Doc 42's Space stuff

[Doc 42]

RAKA-ANRA

Native Name: Charon
Enviroment: Arid-light jungle. Geographically extreme.
Charon is the only planet in the Tekandrova A/B system.
Tekandrova is exceptional in being a twin star system, however, it is unique in that both Tekandrova A and B have long since gone Supernova.
Both black holes orbit each other, swinging past each other eternally getting closer and closer.

Through cosmic coincidence, Charon's orbit keeps it from being sucked into either blackhole eternally. It travels inbetween the two black holes as they pass each other, but by the time they reach the apex of their swing, Charon reaches the far end of it's current black hole. It rapidly falls into the black hole, but before it reaches the horizon line, the combined momentum of it's orbit around the black hole, and the black holes acceleration towards it's partner ends up slinging Charon too close to it's neighbour, and it starts the cycle again, going around the other black hole.

As such, Charon eternally rings around them in a figure of eight, coming a few thousand kilometres away from total obliteration regularly throughout it's erratic year.

Light on Charon is provided by what is essentially a fire ball. A super dense mass of gas and rock orbits around Charon lazily, held in place by the conflicting gravitational pulls. Interestingly, when it is facing off into space, away from both Charon and it's parent singularities, it collects more fuel from the matter being dragged towards the two dying suns. Essentially, it burns with renewed vigour every day.

Regions: Entire planet is covered in extremes. mostly, it is an arid somewhat dusty planet but with heavy jungles sprouting up in parts, mainly in the mountainous areas. The geography of the planet is twisted beyond belief in some regions. the tug of war pull of gravity between Tekandrova A and B have elongated the planet, however, it does not experience the seasons of other tilted planets, as it's source of light, or 'sun' orbits it, instead of the other way around. Charon has no recognisable poles.

in some regions of the planet, huge towering pillars of rock have sprouted up, mountains twisted out of shape by close call incidents with Tekandrova.


Dominant Species: Raka-anra
Technology level: Primal/Scavanging
Animal life: Paka-anra, Darma-anra, four legged mammal life, diverse birds, small oceanic life forms.
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name: Paka-anra
Description: Essentially large ants, with up to 8 limbs. Fore limbs have hands with opposable thumbs.
Diet: Omnivorous
natural abilites: Co-operation, gene growths, opposable thumbs
history: The Paka-anra are quite intelligent, working in large colony groups. They can cultivate plants and coloneys often form a symbiotic relationship with their habitat. Depending on one's inclination, the Paka-anra are either domesticated by the more aggressive Raka-anra or enslaved.

The Raka-anra allow the Paka-anra to thrive where in certain areas, allowing them to cultivate areas to grow food. Paka-anra are much more capable of defending important plant life from other predators than the Raka-anra, so the Raka leave them mostly alone so that they can exploit the abbundance of food themselves. The Raka-anra also prey on the Paka-anra, often raiding colonys, capturing and killing and bringing their prey home as for food. The Raka-anra some times take larve as well, to intentionally create a new Paka-anra colony or to 'domesticate' some Paka-anra for a particular task (When domesticated Paka-anra have served their purpose, they are usually devoured.)

While intelligent as far as animal life is concerned, and considered sentient by some, the Paka-anra consider this relationship as the natural course of life. The death of a worker is nothing to the colony as a whole. While the Raka-anra benefit much more than the Paka-anra in the long run, the Paka do recieve some benefit in protection from predators. While the Raka do inflict many casualties on the colony, it is still able to grow. If the Raka were to ignore a Paka colony, it is very possible that a larger predator would arrive with no concept of preserving balance and completely decimate the colony.

The Paka-anra is separated into the usual castes of workers and warriors
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name: Darma-anra
Discription: Huge predatory beetle like creatures
Diet: Carnivorous
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name: Raka-anra
Description: The Raka-anra generally resemble Hornets, but every caste is different.


Your typical Raka-Anra is about 4 metres long and one and half metres tall when low to the ground. Colours vary from yellow and black to red and black or to pure black.


Not shown in pictures:

The Raka-Anra have extremely long legs, and when 'standing' at their tallest, can be over 3 metres tall. Their limbs are much stronger than the hornet pictures shown here, and longer too. In addition, the Raka-anra's limbs end in varying graspers or tools depending on their caste. (eg: scythes, or claws)

Unlike hornets, the Raka Anra generally stand half way through flat to the ground and full height, keeping their leg's bent in a cage like stance.

