Araken Ascendancy

## Overview

Unlike most species in the universe, the Araken was not naturally created. Before the Araken, there was an Insect-Humanoid race known as the Progglyn. The Progglyn were a very secretive race, and built many of their colonies in underground research labs on different planets, using long-distance teleporters to transport themselves between worlds. However, one of the experiments on one of their many worlds created a devastating plague that only affected the Progglyn. This cut off communications between each laboratory, whether this was due to security lockdowns or if the plague reached them, was unknown. On a planet known to them as T-112, The Araken Project continued as normal, even with lockdown protocols underway. To the Progglyn, The Araken Project was meant to be the culmination of all their scientific knowledge, a physical biological database and supercomputer with the ability to analyze anything it could make physical contact with. The Progglyn however, were too intelligent for their own good. They had succeeded in bringing the Araken to life, a black mass of what seemed to be a strange, thick ooze substance with the ability to shift between liquid, solid and gaseous forms. The scientists were unprepared for this early Frankenstein-like development, and thus their containment chamber was....inefficient. It wasn't long before this ooze had absorbed its own chamber, and quickly began assimilating the remnants of the Progglyn race. After outright devouring the last scientist, the Araken lay still. It began processing the biological material of the scientists, and somehow it was also processing the knowledge and information they each had. It only took a matter of hours for the Araken to have an entire database of Progglyn knowledge stored inside it, it only took a matter of hours for it to become sentient. This was the birth of the being known as *"Harbinger"*.

*Early Expansion:* After it had assimilated the entire laboratory, Harbinger began its research. It quickly realized its "mass" form was inefficient, and was seemingly able to shift and condense its form into a smaller, more humanoid form, using insect like appendages to interact with the environment around it. It soon learned more details about the planet T-112 it was currently residing on. On the surface above the laboratory was a T2 planet, and according to Progglyn records, they were a humble race with no desire to expand beyond their homeworld, meaning what they had was *very advanced*. Harbinger's hunger and desire for knowledge drove him upwards, re-purposing Progglyn technology to go upwards. Whilst he had the knowledge of Progglyn tech, he had no idea how to use it to its full extent, due to some problem with his processing. He arrived on the surface, where he made a discovery about his own being. Harbinger only had the ability to "process" and absorb biological matter, whilst he could only examine and analyze anything else. In order to experiment with these capabilities, he split off a small part of himself and left it nearby, studying it. The part that was split off was similar to Harbinger when he started, it absorbed biological mass until it got to a certain point. After the ooze reached the size of a small child, a telepathic connection was made between Harbinger and its "offspring". Whilst the offspring had mutated some additional traits, it possessed the same knowledge as Harbinger, and was completely subservient to the being it was spawned from. It had also physically mutated the same inner insect-like appendages, similar to Harbingers. The Harbinger repeated this process, slowly developing underground in laboratories, sewers, anywhere. The surface dwellers were not prepared for the oncoming assimilation, and within a year, Harbinger had absorbed the knowledge of another species, and a planet, terraforming it to suit his own needs. The "surface dwellers" as they were called, were a very culturally advanced race, and since the Araken lacked a culture of their own, they adopted certain traits after processing them too. As a sign of respect towards the surface dwellers, the Araken built white, circular masks with three holes built into them to mimic the way their faces looked. Harbinger learned that what he did was akin to something known as "genocide", and that the wider world didn't usually appreciate it, teaching him to be careful with future interactions involving other sentient species. The Araken hijacked ships and ship designs to suit the bodies of the Araken. Harbinger decided to use his "mass ooze" form and remain on the planet, while the rest of the Araken adopted a more "human-like ooze" appearance, with their traditional circular white masks. It was a rapid development for a race, to start off as an unintelligent ooze in a lab, to dominating a planet and two entire species, but the Araken were finally ready.

They were ready to set off into space, meet the other denizens of the universe, and acquire more knowledge to add to their massive, and growing database.

## Araken Physiology and Sociology

### Araken Physiology:

Apart from the Harbinger, most Araken adopt a humanoid-ooze shape, with strange insectoid appendages that seem to shift out of nowhere. Most Araken appear at about 6-7 feet tall, however they are able to morph into many different shapes and forms to suit whatever need is required. While they are mostly ooze, the Araken are capable of hardening and liquidizing this ooze at will, to slip into certain spaces or create a small layer of armour, however it doesn't provide much. Since carrying weapons and armour to protect themselves is a hassle with their bodies, the Araken absorb armour and weapons into their body, to be formed into new natural weapons to use. Many of the Araken military personnel have absorbed laser rifles and whatever armor they could find belonging to the surface dwellers. Even though it has no physical presence on an Araken, they are capable of reaping the benefits from it, such as forming a gun-shaped appendage, and being able to absorb a few hits from enemy gunfire before going down.

