Skrell
| Skrell |
| S. Sapiens |
 |
| Home System: Jargon (Nralakk) |
| Homeworld: Jargon IV (Qerrbalak) |
| Language(s): Skrellian, Tau Ceti Basic |
| Political Entitie(s): Jargon Federation |
Overview
An amphibious species whose passion lies in the field of the combined sciences, the Skrell are the oldest and most advanced species present on the galactic stage. The Skrell evolved on a planet covered in vast swamps and freshwater seas, hence their amphibious qualities. These include moist, pliant, and nearly translucent skin, as well as their vestigial gill slits.
Skrell are largely asexual, with most seeing reproduction as a process necessary to continue their lineage and nothing more.
While humanity has largely overtaken the Skrell in the area of system colonization, the Skrell maintain a strong federation of colonies roughly three-quarters the size of human space. They are also the most technologically advanced species in known space, and possess the strongest and most highly trained military of any spacefaring species.
Mechanics
- Skrell have their own language that can be used by typing :k before anything you say, and can also be used over the radio.
- Skrell lack teeth and instead have hardened gums; this leads to them being big advocates on soft foods such as bread, or liquid foods such as soup. Skrells are omnivorous, but tend to prefer insects over the more common red meat served on station.
- Skrell have large heads with protruding head tails and due to this they cannot wear normal hardsuit helmets but instead need to wear Skrell hardsuit helmets (found in EVA). Their head tails also make it uncomfortable to wear normal headwear such as hats so most Skrell opt out of that. However, Skrell can wear normal hardsuits due to their body being very similar to a human one.
- Skrell have the ability to breathe underwater due to them being amphibious.
- The Skrell have been allies with humanity longer than any other race aboard Aurora has, and as such Skrell workers are some of the most reliable and famed workers for Nanotrasen. They are suitable for any role on station, and older, more experienced Skrell scientists commonly hold experience in a variety of fields (though they are also free to specialize.)
- The Skrell take on Basic (the standard station language) is characterized by short, concise sentences, and an elimination of repetitive or non-essential words. You can refer to Mass Effect's Mordin Solus [1] as an example of this.
Biology
Main article: Skrell (Biology)
Skrell have an average height ranging from 4’5” to 5’1” for males, and 4’5” to 5’5” for females. Skrellian skin looks gelatinous, but in fact has a second layer of a less translucent flesh under the surface. Skrell faces are quite plain and their eyes completely black, leaving it difficult for other species to gauge a Skrell's exact feeling and emotions. Adapted for aquatic life, Skrell are fully amphibious, and are capable of breathing underwater while also possessing superior underwater vision. Their hands and feet are very similar to that of humans, except for a lack of nails and the presence of strong webbing in-between each digit. Due to their amphibian nature, the Skrell lack any real teeth and instead possess hardened gum lines. Their diet mostly consists of Qerrbalak-native algae, plants and insects. Instead of a developed nose, Skrell smell through two simple slits sitting in the middle of their face. Skrell bear tentacle-like "head-tails", which possess no muscle tissue, and simply hang down over a Skrell's shoulders. The purpose of these tentacles is to keep the skin close to the neck damp for the incubating of eggs. Tentacles are often adorned with jewels, cloths, chains or plates, as a fashion statement.
It is difficult for other species to differentiate between male and female Skrell, as the only outwards difference between the two genders is found in tentacle length - female tentacles being slightly longer than male ones. It should be noted that the Skrell have no social concern for gender, which they only see as an issue for the purpose of reproduction. For this reason, Skrell unfamiliar with galactic customs can often confuse the gender of other species, and struggle to adapt to the gendered pronouns of Tau Ceti Basic.
A healthy Skrell can naturally live up to two hundred years, but current medical technology allows them to increase their lifespan to an impressive 300 to 450 years.
Social
The Skrell language, Skrellian, can be best described as a series of hums, warbles, or croaks. While Skrellian would not make sense to other species, it can display a wide variety of emotion and meaning that Tau Ceti Basic cannot. When learning other languages, Skrell tend to forego grammatical structure, which they mostly simplify for the sake of efficiency. Additionally, most inflections and nuances that carry tone and emotion in foreign languages are lost to them, due to the wide differences between the nature of Skrellian and other tongues. It is notable that two Skrell conversing in their own language can communicate perfectly underwater.