Raka-Anra hold 2 pairs of wings for a total of four. While they fold next to each other while idle, in flight, the wings operate in opposite pairs, making them extremely manoeuvrable.

Raka-Anra have two smaller limbs close to their chest, which are unnoticeable most of the time. They can hold cargo with these, keeping their main limbs free to work or fight.

Raka-Anra also bare a number of 'bond-points' along their body, generally on their shoulders or chests. More will be explained under Castes.


Diet: Omnivorous

natural abilities: Explained further under 'Castes'
Commonly, Raka-anra are armed with powerful stingers full of nuero toxin, strong limbs, hard carapace and powerful wings.

Most (but not all) Raka-anra have inner proboscis which they can use to probe other creatures. This violent procedure allows them to absorb their targets knowledge. Being already quite intelligent, they can instantly put this knoweledge to use. For instance, they could learn an alien language and speak it effectively. (however, emotions would be muddled up and would not make sense to most native speakers)

History-sociality description: The Raka-Anra race is an accomplished species of startling intelligence given it's primal status. Thousands of years ago, they spread over their entire planet. Every Raka-anra queen is linked telepathically and as such, the species is completely unified. Being highly resourceful, they domesticated the Paka-anra, careful not to damage the population when feeding. The Raka-Anra live in hive structures, colonies of individuals working together, generally in underground networks. Hives can be small or impossibly large, depending on their environment and diet.

Castes:
The Raka-Anra are split into numerous Castes, with hundreds of variations. Essentially, there are three main castes of Raka-anra. Augmentals, Bee's and finally Tyrants.
Augmentals are small and serve a single purpose generally. Bee's are your typical Raka-anra, such as warriors and workers, and then Tyrants consist of Queens and the such.
However, not only do each of these castes have their own variations, but they can connect together into colonies of organisms operating with a single purpose. Generally, Augmentals will form symbiotic colonies with Bees and Tyrants. (Imagine a Portuguese Man-o-War on a much smaller scale and with a single host creature)

This is partially the explanation behind the huge amount of castes. When an Augmental bonds to a Bee, it changes it's genetic make up. Originally, many of the worker's vital organs were augmentals, eventually replacing the original ones throughout the centuries. Through this, the Raka-anra race evolves rapidly, combining natural selection with self determination and cutting reproduction out of the loop entirely. Raka-anra reproduction serves no purpose other than to bolster numbers. An interesting result of this is that the Raka-anra don't decline if for some reason bad genes survive, as with other species.

Scientifically (or as scientific as I can get), when a Raka-anra individual bonds with an augmental or another caste, both organisms copy each other's genetic code. Workers for instance, would bond with an augmental organism capable of breathing Sulphur dioxide. The worker could then work in Sulfer environments by letting the augmental breath for it, forming a symbiotic relationship. The hive's queen will continuously produce new workers, but to speed the process up, it produces the worker with it's augmental simultaneously, as the worker/sulphur augmental combination has proven itself successful. By maintaining a link with it's various subjects, the Queen will take note of what organs have failed (from lack of use, for example) and phase these out of new generations, thus, permanently mutating the caste to specialise in working in those particular environments.


Faction

Name: The Raka-anra 'chain'

Leading Body: The chain is presided over by an assembly of Queens of all it's world's hives. The queens are further grouped by planet and geographical location. For example, the Queen's of charon's northern hemisphere may discuss and decide on local matters, or take part in planet wide debates to confront larger issues, but then all of Charon's queen's together may interact with the queens of the other other raka-anra colonised worlds. This gives the species as a whole it's direction

Capital: Black Alpha, considered their 'home' hive on Charon. Black Alpha does not have any special privalges over other hives, but considers itself the protector of the entire race's collective knowledge. The Black Alpha queen takes great pride in this role and commands the respect of even the most far flung hive on the edge of known space.

Technology Level: Primal / Interstellar. Dependant on sub faction

Inhabitants: Hives on various worlds, every hive is considered a sub faction of the Raka-anra chain.

