Cunones

**Cunones** are a race of Teadr 3 feline beings native to the Planet Cunoone (Zeta Universe, Ougus Sector, Nukston System). These beings are the second race the Humans met and one of the founding races of the United Sentient Races Alliance. They live in a militaristic society with a sense of pride, power, spirit, and strength, and they are thus considered the bravest and hardiest of the USRA races, to the point where they serve as one of the militaristic races for them. They are also the only race that had been given full permission to enter the Original UUniverses to explore, in addition to being the race that was the most hurt of the humans departure, and not only formed their own rebellion, but members of their race served in other rebellions.

## History

The Cunones evolved from carnivorous ape-like felines on the Planet Cunoone. These ancestors were semi-quadrupedal predatory cats with four small sabre-like teeth with two on each jaw. They were coordinated and intelligent hunters that hunted in large prides. Soon they learned to make tools once they became more bipedal. Their ingenuity and mastery of hunting and gathering made them excellent at populating, making them plentiful across their homeworld. They became widespread across the planet and remained hunters and gatherers much longer than AUU and OUU humans, surviving even during the most catastrophic of climate changes and mass extinctions. They discovered how to master all the classes of fire, and how to wield chemical reactions like oil and sulfur, which allowed them easier hunting, as well as powerful predatory mounts, early machines, explosives, and primitive forms of armor. This resilience in survival ended up making neighboring tribes into allies and often enemies, resulting in an era called the Tribal War Ages, which lasted for about a million years. But once this war caused damage to their planet that even they could not handle, they not only came together to fix it, but they adapted to an omnivorous diet. After saving only 85% of their planet, they moved into a social hierarchy and had begun to develop new countries, creating their own culture and religion.

In time, the Cunones became an imperial Medieval society, where they still rode mounts, used more developed weapons, began to work more on metals, making the bricks of their buildings out of metal because of Cunoone's extreme richness in metals such as titanium, platinum, iron, cobalt, aluminum, gold, bronze, copper, nickel, etc, they developed their own knighthood, and from there they began 5000 years in this setting with wars, conflict, changes, and advancement in technology. Though they did not go into a renaissance, they had only advanced in technology, art, and other fields slowly but quickly. Though they still retained some semblance of a Medieval society, they learned to literally merge all the bricks of their large metal castles and create a building, and with the vast amounts of metal, they managed to decorate most of the planet's surface with these new metallic structures, while engineering their own artificial terrain. They soon decorated these buildings with bronze which became the most common metal on the planet after a Bronze Rush, which made bronze the most valued currency on Cunoone, they developed antigravity using compressed air, they learned how to make their melee weapons vibrate, they learned how to use the weather to control climate change, and so on. After a few more wars, they became a unified global metropolis.

However, time came for them to establish contact with aliens across the AUU. But since they did not have any modern space-age technology in the AUU yet, they instead created a space program where they would send several cryogenically-frozen individuals inside large scout ships and launched them across space with thrusters that are only half light-speed and luckily solar-powered so that it can go for long distances. They even created powerful hyperscopes and powerful transmitter satellites and launched them off across space at the same speed as the scout ships, for the sole purpose of making any contact with any alien life. But their plan worked too well as the first aliens they came in contact with was the Teadr 2 Veexomites, which were intent on conquering a Teadr 3 race since their power-hungry queen saw Teadr 3 races as a challenge for her campaign. Their superiority in combat and technology allowed them to overpower the Cunones and assimilate their planet. The Cunones thus had to get potential help. They launched their scout ships, and while most would crash upon the future colonies of the Cunone Empire, one touched down on Marbon, the home planet of the humans, on 101 AB.

The humans and their Naroudan allies were able to recover the cryogenically-frozen Cunones and these individuals not only gave offerings to show their peace, but they needed help to fight against the Veexomites, as their attempts at a space-age had worked too well and they contacted a hostile invading alien race. All this had taken several years, and yet thankfully Cunoone was still fighting against the Veexomites. When looking into this fight, the humans and Naroudans discovered that the Veexomites are threatening to use lethal technology to obliterate Cunoone and knock it out of orbit. The races agree to help them to test their fairly-new alliance's efficiency and the humans' technological progress and resilience, and the Great Veexomite War had begun. It lasted for over 10 years and by 111 AB, the races were getting close to losing in one final battle. But that was when they had the chance to call for help from a new race of rat-like hominids called Yuruns. They agreed to help with the promise of technology-exchange, which the Yuruns call 'techneconomy', and they give them the strength to defeat the Veexomites, and wipe out the entire race by using their own astro-lasers against them after a successful espionage and knocking their own home planet of Veexine out of it's orbit. Since the end of the Veexomite War, the 4 races had joined forces, and together, the 4 races formed the USRA.

