Veloxipedia
The Commander
As the name implies, the Commander is the leader of a critical mission to establish a rally-point on an unmapped planet. A brave and resourceful space explorer, her mission’s success is crucial to the successful landing of a colony fleet and a better future for both intelligent species on her home planet. There is no doubting that the Commander is a leader and a warrior.
About Her Species: The Darksiders
A “Darksider,” the Commander is a member of an eyeless and voiceless subterranean species who, without her tech, is virtually indistinguishable from an earth tarantula.
The only feature truly unearthly is the structure of the last segment on her two front legs. This section is actually a knuckle-less “hand.” When she is walking, the equal length fingers are held together, effectively forming a walking stick. However, this section’s fingers can be separated and used to grip objects, much like a set of chopsticks. Opened to the extreme, these segments look like four spokes articulating from the first knee. When expanded this way, they can be jammed into a crevice to act as a climbing hold. Female Darksiders like the Commander are too large to adhere to walls, but they have hooks on the second segment of each of their two front legs that can also aid climbing.
While Darksiders do not have eyes, per se, each of the hairs covering their body is (among other functions) a single ‘rod’ of a full-body eyeball that can detect a wide range of electromagnetic radiation in a vaguely pixilated fashion. These hairs also act as interface points – ‘neurons’ that allow them to communicate via touch to other members of their species and to technology. This ability to interface with each other permits groups of Darksiders to ‘co-process,’ significantly increasing their intelligence when linked. By interfacing with the tech in her suit, she can communicate with the Lightsiders on the mission.
The Commander’s armoured spacesuit serves several functions, the most straightforward being protection from direct light. The suit also provides heating, cooling and respiration support, while the rigidity of the suit on the legs makes her appendages effective stabbing weapons. The suit incorporates several environmental sensors, including an “eye” function that allows her to see and navigate in a focused way. The suit comes off by splitting each section into two or more sections, allowing for egress much like a spider molting.
Females Darksiders are large and imposing when contrasted to the males of the species. The species are fungivores; there are no fangs on this otherwise ominous creature.
Pilot
Pilot’s mission is to deliver the crew safely to the planet and then follow the Commander’s instructions without question to achieve the crew’s important goal. Pilot is a resourceful jack-of-all-trades Lightsider with top-level engineering skills and dexterous paws.
About His Species: The Lightsiders
The Lightsiders are above ground desert-dwellers from a retro-futuristic, urban society adapted to living on the perpetual sunlight side of the tidally locked planet, Home.
Without their clothing or spacesuit, Lightsiders are nearly indistinguishable from earth kangaroo rats, aside from the “parasol” tip of their tails. This features of their tails is actually just a muscle-controllable group of long, thick hair. However, Lightsiders typically cover their tails with umbrella-like clothing and failing to do so, especially in the presence of the opposite sex, is seen as an intimate faux pas. So ubiquitous is this cultural norm that the engineers for the mission chose to incorporate this parasol covering into their spacesuits.
Wrist communicators, with integrated translation features, allow them to talk to the Commander. This sophisticated technology speaks to the species’ technical prowess, as the Darksiders’ language system is more akin to a 3-D visual matrix of expression than any traditional vocabulary. (Aside: The AI researcher who cracked the code allowing effective communications between the two species is a distant relative of Pilot.) Lightsiders are voracious omnivores, and being a chef is one of the most sought after and honoured occupations in their society. Until recently, when the Lightsiders discovered that the Darksiders were a sentient species, Darksider meat was considered a delicacy and hunting these subterranean “monsters” was considered a rite of passage. Handwritten Darksider recipes are still prized family heirlooms despite their morbid history.
Both Lightsiders and Darksiders are capable of long-term torpor, and Lightsider scientists have further enhanced this adaptation’s duration using technology. The ability to hibernate makes both species ideal space travellers, able to travel long distances even at sub-light speeds.