Nala Sai
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Contents
The Ocan
The Ocan are a long-lived, space-faring race of nomads. Nomad is a broad term, for they have a homeworld. It just happens to be mobile. Their world, previously named Halla Si (translates as 'Homeworld' in English), was at some point a large mass of broken islands orbiting around a small star. Thousands and thousands of years of technological advance allowed the Ocan to build a massive, artificial structure around the star, using it to fuel their technology. While the star is diminutive in comparison to our galaxy's Sun, it still bears considerable energy to supply the Ocan's energy-thristy creations. Modified by evolution, the Ocan themselves have become energy-living entities. Regarded as one of the most technologically advanced races in the universe, very few races ever try to wage wars with the Ocan race as a whole. Due to their motivations, they also see little reason to wage wars against other races and simply prefer to stick to their nomad ways, migrating from one galaxy to another every hundred years or so.
Society, Culture and More
The Ocan culture is based, ultimately, on utilitarism. They are a highly adaptable people with a strong sense of perfection. Ocan dedicate to their tasks until they have perfected themselves into it, only to move on to the next, if they do not decide to spend their lifetimes dedicating to it. They are a peaceful people and often refrain from meddling in the affairs of the universe around them, but sometimes do so when they find it to be gravely necessary. In contrast, they are highly aggressive to attackers and will defend themselves with overwhelming strength when necessary. For most part, this life style was developed only recently, a few hundred years ago. While the Ocan were always a race with sentiency, they lacked a sense of individuality, and the entire race with its whole in mind, rather than the needs and desires of a few. However, at some point they have developed an organ that allowed them to feel individuality, and that mutation ultimately affected the entire race and changed their views to some point. This particular organ can be activated or deactivated at will, and the usage of it is based on freedom, although several situations demand a specific usage. For instance, government decisions are made by leaders while their individualities are "turned off". This ensures they have the best of their people in mind and not their own interests.
Ocan society is divided by utility. Individuals are picked by their aptitudes in order to do what they are best at. If a child is born with a good sense for engineering, it will likely become an engineer. If another is born with a taste for politics, it will likely become involved in the Ocan government. Clans are known to dedicate themselves and their offspring to specific abilities in order to optimize it. There are mining clans, research clans, manufacturing clans, among many other different types. The ones who are seen with utmost respect however is the specific caste of "High Priestesses". Selectively female, the High Priestess caste is the only one allowed to perform far-off space exploration and journeys. While other clans are allowed to explore, they can only do so for a specific distance from the homeworld and are greatly discouraged from traveling further. High Priestesses act as military force, diplomats and explorers, and very few question their motivations and abilities. Other than Warlords, High Priestesses are the only members of the Ocan race allowed to possess warships and fleets. Warlords, on the other hands, are the ultimate defenders of their race, and often maintain their fleets and ships around their holdings in order to act effectively should the homeworld be attacked.
"Lesser" and working castes of the Ocan are composed, for most part, of automated drones, controlled by Overseers. One of the techno-cultural aspects of the Ocan race is their great preference towards usage of drones, for all sorts of activities and purposes. As a result, their very drones are highly more advanced than those of most other races. There is no known sense of poverty and wealth among the Ocan, as all resources necessary for living are distributed equally. The very notion of non-equality can sometimes disturb the Ocan. Despite their choices, Ocan have been encourage in the last millennia to seek personal achievements, growth and development, and more than ever have learned to dedicate themselves to things such as arts and entertainment, thanks to the contact with outsider races. Artists, entertainers and such are highly regarded among the average Ocan members, for the sense of individuality, as well as humor, is a relatively new thing for them. Ocans are often regarded as easily emotional, and so their humor, sense of drama and such are often incredibly subtle. Something too 'outstanding' can sometimes be too overwhelming for them to bear.
The notion of love is also a very new thing to the Ocan, roughly as old as the sense of individuality. They knew what was love before that, but they did not know why they felt it, or the intricacies behind the feeling. Ocan fall in love easily, and are heartbroken just as easily, so they are very careful about how they express themselves and how they deal with other races. While Ocan falling in love with other races is not unheard of, it is generally rare, for they are careful in this regard. An Ocan loves its lovers and family deeply, as though they are parts of their own self. The loss of beloved ones to them can be so overbearing that they can easily become inactive and depressive for a time, and when it happens they normally opt to turn off their sense of individuality. In Ocan society, the males are slightly more numerous than females, so it is not unheard of for female Ocan to have more than one mate, and the notion of "cheating" is all but alien for them.