## Biology

Cunones are feline humanoids that stand approximately 5ft tall, although some sexual dimorphism is found as females can, in certain cases, be smaller than males. They share features of many feline species such as a muscular system comparable to a tiger, the speed-built lightweight anatomy and leg structure of a cheetah which albeit not making them as fast, make them faster than an average human at speeds of approximately 40 mph. They can possess the manes of lions, yet both genders can possess manes, and the manes are analogous to human hair. They possess smaller whiskers than an average cat that can still pick up vibrations and allow for extrasensory perception. They also have claws that are made of more densely-packed keratin, making them stronger, allowing them to climb better and scratch the toughest of wood.

They possess eight lobes in their brains: parietal, temporal, occipital, frontal, limbic, insular, reptilian, and anabolic. The reptilian and limbic parts of the brain are equally as dominant as the neocortex, making them equally aggressive, emotional, and logical. The anabolic lobe is a lobe that increases metabolic efficiency by being the source of the anabolic system, which is an extension of the circulatory system that can double metabolic processing. This makes Cunones produce more complex proteins, hormones, and androgens as well as giving them more health, circulated mostly by the brain. Their limbic lobes and reptilian lobes have connections to the endocrine system in order to balance out each other as they stimulate the anabolic lobe to produce the corresponding molecules. The limbic lobe enhances the senses to levels above an average feline even in the AUU. Their ears are so powerful it gives them more balance, and like any feline, they have acute night vision. Cunones are expert problem-solvers as they can calculate and think quicker thanks to a nervous system richer in neurons, allowing them to process information faster. This also gives them greater sight and smell as well as hunting experience and natural combat instinct, and can adapt and strategize quicker than an average human.

Despite being a foot shorter than humans, Cunone physical strength is greater thanks to enhanced musculature from different muscle cell anatomy with more nuclei and myofibril, and it allows one individual to lift a human greatly. Their bones are also more densely compacted to make them more hard, yet still not indestructible as their fragile frame is needed for natural feline agility.

They have striped tails that can often be fuzzy or straight, their coats can come in many natural colors such as brown, white, tan, or orangish-apricot, and their eye color can range from red, orange, yellow, and green. Cunone fur is thicker than an average feline and this gives them greater resistance to cold environments.

## Society and Culture

Cunones have a belief in strength, power, and spirit, which is why they have a habit of exploring new worlds and expanding their empire, have a fascination with weaponry and combat, and are often curious. They are really playful once they get properly introduced and have gotten used to strangers, and are usually happy for various meats. Cunones can often see cowardice as a form of weakness, but they are often known to express emotions in a wider variety than other races. They can often display cat-like behavior including the kittens being distracted with small insects, playing with yarn balls and scratching trees, which is how many cities have wooden statues, and they can enjoy meat-based sweets and treats. However a majority of these types of Cunone are in their early prime years, while the middle-aged are the most instinct-prone and focused due to years of experience.

The Cunones live in an elective monarchy similar in certain ways to the Roman Empire. The Emperor has to be elected through not just election campaigns, but traditional rites-of-passage where they test their resolve in rough situations, which don’t always involve violence. The empire is made up of three major elements: the central noble government called the Imperial Principate where a complex organization of nobles, royals, consols, assemblies, etc, the Consilium, run by a Minister Count, manages executive, legislative, and judicial powers under the command of the Emperor in the Municipality Palace, the military police called the Praetorian Guard, or simply the Praetorium, which consists of the lictors who were the average squadron officers, legates which commanded many squadrons, praetors which were a higher class serving as greater strategy command as well as, in some cases, judge and jury, the centurions which were enhanced super-soldiers for greater battles, and is ultimately run by the Directing General, headquartered in the Central Praetorian Castrum, and the provincial government called the Prefecture, organizing not just far outside territory, but far outside territory on other planetary colonies. The Prefecture has extreme enhancements due to the expansive colonization across Cunoone and the other planets, especially since part of Cunoone is covered by an ecumenopolis.

