Sacrifice of Angels

by Trevor Wyatt

  Society

  Endlessly curious about their world, the Kurta discarded their primitive religious beliefs relatively early in their development, while maintaining their temples and a ceremonial priesthood. Males, smaller in stature than the females, are thought to be unsuitable for more feminine pursuits like hunting and government. Great numbers of males are also to be found in the field of education. Kurta have occasionally experimented with patriarchy, but these experiments are always short-lived.

  Kurta children, though born live as are most mammals, are placed in creches as soon as they are weaned (about six months after birth) to be raised by neutered males. The bonds formed between the children (especially the males) and their surrogate fathers sometimes last for a lifetime. Female children are turned out of the creches when they attain their third birthday, by which time they are fully capable of fending for themselves. Rather than being taken back in by their families, the children are expected to survive for two years in the wild, after which they are welcomed back into society and may take their proper place as adults. They have attained adult stature by that age and are capable of reproducing. A newly socialized female is responsible for establishing her own home with the help of males stolen from other settlements and put to work as slaves and/or consorts. This is regarded as normal behavior by Kurta at all levels of the culture.

  The theft of males often results in a kind of traditional duel between houses, an ancient rite called St'ahanut. These duels, which are to the death, are fought with bladed pole weapons called trielluds, which are like spears. The victor retains ownership of the male (see Naming Conventions below).

  Despite their technical prowess, Kurta are naturally very conservative in their thinking and are slow to adopt the fruits of scientific research. Male Kurta have traditionally been less reluctant to embrace change, especially in the social sciences. Often dissatisfied with their lot, males occasionally rise in revolt against their female oppressors and mistresses. These revolts, though sometimes successful, are always brutally put down with all male conspirators sentenced to public execution.

  Science & Technology

  Kurtan scientists delved deeply into astronomy and physics, and developed space travel some five thousand years after their culture founded their first cities. Their earliest space flights were to Keda (inner moon, rocky and airless) and Pondak (further away, but larger—almost a third the size of Lomagon, and possessing an atmosphere and lower forms of animal and plant life).

  Three hundred years after becoming a space-faring species, the Kurta experienced First Contact on the planet of a nearby star. This happened to be a colony of the Tyreesians. The meeting between the two alien races was peaceful and resulted in regular communication between their worlds, but meddling in Kurtan politics by the Tyreesians have hurt the relationship.

  The Kurtan fighting style remains essentially unchanged from antiquity. Their space fleets are comprised mostly of smaller, more agile ships as opposed to larger battle cruisers like TUS Seeker. These small vessels have the benefit of being easily maneuverable in atmosphere or in space. Kurta fight like lions on the hunt, in packs with quick surprise strikes to the jugular.

  Kurta Naming Conventions

  Consider the name of the space pirate da-Silantha Marenni Oleirónathiss, for example. The syllable da infers that she is a first-born, with the given name Silantha, belonging to the house of Marenni, of the Oleirónathiss tribe.

  Alternately, the name ti-Caren Daghannelin Darienathiss, who could be called Tic or Tica for short, by her family, contains the information that she is Caren, the third-born daughter belonging to the Daghannelin house of the tribe of Darienathiss.

  A woman named da-Fortori Beritren Holennadórathiss could be Dafo or Dafor or perhaps Berit for short. Formally, of course, she'd be da-Fortori.

  Males are considered to have no tribes, and are essentially owned by their houses, or estates. So a male character name Heerbaga would formally be Heerbaga Marenni; the house name being appended to his given name.

  Drupadi Regime

  Physical Appearance

  The Drupadi resemble other humanoids excluding two specific distinctions: their skin is pale white, almost translucent and they have a set of rounded appendages that narrow to the tips in rows straight back from their forehead in an approximation of hair. It is believed that these ‘tentacles’ are a vestigial carry-over from their cephalopod ancestor. It is also speculated in more than one Terran xenoarchaeologist journal that the Drupadi visited Earth centuries before first contact but only briefly – just long enough to inspire the Greek legend of Medusa. However, there is no physical evidence to support this theory. The Drupadi themselves merely shrug and smile when asked.