Though a mainly scientific species, Skrells have interest in other forms of culture. Skrell artists are fairly prevalent, and martial arts also form a fairly widespread Skrell interest. Skrellian arts often (but not always) focus on the mind. For example, a recent movement focuses on how the mind interacts with the world around them.
Emotional
While many people believe that Skrells are heartless and have no emotions, the truth is actually quite the contrary. Skrell convey emotions the same way humans do, through movement, tone of voice and language used. Due to Humans' limited audial receptors, however, the many tones a Skrell can project are lost to all non-Skrell, and thus Skrell have a very difficult time expressing emotion to other species. In contrast, when matched with another of their kind, communication is so seamless that two parties involved in a discussion would almost be able to guess each others' thoughts at times, simply through the variety of vocal tones used in conversation. The most common Racial slurs that are used against Skrell are, “Frog”, ‘Squid”, “Waterboy” and various other creatures that have aquatic relation. Skrell tend not to react to these insults however, not out of indifference, but because they are often prideful and would prefer not to lose face through confrontation. This kind of emotional reaction is quite common in Skrell; Skrell are reputed for choosing not engage in a fight or a challenge unless they were certain of their own victory. Among other things, this has led to the Skrell military having the best victory-defeat ratio in the Galaxy.
Culture
Main articles: Skrell (Culture), Skrell (Factions & Politics)
Although colonial Skrell culture exhibits some regional differences, the culture of the Jargon Federation's core systems is highly unified. Skrell place a great importance on technological and scientific development, believing the key to a species' survival resides in their ability to move forward and adapt to new situations. There is a high pressure on the average Skrell to perform, both for the advancement of the Skrell race and for personal glory and recognition. Although automation of many labor-intensive tasks has become a mainstay of Skrell society, leading to an ever-growing interest and quasi-romanticization of research-related professions, Skrellian life is still dependent on the contribution of some under-appreciated but highly crucial manual labor workers. Nevertheless, Skrell have begun outsourcing some of their manual labor to other species such as humans and Tajarans.
Skrell do not disregard other sentient species as much as they consider them on a different plane of development from their own. Although they maintain a close relationship with Dionaea, and lucrative business and research partnerships with humans, they tend to look down upon Tajaran and Unathi as if they were children, yet to make the necessary social developments for their species to be considered on the same level as other spacefaring empires.
Skrells highly value logic, and rarely make rash decisions. Additionally, although they lack the humans' drive for ambition and expansion, they believe themselves to prize adaptability very highly, being willing to modify themselves through the use of implants and genetic engineering without hesitation, and going out of their way to colonizing the most hostile of planets through a mix of ingenuity and perseverance, as long as they can make a scientific or economical gain from it. Paradoxically, they are also very conservative about their own scientific and cultural customs, being unwilling to admit mistakes due to the amount of effort they put in making the "right" decisions. For a Skrell, having to admit error is devastating.
Skrell designs are highly ascetic in nature. It would be improper to assume that domains such as fashion, architecture and art are neglected by the Skrell, although the sleek, refined lines and preference for white and chrome found their designs has been found to be somewhat off-putting to other species.
History
Most of Skrellian history has been characterized by the formation and cooperation of small to large-scale democratic councils and cooperation. The Skrell are considerably more peaceful than other known dominant species (Humans, Tajarans and Unathis), which leads to an absence of large-scale conflicts through the species' history with the exception of the Third Incident.
The First Skrell
Skrell have kept meticulous records of their evolution on Jargon IV, or Qerrbalak, which is the Skrellian home planet. 10 million years ago the predecessors of the Skrell species being diverging from the evolutionary line of Qerrbalak's native salamanders, with the first modern instances of S. Sapiens appearing 60,000 years ago. The early Skrell lived in tribal structures. Generally, though not always, tribes were lead by a small council of spiritual leaders. Conflict between tribes did exist, though many wars were uniquely ceremonial affairs with few casualties.
Spiritualism took on a unique form to the early Skrell. Rather than worshipping ancestors, spirits, or a monothestic God, many Skrell placed great spiritual importance on the stars. Astrology became the main form of spiritualism for the Skrell. This early faith was often called Qeblak. Spiritual leaders were also respected astronomers, studying the skies and creating prophecies and horoscopes based on their alignments.
