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Name: Xiana Kuorn [The X is pronounced like a blend of Z and Sh: Zhee-Ah-nuh koo-Orn].
Race: Cephalops [Sef-uh-Lops] (an amphibious, octopus-like bipedal humanoid species).
Planet of Origin: Devonas [Dev-Oh-nas] (A primarily aquatic world in civilized space).
Gender: Female.
Age: 23yr (Earth equivalent).
Height: 5ft 8in.
Bust: 40in.
Waist: 26in.
Hips: 38in.
Weight: 175lbs (tentacular muscle weighs a lot).
Eye Color: Multichromatic (varies based on light angle and pupil dilation). Star-shaped pupils.
Skin Color: Salmon pink with darker red mottling along the sides and tentacles.
Skin Texture: Soft and velvety, though dry (unlike Earth Cephalopods). Sucker pads are a bit rubbery.
Hair: None.
Virgin? No. Xiana has had experiences with males, females and non-binary members of several species.
Distinguishing features: Xiana is a relatively typical example of a female Cephalops, though perhaps a bit on the curvy side. Among other species, her tentacles and color-shifting star-pupiled eyes are likely to stand out.
Clothing: Xiana prefers to wear as little as possible - it make it harder to osmose oxygen when one's skin is covered. However, practicality and social norms among the crews she's worked with means she tends to at least preserve some modesty. See the image above for some typical attire.
A.D.D. Affiliation: None; Xiana has little knowledge of said organization.
Personality: Xiana is impuslsive, fun-loving and freewheeling. She set out to experience adventure on the great galactic frontier and is determined to make the best of it.
Likes: Space travel, adventure, exploring new places.
Dislikes: Boredom, tedium (these include some things other people call relaxation).
Sexual Oddities: Being able to breathe though her skin makes Xiana particularly good at deep-throat fellatio. Her tongue's sucker-lined structure is also well suited to giving pleasure to either male or female partners. She may develop an oral fixation. Her flexible internal structure and the general elasticity of her flesh could allow her to endure (and possibly enjoy) some impressive penetrations.
Description: Xiana is a Cephalops, an amphibious species resembling a cephalopod [i.e. octopus] with a human-like face mounted atop a humanoid torso. She has two large eyes with star shaped pupils, a relatively flat triangular nose and a lipped mouth lined with chitinous teeth. Her tongue is very similar in structure to her tentacles (see below), but its sucker pads are tiny and relatively weak, though still sensitive to taste and scent. She has no apparent ears, but has no trouble hearing. A set of gills lines the side of her neck.
Xiana has eight tentacles: four primary 'arms' in place of the two usual humanoid ones, and four smaller secondary appendages instead of hair. Her primary arms originate from her shoulders and upper back. They approximate the general dimensions of a human arm. Each ends in three tapered 'fingers' arranged in a triangular pattern. Her fingers are scaled down versions of the whole appendage adapted for fine precision and opposability. Xiana's secondary tentacles originate from the sides and back of her head and are similar to her primary ones save that they have no fingers and are about half the size. All her tentacles (including fingers) are similar in structure and capability to those of Earth cephalopods (octopus, squid, etc.). Essencially all muscle, lacking any skeletal support, they can bend, turn and twist at any point of their length and have full range of motion. Sucker pads line their ventral sides providing for a secure grip as well as functioning as organs of scent and taste.
Xiana's torso and legs are essentially the same as most humanoids, including the same type and placement of genetalia and secondary sex characteristics. Her skeleton is cartilaginous, making it extremely tough, but flexible. She is capable of bending and contorting to an exceptional degree; able to squeeze through openings down to roughly one half her width.
As a true amphibian, Xiana has both lungs and gills, but also absorbs oxygen directly through her skin. Her copper-based blood is highly efficient at low temperature and oxygen concentrations. It appears blue-green in color. Xiana's internal temperature measures about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 C).
Despite her amphipian nature, Xiana has some mammalian characteristics. She has a constant (if low) internal temperature and her breasts contain mammary glands capable of lactation. Xiana has no hair of any kind on her body, however.
