Kriken Empire
From Yb Timeline
"You can't fight the Kriken like any other army. They don't care how many you kill, you can't demoralize them. They're locusts; they're the cosmos rising up every hundred years to remind us humans just how close we constantly are to losing everything we've achieved."
-Colonel JP Harding, during the 7th Kriken Surge
| Kriken | |
|---|---|
| Facts | |
| Home Planet | Hive World Core |
| Skin color | Red exoskeleton |
| Average lifespan | 50 years |
| Affiliation(s) | Kriken Empire |
| Gender | None |
| First Appearance | Space Pirate Panic! |
| Latest Appearance | The Legacy of Infamy |
| Appearances | |
| Notable Vhozon | |
The Kriken Empire are a collective of the insectoid Kriken from the Angler Galaxy. They are an agile and highly intelligent race known for their warlike tendencies, constantly invading other worlds in order to find more room to expand their numbers. The Kirken are primarily a menace to the Galactic Federation and have been mostly a background faction in the Yoshi Bodyguard Universe.
Contents |
History
Beginnings and Founding of Hive World Core
The Kriken evolved on a planet only known as Hive World Core, a swamp planet near the galactic core of the Angler Galaxy. They evolved from a primitive Triskeleton Swamp Bug, and unlike most races are very recent evolutions from their insect counterparts. Also on this world was a race known as the Piljmorians, an ape-like race that focused on industry. For years the Piljmorians attempted to exterminate the Kriken, who were a menace that threatened to overpopulate the planet. The Kriken's quick evolutionary response and reproductive cycle allowed them to adapt over the centuries to better combat the Piljmorians; they became more intelligent, tactical, and brutal.
At the end of their war, the Kriken had pushed across the planet, overrunning the Piljmorian cities and wiping their race out. Left with no enemy to sate their brutal nature, the Kriken turned to fighting one another. In the chaos, the first Warlord arose, who united the strongest Kriken factions and turned the Piljmorian factories to work for them. Seeing that their planet would soon be overpopulated by the Kriken, they turned to continuing the Piljmorian's research into space flight. Within five years the first Kriken ship left the atmosphere. By that time their planet was overrun by giant spires of Kriken architecture, and trillions of Kriken populated the planet. It would come to be known as Hive World Core, the first Hive World of the Kriken Empire.
Expansion and the Swarm Wars
The Kriken spread out across the galaxy quickly, invading world after world and populating it within a span of years. Their first expansion attempts were against an advanced race known as the Zoulians. The Zoulians had not encountered intelligent life before, but had advanced to faster-than-light travel. The Kriken fleet caught them by surprise, and within two years the Zoulians had lost their homeworld. The remainder of the Zou race retreated into what is now Federation space.
The Kirken assimilated this new technology, founding their first Technology World, a planet that had its resources and production devoted solely to advancing the Kriken's weapons and war fleet technology. Adding FTL travel to their fleets, the Kriken had a surge of expansion. For the next three hundred years they were unopposed, spreading through the galaxy and wiping out any race they would encounter.
They then discovered the Vhozon, a race more advanced then they but with very little in the way of military technology. Initial contact resulted in the loss of the Vhozon Empire's outer worlds. The surprise of the Kriken, though, the Vhozon fought back, pushing their fleet back in several engagements. The Kriken Warlord was surprised by this, never before had a race even stalled the Kriken fleet. He sent a massive surge to destroy the Vhozon. This conflict would be known as the Swarm War.
For fifty years the Kriken pushed the Vhozon back, adapting to their technology and evolving to be stronger all the while. Meanwhile the Vhozon were becoming stronger as a race as well, using genetic mutations and new wartime advances to stall the Kriken. However the Kriken were soon within the inner systems of the Vhozon's territory. In order to stop them, they created a psychic storm, the Mist of Vho.
The Kriken attempted to send their fleets through the Mist of Vho, hoping to push their way into the core worlds, constantly pushing for a year. This became known as the Year of Destruction, which resulted in the loss of several trillion Kriken. Any time a ship had managed to navigate its way through the Psychic Storm it would be destroyed by the Vhozon fleet, immune to the storm's effects. The Kriken were forced to retreat, their first actual defeat.
Civil War and the First Surge
After their first defeat, the empire went into a state of chaos. They saw the Warmaster as weak, and raided his palace with a large number of Kriken. Soon the Warmaster was destroyed, and the empire fell into infighting. Various warlords vied for control of the empire, planets went to war against planets. This fighting went on for three hundred years, until a new Warmaster rose from the conflict, uniting or destroying any faction that was against him and securing a seat on Hive World Core.
Though the Kriken of the time did not identify themselves by names, this Warmaster became known in Kriken writings as Reformer. He created the concept of the Surge into the nearby Cremia Galaxy, recently discovered by the Kriken. Their concept was that their entire galaxy was either consumed by the Kriken or unreachable. In order to keep the Kriken from going into infighting, Reformer would lead the fleet into a new Galaxy and they would spread out there.