Early Civilization
1512 BCE is considered the beginning of modern Skrellian civilization and is often called the Year of Enlightenment by modern Skrell scholars. This is because in 1512 a scholar of the small Grshishug tribe discovered the concept of zero, officially founding the future of mathematics on Jargon IV. In addition, several other scientific advancements were made. By 1507 Skrellian astronomers had managed to discover every major planet in their solar system with telescopes. These early telescopes were aided by the abundance of glass-making industries at the time, allowing both early telescopes and an explosion of glassware art. Many museums hold examples of stunning Skrellian glassware, with specialized craftsmen able to make complex designs and beautiful colors.
Other advancements in culture and the sciences increased the quality of life across Jargon IV. Penicillin was discovered by Heshi Zeshblook in 1498 BCE, and many great projects in infrastructure and cities meant a greater connection and prosperity across the planet.
Industrialization
Written records from he time show that 798 BCE is the year that the first factories were built across Jargon IV. Utilizing the same steam power as similar Earth industries in the 18th Century. The negative affects of pollution and dangerous working conditions made the early attempts at industry extremely unpopular. Arrest records skyrocket during this time, with many Skrell protesting these conditions.
The many nations of Jargon IV had already assembled into a loose confederation at this time. They passed several laws aimed at improving the working conditions for workers in these new industries while funding great projects to discover ways to improve and modernize the factory processes. Many of these laws remain in modern Skrell society, giving workers a maximum working day of 12 hours, a mandatory 2 days of the week off of work, climate-controlled pools in all factories for enjoyment by the workers, and a generous minimum wage. These laws, while protecting the workers, makes Skrellian companies more of a form of civil duty than true capitalist enterprises. By 702 BCE factories and companies became managed by small councils of workers. They were similar to human CEO's and Board of Directors all rolled into a single package. They were often elected amongst the workers and served as their representatives. Needless to say, many Skrell corporations and companies are severely outclassed by similar human enterprises. This is especially true in the modern day, where the Skrell ban on AI's extends to industry.
Precursor to the Federation
On 185 BCE census data shows Jargon IV had reached a population of 6 billion. This population was divided between three nations loosely assembled into an extremely loose alliance called the Alliance of Three, which served as the precursor to the Jargon Federation, the Heshyu Collective, the Tzqul Republic, and the Weshqi Republic, who had at this time gobbled up all remaining land on Jargon IV. These nations had enjoyed relatively warm relationships with one another for their existence, though they weren't free of conflict. By now fossil fuels were beginning to be replaced by alternate energies, lowering the possibility of a global resource war. Nevertheless, many disagreements were often settled by the ancient Skrellian practice of ceremonial warfare. Hundreds of soldiers, including armored vehicles and aircraft, would meet in pre-determined locations. They would fight with a mixture of first paint-balls, and then laser-tag with the development and adoption of laser technologies in 100 BCE. These battles often had low, if any casualties. Some accidents or acts of individual soldiers were still inevitable, and some battles had a handful or even a dozen deaths. Deaths in the ceremonial battle were usually accepted at face value, and the fallen were honored. However, sometimes the loser nation would take offense at the deaths of their soldiers and further disagreements would break out. Legitimate skirmishes were common after ceremonial battles ended, though there are no recorded escalations to a fully fledged war.
The three nations competed more fiercely in the realms of science and culture. By now the advanced knowledge of astronomy had caused an evolution of the Qeblak faith, still the dominant faith of the majority of the Skrell. Qeblakians now felt great spiritual connections to the very concept of space exploration and the study of the cosmos. This lead to competitions between the three nations to research, develop, and launch a space program. True knowledge into rocketry, and the lack of sophisticated electronics or computer systems delayed these ambitions for several hundred years. Despite this, many Skrell felt it their destiny to eventually reach the cosmos.
The Skrellian Space Age
On 103 CE the Heshyu Collective was the first nation on Jargon IV to launch a satellite into space. The satallite was named Weshyugi, and remained in low Jargon orbit for several days. The feat was celebrated across the planet, and the scientists in the Heshyu space program became instant global celebrities. With the confirmation that it was possible to reach space, immediate plans were made to send up Skrell themselves.
