Vaurca Hives

File:VaurcaQUEEN.jpg

One of the only pictures allowed to be taken of the current high Queen of the Zo'ra, Ta'Akaix'Vaur'skiyet'sca Zo'ra.

There are four major Vaurca factions present in human space, and it is presumed that these hives were the most capable of producing or acquiring Ark-Ships. It is currently unknown how many hives there were on Sedantis I at the time of the Great Evacuation. Every hive ship contains a number of Lesser Queens, who act as overseers for the entire population.

Zo'ra

Zo'ra - "Unstoppable."

Zo'ra, the largest and most powerful hive, and also the first one discovered by Humanity following their Hive-ship 'Titan Prime.' Information gained through contact with Vaurca present in Tau Ceti has lead to unconfirmed projections putting their population in Vaurca space at 77 billion (17.1 million in known space). Zo'ra believe themselves to be the Alpha of the Vaurca and the face of their species. They make up the majority of the Vaurca present in Tau Ceti and human space. Zora have cold relations with other hives. In Tau Ceti, this has lead to confrontations between them and the other hives arriving in the system.

They are ruled by 5 Lesser Queens who organized a ruling caste shortly after contact with humanity, due to the necessity of someone representing the Vaurca in the Hiveship. They each had claimed to be direct representatives of the Zo'ra High Queen, but ever since the revelation of her death, Ta'Akaix'Vaur'skiyet'sca Zo'ra was made the new High Queen. Despite this, each Lesser Queen has spoken less and less of each other, often overseeing very different parts of Zo'ra's population.

Ta'Akaix'Zoleth'akeh Zo'ra, The Herald of Scars

File:Forge.jpg

The interior mantle section of Caprice, Heated to bring out metals within the rock.

Her brood is identified by scent and their exoskeleton color amongst Zo'ra.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 101, 0, 0)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 121, 0, 21)

Bound Workers: (RGB 111, 21, 21)

The proclaimed 'Warrior' Lesser Queen of the Zo'ra, she embodies the Zo'ra ideals of warfare and has stylized herself as one of the hive's greatest commanders. She is known by many names, The Queen of Warfare, The Herald of Scars, Mother of Victories. Stories are told of how other Lesser Queens are often aloof and untouchable, but Zoleth'akeh is on the front, calling for war. She has been labeled a warmonger by some because of this. Indeed to the galaxy at large, it may seem that way, but Zoleth'akeh does not hate peace. She is just not stymied by its disruption. To her, it is the height of wisdom to make war when it is needed and to make peace when it is not, to not cling to idealistic notions that cannot exist. Even before the exodus from Sedantis, Zoleth'akeh was legendary among the Court of Queens, one of the only cross-hive diplomatic bodies to exist upon old Sedantis.

Within Tau Ceti her brood has been the most negatively affected by the events of the last five years. Once the largest brood aboard Titan Prime, nearly half the bound warrior forms have been culled either for diplomatic purposes or lack of resources. Currently, most of her brood are interred upon scorching Caprice, with all of the remaining bound warrior forms under close supervision by Biesel officials within a large surface garrison that humans have called, Dis. Bound and Unbound often focus upon cavern excavation and kois production to ease the hive's current famine here. These efforts have been largely successful, but even with this, her brood maintains the bare resources to feed itself. Construction, on the other hand, has flourished with the entire subsurface of Caprice quickly being converted into Vaurcan complexes. Choosing strategy, Zoleth has nested the layers of her broods new home within each other, with each layer serving a particular purpose for all others.

Beginning with the Caprician surface, Za bound warforms primarily roam it, with Unbound Vaurca in specialized heatsuits mentally and physically herding the occasional Warform that decides to wander off. The Warforms here are surprisingly passive, but this is only when idle. Their passive demeanor quickly changes when in combat exercises and drills that are ran daily upon the heat blasted surface. In part because of this, Nanotrasen has recently opened a paramilitary complex here, to train newer inductees into their elite Emergency Response Forces alongside Unbound, and Za Warforms.

Moving to the First layer, just below the surface of Caprice is known as the Artifice Layer. Here, Bound Ka work tirelessly to repair, recreate, reinforce and build technology that the lower layers may use. It is also the largest layer by outer surface area, comprising a space roughly larger than Mendell City itself. It is ever growing, being expanded upon by complex bore machines that lay advanced pasteel latticework as they chew through the earth, leveling it flat.

The Second Layer rests a few kilometers below the first and is known in basic as the Growth Layer. Here, a sickly yellow glow coats the entire place, with massive arrayed kois fields that still make little progress in staving off the famine the hive faces. Perhaps more than any other layer, this one receives the most activity. With Ka moving vast amounts of kois to the other layers, primarily to feed the warriors of the hive. The ceiling of this layer is a composite thermal material not known to human science, it insulates the lower mantle from the stellar heat and radiation above.

The Third Layer is deeper still from this one, with several kilometers distancing them. This layer is known as the Sphere of Songs, and it is here that new Vaurca are born. This layer, unlike the other ones, possesses an atmosphere, artificially controlled by complex machines perfected when first the hiveships were designed. Vaurca also live here while not working, and in general is the broods center of Virtual Reality. Those not able to spin up in virtual due to bandwidth limitations use their free time to pursue their own hobbies, adopting many real-world interests that aliens may have to busy themselves between VR sessions.

The Fourth and Final Layer is deeper than all of the others combined. Known as the Forge Sphere. Using advanced technology, as well as gravity manipulation, Vaurca here have begun the arduous process of heating up the icy core of Caprice. Towering spires of lava-blasted metal gravity movers churn the inside of the planet in tandem to one another, creating frictional activity that has slowly heated up the Caprician Core. They also work against each other, fracturing the mantle of the planet itself into separate plates. This layer produces many of the raw materials that the hive uses. Just last year, the first volcano erupted upon the planet's surface, a cause of many celebrations within Zoleth's brood, and the hive as a whole.

The Virtual Reality she hosts glorifies the victories of the past. It's described as an enormous monolithic cavern with countless stories tall moving Bas-reliefs depicting the mighty struggles from Zo'ra past. Throughout it, Vaurca of old, and those few yet to be born constantly train for their roles within the hive. Training can take countless forms, from modern battle tactics to espionage, to molecular biology. Training solely depends on what the hive determines is needed for the Unbound. The few Ka within this VR often maintains vast historical records of the battles of yore, raising important figures in those conflicts up as heroes to be idolized. They've also been pouring over the countless new weapons introduced to them by their arrival in Tau Ceti, documenting their form and function.

The Za of Zoleth's brood meant for active combat are particularly tested. More than any other hive or brood, the training they undergo is brutal, with multiple deaths in VR commonplace for each Za. Organized battles that require a Za to survive are common, as death means redoing the entire simulation again. This training is ultimately ended by surviving against Zoleth herself, a challenge that no Za has ever overcome the first time. The result of this training is a brutally effective fighting force, one that commands respect among the hives and beyond.

The dead warriors of the Zo'ra often choose to remain here, in their virtual afterlife, continuing their service in perpetuity. Some older Za, however, may tire of living forever. While uncommon, weary Za may request to do ritualistic battle with Zoleth once more, so that they may die in battle against the greatest force of the hive. Death in this instance is permanent with the Za having themselves deleted from the mind of the Cephalon. One of the most striking features of this Virtual landscape is its center, a massive scale representation of the known galaxy. At the will of those given access to it, It can zoom into any sector of the galaxy, and model that location if the hive has access to the information needed. In a great circle around it, the repeated phrase in ancient Vaurcese Li'etak Vak'klaztoz T'akilozk'iek which translates roughly into basic as "The Everchanging Battlefield."

Of her brood, there are two noteworthy Xakat'kl'atan, acting as the ideal teachers for newly born Za or Ka.

