[hider=Doctor Poxx]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/qmpgyzV.jpg[/img]

[color=5A8D9F][i][b]"Intriguing."[/b][/i][/color][/center][hr][hr]

[color=5A8D9F][b][u]Name[/u][/b][/color]
Dr. Xiril Poxx
[sub](Zeer-uhl Pocks)[/sub]

[color=5A8D9F][b][u]Species[/u][/b][/color]
Beta-Cephanian
[sub]The Cephanians are an aquatic humanoid species from the planet Cepha, that have evolved into two distinct groups; Alpha-Cephanians, a hard shelled, crab-like humanoid species, and Beta-Cephanians, their subjugated fish-like cousins. Hailing from a completely submerged planet, all Beta-Cephanians have mucous-producing skin, gills, webbed fingers, and other characteristics suited to an aquatic environment, while their crustacean cousins have a thick exoskeleton and mandibles over their mouths. Whereas Alpha-Cephanians are usually boisterous and warlike, Beta-Cephanians are a quiet, private people known for their humorlessness and brevity, which are moreso results of their neural biology and selective breeding than of any cultural, learned philosophy. Despite being a warp-capable civilization, Cephanians have a very primal culture with little room for sentimentality -- Elderly or injured Beta-Cephanians are usually devoured to support their colony's sustenance, for example, whereas Alpha-Cephanians frequently murder one another over perceived slights.[/sub]

[color=5A8D9F][b][u]Age[/u][/b][/color]
49

[color=5A8D9F][b][u]Affiliation[/u][/b][/color]
Terran Republic

[color=5A8D9F][b][u]Position[/u][/b][/color]
Chief Medical Officer

[color=5A8D9F][b][u]Skillset[/u][/b][/color]
Though he comes off as cold, Commander Poxx's lack of emotion help him remain calm under pressure and make logic-based, split second decisions other officers would struggle with, particularly during the heated moments of patient transport and diagnoses. The Cephanian brain -- particularly that of a Beta-Cephanian -- has far fewer receptors for emotion than a human, and more for memory and problem solving; By human standards, Poxx would be considered a multi-tiered genius. Aside from his intelligence, Poxx is a skilled [i]Judoka[/i], a skill that fostered his initial interest in human culture. Being Cephanian, Commander Poxx can use sonar to maneuver in complete darkness, as well as a protective measure in combat to stun most bipedal humanoids. Underwater, this instead acts as a method of communication, though it is only useful talking to [i]Aquatic Humanoids[/i], of which the Terran Republic recognizes a grand total of [i]six[/i].

[color=5A8D9F][b][u]Personality Profile[/u][/b][/color]
Doctor Poxx's mannerisms and personality are fairly standard for his race. He keeps most interactions as brief as possible, spends most of his time off alone in his quarters, and has little patience for galas and ceremonies. He frequently goes out of his way to seek out advice from other nonhumans on human culture, a subject he finds fascinatingly foreign, though even in these interactions he keeps a quiet distance. Other than his work, Doctor Poxx has three hobbies; swimming, underwater horticulture, and [i]Judo[/i], the latter of which earns him a spot on many away teams. As Cephanian culture is extremely different than human culture, with Poxx only ever having served previously on [i]The Highlander[/i], a ship with very few humans, Poxx is one of the aliens aboard the crew that experiences a great deal of culture shock. Hot beverages, for example, are a subject surrounded by mystery to Doctor Poxx, as well as things like figures of speech, most forms of artwork, and the human fascination with domesticating dangerous animals.

[color=5A8D9F][b][u]History[/u][/b][/color]
Xiril Poxx was hatched on Cepha, spending his youth absorbing the culture and knowledge of his people while working on one of his planet's many algae farms, an unexceptional life shared by three fourths of Beta-Cephanians. His father, Luril Poxx, had slowly saved enough to buy his family's freedom from their master by the time Xiril was eleven, bringing his family to the Terran Republic. Under New Terra's Intergalactic Law 20315, the Poxx family were brought in as asylum-seeking refugees from a planet of slavery, given a stipend to live off of while Xiril's parents were trained for useful work. Xiril, an ever-thankful son of two immigrant refugees, went on to join the Starfleet Academy when he became old enough, and was put onto an expedited path to becoming an ensign aboard the USS Highlander after graduating third in his class. Though originally eager to become a tactical officer, Xiril switched divisons to Medicine during his first year, and has proudly worn the white-and-red uniforms of the Medical unit ever since. After serving aboard the USS Highlander for several decades, during which he did little more than smoothly coast through his career to a [i]Lieutenant Commander Medical Officer[/i], he was transferred to the USS Hawking, where he now serves as the ship's Chief Medical Officer.