Philosophy: Expansion and glory. Every Raka-anra has an instinctive compulsion to better their hive, to improve something. A typical drone raka-anra with no accomplishments feels no self worth. Only when they have achieved something for the Raka-anra, will an individual accept itself. As a result, the Raka-anra are extremely committed to what they do.

History:
The Raka-anra are odd in their aggressiveness. As a race, they could sustainably expand without any conflict. They can spread to other planets through long range spores and their bizare form of space travel, all based around their appocolyptic parents, Tekandrova A and B. However, they are drawn to hunting and subjugating other species, using them in some way. One of the contributing factors to the Raka-anra's fast evolution is that a hive won't simply sit still. Individuals constantly explore, often nomadically, only returning when they have found something useful to the hive. In the case of other races, often huge wars could be fought with massive loss of life, with very few Raka-anra surviving and returning to their hives. However, each of those Raka-anra will bare the knowledge gained by the entire swarm, information which will greatly benefit the Hive.

This occurs even when the Hive needs no improvements. It is a thing of honour, a Bee with no contribution to society is a Bee without worth. Raka-Anra which have yet to complete this rite are often referred to as drones. After their return, they gain elevated status, for example, a warrior drone might become a Thinker Bee on it's return. Elevated Bee's will often take part in invasionary forces to instruct and augment the local forces.

A Raka-anra invasion will generally start with a scout. The scout carries hundreds of eggs and can inject them into any number of organisms, which will hatch rapidly, feeding on their hosts and growing swiftly. Within a week or two, a whole hive of Raka-anra can have formed. The scout can release a signal which will call it's home hive (on an interplanetary scale) to mark the planet as a target. The hive will often dispatch spores to help with colonisation. However, the 'insurgency' will not be able to properly communicate with the other Hives until they produce or receive their own Queen. An insurgency can rapidly intensify and explode beyond containment during this period, as the Hive experiences rapid advance to match the maturity of other Hives.

Currently the Raka-Anra inhabbit over 7 planets, all in different systems.

[Doc 42]

Drones
A drone is a Bee who has yet to benefit the Hive. The majority of a hive's population is made up of drones. Drones have very little concept of self preservation and are willing to die for the hive's benefit. Some Bees will stay drones their whole lives, if the opportunity to advance the hive does not present itself.


Name: Worker
Description: The Worker's limbs end in flexible digits, excellent for carrying objects or other life forms. Workers are generally colored darkly.
Role: Workers perform menial tasks throughout the Hive, transporting, arranging, and building where needed. Often, Workers will simply put Paka-raka to work in their place.

Name: Tunneller
Description: The Tunneler is much fatter than hormal Bee's and has no stinger. Instead of the usual mandibles, the Tunneler's mouth is circular in shape with inward facing teeth. When opening it's mouth, the outter most teeth curl back so that they point directly out. Acid coats the Tunnellers mouth.
Role: Tunnellers, as their name suggest, do almost all digging inside a hive. They eat rock and soil, like a worm would. The digested matter is excreted almost explosively. Workers then transport the rubble out of the tunnels.

Name: Solider
Description: Much tougher than average Raka-anra and coloured more aggressively. Soldiers' limbs end in 3 sharp blade like scythes, capable of stabbing through even tough armour. Soldier's backs and shoulders are covered in bond points, places where augmentals can attach. The variety of augmentals available can gear Solders to fight at range, or in different environments, for example. Soldier's carapace is much tougher than that of other castes and their resistance to pain is much higher too.
Role: Soldiers do the fighting of a Hive. They protect the Hive and go on raiding parties.
Warriors are the most common Bees, being crucial to a Hive's success as well as being able to carry out most worker duties effectively.

Name: Scout
Description: The rarest drone. Scouts are highly advanced creatures, varying depending on their hive of origin. When a spore detects a planet that could support life, a Scout is dispatched towards it inside a scout pod. The scout pod will orbit the planet for a single day, while the scout finishes the final stage of incubation, bonding with it's augmentals before deploying.

as stated earlier, scouts vary depending on their hive. Most Scouts will be tougher fighters than even Soldiers, be equipped with a variety of weapons, tools and generally be equipped with some form of stealth.

All scouts carry a host of eggs which they can inject into food sources to create the initial members of a colony. IE: They inject their young into living beings, the larve then developing rapidly, feeding off their host.