This was the First Kriken Surge of 300 BZ, and humanity's first contact with the Kriken. The conflict lasted two hundred years, and destroyed much of the scattered human civilizations as well as pushed back many of the more advanced ones. The Kriken position in the Cremia Galaxy was solidified near its outer border, leading to the creation of many Hive Planets. The first surge was repelled when the Galactic Order of Diaban entered the galaxy, uniting the human nations and defeating the Kriken fleet. The Kriken were forced back to the Angler Galaxy, and the billions left in the Helios Galaxy became known as feral Kriken.
War Against the Federation
The retreating Kriken were once again plunged into a state of chaos. An attempted coup of the Warmaster was made, but this was repelled. The Warmaster then decided on a new methodology regarding the newly formed Galactic Federation, of which it saw as a worthy foe. The Kriken would build up their forces every hundred years, and when the time came they would again surge the Helios Galaxy. Meanwhile, the Kriken of Warrior Strains would be sent around the universe attempting to find planets to mark for invasion, those that were both rich in minerals and enemies to fight. Parts of the Warrior Strain's fleet would then invade this planet and establish a foothold for their empire. This lead to a small intermingling of Kriken in the Galactic Federation, many being used as bounty hunters for hire as they scouted out worlds.
The Second Surge nearly destabilized the Federation's hold on the Helios Galaxy, and pushed their fleets back to the galactic core. Only the quick thinking of Fleet Admiral Vil'okh stopped the Kriken, as he cut off the fleet from its support of the Hive Planets. The Second Surge was a total Federation victory. The Third through Sixth Surges were repelled by the Federation's containment policy, which involved putting a fleet in the void between the two galaxies and intercepting any ship going through at lightspeed.
The Kriken evolved further at this time, and the Seventh Surge caught the Federation by surprise as they moved into the Sapia Galaxy, bypassing the Helios entirely. There they made a brutal push to Diaban, annihilating many populated worlds along the way. The Kriken would make it to Diaban, but would be stopped there by the planet's superior defense grid. The Federation pushed with a counter offensive into the Angler Galaxy, only to discover that it was almost entirely inhabited by the Kriken. Within weeks the fleet was wiped out.
Modern Day
The Kriken Empire kept the hundred year surges up to modern day. They are seen as a constant threat to the Alliance of Worlds, and will constantly send scouting parties in to study the ways of the outside nations. The last major offensive against the Kriken was the Battle of the Sapia Void, in the 23rd Kriken Surge. Here the Galactic Federation was called to defeat the Kriken, only to be sabotaged by Space Pirates. The Kriken made it into the Sapia Galaxy and reestablished contact with the Feral Kriken lost there, pushing through several small systems. However, their numbers were still insufficient to face the Federation fleet, and the fleet soon dispersed.
The most famous Kriken in modern history is the bounty hunter Trace. Trace raided the Yoshi Bodyguard headquarters after a mysterious telepathic message informed him of an ultimate power hidden in the Tetra Galaxy. Trace was scouting for worlds for the Kriken Empire at the time, and followed a large group of hunters to try and find this power to give the Empire the edge against the Federation. It would turn out to be a trap, and Trace was defeated by the cosmic entity Gorea. He was able to escape after Gorea was defeated by Samus Aran and the Yoshi Bodyguards.
Several Kriken were sighted in the Hidukkel Sector during the outbreak of the psychic storm, but their purpose is still unknown.
Biology
The Kriken are a race of insects closely related to the swamp bugs that used to inhabit Hive World Core. They have a fragile outside exoskeleton made of a thin carbon-iron-calcium casing. They have a single eye on a head that is suspended above their bodies. This strange occurrence is accomplished through a magnetic current that runs through their bodies, allowing the Kriken brain to send electrical commands directly to a portion of their bodies instead of having to run the commands through a spinal column. Because of the high iron content of their home planet, almost all Kriken are a bright red color. In order to distinguish hierarchy, many of the Kriken who are more honored in their society dye their shells colors like white or dark blue.
Kriken have a fast reproductive cycle; a single Kriken can lay several hundred eggs in their life time. These eggs hatch into larva Kriken, who will usually be left to their own devices. Should they survive until adulthood, they are welcomed into society and given a set role. The Kriken have two forms, bipedal and Triskeleton. Triskeleton Kriken are very similar to their ancestor swamp bugs, and allow the Kriken to climb walls as well as attack prey with three sharp talons. Bipedal allows for use of tools and devices necessary for Kriken society.
The Kriken do not communicate through spoken language, rather through pheromones excreted through their body. As such communication with the Kriken outside of written language is impossible. The Federation have long looked into what pheromone signals give what response, but it is still a mystery to this day.
The species is aggressive by nature, and considered by many to be a naturally greedy race. It is unknown whether they fight out of need for combat or out of desire for land, but they will attack any race they see just because they are there. Despite their barbaric nature, the Kriken are highly intelligent and can operate both in packs and independently.
