Pestilentia pestilentia
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The Pestilence (Pestelentia pestelentia) is a space-faring organism found mostly in Aylathiya. It has dozens of sub-species located throughout the region. As a largely predatory organism, it is only found in regions of space hosting a healthy interstellar or otherwise space-based ecosystem. Aylathiya's extensive ruins and ecosystem offer the perfect habitat for the species.
The Pestilence is a group hunter primarily relying on taking down predators by virtue of numbers alone. The reason they bear the name "Pestilence" comes from their ability to target and often hijack ships for the sake of propagation. They turn these ships into nests, often expanding on them using any material they can find. Their ability to prey on ships had lent to them becoming the most common predator of their type in the universe, capable of dismantling entire civilizations who are not prepared for an attack.
Description
P. pestelentia individuals are hexagon-shaped with a long length but small width. They are coated in radiation-resistant plating that is black in color. Along the length of their body are dozens of long legs which are usually tucked into the body when within space. These legs are mounted across all sides of the body, not just the "bottom." When attacking prey, they use the sharpened ends of these legs to tear into or transport prey.
Within them is a large solar sail that serves the double purpose of cooling and communication. By unfurling and flexing the sail, the resulting pulses of light can help the species to coordinate. Using an advanced language, this species nearly qualifies as sapient. They have advanced social structures, have culture, and even demonstrate the willingness to communicate with outsiders of their species. This communication is often rudimentary and usually involves jostling or flashing the lights located across their surface.
Nests
The species live communally in nests of their own creation. They are not eusocial and are better described as "pack animals." These nests can house anywhere from ten to billions of P. pestelentia individuals. Males and females alike work to build the nest, usually secreting a plastic-like polymer to seal holes in it. Once a nest is completed, they create an airlock in the side. They will then move the nest to a cooler location, often taking years to do so. They will then begin bringing large amounts of ice and, if possible, gas into the nest, pressurizing it. Their young require a pressurized environment for the first several months as their shells develop.
If pressurization is not possible for an asteroid, they will navigate to a small moon, hollow out a space, and do the exact same thing. If there are no moons available, they will find a planet with low gravity and a thick atmosphere to reproduce in. They often attack ships because of their need for nesting. For the last two million years, with little break, their galaxy has had some form of interstellar civilization, causing them to evolve to prefer ships over the natural alternatives. P. pestelentia penetrate hulls of ships with as little damage as possible, allowing them to easily repair the damages once they secure the ship. They usually use the individuals aboard the ship to feed.
Reproduction & Life Cycle
P. pestelentia individuals hatch from eggs. Once hatched, they require a pressurized environment to survive. Certain sub-species created artificially have this pressurized environment exist within the mother. They start at about 5 cm in length. They use their legs as propellers to move throughout the usually low-gravity environment. Adults feed and raise the hatchlings communally, allowing them to eat before the adults themselves do. After about two months, the young can tolerate a vacuum and will accompany the adults outside for a small amount of time. After a further three months, the young are fully tolerant to vacuum.
Members of the species can live up to thirteen hundred years and, at the largest, are often over ten meters in length. After about one year, young are one meter long, are fully mature, and are capable of becoming a fully-functional member of the pack.
Weaponry
As a space-faring organism that is no stranger to engaging other species or even rival packs in combat, P. pestilentia has evolved what can only be described as "weapons." Their principle weapons are their sharpened legs, made from a carbon compound rivaling carbon nanotubes in strength. Capable of piercing materials with a pressure of nearly one hundred billion pascals (14 million psi), their claws are effective against the majority of spacecraft, especially civilian craft.
Energy-source
P. Pestilentia feed on any organic material they can find, originally targeting the coral-like structures living on asteroids throughout Aylathiya. Small life-rich moons face regular extinction events as they are assaulted by the voracious species. Larger worlds are safe from the assault as they can never reach escape velocity on them, causing the species to avoid them instinctively. They often eat radioactive material to stay warm in the often cold vacuum of space.
Relation to Other Species
Incapable of interstellar travel on their own, individuals or even entire nests have learned to rely on naturally-interstellar species to travel. Often hijacking ships or hanging onto them, they can spread from system to system with little effort. In nature, they often tag along with Celeritas lucium, a large species capable of natural faster-than-light travel. C. lucium usually tolerates their presence because they fend off small parasites.
As artificial ships became more common, they would usually start by signalling their intentions, expecting acknowledgement as they do with C. lucium. They soon discovered that the ships were essentially unable to deny their presence, becoming a major problem at space ports in particular. Every so often, a particularly intelligent individual will hijack a ship and force its crew or the onboard AI to ferry it to a desired location. If the crew does not oblige, they will attempt piloting the ship themselves, usually crashing or getting lost in interstellar space.
The artificial selection created by increased hunting has caused a spike in intelligence. Making sure to never stop under any circumstances in interstellar space is an effective countermeasure; war makes this nearly impossible however. With vast numbers of ships traveling through interstellar space during most conflicts, spread is inevitable. The Un'oit took advantage during the Un'oit Ascension by actively deploying units accompanied by tamed Pestilence individuals. The War of the Ancients caused mass outbreaks of the Pestilence as well as the Celestial Plague, an artificial species that greatly disrupted its habitat.
