Hesper

Lithe and handsome, hespers embody the potential for change inherent in technological power sources. They are energetic and excitable, interested in new faces, sights, and sensations, which drives them to spread across the universe. However, hespers are invested in change for change’s sake. Though rarely malicious, they worm their way into any repository of advanced technology, rebuilding devices and asking endless questions. Most line their nests with all sorts of souvenirs— most of them stolen—which they occasionally rebuild into bizarre and sometimes radioactive totems.
Hespers stand 4 to 5 feet tall but are deceptively dense, weighing 300 to 400 pounds despite their slim, generally masculine builds. Their hair color changes from day to day, running the gamut of the colors of the humanoids around them, and their flesh glows softly in the dark. Though they’re not dangerously radioactive unless they wish to be, their presence excites the air around them, creating drifting motes of light. A hesper can focus this energy at will to project rays of fire, emit arcs of electricity, or overload electronic devices. This same energy can infuse other living creatures with focused doses of radiation, skipping the normal radiation sickness and instead causing short-lived changes to a victim’s genetic structure.
Once vanishingly rare, hespers have become somewhat commonplace as more civilizations have taken to the stars. The glowing fey are especially at home in starships, bonding to the vessels’ reactors. They can be blessings for some ships, serving as constant attendants for one of a starship’s most crucial systems, but their fickle nature also means they grow bored with regular routes or overlong stays in port, and they create drama to amuse themselves.
These nuclear fey have few common traditions, instead adopting the customs of whatever societies they dwell within. Most of their knowledge is instinctual, rounded out by boundless curiosity. Though hespers don’t typically seek out their own kind, large installations and radioactive waste facilities can host small circles of the fey. Notoriously shameless flirts, hespers often keep mortal lovers who protect or provide for them. A hesper reproduces by triggering the growth of a grotesque exowomb on a willing lover, which expands for 1–2 weeks before spilling forth a small but fully matured hesper.