Physical Description

Lunidae are relatively short humanoids of a slim limber build. Most people don't know what a lunidae looks like under their suits, as they typically wear them outside of the most formal of circumstances. Most non-lunidae recognize lunidae by their exo-suits, tight-fitting, faceless and rather variable due to the often ad-hoc and emergency nature of their construction.

Most of their suits do share a series of common traits. For the most part their suits tend to be rather form-fitting, making it fairly clear what sort of "traits" the lunidae have underneath, not that this matters much as the distinction is often lost on non-lunidae. They are air-tight and fairly durable, being designed for the rigors of EVA.

Strictly speaking the suits are composed of two parts, a flexible undersuit, which is often colorfully made and stylized to the tastes of the lunidae wearing it, and a collection of hard-plates and EVA gear that come in a variety of makes and styles due to lacking a consistent manufacture. Their suits are covered in a variety of tanks and equipment of surviving in a hostile environment, forming a comprehensive suit of EVA equipment, all integrated within pack of various styles either attached to the hip or the back, and relayed to the helmet.

While the suits are customization to an extant most lunidae tend to wear clothes over their suits to better express their individual tastes and preferences. These typically tend to be rather colorful, flowy, and frivolous, in contrast to the stark demands of their conditions. One aspect that is mandated uniform is an identifying patch on the right breast of all lunidae. For reasons of "species survival" it was mandated at some point that all male lunidae must wear a blue upward facing triangle patch, and female lunidae a pink downward facing patch.

Their helmets usually feature dynamic sweeping designs, and a broad open facing, polarized to reduce light, which also serves to obscure the features of the lunidae within. Prominently displayed in all versions of their helmets are two flexible protrusions to accommodate the lunidae's ears. Supposedly these are supposed to accommodate the lunidae's incredibly expressive ears, but in practice they are usually constrained in a downward position, a fact that dismays most lunidae.

As mentioned lunidae are rarely seen outside their suits by non-lunidae. Indeed they consider it almost unacceptably casual and vulgar to be seen outside one's suit these days, and it is something only to be shared with close friends and family. Underneath their suits lunidae are said to have fair forms, with long elegant ears they are quite proud of, and graceful feline features.

Personality

The lunidae were, in better times, a vibrant and light-hearted people dedicated to the arts and culturally enriching activities. They prized these things above most else in life, and preferred thoughtful pursuits to aggressive or violent ones. Even when they did pursue conflict they did so with a dispassionate and aloof air, befitting of a species that saw themselves as a higher form of being, as peoples chosen by a god and assigned divine purpose.

Their luster for life and pride have somewhat diminished since their world was destroyed. Present conditions have left them, collectively, in a somewhat morose state. They're a people who greatly enjoy the sun, nature, and personal space, so a life spent confined within the strictly controlled, and harshly artificial nature of the ark-fleets grinds on their spirits. They still have some semblance of the former vibrancy, particularly in how they choose to decorate themselves, and in some of the quirkier surviving traditions.

Indeed, lunidae encountered out of the ark-fleets are often much happier, and more care-free than those confined to them. Still generations spent in an artificial confinement have rubbed in on them.

All lunidae have developed a variety of complexes regarding interactions with "foreign" entity. In most lunidae this is simply expressed as a profound sense of hypochondria, a terrifying paranoia of alien diseases and infections. In some though, and especially those in positions of authority, it has manifested as a profound Xenophobia. For certain lunidae have always considered themselves superior beings, but they had yet to encounter alien life, and it had the misfortune of happening when they were such a psycologically vulnerable state.

Lunidae are not, strictly speaking, a "martial" race, but for a variety of reasons, only bolstered by their current survivalist attitude, most lunidae are rather capable in such affairs. They take this with the same semblance of cracked pride that they take most things in their current lives.

History

The lunidae formerly all lived on the planet of Argus, together as one species all reffered to as the "Sylvae". They lived a peaceful, arboreal life on the planet Argus for thousands of years until and event -that remains in deep contention between the two factions- caused many of the sylvae to emigrate to Argus' moon of Lune. Those that left to the moon, renamed themselves "Lunidae", and those that stayed on Argus, "Argedae".

The lunidae version of events, is that the reckless and thoughtless argedae, those that would eventually be labeled "Dark Lunidae" by their lunar cousins, caused an environmental calamaty, that destabilized the planet's ecosphere, causing tumultuous climatological changes that made the planet rather difficult to live. The other, more "ecologically conscious" sylvae, were approached by a being known only as "The First King", a being of mysterious origin and nature that the future lunidae later believed was an avatar of one of their gods.

The First King led his followers to rapidly advance their space programming, as he preached that the only way they would survive is on the moon. This task was difficult, and took a generation of research and another generation of construction. But in the end, the lunidae took to the moon and established a new civilization. The First King blessed his first followers with divine powers, and named them his successors as he then ascended beyond the moon to the heavens.

The dark lunidae, the argedae, believe quite differently. They believe there was no great ecological change, Argus was "always like that". In fact, they posit that the lunidae, not originally the argedae, were born on Lune, not Argus, and it was the dark lunidae, seeking to escape persecution for not venerating the divine kings of the lunidae. They left the peaceful utopia of Lune to brave the harsh landscape of Argus in the name of freedom and independence, and that one day, the lunidae decided to invade their lands.

Regardless of which version is true, for generations thereafter, the two sides fought an indecisive battle for either control of Argus, as the lunidae believe, or indeed their very right to exist, as the argedae believe. This conflict waged without any end for generations and generations, long after each side forgot the exact reasons for their conflict, and long after any living lunidae, dark or light, questioned this status quo.