Culture
The Kriken number in the trillions, and as such the life of a single Kriken is taught to be irreverent. Unless considered an extremely important member of their society, Kriken have no identifiable names. From birth they are thrown against one another in battles until the strongest survive. Those who survive through combat usually become warriors, those craftier usually become technologists. Many of the weaker breed serve the stronger warrior broods out of protection, and as such many of the strongest warriors have a small personal army at their command.
The Kriken leader is only known as the Warmaster. He commands the Kriken fleet and decided when the next Surge will occur. During the Surge he appoints a group of Kriken to lead the attack, who serve to enforce his will among the ranks. From there shipmasters command each of the massive Kriken warships into battle, while the rest serve as the rank and file of the Kriken army.
Many of the warrior broods are sent on the trial of exile, and roam around the populated universe until they find a planet weak enough to fall the Kriken but rich enough in mineral wealth to warrant it being a strong target. They signal this, and the planet is either a target in the next surge or a small portion of the fleet is depicted to take the planet immediately. In the meantime the exiled Kriken spends his time destabilizing the planet, killing key leaders and breaking the morale of the planet's defenders through hit and run tactics. Should he be successful, that Kriken is considered a hero among his people.
The technologists spend their time on Technology Worlds, and work to improve the Kriken war machine. These worlds can be more brutal than the Hive Worlds, as glory is given to one who creates a new technology. As such any time a Kriken comes up with a new idea he may be promptly killed and credit for his idea stolen by his collogues. While brutal, this system has lead the development of some of the greatest ships in the known universe.
Feral Kriken
An interesting phenomenon occurs on planets broken off from the main Kriken fleet. These worlds, usually isolated after a surge, go through a period of regression and then into civil war as the individuals of the planet attempt to take control of it. After about a year society unusually breaks down, and the Kriken revert back to a state very similar to that of their ancestor insects, roaming and hunting one another. When another Surge reclaims these planets, interestingly enough, these Kriken do not get blended back into their society and are purged from the planet by their own species.
Military
The Kriken Empire uses superior numbers to overwhelm their opponents. Unlike other forces, they do not use any form of armor, instead just using the shells they were born with. Unlike other forces, the Kriken make no use of robotics or drones. Everything they use is either piloted or controlled by a Kriken.
War and conquest are everything to the Kriken. They will graft weapons onto their own bodies and arms, and use them until an improvement comes along. It is not rare for a single Kriken warrior to go through four weapon changes in his lifetime, each involving the removal of a limb. Each warrior has a specialty that they carry out in combat, some anti-armor, some frontline, some assassin. The Kriken method of communication via pheromones allows them to coordinate attacks without warning any other forces. To date there has been no known was to block Kriken communications in the middle of a battle save for physically blocking all pheromones.
The Kriken are known to use massive Striders, which serve as tanks and mechs in the field of battle. These usually contain heavy anti-armor prism technology, while some allow for anti-air batteries to be placed on their back. One of the most feared Kriken Striders, known to the Alliance of Worlds as the Crawler Goliath (but known in Kriken writing as the Large Long-range Strider) has the ability to hit starships in high orbit.
Technology
The Kriken have very simplistic names for their weapons, as the idea of the weapon is usually communicated via pheromone signal and Kriken written language is very concise. Some weapons have been given nicknames by the Alliance of Worlds and the Galactic Federation. While most Kriken graft their weapons into their bodies, all weapons can be successfully reverse engineered for use by any other species.
To differentiate newer technologies, any old technology is prefaced with the word "Obsolete" followed by a Kriken date of when it was created.
Weapons
- Kriken Soldier Solid Projectile Launcher
- Kriken Soldier Energy Launcher
- Kriken Soldier Large Projectile Launcher
- Kriken Fragment Scattering Projectile Launcher
- Kriken Fast Exploding Projectile Launcher
- Kriken Powerful Soldier Heavy Lightbeam Reflector Cannon (Personal Prism Cannon)
- Kriken Powerful Soldier Long Range Light Beam Gun (Imperalist)
Infantry
- Kriken Soldier
- Kriken Melee Soldier
- Kriken Long Range Soldier
- Kriken Exile
- Kriken Information Gatherer
Striders
- Small Many-Gun Strider (Anti-Infantry Crawler)
- Small Large-Gun Strider (Anti-Armor Crawler)
- Large Strider (Crawler)
- Large Long-range Strider (Crawler Goliath)
Ships
- Small Ship with Scatter Projectiles (Kriken Fighter)
- Small Ship with Heavy Projectiles (Kriken Bomber)
- Large Ship that Launches Small Ships (Kriken Carrier)
- Large Ship with Prism Cannon (Kriken Frigate)
- Largest Ship (Kriken Capitol Ship)
Trivia
- The Kriken Empire has only appeared in Metroid Prime: Hunters with the inclusion of Trace the bounty hunter.
- The Kriken Empire has never appeared in a canon Yoshi Bodyguard story to date, but are constantly referenced.
