Daaka
Daaka is a Planet in The Marchlands. It was first described and played a large role in the mission Sheer Bliss on the USS Constitution
- Class: Class O Planet (Water planet, very little land mass)
- Planetary Cycle: A little longer than Earth’s cycles - 1 Cycle ca. 1.25 Earth years
- Inhabitants: Colony of Xindi Aquatic
Land
No meaningful land masses above water. A few square meters here and there, depending on the tides. But that's it. A small chain of islands in the northern hemisphere that shows up when the tides are low.
Weather
That means there is maximum humidity above the surface. Frequent storms with wind speeds of up to 135 km/h might cause challenges for atmospheric operations depending on where we decide to descend to.
Ocean
Water consistency
The water in this ocean has a unique mineral profile, including lots of metals and metallics (a raised amount of a combination of copper sulfide and ortraium oxide) making it highly conductive, 37% higher than standard Starfleet safety standards, it is also more salty. The Constitution Geology Officer So’Mior considered a filtration unit but as it had to be powered through the suit it was not usable, as a power failure would result in losing the filtration as well.
According to the minerality profile of Daaka’s waters, the communication systems are at a diminished range. The water contains a variety of metallic particles, which will cause comm signals to deflect and diffuse into static when the recipient is too far away. A lower-bound estimate still places the range at over two kilometres, for larger distances utilise low-frequency mechanical waves--sounds--as a carrier for low bandwidth communication, such as text. Between the scattering effects of the ocean itself and the reflections that happen between materials of differing densities, we could not reliably transmit from the shuttle to the ship. So communication buoys need to be established for that to happen.
Universal translator matrix works with a mixture of language profiles from past encounters, other aquatic species (such as Dolphins and Humpback whales), and adaptive learning.
Currents
The ocean has strong currents that are able to pull creatures small and large. The current system is used as a transport system by Xindi and animal life alike. They have brightly bio-luminescent shaded junctions where it was ‘easier’ to enter. It was common to teach children how to use the currents by assisting.
| His species was a big believer in coexisting with nature so many of their settlements and stations were built around the major and minor currents to help facilitate travel between them. ~ Nimo |
They are inspired by a creature that travels by jet-propulsion, which was researched before creating devices that move the same way, amplifying the existing currents.
| T’Seva: “I'm curious how you control the directions of the currents and generate the energy.”
Cade was already snooping around and pointed out one of the current generators. Foster: “Looks like the currents are spiral and come out with pulses?” Their guide rolled in the water, touching her fins together. Mo'kana: “Yes, they are based on the kieese-tan, a creature that travels by jet propulsion. We studied them and created devices that move in the same way.” |
| ”We can get nearly anywhere in the city by the currents. They are like your… highways do you call them? Except they move you or cargo or anything really, with controlled jets of water. No vehicles are needed! Vehicles have separate currents. You cannot mix vehicles with people. The people would be cut to shreds. Very bad. Packages also go with vehicles. In containers. Containers and vehicles on one path, people on another.” ~ Balanomi Amph’ail |
Rocky Chasms
| “The chasms are deep and feed pure water back to the city. Also the oldest creatures on daaka live down there. They have lived for centuries and we do not disturb. Do not want you to get lost!”
Sea monsters, live and in Daaka. Things that no Xindi had seen for centuries, let alone a starfleeter. Fish that could swallow you whole and digest you for years. Things better left untouched. ~ Balanomi Amph’ail |
Resource Harvesting
Resources for the construction of ships or otherwise are not mined but harvested. Under the water, nothing is ever truly solid and nothing will be in the same place forever. So harvesting includes gathering what they can as it is exposed.
| "I am not a scholar of history, but I know that in the old times when our people tried to work against the natural lands, any houses that tried were met with ruin. We learned that the water is a wonderful and yet powerful force. It is greater than any of us and greater than our society and our ambitions. So we must work with it. That has allowed us to flourish and survive." ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Colony
The original cities were made, at least in part using the ancient bones of massive extinct species. In the time that the Xindi call ‘before the time of memories’, the Great Fins ruled the oceans. They were not the progenitor of the Xindi, and are still something that their science has trouble defining. Usually, bones and other organic matter would rot with relative speed under the ocean and turn into minerals that fed the environment. But the bones left behind from the Great Fins were stronger than metal and stood against the corrosion of both water and time and were used to build the foundations of the first city. The settlements and facilities are designed around the natural currents so they can be easily reached. The technology added is used to amplify these currents.
