Ton'keena

The Ton'keena are a feline-like humanoid species which once lived in Tau Elpis and whose century-old ruins still litter many worlds across the system. Very little is known about them - even their name is tentative and decyphered from several archives. The term refers to the lost species, their ruins, as well as the civilization which once spanned Elpis.

Appearance

Their appearance is unknown but clues hint at a similar outward appearance to other Pyxis Globula sentient species, leading to all manners of debate. Without undegraded genetic material, it is impossible to determine whether Ton'keena DNA shows the same signs of artificial restructuring which exists and perdures in the DNA of Globula species. One thing is sure : there are no Ton'keena left in Elpis.

History

The origins of the Ton'keena are about as mysterious as anything else about them, though the scientific community agrees that they are not native to Tau Elpis. Ancient archives found on archeological sites across the system have left researchers divided. Several sources suggest that the Ton'keena originate from an undiscovered system deeper within the Circinus Stream. Codexes retrieved from Nufano indicate that the sudden freeze of their homeworld pushed some Ton'keena to seek warmer sanctuary elsewhere. However, partially recovered data cores push a different theory. It is posited instead that the Ton'keena used some kind of reality-warping portals and could originate from anywhere within the galactic cluster.
As no genetic material has been conclusively synthetized, it is impossible to narrow down their origin region : many species from the Globula were deliberately altered in their antiquity by ancient precursors, and the presence or absence such markers in Ton'keena DNA would disprove one of the two prevailing hypotheses. The lack of evidence in favor of any single hypothesis makes the matter an open question, but one thing can be said without dispute : the Ton'keena are among the most fascinating characters in galactic history. As a relevant side note, much of what is known about the Ton'keena has been due to similarities between their ancient glyph language and an ancient Boshaari language, Ainuya . Linguists across Elpis argue hotly to tis day whether these coincidences are indicative of anything else.
Ergene Qalli and Majorn Li have both posited that the Ton'keena are analogous to a pre-FTL species known to exist in the ancient borders of the Boshaari realm back in the Globlula, hinting that the spread of this species is much wider than expected yet paradoxically extremely downplayed in galactic histories.

Legacy & Culture

Across Elpis, ruins and degraded data cores hint at a flourishing civilization which spanned the system some 1000 cycles ago. The Ton'keena are noted for their highly esoteric technology and their general knowledge of AI and spacefaring - both vastly outranking that of the current inhabitants of the Elpis system. Exactly what forced the Ton'keena to leave the system is unknown, and very few records exist to shed light on their sudden downfall. No organic bodies (or strangely, sepulchres) have ever been found, strongly hinting at an orderly departure from Elpis. A few records mention a fallen colony called 'Mystra' though the attached star chart was too damaged to yield any useful coordinates. Ton'keena are also credited with building some orbital objects, notably the main structure of Outpost X-5, though its purpose remains unknown or jealously kept by the Mewei Domain.
Very little is known of Ton'keena culture and customs, though they are generally believed to be a peaceful race who valued intelligence and achievement above all else. Their leader was called the 'Caretaker', and many references to this mystical figure are found throughout archived records. Most scholars believe that the Ton'keena had a strong belief in the afterlife, and possibly even a religion based around it. This is supported by the fact that the last recorded documents of the Caretaker seem to refer to the 'last rites of Nufano'.
The Ton'keena most likely maintained their key colony on the world Nufano, though infrastructure and relics were found on other worlds. Many of the recovered archives focussed on maintenance logs and project status updates, and the Mewei Domain is staunchly opposed to the examination of any relics found on Nufano by any non-approved scientist.