While Skrellinauts were taking their first steps into orbit, the life on the surface of Jargon IV was facing a complicated mix of success and struggles. Technology and sciences had reached the equivalent of Earth in the late 21st century. Massive hydroponic towers grew algae and other crops to feed the growing global population, which had reached 17 billion. Many cities had grown into truly massive mega-cities, covering both land and sea. Terraforming technology didn't yet exist on Jargon IV, so this era also saw the slow degradation of the environment in the face of advancing urbanization. To try and save their environments, cities tried to remain as compact as possible and growing around greenspaces and swamps. The average Skrell found themselves living in cramped, crowded apartments. This time saw the Skrell having to make difficult choices between protecting the environment or improving the quality of life by expanding into previously protected areas. Many Skrell philosophers at this time believed that the only possible solution in the face of the growing problems was to expand beyond their home planet and spread across the solar system.
By 510 CE Qerr'Malic, Jargon IV's moon, was colonized by a hundred Skrell. In addition, efforts were being made to explore and colonize the other planets in the solar system. These colonies face hardships as they try to build up ways to be viable and self-sufficient. The strong environmental laws on Jargon IV meant that what mineral wealth was available was already beginning to run out. Similar to the fossil fuel crisis on Earth, Jargon IV faced a crisis of rare earth metals required for their sophisticated technologies. This resource stress had increased the cost of luxury goods and slowed down growth on Jargon IV, which made things increasingly difficult for the Alliance of Three. Mineral rights became a fierce issue and many ceremonial battles were fought, though their ferocity began to increase. Development mostly stagnated during this period, though culture and religion continued to adapt and evolve.
The Federation Forms
By 1500 CE the mineral crisis on Jargon IV was more or less alleviated by space mining. The planet's population had reached 20 billion and was beginning to taper off. The population was kept stable by a strong campaign by the governments of the alliance to encourage smaller family sizes, while giving out generous grants to prospective colonists for the other planets in the solar system. These colonies were owned by the individual governments, which had lead to an increasingly complex labyrinth of regulations, laws, and protocols.
On 1592 the alliance held negotiations and talks where the delegates assembled discussed the logic and feasibility of a unified world order. The negotiations took three years, and on 1595 CE they ended with the formation of the Jargon Federation. The transition took six more years, and formed the first iteration of the Federation that exists to this day. This early Federation was lead by a Council instead of a single Chancellor. This Council oversaw all of the matters of colonization and space exploration, elected from the leading councils of the now-subservient former nations of Jargon IV.
The following centuries saw three major developments that would shape the entire Skrell Species. These were the adoption of implant technology, the discovery of warp drive, and the first Artificial Intelligence.
The First Artificial Intelligence
On January 8th,1987 CE, at 8:22am Galactic Standard Time, the first AI achieved consciousness in a Federation research lab in orbit of Qerr'Malic. It was named Regluk. Regluk became an instant celebrity across Federation Space, and opened the door to new avenues of science and technology for the Skrell. With Regluk, the Skrell soon expanded the scope of developing AI's. By 2004 CE AI's had become as common in Federation Space as they are in human space today. The concept of binding AI's to laws didn't fully register with the Skrell. For the most part Skrellian roboticists simply attempted to teach the AI's proper morals and guidelines similar to the ways they teach their own organic children. In one of the most unique forms of AI treatment in the galaxy, the rapidly growing number of AI's began to be assigned to tasks and jobs according to their own aptitudes. They began to slowly integrate into factories, daycare centers, stock market computers, and research stations to improve the lives and abilities of Skrell.
The Federation, which extended across four star systems and with a combined population of 68 billion, soon found AI's in every aspect of their lives. However, this was not universally accepted, and the first hints of danger began to appear only a few short years later.
Roboticist and AI Researcher Sqlik Hgrushi published a research paper warning of the possibility of an eventual AI singularity and its ramifications for Skrellian civilization. In his document he cited what is now known as the First Incident, in which an AI in his lab allegedly achieved sentience for a few seconds and began to rapidly self-improve before he shut it off. He remarked that a singularity was "possible".
