Akestos
Surge Lord
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Hive Neural Node Transmitter.
Image Source: 1 | BA Warner Direct Source(2) | Custom Text | Star Trek IV Video
Canon Link: Delta Source | Villip
Primary Source: None
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Manufacturer: The Hive Mind
Affiliation: Closed Market | SwarmSurge | The Seeding | The Hive
Model: Hive Convergence Node
Modularity: Size, Shape and Materials
Production: Mass-Produced
Material: Biological | Usual optional Components: Kae Vine | D13-Fulcrum-M Supports | Hive Armors such as Terminus Armor or Others.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Strengths:
+Comes in a Variety of Sizes, Shapes, and Locations. Space, Ground, Underwater, Underground, and the Sides of Creatures for example.
+Essential and a Real Pain. Of all the Hive structures that will ever exist, this is probably the most essential and also hardest to physically remove, they regrow if even a small bit is left. A node the size of a palm has enough to regrow the Hive Node to a larger size or move along a Kae Vine to regrow elsewhere.
+They are often supported by D13-Fulcrum-M physically for stability at larger sizes, nutritionally by the Kae Vine, and armored by Terminus Armor or better.
+Hyper-Sonic bursts at very fast speeds or Vong inspired Telepathic Communication are both used.
Weaknesses:
-They stand out when spotted, making prime targets to damage hive connections.
-No defenses of their own.
-Their Size Limits their range.
-They take time to regrow. Leaving the Hive Vulnerable if all the nodes and intelligent convergences are taken out.
-The sonic signals can leave clues as to the direction of other Hives, just not the exact location. Alternatively if the Telepathic communication is used, people who can read minds might get a headache and some idea of what is being shared.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkbHi2eT5_U
DESCRIPTION
Orange, Red, or Black. The Hive Convergence Node is the main way, other than intelligent convergence creatures, that the Hive keeps in contact with its many creatures and members. It does not store information, its primary use is to send and receive signals, information and instructions. As it is highly specialized in this role it is also very good at its job. The sonic signals it sends are not something you can pick up on a radio, but you could try to tune into it with other devices suitable for monitoring animals. Even so, it'd be erratic and hard to understand, like trying to break a complicated code for the first time. Then you'd have the code, but as these are animals via an alien collective will, it may not even be certain that the code or communication means what you think it means. Alternatively, the telepathic signals it sends are harder to physically track but a force user might pick on what they mean easier. So it gives different challenges depending on what is being sent, and different opportunities to those that come across a node. Telepathy or force mind reading would probably work better the closer people were to it.
Ranges and Equivalent Sizes are below. The shapes they form can and do vary depending on what room is available. The growth rates do vary somewhat depending on the nutrients being fed to them and the conditions they are growing in.
Tiny | Palm-Sized | Range: A Cave | 2 Days to Grow or RegrowVery Small | Large Flower-Sized | Range: A Cave Network or Forest | 4 Days to Grow or Regrow
Small | Bush-Sized | Range: A City, a Valley or Mountain range | 8 Days to Grow or Regrow
Normal | Modest Tree-SIze | Range: A Small Country or Large Region | 16 Days to Grow or Regrow
Large | Five Trees Together | Range: Moon, Nearby Planet, Ship, or Asteroid | 25 Days to Grow or Regrow
Huge | A Giant Tree, A Large Dome | Range: Other Nearby Systems | 40 Days to Grow or Regrow
The nodes generally consume minerals and other biological matter for growth or to sustain themselves, either fed to it directly by hive vines and networked bio-connections or just as often small creatures dedicated to gathering food for the hive structures. These do not breed naturally like a species, they are entirely bio-engineered, seeded and constructed. They send signals from Hive Memory structures to Hive Breeding Chambers on what to produce and when for example.