Za’Akaix’Morz Zo’ra

Za’Akaix’Morz Zo’ra is a renown warrior for their incredible ability to adapt immediately to rapidly changing situations. Whether this ability stems from the motto of The Everchanging Battlefield or caused it is a topic of debate. Morz contributed to the development of The Method, a pseudo-martial art employed by vaurca warriors. Aptly named, this is a method for disabling and killing opponents with brutal natural savagery, employing rapid shredding with use of the vaurca’s powerful mandibles, causing severe lacerations and penetrating aggressive strikes. Za following Morz are often subjected to incredibly large scale tournament-esque stages inside VR named Reacting Crucible. Similar to human video games, the Za in question must face simulated, fake ‘enemy’ Za in an arena that changes shape, size and environment at random intervals. One particular stage can last between a split second and thirty, but the fight ever continues. These tournaments can last long periods of time depending on how many make it through each round. Every consecutive round, the difficulty increases through the ‘enemy Za’. What was once a small group of lumbering, slow pawns can transition into a brutal horde or a squad of lightning-fast assassins. At the later rounds, mimicries of the Za would serve as opponents. The purpose of this is not to test or contest or compare warriors, but instead to provide a method of fun, both in spectating and participating, and serve as a method of tutelage. There is always a logical and easy method of defeating opponents - commonly, use of the changing environment - a point encouraged by the fact that the high-scorers often got cheap wins by kiting enemies into dangers, be it pits, spikes, molten rock, or even a simulated precise orbital bombardment.

Ka’Akaix’Iotiex Zo’ra

Ka’Akaix’Iotiex Zo’ra, Zoleth’s personal Archivist, famous for memorizing the living history of the hive. They are known for their acumen in recalling even the most trivial of details from the long history of Sedantis, and the Zo’ra hive. Iotiex has been said to pour over the lives and deaths of every single soldier of every single battle they can get their hands on. They achieved their title of Xakat'kl'atan this way, offering a ‘Totality of War’ experience to the queens they serve, and those few Za or Ka taken as their pupil. The most famous battle that they have Totalled, would be the decisive conflict at the Ryitu’kya Abyss, the turning battle of the First Hive War. Still a young queen then, Zoleth and her forces had marshalled a strength a million strong and held to reinforce the natural subterranean land bridge between the Zo’rane Continental plate and the shared plates of several other hives, already consumed by the Lii’dra menace. Outnumbered and outgunned, this conflict is still studied to this day as a masterclass in critical thinking, and strategic warfare. As loss here would herald the beginning of the end for the Zo’ra hive, Zoleth herself was present in the fight, at one point engaging two enemy bound warforms at once. From the cavern ceiling to the air, to the bloody ground conflict itself, Iotiex left nothing out of their recalling, painting a bloody picture of war that continues to mesmerize and horrify to this day.

Ta'Akaix'Scay'extiih'aur Zo'ra, The Hidden Queen

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The entrance to a Vaurcan ice cavern upon New Gibson, dug with powerful Thermal Lances.

Her brood is identified by scent and their exoskeleton color amongst Zo'ra.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 71, 0, 31))

Bound Warriors: (RGB 71, 32, 71)

Bound Workers: (RGB 71 ,11, 51)

The Zo'ra Lesser Queen placed upon frozen New Gibson. Of the five Lesser Queens that have arrived at Tau Ceti, Scay’extiih’aur is the most rarely seen, even amongst other Zo'ra. Upon the hive ship, she oversaw the ship's entire population. She was responsible for keeping the larger whole of the hive inside complex growth projections. Yet, none of her calculations could have foreseen the events of the last five years. Her brood largely encompasses Ka, and most of them oversee birthing procedures, as well as a complex catalog of body forms and DNA sequences. These body types range wildly from hexapod body types to the traditional biped. The DNA sequences kept include traits that the hive have determined is useful to instill into its populations. Eggs from all remaining Lesser Queens are stored and cataloged here. No larvae or DNA is left without the practiced care of Scay’extiih’aur's gene weavers. She and her brood remain undaunted and have taken a keen interest in the various species of Tau Ceti, as a new opportunity to document and collect new DNA. Experimentation is the norm for Scay’extiih’aur's brood, with the Lesser Queen even to be rumored to experiment on herself.

Upon New Gibson, Scay’extiih’aur quickly moved out of the protective domes that the rest of the New Gibsonites live in. Her hive maintains a presence within each major biodome, primarily to maintain state-sanctioned kois farms. Their largest biodome presence would be within the Xerxes biodome, however, which houses the New Gibson hive-net relay. The relay is the largest of its kind, and the only one capable of transmitting out of the star system. Otherwise, they have largely moved into underground caverns, dug by the tireless bound. The largest caverns rest just outside of the Hengsha biodome and continues to grow deeper to this day. Life for her brood here remains rough, but they have taken advantage of their environment to the fullest. Complex constructions of stone, metal, and ice make up a network of tunnels, with large heated egg chambers filled with piecemealed medical equipment patched together from equipment salvaged from Hengsha and the hive ship.

Scay’extiih’aur's VR is perhaps the most detached from reality, with the entire VR construct composed of objects seen from microscopic scale. This microcosm accurately models cellular action, with giant cellular features composing most of the landscape. Vaurca in this microscopic landscape fly freely within a soupy membrane that encompasses nearly the entire VR. At its center, a massive cellular wall separates the VR's unbound Vaurca inhabitants from its simulated ones. Referred as a Takk'ta'yat, which translates roughly into basic as, Zoo, the inside of this structure paradoxically models real sizes, with each separate cages of this structure clearly defined, and vary from each other. From caves to lush jungles, within each simulation is a creature from Sedantis past, or a newly encountered one from the hives recent interactions. The largest cell by far, however, would be the one dedicated to humanity. Scay’extiih’aur's best scientists pour over and experiment with the simulated humans, documenting their responses. Her brood is known to the Gibsonites for asking unusual questions, but for what purpose is known only to Scay’extiih’aur, who has obsessively taken to making the simulations as realistic as possible.

Of her brood, there are two noteworthy Xakat'kl'atan, acting as the ideal teachers for newly born Za or Ka.

Ka’Akaix’Nolnz Zo’ra

Ka’Akaix’Nolnz Zo’ra is known as the Lifeseer- A worker turned master after her death, they are known to calculate incredible estimates and hypotheses on DNA experiments, most of the time without a major test or experiment beforehand. Such is her skill, that some describe their predictions as foresight, hence the title. It was Nolnz alone that first developed first contact protocols, ascribing a ‘significant chance’ to the likelihood of alien lifeforms. Nolnz’s predictions were so incredibly accurate that many seek Nolnz out for help on designing new bound forms to this day - even those from other hives have been known to indirectly seek their help. Nolnz is an excellent scientist, and those learning from them are said to be some of the best minds in the hives - particularly in genetics and biology.

Za’Akaix’Famat Zo’ra

Za’Akaix’Famat Zo’ra is a controversial master. When they were announced mastership it upset several other expectant applicants, not because they found his work subpar, but merely that his work solely involved blowing things up. Destruction in all its forms was the science that Famat is known for. It is said among his detractors that Famat is little crazy, as they often compared the firestorms upon the Sedantis surface as the purest form of life, destruction personified. Through his work, he sought to be as the firestorms, and scour everything into utter oblivion. In this, he achieved much, developing antimatter, muon, and gravimetric explosives to various degrees of success. Within VR, its common to hear from those that study under him, “Those that seek to learn from Famat, search in craters.”

