Classification: Nomadic Alien Species
Origin System: Kavasa (Ancestral; cosmologically unstable)
Common Nickname: "Slipjackers" (Gamaen derogatory colloquialism)
Physiology & Biology
The Patisi are a resilient species shaped by the harsh volatility of their home system. They exhibit significant racial and genetic variation but share key survival traits.
Visual System
They possess three independently moving eyes, granting them panoramic vision essential for scanning environments and opportunities.
Respiratory Adaptations
Equipped with filter-gills for toxin resistance, they can oxygenate their blood to survive in low-oxygen environments for up to 30 minutes.
Physical Features
Patisi are hairless with grey-toned skin capable of limited adaptive camouflage. They have circular mouths and a pig-like nasal structure.
Lifespan
50–70 standard years.
Culture & Governance
The Patisi ethos is built on adaptation, innovation, and commerce. While they favour legitimate trade, they are unafraid to scavenge or smuggle when survival demands it.
The Board of Barter
Most major flotillas are governed by these commercial councils.
The Free Viceroy
Each guild elects a Viceroy to serve as both their executive leader and chief trade ambassador.
Social Structure
Society is divided into respectable Guild Flotillas, independent Solvent Houses, and disavowed Bandit Clans (pirates).
Technology: The Art of Deception
Patisi technology is a hybrid of salvaged, self-developed, and traded systems. Their ships are famous (and infamous) for:
Holo-Masking Arrays
Advanced optical illusion projectors capable of disguising a ship's identity or cargo.
Sensor Jamming
High-level scrambling fields to evade authorities or rivals.
Modularity
Vessels are designed for long-range autonomy and adaptability.
The Major Guild Flotillas
While the Patisi have never fully unified, their society is anchored by powerful trade guilds, each with its own reputation and specialty.
1. Tivalek Drift
Reputation: The diplomats of the void; prestigious and reputable.
Specialty: Rare minerals, courier services, and arbitration.
Notable Quirk: They record every transaction scrupulously, even the illicit ones.
2. Graskari Vault
Reputation: The elite scavengers; secretive and industrial.
Specialty: High-value tech salvage and black-market integration.
Notable Quirk: Leaders wear trophies taken from their greatest salvage operations.
3. Velthrakka Chain
Reputation: Compassionate collectivists; "Linked in Need."
Specialty: Food, medicine, and atmospheric life-support systems.
Notable Quirk: Their ships feature greenhouses and ringed hydro-bays; they believe mutual aid is the ultimate survival trait.
4. Jattuva Ring
Reputation: Flamboyant, eccentric luxury traders.
Specialty: Psionic artifacts, entertainment, and exotic luxury goods.
Notable Quirk: Crew members are required to change their identities every 7 cycles to maintain an air of mystery.
5. Nathari Veil
Reputation: Distrusted masters of deception and "shifting truths."
Specialty: Smuggling, deep-space cartography, and intelligence brokering.
Notable Quirk: They use pseudonyms and mirrored hand gestures, believing that misdirection protects the truth.
Patisi merchant