The Spore, no real name has been designated to it since its first emergence, but many human colonists have since nicknamed it. When the skies turn brown with a thousand pulsing, grotesque pods that smash into the planet, the nightmare begins. Spore creatures were designed to be a weapon of mass destruction, designed by scientists to sell to any faction who would bid the highest price. They are a parasite, developed to make use of any organic material that they can get hold of. Since the initial outbreak there have been many isolated cases on many Imperial worlds, these have been quickly dealt with by elite hazard teams who are specially trained to deal with the Spore but the High Lord of Admiralty himself keeps a close eye on the encounters, as the number of cases slowly increases. Spore creatures manifest themselves as small creatures, with a similar size to a dog. They have long proboscis which is used to suck nutrients out of prey. They have four, equally sized legs which are used to manoeuvre, with great dexterity, towards prey then jump onto and then the proboscis sprays an acidic coating onto the desired area (usually the chest which most humanoid species) the coating is strong enough to burn through many polymers and protective alloys. This process usually takes 10-15 seconds after this the legs are used to clamp down hard onto the victim which pushes the proboscis into the affected area. The proboscis then secretes microscopic spores into the body which soon overrun the body's immune system (this can take different amounts of time depending on the species) then takes control of the creatures motor skills and then eventually the whole body. In humans this process takes around a minute, with motor control failing at around 15-25 seconds. Soon after the host has been assimilated necrosis sets in as the hosts bio-material is converted into more spore clouds. The original creature then, using the nutrients gained from the host, pumps out a greenish cloud from its spore vents. This cloud contains airborne variations of the microscopic spore creatures which are used to search out more prey. Once a suitable host has been identified by the cloud the will send a telepathic message back to other creatures in the area to move in. These spores then approach the new host, most of the time the host is unaware and thus has no respiratory equipment, and begin to suffocate the victim as he breathes in the spores. The Spores destroy the lungs and then using the bio-mass gained from destroying the lungs reproduce more spore creatures. The host usually falls unconscious due to suffocation and shock. This is the point in which the victim is usually condemned if he is part of a hazard team and the other members quickly end his suffering. This part of the infection usually takes around 5 minutes for humans and can be treated if the patient gets immediate medical attention. After the body has been assimilated the spores inside the host begin to break down non-essential organs (at least, non-essential for the Spore) such as the liver and heart. The bio-matter from these are moved to the back of the victims chest were it is re-constructed at a molecular level. It is reconstructed as spore vents which begin to protrude from the victims back, releasing more spore clouds. This process takes up to 15 minutes. This form of spore creatures what becomes common sight in infected areas and make less effective soldiers than host who have the original creature attached to them, but make no mistake, they are still very, very deadly. The imperials are the only speci es to have encountered the creatures outside the initial outbreak case and have developed a class system to help organise a plans to stop outbreaks of the Spore. Class 1 1-250 people infected and the creatures have no access to space transport. Civilians are evacuated to a minimum of 200 miles away from the infection site after being screened and are prohibited from leaving orbit up to 6 months after the outbreak has been dealt with. Hazard teams are sent in and have instructions to destroy any of the Spore. Scientists are sent with the hazard teams to try and capture live specimens for examination. Class 2 250-2000 people infected and the creatures have no access to space transport. Civilians are evacuated to 500 miles away, across a sea or other large body of liquid preferably. The civilians are to be screened and may not leave orbit until further notice. Hazard teams are sent in to destroy any trace of the Spore. Scientists are not allowed in class 2 outbreak zones. Class 3 2000-500,000 people infected and/or the creatures have any access to space transport. Orbital broadcasts telling civilians where the evac points are and which areas to avoid. Once evacuated the civilians may not leave orbit until further notice. Marines are dropped down and co-ordinated by hazard teams to destroy the infection. No scientists are allowed in the infected zones. Class 4 1 million-5 million infected. Civilians are given notice to get out of the area and soon after orbital rounds carrying incendiary chemicals are launched at the infected sites. The navy keeps a tight gridlock on people entering and exiting the system. No-one is allowed in the infected zones. Class 5 5 million-200 million infected. A planet wide extermination program is placed on the world. The prototype Talyn class is moved into position and destroys the world. The system is placed under red restriction and the military will destroy any ship trying to enter the system. Class 6 >200 million infected. A state of emergency is announced in the Human Imperium, key figures such as the High Lord of Admiralty, the Prime Minister and The King are taken to secure locations. The Talyn is used in an indiscriminate manner against any and all worlds found to have Spore life on it. Notable examples Within a half a year of the initial outbreak, The Markus Corporation, a company who had previously attempted to buy the spore of the original scientists had captured a specimen and began adapting the it to suit their needs. In an attempt to force the law’s hand on the handling of aliens and power within the sector, they launched a missile laden with the spore towards the Lambdas home world. The Lambdas, a relatively peaceful race, and strong ally of humanity were hit badly. Their great forge cities came under attack by the spore and their citizens were assimilated. Humanity took the executive decision, along with the Lambdas forgemaster, the leader of their race, to use the Talyn on Lambda prime, destroying it. Fewer than 10 thousand Labmdas survived