Tajara

The Tajara (Tah-jaw-rah both singular and multiple) are a race of humanoids which possess markedly felinoid traits, that include a semi-prehensile tail, a body covered in fur of varying shades and padded, digitigrade feet.

To apply to be one of the cat-like Tajara, apply here.

Additional information: Ahdomai, Tajaran Culture

Mechanics
The most common Tajaran language, and the one spoken by most Tajara onboard N.T. stations is Siik’Maas. A language of not just verbal means, but also combining posture,and both tail and ear movement. In its most basic form, it can be used over the radio. Use this in-game by typing "say:j". Courtesy of their thick, insulating fur, Tajara own a nature resistance to cold, but also due to a lack of hotter environments on their homeworld of Ahdomai, the Tajara lack a natural resistance to thermal energy. Due to a lack of capsaicin-containing flora on Ahdomai, the Tajaran body is ill-suited to ingesting foods that contain it. Severely limiting their ability to consume spicier Human cuisine. As per their digitigrade feet, adorning traditional human-style closed toe footwear is nigh-impossible and highly uncomfortable. Most Tajara in Human space take to the wearing of sandals or other open-toed foot wear. Mostly in-part to their digitigrade nature, in addition to their thicker fur which ensures they overheats easily, and most of all their tail. Human hardsuits are unwearable for the average Tajara. Requiring their own models of modified hardsuits. Made of a Keratin-like substance, the Tajara have a full set of non-retractable claws built into their paws. This both increases their lethality in unarmed situations and makes finer manipulation difficult with untrimmed claws. These claws also make the wearing of gloves extremely problematic, with most (If not all) gloves requiring snipping off of the fingers to allow Tajara to wear them. The evolutionary ancestors of the Tajara are theorized to have been nocturnal, and as a vestigial remnant of this lifestyle Tajara maintain improved eyesight in low-light situations. Most Tajara haven’t been in N.T.s’ employ long enough to gain a position as head of staff. Those few that do are often the most efficient and effective in N.T.s staff, as they have had to work twice as hard to reach their position as the average Human. They are however, a rare sight.

Recommendations for Tajaran Roleplay
Submissiveness is a acquired cultural trait in certain ethnicities within Tajaran society (Hharar). It is not bred into the genetics of all Tajaran groups. However, older Tajara (those born in the Overseers era) tend to be more submissive, while younger Tajara tend to be less so, and often look upon individualism and pride in a much more positive light than their forefathers. You do not -have- to be submissive, but there IS a reason it is suggested. As a species the Tajara are not markedly aggressive, do not ‘look for fights’. Reporting incidents to station security or heads of staff will often end the situation in a better manner.

Aggressive use of ones’ claws is usually frowned upon in Tajaran society as a mark of barbarity. They can easily kill, do not tend towards their use lightly. Tajara fear death just as much as any other species. Don’t go on a spacewalk “For teh lulz” just because you can survive a little longer. Doing so will elicit admin intervention.

Because of aforementioned factors of a somewhat submissive culture, along with the nature of the Tajaran group of languages themselves. “I” or “me” are difficult concepts for them to grasp, as such many Tajara use the third person. Though those with significant time spent among aliens may evolve past this. As previously mentioned in the mechanics section, spicy foods are horrifically dangerous to Tajara. Make sure the chef isn’t making Mexican today if you’re feeling hungry.

Overview

 * Cunabula: Ahdomaris
 * Kingdom: Animalia
 * Phylum: Chordate
 * Class: Mammalia
 * Subclass: Eutheria
 * Order: Primacreodonta
 * Family: Coetidae
 * Genus: Tajara
 * Species: T. Sapiens

Naming
As Tajaran names are usually complicated affairs that are nearly impossible to translate into intelligible Ceti-basic. Most Tajara assume Arabic forenames and surnames simply to allow more efficient, better communication across species. Some Tajara tend to ignore this trend, instead simply deciding to take a name consisting of a string of syllables that they find audibly pleasing, along with being easy for members of other species to pronounce. Most of the traditional Tajaran clans (most of which are Hharar) are evolved versions of the titles that is most prevalent or most prestigious among its members, such as the Tajaran version of royalty “Ho’ti” or smith “Hadii”