Ta'Akaix'Vaur'skiyet'sca Zo'ra, The Liminal Queen

Her brood is identified by scent and their exoskeleton color amongst Zo'ra.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 61, 0, 0)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 53, 17, 16)

Bound Workers: (RGB 41, 0, 0)

Vaur'skiyet'sca is the eldest Vaurca within Tau Ceti space, and more recently, the Zo'ra hive's new High Queen. In diplomatic human settings, she is often referenced by titles which translate poorly into basic. Titles like High Praetor, First of Mother Zo'ra, Grand Executor, Liminal Queen, are all common references to her authority. She oversees the largest Vaurcan settlement, District Nine. Being the Lesser Queen originally chosen to represent the hive, to the galaxy at large, she is the face of Zo'ra. This was not always the case however, as she was originally responsible for ship-navigation upon Titan Prime. Procedure for succession is virtually nonexistent and the revelation of mother Zo'ra's death has catapulted Vaur'skiyet'sca to this status to the displeasure of some Lesser Queens. Vaur'skiyet'sca's time overseeing District Nine has been fraught with peril. Facing famine, human exploitation as well as militant extremists, life in District Nine is uneasy but Vaur'skiyet'sca approaches these problems with long-term goals in mind. She sees the levers of galactic power that revolve around Tau Ceti and the potential if all levers were under her control. In this, she has proven to possess a keen political intelligence, evidenced in handling Sol's occupation with minimal effort. She has brokered deals with countless human corporations, as well as governments and maintains the largest amount of monetary capital of any Vaurca alive.

The Bound and Unbound populations of District Nine and Vaur'skiyet'sca's brood are contractually obligated to work for a number of government and corporate facilities. These contracts run the gamut, from pilots and doctors, to security and technical specialists. They all are infinitely various, and universally low paying. Living standards in District Nine are extremely poor, with a famine that has gripped the entire planet ever since the Sol occupation and subsequent blockade. There may be few Vaurca that make a living outside of the District, but are almost certainly cut off from direct support from their hive.

District Nine itself was a largely unpopulated industrial slum before it was sectioned off as emergency refugee dwellings. Few people lived there, but it is now a far cry from what it once was. District Nine's outskirts are largely unchanged, with phoron gas warning signs and abandoned warehouses and buildings par and parcel. Moving farther in, it becomes slowly apparent that diffuse material, as well as the abandoned buildings themselves, are being repurposed into efficient and spartan housing. Despite this, Vaurca are everywhere within the interior of District Nine, with half-finished constructions universally over inhabited. Traditionally building down, Zo'ra engineers here have built up, creating heaping metal lattices that maximize internal space as living areas. Each of these clustered lattices appears to be more and more completed the closer to the center of the District one goes. There's a noted lack of street lights within the District, with the buildings placed purposefully to block much of what is cast by the surrounding cityscape. Throughout the District, more enmeshed latticework forms the mouth of illegal Kois pits, often obscured from aerial view. Two buildings stand out amongst all of this alien construction, however, with one towering carbon capture factory repurposed by Tau Ceti officials as a phoron gas capturing facility, and the other and more apparent Relay tower at the District's center. This relay was built for the Nanotrasen Corporation and allows the company and its affiliates to listen into Vaurcan telepathic communication. District Nine houses a little over 4 million Vaurca, with the High Queen herself and her Ta population still living aboard Titan Prime.

Vaur'skiyet'sca's VR is the most accessible to outside observation. She has gone to great lengths to make her VR showcase Vaurcan culture to the galaxy. Conceptually, it exists in a large sea of still glass-like water. The sky showcases magnificent celestial phenomena, but most striking of all is the gas giant Sedantis, dominating the skyward view no matter where one would go in the VR. Dispersed throughout the sea are hundreds of interconnecting islands. Each island usually highlights a facet of Zo'ra and Vaurca culture, and from the windows of specialized interface equipment, non-Vaurca onlookers can view the VR as they would any video. Unbound within this VR make themselves scarce when such viewfinders move about, but will usually answer questions if pressed. By the will of Unbound living here, new islands can spring forth from the sea, containing anything that they can imagine. Above all, however, floats the lofty home of Vaur'skiyet'sca.Its soft yellow glow pervades the entire VR and is a fitting digital home for the high queen. A grandiose and large structure, it floats always centrally to the horizon. No matter which direction one may look, they will see it, as if the universe itself revolves around Vaur'skiyet'sca. Curiously, throughout the simulation, a supernal grace and awe tinge all perceptions of the VR. A euphoric splendor that highlights every positive detail when referencing Vaur'skiyet'sca's or Vaurca in general. Outside viewers are often human and skrell historians or are part of a growing human Vaurcan sympathizing movement who have begun to see Vaur'skiyet'sca as a new holy figure, a great unifier that can usher in a utopia for all species within Tau Ceti.

Ta'Akaix'Xakt'yagz'isk Zo'ra, Queen of Corpses

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A large Vaurcan junkyard, filled with scrap from Titan Prime, and many other craft throughout Tau Ceti.

Her brood is identified by scent and their exoskeleton color amongst Zo'ra.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 91, 31, 0)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 121, 71, 0)

Bound Workers: (RGB 81, 21, 0)

Placed upon the desert planet of Luthien, Xakt'yagz'isk's brood has quickly monopolized the planets cheap labor work-force. Xakt'yagz'isk originally oversaw all matters concerning tech and tech implants aboard the Hive-ship. Xakt'yagz'isk's brood contains mostly bound, a much higher percentage than any other Lesser Queen. She also supervised Reclamation, the process of reclaiming the implants of dead Vaurca, making many Zo'ra associate Xakt'yagz'isk with death. Upon Luthien itself, her brood has thrived, creating massive kois fields that pose little risk to their surroundings. The fungus burrows into the silt-like sand of the desert, and finds little purchase, but grows all the same. The sands make it harder for the plant to grow uncontrollably, allowing large-scale cultivation. Armies of bound Ka work tirelessly in the sweltering heat of the blooming desert, exporting tons of kois throughout the system. Unbound Ka and Za also find work with several exotic florae, or weapons testing labs scattered throughout the planet, respectively. Others may field massive scrap yards, full of debris from across the galaxy, searching for exotic tech that may catch the Queens' eyes. The single largest employer of Vaurca however, would be the Getmore Corporation, who source their refined kois products here. The massive plantations that cover the desert sands of Luthien are dwarfed only by the processing plants themselves. Since landing, Xakt'yagz'isk, with support from her Getmore suppliers has created several Uta'ka'yat or All-Factories. According to Vaurca claims, these All-Factories can fabricate any complex or simple part using revolutionary mass production techniques and are limited only by their size.

One of the machines the All-factories employ are Electromagnetic Shaping Machines, complex Vaurcan devices that can control the Lorentz force and polarity of materials with such precision that, even normally magnetically insignificant materials can be microscopically and macroscopically manipulated and shaped. Because of this, any material can be fed into an ESM machine and shaped into a preloaded design without any parts actually touching the material. On the construction of said devices, Vaurcan engineers have shared breakthroughs in the use of solid metallic hydrogen, showing Getmore and Nanotrasen even more uses for these room-temperature superconductors.

As for Xakt'yagz'isk herself, she is uncharacteristically distant, often too busy or wrapped up in her own projects to care about what the rest of the galaxy is doing. Her current focus has been ramping up industrial capabilities for Luthien and pouring over ancient schematics and technical data from Titan Prime. She sees the overall suffering of unbound Zo'ra throughout Tau Ceti as distractions from the primary goal of fixing the hive ship. Her efforts in this are not in vain, and over the years has made measurable progress in repairing the damaged Titan. To her, the events of the last five years were a failure of planning, one that must be fixed quickly if the hive is to succeed. The unbound of her brood largely share this approach and rarely attempt to make personal attachments to any of the alien inhabitants of Tau Ceti. This thinking is exacerbated further by the knowledge of mother Zo'ra's death. To Xakt'yagz'isk, they are the last of their kind, and she cannot suffer the unknowable intentions of xenos to decide the fate of Zo'ra. Xakt'yagz'isk was the first Lesser Queen of the Zo'ra to denounce K'lax independence. She knows better than any Zo'ra alive the nature of K'laxan innovation and why they were worthy to be vassalized in the first place.

