Enyo Typhos
Control
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Sub an unusual unit for Enyo to play with.
- Image Credit: Here. Image appears to be a Shadow from Baylon 5.
- Role: Killer spiders.
- Links: Klaxxi, Return of the Klaxxi, Frigid Shadows.
- Unit Name: Team Aranea
- Affiliation: Enyo Typhos, Archangel Research and Design, Typhos Clone Family.
- Classification: Infantry.
- Equipment: Optional: Blaster weapons such as a light repeating blaster can be mounted on their backs. ACS-202 Vanquisher Light Repeating Blaster (purchase request here, permission here) or ACS-205 Blackblade Modular Rifle (permission requested here, and confirmed here).
- Availability: Unique.
- Deployment: Limited.
Strengths & Weaknesses: Team Aranea is composed of five Knight level Klaxxi from the Hunter caste. These sentient spiders have two natural abilities: They can warp light and sound around them to manifest a Force Cloak, rendering them virtually invisible to the naked eye, and they can use telepathy to communicate through the Force, as they are unable to communicate complex thoughts through normal means.
Very few Klaxxi manifest Force abilities beyond the aforementioned. The members of Team Aranea are among them. They are able to utilise defensive and offensive telekinesis, physical enhancement and Force Fear to give them an edge in combat. Moreover, being Klaxxi, they are natural hunters, who specialise in tracking movements through vibrations in the air as well as scent. Hunting at night, they prefer to strike their foes from the darkness and without sound. They are big, tough and very strong. A Klaxxi can crush human bones with a blow from one of their legs. Klaxxi exoskeletons are hard, and can deflect many conventional weapons. They are also naturally resistant to energy attacks. They have received minor cybernetic alterations: An implant allows them to communicate nonverbally with Enyo's minions without using telepathy, while a bio-stabiliser implant wards them against toxins and poisons. Rybcoarse is utilised to strengthen their muscles.
However, as tough as a Klaxxi's exoskeleton is, it is susceptible to piercing attacks, such as armour-piercing bullets and sharp blades. This makes high-calibre projectiles a good weapon against them. Strong explosions will also damage them. Moreover, since the darkness is their preferred habitat, the members of Team Aranea are rather vulnerable to very bright lights, such as those caused by flashbangs. These are very painful and disorientating.
They are capable of fighting without the Force due to their strength and natural toughness, but its sudden loss would be disorientating and weaken them, as they are used to having it. Ysalamiri and Voidstone would thus deprive them of a notable advantage. Their ranged capabilities are a bit limited. They can obviously use telekinesis and Force Fear at range, but guns are not made with spiders in mind. Light repeating blasters and similar can be mounted on their backs. Cybernetic implants allow them to control them via impulse. Grenade launchers and flamers could theoretically be mounted, but would be too risky. Aside from a possible mounted blaster, they rely on the Force and their physical strength. Thus they lack the means to stand up to heavy vehicles like tanks or walkers. They are also vulnerable to aircraft. It also limits their capabilities against large numbers of enemy soldiers, especially since the unit is very small. They are not a unit to send on a death charge. But they are ideal for ambushes and a good terror weapon. Their cybernetic components are susceptible to ion, EMP and electrical discharges.
Description:
Few in the greater Galaxy have heard of the Klaxxi. To the huge spiders, all other sentient beings are prey. The strong do as they will, the weak suffer what they must. Other lifeforms exist to feed the Klaxxi. They are aggressive, predatory and quite smart. After subjugating the primitive Ozzlites and developing a hyperdrive, they took to the stars and began to conquer planets close to their home in the Unknown Regions.
They first came to the notice of a galactic power when they clashed with the Atrisian Empire at Rakata Prime and Csilla. The Chiss homeworld was occupied by a Klaxxi invasion force and the spiders proceeded to try and herd the natives into camps. However, the Atrisian Empire intervened, dispatching regular soldiers along with Inquisitors to drive the Klaxxi away - and assume control of Csilla in the process.
A fierce battle ensued, during which both forces clashed in space and on the ground. In the end, the Klaxxi were defeated. Some of the spiders were captured and brought back for study. The Atrisian Inquisition was intrigued by their Force abilities. However, not long afterwards the Atrisian Empire was absorbed by the Lords of the Fringe after a failed attack on the Omega Protectorate' capital. Having other concerns, such as a Republic invasion, the Fringe did not continue the campaign against the arachnids, who licked their wounds and plotted. They got their chance when the Netherworld Event sent the Galaxy spiralling into chaos. A large Klaxxi fleet departed Ozzlek to launch a campaign of terror, striking into the heartland of the weakened Omega Protectorate. Klaxxi forces descended upon Sullust. They were ultimately repulsed by a combined Protectorate and Eldorai force, but at a considerable price in blood.
The genocidal duo at the head of Archangel took an interest in the spiders. Moira Skaldi had aided the Atrisian Empire in the occupation of Csilla, fighting the Klaxxi herself. She also built up a working relationship with the Kahoshi dynasty. In the the course of the Atrisian Empire's dissolution, Moira and Maelion was able to capture a number of Klaxxi for study. If they could be controlled, they would be valuable weapons. However, they proved unruly. Attempts were made to clone and render them more docile through use of cybernetics. While the genocidal duo soon focused on other projects, such as entechment, Force Clones and Shards, the droid scientists at the secret base continued their work.
Then Moira and Maelion were toppled by Enyo's insurgency. Siobhan Kerrigan's clone, herself a product of Archangel science, took over the machine cult, using her creators' command codes to assume control of the droid army. However, the signal failed to reach the base where the Klaxxi were being studied. Perhaps it was a glitch in the system, perhaps something else. Either way, once Enyo realised that after learning that what appeared to be Archangel troops were carrying out attacks on her operations, she amassed a task force and headed to the secret base. At this stage she was still in the dark about the Klaxxi.
She met stiff resistance and a fierce battle ensued. During the fighting, the test subjects were able to escape from captivity, leading to a threeway fight. Enyo's troops sustained severe losses, she pulled back her troops to let her enemies fight it out and bombed the base. Many of the Klaxxi were killed during the bombardment, but some survived. A few were subdued. Though vicious, the Klaxxi were not mindless beasts. They were also very far away from home. Perhaps it helped that Enyo was not responsible for their captivity. Having no Queen, grudgingly a few Klaxxi agreed to serve her. Conveniently, Enyo was free of moral scruples, so the fact that their diet consisted of sentient beings did not faze her. After all, she did not care about most organic beings. Instead she recognised their use as a weapon of terror. So she trained them in their Force abilities, while keeping them on a leash. Good behaviour was rewarded with hunting opportunities, allowing them to indulge their carnivorous appetites. She experimented a bit with grafting weapons to them, but mostly dropped that because heavy weapons would be detrimental to their agility and/or pose a potential risk to them. They proved their utility during raids in what had formerly been Galactic Alliance space, working in concert with Enyo's HRD commandos. The Cyborg still keeps an eye on the arachnids, not trusting them completely. This is probably a good idea. Just as they watch her like the predators they are.
