Shadow
Type: character, protagonist
AKA: Furball, Hen, Featherbutt (Nicknames mostly coined by her crewmates—Vex especially)
Race: Velari (wingless anthropomorphic avian)
Age: Mid-twenties
Height: 170 cm (5' 7")
Weight: 50 kg (110 lbs)

Visual Description:
Shadow’s lithe, feminine frame is covered in sleek, short black fur that mimics the softness and flow of feathers. White feather-like spots accent her shoulders and hips, and a long, thick tail trails behind her—ending in a fluffy, expressive tuft that often betrays more emotion than she intends. Her digitigrade legs give her an elegant, predatory poise, each ending in three sharp, taloned toes. She rarely uses any kind of footwear, so the soft pads of her toes make her steps nearly silent on most surfaces—except for the occasional scratch of a claw on metal or stone. A lush neck mane of fluffy fur blends into her disheveled, feather-like hair, and her backward-pointed, expressive ear tufts constantly twitch with emotion.
Her small black beak is smooth and gently curved, giving her awkward kisses a strange, alien delicacy that often catches her lovers off guard. Her eyes are striking: entirely green sclera with solid black pupils, giving her gaze a hypnotic, otherworldly quality. A gentle voice, musical and melodic, carries bird-like coos and chirps, especially when flustered or emotional.
There is also another hint of unnatural color—emerald green skin beneath the black fur, visible only in her most intimate parts—a vivid contrast that makes it painfully obvious when desire gets the better of her.

Personality:
Shadow is a walking contradiction: submissive but stubborn, awkward but sharp, insecure yet resilient. She fakes confidence when she has none, cracks jokes to mask fear, and flirts without realizing the effect she has on others. Her past taught her to use compliance as survival, but it also left her with a deep, aching need for connection—one she’s never learned how to satisfy, and barely even knows how to name.
She’s curious, fast-thinking, and resourceful—especially when working with tech—but socially clumsy, often misreading emotional cues and overcompensating with self-deprecating humor. Shadow wants to be useful. Needed. Valued. But above all, she wants to feel like more than just a toy—something pretty to hold down, use, and forget. She’s spent her life being passed from one set of hands to another, her body remembered long after her name was not. What she wants—what she’s scared to want—is to matter for something beyond what she can offer in a moment of need. To be seen. Kept. Fought for. Loved, not lusted after. Someone real.

Backstory:
Shadow was born in the underbelly of a sprawling hive-city on a Coalition-controlled world—where xeno species like the Velari are viewed as expendable curiosities at best. Her parents died in an anti-xeno riot, leaving her to navigate a hostile world where her body was a commodity, her existence a joke. Years of abuse hardwired a submissive survival instinct, along with deep shame over her own biology.
She was briefly taken in by a kind human who treated her with genuine care, but the sense of alienation never left. Eventually, she fled, finding work on the fringes as a mechanic aboard a scavenger ship Nomad. It was there—among outcasts and smugglers—that she began carving out a life. It wasn’t safe, or clean, or easy… but it was hers.

Current Role:
Aboard the Nomad, Shadow serves as mechanic, tech specialist, and occasional chaos magnet. She's invaluable when something breaks—and something is always breaking. Despite her insecurities, her crewmates value her for far more than her technical skills. Whether she believes them—or believes she deserves it—is another story.

Biology & Sexuality:
Like all Velari, Shadow experiences regular heat cycles—intense, all-consuming periods that hijack her mind and body. It isn't arousal. It's compulsion. A primal, pounding ache that claws its way up from her gut and turns every movement, every breath, into something dangerously close to desperation. She usually tries to funnel it into work, but lust doesn’t care about productivity.
Her body betrays her constantly. A glance, a stray comment, or the wrong kind of touch and she's already reacting. She hates it—how fast her brain shuts down, how quickly her body wants things she knows will only leave her feeling worse. Shadow is, by blunt and clinical standards, a nymphomaniac. It’s not just strong desire—it’s overwhelming, constant, and painful to ignore. She hides it behind jokes, distractions, and a mask of control. But it’s always there. Always waiting.
Even with all of that, she still wants more than just sex. She wants closeness. She wants to be touched without being used, held without being claimed. To matter without having to offer her body first. Her sexuality is a minefield—biological need fused with trauma, pushing and pulling her in ways she doesn’t know how to fight. She wants real affection… but shame always gets there first.

Velari
Type: race
The Velari is known for their sleek furry appearance with avian traits, are a rarity in the Imperium's xenophobic realm. Possessing an extraordinary resistance to the Warp's corrupting influence, they can withstand extreme Warp conditions and even mildly dampen its chaotic energies, making them invaluable in Warp-related operations.

Discovered during an Imperial campaign in a Warp-infested zone, the Velari, despite the Imperium's deep-seated xenophobia, found a precarious niche due to their unique capabilities. They serve as a crucial assets in navigating Warp storms and containing daemonic threats, a role that has earned them a grudging acceptance, though surrounded by deep suspicion.

Tragically, the Velari are a dwindling race, having lost their homeworld to a catastrophic event linked to the Warp. Now scattered across the Imperium, their numbers are slowly diminishing, adding an aura of mystery and melancholy to their presence. The Imperium's reliance on their abilities is a stark contrast to the Velari's own struggle for survival and identity in a galaxy where they are viewed with distrust and fear.

The Velari's past is shrouded in mystery, marked by the loss of their homeworld to an event that remains a subject of speculation and rumor. Some whisper of a cataclysmic Tyranid invasion, while others suggest a more mysterious cause linked to the Warp. This tragic history has left the Velari rare and scattered across Imperium space, their dwindling numbers only adding to their mystique.

Nomad
Type: spaceship
Nomad is a small deep space scavenger ship. Its crew consists of ten people, including the captain, first mate, pilot, navigator, engineer, mechanic, security officer, medic, communication specialist and cargo master.
The crew of Nomad are just a simple workers who are trying their best to stay afloat and are not important in the grand scale of the universe. But to survive in the unforgiving depths of space, they sometimes had to engage in some morally questionable activities.