A common trend in Tajara society, regardless of ethnicity, gender or geographic location. Is the taking of titles, these are typically a single word or handful of words that have distinct meaning taken from the actions of the Tajara who brandishes the title. These are typically dispensed by their community based upon skills and past actions both successful and less than so. In the ancient Hhar'Tol language which is the linguistic ancestor of all popular Tajaran languages, these titles were taken as identifiers before populations were large enough for unique, individual names to be necessary.

Once populations had exceeded this limit, and the number of “Tailors”, “Cooks” and “Guardsmen” became larger than could be easily recognized by a single title. These became simple honorifics taken to recognize the accomplishments and failures of individuals of note. Tajara typically share their ‘titles’ upon greeting eachother, but these names are not easily revealed to those outside of their own species. With these titles only being told to aliens the individual finds particularly trustworthy. Overall, these titles can bring great praise or great condemnation upon their holder based on what their title reveals. Criminals, especially kin-slayers and thieves are particularly condemned as these titles are hard to shake, despite how long it may have been since the event which earned it occurred.

Biology
To the average Human, the Tajara are a species of ‘space-cats’. Which when looked at from a purely scientific perspective is largely superficial. Unlike terrestrial felines, the Tajara are both omnivorous and bipedal. Their body is almost entirely covered in a thick coat of fur that is extremely good at insulating them from the cold, trapping body heat in a massively efficient manner. There are only a handful general areas where fur is not present, and that is on the palm of their paws, the soles of their padded feet, a number of various orifices and a small area around their eyes.

Occasionally, the fur around a Tajaras’ neck is known to grow into a shaggy ‘mane’ of sorts. Giving them a distinct look, not ultimately unlike a terran lion. This hair tends to be much stronger and a good deal more ‘wiry’ than the rest of the fur on a Tajaras’ body. Some Tajara tend towards monochromatic bodies while other tend towards multi-color and even calico. It largely depends on the genetics of the individual. Some may be utterly incapable of producing multicolor kittens, while others are only capable of such. Patterns of flat colors, stripes, spots and any conceivable combination have been the recorded by scientists both Tajaran and Human. The mean body-weight of a male Tajara is somewhere between 145 cm and 185 cm in height, while the mean body mass is between 55 kg and 90 kg. Females being between 135cm tall and 185 cm tall, their own weight being somewhere between 35 kg and 75 kg. As such, both their body weight and height is roughly comparable to the average Human.

The Tajara evolved as a predatory species upon their home-planet of Adhomai, as a result they have a pair of fairly large, well developed eyes that are forward-set. These eyes are comparable to those of Humans, but they do have a certain advantage in their night-sight due to their predatory ancestors most-likely evolving as nocturnal predators, hunting for small animals. Tajaran eyes are mounted above a slightly elongated structure similar to a ‘muzzle’ on terrestrial creatures. Their pupils are large and capable of contraction significantly faster than most other creatures, both sapient and otherwise. Their pupils have a thin, refractive layer extremely similar to a tapetum lucidum. Allowing them enhanced night vision, having a side-effect of giving them slightly illuminated eyes in low-light conditions.

Tajaran dental structure was clearly once geared for a carnivorous lifestyle, but has since undergone a shift towards a more omnivorous role. Tajara have sharp, needle like teeth in the front which are quite clearly geared towards tearing meat, the further one travels back in the mouth the less sharp and more flat/broad the teeth become, showing their shift towards a more omnivorous existence. Atop their heads, the Tajara have a pair of deft, normally erect ears with a wide range of motion. They are capable of rotation to roughly 90 degrees, even being able to fold back almost entirely into the skull if needed, which is often seen as a display of fear.

