Alaar

Name: Dr. Alaar
Gender: Female
Species: Xelatian
Ethnicity: Pelagic
Age: 167
Religion: —
Sexuality: —
Homeworld: Xelata
Occupation: Biomedical Engineer and Researcher

Physical Description:
The Alaar that most people see and recognize is vaguely humanoid in shape, being a short tubular “torso” with two “arms” attached near the top, with an ovoid “head” above and a slightly flaring cone of a “skirt” underneath. Although painted in colors and patterns to resemble clothing, it’s clearly a construct— an exosuit supporting the living being inside it.
That being, Dr. Alaar, is a Xelatian. An eight-armed cephalopod from the deeper oceans of her planet, she finds it exceedingly difficult to move about dry land (although zero-G is *very* easy), and though she won’t suffocate in atmosphere (in fact, she can stay out of the suit for several hours with few to no ill effects) her gills and skin can dehydrate to the point of serious or fatal injury if she’s unable to access enough water.

Personality:
A highly intelligent and intensely curious individual, Alaar has a broad spectrum of interests and is rarely without a question relating to one or more of them, although upon leaving her planet she quickly discovered that many of the questions and subjects she considered “normal” were discomforting or even taboo among non-Xelatians.
And so, Alaar is not so much shy as reserved, not having much experience with reading and interpreting the social cues of the many land-based species that make up the bulk of the Federation. In social settings she tends to stay on the fringes of group activities, observing and recording their interactions instead of participating; she is slightly more active in one-on-one or small-group situations, but still cautious overall.

Character History:
Hatched and matured in the oceans of Xelata like the rest of her people, Alaar is from the deep-sea branch of her race, not the more-frequently-seen-by-offworlders inhabitants of the surface waters. As a young adult Alaar was drawn to the sciences, biological and medical in particular, but like many Xelatian scientists she included many different disciplines in her studies, often finding that she required a deeper knowledge of one thing in order to understand another. And, in her mind, more knowledge is never a bad thing, whatever the subject.
It’s in the pursuit of knowledge that Alaar is aboard the Artemis— ostensibly to study the biological structures and mechanics of other species in order to design more efficient and effective devices, but also to just learn about and experience the universe first-hand, instead of relying on data filtered through the perceptions and priorities of other researchers.