Silicon Crawler

From Reach

Morphology

Silicon crawlers are an extremely dangerous species that resides in the Equatorial desert. Comprised of crystalline silicon compounds, they are nearly indestructible, and possessed of great strength.

Life Cycle

Crawlers come in three varieties, representing different stages of their life cycle:

• Seeds - Mostly harmless, seeds are small crystals, usually weighing only a few kilograms. Generally inert, seeds are only active in the presence of specific compounds. When exposed to high quantities of silicon, a seed will germinate, beginning complex processes to convert the surrounding silicon into a crystal form, eventually forming a hive.

• Hives - Large, active crystal structures, hives convert most of the silicon mass around them into crystal compounds, which become part of the hive's mass. Hives also demonstrate a defense mechanism of firing large seeds at high velocities when threatened. As their silicon mass is usually beneath them, hives add mass to their bottom, appearing to grow upward, creating a visually impressive column of crystals. In meager environments, hives spread outward, creating crystal fields.

• Drones - When a hive reaches maturity, pieces of itself break off as drones. Ranging in size from 1 to 3 metric tonnes, drones are ambulatory crystals. They superficially resemble earth spiders, but have only one body segment, four legs, and no distinguishable head. The physical mechanisms used to move the legs are not fully understood, but drones demonstrate remarkable speed, agility, and strength. Drones do not grow, nor do they consume any mass; their only purpose appears to be to wander and find new grounds to plant seeds. Drones can fire high speed seeds like hives, but need not feel threatened to do so. Over time, drones shrink, dropping mass in the form of seeds, and once they fall below a certain threshold, they return to their original hive and re-incorporate their remaining mass into the hive.

Hazards

Both hives and drones launch seeds at high velocity when they encounter other organisms. Hives tend to fire smaller seeds, weighing only a few grams, and only when directly threatened. Drones, on the other hand, fire large, javelin-like seeds at almost any organism nearby. These seeds tend to fracture easily on impact, creating numerous smaller seeds in the body.

While seeds are mostly harmless, if left for more than a few hours in a carbon-based life form, they may begin to germinate, causing extensive damage to local tissues. Removing seeds lodged in humans should be a top priority.

If a drone senses it's target is still alive after firing seeds, it will usually attempt to charge. They demonstrate remarkable agility, thrusting and swiping with their powerful limbs. Larger drones have been known to attack and destroy armored vehicles that lacked adequate firepower. They show no signs of fear or pain, and only retreat if their mass falls below a critical threshhold.

Silicon crystals are extremely hard, and crawlers are largely immune to most small arms fire. They are also perfectly comfortable in temperatures well in excess of the melting point of lead, making a mockery of most energy weapons, including flamethrowers and HEAT rounds. The smallest mercy is that these crystals are also very brittle, and enough kinetic energy (such as a round from a Gencap Railrifle0 can shatter even the largest hives. On the desert, this is only a temporary victory, as the fragments eventually form hives of their own, restarting the life cycle.