Firkian

The Firkians (Ferr-kahy-anz) are a species of near-humans from the Unknown Regions that are renowned as master shipwrights and powerful force users. Recognizable by their skin, ranging from bone white to pitch black, and their hair, all colors of the rainbow, the Firkian people are quite similar to the Chiss in their isolation from the rest of the galaxy, unique technology, and strange pigmentation. Firkians are the only recorded species in the galaxy able to use Forcefire, a form of the Force that enables them to conjure flames and shape them into constructs. Perhaps the most well known Firkians are from the D’pla family.

History
Firkians are the evolved descendants of the union of human settlers and the native species of the planet Firkia. A colony ship sent out from the Deep Core miscalculated it’s travel trajectory and ended up caught in Firkia’s gravity well. A large amount of colonists survived the crash and were able to establish a settlement around and in the wreckage of their ship. A near-human species, the original Firkians soon discovered the human ship and it’s crew. The tribal-level people revered the humans as gods fallen from the skies, and the humans established a tentative but prosperous relationship with the Firkians. Trading goods, foodstuffs, and skills, intermarriages between human and Firkian became common in later generations. As the two gene pools were compatible, the marriages brought forth a new species of near-humans, which eventually became the next people to bear the name Firkian after the planet’s original inhabitants and the colonists died out.

These “new” Firkians soon established societies across their planet, and separated into nations and peoples that were in perpetual war over the scarce temperate regions of Firkia’s tundra landscape. They became united once again in the face of a massive invasion by a pirate nation from the Unknown Regions, a conflict that sparked the Firkian art of shipbuilding as the besieged people captured and reverse engineered starships to battle the invaders. Eventually, the Firkians developed ships superior to their aggressors, and drove them back out of the system.

Tired from the long war and too weak to defend themselves after so many lives were lost in the final battle, the Firkians retreated from spatial affairs for several decades, rebuilding their society and repairing the damages the pirates had inflicted. The much-needed creation of a new system of ordering the Firkian culture brought about the High Potentate and the Noble Houses. After stabilizing their way of life, the Firkians began creating their now-famous Spires and Bastions. These constructs were capable of producing any kind of starship, which the Firkians did to great extent, treating the occupation of a ship designer as a master painter. For a race with only a single planet occupied, the Firkians had a radically oversized naval force. The complete height of the Firkian Spatial Security Force in galactic history is estimated at over 162 fleets and 700,000 ships.

Firkians started entering galactic affairs during the Great Galactic War, when the heir of House D’pla, Daerkk D’platt, became an Admiral in the Bloodskull Empire, a Sith-based nation under the leadership of Darth Jalos. D’platt remained an Admiral when Bloodskull forces rebelled against Jalos under the banner of NOVA. He earned a name for himself through Firkian naval training and his skill with a sword. His family has now served NOVA in naval leadership roles for seven generations, from Daerkk to his son Namal down the line to Horatio Lovewit D’plat, High Captain of the Cylian NOVA Remnant. Officially though, the main NOVA forces  currently do not have a member of the family as part of the navy, and instead command is split through many lesser admirals. The current High Potentate is Simon Edvard D’plaho, the brother of Derek Jamis D’plat III, and Horatio’s uncle.

Society and Traits
The original Firkians were inheritantly potent Force magicians, and most of the colonists had been secretly picked for their Force-sensitivity. These traits mixed in generations down the line, and have given every “new” Firkian not only Force-sensitivity, but a strange ability called “Forcefire.” Forcefire and a Firkian’s primary coloration are linked, though scientists cannot explain it. The color of a Firkian’s hair and eyes determine the color of their Forcefire, though some argue that it is the opposite. For example, Vector Alpha, commander of the Vector Guard, has purple eyes, and his Forcefire is purple as well. Firkians cannot use “normal” Force powers for another unexplained reason. They cannot “push,” “pull,” “mind trick,” or shoot “lightning.” Instead, they are able to conjure flames and shape them into different forms, such as flaming swords, missiles, bombs, shields, jets to fly with, streams, whips, pillars, cages, and many others. The temperature of the flames and their solidity can be altered at will. A powerful enough Firkian can superheat their Forcefire to such a degree that a concentrated stream can break through an Imperial Star Destroyer’s shields and hull in several seconds. This level of power is extremely rare, and only 6 Firkians throughout history have been known to accomplish similar feats. Oxygen is not required for Forcefire and can be used in vacuum as long as the person is in a space suit or some such protection. Iy can, however, ignite volatile gasses, so should not be used in ammonia or other such atmospheres. A Firkian can turn their Forcefire back in on itself to create a backfiring reaction. The Firkian would hold his or her fists in front of them, knickles touching, and try to conjure Forcefire bombs in each fist and project them into the other. The Forcefire will continually try to force it’s way past itself and grow in size. As the flames grow, they become more unstable, and the bombs will detonate after several seconds. The blasts convert the matter of the Firkian to energy and then to Forcefire, consuming every particle of matter in a radius dependent on how powerful the Firkian is.

