cronian (Cro-nee-an)

Meanwhile...

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... on Saturn's moon of Titan

Captain Fel Kur'Talak stopped at the bottom of the shuttlecraft ramp and blinked in surprise.

"That's new," he said.

He expected to see Titan’s desolate landscape. A lonely stretch of towering, dark coffee-colored hydrocarbon sand dunes. Maybe even a volcano pouring out a river of water lava in the distance.

What he didn’t expect was a modest-sized colony.

It was built into, and around, one of the massive rust-orange rock outcroppings that dotted Titan’s landscape. This one stabbed up at an angle, like the remnant of a prehistoric crater. At the opposite side of the colony to the east, one of Titan’s mid-equatorial ethane sea spilled out toward the horizon.

Fel stretched his hawk-like wings. The force field hugging him glittered in Titan’s perpetual twilight. He frowned at the colony while he continued to study the buildings.

“Not Kryptonian,” he decided. “Or really anyone else as advanced, like the Atlanteans. Certainly not Thanagarian. My own people haven’t tried space flight again in centuries. That looks ‘Earth tech’. Advanced, but still Earth tech.”

Fel slowly twisted the Star League Flight Ring around his finger, lost in thought. After a minute, he adjusted his shield gauntlet, then stepped off the ramp to the crunch of Titan’s sand under his boots.

“Time to see who’s home,” he said lightly.

---

Cronians, or “Martians” to use the Earth translation of their name, are another of the sapient species from across the multiverse. They are considered one of the ‘younger species’ alongside Humans, Kivu, Soru, and the genetically altered Hybrid-Humans.

The Cronians are technologically advanced beings from their home world of Cron that orbits the star system of Proxima Centauri. One of the younger species in the multiverse, they are a stargate-capable humanoid species. Despite that innovation, the rest of their collective understanding only surpasses other younger species, such as the humans on Earth, by a mere century.

These people are known for their love of mathematics, logic, and exploration. This has driven them to study and then even establish two colonies on other worlds. One is on the Earth-like planet of Jonzz in the 40 Eridani system in their own universe. The second, and more recent, is Samach on Saturn’s moon of Titan in the Earth-Prime universe.

Basic Information

Anatomy

In their native form, Cronians are a near-humanoid species with a similar outward physiology as Earth humans with a few differences.

The average Cronians stands 6 feet tall in their natural form. They have a near-human shape but tend toward a thinner physical frame than most other humanoid species. Like humans, they breathe oxygenated air and see the same light spectrum as a human.

Differences between a Cronian and a Human lie in their physical structures. Unlike humans, Cronians have chalk-white skin with a smooth, almost shark-like texture. Their hands end in three fingers with an opposable thumb.

The greatest physical differences are that the Cronians have digitgrade legs, a slightly elongated skull with a protruding eyebrow ridge. Their eye color is always either red or black. Males, no matter the age, lack any hair covering. Female Cronians, however, do have black, red, or green hair.

Unusually Adaptable

Cronians are a metamorphic species with a strong affinity for telepathy. This unusual combination of meta-powers expressed early their development. The metamorphic ability to change their shape has been traced back to early proto-Cronians living in pre-historical eras on Cron. During that time, the world’s environment was more lethal, if not aggressively dangerous.

Proto-cronians developed their shape-shifting abilities as a defense mechanism against the much larger predator species that roamed the world. This talent, along with the development of a short range telepathic power, is what propelled the Cronians into the dominant species of the world thousands of years later.

Civilization and Culture

History

In the timelines of the multiverse, Cronians are not much older than humans of Earth. Their earliest records show that ‘modern’ Cronians have existed for approximately the same length of time that ‘modern’ humans have existed on Earth in their native universe of Earth-2.

They had only just started the exploration of their own home system of Proxima Centauri when a chance discovery of an ancient ruin accelerated their technological development. A set of ancient ruins were discovered on a moon orbiting the gas super-giant planet in their system. Along with those ruins were the partial remains of a stargate-capable ship. The ship later proved to be an automatic survey ship sent out by the ancient Asgardian people, the ancestors of Earth's modern day ‘Atlanteans’.

A wealth of written material was found at the ruin, but none of it could be translated. It was gibberish without a ‘Rosetta Stone’ discovery to connect the Cronian language to the early Asgardian writing. But the Cronians did reverse engineer the stargate drive and several of the alloys in the ruins and incorporated what they learned.