Tajaran extremities, specifically their hands and feet have five digits, and are generally the same shape as Human extremities. Though they are slightly stubbier in appearance, though still dexterous enough to be useful.

Tajara employed in more professional roles such a engineer, architect and some other roles that require dexterous manipulation often find themselves with filed down claws, reduced to smooth end in-order to allow easy manipulation of standard human-based technology. As such, most Tajara in the more professional roles would find themselves lacking pointed claws, at least on their dominant hand. This a task that most Tajara do reluctantly, as claws are considered a part of oneself and it is ‘untajaran’ to remove them. Tajaran claws are non-retractable and grow from the fingertips, usually being around one inch in length in most cases. They are continuously growing to ensure suitable length despite damage, chipping or other trauma.

Tajaran sleep cycles are one of their oddest features, a normal waking period being somewhere between 36 and 48 hours. With a subsequent 20-28 hours of sleep. Normally, the waking period is spotted with 3-4 15-30 minute naps in-order to keep the Tajara refreshed and alert. This is universal on all words with Tajara living upon them. Tajara are capable of great feats of intelligent, dedicated work but this is physically exhausting. Which utterly mentally and psychologically tires them to the extreme, making them groggy, aggressive and paranoid until they enter their rest cycle. While few and far-between, these long stretches of alertness make Tajaran researcher brilliant and valued by the galaxy at large.

In comparison to Human, Skrell or Unathi. The Tajaran body is generally a great deal more flexible, lithe and slender in most cases. Though a handful of ethnicities do exhibit outlier traits of higher muscle mass/increased bulk and strength. They are not sexually dimorphic other than a slight variance in height. With the only real difference being the obviously different genitals and the presence of internalized mammary glands in females, which swells during pregnancy and for some time afterwards to form a “breast” for ease of feeding the child. Unusually, the Tajaran have a gastrological, cardiovascular and lymphatic system with marked similarities to Humanity and other creatures from Earth. As such, most medical equipment requires only extremely minor modifications to be capable of successfully diagnosing and treating Tajara.

Tajara are built for the extremely low temperature environments that are so common on Adhomai, giving them their remarkable cold-resistance. However, this gives them a tendency to overheat in more mild climates. To avoid this, most Tajara will dress lightly in warmer environments such as on space-stations or more tropical worlds. Often only wearing underwear, a tank top and pants/lower coverings. A Tajara wearing a heavier suit such as a Bio Suit or radiation suit will often find himself or herself extremely uncomfortable and perspiring heavily.

Behavior
While the largest and most widespread ethnic group (The Hharar) have a cultural trend towards loyalty, cooperation and submissiveness. This is by no means the standard for the species as a whole even within the Hharar ethnic group there is growing resistance to the traditional methods. As such, younger Tajara tend to be a great deal more individualistic, prideful and expressive than those who suffered under the overseer regime. This is largely compounded by the massive educational gap between the current generation and the one before it.

Tajara are by no means emotionally stifled as a species, they are infact quite passionate. They may or may not be more reluctant to share these emotions with others, especially aliens and those outside of their cultural group, as due to the paranoia of the Overseer era. Many Tajara have been discovered to have trust issues stemming from a myriad of sources in their recent history. Neurological studies have revealed that they feel the exact range of emotions that Humanity does, and while there are some rather shady and dubious reports to the contrary, this is widely accepted by the galaxy at large. Tajara also react to stimuli in a comparable way to Humans, Skrell, Unathi and Dionaea. Though, as a species the Tajara have tended to be apathetic to the galaxy at large, due in part to a blatant lack of curiosity suppressed by decades of oppressive rule and also due to a species-wide focus on modernizing and uplifting their people, in addition to rebuilding their homeworld.

While it is not a species-wide trait, many Tajara are somewhat submissive in comparison to a Human for example and Nanotrasen command often encourages staff to make use of this mindset. N.T. however, is not blatantly xenophobic but, many within the command structure are reluctant to reward even promising Tajara as they as a species, are untested. Tajara who are extremely capable and eager to server may rarely be promoted to a head of staff position, but due to prejudice and a generally unsureness in regards to their worth and abilities as a species, a captain promotion for a Tajara will not likely be seen for decades to come.

