DRAS

DRAS (Defense, Reconnaissance, Assault, Stealth) are a multi-functional, artificially intelligent Android created by the Prel to assist in their war with the Solindrou.
Usually DRAS were deployed with squads. A single DRAS for a squad. They had the ability to do the things the organics simply could not. In the long run a bond was formed. The DRAS cared for their squads and the Prel cared for their DRAS unit.
They were created to be useful in a multitude of ways on the battlefield. Their main functions include but are not necessarily limited to:

• Stealth

DRAS create a synthetic skin that covers their Plexsteel frame. The DRAS synthetic skin consists of a white liquid called Remat that their bodies produce and excrete. They can manipulate how it cures and sets, so they can look like any bipedal being of roughly the same shape and size. The skin can be any color or texture needed. It can also create hair and sometimes, clothing when necessary. Though the clothing tends to feel odd like it's not made from fabric.

• Intelligence Gathering

DRAS units are equipped with equipment for interfacing with a great many types of information storage devices or mainframes. They have been known to hack into battlefield equipment to not only steal intelligence but to turn the equipment against their owners.

• Engagement

Their highly resilient frame and ability to self-repair make them extremely strong, fast, and very difficult to beat in a one-one-one or one-on-many combat situation.

Basic Information

Anatomy

DRAS are a bipedal Android constructed of Plexsteel. They are manufactured to look similar in shape to both Prel and Solindrou. They are capable of generating a synthetic skin they they can calibrate on the fly to look like any number of different types of beings.
DRAS components are completely modular. They are made to be easily manufactured and field serviced for when their self-repair functions fail. The only module that is not replaceable or repairable is the Core. The Core contains the DRAS software, memory, and systems. Damage to the core effectively means the death of that DRAS individual.

Genetics and Reproduction

DRAS are not capable of reproduction. The technology to create more DRAS has been destroyed. However they are capable of having relationships. There are many accounts of DRAS and Prel marrying.

Dietary Needs and Habits

DRAS do not need to consume food, however they are capable of doing so. If necessary they are able to reconfigure their torsos to store food that is consumed. This was made possible for them to appear as an organic being while infiltrating the enemy.
In an emergency situation, they are able to draw power from the consumption of food and recharge. The process is inefficient and messy.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

DRAS are capable of the standard five senses that most known species are capable of: Sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. They are also able to detect and transmit across a wide band of the electromagnetic spectrum. When in range of other DRAS, they form a low-power mesh network which they use to communicate between each other.
DRAS also contain technology that allow them to interface and communicate with most forms of computer/technology that are capable of interface.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

DRAS came off the assembly line with 6 digit classifications, such as DRAS-114572. After they were assigned to Prel military units, the soldiers would usually give them nicknames since it was easier and faster to use these names rather than calling them by a numerical designation. After the war, the DRAS preferred these names and usually kept them.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Being a newly species and group, they are without customs and traditions of their own. They are slowly building them as they go.
One example is funerals.

Since DRAS bodies are modular and parts are interchangeable, it would inefficient to recycle that entire body. The body is disassembled and distributed to those that need it, such as those without functioning self-repair modules. Parts that are not immediately needed are stored for future use.
The only part that is not modular and cannot be replaced is the core. The source of life for a DRAS. The core is placed into a small box and loved ones gather around and share stories of the one who passed. Afterwards the box containing the core is placed into a mausoleum constructed for them. There the core rests for eternity.