Cunones live in a complex class system and citizenship is managed, as well as labor, infrastructure, economy, and so on. These heads, called Censors, reported directly to the Consilium. The classes were restricted of certain securities, tech or otherwise. The citizen class, called the Plebeians, are the lowest but most important class whose census and morale is crucial to maintain. The labor class, the Proletariats, were given median security clearance, and are in charge of banking and finances across the country. The infrastructure class, the Aediles, were in charge of maintenance on all buildings and monuments all over a given area. The economy class, the Argentarians, are in charge of trade, resources, money, and finances.

(TBC…)

## Technology

Cunone technology is tested on the battlefield as opposed to human trial-and-error, as they view a failure in an experiment as a militaristic strength. This method has mostly succeeded, and if it doesn't, Cunones are experts in escaping danger as well as forward thinking.

#### **Power**

Cunone power is taken advantage of thanks to the stormy patterns of their home planet of Cunoone. This weather had not only allowed them to master compressed air, but also gave them wind power generators in the most stormy of lands. Wind turbines can be found on the temperate areas of the planet, but the most advanced wind reactors are found in the most inhospitable areas of the planet. They also have solar power as a fitting alternate source of power, and like many races, they rely on algae-based and extremophile-based biofuels for their vehicles.

#### **Material**

Because of the richness of metals on Cunoone, as well as in asteroids and the other planets in their system, Cunones have mastered metallurgy and welding the most mighty of weapons. Their extensive study in the periodic table allowed them endless possibilities in metallurgy, and they have learned to fuse molecules together with powerful welding glues called atomic adhesive. They have mastered metamaterials and have created hundreds of alloys for any and all types of purposes, making metals that are dense, lightweight, flexible, strong, resistant, conductive, insulating, and so on.

They are also experts at producing plastics, rubbers, semiconductors, and biomaterials. Polymers are mostly what made up the commonplace clothing of Cunone citizens, rubbers like elastomers and latex were made for operatives, biomaterials were often an environmentally-friendly type of constructive material for machines or clothes, as well as powerful and biodegradable plastics, and their semiconductor technology is about as equal in mastery to humans or many other Teadr 3 races. Their top and most common biopolymer is a hybrid of chitin and cellulose called chitulose, useful for its durability. But a stronger biopolymer is osteolose, which is made of a keratin-like metallic substance. But there is also neuropolymers that can be used to make smart suits, and these smart suits can act as an electromagnetic adhesive for any type of fashion statement or armor plating.

Their most treasured metal is bronze. This metal is the most prevalent on Cunoone and it makes up their currency, as well as composing much of their infrastructure. They in turn managed to create other stronger copper alloys thanks to their Bronze Rush. Thanks to copper’s conductive properties, they created an electrum-like alloy called electrophorate, named after its great use in neuropolymer creation thanks to its electrophoresis properties, in which it can break up DNA. Other revolutionary metals include liquid metal foams of hydrostatic metal polymers that are used in inner suits, especially smart suits, piezoelectric materials that can communicate through bone and metal and acts as artificial muscle in power suits, and especially bioelectric polymers called bioelectropolymers that can make the wearer not only immune to electricity, but also use it to maximize their electrical activity and energy.

#### **AI and Automation**

Their advancement in materials allowed them to even engineer advanced electrical signals and machinery, thus allowing them to eventually produce 50%-smart artificial intelligence. But their greatest strength in AI is in their robotics. Their robots come in hundreds of variety, but their military drones, unmanned vehicles, war robots, and combat-based machines were what they are widely known for in the field of robotics. Their robots used bioplastic and biomaterials for flexibility and they used high-tensile metals for armor. After joining the USRA, the Cunones hooked their robotic network into the Omninet. They do not use many robots for labor because of their views for strength, and when they do, it is remotely operated.

