VORUT OVERVIEW VORUT are a huge, muscular race that tower over humans. Their thick, leathery skin is nearly impenetrable by most weapons, save for those made of incredibly dense materials native to their lost home planet. While the Vorut are a very intelligent people, they are mainly hired for their strength and muscle. Many have found a way to make a living in entertainment by performing in gladiator fights on Antillia. Their natural lifespan is well over 300 years by the human standard and tend to have a skewed perception of time relative to "younger" races.

Their origin world of Vugawa was destroyed almost a millennium ago by an asteroid collision, which left their population near extinct when very few managed to evacuate on time. Only a few million are speculated to exist in the universe, scattered about various planets, living among other civilizations as refugees. Since the destruction of Vugawa centuries ago, they've yet to find another permanent home. After discovering the Gateway system, they have been venturing further out and searching for somewhere to call their own.

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physiology Compared to the human race, Vorut are more durable, stronger, larger, and age slower than the average human. By the standard human calendar, a Vorut reaches maturity at around 60 years, and have a natural lifespan of up to 600 years following a healthy lifestyle. The average height of a fully grown adult is around 7'0"-7'8" (213-233 cm) in both females and males; the tallest Vorut known reached just over 9'. They tend to have broad frames, with large bone structure and high muscle mass, able to lift 2x their body weight untrained.

Their high density cellular and anatomical structure grants them durable bone, muscle and skin tissue. As a result, they are naturally resistant to lacerations, blunt force trauma, and intense temperatures. However, they are still vulnerable to internal damages, suffocation, toxins, allergies, disease, etc. and certain materials from Vugawa. While they are a hearty people and do not frequently need medical treatment, some procedures can only be performed by Vorut due to the rarity of tools that can penetrate their tissues. Their nomadic lifestyle and exposure to a wide variety of environments has given them a higher resistance to infectious diseases.

FETU'MALAGA The Fetu'malaga is one of only a few hundred generation starships launched from Vugawa prior to its destruction. Many of these vessels were lost, destroyed or abandoned over the last nine centuries, but the Fetu'malaga has remained operational for several generations. Though its foundational mechanics are outdated, they are still more advanced than anything seen in the Penglai system, and the engineering team makes constant upgrades and adaptations based upon knowledge acquired or traded for when in contact with other technologically advanced races, as well crafting devices from newly available materials. Much of its systems are rigged and patched together, though its engines are stable and the ship is capable of faster-than-light travel.

Housing roughly 30,000 individuals (out of an estimated total population of >2 million universally), the Fetu'malaga is one of the most densely concentrated residences of the surviving Vorutian peoples. Though there are pockets of refugees settled on other worlds, those who've stayed on the ship remain dedicated to its original mission: finding a new homeworld to replace what was lost. Leadership is by council, originally formed of survivors of Vugawa, later replaced by their direct descendants raised to take on those roles and responsibility of protecting the community.

values Despite assumptions made of their physical appearance and the reputations of other Vorut, those of the Fetu'malaga are a peace-loving people and taught to value all life. They believe in respect, compassion, understanding and tolerance for others, and focus on peaceful conflict resolution and open communication.

They are strongly against use of force and violence, especially among their own, though they learn to fight only as a means of self-defence. When rules are reported broken, the council performs judicial hearings to assess these accusations and determine penalty. Those deemed to pose a risk to the safety of the community are usually sentenced to exile. Capital punishment has never been used, though some view exile as a death sentence.

As they have limited space for production and manufacturing, they are highly reliant upon gathering resources from planetary expeditions and trading materials with other races. They do not have a monetary economy and could be considered "utopian socialists". The good of the community outweighs individual desire, and resources are expected to be fairly shared and distributed so all basic needs are met.

society The community is divided up into social units based on genetic or adoptive familial bonds, referred to as ha'nau. There are 57 recognised ha'nau, with smaller groupings within, and each has their own residential section of the ship. Children are communally raised rather than predominantly by their genetic parents, and will stay with their ha'nau for life. Each ha'nau has a venerated elder who sits on the ship council, in addition to an elected leader.

Non-monogamous practices are more common than lifelong commitments to one companion, though such partnerships are not discouraged. As they have long lives, Vorut tend to have multiple romantic and sexual partners. Natural unions happen frequently enough to sustain a viable population. However, to ensure genetic diversification in future generations, reproductive cell samples are collected for preservation and future production of embryos to be implanted into designated surrogates.

Vorut have been found to have reproductive compatibility with a variety of sentient races. Interspecies relationships are not discouraged, though there is some social bias in favour of pure blooded Vorutian children over "hybrids".

education + duties All Vorutian children receive a compulsory education in rudimentary subjects of mathematics, science, history, and linguistics. Given a small population and low birth rate, classes are fairly small and intimate, ensuring pupils receive appropriate attention from instructors to help them flourish.

Few written historical records survived the exodus from Vugawa; as such, most traditions are passed on through oral recitation and holo recordings. They are literate, however, and attempt to learn many foreign languages during their travels. Vorutian techs have invented subcutaneous universal translator chips to communicate with other species, requiring samples to identify and adapt new languages.

Vocational training begins at an early age so skills and interests can be assessed and encouraged. Young Vorut are rotated through different occupational fields on the ship: food service, engineering, agriculture, exploratory team, education, central command, flight, security, maintenance, manual labour, etc. Most settle into a career path, though some may continuously shift between roles. Everyone must work to serve the ship in some capacity.

spacecraft details While the ship is over 900 years old, the Fetu'malaga has been kept in near pristine condition and constructed of durable materials from Vugawa. While the structure of the ship can withstand powerful assault, shield generators were installed later as an added level of defence. They only have a few railguns attached to the hull and no explosive projectiles. The enormous size of the ship requires they dispatch smaller shuttlecraft to land on planets, though smaller vessels can dock in their hangar.

The internal architecture has an open, organic feel to it, with a mixture of soft lines and hard surfaces, towering ceilings and wide passages. There are many public gathering spaces, dining halls and communal bathrooms. Sleeping areas are open (though privacy screens can be lowered over the bunks to filter out light and noise), with most ha'nau living together in one larger room, as is preferred, though some have individual bunks as offices or for intimate encounters. The hydroponics farm and water recycling system are considered integral sections on the ship, as food and water can be hard to come by, though there are enough supplies in store to last about nine months without stopping to replenish from outside sources. The archives are also precious, given their societal value.

Most of the ship's residents are Vorut, though they have been known to take in other refugees (some even adopted by a ha'nau) and welcome peaceful visitors and traders to come aboard and travel with them for short stays. Guests are given their own quarters, and attention is paid to accommodating cultural and dietary needs. Vorut are generous hosts and like to make outsiders feel welcome and part of their community.