Fydiel Darraq
Rogue Four
Image Source: by Blankslate
Name: Grinders
Designation: Non-Sentient
Homeworld: Lenuta
Language: None
Average Length of Adults: 45 meters
Skin Color: Black and Grey
Hair Color: Hairless
Breathes: Type IV Atmosphere
Strengths:
- Hard to Kill: Grinders have thick, rocky carapaces that are impervious to small-arms fire and resistant even to high-powered weaponry. They are also very simple organisms with incredible capabilities of regeneration: a Grinder blown in half might well survive, and might even become two Grinders. Grinders are also virtually impervious to heat and cold, swimming in magma and surviving their planet's frigid dark side with ease.
- Crushing Jaws: Grinders get their name from their massive, four-part mandibles. These mouthparts contain rows of constantly-growing teeth kept red-hot by the creature's extremely high body temperature. Grinders eat by closing these mouthparts over their targets; the heated teeth move back and forth like chainsaws, melting and grinding through even reinforced durasteel.
- Tunnelers: Grinders get around by tunneling, which they accomplish by heating their carapaces until the surrounding rock melts and then swimming through it. This allows them to get virtually anywhere on a planet that's connected to the ground.
Weaknesses:
- Brainless and Blind: Grinders are not thinking creatures. They 'hunt' with a magnetic sense, detecting the largest concentration of nutritious minerals nearby and moving toward it. They do not react to their surroundings unless their primitive nervous systems feel pain, at which point they retreat in straight lines from the source of that pain.
- Vibration Sensitivity: Grinders navigate around earthquakes and volcanos via vibrations on specific frequencies. These vibrations can overwhelm their primitive nervous systems and send them into a flight response if channeled into the ground with high intensity.
- Short-Lived: Individual Grinders live only three years or so, in which time they attempt to gain enough mass to split into several new Grinders of smaller size. The process is not a foolproof one, however, and the mortality rate for the children of this attempted rebirth is very high; this is why the planet is not completely covered in Grinders.
Distinctions: Grinders are long, thick, and wormlike, with rocky protrusions on their backs and bright orange magnetic sensory organs on their heads. Their most distinctive characteristic is their giant mouthparts, filled with chainsaw-like rows of teeth that grind down minerals for digestion. Grinders have an extremely high core temperature, liquefying rock around them to move through it with eerie, serpentine undulating motions, and give off intense heat.
Average Lifespan: 3 Standard Years
Races: Individuals Genetically Identical
Estimated Population: Several Million
Diet: Rocks, Metal Structures, Droids
Communication: Like worms, Grinders do not communicate.
Culture: N/A
Technology Level: N/A
General Behavior: Grinders are simple creatures. Their magnetic sensory organs direct them toward mineral deposits, while their vibration senses guide them around potentially dangerous geothermal phenomena. When they arrive at food sources, they lock their jaws over them until they are reduced to chunks small enough to swallow. They then swim away to look for more food. Due to the metallic contents of their bellies, Grinders often attempt to eat through each other.
At the end of their three-year lifespans, Grinders find secluded places deep beneath the crust, where vibrations are few. They then split, and each part attempts to develop mouthparts to allow it to eat. Those that fail starve to death, while those that succeed begin the life cycle anew. Grinders blown apart at non-reproduction times might 'accidentally' reproduce in this way, depending on the size and intactness of the resulting parts.
History: It is now impossible to say whether the Grinders had an ancestor among the once-rich ecosystem of Lenuta, whether the Gree created them when they altered the planet, or whether they somehow evolved independently in the time since. Whatever the case, they were discovered by the Imperial Remnant when it surveyed the planet, and now represent a major headache for mining operations there.
The Remnant has developed countermeasures, but they are only somewhat effective against the voracious beasts.
Notable Player Characters: None
Intent: To populate Lenuta and provide a challenge for characters and factions operating there.