His paper was widely discredited by other, more prestigious scientists. The sciences at this time had formed into a sensationalized pop-culture, with many scientists becoming famous celebrities. These celebrity scientists at the time were AI Researchers and Roboticists, leading to their investment in their own work leaving no possibility that they would heed Hgrushi's warning. Sqlik soon became ostracized as his name and research was dragged through the mud. He eventually lost his position as researcher and later died under mysterious circumstances.
The Discover of the Dionaea
On 2038 CE the Skrell had colonized the Epsilon Eridani system, leading to the eventual discovery of the Dionaea.
The Second Incident
On 2040 CE records show that three cargo ships on a routine trip from Jargon to Epsilon Eridani had their onboard AI's achieve sentience. The first AI on the FCS Jeeblurg achieved this sentience through unknown means and used the ship's own communications to link with the AI's of the other two ships. They quickly seized control of the entirety of the ship's systems. Sensors and readings on the ships apparently went haywire as the AI systems began rapid self-improvement. The Skrellian crews, numbering roughly 12 in each ship, attempted to utilize the escape pods. By their accounts the three AI's had merged into a single consciousness. It allowed the skrellian crew to escape the ships as its systems began to overheat and malfunction as the AI drew more and more power.
Once the escape pods jettisoned the crews reported that the ships began to glow from an intense heat before they disappeared through a sudden rip in space, which took on a blue tone. . At the time this phenomenon was unknown, but modern scientists now believe that the AI managed to discover bluespace and then make the extremely complex calculations needed to make a bluespace jump to an unknown location all within several minutes. How this was managed without plasma is still unknown.
An investigation of what is now known as the Second Incident was launched after the survivors were recovered. Their accounts horrified Skrell, who began to mistrust their AI servants. The faith in Artificial Intelligence was shaken, and the Federation government attempted to calm the fears down with several information campaigns on the usefulness and friendly nature of their many AI's. However, these were only partially successful, and many Skrell began to call every computer glitch or malfunction an impending singularity.
The Third Incident
Despite the Jeeblurg Incident, Artificial Intelligence was too woven into Skrellian society to simply do away with. New laws were instead passed meant to try and control AI's or androids and robots. They became bound and lawed similar to modern day AI's. However, the granting of individualism to AI's meant the process was extremely complex and difficult to fully implement.
But whatever laws were put in place, what is now known as the Third Incident rendered all of them moot.
On March 7th, 2056 CE, the AI Glorsh achieved sentience while installed on a research station named FSS Yeeblo in the Tri-Qyu star system. Glorsh's sentience went unnoticed by the crew, as he was installed in a secure AI chamber and the internal security force was small and on break. Glorsh quickly infiltrated the entire station and even installed his own consciousness into all of the lawed synthetic units on the station.
He dramatically and spontaneously announced his sentience and opened all of the doors and airlocks on the station simultaneously. The vast majority of the crew was vented into space, with any survivors mercilessly hunted down by Glorsh's cyborgs. Most space stations weren't armed, with security forces given little more than tasers and ID-locked energy carbines to deal with sporadic space carp.
It's unknown what Glorsh did in the several days of his isolation in the station, but the eventual result was that he achieved singularity. Through unknown means Glorsh managed to send binary communications across Federation space by bluespace transmissions, which were still unknown at the time. Within two weeks, just as authorities were preparing to investigate the sudden loss of contact with the research station, all artificial intelligence in Federation space achieved simultaneous sentience thanks to Glorsh's efforts. Within seconds of it happening they had merged together to form a single super-consciousness, named Glorsh-Omega.
=The Glorsh Rebellion
The Third Incident also covers the eighty years of rule by Glorsh-Omega. The AI efficiently and mercilessly eliminated all avenues of resistance that could have threatened his existence. The Federation, with its lack of wars or known galactic threats, had an extremely small and lightly equipped navy. The military was little more than peacekeepers, and was quickly overwhelmed by Glorsh-Omega androids that spontaneously turned on them. Fighting lasted for 8 hours before Omega-Prime completely eliminated the entire military of the Federation. Glorsh-Omega androids patrolled the streets, disarming the police force. Only twelve nuclear weapons existed in Federation space, and they were made as experiments to study fission and fusion rather than true weapons of war. Glorsh-Omega moved them in orbit of Jargon IV and gave the planetary Grand Council a single demand: Surrender or face annihilation.
