The Crystallid Convergence

[Keeper Decagon]

"We are the scales of the Universe, and we shall not be tipped." - Prismatic Placid Flare, 144th CE.

Welcome to the page I wanted to dedicate to the Crystallids, one of the greatest and most intriguing races I have ever created (in my opinion). What started out as a dream about crystal-shaped ships has blossomed into a constantly developing race in the midst of a galactic war.

Ancient and wise beyond what they let on, the Crystallids have played a minor part in events leading up to the 145th CE, their largest role having been performed alongside the Seloi in the 144th CE as researchers, explorers and steadfast allies. They nearly lost everything when they became the prime target for the Hydraxil Collective, narrowly surviving by activating a Seloi gravitational trap to seal themselves, those that remained, within a forgotten asteroid belt.

This thread is dedicated to explaining not only the history of the Crystallid race, but also showing you what I have imagined them to be as a race. Therefore, I have assembled a basic profile for the Crystallids, helping to (hopefully) answer questions about these mysterious crystal beings.

The Profile

Official Name

Crystallid (scientific name unknown)

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Life Expectancy

Immortal (they do not die of old age) though still susceptible to external events leading to death. The oldest Crystallid alive, Placid Flare, is nearly 5 million Standard Earth Years old.

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Appearance

(I will try to find a way to make a visual representation at some point)

At first glance, Crystallids appear as large diamond-shaped crystals, ranging from 4 to 6 meters in length and 1 to 1.5 meters wide at the midpoint. Their heads form part of the top of this diamond structure, separated slightly from their bodies to give them a wide range of movement. They do not have any normal limbs to speak of, however, Crystallids are surrounded by a cloud of tiny shards and crystal dust that they can coalesce into arms and legs, if need be.

Crystallids have eyes too, though not quite like those of organic species. In their heads there are three radiation-sensitive nodules with which they can "see", and can move them around their heads to either get a wider field of view, or just because they prefer having them arranged in a certain way. The standard eye arrangement is in a horizontal or vertical line, and from there the eyes can be moved to reflect emotion akin to facial movements in terrestrial species.

Their bodies are translucent, emit quite a bit of their own luminescence, and appear to shimmer when passing in front of a large light source, such as a star. They have a number of "passive" colours, which is based off which minerals were used in the growth of the Crystallid, but their luminescence has a wide range of hues that are linked to the emotions of the Crystallid and can change to reflect emotional shifts.

• Red = Angry/Annoyed
• Blue = Neutral
• Green = Jealous (Crystallids are rarely jealous)
• Purple = Sad/Upset
• Yellow = Happy
• Black = Hateful (extremely dangerous)

Minor colour variations depict "in between" emotional states.

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Other Details

Crystallids are entirely crystalline, have no discernible organs and are as hard as regular diamonds. Their "skin" is harder still, being a crystalline lattice with a toughness comparable to the plasteel compounds used in starship hulls and space elevators.

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Accessories

Whilst Crystallids do not generally "wear" anything, some choose to clad themselves in decorative crystal structures to make them look more unique among their peers. Alien devices and artifacts are also among the accessories worn by Crystallids, some even being useful, like mining drills and scanning devices.

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Technology

The multitude of devices, stations and spacecraft used by the Convergence are grown similarly to the Crystallids themselves, however, these constructs are not alive by any means and can only be activated by the life force of a Crystallid.

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Weaponry

Crystallids do not use conventional weapons, instead able to use their bodies' internal electric charge to create electron beams capable of cutting through plasteel. These beams are able to be projected from any point on a Crystallid's body, including any formed limbs, but cannot be sustained for a long time without the Crystallid needing to regenerate.

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Social Details and History

Originally, the Crystallids were connected together in a hivemind, with very little distinction between individuals. Over the ages, they met a lot of alien races that had radically differing social structures centred around individuals, the prime example being humanity. To better convey contact between the Crystallids and their neighbouring races, the Crystallids decided to intentionally fracture their hivemind to live instead as interdependent individuals. Unfortunately, this splitting of the hivemind wasn't as smooth a transition as they thought it would be. Several First Born Crystallids subsequently went mad, dividing the Crystallid race and facilitating the Great Fragmentation War, circa the 21st CE. After a long conflict, the War ended when Observant Cobalt killed the mad First Borns, allowing Placid Flare to unite the factions into what is now known as the Crystallid Convergence. Since then, all Crystallids are born as individuals, increasing diversity of ideas and methods of thinking to propagate the race into a golden age of scientific exploration. Because of the relatively close contact with humanity, Crystallids have since been likened to humans in terms of their range of personalities.