| ”The structures had to bend to the currents. The wildlife took precedence. When we augmented the currents, we had to learn to balance them with the ocean. Balance is the prime rule here. The ocean was unmoveable. The ocean would win any contest of wills. They had to build with the ocean instead of against it.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Buildings
| The shuttle moved through a series of structures or features that jutted up from the sea floor, each probably 3 to 4 meters in diameter. The towers were erect and pale, but seemingly porous, and teeming with barnacles and all sorts of life. Something like an artificial reef, maybe? Or Daaka had mega-coral? Whatever it was, it was beautiful. ~ Lazarus Davis |
| The glowing structures seemed to have a pattern in their beauty and one open space with natural half shelf to protect they could descend in. ~ Shedet |
| The aquashuttle had parked neatly within the half shell cover of the landing spot, and the ramp opened up onto the rest of the colony. The lack of light wasn’t as bad as she was expecting. The immediate area of the docking structure glowed with a natural bioluminescence from the walls and floor themselves. Other structures were out along the seafloor, each with their own glow. But the further out she looked away from the center, the darker things got until it was impossible to make out any details. ~ Rachel Flores |
The Xindi build structures within the landscape to serve their needs and yet to blend with the environment to be in balance with nature and yet suit their requirements.
Light on the bottom of the ocean is not a thing taken for granted. The Xindi started, long ago, with purely organic bioluminescence. Over time science has augmented that. In sacred spaces, technology is not allowed and illumination is purely organic, for example glowing plants. But many structures have many technology augments.
| She pointed out the difference between the (more numerous) regular buildings with the technology enhancing them, and the smattering of older buildings, including the ones designated as sacred spaces. Those had a soft green glow to them, the areas not enhanced by technology. There was a sense of peace and calm in the dim underground light. Even the most technologically advanced buildings were shaped to fit seamlessly into the oceanic landscape. It was all very organic, and everything looked like it had grown there rather than just being built.
“Yes, much of our structures are organically grown from the most basic organisms. This encourages the biostructure to thrive inside and outside the structures.” This would be like a human home being open to welcome mice, insects, birds and plant growth. The Xindi didn’t seem to mind this at all. ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
| ”The more movement and growth around a building, it shows that it is old and healthy. New building can be small and healthy. Old building can be unhealthy, and then they calcify and stagnate before crumbling. Then we grow anew.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Large bioluminescent towers guide guests towards the landing areas.
Cultural buildings
Art museum
A building made from a deep mauve coral structure covered in pink flowering growths, warm and colorful, highlighted by biotechnologically enhanced lights. A living glowing flower garden and building in one. At the entrance to the art gallery is a lovely semi-abstract sculpture, around which a variety of fish swims.
Coral sculptures are within the museum and the city, that are intentionally built to provide a habitat for colealoc fish. The original structures were bulky and unattractive, so the Xindi let a local artist turn them into art. They are stocked with eggs and ample food each breeding season and then emptied as the fish inside reach maturity. They are far less susceptible to predation once they reach maturity, so this keeps a balance between species.
Moving sand sculptures and artistic fish schools harnessed into bio-integrated art installations.
| ”I am most proud of the bio-artistic protocols that have gotten excellent reception from youth and elders alike, meld artistic installations with eco-preservation protocols. This not only helps sustain Daaka but beautifies our dwellings as well.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Paintings that flow with the water.
| They moved forward into the art gallery, past an archway filled with scintillating sands that were delicately held in place with some sort of near transparent, slightly opalescent film. Cade would not be surprised if it was organic in makeup. The sands within swirled and undulated as soft currents of water passed through. It was mesmerizing. |
Ruins
| Ruins are especially interesting – water has a tendency to naturally decompose most things pretty quickly in historical terms. Unless there’s something specific in the water or area that preserves them. Or a specific material that is resistant. ~ Cade Foster |
| Then the current took them, rushing them off to the outskirts of the city, where the ruins lay. A quiet, meditative space that had not been forgotten, though it was also not exactly preserved. There was a calm air to the barnacle-encrusted architecture as if it had been respectfully and naturally allowed to rot and return to the sea, and they were witnessing this progression at a moment in time.
