Pope Dave The 3th - Skrell Application

[Pope Dave The 3th]

BYOND Ckey: Pope Dave The 3th
Discord username: Pope Dave The 3th
Character names: Adeline Relo
Species you are applying to play: Skrell

------------------------------ General Whitelist Requirements

What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?: Jade Green (#00A36C)

Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?: Yep.

Why do you wish to play this species?:

Well, I've got an application up to be their lore writer, for one.

Outside of that blatantly self-serving reason, Skrell strike the perfect balance of alien and familiar to me. They've got a society I can comprehend and a psychology that, while not human, remains both somewhat familiar and understandable in the ways it's alien. Nralakk is also a fascinating and extremely deep origin to draw lore from, which I've become quite invested in as of recent. Plus, psionic powers are neat.

They're funky psychic frog people who come in all your favorite fruit snack colors. What's not to love?

What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?:

The first and most obvious roleplay difference is that Skrell simply live a whole lot longer than humans do. Where even the wealthiest and healthiest human is likely to kick the bucket at around 150 years, a Skrell can comfortably call that "middle age" and comfortably keep trucking well into the 300s. This alone is a substantial difference, since your average Skrell can comfortably have several human lifetimes worth of experience under their belt, which then translates into a truly staggering degree of educational and workplace knowledge. As such, playing a Skrell means you need to actually act that way. In the same vein, Skrell typically think things through much more thoroughly than their shorter-lived coworkers, and should typically be expected to provide the long-term view when considering solutions to a problem.

Beyond that, Skrell also hold the honor of being the only species to be capable of using psionic abilities. While these aren't exactly the most relevant when dealing with non-Skrell, given that their current lore stipulates they cause brain damage with prolonged contact, they're extremely important for interaction with other Skrell, given that telepathic communication is pretty much natural between Skrell. The gestalt psychic field that several Skrell in close proximity create also serves to reinforce conformity and encourage consensus 

On a final note, the vast majority of Skrell are born into a bureaucratic turbo-surveillance state where every action is monitored (down to their dreams) to promote conformity and compliance at all levels. No other state in Orion reaches the sheer level of governmental penetration into daily life that Nralakk manages, which shapes the behavior of natives to perceive that as perfectly normal, especially given their active policy of using Nlom Relays to extend those above mentioned mental nudges to conform across the entire Federation.

------------------------------ Character Application

Character Name: Kataq Xiithratl

Write a backstory for your character. This may include their origin, education, personality and how they arrived to the SCCV Horizon. (2 paragraphs minimum):

Hatched in 2371 on the icy world of Aliose to a group of Upper-Secondary researchers, Kataq would become enamored with science and alien life during their formative years, in part thanks to the psychic influence of their Qrri'Myaq, who had high hopes for the tadpole. Though performing well throughout their early education, Kataq would gradually fall behind their peers as they entered depth college to pursue their degree in xenobiology. Though by no means a poor student, Kataq would be surpassed by their Uyi'vesi peers after the halfway point of their depth education. Eventually graduating as an Aqm'vesi with their coveted xenobiological degree, Kataq would quickly meet the harsh reality that they were the average in a place where "average" stopped cutting it many years ago, as the laboratories where Kataq sought towork were far more interested in their Qro'vesi and Qu'vesi peers than themselves. Though simply returning to college for additional education was an option, Kataq feared that returning to education and not succeeding would mark them as a failure to the Federation. As such, Kataq took their degree, and voluntarily accepted menial work within Aliose's water treatment infrastructure, where they would labor as a low-ranking technician for nearly a decade.

Though appreciative of the generous perks granted to willing laborers of such low work, Kataq was very much unenthused. The work was dull, unfulfilling, and a seeming waste of decades of study. Fortunately, the Zeng-Hu branch on Aliose offered an out in the form of an entry-level research position. With a stagnant SCI score, dead-end career, and no other options in the area, Kataq took the offer, leaving Aliose for the first time on a journey to their first posting with Zeng-hu Pharmaceuticals: a sea-borne research campus studying the sea life of beautiful Silversun. For the next two decades, Kataq would take great strides to integrate themselves into both the corporate environment of Zeng-Hu and the alien society of the Alliance, digging into both work and networking with gusto. Quickly making inroads with the resident Skrell of Silversun, Kataq would find the two decades spent there to be some of the happiest of their life, finally being able to fully embrace the work they loved together with a supportive group of Qu'Kaax. Unfortunately, this wasn't to last. In early 2462, Kataq would embark for a month-long excursion to Zeng-Hu's Xanu Prime branch as a career expansion and networking opportunity. He was unaware that he was leaving the Alliance for the final time.