Clothing and Style
It is an unquestionable truth that a uniform provides a sense of unity and cooperation among N.T. employees, however due to acute biological differences between the Tajara and Humanity, exactly identical uniforms are a distinct impossibility. As such, Tajara are authorized to forego the use of certain elements of employee dress. Such as footwear and gloves, though sandals and fingerless gloves are available in most areas via cargo shuttle delivery. While the shape of Tajaran ears makes ear-mounted headsets uncomfortable to wear for long-periods of time, they are capable of wearing them and as such no alternatives are to be provided. Tajara crewmembers are excused from any duty that would require extended contact with high-temperature environments as that would cause significant harm due to an increased susceptibility to thermal injuries.

Native Tajaran clothing is geared towards resisting the unforgiving environment that exists upon Ahdomai as it is a tundra-like arctic planet. Most traditional clothing among their species are heavy-duty utilitarian designs, though cloaks are quite common. Most of their clothing has split back as to allow freedom of tail movement. Pants and skirts of a uniquely Tajaran design are also somewhat common in the more modernized areas, but these would look odd to the Human eye as they are distinctly puffy and wide-cut to accommodate a Tajara without being uncomfortably restrictive to their fur. Skirts are somewhat common and are widely distributed among the working class females, boots are also dispersed though they are of a open-toed design to accommodate their unique physiology.

For the upper class and more wealthy Tajara, sashes, waist clothes and loose, puffy clothing made of expensive imported silks, along with some of the rarer native materials are the standard. These are usually dyed rich, vibrant colors to display their wealth, especially purple and light blue as the dyes for these colors are rare and exorbitantly priced. Golden/silver embroidery of a gaudy and extremely decorative sort is also fairly common among the most wealthy Tajara.

Despite social class and financial situation, layering is an important aspect to the clothing of all Tajara. Typically a Tajara would wear a layer of underwear consisting of a thick, insulating set of long-underpants and a tank-top, then a more traditional shirt and pants set, and finally a thicker jacket, scarf and cloak. This makes the average Tajara warm in even the coldest corner of Adhomai.

Language
As with all other species who work in Human-centric environments. Tajara are expected and required to have passed a prerequisite test to test their comprehension of Tau-Ceti basic, the operating language of N.T. and most transstellar corporations, in addition to most major sovereign entities. Admittedly the passing levels of these comprehension tests are quite low, but are high enough to ensure basic conversation between what will likely be a multi-species crew. However, private communication in Siik’Mas or Siik’tajr is not forbidden by N.T. regulations and is often used to hold conversations between Tajara on the crew.

Though there are a variety of languages used by the Tajara, among the foremost of this vast plethora of languages is Siik’mas and Siik’tajr.

Siik’maas began as a dialect of Hhar'Tol centuries ago as the Overseer regime took power. It began purely as an administrative language to ensure that even if state secrets leaked out to the resistance, that few would be capable of understanding them. With hopeful few details surviving the translation. Eventually, it shifted to being taught as the primary educational language among all ethnicities and classes across the globe as the Overseers focus shifted from dominating the Tajara as a species to uplifting them forcefully, ignoring cultural traditions and practices that slowed them down. Justifying their actions as “Necessary” for the greater good of the species.

Capable of being spoken by a learned Human, the tongue is Siik’mas is not as reliant on body-language as Siik’tajr or many of the other, smaller languages native to Adhomai. But, as Tau-Ceti basic is difficult for many Tajara to master, so is Siik’mas to many Humans, as many inflections are nigh-impossible to perform correctly. And though it focuses on spoken word more than many others, body-language still takes up a good deal of the vocabulary and those parts are challenging for many Humans to grasp and even when they do. They are normally a great deal more sluggish than the comparable Tajara. Even the most capable Human ends up sounding quite stilted and somber while speaking Siik’maas, as do any Tajara speaking the language over the radio. Siik’maas is the lingua-franca of the Tajaran species in the post overseer era in the same way that Tau-Ceti basic is for Humans. Though many small regional prides groups are attempting desperately to revive older languages such as Nal’rasan, Devahhi, Ya’ssa, Resheha and ‘pure’ Hhar’Tol.