Xakt'yagz'isk's VR is scarce from a first glance compared to all other Zo'ra Queens. The few unbound here inhabit a blank slate, a type of physics and engineering program that models reality to exactness. Here, ancient and new technologies are built, virtually. Complex mechanisms and constructions are laid out in organized grids, littering the featureless void with countless engineering projects. Each a 'working' solution to the overall problems that the Zo'ra face. Xakt'yagz'isk rarely manifests herself here, with the few notable times when a Zo'ra claims to have built something 'K'lax-like.'

Of her brood, there are two noteworthy Xakat'kl'atan, acting as the ideal teachers for newly born Za or Ka.

Ka’Akaix’Rytzk Zo’ra

Ka’Akaix’Rytzk Zo’ra was the mind behind Kokz’oni’kozi - implanted biomechanical augments that can serve as personal or localized hivenet receivers in an extremely short radius, but powerful enough to allow the augmented and nearby vaurca to enter virtual reality. While in prototype, weaker externally worn headgear was successfully utilized, and functioned as intended as long as they are moderately nearby to a pre-existing hivenet receiver, Rytzk's concept, however, miniaturized the headgear into an implant, and made use of advanced vaurcesian networking technology to streamline the connection and disconnection from the Virtual to be seamless, limited only by signal strength. These advancements also increased network safety throughout the hive, causing each Vaurca to have a unique digital identifier, similar to an extranet IP address. Perhaps inspired by the Lii'dra as an object lesson, these advancements by Rytzk were invaluable in regulating information flow between all members of the hive. Aside from this, Rytzk also devised many ergonomic implants used by many vaurca today. Many Vaurca seek to learn from Rytzk and master the natural and ingenious methods of implementing technology into the regular unbound while retaining their signature versatility.

Za'Akaix'Cimm Zo'ra

The Vaurca responsible for a number of the more practical vehicles employed by all Vaurca hives. Known to some human historians as the Vaurca equivalent of Nicoli Tesla, Cimm battled Yix of K'lax when the challenge came to designing the first hive ships. Ultimately losing, Cimm faded from interhive prominence before dying under mysterious circumstances just before the hiveships were first launched. Whatever the case may be, Cimm's neural socket was spun up within Virtual and sent with the departing hiveships just-in-case the K'laxan design would break down. Cimm became a master of ideal forms while alive, and is credited for the creation of nearly all practical designs of earthmovers as well shuttlecraft and larger dropships. They are particularly famous throughout the hives for the creation of Da'loks. A Da'lok is a one-wheeled multi-use vehicle that maintains a personal gravity field around itself. This allows the Da'lok to travel across land (even ceilings), sea, and air with little difficulty and is employed by Vaurca to this day as personal and commercial transports. Cimm is infamous among the Zo'ra hive for their sour disposition, yet this does not stop new Vaurca from seeking tutelage under them.

Ta'Akaix'Athvur'zekt'azi Zo'ra, The New Goddess

Her brood is identified by scent and their exoskeleton color amongst Zo'ra.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 131, 41, 11)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 101, 61, 31)

Bound Workers: (RGB 111, 21, 0)

The youngest of the Zor'ane Lesser Queens, she molted into a Lesser Queen soon after Titan Prime left Sedantis. Born of Ta'Akaix'Vaur'skiyet'sca Zo'ra, she seeks to fill in the void created when her mother ascended to High Queen. Currently, she sees day to day operations planetside upon Biesel, overseeing a small population of Vaurca within Phoenixport. Of Athvur'zekt'azi amongst Lesser Queens, much is unsaid. She has yet to prove herself towards any of the other Lesser Queens. To the Zo'ra at large, they see Athvur'zekt'azi as a reminder of the past and a new hope for the future. Athvur'zekt'azi shares her mother's ideals towards humanity, and have taken steps to integrate her brood. She takes delight in many human traditions, often showcasing Vaurca adaptations of human fashion. What Athvur'zekt'azi finds fashionable is known to Vaurca even beyond the Zo'ra hive. Unlike her mother or any of the other Lesser Queens, she believes that past allegiances and vassals should remain such. To her, past obligations ended with their exodus from Sedantis. Athvur'zekt'azi and her brood seek to learn from their shared history and move forward together. Not because of a romanticized sense of idealism, but rather a practical one. To her, the Zo'ra are not what they once were. She understands that change is needed. That to continue forward pretending otherwise is to invite disaster within the political spheres that the hive is ensnared in.

The population she oversees and maintains is the smallest percentage of the Vaurcan population in Tau Ceti. The bound and unbound populations in Phoenix Port often work civilian jobs for the thriving tourist economy there. Athvur'zekt'azi has realized the use of PR and image and encourages advanced implantation amongst her brood. Often giving the implanted Vaurca a stylized method of speaking, with very few slurs indicative with the rest of their species when speaking basic. She and her brood are at the forefront of adapting Vaurcan and Tau Ceti culture together, drawing commonalities in art, music and literature throughout their history.

Her VR is an idyllic one that resembles what a human may consider heaven. A splendid, utopian cityscape modeled after Phoenixport itself. Here, countless halcyon days are enjoyed by Vaurca, who are kept in constant artistic and cultural stimulation from across the galaxy. Artists among the Vaurca frequent this VR and call it home after death. Indeed a revolutionary artistic trend started here. With some Vaurca labeling this movement as Post-Sedantis Modernism. In this afterlife, cultures of many worlds and species coexist, with some unbound enjoying the excesses that come with it.

K'lax

K'lax - "The Deceivers."

K'lax, the second most powerful hive and second faction discovered by humanity after an additional Hive-ship Klo’zxera appeared in the Jargon Federation system Glorashi. The K'lax hive is a client state to the Zo'ra, but since contact with the Vaurca homeworld has been lost, both factions in known space are completely cut off. This has lead to a sort of fuel for independence, with many K'lax outright rejecting the claims of leadership the Zo'ra in known space have over them. Based on secondary accounts it is believed that they have 33 billion individuals in Vaurca space. (14.3 million in known space.) After arriving within Skrell space, the Kloxa'xia or the Fortoken as it is called by the Unathi, quickly moved into Izweski Hegemon space. Following a tense first contact situation, the K'lax became the newest vassal of the Izweski Hegemony and settled Tret, the second planet of Uueoa-Esa system. They maintain subtly warm, if terse relations with the Hegemon as a whole, and have committed to its terraforming agenda, being instrumental in the implementation of such a monumental undertaking.

Similar to the Zo'ra, the K'lax Hiveship is represented by three Lesser Queens who once claimed a divine connection to the High Queen of K'lax. This claim is disputed by most of the Zo'ra, who claim to be the only rightful rulers of the K'lax. Unlike the Zo'ra however, they have not been purposefully decentralized, leaving the machinations of each Lesser Queen more aligned with one another.

Ta'Akaix'Zkaii'xay'yil K'lax, The Sleepwalker

Her brood is identified amongst other K'lax by their scent and exoskeletal color.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 11, 43, 27)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 21,81, 51)

Bound Workers: (RGB 51, 81, 21)

File:KLAXCAVECITY.jpg

K'dath, the first K'laxan built colony within Tret, where construction continues endlessly.

The current High overlord of Tret, and the de facto representative of all K'lax to the Izweski Hegemony. Zkaii'xay'yil and her brood have been largely busy with expansion and colonization efforts over the last few years. Ever the tinkerers, her brood are known for their natural curiosity for all things mechanical, much to the chagrin of local mining companies who prefer their equipment in one piece. In the year since news of the Zo'ra high queens ultimate fate, Zkaii'xay'yil has been under pressure to assume the role of High Queen by her fellow Lesser Queens, a subject that she is quick to change, should it arise. For perhaps more than any other brood of K'lax, Zkaii'xay'yil's spawn share a deeply spiritual connection to their High Queen, that even surpasses what is experienced in VR by other Vaurca.

