Post by The Librarian on Sept 23, 2011 9:42:04 GMT -7
The Xenomorphs or more precisely, Kiande Amedha (the scientific name given is Linguafoeda Acheronsis), are vicious creatures engineered by a extinct race known as the Biomechanoids, a race of organic-metal beings, but more commonly referred to as the Space Jockeys.
The Biomechanoids were an advanced race that excelled at the creation and use of organic metals, eventually changing their bodies to emulate their science. Bio-engineered to be the ultimate weapon in a civil war among the gigantic race (12-17' tall), the Kiande Amedha are all that is left of the race. The fail-safes created in the Kiande Amedha failed, allowing the creatures to reproduce on their own. Whether it was tampering or evolution at work, the answer will never be known. Rumors of Biomechanoid nomads are occasionally told at spaceports over drinks, but the validity of such stories is suspect.
The creatures start off life in an arachnid form, which in reality is just a mobile extension of the egg-sac. Upon latching unto the face of any prey, the next step of the Kiande Amedha's life has begun, as an egg is deposited into the body of the prey, where the embryo begins to develop, until ready to burst forth from the chest/torso of the host as a young Kiande larvae, commonly called a Chest-Burster, which quickly escapes to undergo rapid, multiple stages of molting to become a full-grown Kiande. Hosts impregnated will tend to forget their experience due to a neurotoxin secreted by the mobile egg-sac.
Regardless of the host, all Kiande possess similar features. During gestation within a host, the Kiande alters the host's body to become more durable and aggressive to protect the parasitic creature until it is ready to burst forth from the chest.
There are two different species of Kiande Amedhas. The black version and the red version. The black version is the most common species encountered, but the red species is the deadliest. It is believed the red species was the Biomechanoids' method of controlling the Kiande Amedha. The two species instantly attack one another upon encountering one another, but unlike the black which will also attack other creatures within range, the red species will completely focus its attentions towards the black species until it is destroyed before paying mind to any other creatures in the area. The gestation period of the red species also is much longer, often taking a full week!
The Kiande Amedha were designed to have a Hive structure, based around a Queen, who the Kiande Amedha would protect, by staying close to the Hive. This would serve the creatures from ranging too far from where they were deployed. The Queens were created in labs, but eventually the creatures developed the ability to create their own Queens via the synthesis of royal jelly. The Queen is the central figure of a Hive, quickly followed by the Praetorians, Drones from sentient humanoid races, and then finally by Drones from animals and etc.; this caste system seems to be based on intelligence of the Kiande Amedha.
The Kiande are alive. They have a genetic structure. They are born and can die. They have a blood stream; they have a social structure. The Aliens have a cellular structure partly carbon and partly silicon-based. They have a very identifiable brain with sensory organs. They have also shown reasoning. The drones are surprisingly intelligent. Worst of all, they can and will adapt and evolve.
The Kiande are also machine though. They don’t require food; they can eat but process it completely different, converting the materials directly into increasing its own size, or storing it for when it needs to create a hive. The creatures are walking batteries, as they run on the acidic blood in their veins. They also seem to have a programmed path. One cannot go rogue under the direction of its queen. They seem always under a fixed set of instructions given to them. They don’t grow as normal creatures do and they also don’t have a nervous system.
The Kiande, upon bursting out in its larvae stage, can devour anything to increase it own body mass. It doesn’t need a kill to grow. It can convert any refined material, organic and inorganic, and convert it into biomass that is used to grow. With that in mind, the Kiande can achieve full growth in under 10 hours. This rule applies even if the alien is being adapted by the Queen of the hive for another purpose. They Kianda Amedha senses its prey with its enhanced senses of smell, hearing and touch, combined with a psionic form of life detection. The creatures are themselves, naturally blind. Few have been seen with eyes, usually engineered or mutant strains.
A Queen, once born, will develop into full maturity in ten hours, with the Hive’s care. The Queen can start creating its own eggs six hours after having mated with a Praetorian and devouring the mate to create the egg sac-abdomen in two days. The Queen can give birth to an egg every 5 minutes.
Three drones can convert a living host into a Queen or Praetorian Kiande by readying them for 6 hours. A Kiande Drone can convert a living host into a regular egg after capturing them, and readying them for 10 hours. An alien can achieve maturity after bursting in ten hours. The lifespan of an egg is 200 years on average. The Drone’s lifespan is 1/4 of the average lifespan of the host, while the Praetorian's lifespan is 30 years. The lifespan of a Queen is 100 years. Face-huggers can live up to 10 years or until a living host has been found.
Should a lone Drone encounter a host impregnated by a Queen Kiande Amedha larvae, and no Queen is present, the Drone will instinctively become the host's protector until the Queen is born. This cannot be said the same if a Queen is present, in which case the host's fate is usually an extremely short life.
Variations in Drones have been found, all engineered by the Queen to suit whatever needs of the Hive are required primarily, aside from variations carried over by the traits of the larvae hosts. Queens have been shown to be able to create Drones with abilities such as being able to fire quills from their dorsal spines, fully aquatic bodies, flying membranes, acidic spit and even larvae-implantating through the claws of Drones on demand when needed. This process is accomplished by the Queen tampering with a Facehugger prior to birthing its containing egg.