and were resettled on a liberated Markus controlled world. It took the race nearly 50 years to recover, a startling reminder to all those who try and control the spore. The lambdas, now having recovered slightly are beginning to cause problems for the humans, many resentful for what happened to Lambda prime are taking up arms, and humanity comes under threat of insurgency from a dear friend. Below details the fragments of a reclaimed black box signal from a Mercenary cruiser, it demonstrates the absolute bravery and resolve that must be used in order to defend against the spore. The S.S Aires, the ship below was in pursuit of the Markus missile in an attempt to stop it before it was too late. These men and women died invain trying to stop the spore. Acting Captain’s Log [154 – I have ordered the launch of escape pods, as I do not intend to survive the fight. The Lambdas hive ship is being assimilated right before my eyes. 156 – A good officer and a good friend, Elros Galanthrist, a murr has refused to evacuate the ship and as stubborn as he is I may need him. We intend to fly into the engines of the hive ship in an attempt to stop this evil, before it can spread. 159 – We are flying past the ship, we can see terrified faces of confused lambdas through rough port- holes and hull breaches. I’m trying desperately to fend off spore infected fighters from latching onto the hull of the ship while Mr Galanthrist reinforces structural integrity. 15:40 – Having manoeuvred the Aires to the back of the hive ship it has become evident an attempt to block the engines would be futile as the engines have already been assimilated, we will attempt to fly between the lamdas hive ship and the now infected markus cruiser, doing as much damage as possible then Mr Galanthrist will puncture the hydrogen reactor in engineering, destroying the ship and hopefully destroying the infected vessels. 15:41 - This is the final entry of Lieutenant Commander Kriel, I fight to defend the bridge from spore infection forms, I have lost contact with Elros, and now I’m ready. I have no regrets. <end transmission>] Chief Engineer’s Log [155 – I have decided to stay with Lieutenant Kriel on her mission to destroy the spore ship. 158 – I have reinforced the structural integrity but it won’t hold for long, the captain is fending off the infected fighters, I have switched off the comms relay from open signal, there is nothing we can do for people who are putting out distress calls. 15:41 – My final log, the creatures have broken their way into the ship, I won’t hold out much longer and I have no intention of turning into one of those things. I have lost contact with the captain as our systems are being re-written by Markus/spore tech. When I woke this day and got dressed, I did not expect to die, but it’s a good day to die. I hope my family learn of my fate, and my body is returned to the Murr homeworld, so I may have a proper funeral for a warrior. <weapons discharge> <end transmission>] A pixel image of a spore form, by jon218 The Genesis of the Zeron Murr scientists researching the spore accidentally created a sub-field psychic network, similar to the one found in the microscopic sized spore, but made it larger. This had an unseen side effect and the field amalgamated and centralised on a nearby spore specimen, creating the first ever Zeronoid, the Hivemind. The spore had evolved. The hivemind quickly replicated itself using spore vents and soon the lab was overrun. Previous to this event the spore had simply had animalistic, primal reasoning. Now it was rational and conscious. The hivemind designed its own spore warriors from assimilated murr scientists, making them into perfect killing machines. The Zeron have been spotted several times since their creation and are widely considered a different race to the spore now, as their purple texture and uniform, manufactured soldiers bear little resemblance to predecessors husks. Psychic beacons have been used by the Skyde corporation during the civil war to attract Zeron fleets, causing the deaths of countless millions.
Thanks, im a pretty rubbish drawer, but i thought as well havea go. Tbh, it was more for the concept and idea than anything else
Dude! I just finished writing an english essay which took me ages and your post is way longer than it xD Great job though, it sounds good from what I've read so far
Thanks, I play pen and paper roleplaying games in my freetime, and this is a concept that ive had kicking around for a while, so i htought thisd be the perfect reason to get the details down, and really think it all through. I wanted to go into much more detail about it, but the rules say its about one monster, i didnt want to be penalised for talking too much about irrelevant ideas. I intended to talk about the geno-merge between Markus troops and spore tech, as well as deeper interaction with the Zeronoids and the details of what happened on Lambda prime. PS, god, I hate english essays, ive got two to do atm for both my Literature and language tutors lol
Reminds me of the flood from halo. I love infection type scenarios, and so maybe it could be a random event where these land on your planet and you have to contain them.
Aah, floodgate. I do miss Halo. Yh, me and a couple of mates were sat round my fire throwing ideas around and when I was talking about this, one of them asked if id been playing halo recently lol. And lets face it, who DOESNT like a good zombie canon?
oh and thanks guys for taking the time to read this, im guessing itll be eventually overlooked because of the block text and poor image
Nice entry, but maybe space it little and put some colors in it, to make it more readable (because it worth it ) Just one thing, It is quite similar to the Tyranids from Warhammer 40k (in the way they invade a planet, and recolt the biomass). Other than that I'm fine with it.
Ah I imagined the Zeronoids as 'nids-alikes (in apperance). However, the spore themselves dont move biomass around, or reduce a planet to nothingness like the tyranids. They simply move biomatter within the hosts body.
Also, thanks for the feedback, ive tried to break it up a bit with the inclusion of another image , additional info and a bit of colour
I don't know if you wanted pixel art, but i wanted to practice a little, and chose your creature. It's a little different form the picture, so let me know if you want anything changed- image, shape, color, etc. Hope you like it!
Ive added it to the original post, if thats ok. I changed it SLIGHTLY, the right spore vent i wanted symetrical, but besides that,its the same. thanks again