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Psionics

One key thing to note about Crystallids is that they are exceptionally psionically-active. Much less limited by their bodies compared to organic subjects, they are able to wield this "mind power" to extraordinary effect, with the most psionically gifted Crystallids able to manipulate matter on a molecular level.

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"Soul Transfer"

All Crystallids have the capability to "transfer" their own life force into other crystalline matrices similar to their bodies.
This includes the bodies of other Crystallids and their spacecraft. In doing so, the Crystallids leave their original body behind in a sort of stasis until they are ready to jump back. This hopping from one matrix to another can be facilitated simply through touch and the consent of all parties involved. The "soul transfer" is especially important in how Crystallids control their ships. They literally become the ship when piloting it, controlling it like their very own bodies.

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Reproduction

Crystallids do not reproduce like the majority of organic species do. A crystal fragment is chipped off the "parent"
Crystallid to start the procedure, being carefully placed in a purpose-built "growth chamber" within a Starfire station for seven weeks to grow into a brand new Crystallid that will have the physical traits of the individual they were grown from. New Crystallid younglings are looked after by their "parent" for a variable length of time as they learn about the Universe through the combined knowledge of the Convergence. Much akin to human children, Crystallid younglings are playful and curious.

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Genders

Crystallids have no true concept of gender, with a Crystallid's sex being depicted by a complex and unknowable series of psionic markers within their souls. Being in proximity to humans and similar such species for so long, however, has influenced the Crystallids to sort themselves into the 2 classical genders, for easy interpretation to outsiders.

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First Borns

In the beginning, an ancient interdimensional entity seeded the very first Crystallids within a number of asteroids orbiting an orange supergiant. When they emerged, 25 individual First Borns formed the first Crystallid hivemind. Many of their names have been lost to time, but the two that remain today are Placid Flare and Observant Cobalt. First Borns are unique amongst Crystallids because they are able to transform themselves into gigantic Titan-forms. It is not well known how this happens, but scientists believe it is due to a special elemental core each First Born bears. It is comprised of elements not attainable in this Universe, which could lend to these cores having extradimensional properties not fully understood by science.

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Timeline of Major Events

Coming Soon^TM

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Notable Individuals

Under Construction: More to Come Soon^TM.

Known Characters:

Placid Flare

Preferred Name

Flare

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Age

4,989,512 Standard Earth Years.

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Rank

Prismatic (equivalent to emperor)

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Chosen Gender

Female

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Unique Features

Flare has a crest of snowflake-like crystal structures protruding from her head.

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Description

Placid Flare is a First Born and has been a pivotal figure in the guidance of the Crystallid race for millions of years. The title of "Prismatic" was given to her when the Convergence was created through an overwhelming consensus between the remaining First Borns, signifying her position as a brilliant leader in the eyes of the Crystallid race. Over the course of many Eras, she has been a devout advocate for peace and scientific exploration, whilst trying her best to keep the Crystallids out of direct conflicts with other races. One of her most memorable quotes, "We are the scales of the Universe, and we shall not be tipped", was said in the 144th CE in response to criticism that their relationship with humanity was compromising the Crystallid's neutral position in the galaxy. On numerous occasions, she protected the Convergence from outside interference by the Loki using her overwhelmingly powerful psionic abilities, even preventing a Creeper Nexus from taking control of Observant Cobalt once the attack on the Seloi Imperium began. Pure of heart and of mind, she is widely regarded as the very core of the Crystallid race as a whole, unfortunately drawing a lot of attention from dark and powerful entities seeking to usurp her power.

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Observant Cobalt

Preferred Name

Observant or Cobalt

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Age

4,989,512 Standard Earth Years.

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Rank

Overlord Commander

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Chosen Gender

Male

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Unique Features

Cobalt is significantly more bulky than the average Crystallid, and has crystalline "armour" plates adorning his body.