In regards of sexuality, Ocan are often reserved, but also very curious. Due to their physiology, Ocan choose their genders at some point of their 'puberty', a point where their bodies will suffer the necessary changes to appear either male or female. They are subtle but deep with their feelings, especially those of attraction, and the first experience of love for an Ocan can appear rather overwhelming, if not strange for any other race. They enjoy the notion of physical pleasure but are somewhat new to it, and are still developing in that particular regard. What is often seen as 'costumary' for other races, is seen as incredibly new and interesting for Ocan, and due to their reservations such learnings are not usually widely spread. Ocan males, when journeying, have more than a few times become very allured by the passions and techniques displayed by females from other races. For a young Ocan, the very act of holding hands is seen as something rather intimate, only done by very close friends.
Amusingly, Ocan traditional cousine is regarded as downright awful. Due to a lack of sense of individuality, they simply opted to eat whatever was more efficient for their bodies, which was a sort of grey-colored, highly energetic stew. That stew, while highly nutritive, is often compared to "eating the contents of a car battery" in manners of taste. Ocan cousine has improved considerably in the last millennia, but they have still many ways to go and are far behind other races in such regards. They often trade resources they consider less valuable for rare and tasty foods. Younger Ocan also enjoy the challenge of becoming drunk.
In regards of technology, Ocan are very powerful beings. They have sufficient technology to have developed a whole artificial planet around a white dwarf. Their technology is often a mix of mechanical and quasi-organical materials, and such combinations allows them to connect directly to their machines. Drone Overseers are known to be connected to dozens of drones at a time, supervising their tasks and transmiting commands. They do not rely on ground vehicles, and instead have a means of short-range teleportation that allows them to move from one place to another in the planet without needing to fly around. They do have vehicles available, but they prefer to not use them. They are pioneers in the usage of energy and in the creation of drones. Almost all of their spaceships happen to simply be carriers for several combat or utility drones, and can easily rebuild and repair those by simply gathering nearby space debris. With the exception of their largest cruiser type, the Kala Ni (translated as "Bulwark), their military vessels follow this doctrine. A Ocan Battlecarrier often carries four or five more drones than the same type of vessel from other races, and their drones are far more intelligent and efficient. While their fleet is not extensive, it is powerful, and is mostly found orbiting around their homeworld.
Halla Si is somewhat open for other space travelers, but they are usually required to stay in specific cities built for visitors. These cities are often occupied by a small number of Ocan and a much larger number of drones, where interaction can be limited. Unknown to visitors, those cities can also be jettisoned out in space and destroyed in case of infestation with some manner of plague, or if the Ocan deem it necessary. Naturally, the Ocan living in such cities also happen to possess stronger and more well-developed personalities than most other Ocan, due to their constant contact with outsiders. Those cities double as trading hubs, spaceports and visitor centers.
The central government of Halla Si is led largely by men, with three representatives of each clan, caste and guild located in the planet. They are responsible for the decisions regarding the race as well as new policies, issuing missions or deciding the next course for specific groups. As such, they are often in direct contact with the Holy Sisterhood, though the latter is not directly subordinate to their governments. The Holy Sisterhood given a wide degree of freedom of operation and choice, so long as they deem it important for their race. As such, their departure as well as return is often met with great optimism, both in hopes that their explorations will bear meaningful fruits as well as to hear what stories they have to share with their race. High Priestesses are normally ranked by the types of their flagships: Catta Si (Battleship), Jutti Si (Battlecruiser), Kumi Si (Destroyer), Suli Si (Battlecarrier), Aia Si (Frigate) and Oki Si (Corvette). They are designated to each type of ship depending on their ability to operate them. Veteran Priestesses are often assigned to more powerful vessels, or command greater drone fleets.
