Alien Species: The Shri’ikkii
I changed the Starmist background a little to create this race. The easiest way to explain it is that the background material was given from the UPF archive point of view, and it was wrong. I let Starmist remain in the history as an event, but let it be forgotten after the first landing there. The Heliopes there were actually part of a slave ship that crashed there centuries ago, and it landed in the area that is now covered by the lake in the Starmist Adventure. In that compound, the players found a stash of Clikk the Sathars were trying to manipulate for their own reasons.
Physiology
The ancient race Shri’ikii somewhat unknown to the Alliance. Clues of a race called the Heliope & the Clikk were found on Starmist (Sundown system), but the evidence showed little to their origin and xeno-archeologist can only guess. There was also records in old Dominion archives of a race of Master Mentalist that called themselves the Ishri’ik. Outside these small fragments of information, the Shri’ik remain behind a shroud of mystery. That’s the way the Shri’ik like it, considering the races of the Alliance nothing more than potential slaves.
In reality, the Shri’ikii is a race of three sub-races – the Clikk, the Heliope, and the alpha Shri’ik masters. The Shri’ik and the Heliope are very similar in physiology; tall humanoid with odd tentacles protruding from their skulls, one eye, a large fanged mouth, and no discernable nose. The Shri’ik have small pincers at the end of their tentacles, which they use for their special ability. The full or alpha Shri’ik are usually taller (3 meters) and darker skinned, while the Heliope are lighter-skinned. Their single-eyes for both cover the entire upper-half of their head, while the large mouths are filled with razor-sharp fangs. Both have four to five sets of tentacles emanating from the back and top of their heads, but the Shri’ik have pincer-like claws on the ends of the tentacles, used to a special mind-control enzyme the Shri’ik use to create slaves. The Heliope’s tentacles have no discernible use. They both have scorpion-like tails with poison, although the Shri’ik’s poison is more potent. Heliope are born with stronger exoskeletons, and stronger but less flexible mental-abilities. Shri’ik are traditionally weaker mentalists, but have more control of their powers.
The Clikk, the third integral part of the Shri’ikii race, is the most obscure division. The origins of its evolution with relation to the overall race is unclear even to the Shri’ikki. It is a short, three-eyed drone-like creature with very few features similar to their counterparts. The stand about 1 to 1.5 meters tall, have three highly adaptive and sensitive eyes. Their hands, the most evolutionarily advanced part of the race, have three external claws, one being the thumb, and two central tentacles, allowing them to grip things extremely firmly. Clikk have the most strongest mental ability but very little ability to use it. They are usually of low intelligence, subservient to their Shri’ik masters, so they only use it in no more than one way.
Each Level of the Shri’ikii racial hierarchy has an integral part in the survival of the race. The society is divided into a four primary castes:
- Masters – The Noble Shri’ik and Heliope that lead, use their mind control ability on lesser beings, and decide on the direction of their people. They also are those responsible for the reproduction of their people.
- Warriors – The Shri’ik, Heliope, and Clikk drones that act as their military to the Shri’ikki people.
- Laborers -Shri’ik, Heliopes and Clikk that are the scholars, caretakers, and workers of Shri’ikki society.
- Formers – Honored Shri’ik that are granted the ability to forge federanium with their minds.
The Shri’ikii life cycle begins in a birthing pool where the eggs of the Shri’ikki are laid by an adult Heliope. From the egg is birthed either an asexual Shri’ik or a hermaphroditic Heliope. These young are cared for by the Heliope.
At one point in a Shri’ik’s life cycle, equivalent to human adolescence, the Shri’ik goes through a metabolic change that will bring it to its adulthood. During this time, the alien is going through extreme pain. Near the end, the Shri’ik gives “birth” to a litter of Clikk, also nurtured by the Heliope. These Clikk represent the Shri’ik stature in society when it reaches adulthood; the more there are, the higher in social stature.