Many Araken also use their own bodies as tools and transport for others. While each Araken has some semblance of personality (usually resembling that of the last sentient life-form they absorbed), the Harbinger can exert precise telepathic control over every individual. If an Araken is needed to be used as a bridge, they can group together and form a bridge. If an Araken is needed to become a drill, they become a drill.

### Araken Society:

Due to rapid expansion and assimilation of planet T-112, there aren't many Araken populating it, around 5 billion Araken occupy the planet, with more being spawned every day by the Harbinger. Because of the knowledge, information and personalities stored inside Harbinger, each Araken spawned is technically considered unique with their own personalities, traits and certain ideals. However, each Araken is completely subservient to the Harbinger once they reach a certain size. Most Araken look the exact same, and they differentiate eachother by identifying the vibratory signals each one produces, a trait they inherited from the Proglynn. Some of the more creative one personalize the masks they wear, in order to make some sort of statement about themselves.

However, due to their rapid growth in such a short span of time, they haven't really been able to develop a culture or complete societal structure unique to them. For now, they imitate bits of the surface dwellers and bits of the Proglynn. Some Araken are born with traits making them more suited to certain positions than others, and Harbinger assigns them where he needs them. However, a basic structure is set in place, with everyone obeying the Harbingers command.

### Religion:

As of now, there is no organized religion within Araken society. Due to the varied beliefs of the surfaced dwellers, and the pragmatic approach the Proglynn took, it's quite mixed. Whilst there's no official organizations, certain groups with certain beliefs tend to avoid other cliques of different beliefs, without the command of the Harbinger. The society is already beginning to form itself, and whilst the Harbinger does not disapprove, he will be keeping a close eye on the developments. His approach towards religion is to accept any and all beliefs as long as those beliefs don't bring unnecessary harm to society.

## Combat

When it comes to combat between military personnel, there are two ways the Araken like to approach it, depending on how the situation demands it. When the Araken wish to get up close and personal with their enemies, they can use their malleable bodies to take on the form of powerful insect-beast hybrids. These forms are variable and can change depending on their surroundings. If in a mountainous region, the Araken can take the form of 6 legged burrowers to dig and eat their way through the landscape. If they are in a jungle environment, they can take the form of winged insect hunters to surprise their prey. Each form has built in, powerful weapons such as claws, or can use their own body mass as an acidic ranged attack.

However, if the situation is not suited for them to take such primal forms, the Araken can use the technology and weapons they've absorbed into their body, and fight using traditional humanoid methods. Whilst they still have their appendages and some natural attacks, they are not as powerful in their base form, apart from their "absorb-and-process" ability. They can use this ability on weapons found on the battlefield however, allowing them to adopt enemy weaponry if need be. The Araken prefer to use a combination of both of these tactics in order to keep their enemies on their toes.

When it comes to taking hits, the Arakens unique body structure aids them quite a bit. Explosives, fragmentation and bullets seem to have no effect on the Araken bodies. Bullets are either absorbed by them, or go right through causing little to no displacement on the strange ooze substance. Fragmentation simply passes through the Araken, causing little to no displacement. Depending on the intensity, explosives are capable of tearing their body apart, however as long as they're not completely eviscerated, the Araken are capable of reassembling themselves quickly. However, heated plasma and laser-fire are capable of "killing" an Araken, due to an unknown factor in their bodies. The Araken have found schematics for body-armor with properties resistant to laser-fire and heated plasma, however this does not make them immune to it, simply capable of surviving a few hits before going down.

Araken are capable of either moving on top of water in their ooze form, or going underneath if they solidify it. They are not capable of turning into the ideal form for traversing water. Whilst in the vacuum of space, an Araken can hold its body together to an extent, but cannot control it, turning them into floating masses of goo wearing creepy masks.

## Combat Vehicles:

Whilst the Araken have learned how to produce the surface dweller military vehicles, many adjustments needed to be made to suit the ooze forms of the Araken. Many have been adapted and changed.