Ocan Biology
Ocan are humanoids, but lack feet and visible ears. They are remarkably slender, with long limbs and plenty of curves (at least for females). Rather than listening with their ears, they have an organ inside their heads that allow them to both hear and "feel" their surroundings, giving them a remarkable spatial notion. An Ocan can easily navigate in the dark without colliding with anything. Another important organ of their bodies is one responsible for keeping their bodies afloat, giving them a limited ability to hover but not to fly. They do not need to breathe and lack noses, but can smell with their mouths - they are often found breathing into their mouths when trying to tell scents apart. Their tongues allow them to both smell and taste, but does not take place in their speech. Their speech is performed by a small organ located just behind their throats. Their voices still come from their mouths, but this makes them able to speak even with their mouths closed. They are also capable of speaking through telepathic means, by sending electric signals into the brain of another. They are highly intelligent and incredibly creative, or have proven to be so after gaining a sense of individuality. The organ responsible for it is contained inside their small brains, a mass roughly the side of an orange located into the hardened flesh of their heads. They lack bones made of calcium, and instead have a structure built with an unspecified material that can be both flexible or harden depending on the necessity. If one tries to break the arm of a Ocan, it will come across the realization that at some point the arm simply bends, rather than breaking, and that will eventually return to its previous position after the stress is gone. Much the same, their flesh hardens and projects a faint energy field capable of protecting them from damage. When exhausted or drained, they cannot project such fields and are considerably fragile. Ocan are not physically strong, but usually employ either their personal drones or nanomachines to lift weights they cannot.
They have organs similar to those of Humans, but on a much smaller scale and with differing degrees of effectiveness. Evolution made it so they need little in order to exist, and so they mostly feed on energy. When eating normal foods, their stomaches simply process that food into pure energy, leaving no remains. As such, their intestines are roughly vestigial organs and have become only a tight tube leading directly to their stomaches. Their lungs are minimal and work differently from that of Humans. Their lungs is mostly used to process scents and to absorb substances from the air that will be turned into further energy. Their bodies regenerate quickly when they have a source of power to drain from, so it is not rare for an Ocan to recover by simply draining energy from something. Those of the Holy Sisterhood are able to connect to machines, so long as those run on electricity, and are often seen as esoteric and magical by other races due to this. They normally carry millions of nanomachines within their bodies in order to perform their duties. One such 'esoteric' ability is that of healing wounds and performing first aid by using those nanomachines on others, which emits a light blue light.
Ocan are only compatible with their own race and cannot bear children from other races, as far as they are aware. They possess one vagina or penis, as well as breasts (in case of females). Their females look incredibly curvaceous, while their males are less so but still bear some degree of femininity in their features. Males do not have testicles, and those are contained inside, where the wombs of their females are located. The womb of a female is small, but highly expansive, and the period a child remains within its mother is roughly two months. Despite all that, they are not incredibly fertile, and reproduction tends to be slow for Ocan. This also happens due to their lack of need to reproduce, as they are not an expansive race. Their children are often very small, roughly half the size of a Human's, but they grow in size quickly once outside of their mother's wombs.
The Planet
Halla Si is their homeworld, in more ways than one. It is a massive superstructure built around a white dwarf that serves both the purpose of stabilizing the star as well as draining its excess radiation. The planet itself is covered in sectors that can be classified as cities, space stations, and even "holdings" of specific clans. The most prestigious positions are located closer to the structure's core, just beneath the protective layers that prevent excess radiation from passing to the outside. Due to abundance of space and relatively small population, the Ocan often have massive homes, and their structures are normally regarded by other races as excessively large. Even something as small as a humble home is about as large as what a Human would have for a mansion. Naturally, the planet is occupied not only by the Ocan, but also by the countless drones. Automated drones perform most of the maintenance, repairs, supply gathering and other tasks. The planetary defenses are automated, but ultimately commanded by Ocan in charge of such. The planet generates almost no gravity despite its mass, due to the unseen planetary shield located across the superstructure's "atmosphere". It prevents Halla Si from interfering with the orbit and gravity of other spatial bodies as it passes close to them. The shield is also capable of generating a form of camouflague, hiding the from visual contact. It however does not hide its energy signature and detection to other types of sensors.
