Imperial Loyalist
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a mount for Junktroopers and other Mahporeem troops.
- Image Credit: Original/Catbox. Image created by Jake Lunt Davies.
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Dewback/Bantha.
- Name: Junkbeasts, officially known as Shuugnoirs.
- Designation: Non-sentient.
- Origins: Native to the planet Mahporeem.
- Average Lifespan: 60-80 years.
- Estimated Population: Planetary.
- Description: Junkbeasts, officially known as "Shuugnoirs", are large, four legged, mammalian creatures that are native to the planet Mahporeem. First domesticated by the local Merzoidian population thousands of years of ago, many Junkbeasts were modified by the Galactic Empire for use as Stormtrooper mounts, as is evident by their extensive cybernetic implants and improvised armor.
- Breathes: Type I.
- Average Height of Adults: 3.1 meters.
- Average Length of Adults: 6.1 meters.
- Skin color: Pink.
- Hair color: Brown, white or black.
- Distinctions: All Junkbeasts are large, four legged mammalian creatures. Each Junkbeast is covered from head to toe in long, shaggy fur, and has a total of four razor sharp claws on each hand and foot. Junkbeasts are quite adept at digging, and they use their large claws to carve out roomy burrows for themselves and their offspring. Junkbeasts also have a large, prehensile tongue that they use as a sort of "fifth limb", especially when it comes to feeding themselves. Wild Junkbeasts are devoid of the cybernetic implants and armor found on their domesticated cousins.
- Races: N/A.
- Force Sensitivity: Non-Sensitive.
- Claws: Junkbeasts have large, razor sharp claws on their hands and feet. Though these claws are primarily used for digging, they are easily capable of tearing through bone, metal and armor alike.
- Terrain strider: Junkbeasts are capable of traversing terrain that would be inaccessible to mechanized units.
- Hardy: Junkbeasts are naturally resilient creatures and have great stamina, allowing them to "operate" for weeks at a time without being resupplied. Being an organic unit, Junkbeasts can live off the land as long as they have sufficient food and water.
- Armored: Junkbeasts are covered in improvised armor plating, making them more difficult to take down in combat.
- Organic: Junkbeasts, like most organic beings, require food, water, sleep and shelter to survive, and are susceptible to a number of different diseases. Junkbeasts also have a natural life span that cannot be prolonged, though it is a relatively long lived creature.
- No ranged weaponry: The only weapons carried by a Junkbeasts are its large, razor sharp claws. Any ranged attack must be provided by its rider.
- Slow: Though large and powerful creatures, Junkbeasts are relatively slow, especially when weighed down by their armor.
- Aggressive: Using data gleaned from the Clone Wars, the Empire artificially increased the aggression of Junkbeasts, making them far more unpredictable and dangerous to anyone around them or riding them.
- Diet: Herbivore/Insectivore.
- Communication: Junkbeasts communicate with grunts and growls.
- Religion/Beliefs: N/A.
- General behavior: Generally speaking, Junkbeasts are timid and docile creatures, hence why they were so easy to domesticate. However, Junkbeasts can become aggressive if they are provoked or if they believe their offspring are in danger. Most Junkbeasts live as a family unit, with a father, a mother, and between one to three offspring all sharing the same underground burrow. Junkbeasts care of their offspring until they reach maturity, after which they leave the burrow to find or create families of their own. Junkbeasts pair together for life, and will not seek out another mate if their mate dies prematurely. Junkbeasts are large and powerful creatures, and are easily capable of pulling or carrying heavy loads, which they will do rather willingly for anyone who treats them well.
- Junkbeasts, known as "Shuugnoirs" in the Merzoidian tongue, have been native to the planet Mahporeem for tens of thousands of years. Upon their arrival to the planet, the Merzoidian people quickly saw the value in domesticating the creatures for agricultural use, and successfully went about doing so. Junkbeasts soon became common sights on most Merzoidian farms, and were often seen as indispensable assets alongside droids and other farming machinery.
- However, the arrival of the Confederation of Independent Systems to the planet Mahporeem disrupted the Merzoidian way of life, paving the way for the use of Junkbeasts as war mounts. Unfortunately, it was quickly discovered that Junkbeasts performed rather poorly in this role, despite their large size and inherent strength.
- Most Junkbeasts were simply to timid or docile to serve as war mounts, though it was observed that the creatures would fight back if sufficiently provoked. Junkbeasts were noted to be especially agressive of they believed that their offspring were in any sort of danger. After the end of the Clone Wars, the Galactic Empire began experimenting on the creatures, to make them better suited as mounts for Stormtroopers.
- The "improvements" done to the creatures included the installation of cybernetic implants and improvised armor plating. One particularly insidious feature of the so called "upgrades" provided to the creatures involved modifying their behavior to make them far more aggressive, using data gathered during the Clone Wars, so that they would attack and fight even if unprovoked. This newfound aggression, combined with the creature's bulk and stamina, made them excellent war mounts for Stormtroopers, though their riders had to take great care to avoid ending up the Junkbeast's next victim.
- The fall of the Galactic Empire only saw the Junkbeast Improvement Program expanded, and soon the creatures were far more often associated with their Junktrooper riders than their farming origins, hence the name "Junkbeast".