[color=5A8D9F][b][u]Flaw[/u][/b][/color]
Xiril has very little knowledge of the culture he is surrounded by, try as he might to study it. It could be said that his greatest flaw is his bedside manner -- or lack thereof -- and his inability to relate to those he treats in the sick bay. He understands "Ow" as a vocal projection of pain, though that is about as far as his understanding of the patient psyche goes; He views his work as a practitioner of medicine much in the same way that an engineer would view the reparations of a ship's battery core, while topics such as psychology, patient interviews, and rehabilitation are typically handled by his subordinates.
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[hider=Cepha Information]
[img]http://pre04.deviantart.net/fd4b/th/pre/i/2010/232/c/e/planet_stock_1_by_bonez621.png[/img]

Cepha is a large planet near the edge of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, which is not a member of the Terran Republic. It has a dense core half the size of Earth's, which is hidden beneath thousands of miles of saltwater in all directions -- The planet has no dry land, though its surface is covered in its entirety with a layer of algae about a mile thick, which is farmed by Beta-Cephanians as a power source. It is the second planet in its solar system, and is kept together by its unusually high gravity, and kept warm by means of its thick, cloudy atmosphere. It is orbited by a relatively lifeless microplanet, which is in turn orbited by an asteroid. Other than that, there is little of note about the Cephanian homeworld; It is considered somewhat primitive and isolated as industrial planets go, and engages in very little trade.

The dominant species of Cepha are the Alpha-Cephanians, a crustacean-like race of humanoids evolved from ancient Cepha's apex predator. Culturally, the Alpha-Cephanian is not dissimilar from a Klingon; Though they live to be 200 years old, their average lifespans are about one hundred years due to widespread honor killings and duels. Alpha-Cephanians are an extremely proud race, and as such are too involved with convoluted feuds and tribal arguments to be greatly involved in the affairs of their intergalactic neighbors.

Most people have not heard of Cephanians -- They are mentioned in the Terran Republic's Starfleet training as one of the six completely aquatic spacefaring races -- and as such, few if any are aware of the distinction between Alpha and Beta Cephanians. As such, those from Cepha are usually regarded to in a myriad of different terms; Red and Blue Cephanians, High and Low Cephanians, and Great and Common Cephanians are all terms they have begrudgingly accepted. Both races refer to themselves simply as "Cephanian" while using the Alpha and Beta labels for the other race.

An entirely separate species, Beta-Cephanians are a fishlike humanoid species capable of using sonar to traverse water too deep for light to reach, or too thick with algae to see. Subjugated by Alpha-Cephanians during "The Great Cephanian War", a civil war between the two races thousands of years ago, Beta-Cephanians have been the planet's workforce and backbone for generations. Cepha's technology is almost entirely powered by their algae, though it is fairly inefficient as fuels go, and is farmed by millions of their Beta-Cephanian thralls.

As a slave society, Beta-Cephanians have a great cultural belief in destiny, and coexist with Alpha-Cephanians with surprisingly little animosity; After several thousand years of enslavement, Beta-Cephanians have more or less accepted their position as unavoidable fate, which coupled with their being bred for passivity by Alpha-Cephanians, has led to a society with almost zero rebellions.

Whereas Alpha-Cephanians are free to choose their careers, specific Beta-Cephanians are born for specific roles. Some are farmers of the algae that powers their planet's technology, others are concubines and servants of Alpha-Cephanians, others still are born for clerical work, and a select few are born for little else than fueling their kin during food shortages; Some speculate it is due to the lack of breastfeeding in Cephanian biology that they do not form especially close bonds with their parents and are generally void of emotion.

The language spoken on Cepha is Korqyk, more commonly referred to simply as [i]Cephanian[/i], a language nearly indecipherable by the universal translator due to its subtle uses of emphasized bubble blowing and sonar as vowels. As it can only be spoken underwater, it is also impossible to be spoken by non-Cephanians.
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