All K'lax of Zkaii'xay'yil's brood call VR the Ny'tatyk or Mother Dream. They see the Ny'tatyk as a mote in the mind of Great Mother K'lax and the Ny'tatyk itself the birthplace of how reality is defined. Bound and Unbound K'lax within Zkaii'xay'yil's brood may sometimes perform actions in their sleep. This type of somnambulism is often seen as echos of Great Mother K'lax's will expressed through them as its vessel.Not knowing her ultimate fate has led many of her brood to have a crisis of faith, which Zkaii'xay'yil has been unable to assuage due to her own doubts. For, can the dream still exist if the Great Mother K'lax is dead? This has created opportunities and problems for the S'kakh faithful and Maraziites missionaries who frequent the hive's colonies. Because of this, some of the more callous unbound blame Zkaii'xay'yil for not solving this problem, referring to her as the Queen of Longing. This title is quick to draw the ire of any of her brood that hear. In general however, most K'laxan unbound give these unathi missionaries a wide berth, and it is only with great reluctance that they speak to them at all.

Prior to their arrival in Uueoa-Esa, Zkaii'xay'yil maintained the hiveships population, making her brood the largest within the hive. Unlike the Zo'ra, mutations are not excised from unbound or bound during birthing, indeed it is only when such mutations are particularly harmful or unproductive that any real action is taken. To most K'lax, they see change as the fundamental nature of the universe, and to overcome and master change is to become the master of one's destiny.

Upon Tret itself, great caverns are excavated nonstop. The Bound carve miles of tunnels from solid stone, reinforced with plasteel and peerless construction techniques. Even when compared to Skrellian engineering, K'laxan constructions tend to withstand greater stresses, on scales not seen in the civilized galaxy. Unbound Ka within her brood typically offer their services to the multiple mining conglomerates that dot Tret. Unbound Za however are typically training within VR, with the hive as a whole working to expand the number of fielded warriors that can be called upon by The Hegemony, as per their original treaty.

Zkaii'xay'yil's VR is largely used by the Za of the K'lax with only the occasional Ka ever being present. Conceptually, the VR is a cavernous training complex, where tirelessly, unbound Za absorb Unathi military protocol. Those Za not engrossed in activity, often struggle with unathi concepts like competitiveness, with very poor examples of such contests usually on display. More recently, unathi missionaries have been inquiring further into the nature of Vaurcan VR, attempting to draw similarities that could give their ideology a foothold with established Vaurcan traditions. These attempts have been largely rebuffed, though the ultimate consequences of such stances have yet to be brought before the Hegemony.

Ta'Akaix'Vetju'tenx'sil K'lax, Iron Queen

Her brood is identified amongst other K'lax by their scent and exoskeletal color.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 11, 84, 31)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 21,81, 51)

Bound Workers: (RGB 33, 63, 33)

If Ta'Akaix'Zkaii'xay'yil K'lax could have a polar opposite, it would be Ta'Akaix' Vetju'tenx'sil K'lax. The oldest K'laxan Vaurca within known space, pragmatic Vetju'tenx'sil and her brood do not busy themselves with the expansion of the hives colonies. Instead, her brood recycles and melts down parts of the hive ship as well maintain the technology that all K'lax enjoy. It was Vetju'tenx'sil who plotted the great hive ship Kloxa'xia to its final resting place. Much as they did when they entered the system, Vetju'tenx'sil used Trets environment to land the gargantuan craft on the ground. The Kloxa'xia impacted the northern pole of Tret, obliterating its ice cap and cushioning the impact of the monolithic vessel. It is from here that Vetju'tenx'sil makes her home. Within the bowels of the earth and the ship, billions of tons of plasteel and technology are melted down into lakes of molten metal heated by the miles long dismembered engines of the great Kloxa'xia. Though the ship may have landed, its engines burn still at the center of a sea of ice. Ignited with residual heat and flame from two thousand years of travel.

"In all things, do not waste potential." Is the creed of Vetju'tenx'sil's brood. Unbound Ka and Za often have specialized jobs within her brood. Almost universally involving maintaining or creating technology in some way. A Bounds work typically involves dismantling and recycling complex machinery. Perhaps more than any other brood of K'lax, Vetju'tenx'sil's spawn tend to be distrustful of outsiders, belaying their queen's hatred of the Zo'ra. Vetju'tenx'sil maintains a hatred of the Zo'ra, nursed by the ages long wounds she suffered at their hands during their hives first conflict. Her wounds led Vetju'tenx'sil to lose some of her lower body, which were replaced with inferior mechanical duplicates. This has led her to be defensive at times in matters involving outsiders. This was shown most recently by being the only dissenting queen from their agreement with the Unathi Hegemony. To Vetju'tenx'sil, the K'lax cannot achieve their full potential under the heel of other powers.

Her VR is one of a grand design, dubbed Klo'vtak which translates roughly into Foundry. Here, immaculately intricate and detailed constructions coat a massive underground complex. Within the walls are countless dwellings, with the light from each illuminating the cavern in a dull green. K'lax here work tirelessly to achieve engineering miracles and recreate them in reality. From the walls extend pylons of stone and metal all leading to a floating central complex, A virtual recreation of the famous K'laxan neutron forges. Each massive in their own right, historically they had to be suspended by massive anti-gravity pylons to hold the weights that are put under astronomical pressure and heat within the forge. The forge is named such, as it squeezes out all electrons and positrons within material put within the neutron forge, and creates a tremendously dense ingot of neutrons. These ingots are the hallmark of master K'laxan engineering, with the hulls of the hiveships themselves made from alloys derived from the materials. K'lax that dwell or train here have endless resources to pursue any engineering topic at hand. The joy of work is instilled into their very being even before they are born. It would be rare to find a K'lax that could be considered lazy, or does not enjoy working of her brood, no matter how monotonous the job may be.

Of her brood, there is one master, who, may very well be the most widely known master to all hives. The legend of Yix is one of the few that transcends even hive barriers.

Ka’Akaix’Yix K’lax

Ka’Akaix’Yix K’lax has been known throughout all hives and broods, unanimously, as one of, if not the best engineer of the entire vaurca species. Their kinetic sense, spatial awareness, even down to their imagination, deftness and slight of hand combine into an incredibly smart and skilled worker. While bound could perhaps do a job faster, simpler and in a more basic manner, a bound workforce under orders from Yix could design, and have designed, some of the greatest current structures and technologies in the modern vaurca era. Perhaps their greatest achievement would be the design of the first Neutron Forges, massive metal pyres that heat gas collected from the gas giant they orbit within to impossibly high temperatures and pressure. So much in fact, that it squeezes the very electrons and neutrons of the matter out, leaving only the Neutrons behind. The material left behind could be as little as a teaspoon, yet weigh as much as a mountain. The story of Yix’s discovery is famous throughout the hives and is told to young borne within VR to alight the first fires of their curiosity upon birthing. It recounts how Yi came upon their discovery as they first looked into the open sky of Sedantis surface. In the starfields above Yix, they saw emptiness, a vast gulf of darkness between the pinpricks of light. And as they looked, it dawned upon Yi that this dark gulf existed in spaces between all things, that space itself is vaster than even what matter itself is used to. Yix knew that atoms are made of mostly empty space, near limitless chasms of nothingness between motes of electrical charges. But until Yix saw the surface sky of Sedantis, he did not know truly, that they are one and the same. It was Yix's discoveries that eventually led to the hiveships, and the creation of an answer of how to escape the foreseen doom of Sedantis.

Ta'Akaix'Leto'yahkt'zor K'lax, The Seeker

Her brood is identified amongst other K'lax by their scent and exoskeletal color.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 0, 80, 60)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 21,81, 51)

Bound Workers: (RGB 41, 59, 26)

The youngest of the Klaxian queens, Leto'yahkt'zor's brood is home to the hives general Ka population. Food production and logistics are common duties for the bound. Still more bound and unbound get shipped out of system for work throughout known space. To other broods amongst the Klax, Leto'yahkt'zor spawn share a furtive mania of digging up the past that is often seen as annoying. Even 2000 years removed from their native area of space, Leto'yahkt'zor and her brood still try to trace any artifacts found back to the Era of Augments or even further. Citing a long discredited and disbelieved theory that ancient aliens interfered with their species so long ago. While dueful to their hive, the Ka and Za of Leto'yahkt'zor's brood tend to share her obsession with the past, seeing it as the only way to return to the glory of old. Letyk'aht'zor herself believes much the same, and has come to the conclusion that older races of the galaxy need to be examined.

