"They were like the Federation before the Federation even arrived on Fasia. Even on a world with as much friction as this place had between species, the Qar-Qar pushed forward for a unified world. I'm proud that they're members of the Federation now."
The Qar-Qar are a Human Mutant sub-species, evolving on the planet Fasia. They are a tall species, with more variety in their mutations than the other sub-species that evolved on Fasia. Members of the species, or objects coming from them, are referred to as Qar-Qari.
Tailed Qar-Qar
The most noticeable feature about the Qar-Qar are their horns - Each Qar-Qar has at least one set of horns that extend out of their skulls. The direction, thickness, and patterns on the horns can vary greatly from person to person. Qar-Qar also tend to be taller than regular Humans on average, and are even taller than their relatives, the Elaven.
In spite of an imposing appearance, the Qar-Qar have had a very compassionate culture towards one another, and towards the other Fasian species. In particular, they are noteworthy for treating the Oroks with dignity and respect, and accepting those who sought to join their society as equals. This lead to a reputation on Fasia of the Qar-Qar being a naive people.
Qar-Qari way of life is best described as communal communism - No singular individual owns workplaces or benefits from the labour of others. Instead, they communally own workplaces, and the people who work those workplaces are responsible for running it. They also live in large communes, where entire communities are treated akin to large families. They refer to this system as Qazzanan-Qazenra.
This puts them directly in line with the philosophy and social structures of The Commune Federation. Upon First Contact with the Federation, the Qar-Qar were the first people on Fasia to support joining the Federation as a full member. Since then, the Qar-Qar have become a deeply respected part of the Federation, with many admirers saying that the Qar-Qar are the embodiment of everything that the Federation is supposed to stand for.
Physical Appearance and Anatomy
Various Qar-Qar Females
The Qar-Qar are a rather tall Human subspecies, with an average height of 2 meters, of 6 Feet five Inches. They are able to develop muscles easily, giving them slightly more strength than the average Human.
Each Qar-Qar possesses a set of horns that come from their skulls. these horns will curl and set in often fairly unique ways. In some cases, a person can be born with multiple horns. While the horns appear similar to bone, they are actually made from tooth enamel, a far more resilient substance. this allows the Qar-Qar to use their horns as weapons if need be.
While rare, some Qar-Qar are known to have tails. It appears to be a semi-common condition to Qar-Qari anatomy, and is a trait that comes from their Human ancestry. The nature of Fasia has caused that mutation to stand out more commonly in the Qar-Qar and the Sürunen in particular, though the traits is more recessive in the Qar-Qar. It appears to be one out of every 50,000 Qar-Qar, while the Sürunen all possess tails. A similar trait occurs in the ears of a Qar-Qar - While many have pointed ears, round ears are still common. This trait is more akin to commonality in red hair in Humans.
There is a variance of skin colours when it comes to the Qar-Qar, ranging from pale, the grey, to light pink, and to blue. Their hair is normally red or white, though there is variance and other colours, such as blue, or black.
Culture and Customs
As with other Humans and species, the Qar-Qar do not have a single unified culture, and it varies from group to group and planet to planet. There are however, a few constants.
Community
The Qar-qar have a strong sense of community, and live in giant communes that they call Kaqarka. These Kaqarka are akin to towns or cities in Human terms. These cities use a series of political systems such as direct democracy in order to determine what is done, and it considered a civic duty for each Qar-Qar to attend various meetings and understand the local politics of their Kaqarka. Debate and discourse are commonplace within these communities.
Other aspects of the Kaqarka include communal living - Resources are shared between the inhabitants, and collectivised resource management is commonplace. For example, A Kaqarka may have a communal garden or library, from which people can take as they need, and are encouraged to contribute to. Failing to contribute back after taking resources can often leave a Qar-Qar a social pariah until they do contribute.
Politics
Due in no small part to their communal lifestyles, the Qar-Qar are natural diplomats and political debaters. From a young age, they are often subject to debate and argumentation, and will quickly pick up various facts, statistics, and rhetorical styles from those around them. Many attend various Kaqarka meetings with their families, and will learn about local politics from these meetings.
The Qar-Qar do not have a concept of 'Civility Politics' - If the argument is sound, it doesn't matter how nicely it is presented. This leads to many Qar-Qar being very blunt, and many debates descend into yelling matches. However, this is considered more honest - The more passionate a person is, the more the Qar-Qar will see them as genuine and trustworthy.
It has often been said that an apolitical Qar-Qar does not exist.
Egalitarianism
A fundamental part of nearly all Qar-Qari communities is the principle of egalitarianism - The drive to assist those who need it, and to provide everything that they need to survive - From housing, to food, education and everything in between. This is a component of nearly all Qar-Qari settlements.