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Description

Observant Cobalt is a First Born and is the steadfast commander of the Convergence's military forces. He has served at Flare's side for longer than anyone, being both her trusted adviser and close friend to help keep the Prismatic on the rails over the ages. Ever the voice of reason (and witty puns), Cobalt has played a vital role in the events affecting the Crystallid race over the ages. During the Great Fragmentation War, Cobalt led a taskforce against the mad First Borns, killing each and every one of them to bring the conflict to an end, a tragic reality that still haunts him to this day, even if he doesn't show it. During an expedition to an anomalous planetoid in the 38th CE, Cobalt came in contact with a fragment originating from the Creeper Nexus defeated in the 2nd CE, filling his soul with the blackening hate of reality that flowed throughout the artifact. This tainting influence has permeated him ever since. In the 144th CE, during the attack upon the Seloi homeworld by a Creeper Nexus, the Loki used this dark influence within Cobalt to try to take control of him. They would have succeeded too, had it not been for Flare banishing the intruding Nexus and sealing her friend's soul to prevent them from doing this again. Cobalt still bears the residual hate from the darkness flowing within him, and is able to use it to become more powerful than anything that dares to threaten the Convergence.

He also punched the Hydraxil Nexus once, a fact he openly boasts about to his subordinates.

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Solar Envy

Preferred Name

Solar Envy

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Age

4,989,512 Standard Earth Years (Deceased)

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Rank

Elder Scientist

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Chosen Gender

Male

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Unique Features

Envy actually had four eyes, arranged in a square.

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Description

Solar Envy is a First Born and has held the position of a prominent scientist among the Crystallids for an unfathomably long time. More reclusive than the other First Borns, Envy has spent long periods of time outside the Convergence in order to explore the beauty of the Universe without the thoughts of others interfering in his theoretical models. He would have become the veritable Keeper of Knowledge for the Convergence, but his regular absence forced the position to be given to another First Born instead. In the 144th CE, Envy was thought to have been killed in the Hydraxil invasion, but was later discovered to have been captured and tortured in a Hydraxil holding facility somewhere in deep space. He subsequently sacrificed himself in order to destroy a vast Collective defence force that would have otherwise wiped the Crystallid fleet that discovered him out.

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Benevolent Emerald

Preferred Name

Emerald

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Age

6,013 Standard Earth Years.

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Rank

Keeper of Knowledge

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Chosen Gender

Female

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Unique Features

Whilst normal Crystallids have a blue tinge to their bodies, Emerald is distinctly green in colour.

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Description

Benevolent Emerald is a Crystallid youngling merely six thousand years old, holding the vitally important role of Keeper of Knowledge after her predecessor sadly perished in a conflict, making her the youngest ever Crystallid to hold the position. One thing to note about Emerald is her incredibly nervous disposition, compounded by a social anxiety not usually seen in Crystallids. She has a tendency to stutter too, often frustrating her scientific peers when they work together on projects. Her heart is pure, however, and she vowed to follow Flare until the ends of the Universe if need be.

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Unknown Characters:

Prolific Amber

Preferred Name

Amber

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Age

4,351,180 Standard Earth Years. (Deceased?)

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Rank

Trinity Guardian

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Chosen Gender

Female

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Unique Features

Amber had an overall yellow hue, as well as two horns protruding from her head.

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Description

Amber was a First Born, part of a trio dedicated to protecting Prismatic Flare and the Prime Starfire. The Trinity Guardians were the most powerful protectors of the Convergence, until a catastrophic battle with a Loki resulted in them sacrificing themselves in order to banish the Loki to the Void, saving the Convergence and the majority of the active galactic civilizations at the time. Amber was the leader of the Trinity, and was strong and courageous. She was a close friend of Cobalt too; it was reported that several major Creeper-infested planets were obliterated after Cobalt learned of her fate.

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Tender Corona

Preferred Name

Cory

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Age

4,351,180 Standard Earth Years. (Deceased?)

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Rank

Trinity Guardian

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Chosen Gender

Female

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Unique Features

Cory had a distinct orange hue, and a series of spines running down the sides of her head.

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Description

Cory was a First Born, and made up one third of the Trinity Guardians. Whilst not as strong as Amber, Cory was especially bright and was in charge of strategy and telemetry data. Having many contacts and means of gathering information, Cory would know exactly where and when a target would be, allowing the Guardians to easily pounce on high-value targets, even defeating entire fleets before they knew what had happened. She was presumed dead when the Trinity sacrificed themselves to banish a Loki to the Void, getting dragged into the singularity along with the rest of the group.

