take drastic measures for their survival.

Whether they like it or not, they still carry C’thur in their names, and their colorations are characteristic of those from their original brood.

The Lost of the Traverse
Composed mostly of stranded Vytel Warriors among the Skrellian Traverse, they are a result of a mixture of a failed colonization attempt and those who originally intended to scout the area. The harsh conditions of famine, as well as general isolation, have resulted in feuds between themselves, with even the few Workers on their lines reacting much more violently than what is commonly seen in Vaurcae behavior. Many of them fear they may never reunite with their Hive and a pessimistic view, shared by their Tas, is that they are ultimately expendable and there will be no attempts of recovery. While their contact with Skrell has been minor since getting lost, it’s known that some cells of this group have sided with rebels and Traverse independentists, mainly as a political strategy.

The Zinos of the Underworld
When the C’thur Hive was in the first stage of negotiations with Einstein Engines, a Xetl embassy travelled to the Eridani system in order to meet with Einstein Executives, as well as to offer cheap labor from their fleets. This resulted in the rest of the Queens, and Xetl herself, to become upset with the delegation and, ultimately, consider them outcasts, while also alerting Einstein Engines that they did not represent the Hive. Although it is rumored it was in fact Xetl who launched this embassy in order to be included in the Hive’s negotiations and politics —and what these Punished Tas claim—, they have been left for dead in the system, as C’thur continues to strive there.

A minority of these Vaurcae still believe they have a chance with Einstein Engines, and remain in Set and Nebthet with little success. Most of them, however, moved on to Oran, at first in hopes of being noticed by other megacorporations.

Despite this, most of the C’thur from this rogue delegation have found refuge in the Underworld, nesting themselves in what they consider ideal because of the little light and vast corridors. Called ‘Cinos’ by the Dregs, and ‘Zinos’ by themselves, they’re still at large unfamiliar with Eridian society and culture, but share the disdainful sentiment towards those that live above, especially the C’thur that have managed to find themselves jobs there.

In short, a Zino is not a Dreg, but is familiar with the Dregs and their lifestyle. They’re usually pacifist with other groups and gangs, and avoid involvement in gang disputes, mostly because of their low number of Warriors brought with them. Zinos are known for dealing cheap augments, sometimes even going as far as looting those augments of any deceased in the Underworld.

Because there have been no official efforts by the Hives to promote a Freespeak translator to the voice modulators, Zinos have managed to create their own, which is regarded as broken and, sometimes, even making communication impossible. If a Zino were, due to some uplift or for some other reason, employed at Tau Ceti, it’s likely it would trade its bootleg Freespeak modulator for a Basic one.

The New Gibson Refugees
Direct descendants of High Queen C’thur herself, they had been in dispute with the rest of the Hive since before their discovery by Skrell. Believing in diplomacy, as well as Hive unity, the breaking point in their relationship with the rest of C’thur was regarding the Glorashi rendez-vous, which they claim was a C’thur betrayal of K’lax. The Tas of this group believe the Lesser Queens are irresponsible and, because of the current state of Queen C’thur, one of them should raise and become a new Lesser Queen.

Never persecuted and just disliked by the rest of the Hive, the New Gibson Refugees gained their name after their claims that Vytel Warriors attempted to assassinate their Tas. Although Queen Scay seems to be mostly indifferent to the group, the refugees claim it was both Scay and the Tau Ceti that managed to save them. Most of their Breeders have given up on these claims of royal succession, and have now focused on a Zo’ra-C’thur alliance, with many of the Unbound claiming they are both Zo’ra and C’thur alike. Despite the population in Xerxes and their efforts, no political repercussions have occurred because of this.