T'Seva: “How old are these?'”' Mo’Kana: “They were built over fifty generations before, and have been unused for at least seven.” Foster: “Are they used for anything in specific?” Mo’Kana: “Some old structures are from so long ago that they reach before our memories.” Those are considered sacred and we preserve them to learn from them. Others have fallen out of use and show us the ways of the past. These are some of the latter. They were built at an earlier time when the buildings were not so alive and our people were different. They were not as well-lit as the other areas of the city. Phosphorescent algae was growing inside, giving the entire place a spooky blue-green glow, but it didn’t have the vibrance of the biotechnologically enhanced lighting.” There was a stillness to this place, as if it was frozen in time, half intact, half in decay. |
Hall of Records
| The Trill's eyes wandered to a structure ahead, it looked like it was alive, it looked like rugged hard stone with soft little 'hairs' all over moving back and forth in the currents, algae and kelp wrapping around some of the areas but in the top, they were loose and moved as if they were waving.
Amph’ail: “That is the hall of records! It has very healthy walls, full of life and fish!” |
Stadium A huge Circular clearing covered with life, plants and fishes without structures that was deeper down beyond the ruins. A long time ago it was used to perform feats of swimming and strength for an audience. Now it is used by kuben-tai, large sea-turtle like creatures to roost during mating season.
Other structures
Algae facility
A facility that produces kelp and algae for food and air
| ”Due to the number of life forms that live on Class-N planets, many worlds always setup a nutrient system to keep the ocean healthy. Much like air breathers work to keep pollution down. These Algae facilities can be genetically engineered to perform specific jobs and flood them into the water. The planet can be maintained.” ~Nimo |
Cleaning stations
Massive structures made from Corals that were large enough to fit several Xindi Aquatic where cleaner fishes would clean them.
| Talia watched with fascination as the coral stood stalwart as flashes of color flitted in and out, making the living structure its home.
Flores: “This tunnel is massive. This could probably fit multiple Xindi at a time. But… why? There’s not really any obstacles or walls that would keep people from just swimming through the open water. And there’s not anything in here. But it looks intentionally shaped.” Now inside the structure, a soft glow surrounded them, accentuated by their head lamps. The structure was solid, even with the gaps in the coral, gazing around, Talia a sense of anticipation, what were they waiting on? For Tano to tell them to stop being ninnies and leave the coral alone? There wasn't disturbing anything, and besides, the tunnel was large enough to house three of them, shoulder to shoulder. A quick flit out of the corner of her eye became a splash of moving color. The swirling dance of fins and color surrounded them, with practiced ease and beautiful coordination, Talia felt them nudge agaisn't her suit, almost acting as one, they swam about the middle of her suit, and down the left arm, the left arm that had been the worst inked. There was a gleam left in their little fishy wake. Flores: “Cleaner fish! Oh, of course. ::She smiled and watched some of the fish swimming up around her arm.:: Hello friends, hopefully there’s some built-up algae or little crustaceans for you. This must be a cleaning station!” |
Residence of the Leader Balanomi Amph'ail
Shuttle landing - Formal entry
| She swam into the large arched formal entryway. It was decorated with a gorgeous glittering mural made from polished shells and underwater jewels that caught the faint light from the surface and reflected it into an absolute sparkle that filled the entire room. ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Inside
| The servants of the house arrived moved the coral markers that not only denoted the entrance but also politely asked everyone to stay out. Like most homes of the Aquatics, there were no true ‘doors’ but a complicated mixture of colors and signals to tell visitors the status of the house.’ ~ Nimo |
Gardens
| Mo’kana helped them out of the current as they swam down a path that was lined with a luscious garden of colored seaweed and underwater flowers. There were bioluminescent star lights dotted around the swirled of undulating colorful flowers making the whole thing sparkle.