Those breakthroughs were the catalyst that provided the springboard for the Cronians to explore other worlds. But while they have explored, they have not colonized. This is due to their own general adherence to careful calculation and consideration. Another long-established trait from their proto-Cronian ancestors. To date, they have only the colony in the 40 Eridani system and the one on the moon of Titan in the Sol system.

The low number of colonies, ability to metamorph and blend in with their environment are the reasons they have gone unnoticed by the older, or more aggressive, cultures such as the Kryptonians.

While the Cronians are a unique creation they are inspired by the wide variety of 'Martians', or Ma'aleca'andrans (say that three times fast!), of DC Comics. This would be the background people and culture for the hero Martian Manhunter found in DC Comics.

But! DC Comics Martians were only the seed of inspiration, a starting point or homage, nothing more. Other ideas were drawn in to bake what you see here. No infringement is intended or implied. Here, the Cronians stand, hopefully, on their own as a unique people in Tales of Justice!

Universes

Earth 1, Earth 2 (home universe)

Scientific Name

protean versipellis sapiens

Alternate Names

"Martians"

Average Height

6' 1"

Average Weight

180-195 lbs

Maximum, non Meta-Powered, Attributes

---

Dexterity

10 AP

Strength

6 AP

Body

6 AP

Intelligence

12 AP

Will

12 AP

Mind

12 AP

Influence

10 AP

Aura

8 AP

Spirit

10 AP

---

Common Special Abilities

Powers

Telepathy 4 AP
Self Manipulation 6 AP

Bonuses and Limitations

Self Manipulation is for altering their physical form, or "shapeshifting". A Cronian may not gain powers that they do not already have when they change shape into a new form. Neither are they able to 'grow' limbs they did not already possess in their natural form.

Suggested Skills and Advantages!

It's common for the average Cronian to have the Artist (Actor) skill with at least 5 APs in the skill. They use this in combination with their Self Manipulation power.

For Advantages, the average Chronian will purchase at least two Advantages from the following:

Scholar (Mathematics)

Scholar (Logical Systems)

Scholar (Logical Philosophy)

Scholar (Exploration)

---

Fel stood along the shoreline outside the colony and watched ethane waves break against the dusky hydrocarbon sand. As first meetings went, he considered this a success. No one threw a punch, hurled an insult, or started a war.

It was a good day in his book.

The Martian, or ‘Cronian’ as they preferred, enthusiasm reminded him of humans of Earth. Physiology aside, the only difference he saw was the calm, studious nature of the Cronian people. Their ‘Way of Jynn Sh’ass’ philosophy that most adult Cronians followed. But both Cronians and Humans shared an eager, unquenchable thirst to learn.

“Contemplative thought to you, Captain.”

Fel turned toward the speaker. It was Minn Elozz, the representative from the settlement’s administration.

“Just taking in the scenery before I headed out, Adjunct Elozz.”

She bowed slightly at the waist. The Adjunct, because of her metamorphic physiology, made the motion look almost eerie.

He had learned that Cronians rarely made casual physical contact because of their telepathy and strong cultural sense of privacy. Once explained, the reasons made complete sense. As the Adjunct bowed, Fel bowed as well, though far less gracefully.

“Well, as the one to speak for the colony of Samach, we have been overjoyed to meet you,” she said. "We are so excited to learn more about you, the Star League, your people, and the people of Earth. Though we’re unsettled by your warning about the Kryptonians?”

Fel replied with a grim smile.

“It wasn’t a warning a about the people, just their organization, the Kryptonian Union. There are many Kryptonians who are innovative and delightful. Peaceful people. But, like any culture, there are those that… think only about themselves.”

Minn folded her hands over her mid-section, then adjusted the surcoat over her tunic to smooth out wrinkles.

“Yes, we have those problems as well. But so long as people are willing to talk and understand, then there is hope.”

Fel started to say an old reply about ‘some people just like to watch the galaxy burn’, but he stopped himself. Those were old thoughts rooted in old memories of a struggle against the fanatics of the Kryptonian Union. That was from another time, before the cryofreeze. This was a different time and place.

“Yes,” Fel said after a moment. “There should always be hope.”