Hekerin

Hailing from Hekeri, the mouse-like Hekerin people are known for their cultural solitude and impressive ability to source tritium, an important component in nuclear power generation.

## Physiology

Hekerin are most well known for their mouse-like tails, ears, and legs, but are otherwise very similar to humans.

There is little difference between male and female Hekerin aside from genitals. The females' breasts are generally on the small side, even if there are always exceptions, and their heights and body shape are remarkably similar, with strong legs and a thin waist. Both gender tend to gain fat around the hips first.

Hekerin skin is thick, and is often rough or calloused due to their ancestral penchant for desert living in the Sunlands of Hekeri, and covered in a very light fuzz. It offers protection against both the harsh climate and the radiation found close to the gravity sling entrance.

The retina of their eyes glow a faint light -- in various colours depending on the individual -- which makes them easier to make out in the dark when their pupils are dilated. Their big ears offer them excellent hearing.

They have three fingers on each hand, and two large toes on each foot, giving them unique hand and foot prints.

They are omnivorous and are known to hunt and gather, much like tribal humans.

## Culture

Known to be somewhat xenophobic, Hekerin often only leave their planet to trade. As such, few Hekerin are seen abroad.

Hekerin tend to keep to tribes and generally live a nomadic, hunter-gatherer life, but because of the increase of traders on Hekeri due to the advent of nuclear fusion universe-wide, some Hekerin tribes have become more sedentary in order to farm the valuable tritium gas common to Hekeri.

While the beliefs and culture are extremely varied between all the tribes, most Hekerin have some sort of religious attachment to celestial objects, be it one of their moons, their sun, or even the occasional crashed ship. Their culture is so varied in fact that each tribe has a different name for their race, their planet, and most of the observable astronomical phenomena in their sky.

They also believe that the tunnel linking both sides of their planet is sacred, just as the area around the entrance. Many Hekerin tribes make pilgrimmages to the other side in search of spiritual enlightenment or the rekindling of their connection to their land.

In the Sunlands, the tritium gas used to be part of that worship before the traders came and the mentalities started to change. Some tribes welcomed this with time, but others believe this to be the worst disaster that befell their planet and was a great threat to their culture. A lot of the more progressive Hekerin have indeed started to adopt the common tongue brought by the traders, as well as some of their technology to facilitate the harvest of tritium.

## Fashion and Function

Hekerin fashion is just as varied as the cultures and beliefs between tribes. There are several general categories of clothing styles that can be found throughout the tribes of Hekeri, though they are all rather unique in color, patterning, and drape between tribes.

The more progressive Hekerin that often interact and mingle with other species typically wear long tunics and billowy pants or skirts. Because of the heat of the planet itself, the fabrics are all breathable and light, purely adopted by the Hekerin due to the influence of other races. With the more common style of clothing, the colors are kept to a minimum, usually worn by children and youth around the hems of tunics.

Traditional and nomadic tribes wear far less than the traders do, if simply for safety and comfort. What may be standard feelings on exposure doesn't apply to the desert-dwelling tribes, often wearing brightly colored loincloths and little else. Jewelry can sometimes be found, just as bright as what clothing they wear. Children of these tribes often simply don't wear clothes.

Then there are the few tribes caught between tradition and the progression of trading. These tribes could wear brightly colored ponchos, made as they travel and sold or traded with the Hekerin traders and worn by themselves. They wear the same, plain, billowy pants and skirts, or the bright and colorful loincloths. Of the tribes, these are the most diverse in clothing, purely because of being part of an awkward transitional grouping.

Aside from the on-planet fashion of the Hekerin, there are also various ways of dressing once off-planet. Traders and travelers dress warmly, often wearing tighter clothing, and, sometimes, more layers. Because they hail from a desert planet, Hekerin can get cold quickly if they aren't adjusted to the planet's weather and temperature. The traders wear more one-piece and skintight suits in order to better keep warm while also avoiding getting clothing caught as they move tritium and work their ships.

## Notable individuals

* Tixiftur Tavap, wanderer
* Tiskha Solawne of the Hasaa'ki Tribe
* Hala Falh of Junktown