Worthy Warlord
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a bio-engineered species which will provide security against boarding operations both on Bryn'adul space vessels, and upon exceptionally large constructs or vehicles. Essentially, these are an anti-personnel defense system.
- Image Credit: Cryptoville
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: The Bryn'adul, The Draelvasier
- Name: Decapi Spiderling
- Designation: Non-Sentient
- Origins: Bryn'adul Genetic Research
- Average Lifespan: 10-12 Years
- Estimated Population: Scattered
- Description: A wicked mixture of arthropod and arachnid features, the Decapi Spiderling strides on a set of six lengthy legs. Each of these legs ends in a sharpened point of fused bone, and the ripcord musculature of their individual legs allows these to be utilized as organic spears. The Decapi's head is shaped like a turtle's shell, with a pair of eyes on each side, allowing it full 360-degree vision at all times. Its mouth is inset into its head to avoid damage from stray blaster bolts or weapons-fire. When opened, a pair of mandibles will extend from the mouth cavity, allowing for consumption of whatever morsel the Decapi has captured.
- Breathes: Type III. It may breathe Type II or Type I for short intervals (A couple of hours), but excessive exposure will eventually lead to medical issues.
- Average Height of Adults: 3.7 Meters
- Average Length of Adults: 1.8 Meters
- Skin color: Red, Brown, Dark Green.
- Hair color: N/A
- Distinctions:
The Decapi Spiderling operates on a set of six spindly legs, each one ending in a spear-like appendage of bone. They utilize these limbs both in movement over particularly harsh terrain and in their hunting and combat. While long and thin to the naked eye, the Decapi's legs are exceptionally muscular, and a prepared strike with their legs is capable of shattering stones and breaking bodies even within many armored suits. This ultimately means that while a Decapi is unlikely to pierce certain combat armors, they are still exceptionally dangerous to boarders, as the sheer blunt trauma inflicted by their kicks and stabs may damage the internal organs of an intruder.
Atop of their legs, the Decapi possesses a shell-shaped head. The head is covered in a set of eight eyes, with a pair on each of the cardinal directions of the shell, allowing it with a full range of vision around itself. The nature of its height and eyes means that it is possible for a being to stand directly underneath the Decapi and avoid notice, however it is unlikely that an individual would be able to approach undetected. The mouth of the Decapi is covered by a chitinous covering that protects its sensitive innards from stray blaster bolts or projectiles. Within the mouth cavity, a pair of mandibles are stored and can be extended once the covering has slid away to allow for the consumption of meals. Compared to their legs, these mandibles are substantially weaker, and it is not uncommon for a Decapi to rend prey to pieces before attempting to feed on a meal.
The nature of the tight chitinous covering across the Decapi's body means that it is capable of space-walks without any protective equipment. The spear-tips of its body are excellent at gripping onto the terrain, and thus it is difficult to dislodge a Spiderling except through the severance of these limbs. While they are incapable of remaining an indefinite time within the vacuum, they are able to hold their breath for several hours and have little issues with the extreme cold. Ultimately, a Decapi is unable to eat while outside of an atmosphere, however, because the opening of their mouth covering would allow for decompression of their organs. This means that while Spiderlings spend a great deal of time outside of starships, and may even choose to hunt there, they will need to carry any captured prey inside for consumption.
While the Decapi are dangerous combatants, they spend a substantial portion of their time in hibernation. While hibernating, the Decapi will often curl its legs underneath of its head, gradually shrinking down until they are about the size of an average human. At this point, they will lock themselves in place utilizing their spear-tips and promptly begin to slumber. While in hibernation, they require very little air or nutrition to continue bodily functions. It is possible for a Decapi to slumber without interruption for several months before awakening to replenish its stomach and lungs. Other than these brief intervals of biologic maintenance, the Decapi may only be awakened through the telepathic command of a Force Sensitive, or through physical contact or harm.
Upon awakening, a Decapi is often extremely lethargic for roughly 8-10 minutes. While they regain their bearings and their body warms up they are slow, and the strikes of their legs are significantly weaker. While predatory by nature, it is not uncommon for Decapi to intentionally avoid conflict until their body has fully awakened due to the innate weakness present in them. Once a Decapi has concluded its awakening, it is common for them to stretch their limbs, and immediately rush to hunt whatever prey is in the area. This ravenousness is doubled if they have not recently awoken for a maintenance feeding, meaning that Decapi Spiderlings who have slumbered for several months in a row are often particularly voracious.
Unlike many of the war-beasts of the Bryn'adul, the Decapi Spiderlings are neither controlled nor directed. Upon birth, they are trained as per any creature to avoid predation of members of the Draelvasier species -- the principle and only race of the Bryn'adul, but they are otherwise left to their instincts. Due to their allergic reaction to the consumption of Draelvasier flesh, this training is often sufficient to avoid unfortunate accidents, except in cases of starvation or malnutrition. Once they've completed training, adult Decapi are placed upon the warships of the Bryn'adul and are allowed to locate suitable resting places for themselves -- usually upon the outside of the vessel. Here they slumber until they are required to defend the ship and are subsequently awakened.
Decapi will relentlessly pursue prey creatures until they've either succeeded or been sufficiently repelled. Commands to return to their hibernation are not typically effective. As such, the attempted capture of prisoners while Decapi are onboard will ultimately lead to a slaughter.