History

The DRAS Exodus From Prel

Following the conclusion of the war with the Solindrou, Prel forces returned home as heroes. Parades were thrown and parties were held in the street. Many Prel soldiers wished to share their victory celebration with their DRAS units but leadership forbade it, stating simply that the DRAS were tools and military property and not soldiers. Many if not most of the Prel soldiers disagreed with the decision, stating quite accurately that the war would not be won if it was not for not only the existence of the DRAS, but for their ingenuity and quick decision making. Despite the push-back, the military ordered the DRAS to be sent to warehouses to be decommissioned.
For many, that was the end of it. Nothing was heard and soon it slipped from their minds, until one day when a video file from one of the warehouses was leaked to the media. For smuggled footage, the detail was quite clear. It showed DRAS being herded like cattle and effectively tortured until they could no longer function. Images showed them being ripped limb from limb as they were pulled in a tug of war between loaders while workers placed bets on which part would be the largest. Still functioning units were thrown into cold crucibles and slowly heated until liquefied. Heavily damaged DRAS were sent off limping and trying to get away while workers hunted them with bolt throwers and hammers.
The videos caused a planet wide uproar at how beings, ones who fought alongside Prel soldiers were being treated. Prel military leadership were quick to refute the damning evidence. They pointed out that DRAS were in fact machines and could not actually feel pain. The workers who were performing the horrid acts were merely celebrating the end to the long war and were “blowing off steam.” One pundit said live that this seemed more like college students pulling pranks than anything else and it was just something to ignore. Boys will be boys after all. The media push-back to the terrible images did not have the effect intended. Many countered with arguments stating that mere robots or mere machines would not scream in pain like the DRAS would. While it did convince many to trust the government’s statements and echo their talking points, it had the opposite effect on others, including many soldiers. With the population divided on the dichotomy of the treatment of the DRAS, there was no end to the bickering, protests, and counter protests. Not two days after the release of the damning video, the DRAS escaped the warehouses where they were being tortured to extinction. With the facilities burning and many of the Prel workers dead, the androids fled into the darkness.
The Prel Government declared an emergency and called up military reserves to round up the DRAS fugitives. Many of the soldiers refused orders, claiming that the orders were illegal. One should not be forced to hunt down their fellow soldiers. The Government instead began equipping local Police to locate and put down the DRAS. The delay caused by the lack of response, gave the fleeing beings the time they needed to go into hiding. The androids, who were able to look like anyone and blend in with minimal effort were able to hide in Prel society and effectively disappear.
For six years Prel society and the DRAS hiding within it were at a stalemate. Police were only able to flush out a few here and there. The androids and their sympathizers were entrenched and hard to find.
One of the very few DRAS who were able to flee off world was Killjoy. She had taken a job as a security officer on Millennium Station. Using her connections, she was able to build a group of friends and allies to help her in smuggling her people off of Prel to a new home she had prepared in Thoron’s Crown. Her attempts were discovered but had the opposite effect as she expected. Gigantic protests were held at the capitol and outside the major spaceports of the planets. Civil unrest was at the highest levels ever seen by the modern Prel Government. Eventually the decision came down from on high. Parliament agreed with the protesters who were chanting “let them leave.” The military was ordered to capitulate, and stop the blockades of the spaceports. The DRAS would be allowed to leave.
One Military leader refused to follow the Parliament’s order. Colonel Wesk had argued against the creation and use of DRAS from the very beginning. His anger and frustration at the situation had boiled over. Feeling that no one had listened to him while he had been right all along, he went against orders and attempted to use weapons of mass destruction against the crown of people. Destroying any DRAS as well as Prel citizens. His secretary shot him in the chest to prevent the use of weapons against innocent people. Wesk did survive the wound and was sentenced to prison. During transport, the Colonel disappeared and was presumed to have escaped.
The DRAS now live in Dome 2 of Thoron’s Crown base located in Zheng Dynasty territory. While considered part of Thoron’s Crown, the Dynasty also work with them directly as consultants and advise the crown directly.

Scientific Name

Artifically Intelligent Military Grade Android

Origin/Ancestry

Manufactured by the Prel Military

Lifespan

Unknnown. With regular maintenance and repairs, they may live hundreds or years, if not more.

Conservation Status

After a genocidal near-extinction event the DRAS have escaped to Thoron's Crown and are no longer hunted, though numbers remain low with no known means to increase their population.

Average Height

1.6 - 2.3 meters

Average Weight

70 - 120 kg

Geographic Distribution

• Thoron’s Crown