The Hive (Species)

## The ‘Uzhastik’ Species

### Species Description

It’s unclear what really happened or brought the ‘Uzhastik’ into our world, but their introduction changed everything about the way we live, and the things we fear. Nightmarish stories carry eastward through Poland about about strange happenings in Eastern Germany as the war broke out - many of which describe hell in earthly form. But, thankfully the miracle of Nuclear Winter has deterred the monsters for quite some time. But - not even that has proven to last.

If humanity wishes to survive, they’ll need to find a better weakness than the USSR’s subthermal winters.

### Physical Appearance

For quite some time, the ‘Uzhastik’ were studied by scientists in Moscow, to not only to find weaknesses and map their biology, but also because the creatures have bodies unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

Their bodies, which already bare alien resemblance and features, consist of several multi-celled organisms which perform tri-symbiotic roles essential for the creature’s survival. At the base of it, the ‘Uzhastik’ sits encased almost completely by an outer, parasitic shell, which envelopes the creature and  protects it from threats or impact. Only the face and skull are exposed, which makes the creature vulnerable to head-impact. Some ‘Uzhastik’ make use of a secondary parasite, which acts as an additional sensory organ to the brain. It’s prevalent among their **Soldier** class, but it’s exact purpose is unknown.

Visually, ‘Uzhastik’ stand bipedal with digitigrade legs and arms, capable of traversing by either two, or quad-leveled means. Their armor, which protrudes from beneath their skin, is sleek-black when young and yellow as they age, becoming tougher and more rigid as they pass late-adulthood. Some bear four arms whereas it’s most commonly two, likely either a genetic defect or abnormality in their genetics. Juveniles tend weigh somewhere between 160 - 225 Kg depending on age, with an average 7 - 8’ ft. in height.

The species possesses one prehensile tail that’s thin in diameter, but barbed and tapered like an arrowhead, giving hint that it’s used to impale prey. With the addition of webbed (four-fingered) hands, retractable claws protrude from the tip with needle-like in appearance. Skull-wise, the creature hosts a very large cranium which elongates towards the back, stretching oblong and dome-like, albeit heavily distributed. Jaw-wise, the ‘Uzhastik’ bare mandible-like folds that are laced with teeth, rarely seen beneath their helmets. Deep purple irises lie within their four, ‘stacked’ eyes.

Their blood is a bioluminescent shade of crimson.

### Caste Traits & System

While capable of operating independently (Selfishly) or within one’s own interest, these creatures earn their name collectively as the “Hive” through drone-like behaviors similar to that of killer wasps.

‘Uzhastik’ are furthermore split into four categories that function as their Caste System.

**Soldiers** - Which serve to protect their hive or gather food, are typically denoted by their dark-orange exoskeletons, usually with a degree of technological advantages such as plasma-based weapons or even reactive-armor, which renders most ballistic ammunition as molten slag.

**Hive Drones** - Perhaps the lowest on the social scale, Drones serve only to breed and construct, using their saliva to create a resin-like hardness that insulates most of the inside of ‘Uzhastik’ hives. Unlike soldiers, their lifespans are shorter and much more directed as many stay within the hive.

**Hive Monarch** - The very largest of the batch, Hive Monarchs will almost never leave their hives, making them very difficult to document or study. While their existence is known, very little is known about them.

**Larvae** - Humble beginnings by all measures.

## The ‘Hive’

### ‘Hive’ Description

‘Uzhastik’ are, as far as we know, a subterranean-dwelling species. They can make their homes within large pipelines, sewers, or isolated buildings with basements, and tend to prefer a warm, humid climate to dwell within. Large groups of these creatures (known as hives) will create *literal* hives, which consist of several hundred tunnels which stretch amongst smaller burrows  or pockets of groundwater which they utilize for breeding. It’s suspected that these water-pockets are where Hive Monarchs dwell, although it’s unclear if they’re aquatically dependent.

Worker drones for the ‘Uzhastik’ construct large mounds of hardened pulp which, when dried, can support hardened concrete or completely encase objects within. This is done through a mixture of saliva, bone, and biological materials used from dead or decaying drones. This material is relatively resistant to most forms of radiation, however it’s been observed that it can be removed exothermically with incendiary devices or explosives. Only three hives have been found or destroyed - leaving behind large, charred remains.

### Notable ‘Hives’

**Berlin Hive** - ‘Uzhastik’ in Berlin was one of the most threatening notices in Moscow since the bombs fell. They had appeared from thin-air almost, and their emergence marked the consumption and fearmongering of thousands within East German borders, proving that there was a much greater danger than radioactive fallout.

Early in the war, the Soviet Armies posted west led a containment campaign against the Berlin Hive, and after weeks of brutal warfare across the Western Wall (Berlin Wall) emerged successful in containing the threat. All remains of the Hive were burned or decayed away, but the horrors told by veterans of this small-scale war haunt children today.

**Trieste Hive** - Perhaps the only hive which certainly starved over the winter, Trieste (Yugoslavia) was the site of the largest hive structure ever found by humans, and refugees live to tell about it. The entire city was overtaken by infestation, and as winter came and it deterred the ‘Uzhastik’ their numbers dwindled to oblivion as their only source of food had months before. Now, it lies as a blackened, decomposing skeletal structure - or at least that’s what people say.

**Milian Hive** - When news traveled east that there was an inactive hive located in Italy, it rose speculation about how far west the ‘Uzhastik’ had spread post-war. Today, reports say the structure was abandoned by the species, although the reason is unknown.