Siik’tajr is the opposite of Siik’mas completely. As while Siik’mas was the prime language of those who accepted and supported the rule of the Overseers, Siik’tajr was the de-facto language of most resistance cells and their supporters. Primarily used for its subtlety and extremely complicated nature which ensured most translation attempts were unsuccessful. Though Siik’tajr itself originated within Siik’Maas combined with old Nal’rasan. Though the language is normally not used within family life due to its complexity, it is often used as a secondary language,especially by those within the seedier elements of Tajaran society.

Though some more pro-Human groups within Tajara society have repeatedly attempted to push Cyrillic/Latin characters as ‘easier to use’. The vast majority of Tajara use the old Siik alphabet which has been used for centuries, though it has gone through some modifications since the fall of the Overseers in-order to remove an amount of their influence. Usage of other alphabets is seen in the more remote and ‘stubborn’ local regions that insist upon using their own older alphabet and languages.

Tajara as a rule tend to roll the “R” sound, extending it. They also tend to refer to themselves in the 3rd person perspective instead of the traditional 1st person ( “He has completed his work instead of “I have completed my work) though Tajara who have spent a large amount of their lives in space/ among other species may overcome this trait with great difficulty. Most Tajara will only speak to someone in the 1st person if it is someone they trust substantially. The occasional “slip up” can still be expected however, as being surrounded by a mostly Human crew can occasionally confuse them into using 1st person.

Background
Across even their relatively short history, the Tajara have proven to be a fractious people disinclined to unity even more than Humanity. While Humans had at least been willing to deal with one another, the Tajara rarely conducted diplomacy within their subspecies, let alone across the entire species. Roughly five centuries ago however, when Adhomai was at a level of technological sophistication similar enough to early 20th century with primitive ballistic weaponry and basic communication devices, an event occurred that would change the fate of the Tajaran race drastically.

In the land now known as the eastern highlands, the Hharar kingdoms which were many and feuding. Found themselves sitting at the table of peace, forced there by the joining of the Ho’ti and Nul’ri clans by marriage. These two realms were the most powerful in the region, and all knew that if they wished to. Taking the rest of the highlands would prove no challenge for their massive armies. The other lands bent the knee to the king and queen of the Ho’ti-Nul’ri kingdom, swearing themselves to their service. The Ho’ti and Nul’ri were learned folk, as scholarly and intelligent as any ruler on Adhomai in those days, and they knew that if their people continued the path upon which they walked, they would suffer untold horrors at eachothers hands. They resolved themselves and their clans to the service of all Tajara, whom they swore they would come to rule over, by fire and sword if need be.

Vast armies were gathered, alliances signed with those who agreed with them, war declared on those who opposed them. And, at the head of their great armies stood their noble king and queen. With their leadership, the Etari archipelago fell within months, the M’sai of the caves just years afterwards and all others not soon after. At the end of their lives, only the Zhan-Khazan had escaped their rule, hiding up in their snowy mountains.

With their king and queen dead, and with no offspring to continue their name. A council of all Hharar clans, along with a handful of M’sai and Njarir’Akhan representative was formed. They would rule collectively in the stead of a king or queen, and they would be known as the Overseers. And for many generations, many centuries they would rule fairly and justly.