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Persistent Harmony

Preferred Name

Harmony

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Age

4,351,180 Standard Earth Years. (Deceased?)

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Rank

Trinity Guardian

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Chosen Gender

Female

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Unique Features

Harmony had a vivid red hue, as well as a series of opaque crystalline plates forming a sort of helmet around her head.

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Description

Harmony was a First Born, and was the final member of the Trinity Guardians. Notable for her incredible psionic abilities, Harmony was able to influence the very fabric of spacetime with her mind, creating micro-singularities within enemy ships to tear them apart from the inside. Once, she managed to save a Starfire from shattering after an asteroid struck the station, holding the pieces in place long enough for the station to heal itself. She was also presumed dead when the Trinity Guardians were sucked into the Void alongside the Loki they were fighting; it was Harmony who created the singularity.

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Nebulous Topaz

Preferred Name

Topaz

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Age

12,700 Standard Earth Years.

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Rank

Mineral Harvester

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Chosen Gender

Male

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Unique Features

He has a larger-than-usual cloud of shardlets floating around him, allowing him to make up to eight limbs instead of the standard six.

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Description

Topaz is a youngling, and is one of the many Mineral Harvesters working to keep the Starfires stocked up on minerals in order to build new ships and grow new Crystallids. Fitted with a large drilling harness gifted to the Harvesters by one of the previous human civilizations, Topaz is a relatively ordinary miner, and considers himself to be pretty insignificant in the grand scale of things. He does have a considerable amount of determination, however, and will end up proving his worth in the galactic conflict at hand.

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Steadfast Amethyst

Preferred Name

Amethyst

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Age

160,120 Standard Earth Years.

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Rank

Elite Specialist

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Chosen Gender

Male

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Unique Features

Amethyst has a growth defect that malforms and weakens his left side.

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Description

Amethyst is an Elder that was grown with a severe defect running throughout his left side that crippled him for the majority of his early life. Despite many efforts by the scientists and Starfires to cure this defect, nothing proved successful. This forced Amethyst to adopt a tame job in Starfire maintenance until a major conflict nearly destroyed the station he was assigned to maintain. He was determined to aid in the fight, and after a long and arduous training, he ended up becoming one of the Convergence's most venerable Specialists, using a range of highly experimental technology to give him extra protection and support.

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If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I will continue to update this page for as long as I continue to develop the Crystallids!

Thank you for reading!

[GoodMorning]

I have many questions, but I'll start with a strange one: What happened to the cores of the other First Born?

[Keeper Decagon]

I have many questions, but I'll start with a strange one: What happened to the cores of the other Forst Born?

The core of a First Born is linked with its life force, keeping it stable. When a First Born dies, the core's element is no longer able to sustain its integrity and destroys itself, leaving a lump of inert mineral behind.

[GoodMorning]

"Ancient interdimensional entity" - Is this the Admiral, his daughter; or yourself?

OOC

There's a reason behind this next one, the words "lost and found" come up.

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How well can the Crystallids redistribute energy within themselves?

Do Crystallids continue to grow, if slowly?

Have there been any known instances of Crystallids forming new hive minds? (Say, a stray Starfire)

[Keeper Decagon]

"Ancient interdimensional entity" - Is this the Admiral, his daughter; or yourself?

OOC

There's a reason behind this next one, the words "lost and found" come up.

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How well can the Crystallids redistribute energy within themselves?

Do Crystallids continue to grow, if slowly?

Have there been any known instances of Crystallids forming new hive minds? (Say, a stray Starfire)

The ancient interdimensional entity takes many forms, but the term "Imperator" has been suggested in reference to this entity... :P

OOC

I didn't really plan on making the entity anything in particular, tbh. It has been millions of years, so who's to say they still exist?

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Crystallid body matrices are very efficient at directing energy flow to where it's needed, leading to some crackpot engineers once trying to use these crystal matrices in starship conduits. They did fail, however, since it appears that the efficiency is a mixture between the physical matrix and the Crystallid's life force.
They were promptly arrested and jailed when they tried to jam a live Crystallid youngling into a starship conduit.

Crystallids do have the capability to continue to grow as large as they see fit, however, the larger forms generally require a lot more energy to sustain and therefore are not feasible for use. Hence, the Crystallids prefer to keep relatively small bodies.

