#maltrinites

[There are three things one wants to hear the least in an engine deck: "oh no," and "are we out of fire extinguishers," along with the worst option of all.]

-chaotic-tired-cat

(this has been sitting in my inbow to almost 2 fucking years to the day I'm sorry but here)

Content warnings: explosion, space whump, fire, minor character death

Hull integrity failing. Breach imminent.

The message on the intercom kept repeating through the speakers without pause. Alek kept his hands out to his sides, bracing him from slamming against the walls as the ship shook around him. He was nearly at the engine room entrance, already feeling the heat of fires against his skin. The ship lurched and he stumbled forward against the sealed door, the gray metal already hot to the touch.

Hull integrity failing. Breach imminent.

Alek overrode the safety lock on the door and forced his way into the engine room. The place was already ablaze, fire blanketing across platforms and cables as sparks from ripped grids flew in the air. Flames were already stretching over the shielding of the ship’s central core despite the onslaught of fire extinguishers around it. The engine room’s fire suppression system wasn’t working as the fire worsened. He heard shouting, and could see some of the crew surrounding the core trying to fight the fire. Others were still trying to bring the suppression systems back online. A few helped pull injured crewmates out of flaming wreckage.

Hull integrity failing. Breach imminent.

He ran down towards the chaos, nearly slamming into one of the engineers as the ship rocked again. The light of the fire burned into his eyes as he ran towards a downed platform. Yelling and screaming drew him to a few people pulling someone out from under a metal slab. He came by their side, grabbing one end and lifting it as they dragged the person out, then another. Both of them were bloodied and covered in debris.

Hull integrity failing. Breach imminent.

“Is there anyone else under there?!” Alek saw one of the helpers was Xu, who nodded as his question was responded with a ‘no.’ The two of them helped one of the injured crewmates to their feet, each slinging as arm over their shoulders as they guided them out from the wreckage. The others followed suit. They kept their feet moving against the shaking structures around them, not stopping to look back as they ran back through the engine room entrance and down the corridor.

Hull integrity failing. Breach immine—

There was loud sound behind them, an explosion, and suddenly wind whooshed past Alek’s ears with incredible force, pushing him, Xu, and the other crewmates back towards the open engine room. There was screaming, a gripping cold that seemed to reach deep into their lungs, and then as quickly as it happened, it stopped. The air returned to normal, the sound was gone, and all of them collapsed to the floor.

“The hell—?" Alek pushed himself up and looked back at the entrance. A blue screening shone over the space between the corridor and the engine room, a pressure shield maintaining the atmosphere throughout the rest of the ship. He and Xu stood up, feet still unsteady from the rocking of the ship, and peered out through the door frame.

“Oh my god…” The flames of the raging fire were gone, in a twisted way leaving the ship’s engine core safe. Through the lights of the remaining intact bulbs, the outline of the massive breach in the hull was visible. The atmosphere of the engine room was gone, leaving the shredded metal of the wall eerily still. The remaining crew that had stayed behind were nowhere in sight.

“No…” Alek felt the descending dread falling on him as the crew with him and Xu came to see the carnage. None of them said anything, as if frozen in body and tongue where they stood. The small force field was the only thing preventing them from getting sucked out into space, a meager protection against a failing ship.

Another explosion sounded and the ship lurched, throwing all of them against the sidewall. Alek gasped from the impact, pushing himself back to his feet as he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt and pull him away from the door. Xu pulled him over to help their injured crewmate back to their feet, all of them moving as quickly as they could with the floor shaking beneath their feet. The alarm above them changed its tune.

Warning: hull breach. Evacuate now. Warning: hull breach. Evacuate now.

“We have to get to the escape pods!” Alek shouted through the blare of warnings and klaxons.

“The pods are on the ship’s port side, that whole section is gone!” Xu’s voice was barely audible, but Alek understood him well enough. If the escape pods had been destroyed, how were they going to get off the ship? All of them had to think of something quickly as their legs carried them hastily through the corridors.

“Attention all hands,” Ganex’s voice suddenly replaced the alarm’s repeating mantra, “Deploying emergency corridor cutoff in fifteen seconds! Move to a secure barring and brace for impact!”

Impact? Alek didn’t have time to think about what that meant. As soon as the emergency handlebars ejected from the walls, everyone rushed to the sides and held on tightly. Alek and Xu stayed close together, keeping their injured crewmate close as their grip was still weak. The ship still rocked around him as they waited for safety measures to deploy. Alek tried to keep breathing, tried not to let the terror of being sucked out into space or being flung through the ship like a ragdoll keep him from losing focus. But even as he held on for dear life, his voice couldn’t help but break into a scream.

