Khydallan

## General Overview

The Khydallans are silicon based life, and are therefore inorganic in nature. All in all, they can be described as "Living Rock" with a reptile-like appearance. Due to their inorganic nature, they have no need to breathe and often wear very little clothing due to very little need for insulation and protection from the elements. Their body possesses a low power form of electro-plasma, feeding off of radioactive matter to sustain themselves long-term. Via channeling certain crystals in their bodies, they can attack with radiation attacks from their limbs.

An interesting trait they possess is the ability to consume minerals, and process them into a crystalline state, often growing out of their backs in a refined state (This allows them to refine Dilithium ore into crystals by simply ingesting it). In addition, their body has nodes that possesses a natural SIF field, which can cause shattered portions of their body to be inclined to stay together even when disconnected. Experienced Khydallans that learn to control this internal SIF can sometimes adorn themselves with floating crystals from their own bodies suspended from their bodies, sometimes taking on wing-like formations. Should a Khydallan's limb be severed, careful energy based surgery can encourage the SIF field to interlink with their severed limb based on their own memory of their body's form of what it once was. The limb becomes suspended via the SIF field in its original position pre-severing, with small streams of magnetically contained electro-plasma arcing between the two body-pieces, allowing their separated limb to live once more.

Much of their culture was still in a tribal state, yet had interesting technological development due to their high energy physiology, applying aspects of their own body into their technology. Electro-plasmic technology was discovered very early, roughly translating to "Blood Magic" in their language. Hovercrafts and airships which were nothing more than graviton infused rock chunks sculpted into platforms with a control pedestal were common to see. Their greatest achievement was the preservation of their own memory crystals, being able to convey their memories to their descendant post-mortem. In this, the past of their ancestors gives them strength and wisdom.

At some point in their time on their homeworld, the precursors of the Consortium made contact with them, who were desperate for resources in time. Awe-inspired by their unusual control over energy fields, they opted to negotiate a trade agreement, minerals in exchange for useful commodities, and unintentionally, knowledge. This resulted in an accidental uplift of the Khydallans, yet they took this knowledge in stride, disagreeing with some conventional design doctrines and opted to apply their own physiology to create their first functioning warp core with startling effectiveness.

Soon enough, many Khydallan tribes joined the Consortium, specialising in mineral management, alloy synthesis, and due to their unique memory preservation, they function as effective instructors. Their ship doctrine building is to literally take an asteroid and turn it into a ship, forcing mineral crystallisation on it to build new resonant energy conduits and emission alignment crystals suspended in hollow-wings for impulse engines. Their ships often possess no form of life support, as Khydallans are very suited to spacewalking without any sort of EV protection. Their main weapons are Resonant Disruptors, which are ironically effective against themselves, due to these weapons being developed when Khydallan tribes warred against each other (This has resulted in them creating amorphous mixes of armour mineralogy to dampen this aspect.) Technological contributions to the Consortium have been enhanced SIF, and the development of suspended ablative plating hovering in front of the ship's main plating.

## Established History

First discovered through the Consortium. They appear to have made first contact with them first, having been accidentally uplifted through new means of thinking with their existing tech. Due to discovering how to sail the stars via this knowledge, the Khydallans opted to join the precursors of the Consortium after the Khydallans assisted them with resource problems, becoming the backbone of mineral and metal management. Elderly Khydallans can learn to shapeshift in some forms, sometimes tacking on Draconic forms.

## Notes

* The Khydallan species was developed by Lurai Kir
* The Khydallan were first encountered in the U.S.S. Nemesis episode, "*Consortium*" on the *23rd August 2019*