- Races: N/A
- Force Sensitivity: Non-Sensitive
- Powerful Legs - The spear-tipped limbs of the Decapi are capable of delivering deadly stabs to unarmored combatants, and the blunt force of their impacts are enough to break bones and burst organs even if they cannot pierce armored suits. The grip of the Spiderlings upon terrain also makes them exceptionally hard to dislodge. ]
- Hibernation - The Decapi require very little maintenance due to their hibernation. This means that a ship may hold dozens of Decapi without worrying about using all of their supplies upon the defensive creatures. Their usual insistence on nesting outside of star vessels for these hibernations also means they take up little space.]
- Space Walker - The Decapi are able to survive unaided spacewalks, and may remain in the void for several hours at a time unless hibernating. They are incapable of eating while exposed to the vacuum but are nevertheless dangerous.]
- Voracious - Decapi are not easily controlled nor deterred from their meals. They will hunt until they have been suitably sated, or until prey cannot be located, even if this is not the wish of their masters.
- Lethargic Awakening - Upon awakening from hibernation, Decapi Spiderlings are lethargic and slow for several minutes until their bodies have returned to full operation. This means that they are poor combatants until they've adequately shaken their slumber.
- Thermal Regulation - While most small-arms blasters or slugthrowers will be incapable of piercing the Decapi's chitin, it is possible to fire upon a Spiderling enough so as to overheat it, and subsequently cook it from within its shell. This is a less effective strategy while within the chilling vacuum of space, but ultimately it is still possible. This means that a persistent and lightly-armed opponent could still overcome a Spiderling.
- Diet: Omnivores. While literally capable of consuming Draelvasier flesh, they are exceptionally allergic to it, and it digestion will typically force them into a state of hibernation until they've received treatment, or until the processes of slow digestion manage to expel the flesh. This means that "rogue" Decapi are often very short-lived creatures.
- Communication: Utterly silent creatures, Decapi communicate with one another through "dances" performed via their spindly limbs, and through the maneuvering of their body. Force-Sensitives are also capable of communicating directly with them, though they lack the ability to respond to telepathy.
- Technology level: N/A
- Religion/Beliefs: N/A
- General behavior: The Decapi are a highly artificial species, and thus lack many of the qualities often associated with living animals. For example, they seem to have no major drive for reproduction. While it is possible for a female Spiderling to lay eggs, and for a male to fertilize them, this process is altogether uncommon, and the vast majority of Decapi are vat-grown. Once these eggs have been appropriately settled into place, often lain in clusters of roughly six to twelve, they are abandoned by their parents and promptly forgotten.
The Decapi Spiderlings care far more for their hunting prospects and for the consumption of meals. While they spend an inordinate amount of time in a state of hibernation, once awoken, they are voracious predators. It is common for Decapi Spiderlings to work alongside their peers, and there is surprisingly little aggression among their own kind. Spiderlings will divvy up uneaten foodstuffs in a roughly even fashion between themselves at the conclusion of a hunt.
Notably stubborn, it is nearly impossible to train a Decapi Spiderling. To make matters worse for non-Draelvasier, they tend to view all living things beyond their sole allergen as a form of sustenance. Attempting to capture and "tame" a Spiderling is almost guaranteed to lead to problems for any would-be trainers, though they may still be guided and directed as with most animals -- for example, they will attempt to move away from a painful shock prod, and thus it is possible albeit dangerous to corral them. Due to the low atmosphere environments they often find themselves in they are strangely unafraid of fire, typically uncertain of its exact nature until they have been burned.
Notably stubborn, it is nearly impossible to train a Decapi Spiderling. To make matters worse for non-Draelvasier, they tend to view all living things beyond their sole allergen as a form of sustenance. Attempting to capture and "tame" a Spiderling is almost guaranteed to lead to problems for any would-be trainers, though they may still be guided and directed as with most animals -- for example, they will attempt to move away from a painful shock prod, and thus it is possible albeit dangerous to corral them. Due to the low atmosphere environments they often find themselves in they are strangely unafraid of fire, typically uncertain of its exact nature until they have been burned.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Decapi are a genetically-engineered species of relatively new origin. At first designed as an Errindak-type creature by the myriads of Aeravalin scientists and Baedurin military experts, the species faced immediate issues. Their physiology at that point was far more eel than arachnid, but this design ran into issues. They had been created for the sake of ship defense, but through some scrambling of genetics, their behavior tended to make them impossibly aggressive towards their carrier. The first test-run of the Decapi at this stage led to the death of dozens of Draelvasier attempting to prevent the consumption of a Debaucher.
Unwilling to utilize Draelvasier genetic material in the creation of these new defense beasts for fear of biological assault as had been conducted on Yurb, and incapable of using the common Errindak gene-file for the creation due to unforeseen territorialism, the scientific team was forced to search for alternative lifeforms. Scouring the planets under the control of the Bryn'adul, and currently being repopulated per the standard of the Draelvasier, they were capable of locating a number of biological samples whose attempted adaptations to these new colonies made them suitable if not perfect candidates.
Meshing together these samples naturally produced a number of infertile and inconsistent abominations that needed to be slaughtered soon after creation, but successful templates began to arise from the proverbial ashes. Some of the templates were far too passive in their performance, lacking any drive towards hunting, and would starve soon thereafter. Others were far too aggressive, gorging themself on whatever prey was available, even if the defensive mechanisms of their biology led to their imminent shutdown afterward. Eventually, a suitable candidate was located, and its mass-production began.
To call the Decapi project a "success" would be something of a stretch, and it is quite likely that scientific teams will continue prodding and re-combining genetic material in an attempt to improve the beasts for years to come. For now, the Spiderlings admirably suit their purposes.
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