Mo’kana: “We keep the gardens well, but they are extra decorated for the wedding!” She was not kidding. There were schools of glittering gold and pink fish that were encouraged to swim around with nests of food for them – like having ornamental birds come to your garden. And then there were layers upon layers of glittering little lights in green and blue and white. And that was on top of the waves of seaweed in scintillating colors and terraces of flowers. And ahead of them was a lit up domicile, formed from coral, that was brilliantly alive. Decorated with glittering lights and shimmering fish, it looked like an underwater fairy realm. She led them past an archway that was festooned with iridescent swags of something that looked like fabric, but waved in the water like it was alive. It was decorated with cascades of fat, brilliant flowers that trailed down in organic spirals. It was an incredible showpiece to welcome guests. |
Shipyards
A massive biotech-created shipyard was far closer to the surface than the other parts of the city. The East-West Path to a straight-up current lifted passengers towards the surface until the shipyards were visible. The working area was encased in yellow green lights. Myriad of Xindi and mechanical drones work on the ships.
| The shipyard was an intricate coral-and-bone structure that held three in-progress ships. Fish and technicians swam around as easily as technicians could in zero-g – even easier as they had no need for suits as they were working in their own preferred atmosphere.
Huge berths, mostly of coral-like structures, arched upwards and over the incomplete hulls. Sunlight danced through the cloud of bubbles created by a welder, and a nautilus jetted towards an unsuspecting jellyfish. A school of fish, weaving through the scaffolding of a berth, evaded a predator. The predator insisted, and the school turned and began to spit what looked like pebbles covered in some sort of liquid. Quickly encased in a cloud of the liquid, the predator retreated. Large, metallic shrimp. Each of the dangling arms holding different tools and storage bins. They swam mechanically, using their tails (and small stabilizing jets), and the articulated bodies glided through the water. |
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.
| ”Originally engines were constructed similarly to water jet propulsion. This got us into the stars, but the original engines only travelled at sublight. We learned of warp drive from interactions with others. We still use jet-propulsion-based impulse drives. They are efficient and clean. You are correct, warp drives cannot be tested in the water and the components would poison the water. So once a ship is ready it is launched and tested at sublight, before being moved to an orbital engineering station where the final build occurs.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
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.
| ’”We have a bio-organic filtration system. Beyond gardens for food, we have specific gardens for biotechnology, including growing the specific algae and plants that will go onboard our ships. Fortunately, building down here means we can easily transport these filters onboard without changing the habitat.’ ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
The drones carry a large amount of electrical current that is carefully contained. But if interrupted the current may be transferred to something else like the diving suits or people that interrupt them. They looked like large shrimp with a stripe made of a mosaic of red triangles to mimic biological creatures (biomimicry) and hold their tools with dainty delicate claws.
Ships are built using advanced alloys but also coral as scaffolding. So in a sense, they grow their ships.
Massive drones that look like squids hold the ships in place while they are being built.
| She pointed towards the coral gantry that had a skeleton of a hull in place, the inner hull and frame of the ship was complete and a large section of hull was being moved into place. From her angle she couldn’t fully see all of it, but the tentacles were unmistakable. And a slight shifting to the right past one of the coral scaffolds and there it was. A drone. At least she hoped it was, it was shaped like a giant squid. The tentacles moved the hull section into place and held it there while those shrimp went to work welding it to the frame of the ship. The squid was half the size of the entire gantry.
Lystra: “Is that a drone, or do they really have squids that big here?” Grabby 2 - Cousin of Grabby was dutifully holding the hull in place as some construction shrimp got to welding. He doubted his eyes at first, but it became apparent that the squid was beginning to glow, from its interior and through its tentacles. It was a sort of eerie sight. The "skin" of the squid began to glow, too, in a gridded pattern. The sand and silt beneath it began to churn and fly upwards. Davis: “Heat dissipation causing an updraft? Remarkable.” |
Ships take varying times to be built. Small ships a quarter to half a cycle (1 cycle = 1.25 Earth years), and large ships one to three cycles depending on type and size.
The ships are filled with water. All sides of a room could be used and not just the floor since gravity was not an issue. Consoles were spread out around the entire bridge. They have grav plating but it's at a very low setting, something like 0.2G. Used as part of the water filtration system more than anything else.
