Wraith Raiders

            QUOTE: “Here, where I now live on Mort, is far removed from my distant Home World.  Sometimes I miss the chilling breeze, the dazzling white snow and the exhilarating thrill of the chase so far in the depths of my memory.  Now I am an Operative for SLA Industries and all I have left from my past are faint memories and the instinct to hunt and kill.  Mort is no less harsh than any environment or situation I have come from, it is still survival of the fittest.  SLA Industries needs our hunter race because we are survivors, not like the Conflict Aliens.  All they knew was destruction and war.  We kill to survive and rely on cunning and stealth.  I kill for blood, and blood is money.  I get paid for what I do best, I’m a money hunter.

            INSIGHT:  You were born into a litter of Wraith Raider cubs, your fur was snowy white which made for excellent camouflage in the snowy steppes of your Home World.  In a litter of six, you were one of the four who survived.  As you watched your brother and sister die, you realised quickly that your life would be a struggle for survival, the two dead kin lacked your strength, stamina and determination.  As nature took its course, you learned how to walk and run.  It was only a short space before you knew how to hunt and kill like the other life forms on your planet.  Soon, it was time for you to leave your parental haven and learn the laws of civilisation, to speak, to read and write and understand the importance and values of modern technology, like firearms.  After years of preparation to enter the World of Progress, you left your icy Home World, you knew that you would never see your parents again.  As far as they were concerned they were just breeders for the Wraith Raider race – but also tutors wise in both realms of experience, SLA and natural survival.  Now you are gone, they will simply start again with yet another litter of cubs.  For you, it was time to go and enter the urban hell hole of Mort with its complex views, inhabitants and capitalistic society.  You learn to forget the memories of life and nature and to comprehend the ruthless principles of corporate lifestyle, as an operative – infinitely better than staying and raising your own litter.

           BACKGROUND:  Humans, Ebons and the like generally regard the Wraith Raiders as intelligent, predatory aliens and, for the greater part, this is correct.  The Wraith Raider’s hunting skills and animal instincts are apparent to any observer.  Their bodies are slender, muscular and incredibly fast.  So much so that the Wraith Raiders are the most dextrous Operatives hired by SLA Industries.
            To most, the upbringing of a typical Wraith Raider would be thought of as unreasonable, primitive and not slightly gruelling.  However, Wraith Raiders see no form of unfairness in this.  To them it is all part of life and it is natural that their young cubs should be raised in such a way.
            Compared to the average human lifespan, the Wraith Raiders’ is drastically shorter – the oldest Wraith Raiders range from 45 to 50 years old.  The majority of the Wraith Raiders who come out to the World of Progress are only about 10 years old but have the intelligence and maturity of a full grown adult human.  In order to survive, a Wraith Raider cub must be able to run by the time they are 1 year old, they are fully grown by the time they are seven and join SLA Industries at the humble age of ten.  The common Wraith Raider does not have long to grow and learn before they are thrown into an urban environment.  It is a short life unless they know how to survive.
            Compared to a normal human, the Wraith Raider’s diagnostic skills are a great deal higher – they have to be.  They must learn fast, there is not much time in the icy wastes of the Home Worlds before joining SLA Industries.  A Wraith Raider can gain information fast but has difficulty concentrating.  Their attention span over certain activities is shorter than that of a human.  It is as if the Wraith Raider’s sharp reflexes makes his concentration lapse over long periods of time.
            The planets where the Wraith Raiders are raised are the Ice Worlds, some of which are used as Resource Worlds because of their great water content, though usually most are left to be used solely as Home Worlds.
            These Home Worlds are left untainted by SLA Industries in order that the Wraith Raiders can be raised in a completely natural environment.  They learn to hunt at an early age, then go on to be taught social values and, if they are suitable, the young Wraith Raider may go to Meny for Operative training.  Due to the Wraith Raider’s high diagnosis, their standard training package only lasts for 8 months instead of the usual 12 undertaken by normal Operatives.
            Wraith Raiders act differently from Operative to Operative upon joining SLA Industries.  From the natural environment of the Ice Worlds to the claustrophobic cities of Mort is a radical change for a fresh Wraith Raider Operative.  The training facility at Meny breaks the young alien students in gently, by teaching them that Mort is just another hunting ground where Rival Companies are the prey.

            APPEARANCE:  Wraith Raiders resemble large humanoid lions.  They stand on two legs and their bodies are slim but athletic with well pronounced muscles.  Wraith Raiders have no fat, they are simply too fit although in circumstances where a Wraith Raider gains so much as a slight pot belly, the rest of the race will hold them in disgust.  For this reason, Wraith Raiders always keep in shape through fear of social damnation and a physical drop in effectiveness.
            The Wraith Raider species have a strange hide.  On Ice Worlds their fur grows long and white and their eyes fade to pale pink.  However, if they return to warmer planets like Mort, their hair thins out until it is almost unnoticeable at a distance.  In warmer climates, the Wraith Raider has the semblance of human hair although it is usually navy blue or deep purple, and its soft, velvet-like fur is the colour of lavender with a mottled pattern similar to a leopard.  Their eyes become narrow slits of red.
            Since the Wraith Raiders are basically hunters, their bodies sprout teeth and claws which they use when stalking, (although later in adolescence, guns and other weapons are preferable to them).  The typical Wraith Raider Operative wears a coolant suit, which regulates their body temperature.
            Since they originate from Ice Worlds, the Wraith Raider species can survive in sub-zero temperatures without worry.  Although they tend to dislike hot temperatures they will tolerate them as long as they are not extreme.

INTERACTION:  Wraith Raiders on

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