The High Potentate was the overall leader of the Firkian People, and was responsible for relations with other nations, as well as keeping order among the classes in society. He or she was chosen from one of ten Noble Houses, families of extreme political, military, and social importance. The House changed every generation; one Potentate would be from the House Ca’ho, who are in charge of managing the land use on Firkia (essentially the ultimate real estate agents.) The next Potentate in line would be from the generation after the Ca’ho Potentate, and come from House Ad’ni, a line of ambassadors. The Houses are as follows: Ad’ni, the Ambassadors. B’rl, the Farmers. Ca’ho, the Landlords. D’pla, the Admirals. E’ter, the Merchants. Fv’ov, the Bankers. G’huz, the Builders. Ha’sz, the Miners. I’pwa, the Generals. J’dux, the Lawmakers.

The ending of a family name detones a particular field of work or position. House occupation suffixes are different than a regular Firkians. A citizen who works in civic sanitation and has the name “Ro’miq” would be named “Ro’miq’nalopxerc.” If he got a new job in orbital construction, which is more prestigious, his name would be able to be changed to “Ro’miq’ferid.” The shorter the name, the better the job. House members may choose not to take an occupation suffix, leaving them able to choose their jobs and enter any field they wish. If a house member chooses an occupation suffix, they are expected to enter that area of work, preferably within their House’s assigned specialty. If they do not, they are usually shamed and unable to work. Sometimes, they are even disowned.

Naval suffixes begin with “t” and can be generalized or specified depending on the current posting or rank of the person. Military suffixes are more flexible than others; if it begins with a “t” or a “v”, the longer the name, the more specific it is to the soldiers responsibilities. “tasnuchmrlo” is the suffix of a Warrant Officer. “tasnuchmrlofirkaxvodonan” is the suffix of a Warrant Officer posted as a gunner on a frigate. D’pla is a name with a history of naval suffixes. Derek Jamis D’plat III had one of the most prestigious, and arrogant, suffixes in Firkian history. He named himself early on in his life, D’plat, adding only the beginning of the Naval suffix. This literally meant he was “D’pla who works as Navy.” He aspired to become the embodiment of the entire Firkian naval force. After several decades of work, he became Fleet Admiral of NOVA and High Commander of the Firkian Spatial Security Force, earning him rightful recognition in the eyes of his House and the Firkian people.

Spires are a form of orbital elevators, designed to extend out into space and house both docking and construction facilities for ships. Every city on Firkia has one, and major population centers or important locations such as the capital will have a class of Spire known as a Citadel. Citadels are larger Spires with a city disk at the orbital end, which will house all assortments of facilities from intergalactic trading markets to docks for entire fleets. Bastions are deep space shipyards on the scale of moonlets, and are able to not only construct a fleet within a month, but house said fleet and keep it well supplied until it is called upon. The Bastion Prime in geosynchronous orbit at Lagrange 4 is slightly larger than the first Death Star, and can arguably project the same firepower through the integrated weapons and the power of the First Overreach Defense Fleet that is based out of it.

Biology
Firkians of both genders stand about the same height, at 1.8 meters. Taller than the average human, Firkians are an imposing presence. Their hair and eye color match, and are usually bright and vibrant. It is rare to see a Firkian with brown, black, grey, or white in their hair and eyes. Since Firkian skin is in the black-grey-white color spectrum, members of the species with all three colors- skin, eyes, hair –matching are revered as paragons and prophets by some of the more superstitious of their people. Sadly, these “matchers” are often severely weak in the Force, mind, or body, due to the genetic disease that causes their colors to match.

Males are usually solidly built and wide shouldered, with large hands and noses. Facial hair is a rarity among Firkians. Females are lithe and wiry, with pronounced hips and strong legs. Women are excellent acrobats and can jump several dozen meters with a running start. Men have the strength to knock a Gamorrean on it’s back with a solid strike.

Firkians live 4 times as long as humans, and as a result age slowly. A Firkian in his 80’s would be considered an early teen by human standards.