Off-Limits Areas
| ”In every dwelling, there are outer chambers and inner chambers. The outer chambers are public. The inner chambers are private, and they are marked with seals. Sometimes physical seals. Sometimes they are curtained with seaweed, coral, and organic growths. Sometimes they are marked with yellow tiles like the sun that comes through the water. Stay in the outer chambers, unless invited inward.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Flora
Kelp - Kelp growths were larger areas with Kelp on the perimeter of the colony, all around the edge of the city. They were not exactly a farm, but not exactly natural; the kelp growths were tended and fed from, but they were far more than mere crops.
Kelp Gardens grown by the Xindi for food and aesthetics.
| She waved them forward with her tail as she headed into a new current that whisked them off into the far western side of the city. When they disembarked they found a place that was bathed in a pale green light from bioluminescent algae, and it encircled a massive garden. Kelp and seaweed grew in a rainbow of colors as well as delicate underwater flowers, tall spires of some sort of golden plant and strange vegetables all gently floated in the water. The floor ripples and undulated with motion, and small fish schooled through the area.
Foster: “It’s… beautiful. And it’s huge… I can’t even see the far end.” Mo’kana: “It feeds the whole city!” |
| ”We cultivate large caves. Some things will only grow on the bed, many will grow in the water. So we layer beds with open water, and then more beds. We keep the water flowing so everything stays alive. The gardens dance.”
As the water flowed through the spaces, everything inside would wave and undulate as if with some hidden music.” ~ Balanomi Amph'ail |
Bulbous large floating plants, shimmering. It floats gently up and down, indicating that it is filled with a kind of gas.
Frondo Weed - Blue weed living among thicker fields of corals. They let out small hazy pockets of air in form of a bubble for a small supply of oxygen. It is abrasive to Xindi skin but may be suitable to other species (only tested on Dolphin so far) The mix of Carbon dioxide and oxygen should cover a short period of time of diving, to find a better method like returning to the surface.
Fauna
| The aquashuttle descended further and further into the depths of the ocean. The headlights and sensors being their only method of seeing in the deep darkness. They got to see a plethora of fauna, which for some reason seemed to grow bigger the deeper they descended. Thankfully, none of them seemed to care or want to bother with the aquashuttle. |
Cephalopod Squid-like creatures that eject an ink-like substance to cover their tracks and blind opponents also seem to enjoy sucking themselves to the helmets of divers. It would bore into the soft rocks near the grotto and wait for prey to ambush it. It mostly eats shrimp.
Armoured Eel - A creature that looked something like an armoured eel. Segmented plates covered a long, agile body. It also sported a hooked mouth, large eyes, and a large tail fin. A creature designed to spot predators, and defend against them. It was equipped with powerful musculature that enabled it to either flee or hold its ground. Occasionally they would lash their tails and dart forward with alarming speed. (So they had keen eyes to spot predators, a large, powerful tail that could propel them quickly away from danger, and if all else failed, armour to keep their vital organs safe.) When attacked or threatened, the eel secreted a foul compound that was known to repel most native species, but the most determined or desperate predators. This compound is secreted from glands under the shell and fills the water immediately around the eel. It was a last-ditch defence mechanism, but it was highly effective. It was synthesizable in Starfleet’s replicators.
Dulvak Floaters - Shiny glowing jellyfishes with spines that sting badly.
Razor Leeches - A fish with sharp teeth that swims in swarms to feed on fishes. Without razor leeches, the balance of Nature would be off, and the kelp would not be so beautiful when overfed on by the large fish. No razor leech horrors meant no beautiful kelp.
Fishes for pest control. The glitterfish have been on Daaka forever. They help keep the plants healthy.
| The creatures were small and transparent, but their fins were bioluminescent, giving off green and blue light. They were moving in the thousands, almost eerie when combined with the colors they were producing. ~ Max Tannhauser |
Globe Fish - It was a thin fish, almost shaped like a dart or spear but with four fins. Two on each side. It was slightly bioluminescent and swam by some coral. The small streamers of a light colored liquid shot out of small pores or holes in its round body all around it. It wasn’t ink, since it didn’t really obscure the fish, but she noticed that several other fish in the immediate area near it scattered as if they’d smelled the most atrocious thing possible. The sparkling fish had a sac that would inflate when startled, allowing the fish to produce a big jet of water, propelling it out of danger at great speeds.