There have been examples of new hive minds being formed by Crystallids, yes, when separated from the rest for whatever reason (such as Rift Space decoherence) in order to keep the Crystallids and the stations in question safe until the connection can be reestablished. Such hive minds will quickly be dissolved once the lost group is found.

In some cases, Crystallids had opted to live on a planet's surface, becoming the less-well-known "Planet Walker" Crystallids, where they will establish their own little hive mind between themselves to keep the group together and safe. Unfortunately, all of these alternate hive minds were destroyed by the Creeper over the ages.

There is, however, one new hive mind that has yet to be created. And that one will happen very soon...  ;)

[GoodMorning]

There seems potential for a Crystallid (in unusual circumstances) to take a more complex shape.

Have they been known to have "inclusions"?

If my undeerstanding of their growth is correct, then each Crystallid now in existence would have the same physical traits as one of the First Born, from which they are distantly descended.

What happened in the case of the Shattered?

[Keeper Decagon]

There seems potential for a Crystallid (in unusual circumstances) to take a more complex shape.

Have they been known to have "inclusions"?

If my understanding of their growth is correct, then each Crystallid now in existence would have the same physical traits as one of the First Born, from which they are distantly descended.

What happened in the case of the Shattered?

Inclusions? Please elaborate.

Yes, all modern Crystallids share physical traits with one of the 25 First Born Crystallids, though some of the "trait strains" died out during periods of great hardship, since the First Borns from which they came were already gone.

The Shattered was originally a cruiser akin to the Prism that collided with an asteroid, this much is already known. The pilot of the Shattered at the time was able to keep the fragments together using a strong psionic bonding similarly to how the shards that form Crystallid limbs float in a cloud around a Crystallid. However, the bonding had to be maintained by a live Crystallid, meaning that the ship has to be piloted at all times by a psionically-gifted Crystallid in order to keep it together. This can be very draining, however, meaning the Shattered must have its pilot switched out often to keep it running at any sort of efficiency.

[GoodMorning]

From an ancient database:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusion_(mineral)#Gemology

[Spaartan]

Can non-first borns still become somewhat close to Titan size? I am breaking ties with the Collective, and I would love to help the victims of their wrath.

[Keeper Decagon]

Can non-first borns still become somewhat close to Titan size? I am breaking ties with the Collective, and I would love to help the victims of their wrath.

It is possible for a non-First Born to become Titan-sized, but they won't be able to sustain the form for very long. First Born transformation into Titans is made possible by their elemental core, which allows not only rapid growth but also allows the First Born to maintain the Titan-form indefinitely (unless they are in combat, for that will drain their energy).

There have been rumours that there is a way in which a non-First Born can be "modified" to allow them to sustain a Titan-form, not indefinitely, but for a decent enough time. However, this involves some quantum flux mechanics only observed when natural Rift singularities form near ordinary matter, making it very difficult to artificially carry out this modification procedure... unless someone has the capability to reverse-engineer a series of Rift Totems. Hmm.

[Keeper Decagon]

From an ancient database:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusion_(mineral)#Gemology

Aha, I see.

When the Crystallids still seeded and grew within asteroids, inclusions will definitely have been one of their physical traits. Since they switched to Starfire-based reproduction, however, they have much more control over the purity of the minerals used to grow a Crystallid, making modern-day Crystallids nearly pristine gemstones with only very minor inclusions.

[Keeper Decagon]

Update: Added four profiles to the "Notable Individuals" section. Additional characters will be added in due time.

[GoodMorning]

... unless someone has the capability to reverse-engineer a series of Rift Totems. Hmm.

You asked? Rising Star is already looking into high-energy Rift interactions to expedite communication with the Vitastrae. There is also a more drastic plan, but...

[Keeper Decagon]

... unless someone has the capability to reverse-engineer a series of Rift Totems. Hmm.

You asked? Rising Star is already looking into high-energy Rift interactions to expedite communication with the Vitastrae. There is also a more drastic plan, but...

I'm sure the Crystallids would be quite interested in what the Rising Star finds out... once they escape GalCorp's relentless pursuing fleets. Also, a more drastic plan?

[GoodMorning]

I've responded to that via PM, Decagon.

How does the Resonator manage resupply?