While considered drones, a Scout is essentially a thinker bee, as the act of successfully landing on a new planet is enough to elevate one. While rare, Scouts are considered the elite, and, if a colony can retain their original scout, a very valuable asset to their development of the hive. Similarilly, the death of a Scout can spell death to a new hive in the form of slowing it to a stand still.

Role: Planetary invasion.

Tyrants
Tyrants are the heavies of the Raka-anra colonies and armies. They often serve single purpose which other Raka-anra are incapable of performing. Queen's cannot produce Tyrants as quickly as other Raka-anra, and as such, their defence is crucial to the hive.
Tyrants are extremely large, growing in between 6 and 19 metres long

Name: Queen
Primary Caste: Tyrant
Description: Similar to a worker in appearance, the Queen is 12 metres long
Role: Queens organise and control Hives. They also produce all new members of the Hive. The castes a Queen can produce are determined by it's environment and it's history, but all Queens can produce most castes initially.
Abilities: Queens have extremely powerful minds, capable of telepathic communication.

Name: Hive Carrier
Primary Caste: Tyrant
Description: A lumbering 16 metre long giant with tens of smaller arms dangling down from it's chest for carrying and transporting almost anything. Hive Carrier's have 8 pairs of wings instead of the usual 2. The noise of it's wing beat is extremely loud.
Role: Hive Carriers act mainly as transport but can be augmented to perform many other duties. Hive Carriers are the primary means to navigate through space and are often sent to bolster new colonies with Thinker Bees.

Name: Launcher bug
Primary caste: Tyrant
Description: A 19 metre long lumbering giant, the Launcher is incapable of flight and has a grossly inflated abdomen. It must be carried by Hive Carriers. it's body is covered in tough plates. It's abdomen is full of highly unstable chemicals, the Launcher can mix these chemicals at will, triggering a highly explosive reaction, accelerating the mixture out a hole in place of it's stinger.
Role: The Launcher bug can load and fire special seeder pods. The pods are essentially Tyrants themselves, however, are so far deformed that they do not ressemble Raka-anra. The pods are similar to the Vong's Dovin Basals, able to lock onto the gravity fields of distant targets and pull themselves towards their destination. Some are small enough to contain just a single bee, while others can contain Tyrants. (essentially, they are able to select a gravity field and ignore all others, a power magical in origin)

The Launcher bugs can also load combat augmentals to act as artillery or anti-orbital.

(yes, completely stolen from star ship troopers )

Name: Marauder
Description: Sporting 4 pairs of huge wings and at 11 metres long, the Marauder is the most dangerous Raka-anra warrior. With a carapace practically immune to small arms fire, and able to take even rockets and remain airborne, the Marauder is also the toughest. Each limb ends in a long curved blade like scythe. The Marauder holds numerous bond points and is capable of carrying the most potent combat augmentals into battle.

In addition to their augmental weapons and physical weapons, all Marauders have another weapon which has become common in their caste. They can regurgitate extremely violent chemicals and gasses from their stomach, which when expelled from the Marauders mouth, ignite and form an extremely powerful fire beam, capable of incinerating flesh and penetrating armour through sheer kinetic force.
Role: Marauders provide the Raka-anra with much needed heavy fire power. Depending on their augmentals, they can be armed for almost any situation.

Augmentals


name: Wasp-dart
Function: Weapon
Description: Nest which grows and releases what are essentially bullets. Small wasp like insects which acquire a target and then 'fart' (mix and detonate the violent chemicals held in their thorax), launching them at their target at high speed. The high velocity coupled with their sharp heads allows them to penetrate tough armour

name: Web-spinner
Function: Tool/weapon
Description: A compressed silk sac, which squirts out built up webs on demand. Generally used by builders to hold things in place tempoarily while they work. Used by hunters to trap prey. Used by warriors to distract and restrain targets.

name: Ripper-dart
function: weapon
Description: Like a Wasp-dart, except it fires a slightly larger projectile with much more kinetic force. In addition, the Ripper-dart's 'warhead' is actually an egg which hatches into a 'ripper' an extremely basic bee, lacking most of it's vital organs. It immediately feeds on it's 'host' and can even become independent if given time to grow. The Ripper is not considered a bee as it does not possess an internal proboscis or any sort of accomplished intelligence, nor does it look much like one.