Fatefully, Kataq's trip out of the Alliance would come mere weeks before Prime Minister Frost's assassination, and the subsequent descent of the Alliance into civil war. Intended to be little more than a month-long broadening experience on Xanu Prime, Kataq would quickly find themselves trapped on the world as civil war tore the Alliance apart, and marauding warlords blocked any form of safe travel back to what they had so recently accepted as their second home. Despondent, Kataq languished on Xanu for nearly a year, burning through much of his accumulated wealth as they overindulged in drink, while retreating into the Srom more and more to cope with the loneliness of their situation. Both of these behaviors would trickle their way back to Nralakk, reducing his SCI score in-absentia to that of a Lower-Secondary, and further tightening his available income. 

Finally, in mid-2463, Kataq would be officially transferred to Zeng-Hu's Xanu Prime branch on a provisional basis, with his position on Silversun considered indefinitely terminated for safety reasons. Saddened but understanding the risks, Kataq fell back on conformity, and threw himself into laboratory work. However, unlike Silversun, the comparative lack of fellow Skrell in their new work environment only served to deepen Kataq's feelings of isolation, and he would end up spending nearly all of his free time seeking escapism in the Srom, despite the best efforts of his coworkers. Though this behavior wasn't yet affecting Kataq's work performance, his supervisor noted the pattern and, in an unusual display of kindness for a Keiretsu manager, arranged to have Kataq transferred once again, this time an unusual melting pot among the Chainlink's holdings: the flagship of the SCC itself, the Horizon.

How has the recent events of the Orion Spur impacted your character? Events such as the Phoron Scarcity, the Solarian Collapse or even the Invasions of Biesel for interstellar-wide affairs, while region-specific events such as the Peacekeeper Mandate, The Titan Rises or even Cold Dawn may impact your character. (1 paragraph minimum):

The Solarian Collapse is one of the defining moments of Kataq's life. Having spent twenty years engaged in his dream career on Silversun, Kataq had developed a particular fondness for the Alliance, and made several strong Qu'Kaax among both the Skrell and humans of his research cohort. By the time of their ill-fated trip to Xanu Prime, Kataq had begun to settle in to Silversunner society, and was seriously entertaining plans of settling in the Alliance permanently. The Collapse shattered that particular ambition, and is what indirectly led to Kataq being reassigned to the Horizon.

As of Pale Blue Dots, Kataq holds mixed feelings on the Federation opening up further to the corporations of the SCC. While they're naturally very happy that Zeng-Hu will be able to further enhance its fruitful partnership with the Federation, he eyes the SCC with more scrutiny, especially Nanotrasen.

How does your character view the megacorporation they work for? (1 paragraph minimum):
Kataq is a staunch loyalist to Zeng-Hu, which he views as both the finest megacorporation in the Spur, and a natural partner to the Nralakk Federation. They've worked for Zeng the entirety of their professional career outside of Nralakk, and the benefits of that loyalty have guaranteed Kataq stays with the company. Kataq has even elected to take advantage of the augmentation options available to Zeng-Hu employees, taking out purchase plans for a handful of cognition and reflex-boosting cybernetic and genetic modifications. While Kataq is well aware that these augments tether him to Zeng-Hu, they don't mind. With all that Zeng-Hu has given him, he feels that it's only reasonable they return the favor.

Kataq does, however, believe that Zeng-Hu should decouple from the SCC. Having observed the secession of Biesel and accompanying meltdown of the Solarian Alliance firsthand, he firmly believes that Nanotrasen is an untrustworthy partner who would gladly leave Zeng-Hu in the dirt if it meant a few more months of Phoron profits. The ongoing scarcity has only made Kataq more certain in the validity of their views, and he hopes that Zeng-Hu will be wise enough to exit the sinking ship of the SCC before it's too late. That said, they're unlikely to voice these complaints openly, as such matters are for the higher-ups to decide, and for him to accept.