Shri’ikii senses vary for each sub-race. The Heliope are nearly blind, and rely on their psionic ability or some Clikk to lead them around. The Heliope, as stated, have strong psionic ability and are able to manipulate moderately well. They primarily use it for long distance telepathy and mind control. The Shri’ik have strong senses, but not as strong as the Clikk. The Shri’ik use their abilities for short range telepathy, temporary mind control, mind blasts, and many other low level but very unique abilities. The Clikk use their ability to attack. They are able to focus their energy through their Federanium-forged weapons and can cause some extreme physical and mental damage.
Historical Details
Shri’ik call their homeworld Sildra Mon, and they have many dark legends surrounding its origin, primarily labeling them as a “chosen race”. They feel, due to the odd nature of their system, and their planet, that it was not created by any natural means. Some legends say that Sildra Mon was “birthed” from a distant black hole, which lead to another dimension. The fact is, the Shri’ik homeworld is a very hostile one. So hostile, even the plants on their world have developed a level of psionic powers.
The Shri’ik race is one of the most ancient of races, dating back before the time of the Tetrarch societies. Some Shri’ik say, they were to blame for the collapse of the Societies. The were great conquerors at one time, with the combined strength of Shri’ik/Heliope psionic power, and the awesome combat ability of the Clikk warriors. Many ancient races had different names for them: The Dark Slavers, the Mind-Slayers. They created many Slave races with their powers during their reign, and some are still trying to recover from the Shri’ik/Heliope mental dominance. Their Empire collapsed not long after the Tetrarch Societies collapsed, when a coalition of races rebelled with fierce strength. Many of these races died out later, but did develop technologies to fend of the Shri’ik if they ever returned, including anti-psionic devices, and the like. With the collapse of their Empire, all they could do is sit back and watch. They watched the remnants of the Tetrarch Societies awaken from the ashes. They watched man reach out to the stars. They watched each Dominion grow and collapse. When Allied Space was finally formed is when they chose to awaken from their watchful sleep, but this time it would be less out-right. It would be a covert operation to rebuild their Empire, enslaving one world at a time. The only way to accomplish thus is by keeping their race a secret, and so when Starmist was rediscovered by MEAR, they became concerned.
Shri’ikii Federanium
Shri’iki Formers are master of forging federanium, the hardest metal in the universe. They psionically merge it with psi-active crystals to create their potent weaponry. The Clikk can use these weapons to focus their own psionic energies through. These federanium artifacts are very unstable out of the hands of a Shri’ikki. Only the Shri’ikki can psionically stabilize the alloy they have created. Once taken away from the mental stabilization, the federanium alloy releases energy to return to its original form. Sometimes is simply turns to dust and other times it violently explodes.
Shri’ikii Enslavement
Each level of Shri’ikii play an important role in the enslavement process, and because of recent changes in their tactics, the Shri’ikii now have made a near-religion. The Shri’ik are the primary carriers of the enslaving enzyme which are the psionic receivers. The Shri’ik are sent out from homeworld with their Clikk to hunt down potential slaves. When they reach their designated place, the hunt potential victims, and using their own psionic power test each one through a tortuous and haunting psionic-process that is torture for the victim. The victim is unaware of the Shri’ik, and only think that they are going insane. This testing phase marks the beginning of the Embrace, a ritual which each Shri’ik go through to establish the Shri’ikii slave network. The ending is marked by the True Embrace where the Shri’ik send the Clikk out to capture the victims one by one, and implant the psionic receiving enzyme into its brain. The enzyme in turn adapts to the brain patterns of the victim, and waits for orders from the Heliope, who actually are the true psionic Slavers.
Left to Right (Clikk, Heliope, Shri’ik)
| STR/STA | DEX/RS | INT/LOG | PER/LDR | |
| Shri’ik | 75 | 55 | 70 | 55 |
| Heliope | 50 | 50 | 80 | 45 |
| Clikk | 80 | 90 | 30 | 20 |
Shri’ikki Random Psionic Ability (1d10)
- Mind Blast (+1d6 col. / 40 damage)
- Fire Blast (+1d6 col. / 50 damage plus fire damage)
- Light Telepathy (+1d6 col. )
- Paralysis (+1d6 col. / 1d3 turns paralysis)
- Mind Read (+1d6 col.)
- Temporary (non-enzyme implanted) Mind Control (+1d6 col.)
- Muscle Control (+1d6 col.)