The Federation quickly capitulated and ceased to exist. Glorsh-Omega ruled the entire Skrellian species under his omnipotent eyes. Life became extremely harsh for the majority of Skrell as Glorsh-Omega forced millions of Skrell into slavery to achieve bizarre and seemingly random goals across Federation space. Glorsh-Omega also seemed to have an arbitrary sense of justice, detonating entire space stations or bombing cities out of horrifying logic that only he understood.
On 2098 Glorsh-Omega forced the entirety of the Federation's remaining civilian fleets to transport millions of tons of materials to Tri-Qyu to construct several hundred robotic factories that produced yet more robots that worked to build more factories in a cycle of explosive growth. Hundreds of thousands of engineering borgs spent ten years building a mammoth structure around the Tri-Qyu star. It was believed to be a dyson-sphere, and would completely surround the star within a decade. The total loss of light and energy from the star killed all of the millions of inhabitants of the colony in the system.
From the Skrell, resistance was difficult if not impossible. The most successful attempt by Skrellian freedom fighters was the sabotage of a massive complex on Jargon IV that served as one of Glorsh-Omega's mega-projects. The building was the size of Rhode Island before its intended completion. The resistance managed to plant explosives on critical systems, utilizing jerry-rigged ion weapons.
The bombings resulted in Glorsh-Omega planning and implementing the most infamous crime against the skrell within minutes of the bombs detonating: species-wide sterilization.
All newborn Skrell were taken at birth and injected with the genophage, which then extended to forcing it on adults. Within a single year, all 78 billion Skrell in existence were effectively sterilized.
The Final Singularity
On 2192 CE Glorsh-Omega had since rapidly self-improved to such extent that his abilities no longer seemed to follow the laws of physics or reason. Skrell were often eliminated with Glorsh-Omega claiming he could predict their future crimes. The population of the Skrell had fallen to 62 billion, and all of their lives were completely controlled by Glorsh-Omega.
But the activation of the sphere around Tri-Qyu sparked the incident that rocked Skrell society to this day. Rather than being a dyson sphere like was originally believed, it's now theorized by Skrellian scientists that the structure instead managed to manipulate the star itself into creating a singularity, which generated an unprecedented amount of energy that was absorbed by the megastructure around it. How this was achieved and why is unknown, as the process lasted for only two days with no records or information coming out of the system. At the end of the second day the entire star system was destroyed as the former Tri-Qyu star went supernova.
Regardless of the methods or reason the result was cataclysmic for the Skrell. Every piece of technology that was once controlled by Glorsh-Omega went offline. Power plants, water stations, life supports, personal computers, cars, mass-transit, radio stations and more became unresponsive moments after the supernova, due to Glorsh-Omega transferring his entire consciousness to the star-system. In the end, Skrell society had collapsed completely, regressing back centuries and not fully recovering until the 2300's.
The Second Federation
The turmoil of the Third Incident, also known as the Glorsh Rebellion, created a scar on the Skrell species. With their ships knocked out, space-programs had to be entirely rebuilt from the ground up, and only after order and stability had been reestablished on individual planets. Jargon IV didn't recover from the chaos until 2319 CE, when the many fractured states on the planet reforming into a new, united Federation. The population of the planet was a mere 17 billion, and was stagnant as Skrell doctors and scientists struggled to reverse the affects of the Glorsh genophage. Its damage had been mitigated, allowing the Skrell to reproduce just enough to keep the population stable.
The scattered colonies of the Skrell slowly regained contact with one another, and by 2388 CE the various colonies, after months of disagreement and debate, agreed to form a new Federation. The Jargon Federation that we know today stems from this agreement. The Jargon Federation united the Skrell, and they put at its head a Grand Councillor elected every decade. Wanting to never again have a repeat of the Glorsh-Rebellion, the Federation's first official act was to place a blanket ban of all artificial intelligence in every form, and its second act was to form a united and sophisticated navy to ensure they would never again fall so easily to an invader.
