Daaka Xindi Aquatic
The Xindi Aquatic of Daaka are a Matriarchy as other Xindi Aquatic. Some of the data in this file may be specific for the Xindi of this colony, as encountered by the USS Constitution in their mission Seer Bliss, others may be in line with the whole species. For more reference about the environment and place of living see the file on the Planet Daaka.
Description
| Balanomi swam in, a slender Xindi with sleek green and blue tones to her skin. She had a long groomed tail and a small jewelled diadem on her head. She circled and rose with confidence that translated across cultures. [..] She punctuated the hollow words with a vast sweeping gesture and a spin of her tail. |
Behaviour
The key thing to remember is that the Aquatics do not only use their mouths to talk, so when we meet them, avoid looking at their lips, ensuring we listen, not lip read.
The biggest diplomatic faux pas I can find is impatience. if they sense someone is in too much of a hurry to give them the time, they could take offence.
| The concept of redundancy seemed a little foreign to their guide. The whole garden seemed to be so perfectly integrated into the natural landscape that it was hard to imagine anything but the most ferocious natural disaster uprooting it. Which left unnatural disasters. Which, as Cade had read, were something that the Xindi Aquatics fastidiously avoided. They had been horrified to go outside their planet and find the terrible things other species did to their own ecologies – and to others. War was abhorrent. Pollution was murder. They had a hard time comprehending why their beautifully pristine system would need a backup. ~ Cade Foster |
Language
The Xindi Aquatic language is a mix of song and telepathy, with historical references and anecdotes. Not only is the language produced in a way that makes it challenging to replicate, but the context of what we say is heavily rooted in anecdotes and history. This makes it prone to a mistranslation by devices. So one had to have a grasp on the history as much as how to make the sounds. When it comes to ceremonies the universal translator is prone to error. Their spiritual and cultural traditions are deeply reliant on references that may not make linguistic sense.
Names
In some colonies such as Daaka Xindi have a given name and one that defines their role or a trait they display.
| “Because we all have roles in the city. We are not just who our parents said we would be, but who we chose to be. I am Mo’kana, the curious.” ~ Mo’kana |
Some colonies utilize last names to show when they were born within their family among siblings. The appendix ‘an means ‘firstborn’, while the appendix ‘sen means ‘second born’, gender makes no difference in this convention. Not all colonies follow this convention. One colony known to follow it is the Xindi Aquatic colony on Horibu in the Marchlands. One example for following the convention is the Hayna family on Horibu: Nimo Hayna’an - Firstborn of the Hayna family Fyen Hayna’sen - Second born of the Hayna family
Relationship to Water
The Xindi are big into ecosystem preservation and a harmonious relationship with the environment. Using the environment to its natural form as much as possible and then expanding on it is how they form their colonies. They do their utmost to keep the balance of the ocean intact, because they see the water as sacred and precious.
| “Remember that my species treats water as life. Water is respected in the utmost. The water we are in is in a way sacred. It sustains us all. It guides our culture. The things in the water tend to change. Nothing lasts forever – not even the bones of the Great Fins. Only water.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
| “My people worked hard to survive. And while I understand that on some places survivial is through domination of the environment, it is not so here. The Ocean, she is powerful. More powerful than any of us, singular or together. We cannot beat her. We had to learn to work with her and that founded our very way of life.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Diet
Xindi eat some of the local fishes and mostly plants, some cold and raw, some cooked and hot. They even have sweets.
| Lystra: “There seems to be a lot of fish around here, despite your presence. Don’t you eat the fish? I would imagine they’d stay far far away from here.”
Amph’ail: “Some we do. But never most or all. We need to keep many fish for everything to balance. Everything in this area thrives from the balance of life. We also eat many plants and many of the fish you see are not food. They are animals that live here like us.” |
| ”We do… grow plants. I think you call it gar-den? These are healthy and compose the majority of our food supply.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
| ”Some animals are abundant. Some are too abundant. It is natural to make those part of our food.” ~ Mo’kana |
| ”We have heat underwater! Just not fire as landwalkers have. You can eat things cold, or cooked. Cooking makes nutrients more bioavailable, so it has become commonplace for centuries. We cook with special containers to allow heat and water to circulate, but that contains the food.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
| ”Oh yes, sweets. We have several types of edible flowers that contain high levels of fructose. They are beloved by children and eaten during celebrations!” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Marriage
Xindi Aquatics take marriage very seriously with an intensive courtship and vetting process. The wedding ceremony takes years of planning and preparation. The wedding celebrations are extensive.
Wedding attire
Xindi wedding garments looked like ethereal flowing capes of glittering fish scales, most commonly in a golden sunny yellow that seemed to sparkle quietly underwater. Colors Only the Officiant is allowed to wear red, the least common colour on Daaka. Warm colours, especially golden yellow is associated with the bride Guests usually wear cool colours: greens, blues, and purples.
| She had twirled in her bed chambers, letting the bio-luminescent glow from the algae cultivated to light the interior of her homestead glitter off the deep golden scales she wore for her wedding. She looked amazing. Like a mermaid of Terran legend, her fins were preened and decorated with scintillating scales she was a sparkling wonder. She was considered attractive for her species, with good aquatic proportions and long fine whiskers that danced in the water. ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Starships
The Xindi Aquatic construct their starships underwater. They need to dive to be boarded, and they need to carry water for them inside. They must withstand the water and the space.
Ships are built underwater and are then launched into space for sunlight tests before they are moved to an orbital engineering station for final touches. Almost everything was built in the water from the ship to the shell for the warp drive, the inhabitants of the station were mostly warp specialists.
The ships include bio-organic filtration systems that use a certain kind of algae on board of the ship to aerate the water on board.
Ships are built using advanced alloys but also coral as scaffolding. So in a sense, they grow their ships.
Tools
Towing device - The device seemed to have a competent underwater targeting system. It shot out like a harpoon, but without a sharp point at the end. Instead, the end was a cushioned ball that unfurled into a harness that locked itself around the target. The device would then immediately start to tow the target in. The speed could be varied by the shooter.
Pop culture
Known Fanfic - A about two princesses attempting to overthrow an evil clan
View of other species
Xindi Aquatic are very salient when it comes to the needs of other species. Even though their slowness can make more short-lived or faster-living species feel like they're being standoffish, they actually are not. They're very cognizant of our traditions and functions. They'll expect the same. They'll appreciate any greeting that is traditional to the species that they are meeting. They're actually as curious about us as we are of them. And do research on species they are going to meet.
While they may not actively go out to meet other species and many are xenophobic, times are changing even among Xindi so curiosity about other species and cultures has started to grow among younger generations.
| One of the reasons the Xindi Aquatics had always had a hard time integrating with other species was because so many species did not have the deep cultural respect for the environment that they did. Though she was finding out that many species had to learn environmental respect – some of them the hard way, through surviving the extensive damage to a majority of their ecosystems. ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
| Davis: “What's something you wish more people understood about the Xindi-Aquatics, or the Xindi as a whole?
Amph’ail: “I would like to think we are deliberate, but not slow. We have a terrible reputation for being slow. But there is a difference between making deliberate decisions and being sloth-like.” |