### Hover Tanks:

The surface dwellers had Hover Tanks used to combat the initial Araken Assault. At first, they used explosive weaponry which proved ineffective against the bodies of the Araken. By the time they had switched to heated plasma, it was too late. The Araken were able to use their own bodies to create a biological equivalent, capable of producing and shooting acid. Whilst heavily taxing on Araken numbers, it was enough for them to drive back and repurpose enough Hover Tanks to create an entire army. Each Hover Tank was infused with a bit of Araken ooze, so they could switch between laser-fire and the acidic substance capable of dissolving most materials. These Hover Tanks are about 12ft long and 6ft wide, with dual cannons on top that use alternating fire for high damage output. There is also one laser sentry turret, controlled by a second Araken inside.

###

### Seraphim Fighters:

To the Araken, becoming a Seraphim fighter is one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon them by the Harbinger. When consuming the surface dwellers, the Araken had many advantages, such as the element of surprise, immunity to most of their weapons as well as seemingly perfect adaptable bodies. However, even with their unique biological structure, they could not dominate completely the air making them susceptible to aerial attack. This is where the Araken developed their first theory, to meld Araken biology with prototype fighter schematics developed by the Progglyn. Luckily, it was a success, and they had created fighters capable of both dominating the air and bombing enemy ground units. The Seraphim Fighters were crescent-shaped fighters equipped with dual railguns on each "wing". Just below the cockpit of the fighter was bomb storage, where "Rott-X" missiles are stored. These missiles are made up of the same ooze as the rest of the Araken race, however did not attain sentience for some reason, and is used as a bio weapon. When dropped, these missiles explode and release a mass of black goo which absorbs and devours anything and everything it comes in contact with, gas particles and atoms included. While it is not sentient, it is controllable by the Harbinger and is used to clear out enemy encampments quickly, while causing chaos in the chain of command. Because it is not sentient, and constantly absorbs, the Rott-X must be completely destroyed in order to stop it. The Seraphim Fighter is about 20ft long from front to back, and 40ft wide from the left tip to the right tip.

Seraphim Fighters are also used for space combat, in bigger versions known as Seraphim-EX Fighters. Unlike the normal Seraphim, these EX fighters are twice as big with twice the capacity. While small, due to their crescent shape they are very maneuverable. Their sleek design makes it very easy for them to dodge enemy fire and outmaneuver their ships. Unlike the regular fighter, the EX fighter is made up of three Araken, meaning they're constantly alert and able to see oncoming danger from many angles.

## Naval Forces

### Tech Level

Whilst the Araken have absorbed plenty of information from their victims over the past few years, each species only holds a finite amount of knowledge. The Araken can learn about concepts and ideas, but cannot fully grasp the logic behind them. For example, an Araken could learn the cure for cancer after absorbing a scientist, and would be completely capable of replicating that cure with the right equipment. However, it might not understand *why* or *how* it cures cancer. It will eventually, however this lack of wisdom comes at the price of being able to process years of data in a few moments. The Araken are capable of technological innovation by themselves, such as when Harbinger reverse engineered a teleporter, or when the Seraphim Fighters were developed, it's just at a slower rate. However, with the current amount of information they possess, the Araken Ascendancy can safely consider themselves a T2 species.

## Naval Classes

Thanks to the production power of surface dweller factories, their pre-existing ships and the prototype knowledge held by the Progglyn, the Araken have managed to develop and customize their own class of ships. They are organized in the following ranks:

**Survey Class:** Scouting ships used for reconnaissance into unknown systems and scanning planets.

**Seraphim-EX Class:** Fighters usually found in squadrons of 20-40. Mostly stored in Hive Class ships.

**Clutch Class:** Comparable to a Corvette, and are the main escorts for the Survey Class ships. Araken Ascendancy currently possesses 80.

**Oghma Class:** Similar to Destroyers. Pack quite a punch, with many Rott-X missiles used to penetrate and destroy enemy ships from the inside. Araken Ascendancy currently possess 28

**Hive Class:** The bulk of the Araken Ascendancy. Comparable to Cruisers. Araken Ascendancy currently possess 4.

**Praetorian Class:** Battlecruisers designed as Escorts for the Hive Class. Designed to be the Stalwart Defenders of the Ascendancy. Araken Ascendancy currently possess 2.

**Empress Class:** Carrier ships designed to support the Araken fleets with immeasurable amounts of Strike Craft.

**Harbinger Class:** The Harbingers personally designed Dreadnought. Currently under construction using Progglyn tech and blueprints.

## Worlds

The Araken live by the Euclid System on the planet T-112. T-112 is a Terran planet with an abundance of resources, made renewable to an extent with surface dweller technology.