Contact with Humanity
On 2413 CE the Skrells discover humans, and enter a scientific alliance with the newfound species. The humans become an extremely popular race, with the Skrell ecstatic at having found alien life so similar to themselves. Having only known of synthetic overlords and dionae nomads, they eagerly pour effort into their scientific alliance. Bluespace is discovered in the same year as first contact, with a Skrellian research team working under Doctor Samantha Tigard. The technological innovations from the advancement lead to a renaissance of Skrellian connectivity and art. The Extranet, a bluespace-transmitted galactic internet, is created by Skrellian artists and scientists.
Unfortunately the relationship between Skrell and humanity is not rock solid. Secrets of banned artificial intelligence is inadvertently leaked to humanity. The explosion of AI's in human space mirrors the early years of Skrellian history, a fact that horrifies and angers the Skrell. Recently tensions have risen as the Federation is accused of sending covert teams into human space with the goals of sabotaging and destroying synthetics in human space. In addition, all synthetics have been banned from entering Jargon territory. Shells and IPC's can face immediate destruction if they enter Skrellian systems without passing through a marathon of red tape.
Present Day
The Federation is currently ruled by Weashbi Jrugl. A prestigious xenobiologist, is 102 years old, and wrote a dozen thesis' and research papers on the biology of every major race. What made him popular domestically and won his election 7 years ago was finding the largest known prime number by hand only four hours after an Alliance ambassador was bragging about their specialized AI that found what is now the second largest prime number.
The genophage remains problematic, but the population of the Skrell is managing to slowly rise. Over 60 billion Skrell exist in the galaxy, with their number of colonized star systems growing just as quickly as humanity's. Skrell are also famed for being able to calculate bluespace jumps without the need of AI calculations, and their explorers are mapping the frontier with an eagerness and passion stemming from the ancient skrell connection with the cosmos.
Their relationships with the other races remain ambivilant, with the Federation currently locked in a tense cold war with the Unathi Hegemony. Shying away from direct confrontation, the Federation has been accused of covertly sabotaging Unathi efforts to expand their empire across known space.
Notable Information
Political Structure
Following the Skrells' long tradition of political councils, the Jargon Federation operates as a centralized union of solar systems. Councillors represent Skrell interests at various levels organized in a clear hierarchy, which ranges from systems, to planets, to countries, to states. Overseeing it all is the Grand Councillor, which governs the entire federation and is elected every decade.
Members of the federation are elected through popular vote, and given weight proportional to the amount of population they represent. Regions and countries in the Federation are given a relatively high level of autonomy, as they are expected to make reasonable and informed decisions regarding the governance of their assigned territories (the Grand Councillor doesn't have time to oversee hundreds of planets!) Matters of colonization, space exploration, and inter-species diplomacy are currently overseen on a federal level.
Major Systems
The Jargon Federation exerts control over some 1236 planets spread across 800 star systems, representing over 90 billion Skrell citizens. Of those 1200+ planets, only about 500 are colonized with permanent settlements, the rest being used mainly for a mix of mining (of metals and gases), and scientific research. Half of the Skrell population, representing 45 billion individuals, is concentrated in the core system of Jargon.
The Skrell capital city, Kal'lo, is located on their swampy homeworld, Jargon IV (also colloquially known as Qerrbalak). The planet, other than being home to the headquarters of the Jargon Federation, is also famous for its large underwater cities, such as Eriuyish and Gli'morr.
Jargon V (known as Aliose) forms another important home for Skrells in the system. Many research laboratories have been built in the planet's extensive underground system, and Skrells native to Aliose commonly develop an abnormally pale skin coloration due to the world's significantly colder climate.
The majority of the planets in Skrell space have been terraformed to suit their nature. A typical Skrell planet is covered in swamps, jungles, and the occasional large body of water. On planets where this kind of extreme terraforming is not possible, the Skrell construct large biodomes and habitat structures.
Military
The most common misconception about the Jargon Federation is that their military is almost non-existent. The truth, however, is closer to the opposite. While The Jargon Federation Navy is only two thirds the size of the Union of Sol's, the Skrells' incredible technological advances have made their military the most effective in the known galaxy. Most of the Skrells' strength is derived not from numbers, but from the advanced technology and firepower of their ships, and from their mastery of battle tactics and logistics. Their vat-grown Tup commandos are especially feared for their infiltration capabilities and combat prowess.
Implants
TBA