Upon Tret itself her brood continues providing logistical support and structures for the hives growing colony. Building roads or providing traffic control of Tret space for various Non-Vaurcan vessels. Her brood often interacts with non-Vaurcan entities and may own advanced voice implants to allow unimpeded speech. Unbound Klax of Leto'yahkt'zor's brood tend to hold their personal beliefs closely, with great offense taken when they are mocked. Leto'yahkt'zor herself has developed an obsession of sort with the Vox, kindled after gaining access to many skrell and human research papers on their sordid history. It is her belief, that the similarities between Vaurca and Vox technology are not happenstance, that with the all but assured destruction of Sedantis, finding the Voxian homeworld is their last, best chance at reclaiming the past. An effort she has committed considerable resources to, much to the displeasure of the other Klaxian queens. It is partly because of this, and of Nanotrasens mining presence on Tret, that Letyk'aht'zor brokered several agreements with Nanotrasen. as well as several other administrations of Humanity. Leto'yahkt'zor is committed to restoring what was, and to gain access to all corners of the galaxy to find the means to do so.

Letyk'aht'zor's VR is a curious mix of several ancient alien structures and environments. The Klax within this VR spend time examining human, dionae, tajaran, unathi and skrell history for any evidence to their claims or the location of the Voxian homeworld. Each species has a section of the VR of their own, with whole environments recreated. In particular, the legendary Tomb of the Emissary is of great interest to Leto'yahkt'zor, with entire swaths of Moghean desert recreated in an attempt to divine its location. Several offers have been made to the unathi clans of Imas'hi for this information, yet so far all offers have been rebuked. For humanity in particular, the Great Pyramids are prominent within this simulated landscape. Ka and Za pour over xeno-history, noting dozens of human hieroglyphics that depict a bipedal vox-like god. All these and more have caught her broods attention as possible evidence with more sources being sought from other species to confirm their findings.

C'thur

C'thur- "The Weavers"

The C'thur hive's unbound Do not require an avowel before taking a station role. They are still prohibited from taking command roles.

The third hive that the species of the Orion Spur have been able to communicate with, the C'thur and their arrival has been a closely guarded secret of the Jargon Federation for the last few years. The revelation of their survival has re-ignited diplomatic disputes between the K'lax and Zo'ra, with outright hostility met by some K'lax towards the C'thur. Historically a minor hive, the C'thur were instrumental in developing inter-hive diplomacy upon Sedantis, often acting as neutral third parties to delegate issues. Indeed for much of their history, the C'thur wove complex political alliances to protect themselves as well as acting as a sort of information broker for many of the larger hives. Prior to their exodus from Sedantis, they maintained relations with both the K'lax and Zo'ra.

The C'thur arrived within Glorashi, a system within skrell space only two weeks after the Klaxian hiveship, the Klo’zxera left the area. It is now known that C'thur hiveship, the Kloxa'xia was originally A Klaxian hive ship meant to rendezvous with the Klo’zxera within Glorashi, but left soon after detecting incoming Jargon Federation vessels. The C'thur continue to report that they secured the hiveship in diplomatic negotiations with the K'lax upon Sedantis, but the validity of this claim is yet to be proven. The C'thur have quickly integrated into Skrellian colonies within Glorashi and are predominately accepted in skrellian socioeconomic systems.Unlike all other hives, the C'thur are led by their original hive queen, who, with a council of three other Lesser Queens leads the hive in this new age. In this effort, the hive has begun dealing with the multitude of governments and corporations of the galaxy, all under the auspices of their skrellian saviors.

C'thur, Queen of Masques

Her brood is identified by scent and their exoskeleton color amongst C'thur.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 0, 35, 115)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 10,70, 100)

Bound Workers: (RGB 0, 40, 90)

File:E361148d6f80614b6b77566d04033622.jpg

The High Queen is kept alive with skrellian technology, while ever more C'thur are born

High Queen of the C'thur, she is one of the oldest beings known to exist amongst the Vaurca and indeed the rest of the Orion Spur. C'thur has borne the C'thur hive since its inception, taking careful first steps with her brood in the then war-torn Sedantis during the closing of the Agricultural Revolution. The C'thur hive began as a birth vassal of the Zo'ra hive, being produced from the absorption of T'yat, another hive of conquest within the Zo'ra hive. With firm biological roots in both hives, history would think that the C'thur would be another nameless lesser hive, forgotten by all with the slow passage of time. This would have likely been the case if not for clever maneuvering by the high queen that saw the founding of the Court of Queens. However, the biggest contributor to their prominence would be the original Lii'dra and Zo'ra conflict, nearly 6000 years ago. Through their efforts in that conflict, the C'thur brought to arms hundreds of lesser hives that would otherwise be consumed by the Lii'dra assault. Their contribution as a unifying force to the Zo'ra was apparent, who rewarded the hive with independence contingent upon their continued diplomatic forays. C'thur succeeded in this and more, creating the modern power structure of hives that is known today through various mergers and vassaldoms.

Known as the "Queen of Masques" amongst other hives, C'thur and her brood have since settled the various mountain ranges of planet Diulszi in the Glorashi system with tremendous assistance from the Jargon Federation. C'thur herself was saved by skrellian science, being the victim of a repelled Lii'dra attack in transit to the Orion Spur. She lives on life support provided by Jargon scientists but it's considered common knowledge amongst the hive that she does not have much longer to live. From Virtual reality, she reigns still, with her virtual construct depicting Na'tyut, the greatest city of her hive upon old Sedantis. Cited as an exact duplication, its multihued buildings stretch from floor to cavernous ceiling. Their hive historically was seated at great deposits of bismuth, and much of the cities virtual re-creation showcase masonry and structures created with the mineral. Large portions of the city are constructed to serve as Icthi'ktha, or 'temples of thought'. Each of these temples is committed to studying philosophical and sociological quandaries, with debate being seen as a popular, if not sport-like way to pass time between each temple. The corpses of fossilized lesser queens are re-created virtually and stylized as if minor deities themselves, with entire structures and systems, adapted to each of their temples of thought that they themselves pursued in life. Vaurca not so engrossed in leisure activity often take on the roles of mentors for newly born Vaurca. Particularly successful Ka and Za achieve a sagely reverence that has newly born Vaurca scramble for the chance to receive their teachings.

Unlike all other hives, the C'thur have slowly been reducing their bound populations, in no small part to the influence of Jargon, but even with this attempt, the bound still comprise over half of the hives population. Ka and Za of Tyr'kaals direct lineage are rare, as she has relegated most breeding duties to other Ta. Of the few that are spawned, they are often pressured into supervisory roles, with the other broods considering them naturally born to lead. Physical residences upon Diulszi are often built with Jargon supplied materials, in exchange, more and more of the hives workers have been drafted for employment throughout skrell space. In all matters of her brood, however, there is one overarching creed, "Show your best face to everyone you meet." Some C'thur of Tyr'kaal's brood has taken this literally, using skrellian expression masks to convey emotions.