About Nala Sai
Nala Sai is a relatively young Ocan, roughly five thousand years old, and a member of the Suli Si caste of the Holy Sisterhood. Currently exploring the universe, Nala Sai departed from her people not too long ago, in an exploration journey for the Holy Sisterhood. She commands the Drone Battlecarrier "Balao". Roughly five feet and eight inches in height, Nala Sai is a curious, friendly individual, often holding her people's best interests in mind but also trying to establish a decent relation with other races. As such, she often finds herself orbiting other inhabited planets, studying their inhabitants from afar and trying to gather what she can about them. While she may opt to make contact with them, she usually refrains from it. Her experience with other races is somewhat limited so far, and does not always translates with others. Knowing some races doesn't mean she will know others, as cultures and customs can often vary. She is a peaceful individual and prefers to refrain from engaging in battles unless forced to. She does however hold a strong sense of justice and ultimately dislikes outlaws, such as pirates and slavers, and has engaged them in combat more than once. Being polite and calm is also a necessary trait for a Priestess, both which she naturally bears. She can display calmness even in stressful situations, though this does not mean she cannot be distressed or emotionally extreme. In fact, Nala can be perfectly extreme on some of her emotions, it is just rare for her to do so without a good reason. For the standards of other races, she seems to be naive, easily impressed and almost childish in her curiosity.
While considered old for any other race, Nala is young for a Ocan and is still unexperienced in certain affairs, mostly in dealing with some of her own feelings as well as understanding the habits and culture of foreigners. She is however open to learning, and can spend long periods of time doing so. However, the opportunities are only limited and she had not many of those. When it comes to her own personal interests, she's highly curious about the technology of the other races, as well as their cousine, culture and habits, especially on how to deal with each other in a societal basis. She does not have many acquired hobbies, but is always open to learning and perhaps acquiring one or another from a different race.
Powers
Typical to Ocan, Nala Sai is capable of absorbing and releasing large amounts of energy, as well as manipulating it with the help of her bounded field. The field itself represents an excess of energy released from a specific organ within her body, and tends to increase or decreasing depending on how much energy she has fed from. Within the field, she can easily manipulate energy of several different sources, by simply converting it into raw, controllable energy, and controlling it as she sees fit. This allows her to utilize a vast array of offensive, defensive and supportive skills, and makes her into a truly formidable hero when provoked into a fight. She tends to be even stronger upon locations where she can easily draw more energy upon herself, expanding her own bonded field and as such, the potential range of her abilities. The extent of this ability is vast, as it allows her to control energy down to a molecular level. As such, sometimes the physical and chemical reactions enacted by such give the impression that Nala has a great number of different abilities. By using energy to accelerate, deaccelerate or alter the configuration of the molecules within her field, she can perform effects such as fire, ice and electricity attacks. A sharp eye however can notice that all of these effects have a root on the energy-manipulating ability, as they wouldn't occur without it directly affecting her environment. Along with such, she can use the same energy and field to control the immense amount of nanomachines that inhabit her body. Those nanomachines share a number of skills with Nala, mostly in the means of carrying their own miniature ability to control and harness raw energy. By doing so, they can be utilized for all manner of skills, but more often than not tend to join themselves in group in order to temporarily create mechanical constructs, such as robots, drones, heavy guns, projectiles and so on. They can be destroyed, but tend to easily multiply, as excess energy leads those nanomachines to build other companions with their excess. They tend to be invisible to the naked eye of most species. Ultimately, Nala's class of powers rank very high, and make her an incredibly competent foe. She is however still bound to certain weaknesses, if those are eventually discovered.
Weakness
Nala's powers depend much on her own strengths. She needs both energy and nanomachines to perform the wide array of abilities she has at her disposal. The easiest way to disable her abilities is to force her in a battlefield where she has nowhere to draw excess energy from, and so work towards depleting her reserves. As her reserves are depleted, her bonded field diminishes, and so does its range. Once drained completely, she will be largely unable to utilize her skills. It is however remarkably difficult to drain her energy by simply using energy-draining means, and her weakness in this regard generally applies to long, drawn-out battles where she depletes her energy on her own. In the end, the secret to defeat Nala is to force her to spend her energy reserves and corner her, preventing her from finding means to recover or obtain the upper hand. However, so long as her bonded field and nanomachines remain active, her foes will have a very difficult time finding success in their attempts.