Time forced its toll upon even the most selfless Tajara eventually. As the centuries passed and the sacrifice of their ancestors was forgotten, the Overseers lost their noble purpose, the immense power they held corrupting their intentions beyond recognition. Their once noble humbleness fell to pointless pride, as they felt they alone deserved to lead their people, care for their brothers and sisters became twisted into envy as some despised the burden thrust upon them by their long-dead forefathers, the slightest complaint from those they ruled over brought immeasurable wroth from their crack legions. Where once one could enter the ruling palace and deliver a complaint to the Overseers directly, attempting to even approach the palace would earn one a spot on the chopping block in these days.

Cruelty aside, the Overseers had proven brutally efficient leaders. Ones dedicated to drag all Tajara kicking and screaming into the future no matter the cost. Their perspective had shifted in all these centuries, from seeing their charges as equals. To ignorant children in-need of guiding, in need of education and teaching. They regarded their people as primitive barbarians, ones who could never achieve real progress without their stern yet loving guidance.

Half a century ago, an explorer mission funded by the Union of Sol discovered Overseer ruled Adhomai. The team spent half a decade on its surface, immersing themselves into the rich culture of the Tajara, learning their language and otherwise becoming familiar with the Tajaran people. All the while being shepherded away from the horrific class disparity and poverty raging rampant on most of Adhomai. Eventually, the exploration team left the system and returned to the Union with their findings and tales of Tajaran life.

Adhomais’ unique and untapped mineral resources and biodiversity did not go unnoticed. Many transstellar corporations saw the value of exploiting the Tajara and their world. Missions in disguise of “Aid” were dispatched by multiple companies and set-up across the world, offering free medical supplies and education to gain the trust of the Tajara. In the next decade, these missions covertly surveyed the planet geologically for mineral wealth, biologically for floral and faunal diversity, and economically for the exploitation of the Tajara and trade.

Nanotrasens involvement with the Tajara was slightly different than the other corporations, N.T. biomedical believed that the Overseer government was a good deal too strong to influence with economic or technological means. And thus, many revolutionaries were smuggled off-world. One of them became vitally important to the liberation of the Tajara and though his true name has since been forgotten, he is remembered as Harimah Ranjiira.

Harimah, with the help of N.T., managed to escape the oppression that Overseer rule on Adhomai had become. He lived among Human laborers on the N.T. operated trade station near Adhomai known as “N.S.S. Opportunity”. It was here that he realized that the wellbeing of all Tajara could and would be improved through cooperation and real collaborative effort. Over the years, Harimah wrote a manuscript that would come to be known as “Gazing upwards”. Which was slowly distributed to those few non-Overseer Tajara that were literate, who then spread its’ content by word-of-mouth.

In weeks, dozens of clans across the surface of Adhomai were in open revolt. And the armies of the Overseers marched to face them, only to find them equipped with Human weaponry that vastly exceeded their own. Still, the disciplined forces of the Overseers managed to hold out just well enough, as they themselves had their own Human supporters.

One single clan however tipped the balance of power towards the rebels however. Clan Hadii, convinced by Harimah himself, turned coat on the Overseer forces. Opening a massive hole in their lines and allowing the rebellious forces to overwhelm and obliterate them. While still not fully trusted by the vast majority of other rebellious clans, victory without Hadii would not have been possible.

A provisional government was propped up by Nanotrasen and their allies, which has since evolved into a (relatively) stable coalition government. Modeled on the original Overseer council, though with significantly reduced powers, with checks and balances in-place. Clan-alliances are still however, extremely important, fracturing often and easily these alliances reshape the face of Tajaran politics every several months.

Other transstellar corporations have largely been ousted by the Tajaran government. Leaving N.T. in a strong position of influence, with installations across Adhomais’ surface. Though N.T. rarely intervenes directly in Tajaran politics as it would likely cause an upheaval. And it is rarely needed, as most clans who they supported now sit upon the governing council, and they largely remember N.T.s aid in their time of need.

With Nanotrasen assistance, the Tajaran government has significantly increased literacy to levels unseen in Tajaran history, and have even boosted local technological knowledge. N.T. is even currently assisting with the creation of the first extrasolar Tajaran colony on the world of Harimah.