Ta'Akaix'Mouv'lek'tanta C'thur, The Recondite Queen

Her brood is identified by scent and their exoskeleton color amongst C'thur.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 150, 180, 255)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 110,100, 255)

Bound Workers: (RGB 90, 150, 255)

Mouv'lek'tanta is the oldest daughter of Tyr'kaal and has quickly developed political alliances within and outside of Federation space. Indeed, As the oldest lesser queen, Mouv'lek's brood has thrived under the care of Jargon, with thousands of her unbound Ka and Za working in tandem with scientists from the Jargon federation to develop new technologies, as well to provide information about the enemies the federation may face. Upon planet Diulszi most of her bound spawn has taken to the sea, assisting the skrell with dozens of underwater construction projects.A practitioner of mutable biology, her brood, especially the bound, possess a wide variety of body forms, with new ones being developed continuously. Typically lightly colored, Mouv'lek's brood used this to their advantage historically as the hives primary diplomats. By virtue of being clearly visible in the darkened chasms of old Sedantis, it was harder to mistake them as hostile or armed. She has kept this mutation alive in her spawn, holding onto the hope that perceptions of her hive remain disarming to those that view them. Diplomacy aside, she has made inroads within Eriandi, buying a significant portion of Einstein Engines through various skrellian intermediaries by selling off some of the more complex Vaurcan virtual reality technology. Perhaps more than any other of her hive, Mouv'lek realizes the power of money in the new society the C'thur finds itself in and has done all she can to acquire more of it.

Her VR, if it could be called a virtual reality, houses the minds of born and dead unbound Ka and Za in a space much like the interstice, a place between different VR realms where raw data is expressed, and the physicality of reality itself is expressed little. Here, she trains all of her unbound to navigate endless scrawls of translated machine code, expressed physically within the confines of the VR construct. Obtained via Hive-net relay, unquantifiable amounts of data surge forth like a quasi-physical tidal wave. Deceased Za and Ka who dive themselves into the oceans of this sometimes physical data stream call themselves Lin'tiyakt, or net-trawlers. Even with the processing power of a Cephalon, the data expressed within exists only for mere moments, and it is the skill of the net-trawlers to identify and capture useful data before it is washed out of memory. The most successful net-trawlers achieve renown throughout the hive, with a value being based upon the most secret, and important data obtained. It is not without danger, however, as with all trawls sometimes anti-hacking software can be triggered, turning the ocean of data into a seething froth. Fomenting whirls of data scour the minds of those unlucky few caught in it, sucking them under and outside of the data stream, forever lost. The danger of her VR is not lost upon Mouv'lek, who rewards those who manage to bring to light the darkest secrets of the galaxy from the abyssal depths of the data stream by allowing them the possibility of living or being reborn as a Ta, an honor that only the bravest of her brood dare to strive for. The secrets obtained by her virtual reality has made Mouv'lek. It is the basis of her success, and with the growing scope of her influence, so too does her ambition continue to expand.

Ka’Akaix’Lozi C’thur

Ka’Akaix’Lozi C’thur is known to be one of the few workers sent to battlefields for the purpose of negotiations. Identified by their light blue carapace, Lozi would often talk fights down as they moved, often escorted by few warriors, through the battlefield. Their presence often halted fights. However, their title of Master Of Ideal Forms only came after they died, and only because they died. Lozi died attempting to de-escalate rising conflict between two lesser, forgotten hives. These hives could not be talked down - a fact all knew. Their feud had lasted eons, and could not be stopped so easily. Many had tried but only succeeded in truces. However, both hives served a unique purpose - destroying one to end the fighting wouldn't be beneficial, especially since they both contributed to the construction of the hive ships. Lozi devised a plan, through rapid calculation of the scene, and came up with this - become a martyr, inducing the wrath of the larger C’thur hive, and drawing the attention of the Zo’ra, which would either force a war in which both lesser hives would be lost, or force them to stand down to prevent more bystander casualties. The latter occurred, both hives submitting to peace, allowing them to focus on the production of resources and research - something that was incredibly beneficial to the production of the hive ships. Without Lozi, the ships would have taken longer to construct - this is certain.

Za’Akaix’Vezaz C’thur

Za’Akaix’Vezaz C’thur is in one word, a hacker. Accomplished in decryption and encryption, Vezaz is one of the newer masters, becoming one the year of first contact with skrell while still alive no less. The reasons for such are not exactly known, but it is assumed that they played a pivotal role in decoding alien programs, as well as understanding them in the first place. Vezaz truly came into his own however when contact was established within Eridani. With Gangers and even corporate lackeys knowing Vezaz under his human given hacker pseudonym Hiro Protagonist. The ways VR interacts with human technology was unknown territory prior to Vezaz, and its use has transformed the world of hacking throughout the known galaxy for all species.

Ta'Akaix'Vytel'hyr'tkud C'thur, The Just Queen

Her brood is identified by scent and their exoskeleton color amongst C'thur.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 20,20,55)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 0,0,25)

Bound Workers: (RGB 10,35,55)

A gregarious queen, Vytel, and her brood maintain the C'thur's hives warriors. Vytel was lauded as a champion amongst smaller hive vassals upon Sedantis. She crafted an image of neutrality and fairness that remains to this day. The youngest of the lesser queens brought with the C'thur hive, little was ever expected of Vytel beyond her peacekeeping missions, who maintained her brood in such numbers more as an afterthought in the consensus of the hive queens. Still, they were historically small brood, as the C'thur made a point of using as little force whenever possible. In what her brood lacked in numbers Vytel made up for it with profound charisma. Her broods duties typically concerned peacekeeping and as such many of her brood interacted regularly with other hives. Ever since the exodus from Sedantis however, Vytel's brood has been pressed the hardest. For the length of their 2000 year journey to the Orion spur, Vytel and her brood would be tasked with investigating the function of unknown devices and areas of the massive Klaxian hive ship. Through almost 2000 years of trial and error, as well as many bound and unbound deaths she was able to approximate the functions of every device and room upon the hive ship. This unexpected use that the hive has called her for has colored her perceptions of the other lesser queens, sanitizing their relationship. Her issues worsened when the Lii'dra boarded their hive ship, as it was Vytels brood primarily that was mobilized to expel them. Indeed it was her brood that succeeded in doing so, despite several other lesser queens refusing to mobilize their own smaller Za forces. When it was found out that her mother, High Queen C'thur suffered a mortal wound in the attack Vytel took it badly. She blamed herself and her brood for the failure of the high queen's defense, helped along by similar accusations from other lesser queens.

Vytel's situation changed somewhat with contact with the skrell. In saving the High Queen, Vytel has pledged more of her brood to the Jargon Federation than any other queen and has redoubled her efforts in expanding her brood. Always fascinated by other cultures, she and her brood have adapted well to their current situation, working with the skrell rather than simply using them in some cases. The complexity of her broods relation with the other broods of the hive has somewhat diminished, but an animosity still lingers amongst some of her spawn. Other broods tend to view Vytel's spawn with some trepidation, seeing them as pretentious, and too used to lectures on political and moral correctness. Vytel's brood can be seen across the entirety of the Glorashi system and may possess advanced implants that allow unrestricted speech as to not hinder their communications with other species. As her brood primarily consists of Za, she has developed rules of warfare and civility known as the Yu'tjtuk'tia or The Prime Means. This set of rules justly cover any situation one would find themselves in within a war and politics and that all Za are expected to know. Indeed it is this strict adherence to principles that give her brood their respect amongst other hives. As for Ka within her brood, they tend to perform logistical services and construction duties. They tend keep themselves to a standard and expect this standard from all of their peers, even in other broods or species. In the most extreme cases, this may cause them to appear fastidious or OCD to other species. Her VR is a recreation of Xtykt'lotec, a city founded upon old Sedantis that housed the Court of Queens, a type of interhive diplomatic body. Housed equidistant from all major hives upon Sedantis, Xtykt'lotec was an important neutral ground that housed the progress of Vaurcan diplomacy for over 8000 years. The city was situated near the edge of several tectonic plates, necessitating that most of the city be suspended from cavern ceilings and giant rock formations while roiling lava bubbled below between fault lines in the crust of Sedantis. Vytel has linked her VR to many information feeds from the real world, with focus on aspects of skrellian life.