  Anatomy/ Physiology

  Unlike other two-legged humanoids, the Drupadi have a non-humanoid ancestor that most closely resembles a Terran octopus. However, the Drupadi have retained only a few traits from their unusual progenitor: skin with microscopic "feelers" over their entire body, the ability to produce air-borne pheromones to attract mates and rounded tentacle “hair”.

  The microscopic feelers on their skin act like mini-mouths that give the Drupadi an almost 3-D ability to "taste" and "feel" anything they touch. The effect of this exotic ability is that their bodies are one big erogenous zone. This unique adaptation creates such an intense sensory touch experience for the Drupadi that any type of skin-to-skin contact is considered sexual. Interacting with other species can be awkward as just shaking hands with a Drupadi is considered a sex act.

  Adding to this already potent sexual arsenal is another trait retained from their cephalopod ancestor: internal ink sacs that disperse pheromones to attract a mate.

  Although the "ink sacs" of the Drupadi do not actually produce ink (that aspect has been evolved out), the glands do create a musk of peptide pheromones that are automatically released in the presence of potential mates.

  The third trait: the ‘tentacles’ on top of their heads are not considered to be true tentacles as they do not move, but simply lay flat straight back from the forehead in neat rows. However, these hair tentacles are also covered by the same sensitive skin as the rest of their body.

  Ironically, there remains one key mystery surrounding the sexual nature of the Drupadi: reproduction. Specifically, it is not known how the Drupadi reproduce or if there are even male Drupadi. A male Drupadi has never been seen and when asked regarding the existence of males or whether they reproduce asexually the Drupadi give only vague, evasive answers.

  Planet

  Drupadi Prime is small and covered with more water, mostly oceanic, than landmass. It is believed that this inverse of water to land ratio is evidence of their early aquatic origins. It is further speculated that the high humidity produced by the large amount of liquid surface area is necessary to maintain the unique sensory qualities of their skin. When Drupadi are off-world, which is often, they travel with large quantities of humectants to protect their skin from losing too much moisture.

  Culture

  The Drupadi are a highly sexual, sensual race devoted to pleasure. Their soft skin, intense touch stimulation as well as their pheromone attractants make them highly desired as sexual partners throughout the galaxy. However, encounters with the Drupadi have had reported side effects including permanent insanity (one suggested safety measure is to wear white noise earplugs so as to shield oneself mentally). They are a matriarchal society given the fact that there is lack of any males in their species. While they do not deny access to their planet, they also do not invite it. The Drupadi travel throughout the galaxy so that there is little cause for other species to make a trip to their planet.

  Politics

  The Drupadi are considered an influential race and are members of the Galactic Council formed by Captain Jeryl Montgomery of Earth. However, their interest in politics seems to focus on maintaining contact with other species in a bid for discovering secrets that they can then use to exert both influence and power in other po
litical circles. An example of such a power play occurred when the Drupadi leader Marjda revealed information to Captain Montgomery regarding whom was behind the attempt to sabotage the formation of the Galactic council.

  It should be noted that the Drupadi enjoy cultivating an air of mystery in all of their dealings whether in politics or scientific inquiry.

  Any attempts to discover more about them are ultimately met with failure as any individuals (male or female) who attempt to ask them become distracted and lose their train of thought as well as their original queries.

  Prolonged contact with the Drupadi can also result in a loss of motor control, speech, common sense, inhibitions, large amounts of credits and occasionally the failure to recall one's own name.

  About The Author

  Life-long sci-fi nerd living in Austin, Texas, Trevor Wyatt cut his teeth on the works of Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury, eventually moving on to everything from Star Wars to Futurama.

  He discovered his love of writing during college and has written off and on for the last ten years.

  His novel, The Seeker is the first in the Pax Aeterna universe.

  You can reach him at trevor@paxaeternapress.com.

  Thanks for reading.

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  Thank you for exploring the galaxy with me.