Saurgan

Saurgan are an attempt by the PRC to recreate the Gernadder from scratch. Similar to La Creatura, the effort strayed wildly from the mark but did succeed in producing a useful alternative creature.
After the Engineers were forced to abandon Japan, a large number of them relocated to the North American west coast, where a large Kantoku Corporation operation was already underway and well-established. However, the facilities there only had the means to produce Kantoku and Watchmen; the more combat-oriented creations of the Engineers had only been produced straight out of their main base in Tokyo. The Engineers, concerned over further reprisal the more their previous leadership's goals for world domination were uncovered, were highly interested in regaining the ability to mass-produce armies of absolutely loyal supersoldiers. However, much of this venture had been undertaken by Editi herself and a small number of clone-slaves, meaning the entire program would have to be reattempted from scratch.
After a great deal of effort and numerous disturbing failures, the PRC's scientists managed to forge a parallel path in their effort to create a new supersoldier, using crocodilian DNA as a base rather than human. It is highly likely that the PRC recovered notes regarding the involvement of a certain Pilot with the Gernadder project and mistook them to refer to an actual reptile, resulting in the employment of reptilian DNA in the replication efforts. Although this doubtlessly made the process even harder to work out, the resulting creation was far tougher and stronger than its predecessor.
Saurgan stand at 2.3 meters tall, and sport a heavily hunched posture. Two huge arms sprout from their massive shoulders, ending in four-fingered claws. Their thick scale hide is typically a dark olive green and naturally highly durable. Their jaws are short-snouted and very strong, filled with teeth designed to tear flesh. Their senses are surprisingly superior to that of a Gernadder’s, possessing very good night vision, color vision, very good scent and good hearing. They are highly perceptive to vibrations underwater. They are magnetoreceptive and are capable of navigating via the Earth’s magnetic field, or naturally detecting powerful magnetic forces such as those used in plasma weapons, ion weapons, railguns and ARHK micro fusion reactors. Their stomach acid is extremely potent, capable of digesting most natural materials and can easily burn exposed human skin. They are naturally camouflaged and extremely skilled at blending in with the environment despite their size, and despite their inherent aggression are capable of remaining extremely still for very long periods of time. In addition to this, the particularities of Saurgan vision lend themselves very well to sniping, scouting and observation; Saurgan, like the crocodiles they are based off of, have surprisingly high-performance eyes that allow for very sharp color vision regardless of distance. Unlike a human, which can only focus on the spot they are looking at at any given time, Saurgan are able to hold focus across their entire scope of vision between ‘long range’ and ‘short range’ vision modes, and can ‘zoom’ in on targets they wish to focus on in particular. They can see just as well in the dark as they can during the day and can notice the slightest movements regardless of distance.
The Saurgan's shortcomings are evident in other areas, however. They are ectothermic and resultantly function poorly in cold weather, quickly losing consciousness in temperatures below 10°C. Like Gernadders, they have an extremely high caloric intake and the ability to adjust their metabolism. However, they are capable of going for much longer periods of time between meals than a Gernadder. Additionally, their large size can make movement on the battlefield and avoiding enemy fire difficult, and the structure of their hands means they can encounter difficulty using weapons and objects meant for humans. Additionally, while their eyesight is remarkable, their night vision ability is based off of eyeshine, meaning that light directly shone on a Saurgan will be reflected back from its eyes, which can compromise its efforts to remain hidden.
Unlike the Gernadder, Saurgan are capable of breeding. There are no external differences between male or female Saurgan and it's unclear if their ability to breed was intentional or simply an oversight. The maturation process for ‘naturally’ born Saurgan is substantially longer than those born under laboratory conditions and completely unsuitable for their purpose, and the PRC makes no effort to foster Saurgan offspring ‘naturally’. Examples in the wild are undocumented and accidental, and are assumed to die off relatively quickly when left unattended.
Saurgan are carnivorous, and like Gernadders possess a tremendous appetite that is difficult to satisfy. They can, however, go for much longer periods of time without food than Gernadders can. Unlike Gernadders, however, while feeding on corpses is largely a rumour born from starved Gernadders with poor impulse control, Saurgan will absolutely feast on the dead after a battle, and with their huge, teeth-filled mouths, they are capable of ripping out huge chunks from their prey and swallowing the mouthful whole. 
Because of the shape of their mouths, Saurgan cannot communicate the same way humans do. Instead, the PRC designed Saurgan to have a highly flexible inner throat that serves this function instead. This means that to communicate, a Saurgan need only to leave its mouth hanging open so it can speak through its throat. Naturally this means Saurgan vocalizations are very guttural sounding, and the sight is considered bizarre by humans witnessing it.
Saurgan are about as intelligent as Gernadders, but are not genetically indoctrinated. This means they lack the inherently flawless tactical training of the Gernadder; though they may work in squads, their grasp of tactics doesn’t come anywhere near as close. Their free-er will has afforded them the ability to form a unique culture within their ranks, however. Saurgan may take names for themselves, and unlike Gernadders may converse freely and offer opinions on various subjects. Naturally such thoughts are influenced by the simpler nature of their perspective as well as the strict loyalty program put in place by the PRC, but regardless it can be said for certain that Saurgan possess an individuality that sets them apart from their Gernadder predecessors.
Category:PACYOA: TE
Category:California
Category:TE Species
Category:Demi-Human