This proceeded until one fateful day. Neither side knows what happened exactly, the lunidae believe that the dark lunidae constructed a device to destroy their civilization on Lune. The argedae believe, by contrast, the lunidae decided that if they couldn't have Argus, they would destroy it and all of them on it.

Either way, whether either was responsible or even intended destruction on even remotely such a scale, something dreadful occured Lune was knocked, ever so slightly closer to Argus. A distance of a mere few meters, geologically insignificant in most other contexts, radically altered Lune's orbit around Argus, sending it on an unavoidable path towards impacting the planet.

The lunidae's top astrophysics ran calculations that predicted it would be mere months before "The Moonfall" as they quickly dubbed it, far too short to develop a solution, let alone implement it. Instead, the lunidae rapidly restarted their space program -mothballed as the lunidae saw no need for further development while Argus was not their's- desperately working to develop ships to escape their world before calamity.

The argedae found out a mere two months later, and similarly scrambled to escape Argus. It would prove impossible to save everyone. Maybe if they had the technology, maybe if they had the ships before-hand, but as it was, there was far too little time. They saved all they could, but in such events things, dreadfully important things, have a habit of getting lost. The Royal lunidae family, their beacon of divine providence, were all lost track of, and presumed deceased. The argedae suffered similarly, losing all those with real authority, and in the end, only a mere fraction of both sides populations made it off.

Unfortunately for the lunidae among the survivors of their world, was the admiralty board of the Lunar navy. The chief architects of the war on the lunidae's side, and according to some "kook" conspiracy reporters, deliberately prolonging it to maintain their positions, quickly took advantage of the hopeless situation. While not all of them were motivated by selfish or ignoble reasons, they ultimately agreed that the best solution was the establishment of a strict, military order, "For the Greater Good" They justified, and they promptly declared a perpetual state of martial law.

Home Planet

The lunidae's homeworld was the moon of the planet Argus, which the lunidae called Lune. Argus was a wild and untamed world were pleasant things struggled to live. It was wracked with natural calamities and disasters and filled with dangerous predators, but nonetheless for the lunidae it holds a special place in their heart.

Lune, by contrast was pleasant and sedate, as most moons are, and was perfectly peaceable and calm, a veritable paradise. The lunidae and their terrestrial cousins fought many times both for the planet and its moon, in a conflict that both sides believed would last until the end of time.

This proved not the case, as, in a calamity which naturally both sides blamed on the other, Lune was pulled just slightly out of its orbit, causing it to begin a slow but inevitable collision with Argus. The lunidae scrambled to evacuate, and just barely managed too before the planet and its moon were destroyed.

Today most lunidae live on a number of "ark-fleets" scouring the universe for a suitable new home. Which is harder than one might expect.

Subspecies

Light Lunidae: Usually referred to simply as the "Lunidae" these are the lunidae described above, "Light" lunidae being what they refer to themselves relative to their cousin the "Dark lunidae". Dark lunidae often refer to them as "Pale" argedae to mock them.

Dark Lunidae: The planetborn cousins of the lunidae. Where the lunidae lived on Argus' moon, the dark lunidae, or "Argedae" as they prefer, lived on Argus itself. As prior to its destruction Argus was a rather untamed and violent "kill-or-be-killed" environment the argedae are much more rough and tumble than their moonborn cousins.

Argedae, physically tend to be larger and more "feral" than lunidae, though the latter is lost as argedae usually wear suits similar to their cousins. It's not clear why the lunidae call them dark, as the argedae are barely darker skinned than the average lunidae, which has only become less noticeable since both subspecies started spending the majority of their time in air-tight space-suits.

Most assume it has to due with a difference in attitude rather than physicality, as argedae are "hot" and abrasive, compared to the "cool" and aloof nature of the lunidae.

High Lunidae: A rare breed of lunidae. Before the destruction of their planet there were only estimated to be about one High lunidae for every hundred-thousand normals. The lunidae royal family was formerly composed entirely of High lunidae. They are physically hard to distinguish from ordinary lunidae as their chief distinguishing features, pronounced albinism, are hard to make out under their suits.

The main point distinguishing High lunidae from their mundane cousins was a potential for psychic ability. Though not all of them developed it, and certainly not always to an impressive degree, in lunidae legends, many High lunidae were capable of terrifying feats of what is often even today referred to as "magic."

Special

The E.V.A. Corps.: Any and all lunidae found outside the Ark-fleets --and according to sinister blogs, quite a few inside them-- are members of a secretive branch of military officially designated as the "Special Taskforce of the New Home Initiative" but more often referred to as "The E.V.A. Corps" and occasionally as "The Exo-Scout Force".

Officially they are pursuing "The New Home Initiative" the lunidae's plan to find a new home planet to put down roots on, by surveying potential planets and discretely sending the information home. Less reliable reports suggest that they are not against subverting the lawful government of an alien planet for this purpose, and indeed suggest that might be their primary goal.

Trivia

• Most lunidae encountered in the wider universe tend to be fairly young. This is chiefly for two reasons, the first being that older lunidae are generally more set in the ways, and more paranoid of the outsides, while the young are more open and adventurous. The second, reportedly, is so younger lunidae, less tolerant of the status quo of lunidae society, can be removed from active participation without much complaint.

• There are numerous unconfirmed conspiracy theories about what happened to the lunidae royal family. Some suspect that the admiralty board, eager to establish a pretense for a take-over, killed them themselves. Some believe that they actually kidnapped them, and have been keeping them hostage this whole time.

• Lunidae are uncomfortable with having their ears touched. One was asked about this, and their immediate response was to get incredibly flustered and they demanded an change of subject.

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