#### **Medical Advances and Biotechnology**

The Cunones' adaptation to an omnivorous diet allowed them to ingest any medical herbs in ancient times, and this evolved into elixirs later and then this allowed them to apply it into their chemical mastery and their habit of testing their experiments on the battlefield. Their testing even allowed them to discover new elixirs, serums, enhancements, and so on. Cunones have great knowledge in nanotechnology using powerful chemically-controlled enzymes called nanozymes, they can create synthetic prosthetics, or they can alternatively use stemcells to recreate body parts, they can create artificial antibodies or biological agents, and they can reverse-engineer biomechanical workings of a living organism even to the microscopic level.

#### **Communications and Computing**

Cunones had mastered holograms using optical illusions and mirrors they learned from a strategy on the battlefield using mirrors. These mirrors, called electromirrors, are made up of a conductive crystalline glass that can function as a smart-lens. Thus it can be commanded to do anything. They are also how they learned computers. Their screens are electromirror-based and they can take in light and use solar energy to function. In time, they learned more advanced holography and screen display, creating more modern computing and communications technology.

Cunones created their own Omninet in order for them have a broader ability to broadcast and communicate with each other, and even hooked everything electronic they had into this Omninet, allowing them access to anything even at vast distances. They even learned to use electromirrors as face-time communicators.

#### **Space-Faring**

The Cunones, despite being Teadr 3, had not adequately mastered space-age technology until the Great Veexomite War, since they could only go to half-hyperspace at the time. Their space program allowed them develop not only new types of space-faring technology quickly, but their scout ships filled with dozens of cryogenically-frozen Cunones allowed them to colonize all the outside worlds they have now. Since founding the USRA, the Cunones have mastered space-faring technology allowing them to build powerful spaceships and efficient hyperdrive.

Cunones have learned how to mine asteroid belts and harvest more resources from them, as well as to use the asteroids to create primitive spatial structures. They can use jetpacks that go half the speed of light, or often over 17,000 mph, autonomous satellites that can do anything, and solar power is the prime power for all of these spatial machines.

Cunones have even learned independently to reverse-engineer the weather-based terraformation used by the humans. This has proven useful previously for preserving environments from climate change, but it was also useful for the scout ships to terraform their exoplanetary locations upon the aftermath of the Great Veexomite War.

#### **Weapons**

Cunone weaponry is advanced even when they use a semblance of primitive nature. Cunone firearms use more powerful chemicals, which all allow the bullets inside to not just fire, but disintegrate and convert into any form of offensive energy. These include pulse blasts that can knock out their target from a long distance, laser-converted firearms, plasma-converted firearms, and often the explosive, incendiary, electric, and corrosive type. Explosive grenades exist which can be upgraded to up the power for greater damage, as well as missile-based explosives. They have also mastered antimatter bombs, which can be potentially more powerful than nuclear weaponry, but also do not have the radioactive fallout that follows.

Cunone melee weapons are noted for being incredibly strong thanks to being forged from durable metals including alloys of tough metals. These melee weapons' metal color can indicate superiority and are occasionally only wielded by those of the rank they represent. Silver-titanium weapons are for the low-class like the lictors which make the backbone of the Praetorian Guard. Bronze-titanium weapons are for the middle-class like legates or praetors, who are the second most critical members of the Praetorian Guard. Gold-titanium weapons are for the high-class members like centurions, the Directing General, the magistrates, and even non-military members. All these weapons can come with either energetic edges, or can be vibroweapons, in which the weapon vibrates, making them more dangerous. The weight of these weapons do not seem to be a concern because it shows strength in the Cunone who wields them.

#### **Vehicles and Buildings**

Cunones moved away from mounts out of respect to their species and to spare them from participating in their rigorous lifestyle that could do potential harm. Instead, thanks to their development of compressed-air-based antigravity, they have managed to create hovercraft vehicles that, despite not being able to fly, can hover above the ground allowing for an all-terrain experience. They have also managed to use compressed-air-based thrusters in aircraft technology like hovercopters, dropships and gunships, and even flying fortresses, as well as flying cars.

Cunones have advanced architectural technology as demonstrated by the setting of their home planet, which is currently a temperate ecumenopolis planet with massive Teadr 3 cities that span most of every continent. The cities consist of bronze buildings with holographic windows, red and yellow lights, screen displays and propaganda, a 75% abundance of plants, and flying vehicles. However the walls inside can consist of biopolymers that serve as a limited smart-room, the tops of the buildings have solar plating to provide the building with cheap power, as the output in a full morning can last even at night.