Senses: Xiana's large star-pupiled eyes are highly sensitive and efficient in low light conditions, but also have polarizing lenses to reduce glare in bright conditions. This causes them the change color based on the angle of observation - any color is possible, shifting up and down the rainbow spectrum. Her nightvision is easily the match of any nocturnal predator.
Since the sucker pads of Xiana's tentacles are sensitive to scent, her sense of smell is very powerful. Easily a match for a canine (or indeed, a shark). Her sense of taste is exceptional for the same reason; the simple touch of a sucker pad is usually enough for her to tell if a substance is consumable or toxic.
Though she has no external ears, Xiana hears as well as the average humanoid.
Other Capabilities: As a Cephalops, Xiana is amphibious, has a good tolerance to pressure and cold, and is very flexible. Her oxygen-absorbing skin also means she can hold her 'breath' for a long time, though that doens't help her avoid airborn toxins. Her cartilaginous skeleton allows her to squeeze into remarkably small spaces.
Weaknesses: Heat: Cephalopses evolved in the depths of Devonas' seas, so are adapted to low temperatures. Even the surface temperature rarely exceeds 80F(27C). Temperatures above that cause Xiana to tire faster than normal; the hotter it gets, the faster she tires. Xiana's exceptional sense of smell and osmotic skin makes her particulary susceptible to airborn toxins, pheromones, etc.
Knowledge and Skills: Xiana is intelligent and intuitive. She catches on to most things quickly and easily, but never truly masters anything. She is competent at a wide range of starship operation skills, from basic maintenance and light engineering to piloting and navigation. Basically, if it's needed to run a ship, she can do it: adequately if not exceptionally. Her most remarkable 'skill', however, is the ability to make intuitive leaps and leverage multiple skills against a problem. This often allows her to formulate unorthodox and highly unlikely solutions that work at least temporarily: imagine a sort of MacGyverism based on guesswork and luck more than knowledge or skill.
Self Defense: Like many other skills, Xiana has a good grounding in self defense techniques. She is good enough to hold her own in a general brawl or minor skirmish with raiders, but is by no means an expert. She's likely to be quickly overcome by anyone with formal training and discipline. She is also conversant with the operation and maintenance of basic firearms - both projectile and energy versions. She is a decent shot, but no match for trained mercenary or soldier.
Basic Equipment: Xiana has a utility belt which holds a variety of basic tools and survival supplies (multitool, flashlight, survival knife, collapsible shelter, condensed rations, etc.). For defense, she carries a mid-caliber automatic pistol. It fires caseless ammunition, allowing for a high capacity magazine. For particularly dangerous situations, she also owns a Cephalopsian hunting laser rifle. It's blue-green beams are specially adapted for minimal dispersion underwater, but work equally well in normal atmosphere.
History: Xiana grew up on Devonas; a planet of wide, shallow seas broken by smatterings of small island chains. Devonas' rotational axis was nearly vertical relative to its orbit around its star, making it's wide tropical band idyllic year round. It tiny moon also made for slight, gentle tides. All in all it was lovely and unchanging and boring . . .
As a young cepha (little girl), Xiana used to float on the surface of her family's lagoon and stare up at the stars. Few Cephalopses looked up like that, not when they lived in a relative paradise. Their society was advanced and spacefaring, but most of the ships that traversed their spaceports were crewed by offworlders. Xiana used to love to listen to their tales of excitement and adventture.
As she matured, she spent as much time in the spaceport cantinas as she could, meeting as many spacers as she could and picking up an impressive array of basic crew skills. As soon as she was able, she signed on with an outbound crew and hasn't looked back since. She frequently changes ships at each new port, seldom working the same crew twice. Her growing reputation as a reliable all-around worker has helped her keep up this lifestyle.
So far, she has avoided the more unsavory elements of the trade. Though she knows about the various pirates and slavers that prowl the spaceways, she's been lucky enough to fall in with more reputable elements. Still, she's only recently reached the more lawless sectors of the galaxy.
Edit (Aug/5/20) Added skills and gear sections and rearranged some other stuff.