Titan Guard© Masterlist

Main Story: 

A race of aliens known as Maltrinites have been fighting a war for over 400 years, a bitter conflict between the Pax Rebels who seek freedom from oppression, and the Dicio Council who seek to regain total control of the planet Maltrina. The war devastates the lives of all involved in some form or another. In the Earth year 2041, a group of elite Pax Rebel fighters crash on Earth during a mission to acquire new weapons and gear. They now find themselves struggling to find a way home, all while a Dician ship hunts them across the planet Click here for the full list! 

Alek and Banévar: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The Downtrodden: Alek’s Backstory

The story of a young Pax Rebel caught in the worst of circumstances. 30 years before joining the Titan Guard, Alek was taken prisoner by the Council’s forces. A year passed before he was found, the only one left alive. Click here for the full list! 

Revolution: The Early Years of the War

A young Rebel joins the efforts to help his people and his world against the ruling Dicio Council. It’s a time when those close to him show their true colors, and he finds that people aren’t always who they seem to be.

Beginning of a Rebellion

Assassination attempt

Character Art:

- Alek 1, 2, 3 (Lovely fanart 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

- Alek and Macxè 1, 2

- Ganex

Mood boards:

Respond with anything about them that you'd like!

Happy WIJ!

Maltrinite eyes can be nearly any color. Most of my OCs have standard eye colors (brown, blue, green), but I have a few with more with different colors! Ex: Lulan has bright orange colored eyes, Dekryis has red, a friend of Ganex named Anatav has vivid purple eyes. Gray-colored eyes to Maltrinites is like red-colored eyes to us, a little freaky to see because their blood is also silver colored. (Talic has gray eyes, which is just what you want to see in a doctor! XD)

Inspired by @for-the-love-of-angst for the joy of worldbuilding, here’s some more stuff about my story! This focuses a little more on a few characters and their backstories. If you have any questions, just send me an ask! 

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Maltrina orbits a red giant sun and has two moons, one spherical and one irregular.

The primary function of portals when they were first created was to quickly evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield. They served as quick transport units for medics, really only meant to be used by them. However, the Titan Unit and those on the Maverick use them for quick transportation due to lack of larger vehicles and need for discreet surveillance.

The portals on ships capable of intergalactic travel are designed to send troops to any global location on a planet. It's how the Omega division is able to keep their ship in one place and go anywhere around the world. Most standard portals have a much shorter range.

The Diçio Council drafts all of its soldiers into the military, whereas the Pax Rebellion relies on volunteers. Both have very good propaganda.

Alek’s suffering might have been less it if weren’t for the leader of his squadron, Captain Davorus Imadaal. Even though his squadrons regularly consisted of younger, less experienced soldiers he often let his own ego endanger their safety. He bragged constantly about the strength and resolve of his soldiers, and frequently stated how they could withstand any interrogation. This happened even as they were taken prisoner and tortured for information. Deciding to take Davorus’ word, their captors transferred the group to the blacksite known unofficially as the Draconian Institute to endure horrific interrogation and treatment. Had Davorus thought more about the safety of his troops, they might have been spared the terrible abuse and deaths.

After overrunning the Draconian Institute and liberating its prisoners, Alek being the only one that survived, both sides met on mutual terms to discuss the deplorable conditions that were found. The Pax Rebels were horrified by the dehumanizing treatment, and the Diçio Council was shocked to see those actions being committed underneath their supervision. The conference met in the city of Solot in neutral territory in the Timkopli Peninsula, and thus the standards for prisoner treatment became the Solot Convention. There was consideration for calling it the Thnam Convention after Alek, but he didn't want to be associated directly with it.

Condensers are wrist devices used for camouflage and diplomatic relations. They create a shield around the wearer that can alter their appearance and size. This enables Maltrinites to shrink their appearance from 17 feet to around 6 feet, as well as create characteristics of other aliens. However, the effect only lasts around 5-6 hours before a condition called ‘pressure sickness’ sets in.

Alek’s father’s side of the family were refugees that escaped from a Council controlled district. His father’s family followed the Sentry’s Guild of Sortyl religion, which was prohibited in practice and expression like all other sects in Diçian land. His father, Cabys, fled home with his parents and siblings to Pax Rebel territory when he was 74 in order to freely express their religious practices. Alek is technically the first member of his family on that side who’s been able to grow his queue from birth.

Talic has a mild North Diçian accent because his family is concentrated in the northern hemisphere of Maltrina, a few thousand miles from the planet's capital Tamen Aque. As the war progressed and the border between territories worsened, his family was split. He has cousins who have been drafted into the Diçian military.

Maltrinites are very touchy-feely creatures and often require close contact with others for their physical and mental health.

When happy, Maltrinites have a deep, resounding purr that echoes from deep in their chest. It closely resembles the purring of grizzly bears.

Abi hounds are popular pets on Maltrina, and are often brought on ship and military bases as a source for good luck. They have a body structure similar to a Borzoi, pointed ears, and two tails with fur longer than the rest of their body. They’re typically some variation of brown base color, and have black stripes and spots on their back, sides, face, and tails. Ganex has an Abi hound named Bebi. 