Of her brood, there is one noteworthy Xakat'kl'atan, acting as the ideal teachers for newly born Ka or Za

Za’Akaix’Tzel C’thur

Tzel was made a Master of Ideal Forms for strategy. Tzel has formed valid and viable strategies for all combat scenarios that come to mind - from how to flank in the most efficient manner, to how to cause worthwhile damage in a one vs many scenarios. Suicidal close combat strategies to covert navy operations, Tzel is still forming military tactics to this day, reimagining warfare to include the new species. Every weapon, every odds, every psyche of every combatant is taken into consideration. It is said that Tzel has formed strategies that include bizarre tactics such as driving the opponent insane, though these are yet to be confirmed, as Tzel themselves is constantly developing new strategies and studying old ones to have enough time to validate and dismiss rumors. Victories achieved by one of Tzel’s strategies are commonly studied by those seeking to learn.

Ta'Akaix'Xetl'jyatk'yatu C'thur, The Voracious Queen

Her brood is identified by scent and their exoskeleton color amongst C'thur.

Unbound of any type: (RGB 55,0,120)

Bound Warriors: (RGB 50,0,100)

Bound Workers: (RGB 60,15,95)

Xetl'jyatk'yatu is the middle daughter of high queen C'thur. Tales of Xetl's excess are legendary, and it is with pride that many C'thur of her brood recount stories of such. Despite her hedonistic lifestyle, Xetl'jyatk maintains her hives implants, overseeing the process of Reclamation and development of new implants. She takes pride in her broods work, a trait that most of her spawn share. Her brood primarily consists of bound, and it is these bound that tales of excess stem from. Perhaps more than any other brood of Vaurca, the exploitation of the bound here has reached new heights. Bound from her brood could be born for something as trivial as being a chair that moves on its own, as well as countless other superfluous examples. When compared to the exploitation of bound from other broods, Xetl'jyatk's is the exception to the standard. Unbound from her brood are often desensitized to pleasurable experiences, causing them to look to ever greater highs to satisfy their needs. Prone to taking risks, her brood is largely left out of diplomatic dealings within the hive, leaving her brood to fill the void of many utilitarian duties that the hive may need. Unbound of her brood are primarily Ka, with tens of thousands of them currently developing the hives new colonies. As for the few Za of her brood, they primarily guard their queen, who remains aboard the Kloxa'xia. The broods VR is actively edited on a whim by Xetl'jyatk, who may change its very nature on something as simple as a feeling or the day of the week. As such, those few that live within it are often swept into her machinations for better or worse and are used to stark changes in their very reality. As for Xetl'jyatk herself, she is obsessed with sensation in all its forms, and as such, some static features within her realm remain.

At all times Xetl can be summoned by anyone within the construct. Here prospective unbound may attempt to summon the queen to give her something she hasn't experienced before, though failure risks drawing the queens ire, and as shown by other static features within her realm, displeasing her is something most unbound would avoid. As another permanent fixture within her realm are the thousands of calcified virtual remains of Liidra unbound. Disconnected from their hive, they are endlessly tortured by the hands of Xetl'jyatk's brood. Xetl'jyatk morally justifies these captives to other broods by simply stating she is probing them for information, though the validity of this is uncertain. Another unique feature of this VR would be complete avatar control. Some Vaurca of her brood may simulate themselves as non-Vaurcan lifeforms. Additionally, psychological experiments are commonplace upon yet to be born unbound. These C'yuloxtan or 'Newts' never leave the VR construct until the conclusion of the experiment. Residing in a physical re-creation of an ideal and precisely controlled alien, non-Vaurcan environment, with the subject made to believe through the simulation that they are in fact whatever their avatar represents themselves as, interacting with pre-programmed characters or other Vaurca with their avatar disguised in their fictitious world. Normally at the end of each experiment, the Newts are reincorporated into the hive if possible, though many are simply discarded entirely if reincorporation is impossible. C'yuloxtans, in general, are perceived with a mixture of emotions by other unbound of the hive. Some may pity them for the lie that their life began as, other, particularly VR addicted Vaurca may envy and despise them. Likening them as fake and unworthy shells of a true representative of their hive. Jealous of the extra time they spent within the VR construct.

Of her brood, a group of Xakat'kl'atan work in tandem with each other.

The Sensate

The Sensate is a group of Masters that serve as living records of sensations. The four sensations, Pain, Pleasure, Humor and Greed, each hold the most data on their assigned sensation. Pain, Ka’Akaix’Gez C’thur, is a masochist - a rare instance where a genetic mutation was overlooked. They share a unique relationship with Pleasure, Za’Akaix’Voiz C’thur. If the two meet in virtual reality, and they often do, Voiz’s avatar will relentlessly assault Gez’s. Voiz derives a taboo pleasure in assaulting Gez - the experience is mutually beneficial, both gathering information from the incident. They often share information, with them both suffering pain and pleasure from the attacks. Humor, Ka’Akaix’Luz C’thur, holds ‘comedy’ shows in virtual reality, an instance where they share their sensation through ‘jokes’, often accompanied by the use of wacky avatars. Greed, Za’Akaix’Synz C’thur, is seclusive, and often unwilling to share information, though it is said they know the most of all sensations, as they have summoned Xetl’jyatk’yatu many times, but never did she leave irate. The few unbound in Xetl’jyatk’yatu’s brood often study under tutelage of the Sensate as a collective, with few specialising under one of the sensations.

Lii'dra

Most of what is known about their hive comes from Zorane records discovered upon Titan Prime. The few Vaurca alive that would possess direct information about this time tend to describe them reluctantly, often in the most foulest terms. Indeed, this is how much of the populations in the Zo'ra, K'lax and C'thur hives view the Lii'dra, a contempt and hatred born from centuries of second hand accounts. Primary sources do exist however, and several human and skrellian scientists have uncovered new information regarding the Lii'dra hive, its history, and possibly a motive for the destruction and hostility they exhibit to the galaxy at large. A recording, dating back to 36674 BCE Galactic Standard Time depicts a sort of assembly, with several Vaurca from several hives in attendance. From what can be inferred from Vaurcan accounts and translations, this was a meeting within the Court of Queens, a type of inter-hive regulatory body. In it a Lii'dra representative details the revolutionary technology of Virtual Reality, making a case for the allotment of resources to the assembled major hives, most notably the Zo'ra. A small hive then, the Lii'dra representative succeeded in securing the resources needed to begin serious research and development, provided that this technology was made available to all member hives, with the Zo'ra first amongst equals.

The video ends at the conclusion of the meeting, and it would be nearly 700 years before any further mention of the Lii'dra hive is found within the Titan Prime databanks. A video of the meeting begins much as it did 700 years prior, with representatives of each hive in attendance. It's clear that by now some measure of VR has prevaded within Vaurcan society, with many hives congratulating the Lii'dra upon their success, and questions about their next project. The Lii'dra details an even greater form of VR in its presentation, transmitting more than just sensory information, but thought itself. It proposes that with enough interconnectedness, individual thought ceases to be. The Lii'dra representative details horrifying experiments performed on smaller, nameless hives, consuming their entire populations within the Lii'dra VR intelligence, a type of overriding mind that is speaking to them, even now through its own body. This VR intelligence explains to an increasingly silent assembly the potential of uniting all thought of a hive into one, of all thought of all hives into one and truly unifying their entire species into one supreme intelligence before the video cuts to static. The video is too corrupted to make out further detail, but the best estimates place the original conflict between the Lii'dra occurring not long after this recording.

Observing Lii'dra specimens themselves is difficult, but the few observed seem to go into a type of shock when isolated from all forms of wavelengths within anechoic chambers. Thought patterns are still present, but prolonged stay within such chambers cause death from apparent circulatory shock. Similar experiments to willing Vaurca from the Zo'ra and K'lax hives reveal a much more muted response, with each describing extreme discomfort within a anechoic chamber. While still being researched, it's clear that the Lii'dra are more biologically dependant upon VR than the other Vaurca of their species, but the ultimate reason for this is unknown at this time.