Vannai

Referred to in latin taxonomy as Absconditum salamandrae in some circles and "the Ayys" in many others, the Vannai are the first alien species encountered by humanity, now rendered extinct following the conclusion of Operation Mothership. They were an enemy of mankind, responsible for enacting the invasion of Earth in 2014 and the war that followed, though their motives would remain a mystery right up until the end of their species in late 2017. They are survived by the Hybrids they created and the many homicidal machines still left on Earth in the wake of the Human-Vannai War. From traits observed in the one single living Vannai ever encountered by humans, and examination of its DNA after its demise, the species possessed traits similar to Axolotl, leading to them being referred to as salamandrae.
==Biology and Appearance==
Only one Vannai was ever seen in person, but examinations of the genetic material recovered from its corpse show it as a typical example of its species. The Vannai were somewhat taller than the average human, with long limbs ending in hands with three hooked fingers and one thumb. Their skin was a translucent pinkish-white, with blotchy, bruise-like purple patches beneath the surface, and had a soft, rubbery texture. Vannai eyes were oval in shape, and appeared to be solid orange in color. The pupils of the eyes were very small and vertical in shape, which, combined with the wide-angled orientation on the head, gave the Vannai excellent spatial awareness, but also poor night vision.
Overall body shape was ectomorphic, with sloped shoulders and long necks, supporting a large head. The ears were very large and sensitive, growing vertically and curling outwards at the ends, giving the appearance of horns when viewed directly from the front. Lacking nostrils, scent identification was done via a trio of stalks growing from the forehead. Vannai lacked teeth and had wide mouths, indicating they fed by swallowing prey whole.
Vannai blood is shown to be purple when oxygenated - a result of being based around the protein haemerythrin (as opposed to red hemoglobin found in humans). Haemerythrin blood is a protein commonly found on Earth in marine invertebrates. Obvious evidence of genetic tampering shows that Vannai blood has been altered to facilitate a heavily-optimized form of photosynthesis that produces both oxygen and nutrients from light sufficient enough for a Vannai organism to survive without need for sustenance or breath with suitably low levels of activity. The specimen recovered from the mothership had replaced its natural blood with an altogether artificial substance identified as AO-00B.
The Vannai share a number of biological traits with the Axolotl, a species of lake-dwelling amphibians, including a remarkably potent regeneration ability that allowed them to replace lost limbs and even less vital areas of the brain that had been lost or damaged, a feature that very likely formed the basis of Hydra nanites. The lack of pigmentation found in the skin, combined with the presence of haemerythrin, suggest that the Vannai evolved in water-filled, subterranean caverns. The poor low-light vision is unexplained by this theory, but it is possible that these caverns were well-lit by natural means. While such well-developed aural sensory organs would be useless underwater, the large ears might have been used for echolocation to navigate dry cave-areas and compensate for poor low-light vision.
The Vannai's lack of offensive or defensive biological features indicate a heavy and early reliance on tools for survival once forced to compete with rival species, supported by their disproportionately large brains and, as a result, very high individual intelligence. As food sources tend to be scarce in cave environments, proto-Vannai were likely fiercely individualist, opportunistic hunters.
==Culture and History==
What is known about the Vannai's history has been gleaned from scant notes and passing mentions from the Engineers' late leadership. Although the individuals in question were granted access to the Vannai's "cipher" through the downloading of a massive data repository during Operation Fastball, this complete and accurate encyclopedia on the aliens culture and history was never accessed or shared with anyone else, and the subsequent death of these specific individuals means the answers humanity has sought for the destruction these aliens brought to Earth have been lost to oblivion. 
Painstaking research through other avenues has pieced together small pieces of the Vannai species, though ultimately most of what is known is little better than expert speculation. The most concrete data on the Vannai was extracted from the corpse of Prisoner One, though as of 2020 the cadaver has gone missing, meaning any further information on the aliens is not likely to be forthcoming.
The Vannai species are believed to have evolved on a barren, rocky world orbiting a pulsar. This planet, attributed the name "Vann" by human scholars and tentatively identified in Vannish as {^v-^^v--^-^v^^-^v^^-vv^v-vv-v^vv^v-^^^-^vv^^}, possessed in inhospitable, atmosphereless surface, an iron-rich crust, and a cool, metallic mantle. The conduction of x-rays and microwaves provided just barely enough heat within the planet to foster and sustain subterranean life in water-filled caverns that filled the planets' porous crust. 
Unlike humans, who evolved early into clan and tribal groups, gradually increasing in complexity to society and civilization, Vannai never reached such a stage in their species' development, remaining isolationist well into developing sapience. The Vannai never developed familial concepts, seeking reproduction only for instinctual fulfillment and remaining alone for most of their lifespan otherwise. As a result, whereas humans developed civilization from efforts to ensure the needs of the many were addressed, the Vannai civilization was born only out of shared curiosity to understand the world around them. Combined with low genetic variance and r-biased reproductive strategy, Vannai culture developed with little factionalization.
Before the invasion of Earth, the Vannai never engaged in full-scale war the same way humans did. Prone to rational thought, the direct violence among the Vannai was rare, and was rarer still to ever escalate beyond interpersonal. Cooperation was encouraged due to the logical benefits, but true breakthroughs were jealously guarded, and secrets tended to be spread through observation and emulation. As a result, the Vannai became masters at adapting technology and progressed quickly without cultural or superstitious barriers to block the way of their advancement.
The Vannai's rapid development came at the cost of what little habitability their homeworld could provide. This was initially of no concern to the Vannai, as they by now easily possessed the means to move their civilization into artificial habitats in space. Unfortunately for the Vannai, they had overlooked a previously unrealized mechanism of their reproductive process, relying on the bacteria Ligma which had invariably been eradicated by the Vannai in relation to their exodus from Vann. Without Ligma, the Vannai had become a doomed species. In order to slow their demise, the bulk of the Vannai species was put into cryosleep while the Vannai's top minds devised a solution, which would lead to the invasion of Earth in 2014 as the Vannai sought a means to cultivate Ligma from humans. Unwilling to take to the field of battle themselves, the Vannai instead settled on a plan to instigate a species-wide war by forcing a portion of the human population under their will. Outfitting these dominated human subjects with their own weapons and technology, these human slaves would eventually become known as the Vannai Puppets.
Being much more technologically advanced than Humanity and foreseeing that the overwhelming technological advantage their Puppets would have would provide combat data of negligible use, an opposition force that would use the suits to fight on the side of humanity was allowed to exist. This opposition force would become the Armor Corps and later its various spin-off groups.
Though the Vannai doubtlessly learned much about human warfare over the years, the consistent success of the Armor Corps against their puppet forces eventually saw the Vannai forced off of Earth and back into space with the conclusion of Operation Unity. With the successful completion of Operation Mothership resulting in the destruction of the mothership in orbit around Earth, the Vannai have been completely wiped out as of 2017.
Category:PACYOA: TE
Category:TE Factions
Category:TE Species
Category:Vannai