Booster wheels are pretty malleable, given their construction, and are more likely to bend under pressure rather than break. A lack of proper nutrition and vitamins causes the wheel to become brittle and fractures are more likely.

“Clipping” is a process in which a Maltrinite is permanently grounded and unable to use their boosters by cutting a tendon within the booster system that contains a major nerve. It is a difficult and painful process, done in the past to keep slaves from using their boosters to run away. The nerve can be repaired if treated within a few hours, but beyond that time, the nerve is dead and the Maltrinite cannot use their boosters again. The process is especially traumatic for Jetters.

The shade of blush color on a Maltrinite is a great health indicator. The darker the shade, the sicker they are. It’s basically a sign of lowered metabolism.

As the new year turns, part of the celebration for Maltrinites is that everyone is in some kind of group at midnight. Be it friends or family, the idea is that no one is left alone so that people are there to make sure they carry into the new year.

Because Maltrinites are very touchy-feely creatures, it’s not uncommon for military triage centers to have large bed spaces for people of the same group to rest in together, or hospitals for families to stay in together Access to physical touch is so vital to the recovery process, and sleeping together in a large bed in essentially puppy piles helps improve an injured person’s mental and emotional state.

The Dicio Council would expunge official documents of citizens from their records of they were deemed ‘undesirable’ within society. They attribute this characteristic to those involved in protests ad rebellions, those who’s public opinions went against the Council’s principles, and those who had any possible public associations with opposing political groups. With their records gone, this prevented such individuals from using public transportation, applying for new jobs, accessing finances, and if they were arrested for a crime, very little stood in the way of locking the person up indefinitely and without a trial.

Look I did it! I might have gone… a little extra with this, but it was fun to put together and helped clear up some concepts I had. So this is all notes from over the years and new stuff for better clarification. 

Now *proceeds to shove what’s functionally an essay down all of your throats* 

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Maltrinites are a humanoid alien species native to the planet Maltrina, a celestial body roughly 2.5 times the size of Earth. The atmosphere is relatively low in oxygen, but Maltrinites have been known to survive in more oxygen rich environments.

Maltrinites grow an average of 17 feet on the human measuring scale. Their ears are pointed and curve up on the sides of their head, and the cartilage is thinner with more nerve endings, making it easier for them to pick up sounds and vibrations in the air. Their ears change position depending on their mood. The average lifespan is around 10 times longer than that of humans, although the current war they are involved it has disrupted those data sets. Their blood is also silver colored, a result of titanium compounds. This give their skin a very slight gray tint, and they blush in a very light purple color. Their eyes behave very similarly to cat eyes. 

Technological advancements on Maltrina are millions of years ahead of humans. They were among the first civilizations to achieve space travel, advanced forms of medicine, and artificial evolutionary enhancements. Artificial enhancements were used throughout the planet’s population and eventually, they became naturally occurring adaptations.

Among these enhancements was the incorporation of jet propulsion and rotor machinery chambers constructed in the feet, better known as boosters. This allows for the use of flight and wheel racing for different individuals; Wheelers, Jetters, as well as Grounders whose internal mechanisms are underdeveloped. The foot structure is a combination of flexible cartilage and hollow bones to accommodate for heat buildup.

As another artificial adaptation made over the years, Maltrinites technically have two sets of eyes: one for regular visible light, and a smaller set for infrared. The second set is not visible on their outer body, but the result of it can be seen on the upper outer corners of the first set. It almost appears as eyeshadow, but is in fact the shadow of this second set. Their infrared sight is too weak for full use, but it does allow for better eyesight at night.

Maltrinites can have two types of pregnancies: either full pregnancy or pouch pregnancy. Full pregnancy is when the fetus full develops within the uterus of the mother until birth. Babies from these pregnancies tend to be larger and stronger. Pouch pregnancies are when the fetus develops partway in the uterus, then drops into the mother’s pouch from the rest of the term. They are still attached to their umbilical cord, but are more exposed to environmental factors. Babies from these pregnancies tend to be smaller and grow into smaller statures. This accounts for size differences in Maltic populations.

When a Maltrinite dies, a white ribbon is tied around their wrists, and the way they are tied is symbolic to what they meant to them. Tying it around one wrist means that the person didn’t hold a special place in the lives of those taking care of their body. Tying it around both wrists in front, which is usually done by friends and family, means that the person was cherished and loved my their community. Tying it around both wrists from behind is usually done by the person’s enemies, and signifies that even though they were against each other, they still respected them or were useful towards their cause. The absence of a ribbon means the person was hated or a disgrace. It’s usually taboo to tied a white ribbon on a still living person, even if it’s certain they are going to die.

Growling is a common intimidation habit among Maltrinites, while hissing is used more in a defensive way.

For Maltrinites, the forehead, brow, and bridge of the nose contain more nerve endings, and touching those areas is a more intimate gesture and sign of vulnerability.