Cleaner Fishes - Fishes that circle creatures and structures to clean them from built-up algae or little crustaceans, their food. Larger groups of them can be found in cleaning stations.
| Several brightly-colored fish were amassing above them, and more were darting in from every hole in the coral. There seemed to be a few different varieties. Long, small fish with bright primary colors, little eel-like creatures without distinct fins, and smaller shrimp. With each new visitor to the tunnel, even more fish seemed encouraged to swim in. ~ Rachel Flores |
Jellyfish - An invertebrate native to Daaka. It was a kind of jellyfish that camouflaged itself in the water both to avoid predators, and to hunt for its prey. An ingenious system for both offence and defence. To a human eye they look completely invisible, even Pahkwa-thanh -which could pick up a few additional wavelengths- could only detect subtle ripples in the water. Sensors allowed the jellyfish to be seen in their natural form, but they were still hauntingly translucent. Like little hunter spirits drifting through the water unseen. They had millions of years to evolve their perfect camouflage.
Pillow crabs - used to use a part of the settlement as breeding grounds before it was inhabited
Kuben-Tai - Large Sea turtles that brood in the Stadium in mating season. They bite when mad or mating. Though they are not overly aggressive, they do defend their eggs. They do not like light. They eat plants and animals, but they eat mollusks (Snails, shellfish, etc) Not fish and not Xindi. They only attack if threatened. Sudden movements will startle them.
| They were gigantic, almost as large as a Class 2 shuttle, and equally maneuverable as they darted back and forth amongst each other as at least 50 kuben-tai made their way into the stadium. As they got closer, the sea turtle comparison became a bit clearer. They had shells on their backs, and Max was certain they had to be at least half a meter thick. Some of the kuben-tai were playful with each other, while still others seemed determined on reaching their goal. Before long, they would have Max surrounded. He killed his beacon and tapped his commsThey were gigantic, almost as large as a Class 2 shuttle, and equally maneuverable as they darted back and forth amongst each other as at least 50 kuben-tai made their way into the stadium. As they got closer, the sea turtle comparison became a bit clearer. They had shells on their backs, and Max was certain they had to be at least half a meter thick. Some of the kuben-tai were playful with each other, while still others seemed determined on reaching their goal. Before long, they would have Max surrounded. He killed his beacon and tapped his comms. ~ Max Tannhauser |
Yellow scissor fish - Fishes that are not dangerous but pinch when disturbed. They live near Frondo weed.
Colealoc fish - The coral structures used as buildings in Daaka are the perfect nesting and breeding grounds for the colealoc’s most notable predator. To solve this the Xindi created safe nesting grounds for them - the Art museum
Nuflets - Medium-sized fish with strange olfactory senses, can follow scents over great distances. Used to locate mineral deposits and other substances.
Megafauna (extinct) - mega-fauna inhabited the depths of the world in antiquity. They were extinct before the time of the Xindi, but their skeletons were large enough that they became the foundations of our first cities
Birds - Above water, a few birds can be found, there is just enough land mass for them to nest, and surface fishes for them to eat, but their population is neglectable low.
Known inhabitants
- Balanomi Amph'ail - Leader of the Xindi Colony - Xindi Aquatic
- Nimo Hayna'an - Xindi Aquatic
- Fyen Hayna'sen - Xindi Aquatic
- Efluvian To'dosha - Xindi Aquatic
- Mo’kana - Xindi Aquatic - Cousin of Balanomi
- O'Sen - Xindi Aquatic - Royal Courier
- Shushre - Xindi Aquatic - works for Balanomi’s household, cousin
- Oozm’ail - Xindi Aquatic - Foreman at the shipyards (Balanomi’s uncle)
- Shii Tano - Chelarian - Inhabitant outside the Colony, lives in a Kelp Grotto
- Ji’haya - local artist (See Art Museum)